The Republican journal., 1871-04-27

taken to purses? Is good, old-fashioned,
honest counting 4 thing of the past, in
which all the lross of self was melted and
burned away in the cruciblc of love? Is
| there no more to be seen
Loves miracle,
The giving that is Saining:'
These are serious questions. They
touch the source from which spring the
beauty and poetry Of life, that relieve its
dark pages of toll and anxiety and trouble
They so deeper, and affect the well being
of society no less than the prosperity OF
the state. If breach Of promise suits are
to be the penalty OF rcfusals to stand and
deliver the heart at demand cold calcu-
lating and mcrcenary motives will bcgct
the like; suspicion will plant suspicion; ;
plot will be met by plot. Out OF these
all will come abundant crops of old
bachelors, and torlorn maidens And, to
be practical, the next census Of Maine
will show a greater falling off than the
last one.
While no right minded person viii
hold that the base and wanton trillcr with
4 woman's affections and reputation,
should not be severely punished, care
should be taken that the case under con-
sideration in each instance is genuine,
and not mcrccnaly trading upon spuri-
Gus suffering. And more than ordinary
caution is needed where u powerful advo-
cate makes such eases his specially. The
tongue of cloqucnce and the power of
beauty in tears, are often too much for
erring reason and waTering judgement.
Young men will soon BEGIN to asl.
whether there arc not two sides to this
matter. Whether matrimonial engage
mcnts are fast on one side and loose on
the other. Are practiscd coquettcs,
dangerous in bright eyes, round checks,
dimplcs and smiles, to bring men to their
feet, hold them by cnchantment, and
dismiss them impcriously for higher or
richer suitOrs, and never be called before
dollars and cents for the damages? Why
should not John be placed to best advan-
tagc before 4 jury, with his good clothes
on, his boots BACKED and his hair parted
in the middle, and relate that once, while
he was hoeing potatoes in the south lot.
Mary Jane came to his side, tenderly
stole her arm around his waist, called
him Il darling, and asked it he would be
hers. Why shouldn't John be affected to
tears, and wipe his eyes before the jury?
Should such an experiment be vcntured
upon, court, jury, spectators and the
general public, would be convulscd with
laughter And yet bronzed and bearded
men have gone through life, covering,
like the Spartan boy, the arrow with their
cloaks. Wandering ships in far seas, the
arenas Of the world, and the savage
Wilderness, have known men carving in
their hearts the sepulchrc of dead and
buried hopes, ruthlessly murdered by fair
hands. And up from the turf of battle
fields have looked manly eyes from which
the tender grace of a day that is dead had
never departed.
Without preslrming TO censurc the re-
cent verdict, for the trial was undeniably
u fair and open one, it is still held by
many thinking persons that suits of this
kind do harm to the community, and but
little good to the plaintiffs. Courtship
and marriage will not be abolished there
by, for those institutions lie too deep in
the needs Of human nature to perish from
such causes. But there is thrown over
the beautiful and holy manifestations of
love the sinister garb Of legal cunning
and the faint Of avaricc