Smyrna times., 1873-12-24
Why Marriages Decrease.
What a Magazine Writer has to Say About II.

The falling off in marriages is found in the
centres of population, where the needs of life
press hard. The old fashioned dsinterested-
ness has OF late years been losing ground in
these places. Thirty or forty years ago it was
plain sailing; gibbons hat and the opera
were unknowni oil worked for living, and
none were rich as compared with those of to-
day. 1t has become evident that in cities Hy-
men IS losing his power; yet the goddess who
came out OF the sea foam continues to exercise
her wOnted charms over men, though they re-
fuse to follow Hymen.
There is hide-and-se seek process on the part
OF man to avoid supporting the women, which
would be to the last degree uDgenerous if it
were not in some measure compulsory. Faith.
ers endeavor to dispose of their daughters to
those who stand upon conditions, and each
tries to shirk the expense of keeping them
I This applies, of course. only to those who are
educated IN idleness and have extravagant hab-
Its and nOtiOns.) Thus regarded, the woman
becomes possible incumbrance to the marry.
ing man. and almost parasite in her own
family. greater number Of those who live
in luxury in the metropolis, make both ends
meet with difficulty. The head of the family
is stretched on financial wheel; it never cea
ses to turn every day in the year. He is pres
SO for what he considers the necessaries of
life, and spends twenty thOussad dollars a
year.
The capital of this man who spends twenty
thousand dollars year, at legal interest, would
not perhaps yield him a third of what he ex-
pends; thus he is compelled to work hard for
his living. and without relaxation. He is not
in position to help any one but himself how
ever willing he may be to do so.
The young man making his way thro' an
ocean of difficulties, and carrying heavy ballast
in the shape of clubs and social dissipation.
may like the daughter of the poor, rich father !;
but he has not the audacity, even if she were
willing to make the sacrifice, to take her out of
handsome nest to an inferior one. In resist
ing the matrimonial temptation he has some
thing to say for himself His know ledge of
life tells him that there are scarcely any hours
of happiness which are compensation for the
rasping, wearing, daily want of means to pro-
vide for everyday necessaries and comforts
and that it is not long before domestic peace
gives way under this terrible pressure. 1t is
human, too, for the woman in ungarded mo.
ments to make comparisons between her mar
ried and single lite, on which regrets and re-
proaches are implied if not spoken When
matters reach this point, itisthe coup de grace,
and domestic felicity is at an end.
An adviser may say to this young man, if he
wants to marry, the poor, rich girl, Go
" cSli UuG JhlS 10 COuliSel he cannot IOiIOW.
His lot is cast here. and through industry he
has reasonable expectations of ultimately ac-
quiring a modest competency. 1t would be
foolish for him to give up the bird in hand for
the two out West in the bush, to say nothing
of his likinRs, which, ten to one, favor his pres.
ent surroundings. Here the field of labor is
plainly indicated and he is already in the har.
ness. His future being here he must submit
to the conditions of life around him and acce pt
civilization as he finds it. Thus reasoning, he
turns away from the poor, rich mans sump.
tuous dwelling with sigh he may not pluck
the coveted flower Aud if the expected bride.
groom in purple and fine linen, from Lydian
shores fail to come, the daughter falls heir to a
life of celibacy. If the father has several such
who wait in vain, his house, according to the
Dutch proverb, becomes like cellar tull of
sour beer.
There are three issues out of the difficulties
which involve marriage iD the cities-a simpler
mode of life; the independence which the wo-
man may acquire in sslfsupport; the dowry,
which concerns rather the parents than the
woman herself