Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-03-19
The Poet PerciVaI's Opinion of
y sIoFIf-1 Women. as

81
Although in my former letter / shot a
TRADE against women, L am no misogynist;
on the contrary, l believe / have allowed
my imagination to center fondly on Them
19have tried to make of Them the sanctuna
SanctoTUDl of human nature, the angels
that watch around us, and now and then
open to us visions of something better than
earth can give us. I.recOllect when / was
mere child / was strangely electrified by
alittle black eye. After that, for years, /
knew absolutely nothing of them. 1 then
became the teacher of most amiable lady
for two years, and have only had glimpses
of their society since. 1 have seen them,
and like all distant objects, they have SEEM
ed more beautiful than the reality. The
indistinctness with which they have ap-
peared to me has left. ample room for nv
imagination to work in, and I have thrown
around them the greenest ones in the des-
ert we have to travel over. But when |
come nearer, l am constantly undeceived.
! find the sheets of water only Vapors end
the vfrdure nothing but bitter semi (uice
Bruce, w. Brown, etc. 60 too far.
Women have still much that is lovely
They are kept out of the most contaminated
moral atmosphere. They are less exposed
to eXcesses aud duplicity. They are obliged
to assume (at least) a higher decorum. aud
there is ever an advantage in mere assump-
ton. We are apt to become in reality what
we'pretend to be- They have naturally q
greater delicacy of constitution, greater
nervous susceptibility and tenderness of
feeling. As they -nlngle less in the hustle
of life, their sensiblities are less exposRd to
be blunted. and their care of infancy and
Childhood is a constant school of their
affections. Hence they are not as cold as
men. $50 .~s
With your permission, 1 will proceed
with this delicate subject. st. Pierre saws,
In his beautiful tale OF La Chaumiere In
pienue, that the best thing in the world is
good wife. l have heard different opin-
ions from married men. Some are not dis
posed to under-value matrimony. They
indeed speak of it as homely sort of hap
piness compared with the bright visions of
youth, but after all much better than sim
gle blessedness. [ have heard others sneer
at it and curse it. Either they or their
wives were in the wrong. l believe, after
all, st. Pierre was right, but the wife must
be good and the husband too. Now, to
speak seriously, it is time tor me to marry,
II ever do. L am approaching the critical
period when the world can call me ''old
bachelor" will make an effort to keep
that tide from me- / have never yet seri-
Ously set about it. and really / should make
but green work of it.
Men have different motives for marrying.
Some marry fortune, some housewife,
some a nurse, others family interest, 9TH
ers au imaginary mistress. For my part, L
VIII d HOL1du WlOul L Cdu IOfG Sill
cerely, if not enthusiastically, and in whom
l can nationally bespeak an intellectual
companion. L have been Influenced by
certain feelings on this subject, which, per-
haps, are not common. In nothing have l
SO much regretted my poverty and want of
energetic occupation as in this, that it pre-
vented me from giving an asylum to some
one who had no other claims upon me but
her merit and affection. once saw beau
tiful girl who seemed to me amiable and iu-
telligent from her physiognomy, but who
was in obvions risk OF a dangerous perVer-
sion. l tortured myself because l could
not gain such an influence over her as to
sway and form her mind and conduct, and
because could not give her those external
advantages which she had a right to de-
mand. Few would suppose me actuated
by such motives; most would imagine that,
like all the rest, L was only actuated by
feelings of selfish libertinism; but the days
of early youth are gone by, and possibly
shall be compelled to live and die single
Wards Life. 5st tieusaps.3 .a4