The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1867-07-19
Why Young Men do not Marry

Rev. Robert Collyer, the eloquent
Unitarian clergyman, recently preach
ed sermon in Chicago on "Our Daily
Bread, in the course of which he dis
cussed social questions, and explained
why young men do mol marry:
"When one said lately in the pres
enco of a frank, outspoken young wo-
man in this city, that the reason why
young men did not marry was that
their wives would not be content to
begin to live in homely fashion, after
they had been raised in luxury, she
replied The woman is quite as will
ing as the man to do that and | know
of no woman in the circle of my &C
quaintance who would not be content.
for the sake of the man she loved, to
cast her lot with him and make his in
terest IN every way her own l be-
lieve the young woman spoke the truth.
When | hear a man living in chambers
and constant in his attendance at play
and opera say 4 dare not marry, be-
cause / know no woman would be con-
tent to live as one should have to live.
| say to myself, it may be true, but it
looks very much like old Adam, who
ate the apple and then turned around
and laid the balme on the woman.
Let this be as it will Here is the dis
NAL fact staring us everywhere in the
face, and in no place more painfully
than IN our own city, that for social,
conventional, or still worse reasons,
the best youth of the country is held
back from its most sacred duty as well
as It's most perfect felicity-fails into
that sad mistake of a long engagement,
IN which the pain and disappointment
bear hardest always on the woman; or
the young man shuts his eyes and his
heart when the spirit walking among
the golden lamps whispers to him of
some maiden, That is thy wife and
says, No, not yet for many a year to
come-and SO marries at last way on
IN life, when both lives have become
set in their own fashion, and their love
is hardly long enough to give them
the kindly mutual forbearance toward
what is dissimilar in character and dis
position, until they can become
'Self-reyerent and reverencing each
Alike in Indiydualtica
and SO the best Of the days Of the best
OF our youth go by, and find i dare
not wait upon i would.
In the name of all that is sacred, l
ask why this is, and get for 10y answer,
we cannot afford it, The young far
mer can afford it on the prairies; the
miner on Superior; the woodman on
the peninsula; the carpenter at his
bench; the smith at his anvil; the
operative at his frame or loom; the
longshoreman and the sailor.
That cluster of men down there in
Pennsylvania, and those in Yorkshire
whose mere young men were with me
long years ago, lost no time and asked
few questions, because some right in
stinct told them they must do that or
worse worse in any way and every
way they could look AT it; and SO | can
remember, as if it were yesterday, how
speedily these found the wife and went
to housekeeping in one room or two,
as they could manage it, and made the
hammer ring with n new music, and
gradually got their house and house
hold goods, and the world has never
failed them, no, not for day: but
through dark future and bright, and
sickness and strength, they have found
the deepest experiences of their life
each with the other, the Great Heart
and Interpreter so together on his pill
grmage, and now they see their chill
dren coming up to manhood and wo-
manhood about them, with the fresh
ness of their own youth in their hearts.
and know, though probably they can
not tell, the deep content of life or
dered after the fashion God gave them
when he created them man and wo-
man.
But here are men with noble pow
ers, with faculties that will insure them
a greater place, living III the most
plentiful land on the globe, evening
themselves through the years of their
youth with that poor lost tribe of bal
let-singers, the loneliest of all those to
whom God has given a chance, and
when you get at their real reason, it is
either one or the other of these. They
cannot believe what, if they have lived
in the country, they have seen twenty
times, to be true of the birds that sing
about us everywhere; that new exigen-
cies tap new energies, and the little
fellow who, a few weeks ago, had quite
enough to do to take care of himself.
is now caring for nest full Just as
successfully.
They do not believe that the Maker
who has made their life of itself II
natural prayer for daily bread, has
provided that the answer shall be
equal to the cry, or when they pray
they mean by daily bread board for
two at the sherman, the privilege to
attend parties three times a week
throughout the whole winter, to take
a trip to Saratoga in summer, and
miss no chance at any other pleasure
however expensive, Let it be that or
a shred of that which makes this fatal
falling in the flower of the youth of
America the men from Harvard and
Yale and all Of their fine quality and