The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-17

AS people who can see think it strange
that anyone should be blind SO those who
are married can scarcely understand the
existence Of old bachelors and old maids.
How do they come to be such? Since we
are all born unmarried. perhaps the ques-
ton should rather be how do we come to
be married; but as cehbacy is an unna-
tural state the former way Of putting the
question seems admissible.
There are not many who start the jour-
ney Of life with resolution not to
marry. I certainly did know one boy five
years of age who used to say that he
would never marry and would let the
race die OUT but he was exceptionally
thoughtful and observant beyond his
years of the misery of the world. An old
maid said: ST would not give my single
life for all tho double ones / have ever
seen" She came to this conclusion, how
ever, from a posteriori and not from a
priori reasoning. from comparing her sim
gle blessedness with the matrimonial mis-
cry she had seen. She probably meant
what Mary Lamb did when she said that
she had seen some men whom she would
have married If they had asked her, she
had never seen a husband whom she
would have married.
1t is sometimes said that all women.
not incurably deformed, can marry If
they like, but this is certainly not the
case In England, for the very good rea-
son that there are not enough men to go
round. So long as there are three hun
dred thousand more women in this cum
FRY, hof he
to speak more politely, "unappropriated
blessings" I heard an ingenious woman
saying lately that she never could have
married because no man had ever loved
her or asked for her hand. My friend is
nicer than half the women who are mar
ried. only she was fated not to be mar
ried, and her lot is not an uncommon one.
WHEREFORE OF BACHELORHOOD.
An old bachelor said that marriage is a
harmless amusement" but he remained
content with theory and did not go on to
learn in a practical way by marrying.
Why: Well, one never knows People
may admire the marriage state, and yet
have their own good reasons for not en-
tering it. Under the pillow of Washing
ton Irving, when dying, there was found
lock of hair and a miniature Who
Will say that man or q woman ought
TO marry who treasures up such men,
erals and thinks of what might have
been? Some have never found their
other selves, or circumstances prevented
the junction OF these selves; and which Is
more honorable life Of loneliness or q
loveless marriage? There are some who
have laid down their hopes of welded
bliss for the sake of accomplishing Some
good work, or for the sake of a FATHER
mother, sister or brother. These and
many others could give better reasons for
spending their time outside the temple of
Hymen than those which induce. their
foolish detractors to rush in.
Many girl looks on marriage as a vo-
cation, who has never thought of the du-
ties 1t involves; and L think for a woman
to fail to make and keep a home happy
Is to be failure in a truer sense than
to have failed to catch husband Bet
ter far to be laughed at by vulgar stu
pid people (only persons of this deserip-
ton would do iD for not being married
than never to be able to laugh because
you are married: No sensible person
would engage servant IL all they knew
of her were that she had, as a housemaia
lately advertised: "a fortnlght's charac-
ter from her last place. but with even
less information as to their chara cters
some women will accept husbands and
vow to love, honour, and obey theml