South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1881-11-18

mad with Mary. The youngest sistcl
had no estimation Of her older sisters
fatigue. As now, the men bother
with the anxieties of the store anc
Office and shop, or coming from til,
Stock Exchange they say wher the,
get home: sOh, you ought to be O
yer in Wall street in these days! yot
ought to be in our factory it'll,
while; you ought to manage eigh
or ten or twenty subordinates, anC
then you would know what trouble
and anxiety are o, sir, the wife ano
the mother has to conduct at the same
time university, clothing estab
! lishment, a restaurant, laundry, q
library, while she is health officer
police ard president of her realm
She must do 4 thoueand things and
do them well in order to keep thin gs
going smoothly. And so her brain
and her nerves are taxed to the ut.
most. know there are housekeep-
ers who are so fortunate that they can
sit in an arm chair in the library, or
lie on the belated pillow and throw
Oft all care upon subordinates, who,
having large wages and great expert.
ence, can attend to all the cares Of the
household. Those are the exceptions
| am speaking of the great mass OF
housekeepers-the women to whom
life is struggle. and who at thirty
years of age look as though they were
forty, and at forty look as though
they were fifty, and at fifty as though
they were sixty. The fallen at Chal.
ons and Austerliz and Gettysburg
and Waterloo are a small number
compared to the slain in the great
Armageddon OF the kitchen. You
go out to the cemetery and you will
see that the tombstones
ALL READ BEAUTIFULLY POETIC,
but II those tombstones would speak
the truth thousands of them would
say: Here lies Il woman killed by
too much mending and sewing and
baking and scrubing and securing
The weapon with with which she W as
slain was q broom and a sewing m a.
chine or Il ladle.' You think, oh man
OF the world, that you have all the
cares and anXieties Ii the cares and
anxieties of the household should
come upon you for one week, you
would be tit candidate for Blooms
dale-I mean insane asylum. The
half-rested houskeeper arises in the
morning. She must have the morn-
ing repast AT an irrevocable hour.
What If the fire will not light? What
If the clock is stopped No matter
she must have the morning repast at
an irrevocable hour. Then the chill.
dren must be got off to school. What
IT their garments are torn? What if
they do not know their lessons?
What if they have lost hat or a sash
they must be ready. Then she
has all the diet of the day and per-
haps Of several days to plan. Bat
what if the butcher has sent meat un-
masticable, or the grocer has sent arr
ticles OF food aduIterated? or hat if
some piece OF silver be gone, or some
favorlte chalice he cracked, or the
roof leak, or the plumbing fail, or
any one of thousand things occur
she must be ready.
Spring weather comes, and there
must be a revolution in the family
wardrobe, or autumn comes and you
must shut out the northern blast -
But what if the moth has preceded
you To the chest? What if during the
year the children have outgrown the
apparel OF last year? what If the fash
ions have changed? Your house
must be an apothecary's shop it
must be dispensary; there must be
medicines for all sorts of ailments
something to loosen the Group some
thing to poultice the inflammation :;
something 10 silence the jumping
tooth: something to silence the ear.
ache. You must be in half dozen
places at the same time. Thunder all
this wear and tear of life Martha
makes an impatient rush upon the IL
brary or drawug.room, be patient, be
lenient. Oh, woman, though may
fail to stir up an appreciation in the
souls of others in regard TO your house.
hold tolls, let me assure you from the
kindlines5 with which Jesus Christ
met Martha that he appreciates all
your work, from garnet to cellar. and
that the God of Deborah and Han.
nah and Abigail aud Grandmother
Lois, Elizabeth Fry and Hannah
Moore is the God of the housekeeper.
Jesus was never married that he
might he the especial friend and con.
tidant of whole world or troubled
womanhood. / blunder: Christ was
married. The Bible says that the
Church is the Lambs wife, and that
makes me know that all Christian wo.
men have a right to go to Christ and
tell BIN of their annoyances and trou-
Bile, since by its oath ct cOnjugal fidel-
lty he Is sworn to sympathize. George
Herbert. the Christian poet wrote tvvo