Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-07-22
Know YOUR HusBAYps INCOME.

KNOW YOUR HUSBANDS INCOME.
We hcar it frequently asserted that ex.
travsgance is the great evil Of the age
Husbands particularly, are fond CT ex-
patiating on this subject before their wives
or before female visitors whom they talk
TO, in order to talk at their spouses. But.
in justice to to the ladies, il should be
known that men are quite as extravagant
as women. If the latter have weak
ness for laces, silks, and fine furniture,
the former are Just as fond ofcigars, cham
pagne and horses. Many . husband who
grumbles at what he thinks the extr1v-
agant sums paid by his wife for gloves,
shoes and handkerchiefs, spends twice as
much on oysters, or at ten.pns. Things
the wife fancies are moreover the more
refined of the two, and on the whole. are
perhaps quite as useful as the Others
FAIR play has not been given to the sex.
The men, who do most Of the editing,
writing and paying, have raised the cry
Of fextravagance against the ladies, until
q popular idea has arisen that females are
consttutionally greater spendthrifts than
the males. 1t is the old story Of the lion
painting bis own virtues.
Having thus exonerated the ladies from
q charge we think unjust, they will, we
trust, listen dispassionately to what fur
ther we have to say. For though we con-
slider the men quite as extravagant as the
women, we arefar from exonerating either
from this folly entirely. At some other
time we may have word Of advice for
the 'slords Of creation" but to-day we
wish to have the ear for while Of the
wives of those same cords" We pre-
sumo Ut the outset we are talking to sem
sible women. By sensible woman, in
this instance, we mean one who, if Q wife,
makes her husbands interests her own,
and who is, therefore, anxious to spare
his unnecessary anxiety ,and to labor with
him. to the extent of her ability, to lay
by something for their old age, if not for
the future establishment of their children.
The wife who has not this sympathy for
her husband, but who regards him merely
as means of enabling her to dress eI-
pensively, is unworthy the name, the po-
sition, the honors of q companion for life.
She is, in one sense, the help-mate, which
she was called in the Old Sexon. She
is drag on her husband, not an assis-
tant to him. To aid him she should be
cheerful, should order her house well,
and above all, should strictly avoid ex-
travagance : and to achieve the latter,
there is no other way, provided she is .
WON of sense, than than to know his
income exactly. ., .-...
For extravaganza is o relative term.
A brocade silk may be q. folly for one
wife, but only what is proper for another
better. We do not advocate parsimony
on the part Of the rich. If elegant fab
rics and sumptuous furniture and fine
houses were abolished, many thriving
trades would perish for want of susie
nance; and those who ply them weuld
either be reduced to permanent beggary
or forced into other pursuits which are
already, perhaps, sufficiently stocked
But if sensible wife knows her hus-
bands income, she can tell for herself
what is extravagant, and what is not.
Is he a merchauts She is aware, then,
that he has fortune to make; that biz
pursuit is precarious one; and fn.t
consequently the household exnenset
must bear very small prc.sort;on to the
apperens mgs Sbe prGnts' Gno J. ne . professional
ulah que Ap .ws that, in this case, the
I foap W ,ealth is slow, and that, there
i" e, she must deny herself many things
that his position would seem to warrant.
Is he mechanic In such an event,
her husband can never hope to be rich
until he saves capital enough to become
master workman, and he cannot hope to
succeed in this effort, unless sustained
by the strictest economy on the part Of
his wife. Is be a man of fortune2 A
wise wife is aware that property fuctu-
ates, and that children all want start
in life; and consequently even the wife
of a landed proprietor will take care not
to spend their whole income.
1t is not always the wife thtt is to
blame, however, for not regulating the
expenses of the husband s income. Many
men foolishly think that it is not q wife s
business to know the state Of their affairs.
Others, when in difficulty, deceive their
wives. 1t frequently happens that the
wife believes her husband to be prosper
ing when he is not, or greatly overrates
the extent of his prosperity. In such
cases, the husband is quite as censurable
for the wife's e1travagance as she is her.
self. To sum up all in a sentence, If
husbands would be more just to wives,
wives would oftener act like women of
sense, and would be less extravagant.
THE GREAT BELL OF VfKNNA.-For q
birthday excursion, yesterday ascended
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