The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1878-03-28

full to kind Providence if, in this
age of six weeks corn, and beans,
and potatoes, and the various forcing
processes to which the growth of all
young creatures is subjected, she
does not marry sooner. She has been
sheltered all her life from the discip-
line of adversities-ha been screened
by father, mother, and kindred from
everything that would mar the
beauty Of her development. The
plant grown in the conservatory
must be toughened in leaf and fibre
by suitable exposure to the atmOs-
phere, before it is transplanted to
open ground, and it must wait until
the season is far enough advanced, so
that there will be no danger from
cold winds or frost. But the young
girl is transplanted from the shelter
and protection of home, without ex-
perience to prepare her for her
duties, and without the age to give
requisite strength either of mind or
body. 1t is like putting the two year
old colt to the continual drudgery of
the old horse. Before she had become
accustomed to the monotonous rou-
tine of house work, her hands are full
of q new work, her head full of new
cares. Year by year the work and
strength decrease. Her husband
says "My family is so expensive. 1t
takes all can earn to feed and clothe
it, This adds to her worry, for she
redoubleS her efforts to make the old
clothing last as long as possible, and
denies herself the food she Graves,
to save expenses. He works early
and late-pinches on this hand and on
that-finds fault with his wife, be-
cause she does not help him provide
-taunts the children with the ex-
pense Of their raising-and so day by
day sows the seed of bitterness and
discomfort. The boys grow, and by
and by must be taught to work
That is new source of annoyance.
He rebels against the fate that made
him farmer, or the Providence that
burdened him with family. The
boys must use the oldest. rustiest
hoes, and the dullest AK on the farm,
no matter if they did blister their
hands turning the grindstOne. They
must run all the errands and do all
the dirty jobs, and then be tainted
with the cost Of their shoe leather,
and the trouble and expense of their
washing. They must dig, and hoe,
and drag, and plow from daylight to
dark, and then do the chores. After
some big job of work is done, the
father has urgent business in town.
But while he is gone Ben and Joe
must split the wood, weed the onions,
water the stock. and be sure and
clean the old stable that has not been
cleaned for week. And if the boys
who are just as tired as he, and need
recreation worse, ask to go fishing or,
gunnin, gafter the wedding is done
they are told No, sir ! There's too
much work to be done to spend any
time loating around. If you don't get
your work done, I'll take your hide
off. And with this parting admo-
milton shouted after them, he goes to
town leaving their Over-burdened
mother to combat as best she NAV,
the spirit of evil he has worked. He
meets acquaintance, brushes up in
politics or current news; stops may
be on the corner for five minutes
chat, but goes on refreshed and in
vigorated, and goes home at night,
rested, only to wonder why his wife
looks so pinched and discouraged. and
always complains of being so tired.
"lf she had to work as hard as lido,
1 reckon she'd have something to
complain of. But its all because Bet
sey amt so smart Il woman as Joe's
wife. l was regularly taken in" So
he routS her out of the first sweet
sleep the fretful teething babe has
allowed her to fall into, by humping
her on the head, and telling her If
she wasn't so awful slow she wouldn' t
hare to get up before four o'clock.
But now he's in hurry. and wants
his breakfast. If it wasn't for her.
and her young 'uns, he wouldn't have
to make such slave of himself. The
fact is she doesn't earn her salt"
She thinks of the five hours hard
work she did while he was snoring.
to keep one days work from tapping
over onto the next one. and the fruit
less efforts she made to get any re-
freshing sleep after she did lie down,
and wonders which is the slave. She
long ago torbore to speak of her lot.
and endures sometimes with dumb
sort of anguish, the thought that she
will never be approached until she is
dead and longs for the day to come.
Ben says he'll be pirate on the
high seas. before he'll be farmer
there's nothing pleasant about it.
Mary says she II marry man just as
soon as she can. who never saw n
farm. The mother makes her own
dresses over for the children. until
the scant supply of two calico
dresses year, cannot by any means
be made to keep herself respectable.
There are no pictures on. the walls,
no vines ut the windows. no flowers
in the yard. The old wagon stands
by the front door. with a litter of
straw around it. The pigs come
roofing around the back door. and
the hens roost on the porch. The
dishes stand unwashed on the table,
because the mother must patch the
old pants in too much of a hurry to
admit of her calling and setting to
work at them Mary and Kate. who