New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-02-06
rather than not, because won

y
tages the sterner sect don't. Butin
Japan the tables are turned. Wom-
en- folks don't amount to a row Of
| pins-hardly one pin, let alone a
row. A woman has always to walk
a few steps behind her husband to
advertise the fact that she is his in
ferior. May be you think
you'd do without a husband,
, then, and be an old maid.
But old maids don't appear to have
any showing at all there.
They seem to be abolished
by law, or something of the
kind, [ don't just understand what.
A woman can t eat at the same table
with her husband, OF even at the
same time. She has to Waituntil he's
through and take her vittals cold.
Her husband is always dreadfully
ashamed of her and never mentions
her if he can help it. IF he ever has
to introduce her anywhere he apollo
gizes real polite like and says: Il
hope you'll excuse me forintroducing
my fool Of a wife, and sEfool" in
Japanese means heap worse than
it does in English. Though it's
enough of an affection in English,
goodness knows! IfSusan B. Antho-
ny and her clique of woman's right
ers could only hear how those heath
ems treat their women folks they'd
certainly look upon Japan as fresh
fields. had the greatest notion to
write Susan about it. urging of her
to sail over and settle matters there
now that she'd got things pretty well
Strengthened out in this country.
For with women voting out West,
and settin on juries, and being law
yers and Whatnot, / think this country
could spare her a spell, and welcome.
1t was surely worth fully SO cents
not to be a Japanese woman, and
was right glad | had done the square
thing and concluded to give accord
ing omy blessings
But when I heard how their houses
were furnished [ was taken all aback.
They amt furnished at all. Youhave
to sit on the floor, and sleep on the
floor, and use a wooden pillow, which
would be dreadful hard on my roomy-
tiz. Specially in winter weather it
would be apt to lay me up entirely
1t did seem it was worth a good deal
more than SO cents to escape the
roomytiz, and I'd be willing to give
a dollar any dayto have some furni-
ture in the house, and not have to
always sit on the floor. Meantime
the littleverse kept Fostering me with
"What shall render to my God
For all His gifts to me?''
| tried hard not to think about it,
because plainly see if that woman
kept on talking and had to tally up
my blessings on a hard cash basis,
I'd be a financial wreck an hour from
hence. Then there was that command
to give according as the Lord had
blessed kept rising up in my mind in
spite of me. So for peace sake I
agreed with myself to give $1.5O.
Fifty cents for not being born a
Jap, and a dollar for being blessed
with furniture and not having to sit
on the floor. 1t was worth it, I felt
/ had got off cheap at that. L
She continued on to relate about
their vittals. They don't use meat,
owing to their beliefin the transmit
grafton OF your soul. They believe
when man dies his soul, instead of
going to heaven or elsewhere, locates
in, a COW, or horse or other beast.
You see how that doctrine operates.
If you should kill your COW for beef
you couldn'te morsel, not even
the tenderest bit of steak in the
| whole carcass, not knowing but
what that COW was the residence Of
| your grandfather, or uncle, or some
other near relative.
/ didn't mind the meat doctrine SO
much because [ could manage to get
| along without it after a fashion,
provided the butter was good. But
my hopes were blasted by the informa-
ton that they didn't use either but
ter or meat or cheese. [ knew that
would have broken me clear up. ]
never could have stood it if | had
been born a Jap. | couldn't rate
the blessing of good yellow but
| ter, and rich thick cream for
coffee and oatmeal in the morning at
less than Is cents. It seemed rather
small atsuch price, but the way
that blessing bill was running up
was more than Icould stand, though
it was nothing but fair that / should
try to pay it. You see I'd never
thought before about it being the
| Christian religion which gave us com
forts and enabled US women folks to
stand side by side with our brothers
as companions and helpers, instead
OF sitting at their feet as servants.
To be sure, I heard in experience
meetings time out of mind, and even
said it myself in a sort OF general way,
that all our blessings came from the
Lord. But law me! Christian people
! do say a sight Of good sounding
things and never stop to think what
they mean. IfWe'd just put brains
L \ l.. 4