The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1868-12-26
ARIsH ST. LANDRY, La, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 26 1868

lished the day he comes out, and certain
! lily there will be nothing in this absor
! bant system to interfere with his happi
ness. ~ l.<,s..,....- f. ttf ,sa 7
i BUTT issa mistake to suppose tina
MARRIAGES. necessity, except to a three
| volume novel / am certain that very
! large number Of people are not made fo1
| that species Of companionship.a Mind,
am not enamored Of Mormonism of spi
ritual wifery, nor have I the slightes
sympathy with jAgapemones, What ]
desire to insist on is, that our present
day civilization inculcates conjugalisn
too indiscriminately, and takes most un.
1justifable means to support its position
One of these, and the least commended
of all, is to disparage those who are call.
ed old maids. / have seen many timid
rider in bunting-feldje jeeved into riding
at fence that cost him "cropper =
and I am convinced that many women
are driven into marriage to, escape the
obloquy and sarcasm Of belonging to that
maligned category, >e-m. ..'.. ,,...,.. .
1t is no exaggeration to say "ma-
ligned. "iI would ask any one who has
seen much of life-ewhoz has, SO to say,
been a man of the world, watching its
ways and studying its dolings-I would
ask him, has he ever met IN any section
of humanity greater kindness, gentleness
and patience than among these same old
maids? Where has he found more hear
,ty, genial generous natures ? where sound
views of life 'disfgured by fewer prejudi-
ces2 where more thorough charity in dis
discussing tbs motives? :? where, in. one
word. less Of those very attributes by
which it has pleased the world to char.
acterize this classq 1t is no part of my
task to call witnesses to what say but
one l will cite, because she eminently re-
presented all that. I have Sc feebly at
tempted to picture and if her genius
might seem to outshine the lustre of her
personal qualities, it is only to those who
had not the happiness-and it was hap
,piness-of her intimacy. L am talking
Of Miss Edgewortt, and it is we'll worth
all the weight Of the yearsit' obliges to
have met and known her -
I will not affirm that marriage could
have spoiled such a nature, but I will
say it could not have bettered il. Nor
is Il a small part of the matter that at
eighty she was the guiding spirit, the,
delight and the charm OF that family
which derived glory from her name and
happiness from her presence,
Is it to class which Numbers Miss
Edgeworth and Miss Nightingale among
its members women need shame to be-
long - ...- -@.---. ~, -. .2-...s- -
,Ihaye. done. sdawillsonly add that, in
stead ofheapingridicule onthe condition
of married women, and, out Of sheer
derision, driving them to accept any
body, anything as husbands, let US ac-
cord them all the deference and regard
wo bestow ON others, and let us forget,
in the presence cf some "oid maid''
whose qualities of mind and nature have
charmed us and whose traces of beauty
are not few nor faint, that if we do not
deem matrtmony the great prise in life,
it is living shame to our sex that such
a woman should be single. | 4
If T have wandered from my text Iof|
Marriage On starvation allowance" it
is simply becauseI have not that over
weening impression of conjugalism that
I would recommend any one to face beg
gary to attain it any more than I would
advise a man to lay out his last, shilling
to buy, ticket in the lottery - [Corne-
lius O'Dowd IN iBlackwood's Magazine.