The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1879-03-05

ftOhl tlu L0uuOu Allt&
The view sometimes expressed, in pleas
antry or otherwise, that marriage presents
illusions to those who have not entered
upon Il, and that experience Of II has rath-
er deterrent influence with regard TO re-.
peating the experience, has lately been
put 10 tho test OF statistical facts by NJ.
BertiliOn.
lie inquiries first into the nuptiality or
chance Of marriage Of widowers. II they
equal or exceed bachelors III their arlor
for marriage, the conjugal state can hard
" be maligned. II Is necessary here 10
compare widOwers and bachelors Of the
same ages. NJ. Bertilion accordingly con.
struCts curves based on data from Holland
(being the fullest obtAinable). II appears
that OF 1000 men Of 26to IS years OF age,
ITO or ll9 marry each year. On the other
hand, the corresponding number Of Wild
overs Is $50, or three times as many. At
other ages the difference Is still greater;
widowers marry four times more than
bachelorsot the same age, aud In the case
OF young men ri aud UNDER the numbers
Hge 200 and 4 respectively. Diagrams for
France, England and Belgium give like
results.
Next the author inquiries into the nup-
tiality OF divorced men. The facts OF
their bad experience OF marriage, their
liability TO rejection as bad spouseS, and
sometimes their having children, would
seem in favor Of their continuing unmar-
ried. The numbers show that while up
to twenty-six years OF age divorced men
marry less than bachelors OF the same age,
after twenty.six they exceed these conSid.
prRbly. They do not, indeed, attain to
the readiness Of the witlowers until forty
years Of ago, when they ACTUALLY marry
more than widowers. This applies to
Holland and Switzerland, the only coun.
tries from which data were obtainable.
There is the possible explanation that some
men get divorced from one wife to marry
another. But like explanation would
hardly apply to many widowers, viz, that
they procured the death OF one wife fol
another
The general conclusion Is that marriage
far from causing regrets in men who con-
tract 1t, creates habits, on the contrary
the deprivation OF which is much felt. In
the case Of females, NJ. Bertillion obtains
similar results, though less decided. From
% to 30 years OF age, wnen Dutch girl.
marry most, widows ale found to marry
about twice rs much, and corresponding
difference appears throughout similarly il
Switzerland and in England. There arc
two exceptions to the rule, however. In
the city Of Berlin widows past 30 marry
almost cxactlyin the same proportion ~
spinstcr. And in France they marry 6
little less.
The state Of young widowhood seems to
press the same everywhere. Is the stage
Of things In France, then, to he explained
by saying that French husbands are
wickeder than others? "Iprefer to be
lieve," says NJ Bertllion, that they are
on the contrary, too good, and that they
leave widows absolutely inconsolable.
Divorced women give a curve pretty sim
lar to that Of divorced mon. Up to about
30 years of age they marry considerably
less than spinstcrs, but beyond that they
show n greater disposition to marriage
even than widows, and this difference con,
tinues to tho end Of life.