The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1883-03-14

the blush of shame to her brow. She
laughed at her old notions. They were
old-fashioned"
DR.. Dix spoke of the falseness of the
standard set up by society, and of the
readiness with which girls talk as men
talk, using mems slang phrases. If a
girl was old enough to be in the company
of men at all, he added, she was old
enough to make men know she was their
superior and to command due respect
from them. But how many were there
who would meet such suggestionsnwith
anything but a sheer? Dr. Dix con-
demned the habit of making light of
everything and turning everything into
Jest. That habit came in great measure
from light reading Modern novels pre-
sented very little else than very exact
pictures of the worst men and women of
the society of to-day-false-hearted men
and impure women. On that pabulum
the young were fed. Of course they as.
simulated the food they got, and turned
to what they considered was most to be
sought after. DIR. Dix spoke of the
" worldliness, heartlessness, fash, and
fraud" of modern society, and said that
in society thus given up to pleasure
young women were prepared for their
next step downward marriage. They
had some fixed ideas of why they should
be married For an establishment was
first of all, and then to get freedom
that they could not have in single con-
dition. We had not yet given absolute
liberty to a girl, but once married she
could do as she liked. No one could
complain but her husband, and she would
soon show him that she was not bound
down to him. Nothing SO degraded
women, nothing so deteriorated them as
this notion of marriage. The utter reck-
lessness with which yonng people entered
into matrimony was alarming. Our laws
made it just as easy to get married as to
drive in Central Park. They provided
for the division of property, and carried
out the idea of husband and wife being
two persons. Divorces was made as easy,
and the thoughtlessness with which mar
riage was contracted was one of the dark
est evils of the times. In New York it
was only necessary to make the mere
statement in the presence of witnesses,
and couple were married. No wonder
it was lightly thought of. We were
taught now by advanced thinkers" that
love was hardly worthy to be thought of
as motive for marriage. responsibility
in married life was the blight Of the day
1t was a common thing to hear year
after marriage: ooh, she cares nothing
for her husband now. She made mis-
take and she sees it" And the woman
went on as if it was nothing serious
only little trifing blunder. She had
nobody to account to, and nobody to ac-
count to her.
DIR. Dix discussed next the "willful in
tention and resolve to defeat the first of
those purposes for which marriage was
instituted" This, he said, came looming
up in the century as the great, almost
national, crime. The foundation of the
home was the first thing intended in
matrimony, but some deliberately re-
solved that there should be no home, or,
at least, that the home should be as mar
row as it could be. They wished to
avoid pain. They wished to escape the
duties of parents. They wished to be
free to enjoy the world. And so arts
base and black-arts whose users in
olden times were condemned to death
were used to carry out these resolves. 1t
was chiefly woman who was responsible
for this sim Here was a mission for
woman-to teach woman the great harm
caused by such sin. Dr. Dix declared,
as Gods priest and in Gods name, that
this act Of deliberately preventing the
formation of home was a crime which
brought down curses from God thicker
than hail on the community which it
blighted. The sequel of this sin was the
neglect of the home-where there was
home. The father, the mother, and
the children made the home. We could
see all about us the wrecks of homes
Every father was, by Gods law, priest
over his own household. Every mother
was the watchful, intelligent, industrious
head over her children and servants
But both abdicated their positions. The
father threw off his duties on his wife,
and the mother must be free for her
pleasure. Her first thought was how to
get her little ones out of her way and so
they were turned over to hirelings. "I
ask their pardon" exclaimed DR.. Dix,
for speaking or thinking of them as
hirelings, for I have seen in some of these
homes faithful, pious servants, who were
more the cbildren's mother, in God s
sight, than she who bore them" In con-
clusion, DR.. Dix expressed his horror and
wonder that any mother could thus throw
off the sweetest duties Of her life, and
added that this brought him to the sub
ject Of divorce, which he would discuss