The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-10-14
ENGLISH WIVES.
They Are Lamentably Ignorant OF Thci
Hmabanls, Incomes.

Husbands Incomes.
1t is clear that the point in which the
English middle class marriage most differs
from the French marriage OF the same
class is the unwillngness OF the English
husband To sink any of his own individu-
atty in the union and to make his wife a
real partner. For example some writers
seem to hold that husbands do not and
ought not 10 tell their wives their incomes
This is, we believe, in accordance with the
facts. The middle class English wife
knows very little, often nothing Of her
husbands affairs, and is quite in the dark
rs to what is the pecuniary position of the
family. She knows that her husband is
sometimes willing to spend, sometimes I'M
willing; that is all
The French wife, on the other hand if
we are to believe competent writers on
France, habitually understands her hus-
bands pecuniary position, and would con-
slider herself grossly sighted if she did not
enjoy his confidence in this respect She
is as often rs not indeed the family chan
cellor of the eXchequer and knows moro
exactly how things stand than does her
husband. The Englishman's habit of Sc
cretiveness is, we cannot help thinking, ex-
tremely unfortunate, and to it may be
attributed great deal of the extravaganza
and want of knowledge as to the value of
money attributed-and we fear rightly at
tributed-to English wives.
English husbands too often tell their
wives nothing definite ms to their incomes,
and thus the wife has no means of know
ing whether she must keep rigidly to her
housekeeping allowance. or whether she
may occasionally go little beyond. A
proof of the commences of the practice is
to be found in the fact that the manuals
on housekeeping always assume that tho
wife is quite ignorant of her husbands in
como and has no responsibility in regafd to
expenditures outside her own departments
Another bad result of this system is the
complete ignorance of money matters dis
played by most English widows When
the husband dies the ordinary wife finds
herself utterly Mt sea. She does not even
know how to draw n check She does not
understand why, when or how dividends
are paid, and she has not the remotest con-
ception of what is good and what bad
investment. How should she know? Her
husband has been at no pains to explain
things to her, and she has lived on the
principle enunciated by the old gentleman
in the knight of the Burning Pestle"
She never wore out n dress without an
obliging dressmaker bringing another, and
as for food of all kinds, it flowed into the
house just as If it was laid on like gas and
water.
Yet the average woman can learn to
understand money matters quite as well as
the average man. Unfortunately, the hus-
band is too jealous of his power to tell his
wife his exact financial position, while the
wife is too shy to insist OH knowing, or very
possibly regards it as quite virtue not to
Interfere with such things. The conse.
quences are often disastrous. Many a
L..
eXuravagantly managed if only the wife
knew her husbands income, while hun
dreds of widows would be saved from
countless worries and impositions if they
realized more of the ways of money.
English wives will not be perfect till
their husbands share with them the mys-
teries of the passbook. London Spectator.