Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1881-09-20

thing went wrong In the kitchen. Pel
haps the fire would not burn, or til
bread would not bake, or Martha scald
ed her hand, or something was burne
black that only ought to have been mad
brown Martha lost her patience, an
forgetting the proprieties of the occa
sion, with besweated brow, and perhap
| with pitcher in one hand and tongs IL
the other, rushss out of the kitchen int
the presence of Christ, saying: 'Lord
dost thou not care that my sister ha
left me to serve alone ?" Christ scolde,
not word. Ifit were scolding, shoul'
rather have his scolding than anybOd,
else's blessing. There was nothing
/ acerb. He knew Martha had almos
worked herself to death to get him some
thing to eat, and so he throws word o
tenderness into his intonation as b.
seems to say: "My dear woman, do no
worry; let the dinner go. Sit down OF
| this ottoman beside Mary, your young
est sister. Martha, Martha, thou ar
careful and troubled about many things
But one thing is needful."
AS Martha throws open the kitcheI
door look in and see great many
household perplexities and anxieties.-
First, there is the trial of non apprecia-
ton that Is what made Martha 80 mac
with Mary. The younger sister had NJ
estimation of her older sisters fatigue
AS now, the men better bother with the
anxieties of the store and Office and shop
or coming from the Stock Exchange
they say when they get home: "Oh
you ought to be over in Wall street In
these days! you ought to be in our fac
tory little while; you ought to manase 6
eight or ten or twenty sub0rdinates, and
then you would know what trouble and
anxiety are." o, sir, the wife and the
mother has to conduct at the same time
Ia university, clothing establishment,
restaurant, laundry, library, while
she is health officer, police and presi-
dent of her realm. She must do thou
sand things and do them we'll in order
to keep things going smoothly. And so
her brain and her nerves are taxed to
the utmost. I know there are house.
keepers who are so fortunate that they
can sit In an arm chair in the library,
or lie on the belated pillow and throw
off all the 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 ofhouse-
hCCpoIS--tAC WOucH " WuOul lll0 Is q
struggle, and who at thirty years of age
look as though they were forty, and at
forty look as though they we're fifty, and
at fifty as though they were sixty. The
fallen at ChalOns 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 if those tombstones would speak the
truth thousands of them would say
"Here lies a woman killed by too much
mending and sewing and baking and
securing. The weapon with which she
was slain was broom and q sewing ma
chine or ladle." You think, oh man
of the world, that you have all the cares
and anXieties If the cares and anx-
ieties of the household should come
upon you for one week, you would
be fit candidate for BIoomsdale Il
mean insane asylum. The half-rested
hcusekeeper arises in the morning. She
must have the morning repast at an ir-
reeacable hour. What if the fire will
not light? What if the clock is stop
ped 3? No matter she must have the
morning repast at an irrevOcable hour.
Then the children must be got off to
school. What if their garments are
torn What if they do not know their
lesson? What if they have lost a hat
or a sash-they must be ready. Then
you have all the diet of the day and per-
haps ofseveral days to plan. But what
if the butcher has sent meat unmastica.
BILE, or the grocer has sent articles of food
adulterated ? or what if some piece of
silver be gone, or some favorite chalice
be cracked, or the roof leak, or the
plumbing fail, or any one of thousand
things occur-you must be ready.
Spring weather comes, and there
must be revolution in the family ward
robe, 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 fashions have
changed? Your house must be an ap.
othecary's shop; it must be a dispens-
ary there must be medicines for all
sorts of Notwithstanding to loosen
the Group; something to cool the brain :;
something to poultice the contamination !;
something to silence thejumping tooth;
something to sooth the earache. You
must be in half dozen places at the
same time. If under the wear and tear
Of life Martha makes an impatient rush
upon the library or drawing-room, be
patient, be lenient. Oh, woman, though
I may fail to stir up an appreciation in
the souls of others in regard to your
household tolls, let me assure you from
the kindliness with which Jesus Christ
met Martha that he appreciates all your
work, from garret to cellar and that the
God of Deborah and Hannah and Abb
gail and Grandmother Lois Elizabeth
Fry and Hannah Moore is the God of
the housekeeper. Jesus was never mar
ried that he might be the especial friend
and confidant Of q whole world of trou-
bled w0manhoOd. I 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 right to 60 to Christ and tell
him of their annOyances and trouble,
since by its oath Of conjugal fidelity he
is sworn to sympathize. George Her.
BERT the Christian poet, wrote two or
three verses on this subject:
1.-THE servant by this clause
Makes drudgery divine:
Who sweeps room as for Thy laws
Makes this and the action fine"
Again There is the trial of severe
economy. Nine hundred and ninety
nine households out of the thousand are
subjected to it-some under more and
some under less stress of circumstances
especially if man
SMOKES VERY EXPENSIVE CIGARS
and takes very costly dinners at the re.
staurants, he will be severe in demand
ing domestic economies. This is what
kills tens of thousands of women-at-
tempting to make five dollars do the
work of seven. How the bills come in
The woman is the banker of the house.
hold she is the president and cashier
and teller and discount clerk. and there
is panic every few weeks. This thir-
ty years. war against high prices; this
perpetual study of economies; this life
long attempt to Keep the outgo less than
the income, exhausts millions of women
Oh. my sister, this is a part of divine
discipline. IF it were best for you, all
you would have to do would be to open
the front windows and the ravens would
fly in with food, and after you had bak.
ed fifty times from the barrel in the
pantry, the barrel like the one of Zere
DOth WOuld he filIl and the shoes 0f thf