The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-12-14
WOMEN IND MEN.
The Test of Business Capacity.
 fErnm uarppr'a nazar

From Harpers Bazar.l
 It Is not easy to deny what women have business capacity when we con- slider how much of 1t Is needed in order to get up decent family dinner. When man says grace at his own table he feels, let us hope, becoming gratitude to Divine Providence, but he does not always bear in mind that the immediate channel of that Providence has been, In most cases, a woman. The woman in question might, indeed, be tempted sometimes to interrupt his prisons as did stout old Ethan Allen those of the clergyman who was offering thanks giving for the capture of Ticonderoga- 'If you please, MT. -, don't neglect to mention that I was there too" To the average man who is what Is called in the country "a good provider," 1t per- haps seems as if all housekeeping con- sisted in taking a sufficient amount of meat and vegetables, throwing them in- to an oven, and presently taking out a dinner. The fact that soup requires certain amount of cooking, and beef particular time, and peas given in terval. and pudding a proper period. and that all these viands have to be so planned thai" they shall be precisely ready. piping hot and done to turn at the precise moment; nay, that dur ing this process each separate item must be duly mixed or stirred or flav- ored or transferred from dish to dish, no two being treated just alike-all this does not at first occurr to him. It is only when some sudden change puts the whole matter..int the hands of some untrained Bridget or Mary Ann, per haps reared in factory, and not know ing a fry from a fricassee, that wo- mans work in the house begins to look like business training, as 'it is It then may occur to him for the first time, that his wife, who could never yet make her. weekly accounts balance, can at least do the equally difficult task of putting together the items of a dinner and making them come out even.
 It would be easy to go on and show how in other ways women exhibit what are practically business habits within their recognized domain. Take, for in- stance, mother seeing her five chill dren off to school in different directions on a winter morning. each properly halted and muffled and shod and gloved and luncheoned, with due and separate regard to Mary's cold and Ellen's weak eyes and Johnny's tendency to an ex- cess Of pie. and all the various perils that impend in different directions. See her in the midst of that battery of ques- tions: Mother, where is my right init ten?" Mother, can't find my India rubbers." Mother, you were to write to Miss Jones about that geography lesson" Mother, have pulled this button off," Mother, how far did you say it was from the earth to the moon?" And all this while, at the same time, papa is in a hurry for his final cup of coffee; and papa forgot to speak to the plumber yesterday, and therefore the bell does not ring in the kitchen to- day. Papa may be very good busi- ness man, but will be seriously declare that any complication Is likely to occur in his office that will exceed the complication of this little drama which his patient spouse has to rehearse every morning of her life. :,