West Virginia Democrat. [volume] (Charles Town, W. Va.) 1885-1890, 1888-09-14
Law when her baby fingers began to

infant mlnu IS rOused 10 iauudoie
ambition by the possession of the
enormous income of three pence a
week, she ought to be taught the
true value and wise expenditure of
money to keep accounts and balance
them; to repay the minntest debt,
or, still better, to avoid incurring it;
to observe the just proportions of
having and spending, and, above all,
the golden rule for every one of us,
whether our income be sixpence a
week or twenty thousand year
WASTE NOTHING.
May hot the growing disinclina-
tion of our young men to marriage
arise partly from their dread, nay,
conviction-alas, too true.-that so
few of our Young women have been
thus educated, and that so far from
being helpmatc to the man they
marry, they are an expense, him
drance, and continual burden
Without wishing to defend the
selfish young bachelor who waits till
he is sin q position to marry, which
means till he has had enough of the
pleasures of freedom and finds them
begin to pail, have often seen with
pity young fellow who has never
had occasion to think of anybody
but himself-and never has done it
learning by hard experience the
endless self sacrifices demanded of
a paterfamilias; good for him no
doubt, but none the less painful.
Often when going out OF London
about "a. NJ, and meeting whole
trainfuls-is there such a word p
of busy, anxious looking men hurry
ing into London, have said to my
self, 81 wonder how many of these
poor hardworked fellows have wives
or sisters or daughters who really
help them, take the weight of life
little off thei- shoulders, expend
their substance wisely, keep from
them domestic worries, and, above
all, who take care Of the money"
But for my wife should have been
in the work house." is the secret con-
sciousness of many man; and it is
curious fact that while many
woman makes the best of not too
estimable husband, No power on
earth can save man who has got
an unworthy or even q foolish wife.
He cannot raise her, and he himself
will gradually sink.
"Lower to her level day by day,
What is fine wit in him growing coarse,
to sympathize with clay"
Or even if she means well, but is by
nature or educationwhat nay term
incapable" woman, he finds him
self saddled with not only his own
share of life burden, but hers. The
more generous and tender hearted he
is, the more he is made victim,
both to her and his children, till he
sinks into the mere bread winner of
the family; who has his work to do,
and does'it, through pride, or duty,
or love, or combination of all three,
usually without word of complaint;
does it till he drops. Men have a
great deal of error to answer for, but
the silent endurance of many middle
aged family men, to whom-often,
alas! through the wife's fault-do-
mestic life has been made a burden
rather than blessing, ought to be
chroniclcd by the recording angel
with tear-not OF compassion, but
admiration-enough to blot out
many youthful sin.
1t is to prevent this-to try and
make of our girls the sort of wives
that are likened unto Lemuel's moth
er: 'The heart Of her husband doth
safely trust in her; she will do him
good and not evil, all the days OF her
life"-that ] would urge their being
given, from earliest childhood, some
knowledge of business especially
about money. Ten years old is not
too soon to begin this, or to intrust
them with the responsibility OF an
income, however small, which will
prepare them for larger responsible
ties in times TO come.
Fer | hold. rs the wise legislators
of the married woman's property act
must have held, that every woman
who has any money at all, either
earned or inherited, ought to keepit
in their own hands, and learn to man
age it herself. exactly as man does.
There is no earthly reason why she
should not. A girl can learn arith-
metic just as well as boy. Ordinary
business knowledge and business
habits are just as attainable by her
as bv him. To be able to keep ac-
counts, to write brief, intelligent,
"business letter" and to accustom
herself to exactitude and punctnali |
ty, is as easy and as valuable to a
girl in her teens as to a youth in IN
office or young man at college.
Only everybody expects of him-no
body of her; and nobody attempts
to teach her how to do it.
What is the result? She enters
life as an unprotected female"
neither forewarned nor forearmed.
While single and Young, even If de
prived of father, uncle or brother, !
she rarely lacks some kindly
male adviser, to whom she gives no