River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-08-28
Mutual neIpfulne~s in the Family

The requirements OF civilization de-
1pslid "a continuous outlay of strength for
the maintenance Of d ueI-ordered house
mold. In most families. either ON account
II infancy. old age on inyalidism, some
members arc prccluded from active mar
dcipation in the general helpfulness.
while those more able double their cX-
rrtions. Where there il q large family OF
-3ns and daughters the parents may be
spared. and many live q life OF compara-
tive cas-, * oil parents hould in their
decIin ne years. But il not unfrequently
happens that the heaviest burdens fall
..uou the mother whose store Of vitality
may not he equal 70 the daily eNPendi-
ture In such eases wcarvinc fatigue
must md sooner or later in permanent ILL
ness or premature death; and the Whole
arrangements of the family ought to be
made with view to prevent So great
calamity.
\ later writer plthily says: 1--WE eN-
pect too little of our maidens, too much
of our matrous." | would add to this,
that in a household. where there should
be equality Of usefulness, we expect too
little Of our boys, and too much Of our
inadequate to the demands made upon it.
The cooperative principle in education
il nowhere seen to better advantage than
in the family. The giII Is strengthened
md vivitied bv the bat and bali, the oars,
the bow and arrow, or the skate, as much
rs IS the boy, and she needs, and her tami
" needs the sparkling vivaclty which
only outdoor amusements can give: but
the girl who has two beds to mae has
not so much time tur recreation a5 the
boy who uses, but who makes none. The
care of one room for each would be a
happier adjustment At a school which |
lately visited, the boys under the care Of
a matron, were taught 20 make the own |
beds and to keep cir rooms In order. |
They showed no lncapacitv for the work. |
Their clean beds with white covers were I
4s we'll made as though done 10y their /
sisters. Neither boots, stockings, jackets |
shirts, nor collars were ON the floor for /
somebody el-e to pick up; on the con
trary. Just as much pride IN the appear |
1nCe of the room was manifested as |
though American BOYS IN general were /
accustomed to such duties, and as though /
these boys in particular al always been I
trained to it. They were rewarded for /
their care hy bright strips of carpeting, /
which gratifed their taste as much as it /
would that Of girls. What has been done /
hy matron with . large number Otboys I
could he done by any mother with her
sons, not only with positive advantage to /
them. but with Justice Ia their sisters /
80 with othpr household duties. shall |
never forget the manly pride with which |
fine little fellow told me- that his moth |
ar had permitted him to wash her best |
china. The pleasure was in beng trust |
ed 10 perform a duty reserved for careful |
hands only. Ii was reward as well as
a delight.
The mother Of the distinguished nat |
uralist, John X. Townsend, believed it q |
duty to prepare her sons rs well as her |
daughters for any emergency in life, and |
With tins view she taught them the use |
If the needle, and gave them sufficient |
know ledge Of cooking, to enable them at |
any time TO provide 81 comfortable meal. |
How often, when far removed from civil |
Iization, and entirely dependent on is |
own resources, must her naturalist son
hive blessed his mother for her Wise fore
thought If all sons had been taught |
like these, how seldom would We find |
those medieval sCaTecrows, the shirt but |
ton and the d8rn.ng forced on the |
attention Of women. In my young days |
| used to hear repeated, rs warning, |
some lines sent 70 literary lady, who |
preferred 10 mend her pen instead OF her |
hose, and who on one occasion permitted |
IN ominous wear to appear above the top |
Of her slipper. The impairment critic |
spake thus:
To sre a lady OF 50 much taste
30 sla;teruly, Z, shocking;
lour zen and poetry lay by
And learn ~ mend your stocking
The disgrace of the poor lady was So
burned into my mind that | cannot to |
this day avoid an uncomfortable sense OF |
boots, with a latent wonder whether all |
is right beneath them, even with an out /
hit perfectly new; but after this lapse at |
time, another thought occurs to me. / |
query as to how the gentleman himself |
managed. DID he, too, mend bis own /
stockings, or did ne in playful ease dash
off his rhymes whilst his mother or sister |
sat patiently by the piled-up darnin@
basket.
once met a young man-blcssings on |
his memory for that good deed-who,
wishing 10 spend his vacation ut home i'll !
the sucletv Of his mother and sisters, sc |
lihpratelv examined his ose and burned |
every pair with hole to be mended. !
Call II wastcful extravaganza. If you
please. | do not say it was an example |
10 be commended; some poor person |
might have been made happy 10y the |
darnlng: but the delIeh. Nth which | |
learned that "a youth cared - much more
Tor his mothers anu sisters companion
ship than lac did for their darning nee
dies, was worth to me alone a whole gross
If stockings
I can but hope he mas found "a good
wife. and that he continues lis annual
burnt fieriL rs, or else that he Is thought
full enough to send out his mending. II
men knew what dread the stocking bas-
ket becomes 10 one person, they would
10 one of two or three things-learn to
,larn themselves, buy darnng machine,
or hire the work done 10y some needy
person. Every small town shouid sup
port two or three members.
Not long nee met iudIciuus moth
erwho had resolved to abate the nuisance
Of careless, wasteful aud expensive ser
wants. and. instead. to ask OF each mem
DER OF her household sons and daughters
alike sufficient contribution Ia the
DAYS work to complete all which the dai-
II necessities Of the family demanded.
She had tried the plan for several months
and had found it TO work admirably.
Her own cares had lessened in proper
ton Ia tine increase OF family endowment.
and ali were well-served, since they Matt
I'd on themselves and ON one another.
There IS, undoubtedly, general tend
.icucv to curl the evil of incompetent SER
vice. BY dispensing as far as possible
with outside help; but such tendency
% y~upposes and requires the mutual
hclpfumvss Of all concerned.
The household aid given by men will,
IT course. find its complement in that
offered hy women in the field, the work
shop "rt the office In families trained e
mutual EhnIptuIness, the girls will plant
corn, rake hay. or transact important bust
ness. as faithfully as would their father
" their brothers. During the war, wher
harvest work pressed, and men could no
be found TO perform it, II young lady
friend of mine drove the mower ana reap
er ter her father until oil the crops wer,
serure3.
In thu nursery business | nav,