XIV.
Things are somewhat reversed, when wisdom and age
Are counted as nothing—as fools on the stage;
If a man wants to marry—strange as it seems—
Must he ask his dear children, still in their teens?
Must he say to them, “Children, please, may I marry?”
And if they refuse, should he raise the Old Harry?
If a widow would marry—sometimes the case—
Must she call in the neighbors as a preface,
And ask their consent that she wed Mr. Brown,
Or be laughed at—defamed, throughout the town?
We will not attempt at this time to relate,
The dangers attending the marital state—
A good loving husband, with a virtuous wife
Of course, will augment all the joys of life;
From this stated axiom we cannot fly,
For this self-evident truth, is not a lie.
If Wedlock’s a lottery, as some maintain,
Then some will be losers, and some will gain;
If trusting to fate, or trusting to chance,
Powerless to act, as in nightmare or trance—
You marry a rake, or marry a shrew,
The blame must be laid, as it should be, on you,
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE:
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
Archaic spelling that may have been in use at the time of publication has been retained.