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

II more harmonious as q set story. NO
that they wish any harm to Miss A. or Mr.
b., but they like the excitement OF the pass
ing drama,--they shiYer with pleasant
horror at the dark sin just indicated, they
hope il may not be so, and yet the story
would be so much more complete, so in.
finiiely more thrillingl What an expert
ence, too, for themselves TO fiud out that the
fascinating foreigner admitted TO their
homes and hearths Just like one of them
selves was the leader OF gang OF swindlers,
iorgers, perhaps Inurderers, sand himself
a william OF the deepest dye, though gem
tleman of the incest manners. To think
that those white, virtuous hands OF theirs
had clasped III friendship the hand of pro-
iessed cut-throat,-of an escaped convict,
with whom the aureole of high life contends
with the shadow oi the Brest bullstl Hor-
rible, yet how excitingl- gl-making them feel
| quite improper themselves, on the principle
of the pot and the ross-inveried. Any
thing 80 dramatic as This, though, rarely
happens; and when ii does, II serves for
lifetime. But the imprudences of Miss A,
and the gambling debts of Mr.. b, and how
the C's half starye their servants, and what
quarrels convulse the domestic atmosphere
OF the D's,-all these are daily food for the
dramatic instinct 10 live on: and are made
the most of.
Side by side with this sin of sensational
Ism in daily lie is that of sensationalsm in
literature, and the extreme aversion which
most women feel for dull reading,n as
they call anything grave or solid. What
do they first claim at Mudie's and the sea-
side libraries,-history or fictionf King
lakes Crimea, or Charlotte's Inheritancef
Carlyle's Frederick, or Gdy Livingstone's
latestf What do thoy read in newspapersf
.tbe leading srticles2-the letters from
great names on grave subjects'-the par
liamentary debatesf or the murders, the
police reports, the little bits of news and
gossip, that awful column of faceti@, table,
talk, odds and ends,-by what name soeyer
the editor chooses 10 designate his sweep
ings from Joe Miller and the back numbers
OF Punchf These are the woman's bits In
a newspaper, with occasional interludes of
foreign correspondence, II after the man.
ner OF the famous Daily Telegraph, which
surely must be written for ladies onlyl This
dread OF dulinoss is one OF the most foolish
things shout women, and one of the causes
inter Glid, why their conversation is so often
not worth listening TO. They gossip be-.
cause they cannot converse. They do not
cultivate that art Of pleasant, easy, spright-
ly conversation which comes IN as part of
the education of Frenchwoman, and which
is as necessary for her social success as the
art of dress or the science OF appearances
T. uOnC lew MuuiCu hluOuH us WHO can lhiK
easily and brightly on the current topics OF
the day are always sought in society, and
never in want OF partners for n conversa-
ton. They may be old and ugly; but men
with brains will leave the pretticst girl in
the room, if fool, for them, and neither
wrinkles nor harsh lines will repel them, if
the wit is keen and the sense is clear. But
women in general think their emily social
value lies in their outside prettiness and the
amount of personal admiration they can
excite; and so they neglect the beauty which
lasts for that which fades, and, when they
are no longer charming as possible lovers,
have nothing TO fall back upon as pleas
ant companions. One quite understands the
important force of the instinct which makes
n young woman prize her person more than
her mind aad which makes young men
gravltate towards beauty rather than to-
wards character. Human nature, like all
other parts of creation, has It's unreasonlng
! impulses that work TO good ends, and tins is
one of them. But as there is someting more
than mere instinct in humanity, so ought
there to be n further outlook and higher
aim than the mere perishable prettiness oil
the hour. 1t is favorite excuse often made
lor many of the special follies and faults OF
] women, 10 say that their intellect is narrow
because their life sphere is cIrcumscnbed; !;
and that, if they might do more, they would
| have more wherewith 10 do. Yet il is IN
their own hands TO broaden their natural
lines without travelling beyond their appon-
ted boundaries; they could, il they chose,
exercise intellect and education in things
which are now suffered 10 drift like so much
sea wreck without roots, aud so make their
| lives more generous and of nobler intention.
| Home and maternity are womans natural
officers and vocation. This, think, not the
boldest of the 'strong minded" will deny.
And, as things go, nothing could be more
uninteresting or more narrow. But whose
fault is thatf Whose fault is II that the
'cold mutton" of the home has passed into
nroyefb, and that men have a not quite
unreasonable jbe for every domestic cir
cumstancof What exquisite beauty and
Improvement, through the aid oil science,
might not an intelligent woman incorporate
into tho management of her house and chill
dren Is there nothing 10 be learned about
the chemistry OF foodf-and must English
cookery always be simple application of
heat 10 raw flesh, with sometimes q rude
dash Of salt or sauce as the highest extent to
which middle class intellect and ingenuity
can attainY Must we always stay where we
are, just step in advance OF the savage
who tumbles his freshly killed game among
the ashes OF his wood fire, and drags 1t out
while still half raw that he may taste the
blood left in ltp Is there nothing in this di-
rection to interest the brains and worthily
employ the time Of womenf We know that
the quality and preparation of food are hall
the battle with the young, and more than
half the battle with all brain workers; and
that we have the same capacity as thct
which bees and ants possess, inasmgch as
we can feed our pups into pretty much what
we choose them TO be,-stunted, emaciated,
scrolulous, half vitallzed, or comely, well
developed, healthy, and finely formed.
Granting that the present mode OF house
keeping is wTetched thing altogether, and
that TO give much time TO it as at present
conducted would be as wretchcd a waste ol
power, still the fault lies with women, in
that they do not bring their intelligence into
the service OF their duties, and so raise the
whole platform, and make object, life, and
intellect all harmoniously great. Women
may say, "What learn the chemistry ol
food simply that my husband may have Q
good dinner when he comes homer Degrade
myself 10 the condition oil n servant, ant
} give time and thought, and my white hands
for such resultS MOI let him eat cold nut
ton, as do; If he cannot eat it, he ought tC
be ashamed Of himself, and 10 20 without y
! Spoken or concealed, this would be the
, argument that would naturally occur tC
most women; for indeed we are an unreas
soning set of creatures, and as incapable o
+ far seeing judgment, where our own plea
, sure is concerned, as a blind man, attracted
by the scent Of the roses growing on It, Ii
| incapable of seeing the wall he is just goinl
10 run his head against. We never reflec
on the ultimates OF things
A medical man has 10 study botany, chem
, istry, comparative anatomy, as well MS tn,
more immediate subjects OF his profession
for tho result, among others, OF clipping ou
little glrl's milk teeth, or poulticing
I maid servants whitlow. But the create
I results OF the valuable lives he can save, ant
0 the human suffering he can alleViate,-d,
9 they count FOL nOtlnngf Does be finch from
8 his studies, and grudge his care and atten
b tion because the milk teeth and the whillov
I come in as part oil the final causeP does Ii
ignore that great, grand end which lies be
Q yond the petty details of his practiccf II
, save life and alleviate human suffering wer
I quite sufficient moral motives for those lonj
!. al..l.. nj I.l.-.