The Mineral argus., 1884-07-03
WHY GIRLS dARRY.
BY A VIRGINIA GIRL.

and aim of their existence, but it is
fact, nevertheless, and in their inmos
hearts they must admit it. Why d,
they do SO in spite of themselves?
have thought over this subject long anC
seriously, and 1 have read many articles
on it, but none that showed mucl
knowledge of a girls thoughts on the
subject. AS I am a girl, it strikes me
that 1 ought to know as much about thi:
as anybody else, and certainly more thar
a man. l say this with the essay of &
man before me who has written quite
learnedly on what to do With Ou1
Daughters" giving us some very severe
hits, and some well deserved ones, but
showing little knowledge of our inner
hearts.
But, to begin with, my reasons for our
anxiety to leave the state of single bles-
sedness. In the first place. the average
girl IS taught from her earliest infancy
to look upon an old maid as a most mis-
cradle and unfortunate being, who has
made a great mistake in not marrying
some man. Even if she has married
unhappily. it would have been better for
her than this lonely life" is what all
the world seems to say of the spinster.
If she happens to be unattractive, she
is so good, but so uninteresting-of
course nobody asked her to marry. for
no one would wish to be tied to such a
companion" So a girl hears maiden
ladies of an uncertain age pityingly and
contemptuously spoken of, and she saws
to herslf. BE an old maid? Why. l
can not imagine a more undesirable fate.
L would marry any man rather than be
spoken of as THAT old Miss Smith,
who is so anxious to make herslf attrac-
tive"
When a girl arrives at the age of
fourteen she is sent off to boarding
school. At the average school in the
south h gets a smattering OF Latin,
and German, and learns enough
Of her W language to read and spell
correctly and write a tolerable letter.
She hardly ever spends more than four
sessions at school, and most ofthat time
IS given to music. For every girl must
earn music, ever if she dislikes the
sound OF it, and can not tell one tune
rom another. She gets through with
Ter education as quickly as possible, and
1 h is moderately rich, she throws
text books forever and plunges in
o a whlrl of gayety. She does not care
o read, for literary girls are so deuced
low, the society men will tell her,
ND besides, it IS as much as she
an do to read a novel now and
hen, for with germans, recep-
ion, etc, she has no time for books.
10 she dances and firts and talks
%onsense, until she begins to get a
title blase; then her friends begin to
'onder if she will ever marry: they
~uestion her OF the subject, and tell
er not to throw away her best
hances. to make hay while the sun
and she thinks that perhaps
er chances are slipping away from
er; she begins to grow anxious about
er future and accepts the first man
Tho courts her. He is very probably
OF at all the kind of man to make
er happy, but her friends urge her
marry him, and he can give her a
omfortable home, besides, if she
she will probably be an old {
laid-horible thought! She "mar-
es" in haste, and repents at leisure. {
Now take another kind of a girl, one |
no has lost her father and mother, and
poor, but has gotten an education,
nd uses her opportunities to the best
1vantage. She goes off to teach; she t
as charge of the primary department |
a large Southern school; she is ex- S
ected to teach seven hours a day, and t
eep in refractory pupils in the after
bon. She must make her own fires, and +
can up her own room. for all the 4
achers in the school do that. She is I
wen her board and 5000 salary. The /
entlemen employed in the school, and q
Ot doing half so much work, are paid 8
100 or $500 a piece, and the principa al 9
a servant to attend to their o
'oms for them, of course, a man can s
IT sweep, dust and make beds. I'm s
IS she breaks down from over work v
fore the end of the session, our lady "
acher returns to her friends worn out a
tn her sessions work. and tries to get
other place for the ensuing year.
he thus moves about from place to n
ace, and her ~saleries are so small
at she is not able to save anything, 7
finally she marries some mar simply ,
the sake of obtaining a home. :
Now, of course, there are bright, in y
girls who marry happily, and J
my because they admire and love the "
IA of their choice; but there are a ?.
eat many girls who are doomed to :
d lust the lives that "