Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1862-11-21
Female Society-the Woman for o
- :. =. =. Wlfe. -

Female societx-the Woman for q
anraa Wife. as J.
womanl lovely womanl Nature made thee
To temper man; We had been brutes with
, out you.
Angels are painted fair to look like you.
-OrwAY.
When said would die bachelor did
not think l should live till were married.
e7 e. -SHAKsPsARs.
In MANY Of the books addressed to young1
men, . great deal Is said about the purifying |
and elevating influence of female society.
Sentimental young men affect this kind OF
reading, and if anywhere in it they can find
for the policy Of early marriage, |
they are delighted. Now, while will be the
last to deny the purifying and elevating infiu- |
ence of pure and elevated woman, / do deny |
that there is anything in indiscriminate devo. |
ton to female society, which makes man |
better and purer. Suppose . man Is cast
sway ON the Cannibal Islands, and not in
sufficiently good flesh to excite the appet!tes
Of the gentle epicures among whom he has
fallen. Suppose him in fact to be "re ceived
into society,"" and made the private secretary
Of q king without liberal education. Sup
nose after a while, hc feels himself subsiding
into a state of barbarism, and casts around
for some redeeming or conservative influence.
At this moment it occurs to him that in his
trunk on which he sailed ashore were andm'
Der of books. He flies to the trunk, and IN an
ecstacy of delight, discovers that among them
is volume addressed to young men, lie
opens it eagerly, and finds the writer to
declare that next to Christian religion nougnt
will tend so much to the elevation and purlh-
cation of young men, as female society lie
accordingly seeks the society OF women, ana
drinks in tho marvellous influence OF their
presence. he finds them unacquainted with
some of the most grateful uses OF water: and
in evident ignorance of the existence OF ivory
combs. About what year of the popular era
is it t, be supposed that he will arrive at
state of publication and perfection?
Now, perhaps you do not see the force OF
this illustration. Let US get att then. When
YOU find yourself shut out from all female
society, except that which is beneath you,
that society will do you just as much and
no more good than that of the fair cannibals,
especially if it be young. If, in all this so.
ciety, you can find one old woman Of sixty,
who has common sense, genial good nature,
experience, some reading, and q Sympathetic
heart, cherish her as you would her weight
in gold, but let the young trash 60. You will
hear nothing from them but gossip and nom
sense. and you will only get disguised with
the world and yourself Inspiration to high
er and purer life, always comes from higher
than man; and female society can only pun
fy a man when it is higher and purer than
he il. In the element of purity, doubt not
that women generally are superior to men but
| it is very largely q MIGHT'VE or unconscious
element, and has not the power and influence
of positive virtue.
Therefore, whenever you seek for female
society as an agency in the elevation OF your
tastes, the preservation Of your morals, and
the improvement of your mind, seek for that
which is above you. do not counsel you to
treat with ru leness or neglect, such inferior
society as you are obliged to come in contact
with. On the contrary, we owe such society
a duty. You should stimulate it, infuse into
it. if possible, and do for 1t what you would
have female society do for you.
This matter of seeking society above your
self. YOU should carry still further. Never
content yourself with the idea of having q
commonplace wife. You want one who will
stimulate you, keep you moving, show you
YOUR weak points, and make something OF
YOU. Don't fear that you can getsuch wife.
very well remember the reply which a
gentleman who happened to combine the quail
tiles of wit and common sense, made to
Young man who expressed fear that GER
tain young lady of great beauty and attain
ments. would dismiss him if he became seri-
GUS. EI
.'My friend" said the wit, infinitely more
beautiful and accomplished women than shs
is, have married infinitely uglier and meaner
men than yeu are" And such is the fact.
Ifyou are honest and honorable, if your char.
acter is spotless, if you are enterprising and
ind ustrious, if you have some grace and a
fair degree of sense, and if you love appreci-
atingly and truly, you can marry almost any
body worth J our having. So, to encourage
yourself, carry in your own mind the above
aphorism, reduced to form something like
the following: Infinitely finer women than
ever expect to marry, have loved and married
men infinitely meaner than anu"
The apprehensions of women are finer and
quicker than those of men. With equal ad-
yantages, the woman is more of a woman at
eighteen, than man is at twenty-one. After
marriage, as general thing, the woman ceases
to acquire. Now, I do not say that this is
necessary, or that it should be the case, but
l simply state it as general fact. The wo-
man is absorbed in family cares, or perhaps
devotes from ten to twenty years to the bearing
and rearing of children-the most dignitied,
delightful aud honorable Office of her life.
This consumes her time, and in multitude of
cases, deprives her Of intellectual culture.
| In the meantime, the man is out, engaged
in business. He comes in daily contact with
minds stronger and sharper than his own. He
grows and natures in the ten years from the
date of his marriage, and becomes, in reality,
la new man. Now, if he was so foolish as to
marry woman because she has very pretty
form or face, or sparkling eyes, or an amiable
disposition, or p easant temper, or wealth, he
will find that he has passed entirely by his
wife, and that really she is no more CT com
panion than child would be. l know of but
few sadder sights in this world than that of
mates whom the passag Of years have mis-
mated. ssa -ia
A woman ought to have long start of a
man, and then, ten to one, the man comes out
ahead in the race Of long life. .,4.a.
suppose that in every young mans mind,
there exists the hope and expectation of mar
riagc. When young man pretends to me
that be has no wish to marry, always infer
one Ct two things-that be lies, and is really
very anxious for marriage, or that his heart
has been polluted by association with unwor-
thy women In q thousand cases, we shall
not find three exceptions to this rule. A
young man who, with any degree Of earnest
ness, declares he never intends to marry, con-
fesses to brutal nature, or to perverted NOR
ais. "a q; .s..gs fa.
But how shall a good wife be avon? know
that men naturally shrink from the attempt to
obtain companions who are their superiors,
but they. viii find that really intelligent wo-
men, who possess the most desirable qualities,