The Ripley advertiser. [volume] (Ripley, Miss.) 1843-1897, 1860-02-22
Franklin's Birthday.
WOMAN AND MATRIMONY.

Anniversary, the 18th ult., at which
voIuminous, prosy, and sometimes
splendid sayings, indicative OF true
genius, were uttered. After the
solids were despatched" the fluids
were produced" before the toasts and
responsive speeches were made, to
wash down whole columns of dry
matter. The toast to woman, how
ever, called out an original genius,
and we gladly transfer extracts, to
show what Tennessee printer thinks
of woman and matrimony: I
"Mr f. 2. Wilson responded to
the following: .....F
THE LADIES'" First in peace, first
in war, and first in the hearts of their
countrymen." While they are queens
of the realm of affection, man is their
Minister of State and rules while he
obeys' l.#'#.a ....
"MR. PREslDENr AND GENTLEMEN -
1t has often been my province to SCI
spceohes-seldom to make set speech
es and 1 presume this is the reason
why the Committee on Toasts have
kindly assigned mo as a subject, 1.-The
ladies"---because they were aware it
would be a maiden effort. .
"The sentiment to which | am
called to respond is very appro-
pirate one for this occasion, inasmuch
as this is a Union festival for it has
been very ru,hlnlly remarked by
some one, that the ladies' 60 in for
| Union-tO a man.
" In responding in words, AS | most
cordially do in feeling, to the senll
ments just read, | labor under one
serious disadvantage and that is
am a bachelor, and am consequently
compelled TO speak of things which
have only seen through glass,
darkly.". But inasmuch as n sigh'less
poet has given a more glowing de-
scription OF the beauties Of Paradise
than anybard since has been able to do
with the benefit OF his eyes, perhaps
blind bachelor may be able to depict
more vividly the beauties of matr-
,nony than married man could with
his eyes open.
"If | may be allowed the express
. sion, think there is sort of " ire
pyessible conflict between matri-
mony and celibacy, and married peo-
pie seem to evince disposition to
drive bachelors to the wall 1t is NOT
the quarrels of married people that an
noy me-lhuy generally seem far too
loving; they assume so many content
6 ed airs, as though the acme of their
ambitions had been attained, and
they perk their happiness up into our
faces so necessarily that it is almost
unbearable. seldom 60 to places
of amusement without seeing young
Benedict, with his arm around his
fair companion, looking up into my
face with a kind of sinister expires
sion, which seems to say, Don't you
wish you could ?" ... ....
"I went to the theatre the other
, evening, as usual, unaccompamed.-
The play was tragic one. The
hero was about to die an ign0minlous
, but an unmerited death. Before as
cendng the scalIoId, he took a long
p farewell from his allianced bride--a
, lingering passionate embrace. The
auIience were movcu by the scene
and every married man sympaihet
, ical!y hugged his lady. Those unat.
tended BY the " dear ones. p" embraced
the nearest post. But my imaglna
ton was not sufficiently vivid ia
transform a cold iron post into a soil
velvet basque, beating and throbbine
with warm, vital, palpitating life
and SO | alone, desisted.
! 81 do not particularly object tc
hugging as an institution. Mr.. Presi
a dent, although you will doubtless
agree with me that it israther bear
/, Iisb amusement but } do object tt
: those public exhibitions Of matrimo
n nial felicity, which seem made afor thu
sole purpose Of tantslizing ,he les
. fortunate, shirt Luttonless portion o
| the community. '' ll+a71 i"t sad
f"There Is another practice Of mar
n ried people against which ! wish t.
E enter my earnest protest: they IN
8 sist upon treating us bachelors with
) kind Of patronizing compassionate
e spirit, as though they thought US yer!
d unfortunate fellows at best, and the.
h will almost laugh in our faces it w
3 venture to express an opinion abou
e anything in the remotest degree con
Q nected with matrmcny. Charlie
+ Lamb gives an illustration Of thi
d kind in one Of his essays. Convers
i ing with a very pretty young woman
: who had been two weeks married
I he says he ventured to express al
|. opinion as to the best method @
d breeding oysters for the London mar
y ket, when his fair companion turne'
j. up her pretty nose, and asked, wit
a sneer, what an old bachelor coul
pretend to know about breeding oys
ters ?" ~.
!. IA" 7 do not believe there was ever
ii country or even an age, when tr,'
q and noble woman was more hlgal
r appreciated than at the present INC
II ment in the United States Of Americs
IS 1t is true, as announced by the immp
II tai Burke, that the age OF ch'valr
,e has gone. Men no longer cloth
" themselves in mad, and 60 forth
e chant the praises Of their "ladies-love
r and to deal deadly blows to any or
II Ill, dAra hre afhe asneratiOns unn