St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-05-01

dividual acceptance. The right man
falls to the wrong woman, or the right
woman takes the wrong man. THIS
couple, SO jarring, so dissatisfied, that
pair. so distant, so unimpassioned,
would be new beings with new partners.
Had each husband chosen the wife OF
| the other, all four would he cOntented.
This man may be good. that woman
may be admirable: but thrust into the
improper matrimonial place, he is bad
for his wife, and she obnoxious to her
husband Patience before possession,
affection instead of passion, knowledge
tempering intensity, sympathy above
sense, are the preventiveso of inharmonl-
Gus wedlOck.
Harm results to woman. and, through
her. to the race. not by marriage, but
by her getting the wrong man for her
Il man of the wrong class or kind. That
she accepts iniudiciouSly is not ut all
surprising. Who tells her, 1T is far
better To stay single than to take huS-
band you do not love :" Marriage is
good or i'll, according to selection :" at
is not unalloyed happiness at best, but
it is absolute wretchcdneSs ut worst :
at is often blessing when it comes !;
it is ofteucr a curse if sought :" Never
look to il for material support; any
kind of horeSt labor is preferable to
such expectation p
On the contrary, the falsehood is
steadily reiterated. that Marriage is
the aim and end of woman'S existence :;
and this without qualification. She Is
forced to believe that it is woman'S duty
20 he II wife. somehow or some time.
unless She he hopeless invalid or an
incuIahle lunatic: that it is moIe de
sirah!c to he cnniugally miserable than
maidculv contcntcd. She is taught, in
terentially ut least. that she belongs in
some mysterious manner To mankind
that she is the property of the genera
tom that she Is Il portion of the census.
First and essentially, she belongs to
herself. IIcI individuality is more than
sovereign. it i sacred. She has an un-
conditional right To her own disposal.
When she gives herself. she does not
, surrender the liberty of reception. She
is Il child of heaven not less than Il
daughter of earth. If custom has made
her Il vaS>il of conventioralitN. nature
/. has made hcr beforehand an independ-
cnt. responsible woman.
Every husband. from the character of
the connection, is she keeper of his
/. witc'S happiness; and how many men
: are tit To hold Il trust 50 precious M
| man 50 uninIrlligcut aS not to I've aware
. of the immense advantage seconded
/ by nature. habit. law, and society he
I has over woman. He improves il usu-
= ally To the utmost: its inevitable ten
. dcucy i> I" render him Il tyrant and an
u eg"ti>t. Knowing that woman. through
+, false education. i> anxious To marry, h,
I imposes hard and unjust conditions at-
T. ten marriage. Albeit entirely equal
70 he Yields her Il fraction of her rights
! lccpiu. tin. rest to himself and wants
Ia he praised tur his generosity. II,
t even takes credit for the proper main
h tcnamcc "i his family. a. if to he Il buyer
t. of tood and raimcut gave him Il claim
/ tu admiration. 80 accustomed iS >h,
u to cNaction> and inp">itionS. that Sh,
>. i barely conscious of >uhircti"n t,
/ them. More than half the time he fail,
, to suspect his gross injustice t" her
| and When he does. he inagineS il necc>
= Sary to discipline. OF that woman enjoy
/ Il goodIN degree of oppression. If >h,
l would rnu>c herself and think as sh,
:. ha> began 10 Il" of what i Justly hcr
= desert. he would lower his crest Moth
u in. i - excellent for Il tyraut ;i> resist
- ;ucc: aud her gentle resistance wnul,
J. transform him to trucr manhood au,
t. higher hu>haud~hip. Her quiet Sclf
/. assertion. her eloquent plea tnr equity
T. within the domestic circle. would altrI
l. his view ~ much a> his conduct Igau
ii rance of what he owes her i the >ourc,
- of his uu,li>char@cd Indebtedness. II,
II l. iI>trr han he seems. and would re
|. veal his Justice If the need We're dem
= ou>trltcd. Marital culture i much rr
/. quiIcd. If lie could have wife less Ol
his terms. molc on hers. and have he
II only 80. he would hc ;ar other than h,
:. is Woman ha> already hcgUn To con
e >ult hcI own mind. to listen to her owl
j. voice the =, Nc~ uf usage aIc >lippin.
=. from her form. which. a> they slip. i
). rounded to trr>hcr loVclincSS. To h,
y the custodian of Il fellow creature : hap
e. pincs>. particularly when the creature
= Is Il WomalI. is an awful responsibility
= The custodian should give bonds t,
q humanity. in The form of devotion. gen
ii rro>itl. "cutlcnc>~, not To abuse hi
Il trust and he will ere long.
II The world moves rapidly. We ar
~ apply ing new tests, clcvating our stan
- daId. Quantity is less. and quality
more We alc developing the imdivid
II ual. and :" improving the race. T.
Is have offspring is rising from obligation
10 to privilege. We are spiritualizing tn
IL doctrines of Nalthus. We are concctl
n ING To the intuitinmS of woman, invaria
= bly, above and i'll advance of our lum
TT herring reason. Advanced couples hav
i fewer children than was their wont
Il, they prefer tincncSS to number; the
is think that two or three vigorous, bright
:, cheerful. self-puiScd. ovcrhalance six q
in eight who are puuy. dull, detected, un
n. steady. Bcnrvolcmcc is comminglin
e. with maternity. philanthropy wit
rs propagation. Parents are beginning t
is hold themselves accountable for thei
III progeny, instead of tlrusting their pei
+. Sonality upon Providence. All this
d the slow though steady triumph {
re woman, the gradual furtherancc of he
of cause. There is superabundant scop
of for continued progress but that theI
IS has been so much is IL cheering sign.
q, Not many men are adapted to pateI
ty NIFTY, while woman is innately motherl,
ld With the silent tuition they are rcceiv
n ing from her, their suitahleness wi
ot enhance. Her mental and spiritu;
ne growth is helping them; by it she
if transfusing herself so as to create syn
IL pathy: they are learning to feel for an
ne with her. She is unfolding herself
~ divers ways. They frequently fail t
he perceive 1t until loves apocalypse
nd written in flash. They have abOd
e, with her i'll mood so unappreciatiy
that, looking ito her weary eyes, sl
IS sees the tenderness so long delayed, an