Weekly Delaware State journal and statesman. (Wilmington, Del.) 18??-18??, 1869-02-05
OUR SMALL sINS.


From the days OF Solomon downwards,
| and In all countries where proverbs crystal
| llxc the various aftiuents of experience, we
women have been especially credited with
all the smaller vices Incidental 10 humanity
at large We escape the abyss of the dark
er crimes which are reserved for men,
save, indeed, as the teterrimo sausc of all
evil, only To iall upon the mud-heaps of
the meaner sins; ard perhaps the accusa-
tion is not entirely unreasonable. Let us
begin with one OF the most notorious of our
small SINS, Sour love of gossip, accompanied
by that inveterate habit of cbattering about
ourselves and our affairs which seems to be
feminine characteristic everywhere and
at all times, and surely we must confess
that this Is one Of our instructive faults, not
in any degree equally shared by men. Even
when we nnd IL In men, do We not brand it
as our own translated, by calling it "wo-
msnisbr'-and are not all the Yorn-out old
fellows who congregate round the club
windows to discuss the passing scandal OF
the hour old women " by the discourtesy
of common parlancef Though, of course,
there are some miserable little fellows who
far outstrip the worst of ourselves, and do
more in the way of fuss and chatter than
the fussiest and most fluid woman to be
found in the kingdom, yet no really manly
man likes gossip or gives into the habit of
chatter. The petty details of the home,
the small events and minute annoyances
which are so gigantic 10 women, are SO
many noihings TO him; and it is distasteful
TO him TO hear Of them as things demanding
much attention or worthy Of any very pre- :
| found emotion. He bears them in the same
way as that in which the old Morse giant
bore the blows of Thor's hammer"
thought the leaves were falling Oh my face
last night, and that the birds we're throwing
mosa over me-" and shakes himself clear OF
them as Gulliver shook himself clear OF the
Liliputian cordagc. To hear them magnifi-
ed into heavy grievances, strong enough to
weigh down the happiness Of life, is mis-
direction OF force, waste Of power, that
he cannot away with, and is as unpleasant
to him, as it would be to a large minded
woman were she forced to live in Tho squab-
| judicate between the rival claims of Rose
the black ,yrd doll, or Laura the fair wgged
| one.
But women take an artistic pleasure in
gossip; which indeed, with personal chatter,
is the sole form OF conversation generally
found possible with the ordinary British
female. Like the eephant's trunk, which
can pick up pin or crush mans bones TO
| pulp, nothing is too small for the British
| ltlnhlt " ulstusHt uuh hbtnlnk loO ihikt
| her TO decide; because she makes every sub
ject which affects herself of supreme i'm
portanee, how trivial soever it may be in
| trinsically, while she narrows down the
brOadest questions To the pitiful level of her
own personal convenience. From Mary,
the maids new Sunday bonnet-trlmming to
tho exact Limitation OF cooks lawful wagea
involving the whole question OF capital
and labor-she is at all times ready for the
most fractional details and the most suthori-
taiiye decision. Not that she sees in the
limitation OF wages any connection with
that greater subject oil capital and labor,
but only as 1t bears on her own private
means, and the convenience or Inconvenience
to which she may be put according to her
balance at the bankers. II you were to tell
| her that she was pronOuncing on a branch
OF political economy which had puzzled,
and was still puzzling, the wisest heads Ia
set straight, she would express her opinion
that nothing was more easy 10 arrange
and that, II men were as clever as they pre-
tended TO be, they ought long ago to have
settled such an easy and selLevident ques
ton. She would algo be sure to settle i
against poor Mary, maid and cook; ant
with her own allowance double that oi hcl
mothers, contend that servants are grea
deal too well of as IL is, and what do they
want with so much money! For one of thl
small sins OF women is stinginess, and
dlsinclination 10 pay well for work of sny
kind; but am coming to this in its Owl
time.
The kitchen is always one of the mos
fertile hunting-srounds for the chatter ant
gossip OF women; and so far from servant
being " the greatest plaques In life" hal
the women IN England would be I" blue
moulded " for want of them as the pieces d
rosistdnee in the centre of their frothy talk
The short. comings OF their domesties ar
their darling grievance; and what woul,
the world be without feminine grievances
A legend says there was once silence il
heaven for an hour; there would be silenc
then in English drawing rooms for man,
hoursl Their maids are shop" with wo
mon, and they talk "shop" as men neve
do. No officer chatters about his men, NJ
merchant OF his clerks, as women chatte
about their servants; and no ordinary mas
ter-alwuys excepting the miserable nttl
fellows before mentioned, who are just e.
many fussy, bearded women-would dream
of giving the same attention to the saying
and dOings Of his domestlcs as even strong
minded women give TO theirs. Fancy ma
peeping and prying behind the blinds TO SO
: whether John ogled the pretty milk-woman
or squeezed the hand OF the comely lsun
dressi Yet how many women are there nc
who can tell you how Jane stands and talk
TO that bold butcher-boy; and how Ann
blushcd when she saw the bakers man 8
; the area-gate yesterday; and how that ari
full little hussy, Sarah, always puts on lie
most becoming cap when gentlemen ar
dining al the house; and, ibid yeu see th
way in which she hooked at Mr.. Blan
when she handed him the brsadf You di
= notf Ali you arc not as well aequainte
with Miss SaTahs ways as l ami Ye
should live with her, and then, perhaps
: you would understand her nrtfulnsss.
d In fact, there is a certain jealousy, = Gel
. tam mute nvalry, between mistress an
S maid, which 10 sometimes tho reason VIII
tho former takes such an excessive intsrel
4 not OF the most friendly kind--in III
looks and ways OF tho latter. Both NJ
!. women, and not unfrequently the maid
the prettier woman of the two; and thoug
the mistress could neither indiYidualize, nc
la would even 10 herself confess her Jealous,
there il is all the same, as the motive fore
setting many things in action. OF coursl
women will deny this passionRtelT; but
T. is true, nevertheless. Arc there not man
r. hOuse-mlstTesses who refuse to sngal
pretty servants because of the nttenlio
they would excite and the admiration tie
would aiiraciY They may give fno-sounl
ing name 10 this refusal; il they spoke Il
truth candidly, il would bo Jealousy.
i'd small sin very common among wome
ID is their intense craving for excitement,
l.. the tive iorms OF unwholesoms reading an
al ais