Woodville Republican., 1889-11-30
MARTIAL INFELIcITY.
Bad Cooking One of the Most Prolific
Sources of Domestic OuarreIs.

Bad Cooking One of the Most Prolific
Sources of Domestic Quarrels.
''The very light manner in which
American girls and women toss off the
off-quoted Meredithism that civilized
man can not live without cooks is only
another instance Of the national lack of
reverence for really serious things"
quothed lady of broad culture and large
experience, who was one of group Of
feminine summer boarders at a we'll
known mountain resort. Some Of the
younger members of the group are in
clined to treat the subject jokingly and
to shrug their pretty shoulders over the
idea of there being any thing serious in
so material question, but their elderly
friend would have none of their flip
pancy.
81 assure you, girls, it is my firm con-
viction that more divorces are to be
traced to the fact that American women
know nothing about cooking than to any
other one cause under the sun. 1t is, in
nine cases out of ten, the little rift
within the Lutte the entering wedge,
the apple of discord thrown into the
newly formed and apparently harmoni-
GUS domestic circle, to create discomfort,
alienation and final dissolution. Cook
ing is an art which no woman should
fail to acquire, the rudiments of which
should be inculcated with the three RS,
and the finer touches added with the
finishing-off efforts of her music, draw
ing and French masters. The few cook
ing schools that have been established
and the very limited accommodations
that have been made for teaching thes sub
iect practically in few of our larger in
stitutions of learning are totally made
uuate to effect the results required to
remedy the almost universal ignorance
of American women upon this important
subject.
The matter should go deeper; the inn
portance of the subject should be
preached from the housetOps until every
woman shall feel as much ashamed of
not knowing how 10 cook as she would
of not knowing how to write her name.
The number of people who can afford to
hire French cooks is so limited as TO ex-
clude that way out of the difficulty from
the general question. The art of living,
of dining, is an Outgrowth of civilization
that can not be- ignored, and coming, as
it does entirely within woman's prov
ince, should receive her most serious
attention, since results to be obtained
are we'll worthy of her highest effort
and utterly redeem the apparent mean
ness Of the occupation.
''It is the wise woman who will study
her husbands material tastes and cater
to them; it is the sensible and rightly
balanced woman who will descend from
her aesthetic and sentimental heights
long enough to realize that ninety-nine
per cent. of this life is material, and
that by nourishing her husbands body
well she is really improving his morals.
You will tell me that l am talking plat
itudes, that you have heard all this be-
fore, but you can not hear it two often.
This subject of cooking is of far more
Importance to women than that of suf-
frage, or prohibition, or foreign mis-
sions, OF faith cures. It is the key to
the social problem, the paddock to the
divorce courts" And our enthusiastic
elderly boarder, quite warmed up By
her own eloquence, gathered up her
knitting and marched off to her room,
while certain Of the younger matrons
whose conseiences were whispering e
them the secret meaning Of certain
little domestic clouds, went OF to pom
der these things in their hearts pers
J haps to profit by them. IA. Z. World.