Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-31
A GERMAN IDEA.
MatrimOny by Advertisement at
Berlin.
Pan Nan GaEette.

. Pail Mall Gazette.
An unreasonable French author, NJ.
Edgar Bourloton, writing after the recent
war, paints highly sentimental picture Of
the DEVELOPMENT of the tender passion
among the youths ard maldens of the
Fatherland; pretending, among other
things, thai "a grave and well considered
affection, rather than sordid calculations of
interest, or that blind exaltation commonly
termed love, " is the moving principle in the
majority of marriages contracted between
them. Eat the age when the heart expands
he goes on to say, "the young man selects
an 0nsiS in the circle of his acquaintance
and under the eyes Of his family. The
sentiment of love thus becomes fixed at
the very moment il is awakened, and the
still flexible characters of the youthful
couple harmonic in pleasant Intimacy,
while they at the same time learn TO know
each other. When The legal age arrives at
which marriage is possible, they ex-
change the betrothal ring, which symbol
ICES solemn covenant, and embelishes the
future with tender expectations, the real
zation-of which is the best and worthiest
encouragement to young man TO conduct
himself well on his entrance into life.
With many Il is in the tender security of
1
a moment, the illusion of a day, that the
dream of their youth passes by; the hope of
their life smoothing down the difficulties
attending all first efforts, and preserving
from the wanderings of inexperience a
heart which is already satisfied
All this is very pretty, but if these idylic
unions are frequent in the purely rural dis
tricts, they are certainly not too common
1 in the larger towns, where life is for the
most part of the hard mattei-of-fact rather
than of the poetic type. The average
| young Berliner, instead of calmly selecting
his betrothed under the parental eye, as a
rule begins by losing his heart to his BASH
ful partner of the dancing-elass, only TO be-
| come fascinated by a succession of blonde
bellies encountered at various places of
amusement, or possibly discovered feasting
of pastry at some well-frequented condi-
tOreieT. Advertisements similar to the
following from the V0SSische Zestlmg are
very much the rule in the popular Berlin
newspapers:
"The Two elegant young ladies who were
passed in their own carriage at eight o'clock
on Sunday evening, near Charlottenberg,
by young man in gray, who smiled to
them, are begged to enter into private COM
municatlon with them. Address, etc.
The next is Of an equally common type:
"The blonde with the eyeglass, who
af5er waiting in vain last Sunday afternoon
in the Cafe Bellevue with her mamma for
her papa's arrival, went in the direction of
the LeipzigerstraSse, and disappeared from |
my sight in a droschky at the corner of the |
Wilhelmstrasse, is, with the most honora- |
bic intentions, requested by the gentleman |
who sat at the same table to afford him an |
other opportunity for a meeting by address
ing line, ETC."
In Paris, where well brOught-up young |
people of both sexes are carefully restricted |
In their Intercourse with each other, many
parents even have recourse to marriage
agencies to secure alliances for their Sons
aud daughters. One Of the best known
among them, the MaTson Foy, is continU-
ally parading in the Paris newspapers
the many thousands Of advantageous, if not
happy unions which il has arranged. In
addition to these purely business agencies
there are few middle-claSs families which
cannot count upon the services of one or
more matchmaking friends.
In Berlin, where there is no such restrie-
ton of intercourse as in Paris, and conse-
quenlly no need for matrimonial agencies,
it is becoming very much the fashion for
both sexes to resort to the advertising col
umns of the popular newspapers tn secure
partner for life. One firm of advertising
agents alone prints upward of thousand
OF these announcements annually; and all
classes appear to avail themselves of this
mode Of securing connubial bliss, includ-
ing officials of noble birth; officers in
the army and in retreat, with non-cOm-
batants, whose exemption from militia
~ service is mentioned as a recommenda-
IT, 90
embrace some opportunity of engaging in a |
magnificent enterprise with their future
wife's fortune, which it is, of course, essen
tial should be under her own control; PEN |
nileSs bachelors who signify their willing !
ness 10 espOuse youth and beauty, if pos |
sessed of fair immortal estate; widows,
who confess themselves TO be neither |
young nor good looking, but boast of !
spOtless name and a round sum of money.
Bankers, merchants, manufacturers, trades
men, and professional men are also among
the advertisers, ard are equally desirous to
marry money. Some among them stipu-
late for birth and beauty, while others
remember what Ko zebue said about mar
rying, for beauty Icing like purchasing an
estate for the sake of its rose trees, the lat
ter being the more sensible proceeding of
the two, inasmuch as the season of the
roses always returns, but that of beauty
never. These more prOsaic souls express
themselves as perfectly indifferent to per-
sOnal charms, and as even prepared to put |
up not only with ugliness, but age, indiffer-
ent character, and doubtful family connec-
tions-anything, in fact, provided their
brides are weighted with sufficient coin.
Some advertisers seek to contract purely |
PlatOnic Unions, as witness the following. |
"a gentleman in comfortable ciTcum-
stances, and of ripe age, who believes in
the PlatOnic form of love, and is anxious
TO realize this beautiful idea in marriage,
desires by some friendly means, and through
the channel of a preliminary anonymous
correspondence, to make the acquaintance
of a lady not entirely without fortune, of
honorable intentions, well educated, pos
sessed Of a lively intellect and vivacious,
rather than a serious, disposition, to con-
clude with her heart-union of the purest !
Platonism. Address" etc.
Another advertisement, headed 'Heart |
and Intellect" is of much the same type:
Gan educated gentlemen, of cheerful
disposition and in easy circumstances,
moving in good society, but no longer
young enough to think of contracting an
ordinary marriage, cherishes nevertheless
a wish to renounce the solitary life he is
leading, and TO form purely PlatOnic con-
nectiOn with lady Of Heart and Intellect
in independent circumstances, and who
may feel disposed to enter into some kind
of union for life. Address," etc.