The Penn's Grove record., 1891-09-04
THE WOMAN WHO GIVES UP.

Energy stan little below honesty
as a virtue, and far above inertness as Z
grace. 1t saves the ordinary person
from being commonplace, the stupid
from remaining wholly uninteresting,
the tiresome busybody from seeming
entirely horr11. A woman who has
energy must be worth something,
whether the force which urges her ts
exertion be creative or practical, arts
tic or Philistine; whether she be q
Charlotte Bronte or q Sister Dora. q
Rosa Bonheur or an Elizabeth Fry.
The sage Of Chefs q truly said: that
work is holy. and the woman who
labors at anything, be 1t the writing OF
a novel or the making Of Q pudding, is
deserving Of admiration. Yet, how
many women there are going about
who are content to live on the reputa-
ton OF past efforti Most, il not all of
them, are ma, ried, and their cessation
from activity invariably dates from the
day when the Wedding March was
played for them, and heavy salutes
OF adamant rice were fred over their
devoted heads. Who has not met the
nerveless, f1abby, non-salient woman,
who i, continually saying, ooh, yes;
so.and-so sings delightfully."-. l used to
q great deal" '.R, allyi" 30 dear,
yes, but of course I gave 1t all up on
nv marriage" 1t is the same with
paiuting, drawing, playing the piano.
every little grace and accomplishment
- Ill were gwen mp on her marriage.
III, most curious thing about the
whole matter ia that the woman who
thus casts to the four winds Of heaven
hall at least OF her attractive force al
ways brides herself on SO doing, always
hugs herself in q serene consciousn' IS
of virtue. She swells with pathetic
Dr. de as she stands before you and
holds up, as it were, for inspection the
torn rags, the battered tags and shreds
of tai nts which once we're h~ers--before
she gotta husband. Does 1t ever occur to
the woman who gives up TO look at the
matter from the husbands point Of
view2 No man is DESTROYS Of being
tied for life to o partn r who plays
scales all the evening after dinner, or
makes the shuddering night hideous
wi b the Observation-Disclosures Of vocal
exercises, or works IN worsted till the
Q gives up its dead, or sketches
serenely while he Is agonizing for her
to come and pour him out his tea. No
reasonable husband wishes talents to
take the place Of virtues, or vocal
and artistic graces to give the cold
shoulder to sweet domestIcity, but
there is q medium. 1t is rather hard
too WOO q siren and win q housekeeper,
to court satin and marry homespun, to
fall IN love with dash and then have to
remain faithful to dulness till death
you do part. No woman should buy
her exchange from the regiment of
spinsters to that of married oman
under fa SO pretences. That which
helped her to win the man she pre-
sumably loves should BIO her pride.
No feminine weapons which were dill
gen ly taken down from the wall and
polished in youth, should be permitted
10 rust in the armory when age or. cps
on, for as the form decays the mind
should develop, aud a higher charm
take the place of a lower. The woman
who give, up is soon a piteous being.
her mind is, as il were, perpetually in
curl papers. Fyeni in the afternoon the
poor deluded husband looks in vain fer
the glossy ringlets which were once his
pride and joy. She herself has given
up everything. but she would, doubt
less, be extremely surprised If people
gave her up in consequence. She i'm
probably that the attractive
force of her mere personality is suffi-
cent to make her cherished for ever;
but who "a keep on cherishing q jelly
fish? There was once q little boy Who
terrified his anxious mother by vanish
ing from home for a whole afternoon.
When he at length returned she asked
him what he been doing. He replied
that he had been 'frolicking." "What
said the mother. The artless
answered, with q dead doll"
10 go through life with a woman who
has given mp is about as lively as to froiic
with q dead doll. The sawdust has all
run out, and only the kid or the calico
shell remains to remind the unfortun-
ate beho der of 'twhat is past and
Besides, men are not all little
and life, short as it is LISTS longer
Than even a shining summer after
noon.