The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1883-06-22
REAL OR. IMAGINARY.

Ill NE ihdy, pe,t WneJuer OF lTecuOiu
or slavery, be has ever hadIa feeling
of discontentment, and longing for
something just beyond his grasp.
In many cases this feeling has been
productive Of much good, as in the
great revolution of our own country
in which our fathers threw off the
yoke Of England but many times
it is allowed to grow at will until
there is a great commotion with no
vital principle at stake, and hence
no beneficial results. oil
For some years women have come
to the front as chief grlimblers, and
have been heralding their grievances
and demanding their rights. They
claim that they are greatly abused
and are deprived of rights which
are Justly their due, and they arc
endeavoring to- break the letters
which bind them. I But If they
would only take q considerate view
of the matter, they would find that
they have a great many rights and
I privileges. There is no doubt that
many of the wrongs which they
claim are only too real, but there
are many more which are only I'm
aginary. If a woman only endeav-
ors to develope, control and elevate
her own nature, and tries to fit her.
self for the place, which is destined
to be occupied by her, she will find
that her wrongs will be few. But
there are many men who think that
woman is nothing but-a machine
to keep his house in order. and in
readiness for him. They think that
if she only knows the art of making
bread and sweeping the floor, to-
gether with few other such accom-
.plishments, that there, is no need of
her having any further knowledge.
There is a story Of man who had
just buried his wife, women of
great intelligence and goodness.
lie was talking of her with some
friends, when one person ,present
made touching allusion to his be-
reavement. "Ah, said the husband,
"she was capital housekeeper."
The gentleman went on to speak of
the virtues of the departed, and of
the irreparable loss the husband had
sustained. "Oh yes" replied the
man, 81 shall never find her equal.
She always had my dinner ready by
one o'clock" No doubt this poor
man had a great deal of respect and
love for his wife, and supposed he
was paying her the greatest tribute
by thus abiding TO her ability as a
housekeeper.
One of the great wrongs of wo-
men is in regard to property mat
tiers. A woman may work hard all
her life, many times great deal
harder than her husband, and get
no reward, save the food she eats
and her scanty apparel. There are
many men who think they are model
husbands and that, their wives are
well treated /; but when she wishes
any money, she must go up to her
leige lord and humbly make her
wants known, and if lie is in good
humor and she has estimated his
generosity correctly, she receives
the required amount with the in
junction that she must be careful
and not spend more than is absolute
ly necessary. He then goes to his
companions and spends a great deal
more in treating them with drinks
and cigars than he has given her,
which does him no good whatever,
except in making his friends think
that he is a "good fellow" In the
meantime his wife is at home puz-
zling and wondering in what way
that money will do The most good,
and, if she attempts TO get anything
a little more expensive than he
thinks necessary, he tells her that
such extravaganza will certainly
ruin him. The thought never cross
es his mind that she really deserves
and earns the money as much as he
does, but he has the self-satisfied
feeling that his wife has no cause
for complaining, for does he not let
her have money nearly every time
she asks for it? 1t is true he lets
her have the money, but how would
il seem to him if he was obliged to
90 to someone and beg every time
he wishes to purchase anything ?
Then, too, when he dies, unless he
expressly desires il otherwise, she
can receive only one.third of all the
property for which she has been striv-
ing all her life, and which, perhaps,
really belongs to her more than to
him.
Many say that men and women
are not created equal, and for this
reason they do not think that they
should be educated equally. indeed,