The Washington times., 1909-02-21
Average Mortal Usually
Uses Term in Describing
His Ideal.
DOES NOT COMPRISE
ALL THAT IS NEEDED
Wife Is Rarely Selected for Her
Traits of Char
aCteT.

The average man, in describing his /
ideal woman. almost always declares
that she must be endowed, first OF ali, !
with the domestic virtues
Asked TO describe these, he grows
vague and misty Of ideas, and mutters
something about his mother.
As matter of fact, of course, no man
selects his wife for her traits Of char
acter, but rather for some trick OF the !
eyebrows or come wave of the mar
which commends itself 10 him as at
tractive. Then. after he has chosen her
in this enlightened and far-seeinG laSh-
ion, he expects her to be endowed with
the disposition Of a saint and the mouse
keeping ability of a Martha.
Domestic virtues is a term when
MAJ mean anything when II IS USED by
a man. 1t may mean that his VIE is
expected to be able to find the hammer
when he wishes il, no matter now skill
fully he has hidden II, or II may mean
that he eXpec his hosiery always 20 De
in perfect repair. or that MS ulIlheI
must be ready whenever he comes home,
be that at $50 or at I.5O and always not
and never spoiled.
Domestic virtues Ia woman, usual
~ mean 10 a man a modest, retiring
disposition, gay when he feels like be
ing gay or subdued when he feels that
he prefers to be quiet. IT means thar
she must prefer his society TO all COM
nrs even If she is only permitted TO SIT
in the room with him, but not TO aG-
dress him on pain OF mis- displedsUre.
Once | knew very dlnldDle lduS
who had in a large measure the do
nestle virtues. She was wOoed and won
for these by a clever man, who SAID 10
an intimate friend that he preferred
woman not to be too intellectual. IN
telIectUalitY, he said, was lHe preT"Ss-
tive Of man. and he wanted no rivals
in his own household: he wanted as a
wife d womanly woman who would see
that things were kept IN order, am
whose chief literature would De Mrs
Somebody-or-OtheT's cook book.
An Attentive Wife.
Ana. as I have said, he married her,
and his home was very comfortable.
There was no burned beefsteak ic IT,
and never a poor cup Of coffee. More
than that, the cur. aims were laHndered
at regular intervals, and Tho runEs OF
the chairs were eternally busted, which
sounds like "a fairy tale, but IS quite
quite true She was an attentive wife.
this Martha and stayed at nome IN
the evenings as becomes q good and
faithful telpmate, and crocheted table
mats
Then the exigencies OF public life
placed the man in position OF promi-
hence, where his wife had 70 mlngIe
with women Of the world and had 10
entertain, where, in fact, she was III
terly out Ct place and at a very great
dis advantage.
Now, it avaiIed her nothing that she
could recite whole pages OF recipes from
Mrs. omebOdy-or-Dthers COOK DOCK
and knew exactly when s'llNe was
done. and her husband was very IN
dignant that she knew so little of ING
works OF Schopenhauer ana h.Iialu
Shaw and W. !. Bryan He sara llaL
what ne really liked in woman was nor
- much the domestic virtues, aIlrE
at as versatility and general kno"l-
aCge OF the world. which Ungrateiul OBJ
servatiOn very naturally huTL the lte--
5nEs of this model spouse.
But il was too late for her 10 learn 10
shine in society. and she had me nor u-
dcatiOn Of seeing her better haif h@ .lE
on the conversation of q woman Wn"
hadn't a domestic virtue IN her Wnoie
moral rousseau. and who didn l,nO" a
frying pan from d turkey Fcas'e'-
For Misguided Wives
Which horrible example might 10 put
IN z religious tract and distributed for
the warning of misguided wives who are
satisfied II they please their husbands
though they offend all the world otS!ae9:
The domestic virtues are al IiEht- OF
course but chiefly so whom tncF are
bounded rv a knowledge OF music ana
French. an Acquaintance with p9N'e III
eTarure and the aplllE 10 INNN'5' AT
airy peTsifiagc.
There is another husband VINO the
other da- regarded HiS VIE sadly
am afraid. uly dear Amelia, that nave
been deceived IN YOU said he Wy men
married YOU 7 believed YOU 10 DC n
woman OF EOltdi.v or characttT--pilt 10
whom the home was sacred ana antN -
all else. And YET twice this week nav
7 returned from NY office in great need
OF your sympathy only 10 nhG -yu'
TOO. had -cuF out } LeaT my i'aE1 ga
have become a butterfly ~ fashion. Ger
tainly y0I should arrange t. Ie mere
Which ACCOMPLISHMENTS settled the
matter. and tho husband shortly there
after went TO his club
u 70 be objected bv the sheUuaa' that
mcTa never was sue. n l.a-.5.+e- '