of beauty that woman
becomes a tempter. The absence of love, and of beauty, sins of
omission as well as sins of commission, are sources of temptation. Man
desires an educated woman. Intellectually and spiritually she must be
able to meet his wants, and render help, or she is a failure. He tires
of a useless toy or plaything, and cries out for a helpmeet. Another
has said, "The bad housekeeping, and the neglect of domestic duties,
on the part of many wives, is, no doubt, attributable to the slovenly
tenements, and inadequate providings, and careless neglect of the
husbands. But more husbands, we fear, are driven to shiftlessness
and discouragement--driven to the saloon and gambling-room--by the
extravagance or inefficiency, the disorderly arrangements or badly
prepared food, the irritating complaints or exacting demands of those
who preside in the home. None but a man of low instinct, of base
passion, of weak character, will turn away from and neglect a home
where order reigns, where a cheerful smile, well-prepared food, neatly
arranged table await him; where a word of cheer greets him, and where
patient forbearance is exercised, even with his irregularities and
faults. It is the part of woman to win; and her winning arts should
not be laid aside when she grasps what she has considered a prize. She
should seek in every way to win, beyond the possibility of loss, the
abiding love, the unwavering confidence, the undoubting respect of
her husband. If woman would be man's equal, she must challenge the
equality by proving herself mistress of those arts that minister the
highest comfort to his physical nature, as well as to his affections,
that further his interests as well as his happiness."

Alas! how many fail here because they know not how to make a home
pleasant. Such are the slaves of servants and the creatures of
circumstances. In some cases the fault is man's, in others it is
woman's. Perhaps in all cases both are somewhat at fault; yet the
responsibility rests on woman to make home a delight. When she fails
she must take the consequences. Failure with her is often a mistake.
She knows no better. Ignorance, in some, is wilful, but in more it
is educational. Their mothers, through ill-judged kindness, mistaken
notions of life, or careless neglect, suffered them to grow up without
the necessary practical training; or else they failed before them; and
inefficiency and slatternliness, bad cooking, and worse manners, are