The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1866-03-23
Woman-Her Work and Love

A woman's work is never done. From
early light till late bed time, the woman of
the house is on her feet, busy at labor, night
overtaken weary, tired and dishearteDed.
Women grow prematurely old for several
reasons. The cause most generally thought
the greatest has been ascertained to be the
least. 1t is the continued wear on life
the anxiety-the cares and annoyances of
existence-the little recreation she is al
lowed by her lord and master, and that
cruel tyrant, society.
We aim not at poetry or eloquence in
this article as much as to facts, and will
be pardoned for handling the subject with
out gloves.
A woman rises in the morning while her
lazy husband is in bed snoring off the beer
he drank last night. She must have his
breakfast in time for him to reach his daily
toll betimes. She gets breaklast-brings
in wood, often having to hunt it, saw and
split it-tugs at the well rope, lugs from
the spring or labOrs at the pump. When
the meal is ready, she must loose the en-
joyment of it from jumping up from the
table for this and that. Breakfast over, she
clears off the table; washes and wipes the
dishes; sets the pantry to rights; sweeps
and dusts the room and furniture, ma les
the beds, lugsi9 more wood and water, and
before the s@orning labors are done, it is
time to prepare dinner. Thus the forenoon
passes away. The afternoon is devoted to
washing dishes, sweeping the house, bak-
ing, fixing nice for supper, and getting
slicked up ever SO little, so that husband or
brother will ns her slouch. Supper
! over-dishes ~ Ia little mending
I done-the work is put aWs-s. -, sErsssE
If her hair is not always s11ocz5...szl5s
band growls. If her dress is not tidy, he
scolds. If the children be not clean, he
swears. If the victuals be rot cooked, he
grumbles. If the beds are not well made,
he complains. If his meals are not ready
at just such timess he is annoyed and petu-
lous. If his wife does not keep the house
neat, he goes to the saloons. If his wife is
not always fresh, clean, well dressed, and
does not greet him with smiles, no matter
| how tired and fatigued, he seeks the society
| of some other woman, and imagines he is
having a better time than he would have
at home.
In the winter her husband snores till the
flavor of coffee wakens him, while the wife
OF sister kindles fire, contracting diseases
which are incidental to her sex-wears her
life out and the bloom from her cheek in
attempting to ''get along" in life. She does
get along-tOwards the grave!
And men, protesting to be kind, atten-
tive, and unsel6sh, see these things go on
every day. A man at one armfull could
bring in wood enough to last half day, and
one or two turns at tie well rope would not
impair his efficiency or decrease his health,
while it would greatly relieve the poor
woman, whose delicate and beautiful mould
of form cannot long resist the wear or ex-
cessive labor and strain upon the muscles
of the chest attending work she has to per-
form, from child carrying to wood bringing.
market going and water hawling. We do
not wonder women grow older and die
sooner than men, when they have no one
to stand between them and such excessive
labor.
Few men realize these things They
have too much business-too much to do
with politics-too many visits to saloons
too much unmanly selfshness to pick up
market basket, an empty water pail, or 10
fill an empty wOOd-bOx for weary woman,
/ whose work is never none. The man who
has it not in his heart 10 look out for these
little things is unworthy to have wife,
sister, mother or sweetheart. Yet every