Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1893-04-27
A STORY OF COLUMBUS.
Some Inside Facts Concerning His Fam
iIy Life Mrs. Columbus and His DOmes-

iIy Lifs--Mrs. Columbus and His D0mes-
tic Rotations.
Written for Gazette and journal,
The general belief concerning the
various voyages of Columbus, is that
they were prompted by a love Of adven
ture and burning prophetic sense of a |
mission to be fulfilled in the then I'M
known wilds Of the earth. Unpleasant
rs il may be to destroy a landmark Of
history, yet feeling of duty and u
desire to promulgatc a needed warning, |
leads us even at this late day to give the
true facts OF the case as follows:
Mrs. Columbus, while woman of
many admirable qualities, possessed, to
put it mildly, a somewhat peryasiyc'I
nature, which was apt at times to be
tangibly present in the Genoese atmos-
phcre mparting an 81 would not live
Away" tinge 10 the reflections Of her
nearest and dearest. She was also a
person Of much initiative power, and in
her modest way . patron Of The da2Drn-
tive art, which last fad was Il source Of
much annoyance To her gifted spouse.
For instance, when she adorned the
| wall with armOrial bearings made from
the WASN'T boiler lid crossed bytwo steels,
his idea Of propriety was severely
shocked; neither did he look with much
more favor upon the family skillet sus-
| pended by ribbons over the spinet
Aside from their irreleyancy, there was
u charming lack of pcrmununcy about
these articlcsof bric brac; one moment
you saw them, the next they had fallen
from their high estate into base usage.
1t was extremely notifying TO Golum-
bus amour d'propre, just as he was cX
| pounding his opinion on some wciehty
matter OF state to ducal magnate, for
little Felipe to come siding in and
| audiblY whisper "Nlam says she wants
| the frying.pa right away" and thus be
/ forced to keep UP 4 fluent commentary
on the weather and at the same time
hand out the needed utensi behind the
honored guests back. 1t was also de-
grading to man Of his native intel
ligenCe 10 take home the few ghOvels Of
coal borrowed from his friend Amerigo
Ncspucci in gilded coal-bucket and
carry dog meat from the shamblcs in i
basket tied with streaming banners
But on the whole, the great dis
coycrer hore these little idiosyncrasies Of
his wife's with commendable patience,
though his fortitude was nearly undonc
when i'll d fit Of abstraction she used his
most accurate chart 10 do Maria Teresa S
curls up in. No man would like it I!
Neither would any fellow of our day
care to come home in hurry to dress
for the grand turnout Of the "Past
Grand Macalister -Four Hundred and
find the handsome feather out Of lis
J hat on the girls bonnets, his only pair
Of gauntlets converted in Lord Fauntie.
roy leggins for Felipe, and his wife
having her picture taken in a Russian
blouse made out of his one good
doublct. And everything a bathing
party went down u the bay shore lis
long pair Of silk hose disappeared with
surprising regularity. But her last
yogary proved to be the proyerbia
straw tc the camel's back. Being IA slim
woman, she consequently wished L
appear stout, and having some inyen
ton ut length devised plan to giyt
herself the desired rotundity. Will
half dozen barrel hoops and liner
pettieoat She constructed Il sort of per
,, ambulating cage that became her grea
pride, and the cause oil exquisite enV,
to her femme acquaintance, but whict
Disguised the well balanced mind of he
? husband. In vain he expostulatea, wea
it she would-till one day, a PROJECTING
! spike caught her hoop, sprained he
ankle and made her a prisoner in bed
As the servant girl question was eve
then unsolvable, Columbus had to droI
4 all municipal matters Che was at tina
| time chief engineer Of Street and SewG
Commission and give his attention I
Il culinary duties. lie now had th
: longed fer opportunity of making sail
; rising bread like his mother used tc
: though truth compels us to admit tina
5 his effort filled the family with louthn!
9 and caused his wife to repeat humble
7 Of words found in her prayer book,
!. not in the same order She used then
u You can see for yourselves how III
: reasonable it would be to expect ma
7 with baby in one hand ana an owe
! thermometer III the other, to draw pei
7 fcctly correct plans Of u city's sewerage
Y yet Columbus sad plight did not dete
Y ''Pro Bono Publico'' and ''Neritasn frot
frankly criticising him in the dali
I press. One Of the sGddest sights OF al
!, cicnt history is that Of the future mar
q ner trying by the light of waxen tape
y to nail patch Oh the base Of his littl
u son Felipe's trousers. The torments
.: man brooded over these misplaced dutit
y until il became almost question {
T huopskirt OF husband. Husband mi 81
q have carried the day, had NJ
y his buxom nother-in.law inoppol
:. timely arrived and strengthened he
\; daughters obstiuacy by declaring til
y invention "iust too lovely for any
u thing" and insisting Oh having on
Y exactly like it. AS she was Il woman 1
4 decided argumcutatye prucllvities IN
y prone to punctuate her remarks by sci
! ing tho nearest articles, Columbus COZ
"a cluded that discretion is the better pa
y Of valor and desistcd ii complaining
Y But these injuries ranged in the mob
% breast and when Tie opportunity oiierc
2, OF joining the New World expedite
y he GLADLY accepted the alternative, PR
u terrng storms abroad 10 storms at hom
z Thus, 4 husband and father was %
y to his family, a subject 10 his king, AZ
y an heroic d!sc0rcrer given b the wGrl
z, by one woman's logged pGrsistency
y DOMINIC a Aoopskirt
y FLORENCE 7. Boss.
:! -
/. Found in a Hay Stack, Nearly Famlshe
~ IISCoI,S. NEE, April 90. -Iuesit