The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1872-12-13

Exchequer, Robert Lowe, is only 4
Grecleys age, and is expected to
re a great deal of hard night work,
'ie say nothing OF his incessant attenti,
E" to office duties during the day. d
Il Greeley, then, caunOt properly
I'd described as an old man.
NJ IFrom the San Francisco Sunday Chronicl
70 THE SOCIAL QUESTION.
= There is doubtless much of sffect
/, Iion upon the part az old people
"a assuming that olden times were d
rer and old customs better than Il
- time and manners OF nowadays; tn
. ? in the good old times OF long az
,, there was more of integrity anon
,, men and Of modesty anohg women
that we are drifting from the oi
= landmarks Uf virtue and simplicit
: in these degenerated, modern day.
! and in the NAL excitement of busl
ness and in tie whirlpool of pleasur
are forgetting the maxims OF a stern
er morality taught by our fnrefath
ers. We doubt not that human vir.
i, tue is about the same, and We ar
scarcely willing to admit that We ar
not pretty nearly as good a. our an
, cestOrs. There were wicked anC
prcfigste times long before our era
! nations lost their liberties and he
came enervsted by their indulgence
in the excuses of an over stimulated
civilization. And ct we are almosl
persuaded thai in certain phases oi
domestic life W. have departed some
what from the paths o! lee itude, and
that we had better Lut the breaks
down lest We precipitate ourselves
upon too fast a career. Marriage
has become lottery in which, as in
all games OF hszsid, there are more
blanks than prizes Housekeeping
is fearful experiment, and unless q
young man has drawn prize in the
lottery Of marriage he enters upon a
voyage of unknown peril " thout
pilot, compass or Iudder. Our
grandmothers are garrulous of'their
esrly trials and the joys OF their
youthful days-how they patched
their quilts, wove their own linen,
and provided their bedding and their
wedding outfit-how one elk frock
was wedding dress and wardrobe
how a china set and silver spoons set
them up ir housekeeping how they
could milk and weave snd spin and
knit-how they could cook and bIke
and brew srd darn and mend and
tend baby-how they could pinch ana
save and make botn ends meet. But
nCwaday {, alas for their grand-daugh-
tiers, they must begin where the
mother leaves off. No nonsense of
love in a cottage for them, unless it is
cottage out on Van Ness Avenue.
No fixing for house-keepiDg-that is
a matter OF shopping, dress-makers
and upholstereIs. "One silk frock J"
goodness gracious! II is treasure
and should be imported from France.
Breakfast and dinner sets from Brus
sells and silver service are only the
lesser items of the wedding gifts
To milk, weave, spin, knit, cook, bake,
brew, darn, mend-not il they know
themselves; but they can embroider,
braid, tat, crochet, paint, do wax work,
play the piano, sing, dance and dress
most charmingly, ard as for tending
baby, to have one is trouble enough
the bother is pushed aside into the
nursery and the responsibility de-
wolves upon the milkmap. Cousin
Beebe's story that his New York cOu-
sin was keeping servant boarding
house illustrates the domestic comioIt
and economy of housekeeping. Every
thing conspires to keep the inst tuition
in commotion. Servant gsllisn, morn
ing mass and midday church. Ire: and
is in rebellion. The hestben Chinese
are conspiring with good and pious
old maids to learn English at Sunday
Schools, or are gambling with copper
cash at some opium he'll. The butch
er is monster of fraud, who sells the
poor little wife the weight of his great
red hand a. every order she gives
grocer and baker and .ndlestick ma
ker are sTl in conspiracy against her,
and SIZE finds herself at war with So
ciety, servants in rebellion, cash wont
balance, husband cross and rapidly
developing i1to his normal condition
OF monster and tyrsnt. Is it won-
der that This condition OF things brings
up either in a divorce Court OF in
apartments at the Grand Hotel? Is it
q wonder that young men prefer their
bachelor quarters end young la'iies
their mothers apron-string tn this
dread ul lorueal-that coEJtship is more
agreeable than marriage? Is it strange
that serpents crawl around the hearth
stone and warm themselves by the un-
happy fireside, and that Lore and mar
riage so often enjs in pickering, dis
content, estrangement and divorce ?
What blessed thing it would be if
we could give the whole machine
turn back and return to something
like the simplicity and economy Of the
earlier times; il we could get rid of
some part OF the artificial wants that
a false spurious civilization has SEEM
ed To render necessary; il We could
shake of some Of the tyrannies Of
polite society, snd free ourselves from
some of the arbitrary ensctments Of
the social code. How desirable it
would be if we could agree smong
ourselves that there are different po-
sitions in society, and that we need
not initiate the wealthy in their style
of expenditure; that The maid might
not rivsl the mistress in dress; that
young people might understand that
economy and industrious toll lprecedes
wealth; that it is respectable for
young married couple to live within
their means, TO help each other save
their earnings,do their own work and
dress plain until competence justi-
fies a more liberal expenditure.
From the Dapo1ry Comm News.I