Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1900-11-01
sUNHAPPILY E
BY T. De Witt Ta1mage.

What, therefore, God hath Joined
together, let not man-put asunder."-
Matthew xiv, 6.
That there are hundreds, and thou
sands of infe1icitous homestin America
no one will doubt. IF there were only
one skeleton in the closet, that might
be 1ocked up and Abandoned: but IN
many a home there is a skeleton in the
hallway and a skeleton in all he's apart
ments. sUnhappi1y. We'd are two
words descriptive of many a home
stead. It needs no orthodox minister
to prove to a badly mated pair that
there is a hell; they are there now.s
Sometimes a grand and gracious wo--
man will be thus incarcerated, and her
life will be a crucifixion, as was the
case with Mrs. Sigourney, the great
poetesS and the great soul. sometimes
a consecrated man will be united to a
fury, as was John Wesley, or united
to a vixen, as was John Milton. Some
times, and generally, both parties are
to blame, and Thomas Carlyle is an IN
tolerable grumbler, and his wife has
a pungent retort always ready, and
Froude, the historian; pledged to tell
the plain truth, has to pull aside the
curtain from the lifelong squabble at
| Craigenputtock and 5 Cheyne Row.
Some say that for the alienation OF
| all these domestic disorders of which
we hear easy divorce is a good pre-
scription. God sometimes authorizes
divorce as certainly as he authorizes
marriage. I have just as much regard
for one lawfully divorced as I have
for one lawfully married. But you
know and I know that wholesale di-
, vQrce is one of our national scourges.
! I want you to notice that frequency
of divorce always goes along With the
dissoluteness of society. Rome for five
hundred years had not one case of Oh
vorce. Those were her days of glory
and virtue. Then the reign of vice be-
gan, and divorce became epidemic. If
you want to know how rapidly the
empire went down, ask Gibbon. Do
you know how the Reign of Terror was
introduced in France? By 20, 900 cases
of divorce in one year in Paris What
! we want III this country and in all lands
is that divorce be made more and more
difficult. Then people before they en-
ter the marriage relation will be per-
suaded that there will probably be no
escape from it except through the door
of the sepulchre.
What we want is that the Congress
of the United States move for the
changing Of the National Constitution,
so that a 1aw can be passed which shall
be uniform all over the country, and
WIdL Snd1 Oe TlSnI III one state SId1I
be right in ali the States. and what is
/ all the States.
How is it now? IF a party in the
marriage relation gets dissatisfied, it
is only necessary to move to another
State to achieve liberation from the do
nestle tie, and divorce is effected so
easily that. the first one party knows
of it is by seeing it in the
Il of 5a0 O DO oil ,O0nlo ~ 10
fore you give your heart and hand in
holy alliance, use all caution; inquire
outside as to habits, explore the dispo-
sitions, scrutinize the taste, question
the ancestry and find out the ambi-
tons. Do not take the heroes and he
roines of cheap novels for a model. Do
not put your lifetime happiness in the
keeping Of a man who has a reputation
for being a little loose in morals, or
in the keeping of a woman, who dresses
imn1odest1y.e
Remember, that While good looks are
a kindly gift OF God, wrinkles or acct
dem may despoil them.
Remember that Byron was no more
celebrated for his beauty thai for his
d~epravity.
Remember tina Absalo1n's hair was
not more splendid than his habits were
despicab1e.
Hear it, a it! The only foundation
for happy marriage that ever has been
or ever will be is good character.
Ask the counsel Of father and mother
in this most important step of you
life. They are good advisers. They
are the best friends you ever had. They
made more sacrifices for you han any
one else ever did, and they will do more
to-day for your happiness tha any
other people. Ask them, above all, ask
God.