North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1868-02-12

The word is sickening one. It implies

and the acreage is not excessively res
pectable. Our exchanges each week, and
each day particularly the Chicago ones of
the latter kindl contain accounts horrid
enough to keep nervous men and women
awake at nights lest some awful catastro-
phe may befal themselves or some mem
Der of their families. Murders, Rapes,
Divorces, Suicides, Robberies, Forgeries
and Elopements, dance through the paths
ofsocial and dis-social life in all the mazes
Of pitiable confusion. 1t would seem that
one in FIVE, if not onsi three Of the marri-
ed people throughout the country, are tir-
Cd of both; they take various meth
DDS Of Kidding themselves o. (assumed)
disagreeable partners, and in some cases,
ono or the other of the legally-restrained
parties put themselves out of the way en-
tirelyl Laziness and Drunkenness are the
keys to large portion of the vices we
have named, but the domestic errors into
which people fall are not always, nor even
generally attributable to idleness or the
cup. We heard drinking man say, eff
lightning kills fellow in these times,
whiskey would be charged with it ~ True
enough, but the breakup of family ties
may have another and a less visible orr
gin. Secrecy, industry, cunning heads
and base hearts are the engineering appli-
ances which move weakness to plunge to-
ward that vortex'of domestic disunion into
which 50 many have gone, only to reach a
point low enough for lifetime of repent
ance and despair.
Wives get tired of their husbands, end
run away with some specimen Of mascu-
line perfection, finding at late day that
they did not get the right one the first
time. The only reason we can give for
this is the one advanced by Lola Montez,
:" that rariety is something greatly to be
desired in the marriage relation as we'll as
in other things" Married men are run
ming of, too, with young girls no older
than their own daughters perhaps, and we
suppose they like variety too.
Perhaps it would be benefit to some
if the same practice prevailed among the
whites as with the Indians, viz: Marrying
for certain number Of moons, then the
disgrace attending an elopement would be
obviatcd. Who will start the fashion p
I'VE are prepared for almost anything in
the shape of new practices and new rela-
tions between men and women, since
Woman's Rights" ere SO ably advocated,
and we would not be surprised next at
hearing that some strong-minded woman
Of the age had come to the conclusion that
she would do something rey desperate
go through some performance calculated
to raise the dear creatures who claim to
have been so long " crushed" beneath the
weight of "man's relentless despotisn.'
We saw ono Of these pitiable e,rantes
"a long time ago--and thought there was
no danger of her being very badly "crush-
ed" as she appeared able to take care of
herself. With short hair, short dress, cloth
pantaloons and mems boots she looked
like some "swamp angel" in disguise, and
about as likely to awaken tender feelings
in mans heart as she-bear. Such a
sight would be good for the deliriun, tre-
mems man would forget all the snakes
and devils, big and little, while contem-
plating the heavenly expression Of her
vinegry countenance She was follower
Of Lucy Stone and others, and although
rather more repulsive in appearance than
some of her leaders, yet the same doctrines
were advanced by her as by them, and she
is always associated in our mind with the
subject of Woman's Rights.
Is the world receding to the barbarism
and proaigacy Of the Middle Ages, when
ambitious knights robbed rival castles of
wives and daughters to eyince their Prov
css and to crafty enforced lusts?
In thinking about such bad folks, we
recall passage or two of Shakespeare
which applies to the modern affinity
conscience-iustifers of the wholesale legal
or actual separations whose announcement
goes SO far to make sensational papers
readable.
After "blutf old Harry" "the wife-kil-
ler," the cruelest beast that ever disgraced
tho English Throne, had seen Anne Rul-
len, one of the Queens Ladies of Homer,
he decided to divorce his old queen and to
marry Anne. He rested his demand for
divorce on the ground that Queen Kath-
arine 1.-THE old one) was widow of his
brother, and hence their marriage could
not be legal. After the divorce took
place, some gentlemen were conyersing in
the street about it. One says: "What is
the cause of this ?" The second replied
:" The marriage with his brothers wife
hath crept too near the King conscience. y
A third gentleman dryly observed, +" Per.
haps the conscience of the King hath crept
too near another lady p We guess the
secret of most male and female dissatisfac
tion cases, resulting in estrangement
elopement, divorces, &c., is explained sub
stantially in the remark Of the third gentle
man. A remedy might be suggested fol
this social disease, but as many of the cir
tuors take great interest and pleasure il
reading papers specially devoted to cook
Ing up all cases Of matrimonial dereliction
we had as well leave the public to its vices
save our prescription, and let the world
roll on.
Gen. Grant.