The southern aegis, and Harford County intelligencer. (Bel Air, Md.) 1862-1864, 1862-04-26

soy ou"o ohO nios haIo Struggling years OI
their life were among the happiest she had
known. But that doesn't signify for me.
That is no reason why her daughter should
elect to go into the kitchen, and spend her
years in washing, ironing and cooking. If
a man isn't able to support wife genteel,
and in the style to which she has been ac-
customed, let him marry some Irish cook,
sewing girl or washing woman, who will
furnish his household with the needed &C.
onomy. Young men who CAM earn more
than eight hundred or a thousand dollars
year, should not look into our circle for
wives" W
II don't like to hear you talk in this
way, Alice" said her companion. awe are
not superior beings, but only the equals o.
men"
"Did l say we were superior?"
zone might infer from your language
that you thought 500
81 don't see how the inference can be
drawn
"Our circle for wives, you said just now"
eyes"
"What do"you mean by it p
ga circle of intelligence, refinement,
taste and cultivation, /" replied Alice.
"You don't say wealth"
"No; Hmy father, though living in good
style is not rich l have heard him say,
more than once, that we were up to our in
come"
'Then we have only our own sweet
selves with which to endow sur husbands.
No houses or land, no stock from which to
draw an income; nothing substantial on
which to claim the right Of being supported
in costly idleness We must be rich in
deeu as to personal attractions"
owe are educated accomplished, and
Alice was little bewildered in thought
and did not finish the sentence
'"Not better educated and accomplished,
as girls, than are most of the young men
who, as clerks, earn only from seven hun
dred to thousand dollars year. In this
regard We are simply their equals. But it
strikes me that in another view of the case,
we cannot claim even an equality They
are our superiors
mot by any MEANS" replied Alice
"We shall see. Here is Harry Pleas
ants, for instance What is his income /?
| think you mentioned the sum just now"
"Eight hundred dollars year" Il
That is the interest on-how much !?
let me see-about twelve thousand dollars.
To be equal as match for Harry, then,
you should be worth twelve thousand dol
lars" 1866
elbow you talk Fanny"
'"ro the point, don't1? IF we are not
superior to the young men who visit us;
superior simply in virtue of our sex; then,
our only claim to be handsomely supported
in idol self indulgence, must lie in the fact
that we endow our husbands with sufficient
worldly goods to warrant the condition"
"You are ingenious"
'sNo; matter of-fact What have you to
say against my position, Alice? Are we
better than young men Of equal intelli-
gence and education 2"
"No; l cannot say that we are.
'lfwe marry we must look among these
for husbands. Rich men, as general
thing, select their wives from rich men s
daughters. Our chances in that direction
are not very encouraging. Your father
has no dowry for his child; nor has mine.
Their families are large and expensive,
and little or nothing of the year income is
left at the years close. The best they can
do for us is to give us homes; and I feel
that il is not much to our credit that we
are content to lean on our fathers, already
STOPPING under the burden Of years, care
and toll, instead Of supporting ourselves.
The thought has troubled me Of late. =
a sober hue came over the face Of AL
ice asshe sat hooking into the eyes Of her
friend: She did not reply, and Fanny
went on.
@There is wrong in this. On what
ground of reason are we to be exempt from
the common lot Of useful work. We expect
to become wives and and mothers. rs this
our preparation? Can you bake q loaf Of
sweet, light breadY
mo.
q 1Nor can |. Or roast sirloin h y
s. ~ ~ - 49, 49, 4 ~ !,
"Or broil . steak ? just think Of IL.
Alice! We can manage little useless ens
'broidcry Or fancy khitting;; can sing and
play, dance and chatter; but as to the real
and substantial things Of life we are igno-
rant and helpless And, with all this, for
sooth, we cannot think of letting oursel.
YES dowt, 70 the level and condition Of vir-