The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1891-02-06
WOMEN AND THEIR WORK.
Some Always Hurried, While
others Find Time Heavy
on Their Hands

-
Why some women never have time
to stick their heads out of the doors
nor ever get time to call on their
est neighbors. while other ome VINO
have much larger families a Keep
them in good order. well clothed n
fed, and still get time to respond 10
all the meetings of the church and to
attend to the calls of sickness n
neighborly kindness, is one OF the UNI
solved mysteries that men and not a
few women are still studying.
Now there is Mrs. A., who lives on
the other side of the street, who nnds
time to take care of her six children
and her hard working husband, at
tends all the regular meetings OF the
church and is O member OF the MIS-
sionary Society, and If you are SICK
she is the first one to come In to see IL
there is ANYTHING that she a do to
help. while Mrs. b., of Blank avenue,
finds her time so taken up in caring
for her pet dog and the hired girl
that she can hardly give her husband
an evening for a drive in their new
carriage, and / don't believe that she
has seen the inside of a sick room or a
PRAYER meeting for a year.
The other day Mrs. Snow came IN
at the side door, and throwing herself
into a chair, exclaiIned:-"l nm Just
tired to death staying at home, and II
Won have no objections Iii visit a little
while. l read all tine novels l could
get nv hands on, and rumaged
through drawers and trunks till there
is nothing new to be found, n as Tor
the piano, I've pounded on that till
all the neighbors are tired and sick OF
it,"
Turning suddenly to me she said,
earnestly but seriously:-"l don't see
how YOU manage to put in your time"
"There is always of plenty OF work
to do" | answered, land l manage TO
make it pleasant and agreeable, too.
/ cannot remember a time since | kept
house that | had nothing to do"
We'll, it's all a puzzle to inc" she
replied. ITO know what to do to put
in the time. The days grow longer
and longer, and the house seems
more and more like q prison. Mr..
Snow says that | am getting grumpy
and cross, but it IS only WEAKNESS.
If we only could afford a trip to the
South this winter 1 could manage TO
get along, but we cannot afford IL,
and | uppose that l shall nave TO get
along somehow"
Would that mend matters any?" l
replied. 81 think that if you went
away you would only want to go
more and more. To me there is no
place like home, and if | have to go
away | am only anxious to get back
again. A few days away from home
- H. o1nchnra or of fha old hnmQ IN
the country is an excellent thing in
the way of a change, but a whole
season away would be simply unbear-
able.n
Not for me-" she replied.
Haven't you anything to DOR l
asked.
what can | have to do?" she re-
piled. There are but two of us, and
the servant can do all the work; be-
sides my husbands mother comes
| once a week and does all the mending;
the laundress attends to all that part
| of the work, and when things are worn
out one can buy things cheaper than
one can make them. We have an ex-
| eellent servant, who is a good house
keeper and trusty, and | leave every
thing to her, SO what is there for me
to do?n
"Why don't you attend to the buy
ing and mending and oversee the
| housework2"
Because / don't know how and l
don't care to learn. If / did | would
soon have it all to do. NV mother al
ways told me that if | expected to
have my husband regard me rs a lady
| must no meddle with servants
work"
There was where she struck the key:
note of her difficulty. When God
said that man should arm his bread
by the sweat of his brow, he did not
say that every one should WELD d pick
and shovel, nor that every woman
should spend all her days with a
serubbing brush in her hands, but he
did mean that all should do their part
in the necessary work of life according
to the place that they found them
selves in; and as a compensation for
the work He ordained that the true
pleasure of life should be found in the
performance of that work, and the
men or wolnen who think that they
can go through life without doing
their part will find that they will miss
much more than they will gain.
The trouble with such women as
Mrs. Snow is that they have been
started wrong. Their education has
been neglected. Their mothers
thought to shield them from the vex-
ing cares of life, and in doing so have
rendered them unfit for the cares and
trials of life. and as a consequence
have left them exposed to trials and
temptations that a only bring sor-
row and trouble.
Ny way would be to keep the girls
in tho HnVnrnAn oa6an1g rfil fhax- "a 20