Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-09-01
MATTERS M%ATRIMOElAL.
Review of the Matrimonial
Market for The Year End
ing To-day.
Some Facts and Figures for the Curious
A Panic at Hand.

Some Facts and Figures for the Curious
-APanlC at Hand.
Not the least important of the markets
is the matrimonial. Whenit is dull, flat
and Improbable, the population must suf-
fer, and the census taker who Is paid SO
much a poll becomes lean, hungry and
ANXIOUS. Without sentiment this world
would be Il dreary black, u wilderness
bowling with gruesome echoes. Without
love the gentle spring rain would seem to
scorch the earth upon which il fell, and
without marriage the very fountain head
Of the universe wonld dry up, men would
wither, turn TO acrish and fly away like
dust. The cares .ng voice Of the lover
would not be heard mingling with the COO
ing accents ofthe maiden; the manly tones
ofthe husband mingling with those of the
wife on cold mornings before the fire was
made would be silent; there would be no
missing shirt buttons and no muddy boots;
no bills for spring b%onnets, and no open
behind shirts; the pretty prattle Ofthe inno-
cent babe would not drive away dull care
by day and its cramp collie would
not abolish sleep. by night, And
then there is the appalling fact,
the grim and tangible spectre,
that without marriage there would be no
marriage guilds, no natal endowment as
sociations, and no furniture on the install
ment plan. But it is not becoming in the
compiler of cold statistics TO indulge IN so
gloomy a perspective. 1t is the purpose
of this article TO lay before the reader a
review Of the matrimonial market for the
past years, noting the time of every rise
and fall in matrimonial bonds, compound
and simple interest manifested the seasons
most favorable and many other relative
facts not necessary to refer TO at present.
For theyesr ending to-day 1852 licenses
were issued by the clerk Of the County
Court, who, unmindfdl Of the awful conse-
quences which might ensue from the
scratching Of his pen, was often seen to
smile when writing these important doc
uments, and on more than one occasion
actually relaxed his facial anatomy to such
an extent as to laugh out loud in the very
faces Of the pale and trembling suppiiants
who stood before him, holding in one hand
a half dollar with a hole in it, and stretch
ing forth the other for the sealed manu-
script that was to bind two palpitating
hearts-two souls with but Il single
thought, a hand with half a dollar.
OF the entire number 37S were of eau
casian origin, and 6S4 of ebon hue. The
fact that the wool of the darky is not SO
luxuriant as the hair Of the white man,
thus making him more fearless, may be
significant enough to account for the great,
difference, In itself, however, it accounts
for one thing-the magnitude Of the great
army Of bootblacks, One problem Is thus
readily solved. As 10 the seasons. $40
were married in autumn, 3l9 in winter.
225 in spring, and 208 in summer. From
these figures it is easy to draw the follow
ing conclusions: Autumn is, with us, the
season of business openings. Renewed
saaa9a&9gBeeeo 81 i &fslRtt t in 9l ybT2gnGG66aee a9dse5titSio as..
The young man who has been turning his
paper dollars and fighting shy Of his
sweetheart all summer, procures a situa-
tiou. He concludes that he and Angelina
can live on four dollars per week, rs he
has succeeded in making both ends meet
for three months without Il street car
check, and he proposes. The young wo-
man, however, sometimes figures on how
many months both must live on love in
order to secTete the necessary funds for the
spring bonnet, and she pauses. Conse-
quently the number is not so large AS il
might be, but it reaches away up to $40
just the same.
In the winter time others, emboldened
by the example Of their comrades. pro-
pose and are accepted, have their hair
cut and are married. There
are many considerations which
make this season the most desirable
Of all Others. The young man dreams OF
cozy tiresides, and in her imagination the
young woman cracks nuts with her teeth.
He revels in the thought that no more
will the cherries fireplace Of the bachelor
apartment greet his eyes when he prizes
them open with a bOotjack on snowy
mornings; that no more will cold shiyers
shoot up his legs from the cold floor, and
that the morning zephyrs will no longer
toy with the lower extremity of his night
shirt, while she, poor, sweet, innocent
thing, deludes herself with the belief that
now she will have n gallant lord who
would scorn TO have her endanger her
health by lighting fires in the morning;
that he will carefully lock, bolt and bar,
and otherwise perfectly secure the door OF
the wood house, the door Of the coal house,
the front door, the back door, the middle
and the side doors, the door Of the bed.
room, all the transOms and all the win
dows, not forgetting the particular blinds
through which she has always imagined a
burglar was peeping when about to close
her eyes in sleep. The misguided being
lmagines that she will have Il a man in the
house, a man Of her own, who would brave
u dozen burglars with no other weapon
than the umbrella handle; that when
hearing the slightest noise ut night the
soft murmuring of his dear name will set
him up in bed as eifectually rs If the poles
OF an electric battery had been suddenly
applied to his extremities, The awful idea
that he perhaps took lessons in snoring
from II four hundred horse power suction
engine never enters her sentimental mag
inati0n. Both dream of cozy bliss, and the
dealer in licenses rakes in the mutilated
coin. Marriage bonds are way above par,
and NJ Christmas day approaches the
interest grows and speculation
actually uns wild. The great
est number of licenses issued during
any n day of the past year reached
thirteen on Christmas Eve. A wedding
ring rested in the toe Of thirteen striped
stockings that blessed night, and thirteen
blushing couples were late at the Christ
mas breakfast. Thirteen hundred dozen
kisses Favored the Christmas dinner, and
thirteen dealers IN furniture on the in-
stalment plan were busy the following
New Year day. II is important to state
that thirteen is regarded by tho supersti-
tious rs an unlucky number. But with
the divorce court this article has nothing
f.odo.
.N.is said that in spring theyoung mans
ianey lightly turns to thoughts OF love.
But ~ us have the figures for this, Spring
poets are poor statisticians, and tell you
not ~ m%ournful numbers that III number
o. NJ ials in fowery, violet perfumed,
DreeA ing IS lower than that OF au-
tnmn inter