The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1884-12-17
WOMAN GOSSIP.
The. Sad Ls,t Of Fisi,erinen's Wives
Manicures AT wntrrin. Plac"&
Two Decisions nr Interest TO Women
"A D;>Obliging Father.
CAPE COD WOMEN.

If there ever wa, y DliwnIed r,ce IT
wOmen," said a gentleman oi NV
York. recently returned home from =
visit to Cape Cod. ii; exists in the pen.
insuiar villages Of Massachusetts, vii-
iayes which depend on the fisheries for
the support Of their Inhabitants. Nd
where else in all New England will o.,e
see 80 high IN average Of female bea.,-
tv. especially in symmetry Of form and
freshness Of cornDicxion. as is nOticra-
nic among the Young girls Of these
Cape Cod fi-i,ermen's towns. girls
ranging from Is TO 20 years of age.
But it will not take long to discover
the startling and melancholy fact that
if this yirli>h Deautv and freshness is
unusual and unexpected. it is also only
too apparent tnat lis duration is brief
the change produced in these girls ny
the lapse Of few wears is painful in
the extreme. No matronlv graces are
10 he seen among them after their gir.-
mood days are past That charming
mli.iie are of maturing wOmanhOod,
be- wccn The freshness and puovancr of
10. is entirely absent The heightened
co.or OF the cheeks is gone. The eyes
are sunken, and wear II constant look
of sadness and anxiety. Gray hair in
heads over which score and half of
years have scarcely passed. and deep
lines in faces which should show no
traces of age for twenty five. years to
come. are rather the rule than the ex-
ception. These women. besides suf-
fering from all the inevitable sorrows
which fall to woman's lot, no matter in
what station she may be placed. have
an added and intense perpetual sorrow
ali their own. Theirs is life Of con-
tinuai suspense and anxiety, which is
almost certain 10 be in time embittered
by an overwhelming grief.
1.-The most Obtuse observer needs
no, TO ask tine cause of this lack of
complete matronly beauty among these
women whose budding days open with
the greatest promise Of u superb physi-
cal womanhOod. and for the utter ex-
,inc;ion of that liyhtheartedness and
brightness which marked their girl
ism days. The cause suggests itself at
once to one who sees the congregations
of women on the beaches and in the
quiet streets of the sleepy villages. He
will notice occasionally feeble old
man among them, generally supported
on The arm Of some female companion,
who, most likely, carries on her other
arm chubby-faced child of lusty lunga
But in these groups or anywhere about
the village. the observer will look in
vain for the presence of males between
the tot,ering years Of the past and pratt
ting days Of babyhood. 1t is the fish
ing season, and there are no men or
boys on the shore. Their smacks are
tossing on the treacherous waters of |
the fishing banks. ami their return, if
they return 1T all. is as uncertain as
tine weather. which forms the one great |
SUI jcct of conjecture and apprehension
among the villagers. Husuar,,is. sons. |
fathers, brothers. and swerthcartS are
somewhere out on the bosom of the
sea, proDaDly hOmeward b"un.i, per-
haps steering for siiii more distant
waters. perhaps struyrin: for life
among the waves. Fair weather keeps |
nope warm in many III anX.uis wo-
mans hear; the how.ing nor..lcaster /
ciliils it with doubt AMI d.' pair. Con-
stantly watching .iav u, ia waking
in the night to listen to sounds from
the sea. whether they he merely the
roaring of the dreaded tempest or
merely the moan OF the surf on the
beach. is it any wonder lnat the tor
ture Of mind and heart, and the strain
of nerve and vital force tuat must fol-
low this perpetual suspense and long
ing. should destroy Inc fountains Of
youth and beauty in these patient, sui
fering women, and place upon them
the marks OF age while they are yet
young?
Yet the girls grow up with but one
thought of what their future lot will
be. with but one object in view. upon
which their visions OF happiness are
based. Go among any group Of these.
bright. buovan, girls in anv of the viii
lagos of the class ] am speaking Of.
and you will find that nine out of ten
of them look forward to union with
some one who will spent his life fish
iny in the summer an cOlsting IN the
winter. The idea that there might be
anv other future for hem than the one
hat is to come 10 them as fi.hermen's
" YES, or that The life Of fi,herman's
wife is any different from the natural
sequence of married iiie. never seems
occur to them.