Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1865-11-08


:. :. --.-.-:.ssz...s.az...sa =. =.
: tempt to ensnars himin her libidinods tolls
: Asa result the marriage contract was broken
n And now this almost broken-hearted youhl
: lady is forced upon the stage as witness
against her wrstehed mother. While tear
stream down her cheeks she Is compelled t.
testify to scenes that. would make ParisiaI
loretls blush for shame, or excite the indigna-
ton of Mercer street Her evidence, of its,
ell, seems sufficient to eondemn the defend
ant as lacking in every principle of honor and
dseeney which snnobles and dignifes wo-
man. zsa.s e.r o-.-- -'l Ai
But this is not oil. The testimony reveal,
something more It lifts the curtain, and un-
| folds some Of the mysteries Of high lils''
at Boston, at Newport, at Nahant. It shows
| the cOneomitants of late wine suppers, and
after-rnidnight dinners, and surf festivities.-
1t pictures to US young women, moving in
the best cireIes-"the cream Of the cream
slouching, in an state of helpless drunken-
ness, into the arms Of tobaces-smoking, biIli-
ard-playing raEes, and swearing great round
Oaths, like hshwomen of Billigsgate. It pre-
sents US the fact that female viper, though
known by all who knew her at all, to be a
vile woman, was admitted into the "best
company" that fathers and mothers gladly
welcomed her as the associate Of their liaaqh-
tiers, because she belonged to oths aristoefaey
of money; because ashe wore rich dresses,
and displayed expensiEely jewelry; because
she lived in palatiaI mansion. with It's qblue
room and its Hcrimson roou,n its Wilton
carpets and its GObelin tapestry. In short it
proves what a very slight golden barrier sep
arates the debasiug voices Of the rich from
the degrading vices Of the poor. fe
Possibly this is q simple case. The tends
ency Of the age and country is to Ioosenessa
in thought aud habit, prOfniseuousness. Of in
tstcourse, 7ilgarity Of eonddct--to extrava-
gaut display and morbid, yeIlow-cOyered
senimentality, The aastere virtues are GO
ing. ont Of fashion. 4 man is rather voted
an OLD fogy who treats his wife as if he loved
her supremacy, above all Others and wo-
man is pronounced a prude Who viii not con-
sent to farniiiarities on part OF acquaintance
that should be permitted to none but huse
bands. Conduet hardly ezeites passing re-
mark now, which, in the times, of our grand
mothers, would have been ssll sufficient
groupd for social exclusion. Women travel
with 9 gentlemen. escorts, attend balls and
concer,s with gentlemen ciceroues,O take
long carriage drives with gentlemen attend
ants" throw their boudoirs open to gentle
men friends and write letters fun OF grlst-
ing sympathy to gentlemen ccrrsspondents.a
The result is, that every now and then hus-
baud awakes to the consciousness that his
wife has forgotten her duties to. hina-if, in
deed, she does not disremember his existence
--and then some Mrs. Harris is ground. to
powder between the upper and neither will
stones of righteous indignation.
If there is any truth in evidence, this Con
necticut woman deserves the fate which is
probably in reserve for her, She will loose
a kind and over-induIgent husband. She will |
be ,'riven out from the beautiful home which |
she made the theater Of her Illicit loves. She |
will be separated from the society in which I
for years she has been accustomed to move,
enjoying the best luzuries Of wealth and op-
sition. With . brand upon her forehead,
with the curse of public opinion following |
her, she has one alternative-the seelusion /
of retired life and the peuanee of austerity, !
or descent step by step to deeper infamy
and more utter degradation, until she reaches
the end, where SO many Ike her have pre-
eeded. Society every once in a while arOus-
es from its moral slumber demands and cru
ei6ss victim, and then goes to asleep again.
In this case, Mrs. Harris is the prsdestlned
sacrifice. l
But is the woman now so much worse than |
she was while pursuing. her career. Of crime
holding leyees at her mansion, fitting
through the SALOONS st Newport luxuriating
in the smiles of nabObocrsey which knew
all shout her weakness and her sin2 Is It /
not the great and crowuipg reason which de-
mands her punishment, that she has been
found out has been exposed in Court and
to the public; that she was not skillful
enough to disguise her intrig4es2 If her.in-
fidelity had been nothing more than current
chamber gossip, would she have been other
wise than popular and favored7
The real fault is IN the system of society
which makes it possible for such women to
exist in respectable circles; which is blind
md Indifferent to the consequences Of acts
that tend logically and inevitably to precisely |
such results. This social world will ron on
,fter this New Haven trial is finished and
every little while its revolutions will bring it
% the point of conjunction with some other
Mrs. Harris. The evil is general, not local;
md it will be cured, not by Connecticut
rerdiet of divorce, but by national rsforma-
ion I
Would that some American Dupin might !
,ome forth, and, with eloquent voice, arouse
he people to conception Of the imperious
iced of this REFORM AZbany EVsaing Jaurnah
The Price of Living. Ii
....... I