Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1872-08-12
THAT SMILE.

Mast Z? Yes, you must. No mat
ter what sort of man the Fates have
bestowed upon you, you are to beam up
on him all your days with the radiance
of a star. If he kept you up till twelve
o'clock last night, waiting for him to
come home from-well from Somewhere
and then comes in with "a little too
much, and you had to pull off his boots
and drag him to bed if he went off this
morning and left you without stick of
wood. and six children to warm and feed
and clothe if the stove is cracked if
the baby falls and skins its precious
nose, and all the children take it into
their heads to black eack others eyes,
and blue each others faces. All those
things which try women's souls may have
exasperated you, until you long to let
yourself out in a grand surge of whole
some wrath. If all the ills of female
flesh were to assail your body, and all
the ills that housekeepers know distract
your mind, it is all the same. You may
have cried till your nose and eyes are
red. After throwing your soul into a
frantic struggle to have nice dinner
ready in time, you may be frowzy and
hustered, sweating and groaning over a
half cooked pudding. when the o'clock
strikes the hour Insurgent children
may be hanging to your skirts. But 10
a step is heard. Now let order be born
from chaos Come out of the slops and
ashes, and be you clean Put on that
smile. Let your countenance shine as
the morning let the hairs of your head
know each its place. He comes Woe
be unto you, if wheel or pivot of
the domestic machinery be out of order
But if it be so, and the bolt of Jove be
hurled at your head and the lions roar
to be heard in the land, smile on. Look
at him, as he swallows his dinner in
wrath, with the blackness of darkness
on his majestic brow; look on, and smile
in peace. You have failed in your duty.
You ought to have had a bower of Eden
in waiting for this perfect Adam. 1t is
so refreshing to man, to find a clean
spot, little world of beauty and har-
mony, where he can bring his dirt, smoke
and spit, turn over things, and rest his
soul from the cares of life. Yes, you
have been guilty of a great ofense but
you are not to add to it the enormity Of
neglecting to don that smile
Oh, the bondage of the women She
must sbear the heaviest burden, and
walk the hardest road" She must dc
woman's work, forsooth-though she is
weak, and the work is ten times heavier
than that which many a broad-shoulder
ed Hercules is doing. She must brew
and bake, and mend and make wasl
and iron, and sew on buttons But OF
the top of all this comes the crownins
; tyranny-the dread decree "Alway
meet Me with smile" Oh, insult up
on injury The last feather broke tn,
camers back What sort of backs d.
you think we have got, to bear all th'
mountain load of woman's work, ant
woes, and pains, and penalties, and ye
not break when you pile on this las
weight
Nobody ever said to you, "Meet you
wife with smile. - What an idea
You have so many cares and vexation
in your business. No matter if you ar
strong and vigorous, and can throw Of
I your troubles in hearty work, and fee
your blood stirred healthfully by con
tact with human kind, while your wifi
is weak, and her troubles and crosse
are to be met and borne in the lionel
monotony of home life and endless tasks
You may look sour if you feel like il
7 and you may go and throw your bundl
of cares upon her shoulders but sh
must smile. You have to be pleasan
abroad-then can't fellow be cross {
!. home? And if anything has gon
Y wrong-if last night at the club hs
given you headache, or your breakfa'
: disagreed with your lordly stomach
: can't you snub your wife, and strike te
ror into the children's souls? Certain
D ly, by all means, sir. And if yourwii
fails to meet you with that smile, whetl
: er you come in the mood of roarin
lion or sulky bear, then-well, yc
:, can get some editor to publish som
i thing about "a Wife's Duties, or son
more "Advice to Wives"
II And now, felloW-Slsters, lend me yOl
ears. A good man, with a great, lovir
% heart, is creature for any woman
d adore. If you are true wife, and ha'
such a husband, you will generally we;
d THAT smile | think. The sunshine h
l. love makes in your heart, will break o
.e e in your face. If you have such hu
II band, and do not adore him, if your ia
does not sparkle at his coming, as Gle
&c waters sparkle back at the sun, VIII
es then, It's no use to waste words on su
r. a reprobate as you are
ct But If you have a husband on who
- - you might smile all your life. witho
even warming or softening his cold, brr