Victorian Family, People and Relationships/Economy in a FamilyTranscript from original newspaper article: - |
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ECONOMY IN A FAMILY. – There
is nothing which goes so far towards placing young people beyond the reach
of poverty as economy in the management of household affairs. It matters
not whether a man furnishes little or much for his family, if there is
a continual leakage in his kitchen or parlour, it runs away, he knows
not how, and that demon Waste cries – “More!” like the
horse-leech’s daughter, until he that provides has no more to give.
It is the husband’s duty to bring into the house, and it is the
duty of the wife to see that none goes wrongfully out of it. A man gets
a wife to look after his affairs, and to assist him in his journey through
life; to educate and prepare their children for a proper station in life,
and not to dissipate his property. The husband’s interest should
be the wife’s care, and her greatest ambition carry her no further
than his welfare or happiness, together with that of her children. This
should be her sole aim, and the theatre of her exploits the bosom of her
family, where she may do as much towards making a fortune as he can in
a counting-room or workshop. It is not the money earned that makes a man
wealthy – it is what he saves from his earnings. Self-gratification
in dress, or indulgence in appetite, or more company than his purse can
well entertain, are equally pernicious. The first adds vanity to extravagance,
the second fastens to doctor’s bill to a long butcher’s account,
and the letter brings intemperance, the worst of all evils, in its train.
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