The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1880-06-03
To Young Women Contemplating
Marriage.

man Is born 10 DC married. The Weddel
relation Is her normal condition any other
state OF things Is Abnormal, Unnatural. dis
cordant with nature plan. and violatiye Of
natures laws. Woman Is the better part Of
creation-the Better half OF Man but she
i also the weaker halt, the lesser part.
and while man may manage 70 Ike IN a
cranky. dis iuinted way without that better
portion which l. 81 essential 10 the futlne>s
and COMPLETENESS II his life. she when LETT or
forced. to walk the way Of HE alone, I'm
attached To the mate OF her souls a mere
pretence. a mere counterfeit pre>entnent
OF a woman, dehcIeut or defective III every
feature of womanly nature. She Ia, lost
the elixer of life. She lacks the balance wheel
of her womanly existence. In this we have
no snecrs at old maids. No woman WIS
ever an odd Maid from necessity. No
woman is too poor, il-favored, or unattra.-
tive, to have her admirers. In truth, 1t Is
ottener than otherwise the case that she
who is STYLED an "oid maid has refused
more offers than those who SET complacent-
IL pity her. But let that pass. We now
allude to those expecting 10 marry. And
what we wish to say is that every unmarried
woman of manageable age, ought 10 be
thinking of the new and strange relation III
to which it is her natural destiny to come,
IN due season. Most women, we presume,
10 ctIu Ill III liz Soit - -
~plation. But unfortunately their thoughts
run to the romantic, the rose .colorei, and
speculative, rather than TO the reasonable,
practical. or that which Is toned by the
lights and shadows of real every day HE.
Not a year passes but the community Is
startled bv the wedding OF couples SO mis-
matched that none but the parties them
| selves could fail to see the folly of 1t.
Every year the community stands by to VIII
ness instances OF deliberate selt-destructlon :;
| couples going to the altar to swear away
this lifelong happiness, each that OF the
other'
And why? Simply because young PEG
pie do not think and are not taught to
think. upon this vitality important subject.
All young men have an idea OF III Trying
some pretty girl or another, or 'Soule
rich old fellows daughter. All young
girls have an idea of marrying some hand
sone, dashlng young man, halt Prince,
half Genius.-whole Hero, and wholly de-
voted to their alteration
Neither the youth, nor the maiden, have
any real conception OF welded lite. lie
NAV have heard that his wite's mother
Der that epileptic fits are hereditary In his
family but neither take a serious thought
about it, until, perchance, in a year or two.
they see the dreadful features OF each, r.
produced IN their freak, puleing, ,diotc, of
sDrlnai By this tune the wife has dlscov
cred that her husband is neither a Prince
nor a "Genius,' and be has learned thai all
the witchery Of beauty is gone when you
have once seen your young bride brush Oh
her powder, toss her false hair on the toilet
stand, throw her corsets on a chan. and
shuttle around on her hands and knees.
searching for an old pair OF slippers throw,
too far under the bed
Is it any wonder the two begin to grow
weary of each other? Is it straa6e that II
five years they barely tolerate one another
Is it singular if in less than ten years bott
are miserable, realizing that unless one, OF
the other, dies they must sail the ocean o
life utterly ship wrecked, with no hope o
ever finding their way back into that; frest
and balmy stream adown which they 50 gail.
and Moughhessiy started?
The fault is with the parents. They art
experienced ; they know the difference be
tween romance and reality, yet how rarely
does a parent seek to inform his son o.
daughter as to the everyday details OF hi
or her future life And even the newspa
pers are blamed when they print pieces ilkt
tho following. The FARMER \ Me
CHANIC prints what it deems best for It
readers, and that is the reason we have
written this long explanation. Read 1t
girls, and set your pretty heads to thlnkln.
about the matters here only vaguely ALLUDED
to. It will do you no harm, and may saw
you from a wretched mistake
PRE- NATAL INFLUENCES.
Every child that cutters tins life is the rcsul
OF many former generations. IL 'dencies t
strength or disease. TO virtues or vices, and +:
all traits of mind and body are TRANSMITTED
from one generation to another. Ever,
quality OF organic life tends TO be hcredi
tary. Looks, roice. mnnnerS and habits ar
handed down from parents to p sterltv
Some families are marked by peculiar fea
lures. We saw. not long ago. the portrai
of a man WHO lived 2no Years ago. Hi
nose was long and broad His posterity
retained this peculiar nasal form. A child
was born some ten years ago, whose fathe
died some six months before his birth
This child ia early infancy always seizec
his right ear and pulled it. whenever h