Orangeburg times. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1872-1875, 1874-11-19

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REoREAPIoNFoR THE MOTHERS.
Amuscmontsr and Holidays Tor tho MID.
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Nov that the fres are beginning to
burn on library and parlor Rearths in
the evenings, end tho curtains to be
drawn close, and the most devout lover
OF nature gives up the stroll in shady,
lanes, Tor Sthe row Ton thei moon-lft
river, and, comes in-d3ors for the winter,
it is worth while to- consider what is
to be done indoors. The work is
ready for .eyeryh body who chooses to! do
it; butt the RELAXATION, the rest, the
stmulant, which is to fit us for the
woykT is that TO be p;pFor fashion,
fable Glasses this matter OF amusement
is ruled in almost as inflexible grooves
as drudgery for the poor (; for men Or
young people too, it adjusts itself
naturally. hesfather of family has
his clubs. his share in the political
or church meeting, or at least,
slippers, at shome--precisely the drowsV
reaction he needs after the friction of
the busy day. The boys and girls live
/ tth tHeiE concerts, their lectures, the thor,l.
sand devices of sooiables, the "acci-
dentals,' etc, by which they contriye
to flock together, to chirp like Young
birds in May, and, perhaps, to mate
like them. But the wives and the
mothers, the great aggregate of women.
no longer young-what is to be their
tonic They. certainly need tonic.
The American mother Of a family; ia the
real maid of all work in it, and the
more faithful and intelligent she is the
more she usually tries to deserve the
same. She may work with her hands
or not Gin the large majority of cases
she does work with her hands), but il
ls she who in any case oversees and
gives life to dozen different interests.
Herlhusband's business, the boys edu-
the baby's teething, the sewing AMI
housework for them all. are ali rnro.
cesses which she urges on and which
rasp and fret daily and hourly on her
brain-a very dull unskilled> brain. too
often, but almost always quite willing
to wear itself out for those she loves.
Whether 1T would be nebler or more
polite In her to ehirk this work--hus.
Dand, babes and home-and deyelop
her latent talents as physician, artist OF
saleswoman, is not the question with ma
Just now. A few women have done
this. In the cities, too, money can re-
move much of the responsibility from
the mistress of household; ]; but the
aggregate OF wives and mothers in this
ceuphry are dom eatic Eonson rho Az,
ever strength they have of BODY and
mind shall be drained for their hus-
bands and children. Now this spirit of
martyrdom is a very good thing-when
1t is necessary. For our part, we can
see no necessity for it here. We are
told that the women's wards in the in
sane asylums in New England are filed
with middle-aged wives, mothers driven
there by overwork and anxiety {; through
the rest of the country the particular
type of the woman of forty is neither
fat nor fair, but sallow, anxious. eyed
creature, with teeth and hair furnished
by the shops, and liver and nerves
which long ago. took her work, temper,
and, we had aluiest said, religion out of
her control. This rapid decay of our
women may be owing partly to climatic
influences, but it is much moro due to
the wear and tear of their motherhood,
and axiety to push their children for
ward, added to the incessant petty
rasping Of inefficient doraestic service.
AZ hihh % WORh' nihu -Uo ueaFlef, DuG IL
is single, it wears on him on one side
only; he has his hours sacred to busi-
ness, to give to his brief, his sermon,
his shop; 5here is no drain on the rest
of his faculties or time. His wife has
no hour sacred to this or to that he
brings his trouble to her and it ia her
duty to comprehend and aid him, while
her brain is devising how to keep her
hoy Tom away from the companions
who brought him home drunk last night:
how to give Jennie another year of
music lessons; how to contrive cloak
for the baby out of her old merino the
burning meat in the kitchen all the
while "setting her nerves iii n dfliver."
She has not power of mind, skill of
body which her daily life does not draw
upon. Her husband comes and goes %
his office the outdoor air, the stir, the
change of ideas, the passing word for
this man OF that, unconsciously refresh
and lift him from the cankering care of
the work.. She has, the parlor, the din
ing.room, tho Kitchen, TO shut her into
it, day sitter day, year after year. Wo-
men, without single actual grief in.
the world, grow morbid and ili-tem-
pered, simply from living indoors, and
resort to prayer to conquer their GROSS
ness, when they only need walk of a
couple of miles, or some wholesome
amusement. It is natural craving
for this necessity y--amusement-
dsives ttoin to tSiia tts tss- IL parties and sew
ing.oiroles which men ridicule as absurd
and tedious
There ia no reason .whv our woman