Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1879-02-06
The WiEe,s NIoihnr.

Cincinnati Gazette.l
If we judge by the literature of the
age, We have to conclude that there is
a natural antagonism between man
and his mother-in-law. 1t is a staple
article Of wit in books: it is a comic
idea in the drama it is a standing
joke of the end men of the negro
minstrels it is always accepted as
witty, and thus it furnishes an easy
wit for dull persons it was even got
of" by a clergyman at the late church
congress, and it made the whole con
gregation laugh; Punch recently
worked over the joke; it may safely
be asserted that it will always be re-
ceiyed as wit in any company, no mat
ter how often repeated.
All this could not be if there were
not at the bottom a foundation for the
idea of a natural antagonism between
man and his mother-in-law. Even
when We have made large allowance
tor the circulation Of a thing which is
received as wit, and which the dullest
person a repeat, still there
remains the rational certainty
that the universal and perennial
existence Of this idea of the natural
antagonism of man and his mother-in-
law must have a real foundation.
Thoughtful people have thought
much on this without discovering the
reason of it. They reason how un-
natural it is hat a man should have
an antagonism TOR the mother of her,
who, by the1declaration of the church.
is bone of his bone and flesh of his
flesh. Does not this, in a large de-.
gree, make her mother of one flesh
with them2 And would it not be
that love for his wife should make
him love the mother that bore and
nurtured her, and of whom she is, il
rightly borne and brought up, a copy2
One would think hat the mar who
loves the very ground his wife treads
on-as most Of them have protested
at n time-would also regard his
promises As made more precious BY the
familiar tread of his mother-in-law
Thus, the more they reason upon
this antagonism the more inscrutable
does it appear. Yet, we are assured
by Mr.. Joseph Cook, there must be a
rational cause for this as for. all phe-
nomena. To us, who are in the habit
Of looking beneath the surface to the
undercurrents Of human feeling, the
matter is entirely clear, and we now
explain it. Every heart best knows
it's own misery, but every heart may
not tell its woe. Men overestimate
their capacity of devotion to the be-
loved object. They find in time that
their lives have to be devoted to the
same pursuits as before, and with
rather more %earnestness.
A halo of loneliness surrounds the
young woman's head, in the eyes of a
lover. Yet, ii may be a silly head.
and incapable in practical affairs.
Slowly the halo is dissipated, and
things appear in their natural colors.
And people in their natural colors are
very commonplace, and are often
found full Of faults and annoying
ways. The husband may not tell his
grief He must let concealmeut prey
upon bis damaged heart, but he tries
TO got a sort Of satisfaction in hostility
70 the mother Of his disappointment.
This is not a manly satisfaction. In
deed, nan has but little chance for
manly satisfaction for this discomfort,
Even TO admit his disappointment
would confess himself a greenhofn,
who was no Judge Of women A man
would as soon admit that he is no
judge Of a horse. So he gets a sort of
sa~tisfaetion, without eonfessing that