The Young Wife CHAPTER 2.
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Keeping house is quite an important affair, as many who read this can testify. And it is no mere child's play, as too many young ladies, a few weeks after marriage, have, very much to their surprise, discovered. With all the knowledge, tact, and patience that a thorough housewife possesses — she finds that her daily tasks require the exercise of all this store of knowledge, tact and patience. How sadly at fault then, must a young creature, with no actual knowledge of domestic economy, find herself! To her it is indeed a severe trial, and often interferes seriously with her happiness; and the more so, in proportion to her false and romantic ideas of the marriage state.
How strange and censurable an error, is that into which so large a proportion of American mothers fall, in regard to their daughters! Music and dancing, and French and Italian, are deemed indispensable. While too often, not even a smattering of domestic economy is given. As if no practical duties as wives and mothers, were ever to devolve upon them. Into this almost unpardonable error, did Mrs. Manning fall in bringing up Julia. A thorough housewife herself — she yet neglected to induct her daughter into its necessary details. Thus, when she became mistress of a house — she knew nothing of the art and mystery of keeping a house. She could not bake a loaf of bread herself, nor teach a servant how to do it. A pudding or a custard, she might indeed manage. But to boil a potato well, or properly roast a piece of meat, or make a wholesome and palatable soup — was beyond her culinary skill!
And here I would allude to a false idea which has begun to prevail, growing out of the effort which has been made to elevate woman to her right position of intelligence and influence in the community — that it is a perversion of her true character and office, to make her thoroughly and practically acquainted with the details of domestic life — with the drudgery of the kitchen, as it is sometimes called by these feminists, to give force to their declamations.
Here is, indeed, a fundamental error — and its fallacious reasonings have already begun to operate injuriously upon the true domestic interests of the community. They say that it is wrong for a woman to busy herself in her kitchen and chambers, to the utter neglect of intellectual culture, and the social amenities of life. But it is still more wrong for her to give exclusive attention to the latter, and utterly neglect the former — because in the former are involved her first and most important duties.
As we often see things by contrast that were not palpable before, it may not be amiss to introduce a contrast here. Take, then, the condition and duties of a MAN. His first duty is to provide for his family, and this he must do by entering into business, and giving to it, for many hours in the day, a careful and exclusive attention. No social pleasures or intellectual pursuits, must interfere with this first and most important of duties. It will not do for him to say that the drudgery of business is beneath the dignity of his nature. Equally absurd then, and fraught with error, is the doctrine which teaches that woman is degraded by an earnest daily application to, and interest in, her domestic concerns! No woman is degraded, but is actually in her true sphere of action, while thus engaged in performing the duties which promote the comfort and happiness of those dependent upon her for those offices. And how much does the comfort and happiness of her husband and children, depend upon this care and attention which she gives to her household!
How strange then is it, that we find so many wives and mothers willing to transfer their most sacred duties to servants, who, in too rare instances, regard anything beyond the hire of their labor!
Two servants, a cook and a chambermaid, had been procured by Mr. Lawton; but of their qualifications to fill these respective offices, he, of course, knew nothing. He supposed that as soon as Julia took her true position as mistress of the family, all would go on right and orderly. As far as his knowledge went, he procured provisions, but only in a limited degree, awaiting the more judicious and practical directions in these matters which his wife would be able to give him.
For the first few days, of course, the young couple had a good deal of company; and in the expectation of this, Mrs. Manning came every day and "gave an eye to things." She told Frank what it was necessary to buy for the table, and directed the cook how to prepare her dishes; and more than this, saw that everything went on right, and that the meals were ready in proper season. But this was only for a few days.
Towards the end of the first week, Julia was left sole mistress of her own house. And now, let us see how she filled her new station.
"What shall I get for dinner, ma'am?" asked the cook, opening the parlor door about ten o'clock, where Julia sat reading, on the first day that she had found herself alone since the wedding.
The young wife looked up with something of surprise in her countenance, and then, after a moment's pause to collect her ideas, thrown suddenly into confusion, said,
"I am sure that I don't know, Rachel. I want you to attend to that matter. You are the cook."
"Yes, ma'am, but I always like to know what the madam wants cooked. And besides, there is nothing in the house but salt meat."
"You should have mentioned that this morning, Rachel, before Mr. Lawton went out," Julia said, her tone of voice and expression of countenance indicating that she felt annoyed.
"I would have done it, ma'am," the cook replied, respectfully, "but I thought you knew it."
"Thought I knew it — Rachel! Why, how could I know it, when I haven't been in the kitchen but once, since I came into the house?"
Poor Rachel stood in perplexity for a few moments, and then said,
"But what shall I do, ma'am?"
"You must do the best you can, Rachel, for I am sure that I don't know anything about these matters."
And so Rachael withdrew, and returned to the kitchen, while Mrs. Lawton resumed her book. After reading until she grew tired, she sat down to her piano, which had been removed from her old to her new home, and played three or four recent and favorite pieces of music. But she tired of this also, and then she placed herself at the window, and spent the next two hours in looking out, and wishing for Frank's return.
In the meantime, Rachel, after much consideration, for she had never before been left to plan her work, as well as perform it, finally resolved, as there were several hams in the cellar, that she would boil part of one of these, with cabbage and potatoes. As to dessert, that had always been prepared by the mistress of the house where she had lived heretofore, and she had, consequently, no skill in this department. She did not therefore attempt anything beyond the meat, cabbage and potatoes.
At the regular dinner hour, Frank came home, and was met at the door by the smiling, happy creature, the sunshine of whose heart was the light of his countenance.
"O, it has seemed so long, Frank, since you went away!" she said, leaning her arm upon his shoulder, and looking fondly into his face. "I thought two o'clock would never come.You must stay with me this afternoon, for I feel so lonesome, now that Mother has gone, and all the rest of the pleasant company we have had."
"I would like to stay home with you very much, Julia," Frank replied, kissing her fair young cheek; "but my business requires a great deal of my attention now, and I cannot neglect it, even for a single afternoon."
"Not even for the sake of your wife's company!" Julia said.
"I would do anything for her sake, which was not wrong. Neglected duties, my dear Julia, never bring happiness. Even your society would fail to delight me, if I endeavored to enjoy it at the expense of a known duty."
"You are a strange one, Frank!" his young wife responded, laughing gaily. "And I must own, that I do not always see the force of your positions, or the truth of your precepts. But I love you, for all, as no woman ever loved her husband; and if you will love me in return — that is all that I care for."
"And do I not love you, dear Julia! with devoted tenderness?"
"O yes! But you love business a little more, now don't you? Come, confess the truth!" she said in a light, laughing tone; but in that tone, the ear of Frank Lawton could detect something which told his heart too plainly — that Julia did not feel satisfied with his preference of business, over her society.
"Indeed, Julia," he said, with something of seriousness in his voice, "I would much prefer to remain at home with you; but it would be wrong for me to do so, when there is anabsolute necessity for my being at the store. That which is our duty, should always take the precedence. Unless it does, no effort to obtain happiness can ever be successful."
"But I could be happy in your society all the while, Frank — and never think of duty."
"Could you?"
"Certainly I could."
"There you are mistaken, Julia; and the experience of a few years, perhaps a few months, will show you your error. But I do not want to read you a lecture; and so I will change the subject."
"Well, what next?"
"Why, how soon will dinner be ready? I have been hard at work this morning, and have got quite a keen appetite."
"I'm sure that I don't know," Julia replied. "But I will ring for Rachel, and tell her to put it on the table immediately, if she is not already doing so."
"Is dinner on the table yet, Rachel?" she asked of the cook, who made her appearance in a moment or two.
"O no, Ma'am, it isn't nearly done yet; but I will get it ready as soon as possible."
"Be as quick as you can, Rachel," Frank said, "for I need my dinner."
"Yes, sir," Rachel replied in a respectful tone, and left the room.
"I can't say that I am very sorry, Frank; for now I shall keep you here half an hour or so longer than you would have otherwise stayed," his wife said, patting his cheek with her small white hand.
"Well, what can't be cured — must be endured, as the adage says. But this won't do for every day. There is nothing that I like so well as punctuality, and if you want to do what will give your husband especial pleasure — keep Rachel to the minute in the preparation of her meals."
"I will if I can, Frank," the young wife said, in a changed and somewhat serious tone. "But it is hardly possible to make servants punctual and orderly in their movements."
"Still, it can be done, Julia, and the result is worth all the effort required to produce it."
"But it can't be, Frank, unless one follows them up all the while, and sees that everything is done just so, and to the minute."
To this, the young husband did not reply, for the meaning it conveyed was too palpable not to be understood. It became at once evident, that Julia had no idea of the duties, which, as a matter of course, devolved upon her. This was a painful discovery. But he concealed its unpleasant effect upon his mind, for he could not chill the happy heart of her whom he loved, by any condemnation of the lack of interest that she manifested in the domestic economy of her family.
After the passage of about three quarters of an hour, dinner was announced; and the young couple repaired to the dining-room.
"Ham, cabbage, and potatoes — and nothing else, as I live!" exclaimed Julia, after they were seated at the table, and she had glanced her eye over it.
"And I feel as if I could do justice to all three of them," Frank replied, as he took up the carving knife, and sunk it into the fine ham before him. "But I believe it is not more than half done, after all," he added, lifting a slice upon his fork. "But never mind, I can manage to get out a few slices from the thinner part, which will do."
"But it is too bad for Rachel to do so!" Julia said, ringing the table-bell; and in a few moments the individual she had named, made her appearance.
"Why, Rachel, this ham isn't nearly done."
"I was afraid it wouldn't be, ma'am," Rachel replied; "it was so late when I put it on."
"Then you should have put it on earlier."
"And so I would, ma'am, if I had known that we were to have ham for dinner today."
There was a pause of a moment, when Frank said,
"Well, it's too late to remedy it now, Rachel. You must only try and do better next time."
After the cook had retired, the young couple proceeded to satisfy the demands of hunger, with the plain food before them, Julia ever and always blaming the cook for not having prepared something more inviting for dinner.
"I hardly think it was her fault, Julia," her husband said; "for now that I come to think of it, she had little else in the house. It was an oversight in me, not to have seen that provision was made for this meal. But, like you, it is all new to me. However, we will both learn by and by."
"She has something nice for dessert to make up for it, I suppose;" and Julia again rung the bell.
"You can clear off the table, and bring in the dessert, Rachel."
"I haven't got any dessert, ma'am." And Rachel, as she said so, looked confused and troubled.
"But why is that?" asked Mrs. Lawton.
"I have never made the puddings and pies where I lived," Rachel replied; "and I don't know much about that kind of cooking."
"Who did make them then?" inquired Julia.
"O, the mistress of the house always made the pastry, and everything like that.
Julia did not reply; and as Frank rose from the table, she got up also, and followed him into the parlor.
"Did you ever see anything such as that?" she said, in an indignant tone, as she closed the parlor door after her.
"I hardly think you ought to blame Julia. Rachel, I think, did the best she knew how."
"But I wonder if she thinks that I am going down into the kitchen every day to do her work? If she does, she is mistaken! I don't believe a word of the story about the mistressesof families where she has lived, always making the dessert. I am not going to do it, I know. And if she doesn't understand her business, I must get someone who does, that is all!"
"I think I would try and bear with her, Julia," Frank said, in a quiet, soothing tone. "She appears willing, good-natured, and respectful. And these are qualities not often found, I believe, in servants."
"But it won't do to have things in this condition every day, Frank."
"No, but I think we may easily remedy the present evil. I must see that everything that is needed, is in the house, and by your giving a little attention to Rachel, all will no doubt go on well."
The first part of this was plain enough to Julia, but she could not so readily comprehend the latter, for she had never given the cares and duties of housekeeping, as they really are, demanding much of a woman's time and attention — a single serious thought.
After a pause, she said,
"But surely, Frank, you do not wish me, just for the sake of humoring Rachel — to go into the kitchen, and work like a servant?"
"How can you think so, Julia? I am sure I had no such meaning. All I intended by my remark, was, that by your overlooking Rachel, every day, for a little while — all difficulty would be remedied."
But Julia felt not the least inclination to do so. Indeed, she always had a great distaste for any duty connected with the kitchen. And could not help thinking her young husband a little unreasonable. He perceived, instinctively, how the whole matter was considered by his wife; and said no more upon the subject; determining, in his own mind, to provide as far as possible in reference to Rachel's abilities as cook, and to be willing to bear every irregularity with as much patience as possible.
"It will all come right by and by," he thought. "Julia's good sense will teach her what are her real duties, and until then, I must be willing to make any sacrifices for her sake."
After her husband returned to his store, and Julia was again left alone, she did not feel as happy as she did during the morning, for added to the fact of her being deprived of the company of her husband, there was a consciousness that he thought her somewhat neglectful of her domestic duties.
"But surely," she said to herself, heaving a long sigh, as she came out of a troubled reverie, "he cannot wish to see me toil like a servant in the kitchen!"
Frank Lawton had his thoughts also; and though a little disposed to blame his young wife for her disinclination to enter upon matter-of-fact household duties, yet his true affection for her caused him to excuse this as far as possible, and trust to the beneficial influence of time and circumstance.
Thus we see, that within the first week of their married life, Mr. and Mrs. Lawton were experiencing a degree of unhappiness, small it is true, but still palpable — arising fromneglected duty.
And thus, in all the relations of life, does unhappiness follow, as surely as effect follows cause — the evasion of duty. If the neglect is broad and predetermined — the result will be correspondingly painful. If it regards little things, and appears in the form of thoughtless omissions — pain of mind, though indistinct, and seemingly causeless, will come with unerring certainty. This is a moral law, as unchangeable as any physical law.
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