The Portland daily press., 1874-06-25
The Frying-Pan.
ITS DETERIORATING AND DEMOALIZING IN
FLUENcE UPON AMERICAN SOCIETY.

As Lord Palmerston defined himself to be
the bottle-holder of oppressed nationalities,
so we may define ourselves as the tug boat OF
distressed worth. Among the causes to
whose struggling champions we have cast our
tow line, that is ever ready ard able to save
those who properly take hold thereon, has
been that of the enfranchisement of woman.
We do not include in our approval the emf
nent dead-beats and distinguished barnacles
that thrust themselves into prominent con
nection with that, as with all other goot
causes, nor do we think that it would bt
found expedicnt by the wiser women them
selves TO exercise ali the rights which we art
willing to confer upon them. But, waving
all discussion on such points, we are com.
PEELED to place ourselves squarely on the rec
ord with regard to others of equal or even
greater importance. The duties of society
towards women have been sufficiently de.
scribed and the rights OF woman insisted up
or frequently enough. But the tyrant man,
having all the best of the position-to wit,
possession-though he may have considera
bly, the worst of the argument, should inl-
prove his opportunities to secure something
in return for what he surrenders. That
women owe certain things to society and
have responsibilities and duties to discharge
as we'll as privileges to acquire cannot be de-
MED: The poet has beautifully and correctly
said: ~ -
'There is a weapon frmer set,
And better than the bay-o-net,"
having reference las is well known) to tie
ballot. Well, there is weapon still deadlier,
which is welded by the American female,
and t Il she will lay it down and confess her
past errors, and promise her future amend
ment, we are disnclined to favor her recon-
struction. We allude to the Frying-pan.
The Frying-pan is not less characteristic of
this great and glorious nation than are Pie,
and Lyceums, and Confined Bedrooms, and
we have grave doubts as to whether it does
not exercise more deteriorat,ng and demor-
alZing influence upon our national life than
all three. The woman who Grams herself
with pie, attends lyceum, and then goes to
bed in confined bedroom. Eminently rep
rehensible as her conduct unquestionably is,
she draws down inevitably an adequate punish
ment upon herself. it is her personal inside
with which she is tampering, and the ante
dated funeral will emphaticaly be her own.
But the woman who takes up the Frying-pan
makes war upon society as well as upon her.
self, and in her fury and blindness whelms in
common destruction her husband and chill
dren and the boarder that is within her gates.
The malevolent Influence of the frying
pau it would be difficult to oversta.e, aided
and abetted, as 1t is, by the pernicious popu-
larity of steak. In the household economy
OF Americans, steak plays an important part
-exel cises a malign influence. The wayfar-
ing man, who, being fool, strays into res
taurant, and receives bill of fare inscribed
with seventy shes, may be relied upon, after
long canvassing the several items. and being
sorely tried by the respective charms of boiled
mutton and capersauce and roast turkey and
cranberries, to order steak as the only salts
factory issue from his perplexities. So the
not-prudeDt housewife, who neglects till the
last minute the ordering of dinner designed
especially to please her husband, will, in hel
futtering anxiety, probably select STEAK,
which he detests with more than the hatred
of man. Precisely how it comes about is one
of upinvestigated and apparently insoiub,e
mysteries, like the origin OF fluff: but it can
safely be said that Of the twenty-one meals a
week whereat the carnivorous American ex-
poets to be served with meal,at least at eleven
the perennial steak will present itself un-
blushiDgly.
This being so, it should be ours to mitigate,
in so far as we may, miseres that we cannot
remove. Since We must have steak-we sup
pose, for the sake of argument, that, between
the honesty of the butcher and the expert
ence OF the buyer, the steak comes from the
region of the OK or steers tail, rather than
from the yicinage of his venerable horns-we
and much to be endured as may be. Instead
of that, what do we see? A woman in hui
man shape tskes the rredestined meat, places
it on the table, seizes bludeeon invented
by Texan steers and dishonest butchers to
conceal their respective toughness and fraud)
and mashes it into bloody pulp. The fibre
of the meat is destroyed the juice-filled YES
sells ruptured a mere meat pancake is left,
and the table and bludgeon are covered with
evidences of the cooks guilt. The unfortu-
rate and unresistiDg steak is now led TO the
fire. yhereon is placed half-heated frying
pan, in which alternately swim and burn
clols of butter. Indeed, we have known
women who were irreproachaole in every
other office and relation of life-fiithul wives
and tender mothers-who did not scruple,
without apology or attempt at concealment
to fry porter-bouse steak in steam-rendereo
lard But we do not care to dwell upon SC
painful a subject Into this the steak /:
cast. If the fire be a slow one it slowly stews
through to sickly white paste, variegated IN
places with burnt patches. II the tire be a
fast one, the result is cbarred cinder with &
lining of raw meat. In any case the article
produced is placed upon cold platter, the
rancid and smoke favored gravy is poure(
over il, and the husband IS expected 10 say
grace over and eat it.
This is no fancy sketch and no meat i
spared. The pork chop, the wide expanse Of
veal-steak, the mutton-cutlett, the veal ditto
all are subjected to the same process. Were
this the work of the lady from Tipperary or
Westphalia who permits us to employ per az a.
pseudo-servant, we should not SO deciueuy
object; but when it is the hand 0, anec.ion
that takes down the frying-pan and eonjuga
kove tenders us indgestible masses OF ourneo
m eat, soaking meat, soaking IN rancid olls