Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 September 1876 — Fretting. [ARTICLE]

Fretting.

Perhaps of all faults to which woman in her “fraility” is subject, and to which she must plead guilty, no one is more imperceptible in its growth, or serious in its consequences, than the habit of fretting. That it is a habit every right-minded, woman knows, and that it is a serious fault, she has only to ask the husband, in whose home that may be the only dark spot to mar its brightness; or if her folly forbids that concession, let her study her own comfort for only a day, mnd her astonishment will be no less than her pleasure, to find that the usual harrassing vexations of the day have vanished, or become such trifles that she is ashamed to count them trials at all, after she has successfully combated the disposition to fret at all annoyances. That woman has very many causes for feeling annoyed, none will deny, and that her patience is very frequently most sorely tried, it were foolish for me to assert, having borne “ woman’s lot” through weal and woe for so many years, that “ the things whereof I know, I testify.” If any good were attained, or her care made less by habitual expressions of annoyance or impatience, I would even bid her indulge her ceaseless complainings, only keeping myself out of earshot, for her own individual happiness. Innumerable buttons to be kept in place, countless stitches to be taken, confused corners to be straightened into order, little feet pattering in and out, bringing untidiness with every footfall; unexpected rents to be mended, breakfasts, dinners and suppers to be provided as surely as day follows after day in the calendar, oftentimes delicate and fickle appetites to be cared for and suited, friends to lie entertained who must not dream of the skeleton cares .so quickly stowed away in the secret closet at the sound of the door-bell, little students to be helped over puzzling lessons, schoolboys’ grievances to be listened to and quietly adjusted, tired heads to be soothed with mother’s hands and potent lullabys—all these things to be attended to, in season and out of season, whether the head aches or the heart is heavy. These things in themselves must be the greatest pleasure to a true-hearted wife ana mother, yet they bring in their attendant train so many vexations and discomforts, that one might be excused for occasional fretting if any good were attained thereby.— Prudence , in Son of the Soil.

The prison statistics for Spain, published recently, fix the number of convicts in that countiy at 10,855. The membership of the Ancient Order of United Workmen in the United States is about 17,000. Wool-raising has become an important industrial feature of Oreiton.