Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-10-10

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Within the lines may be compared the
common maxim. A woman convinced
against her will Is of the same opinion
still. Whether it be called obstinacy OF
not, there can be no doubt that a strong
will on the part of a woman is no unenvi
able characteristic; being one, also, which
is invaluable to men when engaged in the
business Of life. The notion that a woman
cannot keep a secret is embodied in many
a proverb and alluded to by Shakespeare
who makes Hotspur say to his wife IL
HenryIV.:
Constant you are
But yet a woman; and for secrecy
No lady closer; for ! we'll believe
Thou wilt not utter what thou dost not know,
And so far will / trust thee gentle Kate
Accordingly, there is familiar proverb
"A woman cOnceals what she does not
know Similarly the Spanish are wont to
say ITO woman and a magpie tell what
you would speak in the market place .
But this it must be admitted, is an unfair
reproach, a woman being as capable Of
keeping a secret as one of her opposite sex.
Indeed, as Mr.. Kelly remarks in his book on
proverbs, If there be truth In proverbs
men have no right to reprOach women fOl
blabbing. A woman can at least keep heI
own secret Try her on the subject of hen
age. The industry of women has long
been proverbial as IN the couplet:
'"Ihe woman that's honest her chefest delight
l. still to be doing from morning till night"
With which we may compare the com
mon maxim, "a wOmans work is never
at an end. On the other hand it was
formerly said of the woman who after be
ing busy industrious maid, became an
INDECENT wife: ''She hath broken an
elbow at the church door, the ceremony
of the church porch where oftentimes
part of the marriage was performed
having disabled her for domestic duties
Thus another adage affirmed how
''The wife that expects to have a good name
Is always at home, as if she were lame"
According to our forefathers. it did not
look well for a woman to be always sight
seeing as such was an indication that she
was not sufficiently domesticated and was
too fond of pleasure. Hence it was usually
said
"a woman oft seen, gown oft worn,
Are disesteemed and held in scorn."
Even at the present day, according to a
well-known Yorkshire proverb, . zonk-
town "a gossip is seldom a good house
wife at home. Many of our old proverbs
speak of the fckleness of women, but sure
~ this is a libel on their constancy, We
have only to refer to the pages of our his
tory in centuries past to prove the falsity
of this assertion. But the majority of old
English proverbs are to the same purport
and a popular one reminds us that ''wo-
men mind and winter change oft, F." and
again:
''The love of woman and bottle of wine
Are sweet for season and last for a time"
Francis |. of France it may be remember
ed, wrote one day with a diamond on the
window of the chateau of Chambord these
words: "A woman changes oft. > Ac-
cording to Mr.. Jefferson, in his Brides
and Brides, it was partly due to tickle
ness and hesitancy that women were prone
to do the very thing which, at the mo-
ment of doing it. they declared they would
never do. Thus one adage tells us how
maids say nay, and take kiss, ring OF
an offer of marriage. On the same prin-
ciple it has been commonly said. Take
a woman 5 first advice and not her second. >
The reason for this is that women are apt
to surpasS men in quicllness of intuition
having to quote DIR. Trench's words
What Montaigne ascribes to them is q
remarkable word, Esprit Prime-Sau-tie1
the leopard's spring, which takes its
pray, if it be to take it at all, at the first
bound" Among some of the many other
proverbs relating to women Is the familiar
one:
''There's no mischief ir the world done
But woman is always one
This is somewhat severe Judgment
and one which must be received with al
caution. According to another adage
Women In mischief are wiser than men,
and it Is said that ''Women's jars breed
men s wars The Germans have the fol
lowing variations of the proverb: There
no mischief done In the world but there I
woman or a priest at the bottom of it, :
an old adage, which has become house
hold saying. with slight amendment fol
the benefit of children. is this: Maiden.
must be seen and not heard. piece O
proverbial philosophy, indeed, which find
that small recognition In these days of wo
men s rights Hence, the familiar saying
but Silence is the best ornament of
woman, although true in the abstract, il
one which nowadays is considered anti
quated. And even, as Mr.. Jefferson
rightly remarks. when we concede Il
women the use of her tongue, proverbia
philosophy insists in harmony with Shake
sparean opinion, that she should talk gen
tly. In accordance with the wise precept
In the husband wisdom, In the wife gen
tleneSs. The talking propenSltleS of wO
men have been embodied In the not very
fattering proverb which tells us hov
three women and three geese make mar
ket, Turning In the next place to tn
beauty of women, there are numerous say
ings. Thus we are reminded that ''Th
more women look in their glasses the les
they look to their houses, and. again, -
fair woman and slashed gown viii Away
find some nail In the way the meaning
of course, being that women are apt to b
negligent housekeepers In proportion a
they value their personal attractions. The
there is the popular proverb which say
that Jean is as good as my lady in th
dark for. as an ancient Latin SAYING n
minds us. ''Blemishes are unseen b
night Whether we agree with tn
statement or not, yet, as Mr.. Kelly II
marks, quoting the lines:
ssThe night
Shows stars and women in better light"
which may be compared with the ErenC
hyperbole: by candle light goat lool
lady. Once more. while dark con
plexion betokened pride, and light indica
ed lazlness, small women, writes Jeatfr
son, were remarkable for their noisines
and beauties for their lack of discretion
Hence 1t is said:
''Fair and foolish black and proud
Long and lazy, little and loud
The same author further adds that 81
is something to the credit of the proven