The weekly echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1868-1876, 1868-04-25
PIaiu TaIk Abomt Woman's
Work


The gawdq Rs0ie10 has tie foli0W-
ing on voman's work, which Is fully as
applicable to the women Of the United
States as to thoss Of England, for whom
the article was written
it il strange % Say into Whist I'D.
reasonable disrepute active housekeep-
ing, Woman's natural duty, has fallen
in England, Take family with four
OF five bundled ycar, and we know
how small that ID FOR g genteel human
ity" in these days, the wife who win be
an active hOusekeepe4, even with such
an income, viii be al exception to the
rule and the daughters Who win be
anything more than dtaNiina-E0Om dolls
waiting for husbands TO transfer them
to homes Of their own, where they may
be as useless as they are now, VIII be
raror SILL For things are getting
worse, not better, and our young wo-
men are less useful than their mothers.
What is there in practical hOusekeep-
ing less honorable than the ordinary
work of middle-class gentleW0men |?
And why should women shrink from
doing for utility, and for the general
comfort Of the family, what they would
do at any time for vanity or idleness /?
No one need go into extremes, and wish
cur middle class geIflawomen to be-
come Cinderellas sitting among the
kitchen ashes, Nansicaas washing linen,
or Penelopes spending their lives in
needlework only. But without under
taking anything unpleasant 70 her sens
es or degrading to her condition, q lady
might do hundreds of things that are
now left und0ne IN house altogether,
on are given up to the coarse handling
of servants, and domestic Life would
gain infinitely in consequence. What
degradation, for instance, Is there in
cookery ? and how much more happi-
ness would there be If wives would take
in hand that great cold mutton ques-
ton "
The whole scheme of woman's life at
this present time is Untenable and un-
fair. She wants to have all the pleas
ares and none Of the disagreeables.
Her husband goes to the city and does
monotonous and unpleasant work there;
but his wife thinks herself in very evil
case If asked to do monotonOus house
work at home. Yet she does nothing
more eleyating o. moro advantageous.
Novel reading, fancy work, skating,
letter writing, sum up her ordinary oc-
equations, and she considers these more
to the point than practical housakeep-
Il, IT., RoaE - 1,aer-,, ~ Z, -~s 4,,s ly,,es1
ton what women think themselves sent
into the world for, what they hold
themselves DESIGNED by God to be or to
do. Fancy brilliant creature foregoing
an evening convegsati glory abroad
for the sake of d prosaic h0 ashland more
prosaic dinner. He comes home tired
from work, and desperately in need of
a good dinner as q restorative but the
plain cook gives hin4 cold meat and
pickles, or an determination which she
calls hash, and the brilliant creature,
full of mind, thinks the desire for any
thing else rank sensualisy 1T seems a
little hard, certainly, OF sbe happy fell
low who works az the mill for such a
return bnt women believe that men
are made only to work at she mill that
they receive the grist aceTaing and be
kept In idleness and usefulness an their
lives. They have no ideaaof tightening
the labor Of that mill round BY doing
their own natural work cheerfully and
They WI DO everything
but what they ought 10 do they
viii make themselves doctors. commit
what not, but they won't
learn cooking, and they don't keep
their own houses There never was
time when women were Jess the help
mates than they are at present when
there was such d wide division between
the interests and the sympathies Of the
sexes in the endeav0r, on the one side,
to approximate their pursuits.
al FAsHI0NABLE CoNCERT III