Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1866-01-12

81 Mrs. G. WAsHENGTcN WYLLYs.

6 Getting married $ lust like buying
ticket in a lottery ono prize to thousand
blanks" ..
So says the wiseacres that look upon our
sunshny world through green spectacles. -
But are they right? We say no. We do
not believe word about the thousand
blanks" It is just as right and natural for
young folks to think and talk about being
married as it is for birds to sing and flowers
to blossom. It has been " the fashion'' ev
CT since the pretty Rebekah astonished old
Bathucl by her brief wooing and winning, in
the dim twilight of the far-off Scliptural
DAYS, and Rachels love-story glilnnlering like
pearl Of romance through the dark thread
of Hebrew history. Don't be ashamed Of it
girls If you have won the heartof a strong
steadfsst man, you should rather glory Ill
your prize We have no patience with the
sickly scntimentalism of modern days that
considers courtship as something to be pros
ecuted in stealthy, undcrhand sort Of way,
and an engagement Of marriage as secret
that should be wrapped in ilnpcnetrable myS-
terry !" She is Engaged to b. married, but
she won't own It p How often we hear that
inscrutahIe sentence whispered from ear to-
ear! Well, why should not she own it -
If she loves a man well enough to trust her
whole future in his hands, she surely ought
not to shrink from confcssing it. Rebekah,
the Jewel of the Orient, had no such scru-f
pies on the subject And, moreover, were
we the g happy man, we should not regard
our true loyes's reticence on the subject as
particularly complimentary. II she were
ashamed Of us before marriage, where would
be our security that she would not be still
more ashamed afterward !? On the contrary,
we should wash urhands Of the whole, at
fair, and look out for some young lady who
would be frank enough to own the en-
gagenlent. al
Choosing a wife is no such puzzling enig
ma as It used to be, before the lights Of mod
ern science shone across this nineteeth centU-
~ Of ours. If you marry an angel, and
discover aftarward that she is something very
far removed from the supetnal, you. have en-
" yourself to thank forit. You might have
read the dormant existence of those very re-
pellant traits Of character that broke upon
you Ike thunderbolt in the conformation
Of the pretty head, the shape Of the polish
ed forehead, the curve of the stately neck
You might have seen the fash of temper i'll
her eyes, the acerbity Of her close lips, the
iron will Of the square chin. Nature in
scribes her character plainly enough in face
and brain and if you did not take the troub
lie to read the signs and tokens, why, you
have. only to make the best Of the bargain.
Nor do we believe in long courtships. Ja-
cob must have been q very remarkable indi
yidual not to have got heartily tired Of Miss
Rachel long before those fourteen years Of or
deal had transpired 4; and we have no proofs
that Rachel was not waning into confirmed
old maid while Jacob was earning her,
Don't wait to make your fortune, young low
er If you are not rich in money, you have
stores Of strength and youth and warm fresh
love; and with those gone, you would be
poor indeed, though you reyeled in the wealth
of John Jacob Agtor 4 man never falls III
love but once. lie has fancies, hkings,
friendships based on genuine esteem, but the
celestial fame comes once only in a lifetime.
Therefore, if you love a woman, aud she is
worthy Of your affection, marry her, and
your own strongright arm to bring the world
to recognize the wisdom Of your choice
AS for all the current nonsenseton the sub
iect of g selecting wife, y our shrewd opin-
ion is that it is only nonsense. Fancy q
Young gentleman pryng into his lnamorata s
house before breakfast to ascertain whether