Northern tribune. [volume] (Cheboygan, Mich.) 1875-1885, 1883-07-28
Amt JENNA ON THE WOMEN
QUESTION.

Aunt Jemima gave areal old-fashioned
quilting party, the other day in honor
of a niece who was visiting her, and
freed her mind in this little lecture to
her guests, who were all young girls:
We are all livin, gals, in fast age
a progressive age they call it, when
women are a-putting on airs and asset
ting up to be the equals of man.
'TWan't so when was gall. Women
didn't then pretend that they'd right
to vote and sing bass and speechify in
public. Calls didn't 90 gallivanting OIL
to colleges and universities. and rack
their brains over ologies and Turin lin
gos till they was turned inside out.
Do you suppose that if I'd ben one
of that sort of young women, Scion
Pettibone would ever have took fancy
to me and choose me out of twenty
other gals that was just dyin' for
him? For Squire Pettibone, whose
weepin' relict l now am, was a great
man in his day-amember of the School
Committee, Justice of the Peace, head
of the Board of Selek Men. He sarved
two terms in the State Legislator, and
was even talked of for Congress!
He was man of deep larnin' and
great powers of mind. He read good
deal, but it was mostly in science books
too deep for me- Whenever in his
weekly newspaper he come to an artikel
headed ''Women's Spere," "Advice to
Wives and SIGH like, he'd insist on
readin' it to me, even if had to leave
my salt risin' a-runnin' over, or the
dinner table a-standin' on the floor, to
listen. Sometimes of an evening, arter
the children was all asleep, and / sot in
the chimbley corner a-darnin' stockins
or doin' up my weeks mendin', he'd
take dawn some larned volum from
the bookcase that he alters KEEP under
lock and key, and if he come acrost
anything suited to my needs or capacer-
ty he'd kindly read it to me. E'ena-
most all the larnin' ever got come in
this.
remember jest as if it was but yis-
terday how kinder pleased-like he'd
look over at me and the work / was
a-doin', while he read some lines from
Sheridan Knowles, beginnin
''women act their parts
When they do make their ordered households
or these words from another great
poet,-Shakspear or Martin Farquhar
Upper, disremember which
what do most admire in woman
Is her affections, not her intellek."
One line of Vargil was pertikelar
favorite of his'n. He said it in sort of
hectorin' way to me so often that,
though don't know no Latin q should
hope not), 1 larned this lingo by heart,
and can repeat it naow:
"Varium ct muaabtIe semper fcrmina."
Husband said it meant, ..More tickle
than the winged winds is woman.")
At famerly prayers, which he kept up
constant, and where he was the most
eddifvin' of men, he used to ransack the
Scripturs for passages improvin' to me
and the galls-such as
wives, be in subsection to your own hus-
bands"
"whose adornin let it not be that outard
adornin' of patin' the hair, of wearin' of
gold, or of putin on of apparel, but tie Or
nerment of meelsand quiet sperit" (
But the varses he set the most by was
them of King Solomon describin' the
vartuous woman. / know the hull on
'em by heart Them books upon
woman's spere by DR.. Todd and DR..
Fulton come out jest afore he died, and
was the solace of his last hours. How
many times when was a-ministerin'
araound his dyin' pillow, he quoted to
me them lovely words of DR.. Fulton:
"Woman is Gods first gift to man, and
to be helperto man is nobler than to be
Queen of Heaven. For this God created
you. For this he preserves YOU"
One day. the squire added, smilin':
'Jemima, you've ben to me a meek,
lovin', industrus, devoted, obejient
wife. shall leave you the income of
third of my estate as long as you remain
my wilder. No son of my own can
bear my name and honors, but the Pet
tibone name must be KEEP up, and
tother two-thirds-the hull when you
are done with it--goes to Scion Petit
bone, my second cousins son, who is
named arter me. When gals gets so
uppish and independent in their idccs
as our gals. they'd better be left to