Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1870-12-23
why wives Fade.
THE CAUSE OF THE DECAY or AMERICAN
WoMANHooD

THE CAUSE OF THE DECAY or AMEBlCAN
woMANHooD.
How many pale, lifeless women you
see in the West--and in the East too, fol
that matter. Young, fresh-looking wo
men marry, and in five or ten years you
can hardly recognize them, while then
husbands look as we'll as on the day ol
their wedding. One cause Of this is
complicated housekeeping, When q
man undertakes business, he finds
learned men ready to assist him; he
knows what there is to do, and secures
help accordingly.
A young woman goes to housekeeping
very often without any help at all, or,
perhaps, with one awkward girl, like the
wife in this respect. There are three
meals toget every day-that means cook.
ing-and then come the dishes to be
washed after each meal. 1t would tax
about forty-fve pieces for breakfast and
supper, and seventy for dinner for fam
ily Of fve-one hundred and sixty-fve
pieces to be carried from the kitchen to
the dining-room every day, washed and
carried back. If you have six rooms in
your house there is one to be thoroughly
swept and cleaned daily besides brushing
up the others, making beds. bringing in
wood, and carrying water.
Twice week there is bread-making,
twice week yeast-making, one day
washing, one day ironing, pantries and
safes to be washed outonce week, dairy
work to be attended to, besides innumer-
able jobs in the way Of preserving, jelly
makings, picking, curing hams, putting
down pigs feet, looking over apples twice
in the winter, and making hogshead
cheese, mineemeat, thorough house
cleaning twice year, then sewing on
dressing, aprons, shirts, drawers, gowns,
etc, by the dozen.
Then supposing the housekeeper has
a baby-an average six months old ba-
by, that weighs about eighteen pounds.
Suppose she has this child in her arms
thirty times q day, (aeross infant is tax
en- up more frequently and often she is
obliged TO work with the right arm while
carrying the burden Of q baby about
with the left. Who is it that says there
is nothing in gymnastics equal in endu-
rance to mothers arms. Even when
the days labor is accomplished, and she
goes to bed, she still holds her baby, and
does not sleep soundly for fear of rolling
on it or its getting uncovered; she mus
attend to its wants several times in the
night, and must lie in constrained con
J dition for fear of disturbing it.
| have heard women say that they
would give almost anything for night
of undistured sleep, with no care or
the mind" Then in themorning up ant
at it again. Don't you see why womer
get pale, and why sometimes little eros.
and how their husbands wonder thai
their wives don't look pretty, and dress
well, and entertain them as they did be
fore they were married?
The wives don't reason on the matter
they think it all the mans fault, and ther
they turn cross, and so things go at skies
and sevens-and this is the place where
women's rights should be taken hold of
| don't think voting would help that very
much; woman's labor should be made ;
study. In the first place men must real
ize that it is great labor to keep house
A great many women sink down under
the weight then everybody says "Pool
thing she always was a weakly, good
for-nothing creature" and the "pool
thing" has been doing more for the pas
ten days than two women ought to have
done.