The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1882-03-16

Ideal wife.
Although there arc many households IN
which Lent Is not kept, 1t viii scarcely he
questioned, even by the least spiritual, that
there Is sound physiological reason for the
season OF abstinence which Is regularly OBJ
served hy large part OF the Christian
world. DIR. Tanner Is not the first TO an
nouncc the physical virtues OF fasting, and
though few fastcrs have been ableto como
I'm to his record, there are many lay rs
well as professional witnesses who could
testify TO the good effects npon the system
Of partial rest occasionally to the diges-
tive organs. Timothy was advised TO
take "little" wine for his stomach's
sakc, but both excessive eating and
drinking are among the vices de-
rounced In the simple but severe code OF
morals laid down In the New Testiment.
Indeed, gluttony seems TO be scarcely less
heinous offence In the eyes OF the sacred
writer's than drunkenness itself, and there
is really no moral difference in the grade OF
thc sin. Perhaps fewer people die from
oyer-eating than from overwhelming, but IL
physicians chose TO tell oil they know they
could tale unfold OF indignant stomachs
and outraged dIgestions that would fairly
astonish the world. Gluttony may not
always show itself in outward and visible
signs, although in general il places its mark
upon the face and form of its votary; but
II seldom fails 20 bring in its train long
tine OF physical evils and a host OF the most
disagrecablc ills TO which flesh is heir. In
all this there should be understood no plea
for modern iimotbys, who deyoutly re-
member only the apostolic permission, for
getting all about the limit, but simply an
nat ~, t,.ef
much, and an argument i'm particular in
favor Of more or less abstinence OF food at
this and other seasons. The period OF
penitential observance is appropriately
Fixed, as its name implies, at time of the
year when change Of diet is demanded.
Alter the heavy and coarse food required in
winter, and when the system is preparing
20 adapt itself TO approaching alterations in
physical conditions. Apart from its splr-
itual benefits, Lenten abstinenccs are equal
20 O "course OF medicine much better
than many prescription" that we swal-
low.
Lent cannot always be advocated, how
ever, on the score OF economy, and what is
savcd In the way Of butter and meats is
more than counterbalanced in oysters, fish,
and other pleasant indulgences OF the sea-
son. In New York il Is reported that Lent
sccms \ season of feasting, not fasting.
Public and private dinners abound, and
ladies are busy attending Lenten lunches,
where fish and salads are the chief viands.
Without meaning 10 doubt the sincerity
sr piety OF these fair fasters. who, it may be
asked without offence, could not be some
thing OF a saint on oysters and shell1ish OF
the Chesapeake, especially when prepared
alter the mostarproved methods. Ii would
nc difficult TO find more skiliu masters OF
the ,art Of cuisine than New York can
boast, but il is not to be supposed that all
che trilunpbs of the profession have
been confined TO modern times. There
were cooks ever before Delmonico. In his |
admirable work on "Tahle Traits" Dr. |
Doran recalls the cogauS gIoriosuS OF Phile- |
mon, who boasted that he cooked a fish so |
sXquisitely that it returned him admiring |
and grateful looks from the frying-pan.
q lie had not covered il with grated cheese,
nor disguised it with sauce, but he had |
treated 1t with such daintiness and delicacy
That even when fully cooked il lay on the |
dish as fresh looking as if it had Just been
taken from the lake,
"And yet" saws the cook, 81 had no
thing better TO exhibit my talents upon
than wretched river fish. nourshed i'm |
mud. But, o! Jupiter Savior il i had
only had at my disposal some of the fish Of
Attica or Argos, or a conger from pleasant
Slcyon, like those which Neptune serves to
the gods in Olympus, why the guests
would have thought they had become divin-
,ties themselves" "Indeed." he adds,
q thiuk i may say that | have discovered
The principle OF immortality, and that the
cdor OF my dishes would recall life into the
nostrils OF the very dead" Not unlike
t,lis boast was that OF Bechamel. who de-
elared that with the sauce he had invented
> man would experience nothing but de-
light in eating his own grandmother.
VOICE FROM A BEAR.
The following communication from "a
Bachelor " will doubtless be read with in
'erest, il not endorsed, by some OF our re-
cent lady correspondents:
Being bachelor, with an income Just
about double my wants. and having always \
been marrying man without being able to
ind woman who would enter matrimony
With me on a basis OF recognition of practi-
al facts, | think ] may have the right to
-efute some Of the charges heapcd by your
numerous lady correspondents on my I'M
sex. In spite OF all that is said
o the contrary, | know that all men
ye anxious to marry, but not quite all
IRE hOt-blooded enough to neglect TO count
ne cost, The woman OF to-day is an eX-
Densiye animal. Without useful accom-
such a. spinning, drawing ! ,
rocking, she makes nothing she uses, but
buys everything. She dresses TO meet the :
criticism of other women, not for her own
comfort or her husbands approval. She
values nothing for what it Is, but for what
Il appesrs-t0 Others. Hence she is eX-
She wishes TO shine, and does ,
not hesitate to make strain u Don the family
inances 10 get the last new trifle. The
spring bonnet costs from $40 TO $50. Myi
hat costs me SO. A bonnei-ribbon alone
cften costs So. No woman is ever happy !
without seaskin sacque, costing from I
ROO to $500. She has hall dozen dresses ]
year, made up by extortiOnate milliners, &
and costing from $40 to 800 apiece. When '
these triiles Of her wardrobe cost so much, {
what are we 10 expect Of the substantials h
shrink from the estimate. / can see that {
The average girl cannot live on what my c
ivinS costs me, but requires twice as much. i
Her habits demand 1t. She may fancy in 4
The early stages Of her love that she can O
lorego her expensive tastes, but the sacri- /
nee, II she makes 1t, tells on her spirits, 81
affects her digestion, undermines her K
health, and carries her to an early grave.
Seeing this, no man. with tender and
Iruly sympathetic heart will wish to tempt
,er to the dismal effort. She may after T.
marriage try 10 conceal It, but il is n
,lain that the woman who is unable TO =
iefy the criticism OF her neigbbors In dress, a,
blue china, and ornamental gin "
GER jars Is never a happy woman. This i,
rings me TO the principle involved. IL is r
his: That the American woman NOVEL;
avs finds the stimulus and interest of her
le nnl nf hnme In the nrlns md .r,aiIo ~ Y