Smyrna times., 1869-09-22
KEEPING A sON-IN-LAw.

The noble ambition of the Girl of America
to go to Paris and marry viscount has been
celeDrated by many satirlst, and many poor
girl has mOurned in lifelong misery the silly
pride in which she sold herself for a worthless
title: We are not sure, however, that due re
gard has been given to the folly of the Ameri- |
can father and mother, who, being supposed by |
conventional fiction to have common sense
and natural feeling enough to save their ingen
uouS offspring from such particularly bad bar |
gains, are nevertheless apt to be little better !
than marriage brokers, when their eyes are
dazzled by the glitter of coronet, be it ever
so little one. 1t is so pleasant for Mrs. Nc |
Fllmsey to talk Of her sOn-in law, lie Vicomte
de Bouillabaisse, and her annual visit to Paris
to meet Flora surrounded by the very showiest
OF tlne people, and chattering in the most pi
quaint broken English or the most infrm
French--it is so grateful even to the less frivo-
lous father to be connected with fashionable
young gentleman, who can give him the entree
OF many mysterious doors which never open to
the ordinary stranger, and can send him now
and then across the ocean case or so of wine
mo better perhaps than he may buy of his
New I ork grocer, but good text for dinner
table illusions to intimate relations with the
Tuileries-that the interests of that poor fool
ish young girl are too apt to slip out of mind,
and her fate to be left in her own careless
keeping. If the husband prove spendthrift
and a roue, with no more heart than purse, it
is in most cases only the young wife who suf-
fers and sorrows, and bears the punishment
which strict human justice would rather have
laid upon the shoulders of the parents.
But now and then the older fools too are
scourged for their folly. There is case before
us now, which has just become notorious
l through suit in the civil court of Paris. NJ
de B, who, If not actually viScOunt, has
| Of least n prafty oud mama i
two years ago an American young lady and
her pleased papa promised verbally to give the
happy couple marriage por ion of $4,000
year. We don't know that NJ de B was
any wickeder than hundred other young men
of fashion. If he concealed some ugly debts
at the time of the marriage, and ran up Others
very lndustriOusly atterward. there is no evi
{ dence that he made Madame miserable, or was
anything worse than lazy and luxurious. A
daughter came of the union, and then thu
young wife died. Her parents refused to pay
! any longer for the gay de BIS pleasures
though they would gladly support the child
The widower was young, and father in-lav
could not see, for the life of him, whv h,
r should not 60 to work and earn living. Thi
p was American sense, but it seems not to hav
j been French law. A suit was brought to re
cover the full price of the matrimonial bargain
+ and the court arrived at these extraordinar
o conclusions: l. The plaintiff, NJ. de b
!. is without the means of existence. .. Hi
v mother is not in position to afford him tn
:. support to which his rank entities him. g.
" is therefore no more than proper that hi
q tather-inlaw, being well 10 do, should tax
!. care of him for the rest of his natural life I
: The defendant will accordingly pay NJ. de B.
:, an annual allowance of 5000 francs for himsel
n and $4,000 francs for his daughter. This, b
: it observed appears to have no reference
+ the portion promised at the marriage, but
:. awarded as ''alimony" 1t is an awful lessor
# and We hope Americans abroad may heed
~ ~ Y Tribune