Smyrna times., 1886-10-27
Why They Do Not Marry.

At a small party a few nights ago,
says a letter-writer, / was in a group
that discussed the distaste for mar
riage which characterizes the girlhOOd
of the day. One young lady had for
titled herself with Il newspaper clip
ping on the subject, which she drew
from her pocket and read, as further
substantiating her position. 1t was to
the effect that misunderstanding maid
ems, young or old, were very much
scarcer than of yOre; that instead of
being anxious to marry, girls were
slow of inducement in that direction.
q" 1t is true" said young lady. Il
scarcely know a girl who wants to
marry. They are learning something
that will interest as well as support
them, two roles in which husbands
just now fail. The truth is we are all
scared away from any desire to marry
by seeing how wretched those who do
marry are. Where would we look for
husbands? Among the snips and
sports and characterless young men
that fill our drawing rooms? They
are insufferable as mere acquaintance
or beaux; who could contemplate them
as husbands? l have always thought
that if could find a young man at
all like my father 1 could love and
marry him; but that school of men
has vanished from the younger ranks.
Nobody doubts that she expressed
the convictions of large representa-
tion of young women. Their lack of
interest in marriage is not due to TIE
larger activities which continually
open before women, but to the unat-
tractiye, unreliable material in the way
of husbands. Women are women, and
would love and marry as readily to-
day as when the earth was new, if
they came in contact with men who
aroused their respect and admiration.
The order of maidenhood that would
content herself with an inferior article
of husband merely for the sake of be-
ing married has also vanished. The
young woman of the period has too
much character and self respect to
dread being an old maid so much that
she would contract an uncOngenial
union to escape it.
The same evening l had a chat with
my bright young hostess about ineffi-
cient men, a sort of annex to the con-
versatiOn just recorded. She won
dered what would become of the hu-
man race if the men kept OH deterior-
ating at the rate of the last twenty
years. She declared it was almost ex-
ceptlonal for the young men of first
class society to support their wives.
They married into rich families, and at
the end of two or three years were pen
siOners on the relations of their wives.
" 1t is astonishing" she said, how few
young women are supposed to be rich
really depend upon their husbands for
luxuries or even support. Their faith
ers or grandfathers furnish the money
that supplies their homes Oftener than
the outside world knows of. Indeed,
the daughter of the rich man is more to
be pitied than the girl who fights pOv-
erty. She sees fewer real men. Nat
urally she fancies that her ideal men
must be somewhere, since they are
not within her own circle, and she
looks for them in extraordinary places
on the box of her fathers coach and
on huCkster wagons, or on the stage
Anything in the nature of efficiency
dtltdCtS Hcli DcCiuSC she Is SICK OF IN
efficiency. The man who can drive Z
coach may be very unsteady in gram
mar, but his mastery of the horses ap
peals more to her imagination than the
fine phrases of an inefficient dude. Il
indicates a certain degree of force anC
strength, and all women like that il
men,"
Z" Do you think the class of ineffi.
cient men are really increasingly"
asked.
"Alarmingly, and in all classes of so
ciety, but especially among the rich.
scarcely know a married woman init
mately who feels secure-who has con
fidence in her husbands ability and
efficiency. Look at the number of mar
ried women engaged in some kind O
business. 1t all means something.
don't know what, but certainly it is tn,
reverse of promising for the futur,
| greatness of man."