St. Cloud visiter [sic]. [volume] (St. Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1857-1858, 1858-06-17
Cards and Couuetry,


for two whole weeks; and as nothing Of the
kind ever happened to us before or since, or
is ever again likely to happen, it may we'll
be supposed the event made very indel-
liblc impression upon our mind. 1t was
while we were exhibiting our bridal fnery,
in Southern city, and had taken lodgings
in a fashionable boarding house kept by Il
widow with daughters to marry.
Here for the first and last time, we were
in daily intercourse with women who were
hawking themselves and their female rel
atives in the matrimonial market, asking
for bids. Here, for the first and last time,
we were behind the scenes with women
who practiced the art of husband catching
trade; andccrtainiy We never shall for
get the scenes we witnessed; time has in no
sense weakened the impression Of loathing
and disgust which we there acquired for
the sublime arts Of cards and coquet-
~.
The parlors were spacious and elegantly
furnished Pictures and Statuettes gave
them an air Of taste and refinement, while
the upholster had made them, not only
omtortable, but luxurious. The kitchen
reaked with nastincss. The chambers Of
the guests were finely furnished and mis-
crbly kept; and the whole family, the mo-
Their, two young lady daughters, three boys,
ranging from fourteen years of age to eight,
end lady relative with an infant, all occu-
pied one not large chamber, in which the
bedding consisted Of few bags Of hne
shayings and some soiled spreads.
The wardrobes groaned with costly dres-
es and the jewelry boxes with expensive
gewgaws.
The women were all pretty and bright;
but especially the little woman with the
baby. Her husband was absent, pursuing
some honorable calling to give a living for
her and their child, and the means thus
acquired were spent in fnery while she
and her child spent their sleeping hours
in absolute scaclor.
We had been brought up in that old
Scotch Irish sense Of female honor, which
still appears to us to be the true sense
and which adjudges that the unmarried
woman who receive attentions, from any
,aan, which may make him feetat liberty
to propose marriage when she does not in
tend to accept his proposal, has been guilty
Of great inAelicacy; and that the mar
ried woman who willingly receives love-
like attention from any other man than
her husband has committed a crime which
should exclude her from respectable soci-
ETY..
We had never, up to this time, seen
pack Of cards; and when we saw the little
wife and older widow take scat at the
card table with two Of the gentlemen
boarders, while all four held dainty little
cigar in their teeth, and pulled away with
that easy nonchalaace peculiar to old prac-
titioners at the weed, We thought the world
never had contained anything SO disgust
ing as cards in voman's hand.
1t did no: seem so much out of place
for men to handle them. We had seen
men smoke, and had heard Of their play
ing cards; lut these little jeweled fingers
taking the cigar out Of the lips which
should have been lying on a baby's cheek,
tipping of the ashes and restoring it to the
custody Of the teeth Oh dear.
Night after night the amusement was
kept up, sometimes with the widow at the
table, and sometimes one Of the young la
dies; but always the mother of the babe,
who might wall, Or wake or sleep as suited
him best, while his mothers MIDNIGHT
hours were spent at the card table prac-
ticing little coquettish airs for the especial
benefit Of her private; partner, young gen
tlenan, who paid the forfeits in confection.
airy and ice cream. They made no attempt
to conceal from us the asides of little bick,
erings and jealousies between the ladies
about their partners.
They had whole battalions of pretty lit.
tie arts in the way Of dress and charms
the object Of which was to attract the
attention and win the favor Of the
gentlemen. They appeared to have nc
idea Of there being anything mean or dis.
honorable about it, or that such social Gus.
toms had any connection with that state Of
RIGHTEOUSNESS in their city, which made il
highly imprudent, if not dangerous, for a
lady to go out Of the door after night-fal]
E -. $50