Indiana American, Volume 9, Number 16, Brookville, Franklin County, 16 April 1841 — Page 1
v
OCRCOUTRY-OC"COIJ!ITRYTITEHESTAND OCR COUNTRY'S FRIBROS.
DROOkVlLLE, FRANKLIN COUNTY, INDIANA, FRIDAY, APRIL IC, 1841.
TERMS OF TIIE AMERICAN. in advance, $2 50 in six months, or $3 it piritioa of the year. No paper will be disK -iaoed until all arrearages are paid, unless at f T3tion of the editor. Ten per cent, interest " tnnuT w'11 be charged on all subscription, " tll4 expiration of the year, until paid; and for t Job-work and advertising vhen payment is delved Jon4 six moBt?- ... oTcaTissT. Twelve Unes, or less, will -3 iasertei once or three times, for one dollar, ml 25 cents will be charged for eack additional ggertian. " ATALE. rV'ont the Lufy Coot . .lfr. and Mrs. Woodbridge. A "TORY Or ItOMBSTIC I.TFE. BT MISS LESLIE. TART I. Ta morn'me subsequent to thiir arrival in "v.UdeDhU. Uarvey Woodbridge proposed
:o bis brjde (a New York beauty , to whom he had recently been united, after a very short acquaintance) that she should accompany him la took at the new house he had taken previ
ous to their marriage, and which he had de
lated furnishing till the taste of his beloved
Charlotte could be consulted ns well as his
vn. Meanwhile thev were staying at one
of ilie principal boarding houses of his native
citv.
Ten o'clock was the time finally appointed
t the lady for this rtstt to their future resi since: and her husband, after taking a met
anchellv leave (they had been married but
sevea day) departed to pais an hour at his
atace of busines--.
When he returned, Mr Waod bridge sprang op stairs three steps at a time (we have just
said be nad been married only a week) and
on entering their apartment he was saluted by hit wife as she held out her watch to hira,with
uSo, after all, you are ten minutes beyond
the hcurr
ul acknowledge it, my dear love" replied
iht husband "but 1 was detained by awes tern customer to whom I have jusl made s rerr profitable sale."
"Still" persisted the bride, half pouting
people should always be puuetual, and kiep
their appointments to Uie very minute.
MAnd yet, my dearest Charlotte11 ohserV'
d Woodbridge, somewhat hesitatingly UI
Jo net find yon quite ready to go out with
me."
"On! that is another thing' replied the
Udj "one may be kept waiting without be
ing ready.
"That is strange logic, my love" said Mr.
oodbnge, smiling,
I Joa't know what you call logic" answer
ed the beautiful Charlotte. "I learnt all icy
logic at Mrs Fooltrtpa boarding srhool,where
we said a logic lesson twice a week, out
an mre 'tis much easier for a man to harry
with his bargaining than for a lady to hurry
with her dressing; that is if she pays any re gard to her appearance. 1 have been pon
string for an hear about what 1 shall put on to
go ot this morning. I am sadly puzzled
fficQg all my new walking dresses. There are my chally, and my gros des lndet,and my
pes a de seie, and my foulard'
"If rou will tell me which is which in
terrupted Woodbridge "I will endeavor to wilt you in your choice But from its name (foulard, hs you call it,) I d not imagine that
iw mine ran be n verv nice article.
What fools men are! exclaimed the
"You well mar I was absolute! mlmAJ
of you one evening at our house in New York when Mrs. Rouleau and the two Miss Quillings and Miss Biasfold were present, and we
enjoying ourselves and discussing the last fashions. And thinking you ought to say something by way of joining in the conversation, you called my deep flounce a lone luck." e
VOL. IX. Ne. IC.
"I'll never do so again" said Woodbridire
imitating the tone of delinquent school boy.
ue louiara sun was energetically put on; the fair Charlotte pertinaciously insisting on hooking it up the back entirelr herself: a her
culean task which, in his heart f hearts, her
uusband was rather glad to be spared. And
not knowing that spite gives strength,he stood , amazed at the vigor and dexterity with nhick; his lovely bride put her hands behind her ndj accomplished the feat. When it was done, she took a long survey of herself in the glass,
anu men turned round to her husband and
made a low curtsey, saying "There now
you see me in my calico gown."
Woodbnfge uttered n reply :but he thoueht
in his own mind "What a pity it is that beaum . ..a . ...
ties are so apt to oe spoiled!" He might have added "What a pity it is that men are so apt to spoil them."
At length, after much fixing and unfixing, and putting on and taking off the finishing articles of her attire (particularly half a dozen
: .r i: L. . Cn:. J
! t ugni uimig iiew aia gloves, none oil
which were quite tight enough) her ignoramus of a husband again offendim? bv ratlin?
her pelerine a cape and her scarf a neckcloth
and mistaking the flowers in her bonnet for little roses when he ought to have known they were almond blossoms, Mn. Harvev
Wood bridge sullenly acknowledged herself
ready to go out. During their walk to the new house, our hero endeavoured ta restore the good humour
of his bride by talking to her of the delightful -a I . i . a
me ne anucipaica wnen reined in a pirasanl mansion oftheirown. But his glowing picture of domestic happiness elicited no reply; her
attention being all the time engaged by the
superior attractions of numerous ribbons, laces,
scarfs, shawls, trtnklets, &c, displayed in the shew windows, and of which, though she
could now take only a passing glance, she mentally promisod herself the enjoyment of
mak'ng large purchse t at her leisure.
They arrived at tneir future residence, a
genteel and well finished house of moderate
size, where all was so bright new and clean,
that it was impossible for the bride not to he pleased with its aspect, as her husband unlock
ed the doors and threw open the shutters of
room after room. Mrs. Wood biigc reioiced
particularly on observing that the ceilings of
the parlours had centre circles for handelicrs,
and she began to consider whether the chandeliers should be bronzed or guilt. She also
began to talk of various splendid articles of
furniture that would be necessary for the principal rooms. "Mamma charged me" said she "to have silk damask lounges and
chair cushions and above all things not to
be sparing in mirrors. She said she should hate to enter my parlours if the pier glasses were not tall enough to reach from the floor to the ceiling; and that she would never forgive me if my mantel glasses did not cover the whole space of the wail above the chimney an 1 a. a. a
pieces, anc aeciareu mat she would never
speak to me agin if my centre tables were
not well supplied with nil sorts or elegant thing?, in silver, and china coloured glass.
"How foolishly you always talk" exclaimed Mrs. Woodbridge. "As if we would give the basement room to the servants! No we use it ourselves. In ma's family, as in hundreds of others all over New York, it is the place where we sit when we have so company, and where we always eat." "What! half under ground" exclaimed Woodbridge "Really I should feel all the time as if I was living in a kitchen." "It is very wrong in you to say so," replied
the lady "and very unkind to say it to me, when we had a basement room in our house
u
'ftij Charlotte. "Now that is the very prt-t- And her last words were to remind me of gettoit of alt my walking dresses, let the name ting a silver card basket, very wide at the top b what it will. I always diJ like foulard that the cards of the best visitors might be
from the moment I first saw it at Stewart's. I spread out to advantage. The pretty things
i absolutely doat upon foulard. o that is me J on Airs. Uverbuy s enamelled centre table
very thug I will wear, upon my first appear- are said to pave cost not less than five nunaace in Chesnat street as Mrs Harvey WooJ- tire J dollars." "Was it not her husband that bridge." failed last week for the four'.h timet" asked "UonV said her husband, survejing the Wood ridge. "I believe he did" replied re tits she held it up "it looks like calico-" Charlotte "but that is nothing. Almost evSay don't to me" exclaimed the bride, ery body's hurband fails now. Mrs. Overbuy tkreateairglv "cli(n. indeed! when it is says it is quite fashionable.' "In that respect
-a French silk at twelve shillings a rard a as in many others, I hope to continue unfashiollar and a half as you foolishly tay in Phila- ionable rII my life" remarked Woodbridge. delphia." "That's is so like pa" obscived Charlotte. "Well.wtU" renlid Woodhridcre. Daci- "He has the strangest dread of failing; though
fjingly "wear whatever you please it is of ma' often tells him that most people seem to ao consequence." live iruch the belter for it, and make a great"Sa then, vou think it of no consequence er show than ever at least after the first few
-acw I am dreel I dare say you would not weeks. And then pa begins to explain to her iriere in the least if I were really to go out about failing, and breaking, and stoppirg paya a calico gown I did suppose that perhaps ment, and debtors and creditors, and all that on took some little interest in me." eert of thing. But she cuts him short, and ' I do indeed" answered Woodbridge. says she hates bunsess talk. And so do I, for Yo confess then that it is but little." I am t xai tH like her,"
uNo--averv o-rpat interest, certainly and At this information Woodbridge felt as if
'jou know that I do. But as to your dress, he was going to sigh; but he looked at his Too, ofcourse, must be the best judge. And bride, and, coasoled himself with the reflecl me you always look beautifully." tion that he had certa:nly married one of the "To you, but not to others I suppose that most beautiful girls in America; and therefore 11 whnt you mean." his sigh turned to a smile. "To every one" replied the husband "I They had now descended to the lower toserved this morning the glance of ad mi ra- ryofthe house. "Ah!" exclaimed Charton that ran round the breakfast table as soon lotte "the basement, back and front, is enjo'J had taken tour seat. The little cap tirely filled op with cellars. How very ridicT'tk the yellow ribbon is remarkmSly becom- ulous!" "It does not seem so to me" replied mg'ovou." Woodbridge "this mode of building is very
"So then, it was the cap and not myself customary in Philadelphia." So much the lilat was admired !" said the wife.Wl am worse" answered .the lady. "Now in New
..rc i am much obliged to the cap. Yellow I xork nothing is more usual than to Dave a
nbon, too! To call it yellow when it it the aice sitting room down in the basement story, mot delicate primrose. Atif I would wear jurt In front of the kitchen." "A tort of seryel'row ribbon!4 Taata'Mrlonr.l suppot" said her husband.
l!deed,my love" answered Woodbridgwl "Ills certainly jrery considerate to allot to the ";"you must forgive me if I am not aufait twtdosnastica, wfeen not at work, a comfoi table
"e technicalities of a lady's toilet. 1 c-1 place of retire meat, rameved from tl.e Jieat
WIMg my ignorance with due humility." and "slon and all the desacremens cf al-itchen
in New York, and used it constantly. To be sure I've heard ma say she had some trouble
in oreaking pa into it but he had to give
up- Men have such foolUh notions about
almost every thine, that it i well wh en thev
have somebody to put their nonsense out of
tneir neads. 'I never saw you In that basement room"
observed Woodbridge.
" I o be sure you did not. I do not tay thnt it is the fashion for young ladies to receive
their beaux in the basement room. But beaux
and husbands are different things." "You aie right" murmured Woodbripge "If always admitted behind the scenes, per
haps fewer beaux would be willing to take
the character of husbends."
They now descended the lower staircase,
and went to inspect the kitchen, which formed
a part of what in Philadelphia is called the
hack building. Woodbridge pointed out to
his wile its numerous convenience; upon which she told him'that she was sorry'to find
he knew so much about kitchens. They then
took a survey of the chambers; and ou after
wards descending the stairs they came to : few steps branching off from the lower land
ing place, and entered a door which admitted
them into a narrow room in the back build
ing, directly over the kitchen, this room
had short windows, a low ceiling, a smal ....
coal grate, and was in everv respect very
plainly finished.
inia said wooiionage Mis the room
I intend for my library."
"I did not know I had married a literary
man" said Charlotte, looking highly discom
posed.
"I am not what is termed a literary man"-
replied her husband "I do not write, but take much pleasure in reading. And it
my intention to have this room fitted up with book shelves, and furnished with a library
table, a stuffed leather fauteuiu a reading
lamp, and whatever else is necessary to make
it comfortable." "Where then is to be our sitting room?"
"We can nt ourselves very well in either
the back parlour or the front one. We wil
have a rocking chair a-peice, betides otto
mans or sofas." -"But where are we to eat our meals t"
"In the back parlour, I think, unless you
prefer the front."
"I prefer neither. We "ever ate in a par
lour at ma's in spite all pa could say. Down
in the basement we were so snug, and to out
of tht way." "I have alwavs been accustomed to eatin
quite above ground" said Woodbridge "
m a . .a a
am quite as much opposed to the burrowing
system as you say your good father was.' "Oh! but he had to give up"replied Char
lotte.
"Which is more than I shall do" answer-
ed her husband looking verv resclule. "O
this point mr firmness is not to be shaken."
"Nobody asks you to cat in the basement
storv" said Uhariotte "necause mere is none. But this little room in the back build
ing is the very thing (or our common sitting place and also to use as a dining room." "We can dine far more agreeably in one of the pa. lours." "The parlours, indeed! suppose somebody should chance to come in and catch us at
table, weuld not you be very much morti
fied!"
"By no means I hope I shall never have cause to be ashamed of my dinner."
"You don't know what ma happen. After
a trial of the expenses of housekeeping, we
mav find it necessary to economize. Ana
whether or not. 1 can assure you l am not go-
titr to keen an extravagant fable. Ma never
did. in SDite of na'smurmurings."
"Then we will economize in finery rather than in mmn" said Woodbridge. "I do
not wish for an extravagant table, and I am
not a eourmend; but there is no man that does - o . . . i i 1 :
da feel ftimewh&l meaniv wnen ooiieeu,
his own house, to partake of a paltry or scanty
dinner; particularly when he knows that he ran rATai-H to have a good one."
"That was just the way pa used to talk to ma. He said that at the head of the house earned all the market money (only think of his calling himself the head of the house.) and " ... a tt I I I
gave out a liberal allowance oi u, ne mq i riwht toexDcct. for himself and family, a wel
t.innlied and Inviting table. He had some
old saying that he who was the bread winner ought to haye hit bread at he liked it." "And in this opinion I think most husbands
will conincide with Mr.Stapietoru saiotne -vi- nniUmit'i son in law.
"There will be no use in that, unless their
wives coincide also 'remarked me oia genflm.n'. Jauehter. "However, to cut the
matter -short, whatever sort of table we may
keep, this apartment mint certainly oearran
icr an eaung inwi.
Kv no i.ot
purpose" replied her husband, with strange nertinarilv "nnH I mnit nA:!ii..t. I :
library.' "The truth is, dear Harvev" said Charlotte.
coaxingly am nfraid if I allow you a regu
lar iiorary, i snail lose too much or your societythink how lonely I shall be when you are away from me at your books. Even were I always to sit with you in the libiary, (at Mrs. Deadweight does with her husband,) it would
be very hard forme to keep silent the whole
time, according to her custom. ABd if, like
Mrs. Le Bore, I were to talk to you all the while you were reading, perhaps you might think it an interruption. Mrs. Dunc;ly,who
has had four husbands (two lawyers, one doctor, and a clergyman) all of whom spent as little time with her as they could, frequently told us that libraries were of no use but to part man and wife. Dear Harvev. it woulJ
break my heart to uppose that you could prefer any thing in the world to the company of your own Charlotte Augusta. So let us
have this nice little place for our dining room.
and let us sit in it almost always. It will save
the parlour so much.
"Indeed my dear Charlotte, I do not in
tend to get any furniture for the parlours of
so costly a description that we shall be afraid to use? it."
"What! are we not lo have Saxony car
pets, and silk curtains, and silk covered loung-
as t a a . .
es, and large glasses, and chandeliers, and
beautiful mantle lamps, and above all, a'n't we to have elegant things for the centre tabic r
"My design" answered Woodbridge "is
to furnish the house throughout, as genteelly, and in ns good taste as my circumstances will allow: but always with regard to convenience
rather than to show."
"Then I know not how I can look ma in
the face!"
"You may throw all the blame on mc, my
love."
"Pray, Mr. Harvey Woodbridge f if I may
venture to ask) how will these plain, conve
nient, comfortable parlours look when we have a party f '
"I do not furnish my house for the occasion
al reception of a crowd of people, but for the every day use of you and myself, with a few chosen friends in whose frequent visits we can
take pleasure."
"If you mean frequent tea visits, I can as
sure vou, sir, l snail take no pleasure in any
such trouble and extravagance with your few chosen friends, indeed ! when it it so much
cheaper to have a large party once a year (as
we always had at ma's): asking every presen
table person we knew, and every body to
whom we owed an invitation; and making one la sna 1
exoen?e serve lor aw. inougn our yearly
party was always an absolute squeeze, you
cannot think how much we saved by it. Pi
called it saying grace over the whole barrel
some foolish idea that he got from Dr. Frank
lin."
"For my part" remarked Woodbridge
"I hope I shall never be brought to regard so
cial intercourse as a mere calculation of dol
lars and cents. I would rather, if necessary,
save in something else than make economy
the chief consideration in regulating the mods)
of entertaining my friends and acquaintan
ces.
"Then whv do vou object to saving our
y i .
parlours by using them as little as possible?
When our furniture wears out, or ceases to look comme it awA I hope I t.hall be able to
replace it with new articles, quite as good and perhaps better particularly if we do not be.a - .a,
gin too extravagantly at nrst.' - . . .i
'J suppose men your pian is to at up mese parlours with ingrain carpets, maple chairs, and black haircloth sofas: and instead of cur
tains, nothing hut Venetian blinds.
"Not exactly though young people, on commencing married life in moderate circum
stances, have been very happy with such fqr
ntture.
"More fools they! For my part, I should
be ashamed ta show my face to a morning
visitor in sush caltrv parlours. That tort of
. " " . .
furniture is scarcely better than what 1 intend
for this little up stairs sitting room. If this little room is devoted to the purpose
you talk of, we must there show our faces to
each other.
"Nonsense. Mr. woodbridge'. llow can
i possibly signify what facet married people
show to each other!
"It signifies much very much indeed."
"To put an end to this foolery" resumed
tne bride "I tell you once for all, Harvey
Woodbridge, that I must and will have this very apartment forau eating room, or a dinin? room, ar a silting room, or whatever you
please to call it to take our meals in without A - a . a I -
danger of being caugnc at aem, anu io stay in when I am not drest and do not wish to be
seen.
"The hiding room I think would be the best
name for it" murmured Woodbridge. "Only let us try it awhile" persisted the
fair Charlotte, softening her tone, and looking
fondly at her liege lord "think how happy we shall be In thit tweet little retreat, where I will alwayt keep a few flower pott you know I dote on flowert imagine your-dear
books. And of an evening, when I do not happen to be sleepy, yon can read to me in the Summer at Brighton, or the Winter in London, or Almacks, or Santo Sebastiano. I have them all. Brother Jem bought them cheap at auction. But I never had time to get to the second volume of any of them. So we have all that pleasure to come. And I shall be delighted to have those sweet books read aloud to me by you. You will like them far better than those Scotch novels that people are always talking about." WooJbridge looked dubious. Finally, being tired of the controversy, he thought best toenditby laying "Well, well we'll let this subject rest for the present.' But he revived in his own mind to hold out for ever against it. At their boarding house dinner table, Mrs. Woodbridge informed a lady who sat opposite, that she was delighted with her new house; and that it was a love of a place; particular- " ly a snug little apartment in the back building which Mr. Woodbridge had promised her for a sitting rocm, to save the pa i lours, as they were lo be furnished is very handsome style. Woodbridge reddened at her pertinacity .and
to divert the attention of those around him from a very voluble expose of what she called her plans, he began to t;.lk to a gentleman on the other side of the table about the latest
news frem Europe.
rrom this day our heonne spoke of the lit
tle silling room ns a thinf, of course, without noticing any of thft deprecatory look ings an(
sayings of her husband. And she succeeded
in tetzing hun into allowing her to choose all the furniture of the house without his assiitance: guided onlv by the taste, of one of the female boarders, Mrs. Squaudcrfield, a lady
who had been married about a twelvemonth.
and aAer commencing house keeping in mag
nificent style, her husband (whoee aluirs had been involved at the time of their marriage,)
was obliged at the close of lite winter,fo make
an assignment for the benefit of his creditors; and the tradesman who had supplied it took
back the unpaid furniture.
After her parlours had been tilted up in a
very showy and expensive manner (not forgetting the centre table and its multitude of
costly baubles) Mrs. Woodbridge found that
these two rooms had already absorbed so
large a portion of the sum allotted by her husband for furnishing the whole house that It was neressary to economize greatly in all the other apartments; and to leave two chamber t in the third story with nothing but the bare walls. This discrepancy was much regretted by Mr. Woodbridge, even after bis wife had reminded him that these chambers could only have been used as f pure h d rooms, which in all probability would never be wanted as they did not intend keeping a hotel; and that as to encouraging peopli to rome and stay at her houte (even her own relations) she should do no such expensive thing. "You may depend on it.my dear," said she on the day that they installed themselves in their new abode, "I shall make you a very economical wife." And to she did, as far as comforts were concerned, aided and abeted by the advice of her friend Mrs. Squaadertield who counselled her In what to spend money; and in what to save it she was guided by the precepts of Mrs. Pinrhtugton, another inmate of the same boarding house, a widow ef moderate income, whose fork was the rlostest parsimony, and who had broken up her own establishment and gone to boarding ostensibly because she
was lonely, but in really because she could eet no servant to live with her. The advice
of these two counsellors never clashed, for
Mrs. Squanderfield took cognizance of the dress and the parlour arrangements of her pupil, while Mrs Pinchington directed the housewifery: and both of them found in our heoiine. an apt scholar. We need not tell our readers that the fair
bride carried her point in regard to the little
apartment at the head o! the stairs, wtiicn she concluded to designate as the dining room
though they ate all their meals io it; and it became in fact their regular abiding plnce,lir husband finding all opposition fruitless, and finally yielding for the sake of peace. It took Mrs. Woodbridge a fortnight to re
cover from the fatigue of moving into tneir new house: and during this time she was denied to all visitors, and spent the day fa a wrapper on the dining room tofa, sometimes sleeping, and sometimes silting up at a frame and working ia worsted a squ ire faced lap dog, with pawt and tail also as square M crost stitch could make ihem;this remarkable animal most miraculously keeping his seat upon the perpendicular side of an upright greet) bank, with three red flowers growiag on hit 'right and three bine onet on the left. During the progress of this useful and ornamental piece of needle wark, the lady kept a resold silence, rarely epening her hps pt check her husband for speaking to her. at it put her out in counting the threads. And if he attempted to read aloud, (even in Santo Sebastiano) the shortly desired him to desist, as it puzzled her head and caused her to confuse the proper number et stitches allotted to each of the various worsted shades. If he
tried to interest her by really amutiag book of bit own choice .she alwayt went last aalecp.
ecu
"JJut we raiij'
require it
on vour feet, and a newspaper in ycirhaad
for th.t We can have shelf or two far a few select
ft I.aIa a.mI1sabVIss saia rinaVftV
seated on atiice calico .ofa, and doing beau -Utidoa WbX fcU eyes ifrom the pap e found tifal worsted work: and Tourtelf In a round f himself leading to nothing. If, V other
iackef. lolling in a good wooden rocking chair
either cr.ne coloured of green, with tbppert
band, he wished to entertain Wmsell by reading in silence, k was generally interrupted by something like this, preluded by a deep ih"Haf vev you are not thinking now of