The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1878-03-21
Something Exasperating.

If there is anything particularly ex-
asperating to a woman who is the head
of the family, it is for her husband to
insinuate that she has nothing to do.
Some men are continually making that
remark, and if ever their wives regret
having married them, it is very likely
to be on Just such an occasion as that.
The fact is, men of that class don't t
know anything about it. If they could
be changed into women and mothers,
and kept at it for fortnight, they
would sing different tune.
They come into the house generally
after the most of the work is done.
They see their wives in the parlor,
mending stockings, and the baby is
asleep, and the other children, tired
out with mischief. have subsidized Id inste
wife has got the breakfast, ana washed
the dishes, and swept the floors, and
blacked the stove, and scalded over the
preserves, and baked pies and a pud-
ding for dinner, and set the bread, for
tea, to rise, and got dinner out of the
way, and done up a basketful of shirts
and collars for this man who thinks she
has nothing to do, and hushed the fret
full baby for two hours before she went
to sleep, and washed and dressed the
three other children; and now, just as
she has changed her dress, and thrown
herself, weary and dispirited, into the
sewing-chair, in comes her husband
and fings his hat on the sofa, and his
coat on chair, al d snaps out:
Il wish l were a woman. Nothing
to do but sit in cool room and sew, or
some other light work. Women have
nothing to dor
The man does not mean it unkindly,
perhaps, but he is thoughtless, and
perhaps he has been bred in the belief
that women have an easy time of it.
And he is tired and out of sorts, and he
fairly aches to find fault with some-
body. And what should man have a
wife for if he cannot have the privi-
lege of finding fault with her? If he
should adopt the fault-finding course
with Bridget, or the cook, she would
give warning at once and demand her
months wages, but unless he lives in
Indiana his wife cannot conveniently
follow Bridget's example.
It is, of course, true that some wom-
en- have very little to do, and very little
of what we call care falls to them.
But they are the exception, and not the
rule. Fully two-thirds of the women
in this country work for a living, and
do it faithfully-all honor to them for it
and the husband who does not SYM
pathize with the wife who, day by day,
| to keep the house orderly, to care for
the children, to make his home tidy,
and sweet, and clean, works quite up
to the limit of her slender strength,
oftimes beyond, ought to be transmog-
rified into a woman himself, and be
compelled to do the work for eight in
family, and take care of pair Of
teething twins in the bargain.
There are noble examples OF what
husbands should be among the some
what extensive circle of our acquaint'
ance. Men who are worthy of the
name-who do honor to their sex, and
many Of them are hard toilers for theil
daily bread, and few Of them sport thu
white hands of genteel do-nothings
| Uncultured and ignorant, we suppose
they might be described, but they have
the souls of noblemen-if noblemen'l
souls are any better than the average
and they are not above splitting tn
kindling-wood and pumping the water
or holding the baby while the wife get
breakfast or clears away the supper
dishes.
Il is, no doubt. beautiful to pain
pictures, and write essays ON true NO
bility. and entrance listening multitude