The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-10-11

Restrain Bridegr ooms From Running.
J Business has apparently not been very
brisk in the matrimonial market lately.
/ Inquiry is reported not very active aud the
! offerings are so heavy as to confuse bidders
and somewhat depress and slightly democrat
I i,e the traffic. From statistics gathered by
the New York Tribune it doth appear that
during the month OF September as many as
twenty-one bridegrooms aosconded in vari-
Gus parts of the country. failing to appear
on the wedding day. This number is I'M
precedented, showing an increase of some
400 per cent. over any preceding Septem-
Der.
As October is opening with a like display
of masculine timidity, it would seem that It
is "a condition, not a theory" that now con-
fronts the advocates of matrimony. Why
this abnormal faint-heartedness this year at
the approach of the marriage ordeala And
why are September and October Of all the
months in the year the ones in which 1t
attains its maximum
To the latter question the Baltimore Sun
thinks that an ingenious person might sup
ply satisfactory answer. He might say
that the wanting bridegrooms probably
found circumstances less favorable in Sep
tember and October than they expected
them to be in fiowery May and leafy June.
when they proposed, were accepted and
fixed the wedding day. Dry goods, tin
ware, cutlery, kitchen utensils and the other
manufactured items of the householder's
outfit are dearer under the Mckinley act
. than they were before the imported stock
} was exhausted.
Earlier in the year the loving SWANS
} probably figured on a continuance Of low
! tariff prices. But as the fatal day and hour
drew near their arithmetic showed them
that they would not be equal to tae new
situation. They accordingly withdrew
, at the last moment from engage
ments the financial results Of which
i they had not fully foreseen. Yet doubt
as to the sufficiency of this explanation is
. suggested by the fact, stated In the Tribune,
{ that seven of the truant bridegrooms were
{ widowers. In other words, 33H per cent.
3 of the timid were ex-husbands whose ex-
! perience of the married state had been such
| that they could not bring themselves, on
sober second thought, to re-enter it.
Considering how small ls the number Of
manageable widowers in any community
compared with the number of mar
, riageable single men. the proportion
Of 335S per cent. OF widowers
! among the absconders Is startling.
1t seems to suggest that however subject to
the spinsters charms and however en-
tranced by the joys of courtship in its earlier
and in its latter stages. a chill seized upon
the widowers In question when they once
more felt themselves within the shadow Of
the nuptial moose.
From this point of view the callous
hearted and tough Sun man surmises that
the audacity of their first marriage was
largely due to inexperience. Their timidity
in September last may be explained on the
hypothesis that "the burned child breads
the fire." Such is the theory. 1t is proper
to observe that it does not account for the
669$ per cent. of single men that fed at the
} sight of Hymen's torch. Still the tariff
theory affords the broader explanation.
Be the true theory what it may, to be en-
tirely successful, weddings require the
presence of a bridegroom. It is true that
he is an Insignificant element of the oc-
cason. His trousssau commands no
attention, and nobody studies his
couture. Even the brides presents are
reckoned Of more Importance.
Yet, however valuable the silver may be,
it does not enable the young lady to dispense
with the man-it for no other reason than
because his presence is guarantee Of her
good faith in sending out cards suggesting
that presents are in order. Otherwise
it would be relief to the
spectators, as rule, il the
dwarfed hero of the wedding ceremony
could be dispensed with altogether. Not a
few bridegrnoms, resenting their neglect
aud bored with the publicity and tedium,
fuss and expense Of the average wedding,
would probably prefer to stay in the car
riage at the church door till all was over.
Even that, however, cannot be. Essen.
TALLY the bridegroom must be in evidence,
and bis new disposition to run away needs
restraint. How can the bride keep her
presents when he fails to appear! And who
} is to pay the minister his tee2 Something
must be done. From and after the date OF
sending out the invitations and until the
knot is safely tied some restriction upon the
lovers liberty seems to be required.
For this purpose the Tribune cautiously
proposes that he be placed in the custody of
his prospective mother-in-law. If that be
too severe, wearing badge or being shad-
: owed by policeman, or, in the case Of wild
overs, going to prison would be, it is sug-
gested, an adequate guarantee of good faith.
No doubt
: But the trouble about such interference
with individual liberty is that it W ould deter
;, tender SWANS from counting. That would
; be intoerable to the girls, AID they would
insist upon retaining that part at least Of tht
comedy of romance. They would rather
frighten the poor man into commissions with
a the torrid ardor of their sizzling devotion
than not get a smack at him at all.
At the pretty Connecticut village of Mid
K dletown is situated Wesleyan University
Q IL is co-educational institution Of the
Q coziest kind Just now there is a merry
I row on hand because the faculty has regu-
u ] lafad tho svctary, of stcal1inon a,nono ths