The Nevada County picayune., 1920-12-23


 worthy, 'and for that reason I think the old times were better than the present I only wish the old condi- tions could be restored. A hundred years ago the married man had no reason to dread the poorhouse. It was practically impossible for women to be extravagant then. If they want ed to blow themselves they had to go to town, and in order to get to town they had to ride in old coaches which weren't as comfortable as modern hayrack.
 The woman of hundred years ago couldn't lean back in an easy chair and order hundred dollars worth of junk by phone. If she ordered by letter, 1t took the letter three weeks to get anywhere, and by the time the goods arrived they were out of date, and she had to send them back. It would be great blessing if things were that way now.
 But the modern married woman has the softest snap ever invented, Mrs. Jamesworthy. If she happens to be too lazy to put on her brass-mount- cd harness and go downtown to do her shopping, she has that great modern convenience at her elbow. It isn't necessary to make herself presentable to do her shopping. She sits down with an old wrapper on, and her top knot askew, and her mouth full of hairpins. and calls up the butcher and baker and candlestick maker, and or ders everything they have in their joints, and has 1t charged to her hus- band.
 AS your sway-backed professor said, short journey was a serious business In the old days, and as re- suit people stayed home and attended to their knitting. If a woman jour- neyed nine miles In one of the old time coaches she had a backache for three weeks, and so the idea Of going away from home didn't fill her with enthusiasm. But nowadays travelling is luxury. All woman has to do Is to hold up her husband for the fare, and then the urbane railway people do the rest, and make everything so comfortable for her that she hates the idea of ever returning home. And be- cause of this luxury, women are for ever hunting up excuses for a trip somewhere. Kersmith told me the other day that his wife travelled three hundred miles and back to match a ribbon, the local stores not having the exact shade she wanted. Kersmith is just about three cubits ahead of the sheriff, and his wife knows it, but she wouldn't let a small matter like that interfere with her trip.
 "In the halcYon days people used 10 tallow candles and were all the better for 1t. There WAS no satisfaction in reading by a candle, so men didn't blow in their substance for fool books and magazines. The candles kicked up such smell that they were extin- guiShed as early as possible, and so no money was wasted. Now we have the electric light which is a great con- yenience. It is such a laundering con- Neneuce. Mrs. JamesWorthy, that it is sreasing the road to the poorhouse for innumerable heartsiCk husbands. The average citizen finds it impossible to convince his wife and daughters and other female relatives that the electric iuiee costs money and so his home is Mammated from basement to garret every night. Few women remember to turn off the light after having it turn ad on If drop dead of heart failure one of these days, it will be when look ing over the electric light bill. In the old days"
 "Oh. bother the old days, and the young days, and the middle-aged GaAs v cried Mrs. JamesWorthy.