Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1875-11-03
The Modern Husband.

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| He is not unsympathetic aud hard Iii.
business tends to make him somewhat harsh
and rough. Contact with the world nbs
the poetic bloom from his mind, and dries
his sentiments, and units his tongue for the
utterauce of the sweet and dainty nothings
which occupy so large place in thevocabt
larry of woman's expectations. lie is de.
cidedly matter-of-fact. lie takes a great
deal for granted and wants his wife TO as.
sumo something, and not look for vain rtbe-
titiOns when words are worth so much. The
wear and tear Of life tell on his nerves and
sensibilities, and take the sentiment, the
poetry, the gallantry out Of him, insensibly
but effectually. and he appears Indifferent
without knowing IT, He is absorbed in his
business plans and ambitions. and cannot
pretend to the least enthusiasm in his wiie's
ruliles and laces and lawns, and his enjoy.
ment Of her new set Of Jewels is materially
abated by the prospective raid upon his
bank account. In modern life the diffaren-
tiations are vastly greater than in the old
days, when husband and wife worked to-
gether behind the counter and on the farm
each understanding the labor of the other
and joining as a true yoke.fellow in drawing
the mutual load. The modern husband
earns for his wife to spend; and he earns in
methods and under conditions she does not
understand, so that her advice is worthless
and even her sympathy exhales oftentimes
without his notice. The new conditions
under which we live and labor affect do
mestic habits, and insensiby react on dspo-
sition and character. Once husband and
wife spent most of their time together now
they spend most of it apart, and cannot fol-
low each ether through the transactions of
a day, even in Imagination; they are less
mutually dependent than when each was all
the world 20 the other, and their lives were
one.
The modern husband is not so lovable or
attractive in some respects as he might be,
and as his wife would like to have him, lie
has not kept his first estate lie is harder,
dricr, more worldly creature than she took
him to be. lie thinks more of soup than Of
sentiment, and digestion occupies a larger
place than music or society in the economy
Of his life. But, in spite OF all abatements,
he is essentially true and preyailingly kind.
He thinks more than he says, and feels deeply
ottentimes when he says nothing. lie puts
his love into labor. and expresses his conf
dence and tenderness in wise provisions and
unsentimental bank-notes. lie prays less
than his grandfather, but he pays better and
is less Of tyrant The word obey" has
dropped out Of his spoken dialect II he
gives less attention, he exacts less service in
return. The wife in the old days had hard
lot. She was the silent member Of the mat
rimonial firm. Most of her nature was sup
pressed. She was under bonds. Her lord
commanded, and she obeyed, in fear and
trembling oftentimes. In most cases she
a. Al.
as no slave would. In cemetery. not
thousand miles from here, stand six black
stones in row, marking the graves Of hus-
band and his five wives. Yes" said our
guide, - Deacon Smith had five wives, two
hundred and Atty acres twenty.eight chill
dren, the forehandedest man in town, and nd
famous funeral" An intelligent coroher's
Jury might discover a visible connection be
tween the aches of the women and the acres
of the farm, and attribute their mortality to
something other than the mysterious dispen-
sation of Providence. The modern husband
does not wear his wife out in butter-naking
or in child-bearing. She neither weaves nor
spins, and the tailor makes his coat, if he
does not sew on his shirt buttons. lie treats
his wife more rs q companion than drudge.
lie takes pride in her wit, enjoys her sing
ing, admires her taste, and is pleased with
the society she draws around their fireside.
The old ardor is not utterly gone, though it
no longer flashes into ordinations of en-
deanment and 1t only needs the breath of
real occasion to blow what seemed the dead
embers of affection into a brilliant fame
Scarcely day passes that we do not hear of
some beautiful instance of devotion and self
sacrifice on the part of those whom it is too
much the fashion TO ridicule for selfshness,
and accuse of infdelity. The steady toll and
devotion of lifetime are thousand times
more precious than gallant protestations, and
the husbands who stood with folded arms on
the deck Of the sinking steamship, choosing
to go down in death with their wives, rather
than escape and leave them to their fate, il
lustrate, in picturesque and thrilling way,
what thousands OF modern husbands are do
ing every day.--Goiden Age.