, 1886-01-30
MARRIAGE.
A Lecture on that subject by Rev. =. A.
Dyke.

Rev. s. A. Dyke lectured to a good
sized audience at the First Baptist church
last evening on the subject of Marriage. -
The lecture was an interesting one and
was to a considerable extent devoted to
the conduct and department of the hus-
band and wife after marriage, and how
they were to live so as to avoid the mani
fold difficulties of married life. The
speaker pictured out the ideal husband
and the ideal wife, and if all married peo-
pie were to live up to that standard, all
would be well. In those cases where the
husband is not exactly a model one-and,
strange to say, there are some of that
kind even in Cheyenne-and in cases
whore the wife falls just a triie short Of
being an angel-and of course such cases
are very rare-the speaker did not under
take to explain very fully Just what is to
be done or how to get along. The lecture
was directed principally to a consideration
of how matters should or ought to be and
how they will be as between the model
wife and husband. Husbands ought to
love their wives and vice versa, but as to
what is to be done when unfortunately
this is not the case no particular mention
was made. In the opinion of the speaker
every woman should have at least a gem
eral supervision over the affairs Of her
own household. His idea seemed to be
that even if she did not do all the scold-
ing and slapping of the youngsters on
washday, she ought to be around
SO that if the hired girl didn't
succeed in making things unpleasant,
the wife could ''chip in and help out in
this direction. Above all things, the
speaker thought, the wife ought to feed
the husband well, as this would keep him
in good humor; but how it would be
when the husband failed to provide any
thing to do the feeding with was not ex-
planned.
The latter part of the lecture was de-
voted principally to the question of di-
vorce. People ought to get divorced for
the cause stated in the scriptures, and the
speaker wished that all judges everywhere
would cut off their right hands, or resign,
or do something desperate before they
would sign a decree of divorce unless it
be for the %scriptural cause. As drunken
ness persisted in until a man is a total
wreck and unfit for anything is not a
cause for divorce according to the scrip
ture, according to the theory advanced
the wife who is compelled to support her
self and children must remain in that
situation, whereby the worthless lord"
may legally claim and hold her hard earn
ings, sell the clothing she wears and
spend the money for whisky, have the
rightful custody of minor children and
take them away from her, and do num-
berless other outrageous things unworthy
of a brute or savage, yet she must be
legally tied to him. In other words, she
should not be released from the bonds
which chain her 10 a brute, even though
starvation and destitution be the lot and
portion of herself and children.
As a lecture on the duties morally and
socially of the marital state it was a very
interesting on, but as a dissertation ON
the subject of divorce it was not a very
eminent or decided success.
DR.. w. n. Hunt presided at the meet
ing, and the exercises closed with a duet
by Mrs. w. N. Hunt and Miss Florence
Dana.