Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1881-05-31


morning dew stand in the eyes of tn
violets as Adam takes the round ham
that had never been worn of work o
stung of pain in his strong grasp an,
says: 'This is now bone of my bone
and flesh Of my flesh" Then tumult
of joy break forth, and the trees clal
their hands and all the galleries of tn
woods break forth with carol and chirl
and chant, and the circle OF Edeni
gladness was complete. For'while eacl
quail had answering quail and each flsl
its answering fish, and each fowl an,
swering fowl, and every beast of tht
forest its appropriate companionship, n
last man immortal had for mate woman
immortal. Married, on the second Tues
day morning Of May, in the year
Adam, the first man, to Eve, the frs
woman, the Lord of heaven and cartl
officiating. Away with the coarse no
tion that marriage is mere civil con
tract. 1t is paradisiacal, six Thousand
years old, divine institution, and all the
laws made before and since Blackstone
can never marry two hearts till the AL
mighty God marries them.
propose to consider some Of the dead
lv foes of this marriage institution
First Of all crawls out upon our observa.
tion polygamy; more people in this
country believe in it now than ever be-
fore, and in all parts Of the land there
are many who, under one name or am
other, or no name at all. practice it,
Not only do MOrmons, but men who de-
spse that name, say that the bible sane
toned plurality Of wives, and Christian
people do not know how to meet the
SANDER. The Bible in many places rec
ognizes its existence, as it does all other
kinds of sin, but it does not in any one
case sanction it. On the contrary, in
Leviticus, 18th chapter and 18th verse,
the unmistakable command Isl "Neith-
er shall a man take one wife unto anoth-
err" while Paul puts it squarely before
all nations when he says: LET every
man have his own wife and every wO-
man her own husband" LameCh was
The first poygamst mentioned in the
Bible, and he, by his own confession,
was murderer For forty years the
lsraelites, Gods own chosen people
were in the wilderness. Yet among the
1900, 900 Isracltcs there was in all the
forty years only one case of polyg-
amy. And when in your Bible
you find n man with more than one
wife you find him up to his neck in
trouble. David dates his letter from the
belly Of hell; and Solomon, pcstercd TO
death with his own ungoveinable house
hold says: "Therc is no good under the
sun, Vanity Of yaultics, all is vanity"
The whole drift of the Bible is against
poygamy. God said at the beginning,
at is not good that man should be alone.
| will make for him a help meet" Mark
you, it Is in the singular number-a
hclpmeet If anybody ever needed more
than one companion, Adam was the
man, for there was no society. As Got
was starting the institution, lie of course
would start it right; and if polyganIy
was right, then of course it would have
been demonstrated, and instead of one
rib taken, Adam would not have had a
rib left. The human race was to bridge
over the flood. How many wives did
Noah take into the ark? His wife, and
each Of his sons wife. If polygamy
had been right, they would each have
taken II dozen, and so a much larger
would have been saved from
drowning. The men and women in each
generation aud in all countries since the
world stood have been about equal, or
in cases Of slight exceptions, men have
been in the majority. No surplus of
womanhood. Does that look as il the
Creator Of the race fav0rs polygamy p
The Bible Is not more antagonistiC to
theft and blasphemy and murder than
II is to polygamy. Yes, in proportion
rs civilization is in high advance, and In
as general good morals pre-
vail, plurality Of wives Is discounte-
nanced. Where polygamy exists, there
may be II house, n large house, spcn-
did house, but no home How much
peace and prosperity In England would
there be if four or five or twenty queens
attempted with Victoria TO occupy the
same throne or live IN Windsor Castle?
just rs much rs there can be quiet and
happiness IN domestic establishment
where more than one wife attempts to
be queen. One of the mightiest foes of
the family relation Is p0lygamy.
Woman must be recognized rs an
equal of the man. All that poetry about
man being nm oak, woman the ivy IL
stale, flat and untrue. In tens of thous-
Hnds of cases Of financial disaster,
where men have been flung and trodden
under foot, they have gone home deter
mined to give up the struggle of life,
wishing they were dead. Although
when man says hc wishes he was dead
he lies. Attempt TO Kill him and see
how much he wants to be dead. But ut
terly discouraged, men have gone home.
and the wife has given encouragement
the wife has, by her faith In God, bldden
him to be Of good cheer; the wife has
told him not to mind the misfortune,
and she planned out other ways of get
ting along, and, on the strength of the
wlle's courage, thc husband has been
helped into renewed prosperity. who
Is the oak now, and which of the twain
Is the ivyY In order to domestic fellci-
ty, the wife must at least be- treated as
the equal like the ring of that world
" merchants manlincss, who, when
some one called on him soliciting aid for
4 missionary society, said 81 don { see
wv lulVVlNdHNt VI illNl INSTITUTION nlNa
self, and therefore must decline sub
but you may call on my wife;
perhaps she viii take n different Wow of
The subject, and, If SO, we viii net nc
.Ording TO her pleasure" Such scene
M that could not be enacted In polyga-
nous household.
Again, all those entertainments arc
Ihp foes of ,hn dompatir rnlntion ,vLt,,h
lake from their families majority of
evenings. ! am not ready to make In
condemnation of club
houses. believe that many Of them
have their uses. IL had an unhappy
home, or no hsmc at all, would seek
ont the best club house I could nnd, buy
and spend all my evenings
here IN conversation aud reading. Hut
Il has always been mystery 10 me how
B man going to business nj or y o'clocl,
In the morning. and not getting home
.ill about the evening rcpnst, q orr in