St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-11-07
THE MAN or THE HOUSE.
He II Net Qsits Perfect Das . Densssss
Necessity.

Necessity.
rhe yar1ous peculiaIities OF that mas
euline individual who usually bears the
title of 1.-THE man Of the house" are Ia
yorite subjects of the other sex. Ihey
have summered him and wintered him,
and an extra proof of his obtusiveness
only calls forth the remark: THAT'S
just like mani"
With some unsymIathetic wives man
/. = despot, and his will is the pivot
uuou which the household affairs re-
yolve. His convenience regulates the
hour for every meal; his preference
marks the choice of the food to be
served. Due deference must be paid to
al his opinions, for he is plainly a
creature to be managed by feminine
cunning and to be led by apparent sub
missiveness. He il the monarch Of the
domestic, social and financial depart
ments. 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 Wa
ma7, 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 divine in him to mold
his character symmetrically and make
him Joy and blessing to all in the
home. Where was ever q true home
without it's master? We could not ex-
list, we might drag Mearily out our re-
naming years, but could we live our
happy. hearty, toil-laden, but blessed
life without our '.man of the hopse 2"
This, ,man has as few faults as we our
selve are guilty of. in all probability.
And II is really comforting to our self
love to note that he is not quite perfect.
It is worth the fun to see him lose his
temper on COMPOUNDED stovepipe, :
or a balky horse; to have him forget to
replenish the fire in time to save its life; /;
to have him bring home arnica instead
of peppermint; to hear him tell the same
funny story dozens of times; to have
him lose his hat, gloves, newspapers
and slippers about the house; to have
him forget the childrens' ages, and con-
duct himself generally in the usual hui
man fashion. -
And when the hired girls flare up and
leave, who comes nobly to the rescue,
and, handling the dish fowls deftly,
wipes all the dishes, from china and sill
YER to, pitchers and platters? The man
of the house. Who compliments our
cooking and testifies to his sincerity by
his own plump and smiling appear
ance? Who confides in us all his plans
and hopes and fears, which compliment
we return by telling him all about oul
little domestic trials, and how we are
going to trim the children.s clothes?
Who reads the lines on our carewOrn
faces and warns us to be careful and not
/. overwork? Who cracks jokes until thu
whole house rings with laughter and the
children go to bed singing? Who in.
sists on rigid obedience to every bust.
ness law Of order, and yet can relax
into the most delightful of social com
panions? Who puts his feet on your
best rocker and tips back 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 Havana fills the all
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 ''man of the house" that doe.
not come up to this average of perfect
ness and faultiness. but rather inclines
toward the faulty side in the opinion OF
the ''housekeeper," Just try searching
for the good qualities underneath tht
faults, and some traits of surprising
| worth will be found In even the mos.
unsatisfactory man of the hOuse.5Chf
nan0 Record -.