The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1875-08-28
2JIliscelfaneous.
Can't 4f'ord to Marry.

miscellaneous.
Can't AIford to Marry.
HOW A YOUNG LADY FIGURED DOWN A GENTLEMAN
ExpENsEs-sAvING $575 YEAR OUT OF
| $780, START FOR FORTUNE.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocean. n
There are $4,000 young men in Chicago TO-
day who cannot afford to marry, that is they
cannot afford to marry the average city girl
with her passion for dress, and bonnets and
jewelry. That is what they say. Possibly q
little frank consultation between the two would
pave the way to explanation and satisfactory
| arrangements; but how to have such consul
tation? There's the rub. Because there's moi
| a. particle of doubt that the thousands of girls,
and at least goodly number of young men
| would be willing to make some personal sacri'
fee to attain marriage. Thus, if they could
only frankly approach the subject, Henry
| might say to Amelia:
dts too bad; but the fact is a young man
cannot afford q wife nowadays"
And Amelia would very likely respond:
al can't see why they cannot so well afford
them now as few years ago? and they used
to get married, you must admit"
And Henry rejoins: women are so expen-
siye now. That's the trouble. Just look at it.
| l get 81 200 year. Now, how tho deuce can
| support wife on $1,000. Why, it costs me
all of that to live myself"
"But see how you live" responds Amelia.
| "Not extravagantly," says Henry. II pay
| IS a week for board /; that's-let me see-eght
| times two are ten eight times five are forty,
| and one is forty-one-four hundred and ten
dollars year. .r
| (Which leaves you" interrupts Amelia,
1880 year. Now, what on earth do you do
| with this remainder"
"Welri said Henry, there are my clothes
| and--and" ILL.,.
| "Cigars," adds Amelia.
dyes"
"And buggy rides"
"a" Yes"
| "And drinks
"Ah- tut hardly ever anything of that
kind, you know" says Henry.
| "Well, hope not. But what do you do with
| the money otherwise? A mans clothes don't
| cost him much" .,-
"Den't they |" exclaims Henry. "You just
"Well," says Amelia, 9" how much now ?"
"Well," says the young man, thoughtfully.
"there's an everyday suit for winter, say $50.
There's dress suit for parties and the opera,
| $75. There's two suits for summer and fall and
spring, $50. There are hats, caps, gloves, hos
iery, &C., $40 boots and shoes, $35; and-well,
how much is thatr' f H ..G
the ready Amelia.
"Say three hundred, responded Henry.
every we'll that leaves S4c0. What do you
do with the rest"
We'll, there's car fare, say $50.
"Theatre tickets; $780,
caldwell, let me see-church donations,
say-$25."
ayes, well say s25. WE'LL"
Carriage hire, $780,"
"Wellw
"Cigars am pretty moderate there-say
500. How much does the total amount to
now2"
"Ten hundred and ifty-fve dollars You
see there are over $3.50 to be accounted for"
"Well Teller don't spend all his money, you
know; besides, there are Christmas presents
and lot of little traps that l cannot new re-
member"
eyes, see. No doubt the articles mentioned
| would swell the amount to $780," says Anne
liza, rather sadly.
"Don't you see, now," remarked Henry.
"that cannot afford wife?"
"You surely couldn't unless expenses could
| be reduced" replies Amelia.
"But instead of being reduced, they would
| be double" says he.
"Oh, no." says the young lady. "Not that.
should think, for instance, that 1 was very
extravagant if l spent half of your salary on
myself" ,,,,,,,o.. $685.. IT,. ..,, cam
yearly?" says Henry.
"Perhaps not now" responds Amelia blush
| ing; "but could get along with much less if
l tried" ,sa
"Could you indeed ?" queries he.
"Yes," she responds. -" Couldn't you?"
"Why, l suppose I might. Let me see.-
Where would l begin?
"Say the clothes" suggests Amelia.
eyes that's a fact. I could do without the
dress suit; that would be $75.
"And one of the others 2" she says inquring-
"Y-a-a-s-say one Of the others; $4O."
"And a little on the boots and shoes?
a. believe so; say $40 off on those"
And the carriage hire?"
DWELL, l suppose l could get along with the
street ears take off $50 for carriage hire"
Well, how about the cigars?"
every well. And the hats, caps, &C., and
all the rest Couldn't you save $3.50 on the bal
ance? You know good suit of clothes will
last more than one season.
"Well, might possibly make it 500 less,'
says he.
above your stated expenses as bachelor,
$780," says the ready Amelia. " You may add
| to that $75 which you could readily save on
| amusements. and you have the snug sum oil
$575 yearly to lay by. A few years of such
economy would enable you to buy a nice little
home of your own, where, with frugal wife,
you could both live very comfortably for what
it costs you to live by yourself now"
i If Henry is anything like the man he ought
to be, he will say at this juncture that the very
wife to live in such house is the young lady
who has herself suggested it, and will forth
with proceed to act upon her advice. There
are, without doubt, good many Amelias in
Chicago, if they could only speak; but the
trouble is that they may find no opportunities
and possibly no Henrys to chat with thus con
fdentially and SO the old maids will multiply
and . serious problem in social science is pre-
scented for consideration. -1
This self-enforced separation of the sexes
will just certainly lead to crime and immo-
rality as any well understood cause leads tt
equally we'll understood effect. And it will in
crease as the numbers of the unmarried in
crease, until every considerable city of this
country will become miniature Paris, save
with sadder result, as our national tempera-
ment is capable of deeper feeling and more ter
rible remorse. The ratio of unmarried persons
| is constantly augmentiBg and the question O
4 a remedy is one that deserves the gravest con
sideration. In the older settlements the females
i predominant in such numbers that marriage
4 proportion is impossible in any event. In the
/ newer parts of the country, where the sexe:
are in about equal numbers, the question of ex
pense frightens the would be husband, and thu
result is quite as bad. The way to reform i.
net plain, though the necessity for it is indis
putable.
/ A DEADLY SpRING.-A writer in a California
newspaper says: "About half mile over ,
mountain from Bartlett Springs, there is wha
is called the Gas Spring. This is probably thu
II greatest curiosity of the mountains. The wa
ter is ice-cold, but bubbling and foaming as j
boiled, and the greatest wonder is the inevita'
BILE destruction Of life produced by inhalint
the gas. No living thing is to be found within