The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-10-29
THE AMERICAN WIFE.
Is This a True Picture of Her Attitude
 Toward Her Husband?

Is This a True Picture of Her Attitude
 Toward Her Husband?
 But the American wife? Henry James has summed up the American wife in just one sentence. He says: "The American wife knows nothing of her husbands affairs-except that they are of not the slightest consequence"
 This is both epigrammatic and exact ly true. The American wife has quite a genuine affection for her husband. Even after years of marriage have gone by she thinks of him with unaffected friendliness. He is so useful. She credits him with almost all the virtues, except perhaps the virtue of being in teresting, and she overlooks that one defect of his with charitable tolefation. She sees him come and go each day with clock-like regularity. She vaguely knows what his profession or vocation is. She thinks better of him if it is profession of vocation that is generally regarded as quite creditable; but this is practically all she knows or cares about it. She sees him rising early and hur- rying to his office. She hears him sit ting late into the night in the room overhead; and she is probably aware that he is immersed in 8 great sea of papers and documents of some kind or other--tiresome and stupid things that he will persist in bringing home and fussing over.
 She finds that he must sometimes stay in town all through the summer when the thermometer Is in the nineties and when the sickly heat sweats on the very walls or sizZles on the pavement. She thinks it very inconsiderate of him to do this. She would really rather have him go with her to the cool, wind swept nook that she selects for her own summer outing. Just why he does not go she cannot possibly imagine.
 It is one of the curious, irrational traits which he possesses and which prevents her from taking him quite se- rously. Perhaps he will run up there for a day or two; and when he does come she is very nice to him, apart from scolding him little for getting so hid eously thin and sallow. But he Is not particularly comfortable there. He fol- lows her meekly into the dining room three times a day for a while, and then he has to go back to whatever it is that eh does in town. Just what it is she doesn't know The household bills are paid; the checks come to her regularly. She does the things she likes to do, and sometimes dinnly recognizes the fact that 1t is pleasant to have somebody to see that her various projects and ar engagements all come out so nicely. Her husband is really quite what a husband ought to be. He does his duty perfect ly, and she has a very accurate notion of what that duty is. To provide what ever she requires, to fetch and carry out her bidding, to leave her absolutely free from care, responsibility or worry such is the whole duty of the American husband.
 And then, she is so very sure of him! It never enters her head that he has anything to wish for, that he can pos sibly be conscious of void somewhere in life, or experience even the faintest stirring of dissatisfaction; that he could ever imagine anything different from what he has; that he might ever dream of an existence where he should be something better than the household banker, a glorified butler, superior maitre d'hote. She is absolutely satis- fled with herself and absolutely sure of him. She does not want another kind of husband, so why should he desire a different sort of wife?-Ainslee's