The independent press. (Abbeville C.H., S.C.) 1853-1860, 1859-02-04
Married Life in France.


properly and sufficiently lighted.
Married Life in France.
Chiefly on the authority of travellers
who have described French life as they saw
it, and who have not always seen it from
the most moral and domestic point of view.
large numbers have come to believe France
about one of the most immoral countries in
Europe, unless Italy be excepted. Paris is
probably about as loose capital as any
need wish to see. Yet vice and virtue arc
not mixed up, even in Paris, as DR.. Sanger
has shown them to be in every street in
New York; nor does vice walk the streets
as unbushingly. But all great cities arc
great sores in some points Of view, as Jeffer-
son has truly said; and French cities are
more systematically depraved probably
than many others. But he who sees the
corruption Of French city life, and Judges
thereby Of the whole F,ench nation, greatly
misjudges the bulk of the people. And
nothing seems to be better established that
the small farmers and the country people
generally, who from the great masses, are
very much like that class Of people all tho
world through, and about equal to the aver
age in point of morality, marrying and Civ
ing in marriage like the rest of the world.
Population does not increase quite so
last in France as in England, nor in Eng
land, of course, as in the United States.
But France furnishes at least the most au-
then:ic and accurate statistics, exhibiting
the effects of every different mode of life
upon the national prosperity. In this res
pect it is far before every other country OH
the globe.
Out Of thirty six millions of Inhabitants
in France, fifteen and a half millions are
married or in state of widowhood. This
certainly does not look as if marriage was
there becoming an obsolete institution.
Eight and a half millions are bachelors or
spinsters, leaving only twelve millions for
chlldren-so, at least, the figures show.
Thus, the proportion Of the married would
seem much larger than might have been
expected, but the number of children sineu-
larly small.
Dr. Fare thinks, however, that the type
OF the French race is improving, S.from the
dlminution of bad types, such as idiots and
lunatics. who do not marry. The general
opinion has been that, in the point of stat
ure, at least, Frenchmen were rather de,eri.
Grating. In France, marriage is much
more the result of prudential calculations
and considerations than with US, or even
with the English. All is done BY nepotia-
tion. The heart has little to do with the
matter; fancy nothing and prudence
everything. The marriage is not valid H.
less the man is eighteen and the woman
fifteen. Even then, unless the head of the
family give his or her consent, the ceremony
can be set aside. In all this, France is in
one extreme, and we quite as excessively in
the other. Prudence and principles have
| too little to do with our marriages. and a
momentary fancy too much. Marriage is
more favorable to long lif. celibacy, as thes,
French statistics prove, unless it be verv
early marriages. The mortality of males,
marrying before twenty is almost FIVE time.,
as great, it is said, as of those r.main;n,-
single. This, however, must be an erfbr.
From twenty upwards, marriage seems. to
about double the chance of seeing sisty.
To about thirty, the chance of life for On.
married females is rather better than that
OF married. But from this up the scala
turns decidedly the other way; and the
Chance of seeing sixty is very far better for
the married than the unmarried femaIe.
For those marrying under twenty, however.
the chances Of mortality are rather greater
than OF those who wait till above that time.
when the bodily system is we'll u,atured.
Even to twenty-five, nino married women
die to eight unmarried.
At all ages widows are more mortal than
wives, and widowers than married man,
Grief has, Of course, much to do with this.
The absence of that mutual care which e.oh
exercises for the comfort of the other il, 40
concerned. So that great as are .he.aaraa
OF married life. great as are often Niuax.
penses and privations, these are all Ar nneh.
ing to the evils Of having no one bu. .Siffo
live for, -
In fact, to live withouta purpose !. aud q
without an aim, beyond the mera personai
good seems the most fatal of al ti,inesfo
human life. Without some object beyond
themselves, men aud wome1soon die. aqho
married life calls into exercise faith 'sssptl
hope more than single life. There jsssntar-
prise and risk, and reliance upon, The fMase.
with q fear sometimes for daily bfss0;a6nS
q hope ih ohildrsf, and 10 t6saSoSa tina
coming, all ll connected with usSsf,Sd sIfs
and all of, which bsve a 8vallsbi = -
human character. sand whisbr etsAnSsSv
enoSgb, all strengthen heahfs ana ;nfsSaI.
iths' length Of life, Married Me eliS ~ SSss
fee Of thousapd inmoralit ties thss tcSt 49,
lifes and 1.-The; friend ofa pasOes lsh SsNs
rpenaenlist as 3 soldiest pr. thos sheiya8Ss.
saway i1fghta, ID onSpaGts sasb:. g NhedalRNi
we Be stle to ufniS3l f!}{ MA ,,S
and reliable "a stal ies,e css - ~
social life atsall safs ia fknIEsss 81 sas:sass.
{lfss, v,cssL ~. ~