The independent., 1858-04-14

Glib aeI.

crease. Il threatens t. become an establi:h-
ed institution" Marriage, and the family re-
lation, are in danger Of being superseded.
These and similar utterances have become
one Of the prominent topics Of the newspa-
per press.
In all Of our large cities the disinclination
to marry on the part of young men is fire.
quently spoken Of and written about. And
IL is said, trutheuly too, that just in the ratio
that men incline to bacheorism, rowdyism,
debauchery, and crime become rampant in
the land.
This is subject Of great importance to
all, and of fearful interest to the generations
to come. It requires no extraordinary reach
Of thought to comprehend that the natural
and inevitable result must be, sooner or la
ter, the general decentralization Of bo:h male
and female, and the utter disorganization
Of human society. Without the mainte n
ance of those domestic associations and du-
ties, which are known only where the mar
riage institution is made sacred, no society
ever did or ever can exist above barbarism
or savagism.
To arrest this downward tendency Of the
race, two causes must be corrected Young
men must be trained to live, move, and have
their being, without those blood-indamiDg
and sour-palsying poisons, liquor and tobac-
TO, and young ladies must learn to be useful
as well as snowy. On this latter clause of
our text we purpose to expatiate very briefly,
and then leave the matter, for the present, to
the reflections of whom it may concern.
1t is notorious, all over the civilized world
that American females are unhealthy, and
that the tendency to disease and in6rmity is
constantly increasing. The daughters, as a
general rule, are moro infirm than their
mothers, as their mothers compare nnfavora-
bly, with their grandmothers. There is no
theme so much written about, talked about,
lectured about as sickly American women and
girls. Even the medical journals and
daily newspapers of Europe are fire.
quently comparing the health and stamina
of American females with those Of the fe-
males of Great Britain, France, Germany, etc,
and always to the disadvantage Of the for
mer. And they seem to see, not without
reason, one of the leading causes Of the ul-
innate degeneracy Of the American people,
and the final overthrow Of our republican gov
ernment, in the fact that the vitality Of our
females is running down.
Young men can not be ignorant Of these
things. They are, must be fond of the socie-
ty Of young ladies. Nature, and instinct, and
reason, and custom incline them to marry.
But with the thought Of matrimonial alli-
ancc come the thoughts Of everything ex
cept beds of roses and domestic joys. So far
as counting goes, all is pleasant enough; but
with marriage is associated The idea Of doc
tors, nurses, and greater or less number Of
Bridgets and Katys, and Marys and Ellens,
Instead of a help-mate, wife to cheer him.
on in the arduous pathway of life, and take
charge of the household affairs, he dreams
of delicate nerves, tender stomachs, falling
hair, decaying teeth, and spinal irritation.
lie anticipates, as well he may, constant
monologue about pains, aches, bad feelings.
morbid sensations, as the prevailing music
of the ireside. He thinks of ever er-recurring
bills TO pay. lie knows the chances are
against him of marrying a patient to take
care of instead of wife to enjoy
Now men are just as selfish as women are.
On the whole, we think they are more SO.
The young lady who supposes that any young
man on the face of the earth wishes to marry
her for the sake of nursing her through life,
makes very great mistake. There have
been, indeed, marriages of sympathy" But
Heaven sanctions not, and nature abhors
such alliances.
If young ladies advertise themselves as
pretty play-things, young gentlemen will
take them at their ord. If in their actions
and by their manners and accomplishments
they declare themselves irritable and courta-
Bile, but unmarriageab:e, young men will Sc
understand the matter, and act accordingly.
They will be ready enough to dance and frol-
ic with those they do not respect. They will
make themselves agreeable to those they can
not love. They will play court where they
can not think Of marrying. Whenever they
find their attentions are beginning to be ta-
ken in earnest, they will seek other society.
They will not, of course, give the reason for
this, and the young ladies will of course won
der "why don't the man propose :"
Young men, we repeat, will sport and
amuse themselves with young ladies whom
they neither love nor respect. But if they do
respect them and could love them, they are
frightened from proposal to marry by the
sad evidences al in6rmity, which cosmetics
false hair, artificial tooth, and expansive
skirts are unable to conceal. Hence they
rather avoid all approaches to int'mao7 and
often abandon the company OF those W.,
could be healthy, and who would make good
wives, and seek amusement in less respecta-
be society amid more debasing associations.
The young ladies Of America have it en-
tirely in their power to arrest this growing
evil. Let them make themselves healthy.
and prove their capacityto be useful as we'll
Is ornamental, and they VII not be long in
the n y matrimonial market. let them snap
their fingers at the fashions q London and