Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-11-20
SHALL THEY OBEY?
,r ,p,rp DISCUSSES A WORD IN
THE MARRIAGE SERVICE.
We Arc UP.TO- DATE BARBARIlNS.
,.rdships of n Man Who Turns out
vrhtSLcrs aud the Jibcs CAST mt
Him-Mctcoric shower and What IL
MD and Didn't 10.

Dam my buttons! Was there ever any
hing 50 ridiculous? It's enough 20 make
. 6oe laugh. and this isn't a good day FOR
,sur6ing dogs either. Up there IN New
York where folk buy eggs without even
AIDING the price OF them, they have
rss.ed the question as 10 whether the
word "obey" should be left out OF the
marriage service Of the Protestant Epis-
eooai Church. You know this IS the word
80 ladies are supposed to use-a fact
ven doubtless dimly remember since I've
called attention to e."
That was the way I insanely began
when tlmldly entered our parlor where
,he sacred new furniture IS deposited
and took my seat in the only old chair
IN The room, so that I might not DO any
damage 90 tho plush velvet set which
had depleted me OF six months earnings.
Funny, amt it?' snapped out the Com
rander-in-Chief. though you are that
H7ac that you would laugh whether
tNc-e was any joke in q thing or not. I
ssrpose you would Ike 10 think that
women belonged. body. soul. nose, hair.
feet. and all TO men, and that they ought
On s1lI down and worship the grand tyrant
every other minute OF their lives when
they aren't waiting on him OF doing his
Bidding?
"Not a biz OF II; not a bit Of st." ex-
claimed. foolishly throwing myself into
an argiImentative whirlpool. which was
bound 10 grind me 10 powder before 1
cot through with it. Il don't want
women 10 belong body. soul, nose. hair.
feet and alp 20 men, for that would in
clude their talking apparatuses. And
even Il we didn't stpulate for their
tongues they themselves would be mighty
OF. 20 throw them in. Excuse me, I'm
looking for dumb lady the next time.
which implies Madam. that in the event
sou leave me I shall forever remain
yours"
She was "blood mad" as she ex-
81 --.s H. at this splendid. original joke
SD hopping mad in fact that she deter
mined / shouldn't see II. and therefore
she said in an easy, look-out-T M about
tc-eNplode tone OF voice: 1T is a survival
o. o.d-tlme barharity that women should
promise 20 obey their husbands when
hey wed them"
and It's up-tO-date barbarity that they
recll.ate their Obligations after they co
marry the men" / replied, feeling as
Iucky "a a bantam rooster among thir-
teen hens.
"lt is not up-to-date baroarity that they
4
ir her cold-storage voice. but up-to-date
hlraariaus that they have 90 deal with.
There's the trouble. The word "obey'
might have served its purpose once. but
when put into the marriage service the
good people who used it hardly antici-
I.'ed that men would get more and more
.g-rayaung, until women could hardly
s,lv on the same planet with them"
Gut you're drifting off from my idea,
] protested. THE point I wish to bring
on. IS that they might as well leave the
word as il IS, for women don't bother
about IL anyhow. If when they promised
{. obey they really construed their
pledges literally II would be all right, but
the truth Of the matter is they reverse
the entire proposition. We are the ones
who really become bound by those
p.elges-we are the ones of whom ODE
boots ~ We disregard any Of the domestic
mandates"
If ever there was a hard-headed man
who had h,s way IN this world and made
other people skip around from morning
Until night IL IS YOU" retorted the owner
81 the new parlor furniture. Yes, you
obey beautifully; you are like a little
boy IN q Sunday-school book. You would
die before you would let tobacco smoke
get in the lace curtains or pipe ashes on
my d0ylles. IL people were 10 beat you
with aXe-helves they couldn't get YOU %
saal soup on the clean table-cloth. and an
elephant might stamp you, but that
wouldn't make YOU get any Of the mud
or your feet on the parlor carpet. A
steam locomotive might grind you TO
dust but that wouldn't keep you from
coming home early from that plague
take-it old political club you belong 10.
Money couldn't pay you to abstain from
getting up early every Sunday morning.
And the riches Of the Klondike couldn't
Drlbe sou 20 shave in my sitting-room by
tho fire and leave your old nasty lather
PAPER on my bureau, so that everybody
who comes in can see IL. Obedience.
obedience" she wheezed, for she was
now out OF breath. eve had nothing
but obedience since the day 1 promised
80 20 YOU"
Now l am not blind man and I can
zee when it's time 10 crawl in my shell.
and so I said: "Well. you may think the
word "obey' ought 10 be dropped from
the marriage service, but Queen Victoria
considered II good enough for her. and
you know she always was a bossy sort
Of woman Don't you remember that
story about her wedding. The Archbishop
suggested that by an order in council she
might be spared tho duty Of using this
word. as Prince Albert was her subject,
but her Majesty said: L am married as
@ woman, not as a Queen, and L shall GER
tainly say obey"
This ought 70 satisfy you" I added
'fDr the Queen IS a mighty nice lady, and
they say her people are well connected
and move IN the best English circles. II
sae was willing 10 obey Prince Albert
seems TO me other women might at least
promise 10 do the same by their hus-
hands"
yes" she snorted, "Queen Victoria aid
promise that, but she had a standing
army 20 make her man behave himself
and. besides Albert YVES cast in q oiff2r-
en- mould nom that of men nowadays"
il made me both angry and Jealous TO
hear her speak Of him as albert" and l
resented this familiarity most deeply, ana
determined to get back at her with both
feet.
Yes" / replied. "Albert, as you call
lin, might have been a very good man.
anu probably was baked in royal Try
ns-pan. but for all that he couldn't live
~ under the regime. He died. Yes he
cd young. lie probably lost his life be-
irs 0beyed. It's a common disease among
mankind"
And the fact that he died young Is