The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-03-13
4 WOman's Plain Talk.
1t seems to be an accepted fact, writes
q clear.headed and noble housekeeper

IL seems 10 De an accepted iaCt, write
clear.headed and noble housekeepc
(who signs herself "a Woman to th
Barnesville (Georgia) Gazette, that wo
men are becoming more self.reliant tina
of yore, and also that more is expecte
Of them by the men who are respectivel
most interested in them. The toilini
father exerts himself to give his daugh
ter all the advantages that are now addet
to the studies for women, and, when sh'
has acquired these-many of which hav'
formerly been considered the special ad
vocations Of the sterner sex-he yer,
naturally and properly expects her t
make practical application of her &C
| quirements.
The husband who is forced to labor fol
the support of the family, of course
expects ihe CO. operation of his wife in
whatever way proves best and wisest fol
their mutual interests. To the honor oil
the sex be it said, that the woman, either
daughter or wife. who fails to give all the
aid within her power, is the exception
and not the rule. 1t is the worker at
home in whom I, at present, feel most
deeply interested, and, of her. propose
to say few words of encouragement and
defense.
We do not all go out in the world and
in return, for services given, come back
to our families with wages in hand, so
many dollars and cents to be expended
for their bread and raiment; few of us
are capacitated for that, and if we were,
the most of us are so circumstanced that
such qualifications would afford US but
little advantage. No; our work for the
most part must necessarily be performed
within the narrow confines of home but
is it the less important for this? Nay;
on the contrary, it is the work that every
wife end mother should consider the
most important of her life. and to it she
should give her most faithful attention.
It is work that is above price or the con-
sideration of wages, as every woman
knows who has ever tried to turn it over
to the hands of hirelings. How strange,
then, that such work should be estimated
as standing with the trifes that make up
the sum of life. How often do we see
men who place this estimate on the work
of women, who spend their lives looking
after the everyday comforts IF their hus.
bands and children.
Such men know their homes are COM
Portable, their meals are regularly served
to them just to suit their tastes their
is in good order; their children
are neatly and comfortably clad every.
thing is tidy in the house when they re.
turn after the days labor is over; they
know and injoy these comforts, and yet
how few realize or even think how much
care is necessary to keep this state of
:bings in order in the household. How
IL them ever think of the amount of
sweeping, scruOc'@as,1ustinr. bed making.
baking, stitching, darnlHs, -waah;n9
ironing, milking, churning, nursing 6, CUP,
it requires to keep up even decent show
of neatness and comfort in household
where there are children and inefficient
help?
Herein lies the secret of many wo.
mans WEAKNESS Of the whole problem of
house. keeping and its never-lifted bur.
dens. 1t is because, toll as she may,
after ali her work is done, it is accepted
rs a matter of course and considered a
service that should be rendered as a
mere pastime. The women who perform
the duties OF housekeeping for men of
this stamp (they are numerous) soon
learn to expect nothing in the way of
for such service. On the
contrary, one finds that she is expected
to do the work and to do it in such an
way that her lord may not
be annoyed with any of the disagreeable
things attending it. he is known as the
bread winner and she as the bread eater.
he earns the money and spends it. Ii
she asks for money she is greeted with o
stare of surprise and he forthwith wants
to know what she did with the last he
gave her-twenty.ive cents perhaps.
She accounts for twenty cents, and ne at
once bends all the powers of bis mind to
the task of finding out what she did with
the nickel of which she has not spoken.
She never asks him for money when she
can avoid it, and when she does never
gets it until she is made to feel meanly
humble rs if she had robbed hen roost
She feels that she has worked rs honestly,
and far more laboriously, than the gifted
man who had painted picture and sold
it, but she dare not think of such thing
as spendin. her money as freely, or
would not if she could get it. Every
woman is necessarily dependent upon her
husband more or less for the money she
spends, and this dependence is either
very pleasant OF very bitter.
A right understanding and adjustment
of affairs can enable her to receive money
at the hands of her husband in a spirit
not only of selfrespect, but of rejoicing
in her dependency or, it can be given
to her in such a way that she will feel
like a dog when she asks for it and when
she receives it. In another article pro-
la,, II f1,o hatfor