Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1878-03-20

/ view from the kitchen Wlndow-the VIII
dow your wife raost frequents, | imagine;
{. There!" you said. "you can see what l
have done this week" Your wife could
point to no such tangible results of her
work. could perhaps show no more than
baby's apron or IA half finished stocking.
And yet she worked fully twice as many
hours as YOU did. Think of those two
stormy days when you sat leisurely about
the house in the forenoon, and in the after
noon went down town to pick up the news
She was all the while hard at work.
Think of those long evenings when you
read, and dozed and took comfort. She
was busy all the time.
"Man's work is from sun to sun,
But woman's work is never DONE"
Never done! That is the burden of it.
believe that one five minutes of the bliss
full feeling that our work was done for
once, and there was literally nothing for
us to do, would rest us more than whole
wear of those snatches of rest stolen from
our work. and atoned for by doing double
duty afterward.
The only way in which woman's work
can be appreciated is by its neg ect. Let
the house 90 for one day without your
mnistrations. and see if they are not felt
in the lack. If YOU were ever laid aside
by sickness YOU have not forgotten the
doleful complaints that came to you:
shall be so glad when you get about once
more; that hired girl doesn't get anything
fit to eat; ;" land you can see for your
self how my shirt bosoms look" The
house is so dirty and disorderly 1t does
| . 70, ,.iphic -
What woman with any conscience at all
but must feel it u grave msdemeanor in
herself to be sick under such aSgravatlnS
circumstances and would put forth all her
strength of will to get well rs speedily us
possible? The other members OF the fam
lily may be sick us often as they please,
and spin out ever so long and interesting
convalescence, but the mother has no
time to spare for such things. And man
soon forgets the lessons OF sickness, and
drifts again into the habit OF considering
her work Il mere trif1e, spending great
deal of time in what amounts to nothing
forgetting that it amounts to all the differ
ence between Il pleasant, orderly home'
and an uncomfortable, disorderly one.
! You men have the advantage over US IN
this particular, that you can readily hlre
help when your work is crowdlnS -FOUR
hoeing or haying needs to be done at orce,
and you can send men into your helds
who will do it just us well as you would,
while you go off to II political caucus, II
you choose. But our work is such that
we cannot hire for the day, now ana theh,
those who Will do 1t us well as we Gun
without our oversight and help' OF II we
are Obliged to leave it to them, you 40 not
need to be told that 1t Is both to your dls-
comfort and pecunlary loss. we are none
of us above the duty OF economy, though
some may be above the necessity ior H.
but in whatever circumstances, IL Is I'M
| pleasant to see our substance wasted not
in riotous living" but by hired servants
careless mismanagement. Then, too, the
labor saving inventions OF the day have
donlLo much more for men than Tor women.
The old .fashoned farmer swung the scytht
all the forenoon and welded the rake all
afternoon, but how is it now The farm
er rides about on his moving machine IA
few hours, then changes oil on to the hay
tedder, coming in, perhaps IN season lol
IL hait-hour's nap before dinner. Alter a
leiSuely incoming he mounts the wheel
rake, and soon the hay is ready LOT draw
ing in; perhaps horse-pItchlork unloadS
and mows it away for him. But no M
vention has meanwhile enabled the vile to
ride about the house, up chamber ana
down cellar, while she took care OF the
butter, made bread and pes, lrlcd dough
nuts, lroned and mopped' cooked me olh-
ncr ~ a washed 'lle o,HiicS' ~ sy iio,n Il,
ing Oh tne sewing Mac'llhe, an" on,S oou"'
I!'ose winch llstiten uo.no'.o ia' ,h
tlo'ls nave oeheii'ed iliel 'liolo '"''' WIS
l'',n' IT.. ',,o i"..o VI uon ~ o'o ,or,, :;
AS'!n' we "io assuaoH s'i'' o", " co,i;,E
ni'','u III S,I'I nio'outo ~ o"t o"" 'op''''
,"''ion sii''' " vii ~ I'LL" nII" uaI ~
''n,' Jul "iiio on' ~ ,'. L9 ~,
our r"'o9 oru "a, aI''0 rnr -, ,ha rist nt
III 49, ''',o'l'ai ,nr,;on rantrra
~" ,.a,.rl tha7 ..it t,es all sorts IF nen.
' 'Io ~ n,.,o worldm Rnt thn ,vrr,gn
Va or ~, ,yon,,n he .ho farmers wife 1r
o,Lorviso fooIishlr and nnedlessIv smends
t ,"I' an W, stronrtn NJ tbo hddin@ IF sh-
w., Ja,-, 7,Van,,n,s innato fonInos.
ton' ,ro,t, I 'SS;nos ", ndnrr both boY.n md
~, pio''y .n.I "a ho ''' TOO c'r Onmntimns
Pr, f''. .has99 ~ ne ,nho do hnth an, own
w., ~. nh n,Ir own Sawin@ ,hnre il )itIp
time for aytrav,oant action in this respect,
w W. ~, aittar w., ,in,n naoans nor in
iin, n 80 eniiou, ovarv nhsnrd ,vh;n of
G nm,'o T,s w ,"hiIa ~ ,ha S,ma lima
''u' I'M , ,n'l hn 80 ,,,torlr rnnordlns'
We WIN uy nIo W J;n, w. "s 70 ,,a1a nnr
VI nei ooi,1 1; u'''''' 10 W ii''A0 wa
S0,N'' o"'i''0'0'''
People often say to you when they no.
tice your little girls clustered around YOU
" All. well, you Will nave some help one
of these days, If these girls live" And so
you will, if you train them up right, but
the training itself involves great deal OF
time and labor. SO much that, were 1t
never to be of any advantage for the child
to learn TO work, mother might better
spare herself the trouble. 1t takes SO much
longer to teach that little girl to wash and
wipe dishes properly, than it would to do
it all yourself while you sent her out to
slide down hill, that you are almost tempt
ed to let her 60 untaught. Then the end
less oversight which she requires to learn
to sew, the long stitches which must be
pulled out and done over again when YOU
could have done the whole in II quarter
part of the time you spend instructing
her. Her knitting work is far more pro-
ductiye of dropped stitches and picked mn