Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1875-09-13
An 1nsubordinate Wife.


hanging up her Mondays wash; the last
! piece had found its place upon the line.
dome at last, said Mrs. Giles, speak
ing to herself, habit which she fire.
quently indulged. ''Now, if dinner was
out of the way, l might have time to
finish Leonard's suit this afternoon I've
had it around so long. If only had
sewing machine, how much could ac-
complish ;" and picking up her basket,
she went into the house. The prospect
within was not very cheering the wash
tub to clear away and the dinner to
place upon the table. Just as she be-
gan to lay the table, Mr.. Giles appeared
at the door, and said:
"Put on an extra plate; that man
will take dinner with u.s.
Dinner was soon ready and as soon
dispatched, for ceremony was one of the
unknown things in the Giles family
Mr.. Giles and the stranger retired to
the sitting room to discuss the merits of
a new reaper and mower, while Mrs.
Giles remained and cleared away the
dinner table. When she had finished
and made herself ready for the afternoon
she went into the sitting room. Mr..
Giles was saying;
"lf you have anything new and bet
ter, anything that will make work easi-
er and do more of it, I'm your man.
Why, bless you, just look around my
farm It's run mostly by machinery
profitable? ? certainly" replied he to
an interrogation from the stranger.
money in the bank" he added, never
emitting an occasion of mentioning a
small deposit in the city bank.
The stranger was gone at last, and
Mrs. Giles sat down with weary limbs
and aching shoulders to finish suit of
clothes for her oldest son, lad of ff-
teen. Slowly and wearily the needle
went in and out stitch after stitch was
taken, but to little purpose it did seem
as if she would never come to the last
But if stitches progressed slowly, her
thoughts flew fast enough. The last
words of her husband fingered in her
mind, and again and again they recurred
to her.
Eyes, men can have their burdens
ightened, but poor women may drudge.
Every year Giles has added something
new to his farming implements, while
have to plOd along with hardly sufficient
utensils to cook decent dinner an old
] stove without boiler or a whole grid
2 die and a cracked door. No wonder ]
E can't bake loaf of bread decently
Then here have to sit and stitch for 8
l week on this suit when two hours on {
d machine would complete it"
: 1t is needless to record all of Mrs
= Giles thoughts and words as she sa
stitching the hours away. A dim con
sciousness of her wrongs and faint de
y termination to assert her rights, was en-
It tcring her mind. She had so long Civ
en- up her opinions, set aside her need
n and fostered the selishness of her hus
band, that it was hard to break through
the meshes of habit which his stern vii
! had woven around her. The Afternoon
y wore away and Mrs. Giles laid aside tn
h unfinished garment to prepare the eve
% ming meal.
4 The next morning at breakfast sh
remarked to her husband that an agen
for a sewing machine had called the da
% previous and wished her to try one {
- his machines.
Il told him." she said, ''he Nigh
- leave one when he came next week.
6 Mr.. Giles laid down his knife an
70 fork and sat with utter amazement d.
; picted on his countenance. "a SEWN
. machine y he gasped, when he recove
- ed himself 'He needn't leave any
e his new-fangled humbugs here; l hay
> no use for them"
! 81 have" XXX
. "YOu u interrupted he; ''don't 81
% what use you have for a machine. YC
. could never learn to use it; or. if yC
;, did. what have you to sew? Only n
m clothes and the boys. Women, now
days, are getting mighty independen
wanting machines to do their work t
Id lazy to do it themselves. Suppose til,
to want to gad about and gossip abo
De- their neighbors.
is why. Philip"
he "Woman's work is nothing" contin
ON ed Mr. Giles, not needing the interru
nat tion. MY mother had not as ma
ed, cOnveniences for doing her work as y
of have, yet she always had her meals re
nly ular and well cooked. and that is me
fer than 1 can say of you. No, | don't wa
rit- any sewing machine about my hou
en- God made as good sewing machine
,er- l want when he made woman"
TO- With this ultimatum he left the Ia
-ity and, taking his hat, mounted his no
st !? and rode away to look at the new real
to he contemplated buying.
lly, One by one the members of the fal
pht ly finished their breakfast and pas
,rld out leaving Mrs. Giles alone. She