River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1892-10-06

testified Mrs. Bradley's thoughts fol-
lowed the tired worker; her kind heart
lOnged to make the weary life of this
woman different. If only somebody
would speak few plain words to her
husband. she reflected. and get his eyes
opened.
why not do that YOURSELF" said her
inner voice. She shrank from that,
though. telling her conscience that per-
haps She would sometime if she got
good opportunity.
The deacon. taking off his hat, ran
his fingers meditatively through his
gray locks. and opened up on an article
he had read that afternoon on the com
parative merits of trade or profession
compared with farming.
''ln nv opinion" he declared, after
descanting at some length upon the
subject, the farmer has the best of it
every time; its healthy. independent
sort Of life, and he doesn't have to work
like a slave the year round. In the
water he can get time TO tinker at odd
jobs End do a sight of reading besides
If he's 50 disposed"
Then Mrs. bradley could not resist
saying:
AND the farmers wives? They, too,
have a good rest in the winter-fairly
idle, aren't they?"
''Oh, no. there's plenty of work, but
il isn't hard In the fall, after the ber-
ries are put mp. comes the drying of
apples and pumpkins. Then there's
sausages to make and lard and tallow
To try ont. When all that's done there's
a lot Of sewing and knitting and carpet
rags. My wife makes her own carpets.
and my clothes and the boys. all but
our Sunday coats. Then it takes lot
OF cooking to keep three or four
healthy appetites going, and we don't
have any help in winter"
His listener could scarcely keep in
dignatiOn from her tones as she replied:
is it possible that all this is added
to the work of the summer? l do not
wonder that according 10 statistics a
large proportion Of the women confined
in lunatic asylums are farmers wives.
II is a dreary life. making a woman
into perfect drudge"
We'll, don't know" the farmer an
bread bv the sweat of our brows. The
Bible says that works good for us.
guess il is. ana a wise provision of
Providence don't knows it's any
worse for women than it Is for men,"
''Rut il seems 10 me that the lot of
the farmers wife Is less desirable than
that OF her husband. According to
your own account she has less leisure,
and then he seems to have more variety
in his work. and it Is relieved by small
pleasures. IN summer his work is
mostly out of doors: then ne jumps into
his wagon and is of to town two or
three times a week on errands: and his
neighbOr often happens along and leans
on the fence AMI talks. At noon he
takes a nap in his chair or reads his
paper a few minutes; but according to
my observation farmers wife is a
drudge. She seems 70 have 40 time for
these little rest places. and the conse-
Qucuce is, all Is dreary and monotonous
II is no wonder she loses her mind and
has paralysis. for her work - never
done"
Deacon Bates sat silent n inmate
while he thoughtfully strol5ed the gray
stubble on his chin; then he said. slow
Is: - in know. may be its so. Inever
Thought about il in just that way"
Mrs. Bates came around the corner of
the house just then and took down
some clothes from the line in the side
yard. Her husband watched her me
chemically as she folded and placed
them in the basket.
'.Your wife is a marvel to me, accom-
plishing all she does" Mrs. Bradley
said - She watched her; "but she looks
worn; She will break some day sudden
". fear. 1t would make a wonderful
difference in this house to have her
busy hands and feet still forever,
Is, uldu't ~
The deacon turned and looked at
Nrs. Bradley half wildly. as if such
thing had never before crossed his
mind Then he got up. strobe over 10
the line Just as his wife was about to
lift the heavy basket of clothes. and
taking il from her carried it into the
house. She followed, amazed.
Not since tn, h-,t years of her mar
ried life had DAM offered to do any
OF her work. What had come over
nin2
When Deacon Bates had anything
special ON his mind he was won't to be-
take himself TO the orchard. He went
there now and sat down on low
gnarled limb, and, leaning his lead
against tree. tried To think over the
tormentiug words Mrs. Bradley had
Just spoken. They nettled him. lie
told himself she ought to mind her own
business. But after all lac had himself
to blame. by his oUn confession his
wife was a hard-wurlzed woman. 1t
was too humiliatine. lie had prided
himself upon being kind TO animals and
considerate toward help. Was it pos
sible nc had been cruel 10 his own wife?
II must look so. or a good woman like
Mrs. Bradley would not have spoken as
she did.
The deacon was u good man. He was
not going To spare himself now that his
eyes were getting wide open. He went
back over the years when they first
came 10 this farm, when 'Cynthv" was
young and bright. She used to talk and
laugh then. What had changed her
iuto the silent woman She now was?
If her busy hands aud feet should be
stu forevs-' What awful words! He
had no more calculated ON any change
IF that kind than that the old eight
Jay clock which had licked on for forty
years should suddenly leave its place
And then. that dreadful thought about
farmers wives becoming insane. He
mad read enough To know that melan-
choly is one species of insanity. What
if that state should be slowly coming
upon his wife. for certainly she
grew more silent and sad year by year.
II must be that she did work too hard.
for when he came to reckon it mp and
tell over 10 Mrs BRADLEY all the work
She did summer and winter, it was more
than he had supposed How could she
get any time Tor reading or going out?
And now that he thought of II she never
went anywhere. except TO church. and
not always there. because often she
was too tired. How different it used to
be. Once She frequently went to town
with him and they occasionally took
tea with a neighbor or drove in to the
sewing socie ~. But of late years
work had been 50 pressing that there
had been no time for go; or inviting
company. He had just zone on buy ing
more land and more cows and employ
ing more men. 80 adding 10 her labor
" hift. She had lint fhn ona lalDa,- sba