Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1862-03-12
Selerted sflis,elllnp.
Talk About Marriage
By T. 5. AETHCG.

ACOdi 1sioiiid5S
By T 5. AETHCE
Two maidens in youthful bloom and
beauty, sat earnestly talking Their
thoughts were reaching away into the fu-
ture their theme was marriage
Il like him we'll enough, sand one of
them, but
She paused the objection unspoken
What is the impediment Alice"
His income is too small
what Is II
Eight hundred wear
You can live on that
Live Bail What kind of n living p
Not in princely style, will admit"
Nor scarcely in plebi Fanny Eight
hundred dollars Why father pays six
hundred n year rent and | am sure our
style of living Is plain enough Eight
hundred! Oh, no, like Harry better
than any Young man | have met ! love
hinI. no loudt But he can't support
wife in anv decent kind of q stvle
Did your father and moth begin
their married Ii ie on a larger income than
Harry Pleasant now receives? Mine did
not; rs 1 have often heard them relate
Father and mother Oh according 10
their story Joh famous turkey was
ginning Mother done all her own work
even to the washing and ironing. believe
Fathers income was not over three hun
dred dollars year
And they were happy together, L am
sure
No doubt in fact I've heard mother cay
that the first hard struggling years Of their
life were among the happicst she has
known But that dosen signify for me
Thatis no reason why her daughter should
elect 20 - into the kitchen, and spend
her years in waShinr, ironing and COOK
IN If a man ism able to support wife
centeelv, and in the style to which she
h: : been accustomed. let him marry some
Irish cook, sewing Girl or washer-woman,
who viii manage his household with nee
dv cconomv. 1oun- men y no can [ earn
more than eight hundred Or a thousand
dollars year should not look into our cir
cles for wives"
Il don't like TO hear vou talk IN this
way Alice, said her companion We
are not sup rior beings, but only the equals
Of the men
Did / say we were superior ??
"One might infer FROM your language
that you thought 50
4 don't see how the Inference can fair
" be drawn
"Oar circle FOR wives, you said just
now n
Yes
what do YOU mean by it?"
~ circle of intelligence. refinement,
taste cultivation, replied Alice
e on don't saw wealth
No. Ny father. though living in good
style. is not ri,n I have heard him say
more than once that we were living up to
his income
Then we have our own sweet selves
with which 10 cndow our husbands No
houses or lands 10 stock from which to
draw income; nothing substantial
on watch to claim the right Of being
supported in costly idleness. We must
bc rich indeed as 70 personal attractions
We are educated and accomplished,
and
Alice was not little bewildered in
thought and did not finish the sentence.
Not better educated and accomplished
as girls. than are most Of our Young men.
who. rs clerks, earn only seven hundred to
one thousand do lars year Ia this re
gard we are simply their equals But it
strikes me that in another view of the
case, we cannot cialm even an equality
They are our sIperiors
>0t bv any means, replied Alice.
We shall see. Here is Harry Pleasant
for instance What Is Ills income |
think you mentioned the sum just now.
Eight hundred dollars a year.
hat l. the interest on-how much ?
Let me sce-about twelve thousand dol
lar
How YOU talk Fanny
TO the point, dont1? If we are not
superior 70 the young men who visit Us.
superior Sim3' in virtue of our sex. then
our claim IL lie handsomely supported in
idle ~elt-iudulgcnce must lie in the fact
that We eHdow our husbands with sufi-
cient worldly goods to warrant the condi-
ton
You are ingenious
10. certainly a matter Of fact What
have You e say against my position, Al
ice Arc we better than young men Of
equal intelligence and education
No, [ cannot say that we are
Il We marry we must look upon these
for husbands Rich men as general
thiu- select their wives from rich mems
daughters. Our chances in that direction
are not very encouraging our father
has no dowerv for his child; nor has mine
Their families are large and expensive.
anu ! tAttie % it'Ntittt ti bic SsiA AllSeiiiS
Is left At the years close The best they
can do for Us Is to give homes and feel
that Il is not much to our credit that We
are content to lean on our fathers. already
stopping under the burden of years. care
and toll. instead Of supporting ourselves
The thought has troubled me Of late
4 sober hue came over the face of Al
ice. and she sat looking into the eyes OF
her friend She did NOT reply, and Fanny
went on