The daily press. (Cincinnati [Ohio) 1859-1859, 1859-04-14
+ III EBP : r. e s s.
CIN(XfI, THURSDAY, ApRIL "a.
lTrom plackwOOd's Maeaalne. J


lFrom Blackwoud's Maeazine.l
The Reluctance Of Young Men to Marry.
The rouge, and the powder, and the stiff
curls, by which our grandmothers dis6gured
nature, were bad enough; but rouged cheeks
and curled hair" as Lord Bacon has it, are
better than rouge and curled manners" One
of the great social evils of this age is admitted
to be the reluctance Of our young men to early
marriages; they won't marry now, we are told,
as they used to do, and ought to do, on three
hundred year. Depend upon it, in many
and many case, IL is not the odd hundred
or two that is wanting; it's the attraction.
We have lost that joyous and familiar inter-
course between neighbors' families, where
young peoples individualities had space, and
heart met heart. Our modsh Cupid has over
strung his bow-his arrows don't hit home
Young ladies hide away the key of their
hearts so carefully, that nobody thinks it
worth looking for. Who is TO choose " the
one" out of bevy Of proper behaved damsOls,
like a row Of holly hooks, differing only in
hight, shape and color2 They all look alike,
dress alike, talk alike, and walk alike; and,
for any thing that appears to the contrary,
think alike and feel alike. Why, such q
choice is an act of deliberate attention-mat-
rimony prepense; few men have the nerve to
venture upon it. No wonder they calculate
the probable butchers and bakers bills before
they take such plunge as that. Don't
fancy that L talk like cynical old bird, not
to be caught with chaf 1 take as the expo
nent of what my own feelings would be il /
were young and open as l once was to the con-
viction of bright eyes. My nephew, Jack
Hawthorn, not long home from the Crimea,
six feet one, independent, hairy as a Skye ter
rier, brave as a lion (claps for Alma and Bala-
klaya,) gentle as a greyhound, and should say
impressible, decidedly. "What missed most"
he -, -. - 4
piicity, twas the sight of a woman's face"
Whereupon L spoke al wonder, Jack, you
don't marry; it would make you happier man
than living half your days in the smoking
room Of the army and navy Why not pick
up nice girl, and set up the family name
again in the old manor?" "Well, so 1 would"
said Jack, "but there are no girls now-they
are all young ladies-catch me marrying q
young ladyW Jack has mortaly offended, I
fear, whole circle of previous admirers, NAM
mas and daughters, by very innocent and
well-intentioned little speech he made at one
Of his last public appearances. His hostess
was begging him TO dance. Jack "didn't seem
to care about dancing" But pray to oblige
her-there were so many nice young girls sit
ting down, and the men were so stupid
Jack would have danced with a she bear
sooner than be really rude or ill-natured, so
he consented. The patroness was charmed and
grateful. And now, which would he like her
to introduce him tor "Miss A.? sweet girl!
Miss B.? very sweet grill clever, only so quiet
The two Miss C.'s? both darlings Miss D.?
lin whisperl twenty thousand, and not en-
gaged' "Thank ye," said Jack, after casting
his eyes along the line, as if he were on a pa
rade, "they all look very much alike. AS 1
am to do it," continued he, without moving a
muscle of his countenance, for he was in earn
est, 81 may as well do it handsomely; so I'll
take the tallest and the stiffest, with shade of
red in her hair"
Seriously, / do not think the clubs alone
have to answer for the decrease in early mar
riages. Other modern improvements in society
must bear their share of blame. I would back
the hearts-I mean the girls-against the clubs
any day, only give them fair play. The grea
god Pan is dead, but Eros is immortal. "Na.
turam expellas furca"-but rather let me trans
late freely, or my fairer readers land if they
once open this page they are sure to read it
will think there is something wicked under tn,
satire-"You may pitchfork poor Human ma
ture' out of three pair front, and it will creel
in again, wagging its tail, at the back door
Woman against the worldl Man is her willin
slave if she be true to herself But no sensibl
man of moderate means-no man who has I
work, and is willing to work, for his liveli
hood might, perhaps, say no sensible ma
in any position-picks his wife out of a ball
room or an opera-box, however much he ma
like to see her there. A true woman ha
much more chance-we all know it-of win
ming any love that is worth her winning, i
her own home, in her undress, in her littl
nameless everyday unstudied graces, sittin
on stile, lettering by brook, rafting in
railway carriage, or busy and unconscious alui
common household duties, than in what tL1
sex choose to consider the especial scenes
their .glories and their triumphs. I have rea
somewhere-or I have been told-that an,
woman, three removes from gorgon in per
sonal attractions, can make any man propos
to her it she has the chance of living in tn
same house with him for month. am in
clined, with some notifications, to believe it
humiliating as it may seem to US noble animals
Jack, to whom 1 quoted it, shook his hea,
with an air of superior cunning, but see il
him, at all events, a ready victim.
A real woman, with good figure and kline
heart, might hook him easily in fortnight
AT all events, there was much more chance o.
early marriages, and happy ones, too, wher
neighbors of that large class who have children
at their desire, but little substance to leav,
them, met as neighbors; when personal inter
course was more unrestrained; when lad coul,
grow up in intimacy with another, and learI
to call the girls by their Christian names, with
out any fear of being asked his intentions
when there were such things as fishing partis
and lounging in gardens, and country ride
and rambles on long summer mornings, an
family dinners, and round games on wint'
nights-not to speak Of extempore dances,
which no one minded going, and returnin
eight or ten miles, packing into any kind {
conveyance, six inside, or well wrapped NJ
three in gig-"the more the merrier."
GREcIAN GAMEs.-The Olympic games wi
be resumed in October of the present year, .