Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-04-21
HOUSEHOLD TYRaNTS
Different Varieties of Domestic Imam
tors.


The line that separates lawIessness
from personal liberty in the household
lsquite as vexed a one as it is in political
economy. The parent who knows lust
where and when to restrain and lust
"hen and where to allow perfect liber-
" Is indeed wise one. The father
quite often leaves this task to the
mother. believing that the vague quail
w. intuition, will guide her right in the
matter This may and may not be the
case. If the mother is woman who
naturally loves to rule, the very gov
ernrncnt of her children NAV be a
species OF petty tyranny. which is least
calculated to- exert Il wholesome dis
clpllnc; or If she be weak or indOlent
woman 1t may become Il mere system
of indulgence. We most often think of
Il man as the domestic tyrant. and
imagine such "a dcspot to be one
OF r0ugh speech before whom his wife
and children shrink. Yet there are
many household tyrants. with exterior
as bland and department as correct as
that OF Turveydrop himself The man
tyrant who pcnetrates into the kitchen
who orders the minutes. movements Of
his household. and there are many such
In the land Is far more intOlcra BILE than
your rough and gruff man who works
off his evil temper in the '.grnwlcrv."
The Individual who is a martinez in his
household. and who is ALWAYS nagging
about peccadillOcs, is the most intolera-
BILE tyrant of all. His demeanor in the
presence of the world NAV be the
height Of courtesy. but it is the only
courtesy his family ever receives from
him. save the food and clothing which
he measures out to them in much the
same spirit in which rations are served
out to slaves.
The woman tyrant is quite as COM
mon. but not so intolerable. because
she possesses less power. She may
rely upon her very helplessness for her
power, for there is no tyrant of the
household more supreme, more discour-
aging to all efforts toward peace and
happiness. than the brainleSS tyrant
The woman whose household is per-
petually at the mercy of her whims and
freaks yields indeed a pitiless sway
The man who marries brainleSs wom-
an. in hopes of obtaining the ideal child
wife of the novelist, finds too late that
he is more abjectly slave to her follies
and caprices than even husband
whose wife openly assumes the reins of
control. He learns too late that 1.-The
foolish woman is clamorOus," and that
1.-The mouth of fools poureth out fool
ishness." Surely there is no more alb
ject slavery than subsection in such a
rule.
The kind of woman typified by the
mOther-in-law of fiction. who may very
likely be a sister-in-law or any other
member of the family, who because of
her age and the respect due her. takes
advantage of the position to become a
domestic dictator. is most oppressive
ruler. She is an OtficiOuS me,idler in all
sorts of matters. not from any great in
terest in such matters. but from a de-
sire to rule. 1t requires the continual
display of tact to deal with such per-
son and avoid an actual combat. and
the amount of misery which such an
individual may infiict on family where
she has no right to dictate and is toler-
ated only by affection and courtesy can
hardly be measured. One of the most
aggravating tyrants of all is the I'M
ruled child. who turns the house topSv-
turvey with his lawless ways and mali
cious mischief. There is every rea-
son to consider such an individual
the domestic nuisance that he had been
pronounced by landlords and land
ladies. lie is the sole cause of the ia
miliar sign on flats and houses to Let:
mo children allowed" 1t is admitted
that one unruly boy with jackknife
can accomplish in a week more destruc
ton than months rent will pay for.
while the amount of general disturb
ancc he can create, in the way of noise
and nervous irritation can not be calcu-
lated in money. A disinterested per-
son. who has suffered from such a
nuisance. would be willing to buy i'm
munity at any price
Faithful servants. and even devoted
friends. from the very force of their de-
votion. may aften be very tyrannical.
1t requires some breadth of nature,
more Gberality than most of us possess.
to avoid being ex-acting when we find
others dependent upon or yielding to
our vill.-N. y. Tribune.