Omaha daily bee., 1896-09-26
the MAN or rue HOUSE.
lie May Not Re an Ali-Round Angel,
hut He lLns SMmc LnmM InimtM.

The various pcculiarities of that masculine
individual who usually. hears thc Gtle OF
"tho man of the house" are favoritc subjects
of the other sex. They have summcrcd
him and wintered him. and any extra proof
of his obtusencss only calls forth the re
mark; That's just like mani"
With some unsympathctic wives, says the
Chicago Record. man is a despot, and his
will is the pivot upon which the household
affairs revolve. His convenience regulates
the hour for every meal; his preference
marks the choice of the food to be served.
Due Difference must be paid to all his optn-
ions, for he is plainly a creature to be man
aged by feminine cunning and to be led by
apparent submissivonCss. He is the mon
arch Of the domestic, social and financial
departments and women are supposed to
be his slaves to carry out his wishes.
But If he has become all this, and much
more in rare instances, it is woman, as
wife, mother or sister, who has made him
so. The man of the house is not naturally
depraved. He has still enough of the di-
vine in him to mould his character sym.
metriCally and make him JOY and blessing
to all in the home. Where was ever a true
home without its master? We could not
exist. we might drag wearily out our re-
naming years, but could we live our happy
hearty, toil-laden but blessed life without
our ''mar of the house?'
are guilty of in all probability And it is
really comforting to our self love to note
that he Is not quite perfect. i is worth the
fun to see him lose his temper on con
founded stove pipe" or ballly horse. to
have him forget to replenish the fire in time
to save its life; to have him bring some
arnica instead of peppermint, to hear him
tell the same funny story dozens Of times
to have him lose his hat, gloves news.
papers and slippers about the house; tc
have him forget the childrens ages and con,
duct himself generally in the usual human
fashion
And when the hired girls flare up and
leave, who comes nobiy to the rescue, and
handling the dish towels deity, wipes all
the dishes, from china and silver TO pitchers
and platters? The man of the house Who
compliments our cooking and testiies to his
sincerity by his own plump and smiling ap'
pearance? Who confides in us all his plan!
and hopes and fears, which compliment We
return by telling him all about our little
domestic trials and how we going tC
trim the childrens clothes?
who reads the lines in our Care-worn
faces and warns us to be careful and not
overwork? Who cracks jokes until the
whole house rings with laughter and the
children go to bed singing? Who insists OF
rigid obedience to every business law ol
order and yet can relax into the most
delightful of social companions? Who puts
his feet on your best rocker and tips baCf
in his chair so gracefully while reading his
evening paper, while the weight OF care
lifts perchance from his weary brow, and
the fragrance of the blue Havana fills the
air as he basks in the (gas) light of your
presence? Why, the man of the house, OF
course! And even if any of us should possess
"a man of the house" that does not come
up to this average of perfectness and faulti-
ness but rather nclines toward the faulty
side in the opinion of the "housekeeper,' -
r G
underneath the faults, ana some traits of
surprising worth will surely be found in
even the most unsatisfactory man of the
house