The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1858-02-12

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canal. Instead Of this she unrolled ih'
towIine, stretched it to It's full length
and dropping over her own head tht
broad leather loop at its end, bowed her
selfto the work Of towing She was the
beast Of drafts her husband had brsgged
of. The boat was too much for her
strength Jules ran to help her, and
the captain surrcndering the rudder to
me, aided by polling at the sides. In .
few moments we were moving steadily
forward. Jules spiang back on the quar-
ter deck; the captain ceased polling and
amused himself by whistling the Mar.
seilles hymn and looking out very cheer
fully over the landscape; and the cap
tain's wife is tugging away, leaning down
to it at an angle Of about forty-fvc.
Jules said I, what do you think Of the
poor woman, bent double on the tow
path . iHa ."
Think Sheis etter off than I an.--
She and her husband own the whole boat
load; she told me so. I
Her being turned into beast Of draft
did not shock his prejudices in the least ;
he had been accustomed to witness this
degradation. We went on in silence for
an hour. Duringthis time we met three
boats, two Of them drawn by women,
and one by man and a boy. The cap
tain came aft 10 take the rudder.
We'll, captain said ], you have a ia
nous mare, it is true, but what would you
do il she wouldn't gof
Wouldn't gor he exclaimed with a
disdainful laugh. Apiece Of stout cord
about four feet long, was lying at his feet.
He pushed it toward me with the toe Of
his clog, and added, there's ropes end
that would bring her to reason
But You wouldn't whip your wife =
Let her deserve it, and you will scc.'
you haven't the right to-
why not! II my donkey don't 60,
wollop him.
You don't compare your wife to your
donkey"
Generally she is good creature
enough, but sometimes she is the most
stubborn, of the two
That makes no difference; II is das-
tardly to fly into a passion with a woman
There you arc right said he, with a
laugh. 4 am never in a passion when !
correct her.
And the brute was so pleased with his
rcpartee in defence Of his right Of prop.
erty, that he showed almost the whole Of
his white teeth. He descended into the
cabin, and I went on shore and entered
into conversation with his wife. She
was very communicative, and told me
they got on very well in the world, and
would soon have enough to buy a cabin
and a garden patch; that her husband
was generally kind to her; he corrected
her sometimes, but il was when she yexed
him but when he got in liquor he thought
it fine fun to pitch hel into the water; the
canal was not deep and she always wadcd
out, and waited until he got sober before
going back into the boat. The poor
woman did no, suspect herself Of being un.
happy, and l did not hint to her that ]
thought her so. Why should trouble
her peaceful existence when ] could intro
ducc no higher one! | expressed my
sympathy and went back to the boat.
This custom Of whipping ones wife is
widely honorcd by observance among the
peasants and working classes. Ithas been
'entailcd on them by the middle ages
Then it was sanctioned by law; the hus.
band had a right to punish hisw modcr-
ately, so that death did not cnsue.'