Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-04-01
he Domestic Journal.

! Many men il ssl"r lug wife only
view Her rs tn"lr exic'iag nature sug
g"sts. not as al loving a,,t hclpful com
panl"n, wln4" voice should have az
equal iliilence in the family circle
but "nl, ns t blind s1bj-ct t. be- nclied
by NJ. in.lumitahle will. With these
men no expression Of their wives ever
gains II rr>p'r-r, beyond mcchanIcai
nod r' the head or nu ubgraci"us grun:
and AM frn,.nin" assertion IL complete
~ ignored. either by ridicnle or indf
terence. Th".c are unequal marriages,
winch cannot fail to distort aud p'rvfrt
the nature Of woman; correct judg-
men' can not exist. aud all vitality Of
feeling Is crushed.
The domestic tyrant does not always
storm and hustle; he may have his
seasons of softened fealing, but he is
incxofahl" in his demands, aud there is
u quiet and settled determination in his
manner. against which it is useless to
contend. do as l say, act az direct"
and this is the creed to which many y
weak woman has answered amen. One
of this unfortunate class tremblingly
thrus;s b 'oks and papers out of sight
when she hears her husbands footsteps
approaching, fearing that they may
serve as y prrtext for him to find fault
with the dinner; having no taste for
reading hms elf, he insists upon being
entert,inei 10y her "prattle,' by which
name he graciou|ly cubs her ccnversa-
tionai powers, which are far above the
average calibrr.
When lately visiting a friend, who
had within her oil the requisites of
mental ability. Oh" conversation drifted
toward books. VenturiDg to ask her
opinion of one of the later novels,
Imagine Our .urprise when she ex
ciaimoj: "Ob, | never read novels; l
should like to do So, but my husband
wont allow it; he makes me read the
Encyclopedia and different histories
aloud to bin: in the evenings, but
work of Fl ,tioa he says shall never
touch" She did not fer moment
suppose that she was an object for
gett'e commisseration, but under the
bear nron her own tastes, thought that
she was performing only an act Of
wigtly duty. Another husband insists
upon faithful report of every visitor
who has entered his home during his
abs nee. and tie substance of every
ute,arrc they may have made. III any
srem contrary to bis own particular
views, his wife is strictly forbidden
ever to receive these vieiturs again.
Auoth9r still compels an industrious
and frugal wife to ask his permission,
either TO visit or entertain a!ew friends.
She is never ut liberty to make the most
trivial engagement, freely and indie
prnicnly. OAe husband obtrusively
intefferes with every detail in house.
hold m.Eagc ment, while he boldly
asserts his superiority to wife whose
sweet and tesder affection many man
would have Guarded with jealous care.
The narrow economy which charac-
terzes the management of so many
women has been engen1ered by the
rigid tXaction Of husbands with regard
to monty. The man who Gun not
trust his purse with conf !ence to bis
wife. AMI the wife who will abuse this
confidence, are void of tho true prlrci-
pies which shoHld govern II happy
household. The woman who steals
from the amount intrusted to her for
household supplies. for necessary per
sonal wants, has, in nine cases out OF
ten, been brought to this moral blind
ness by the harsh and grinding spirit
of husband. We have seen high
spirited woman questioned with snch
IL degree of severity as to the expendi-
turc Of q dollar. and receive such
humilating renNif, as to lessen her ever
after in the eyes OF children and sorv-
ants. E.ch woman, unless q fol,
should lave the whole internal marigs-
Eent o! the home; this is her legitiMate
field for authority. which should never
he encroached upon by masculine die
tation. II is these domestic infelicities
which are every day lessening the
strength Of the hone tie, debasing our
standard Of moral ethics, and blasting.
AS 10y whitening frost, the seeds of an
upright character. which, under differ
ent Influences, would unfold toward
perfect una u useful life. These blight
ing effects arc the result of that
thoughtIeSsncss which character;z's
many in entering the marriage stale,
not tAkin into consideration those in-
portant attributes of each other which
VII result i'll perfect union, ulsre-
gnrdinE all those softening Influences
of mutual forbelrance which should
ever be exercised, to call forth the ten
der consideration for the personal tastes
Of cAcb other, which even in The most
perfect marriage can never run Ill
rarliltl lines. Cincinnati Gazette.