kermphrryk

Lady's Book Magazine Review by Elisha Hotchkiss 1840

Thursday, 9 April 1840

Cold last night and clear, froze some. Passed Waynesburg about sunrise, only about 15 miles from Lewistown. The day, pleasant. We had but a few passengers, there was plenty of room and good accommodations. The cold sharp air renders Mother disagreeable to remain on deck. Yet the wild scenery along the Juno's Ata and the desire and pleasure of seeing it keeps me above most of the time, some of the trees and shrubs begin to throw out their leaves, save the remaining bush in bloom, and a few early flowers also along the canal.

We have several lady passengers, one affects a touch of gentility, is all the time amusing herself with a kind of wind instrument, like a pair of bellows, it keeps up when going, a noise very much like the squalling of a tom cat. This she calls music and while performing, keeps her eye on a book in which music is written, or rather engraved.

The book from which she seems to draw this tom cat music, one such as I have seen elsewhere called The Lady's Book. A greater combination of nonsense and folly can hardly elsewhere be found, it is presumed in any other book now exists. Here it may have a place in the complex conscience of novel reading girls. But who could have supposed that such idle vacancies of a disturbed brain could have ever found their way to the public in the imposing form of a book.

Yet such is the fact and even the art and skill of the engraver is employed to adorn the thing with clever cuts and figures. Yes the painter too, is called in to color these disgusting and unnatural pictures or images with clever colors, corresponding with what is called fashion. Taken as a whole, it is enough to make a cat squall. The attitudes given to their figures, their dress and drapery and the bedaubing colors and feathers, are sufficient to provoke some nature to enter her solemn protest against such distortions and disfiguring of her own hands.

One thinks it would be more appropriate to exhibit these figures according to their natural appearances, accompanied with a spinning wheel, gridiron, frying pan, observe donning needles or some other instrument of domestic economy. Such useless animals as the spirit and teachings of The Lady's Book is calculated to produce a great nuisance to community and a raucous cruel to the peace and prosperity of their husbands, if any they have and if they have none, their cause is as it should be, for they are fit for nothing but a state of single blasphemies, and even their examples are of cold tendency.

Lady's Book is a misnomer, it is a burlesque upon all who observe the character and distinction of Ladies. It could with more propriety, be called by a name which for the sake of decency and regard for the female character I will not write a name here. The domestic virtues and novel reading, and Lady's Book accomplishments will never harmonize, they can never be beneficially connected.

The latter like drunkenness disqualifies for all matters of business, even to the neglect of the most common duties, such as donning, personal comforts and household arrangements. I have seen myself a poor devil with his stockings in tatters for the want of donning and without a shirt to cover his back.

There was at the same time in the house, a wife and plenty of yarn and donning needles suitable for mending, and also cloth and needle and thread for making shirts. And at the same time I have seen his wife lying in bed from morning until midnight, reading novels, shedding tears most profusely on this very melancholy occasion.

The poor devil of a husband waiting upon her and performing the most menial services for her, and before she had finished one series of lying follies, would send him off to town, two miles distance to the library to procure more pitiful, flirtations and dirty tales to amuse her to continue to shed tears of counterfeit sorrow. I have seen the poor devil perform the errands traveling on foot without shoes and destitute even of a shirt to cover his ragged carcass. I have seen him participate in her seeming sorrows and distresses and weep when she weeps. Whether his tears upon this occasion were from sympathy for her, or because of his shirtless and stockingless miseries caused by the delegation of her duties to him. I could not decide, though I always supposed the latter.

The poor ragged devil was obliged donning, these fits of insanity to which the wife was constantly subjected, even to cook their meals or starve, for the wife would not or could not perform that service. Perhaps she has been educated to believe that such employments as donning stockings, making shirts and cooking articles, were vulgar and ungentle and therefore that the high destiny to which she was bound by fate and education should not yield even by circumstance, but should be carried out even if ruin, distress and poverty are the consequences.

After night and supper, were again housed with tom cat music until bedtime.

The above Magazine Review was found in the diary of Elisha Hotchkiss, he was a graduate of Dartmouth College in the same class with Daniel Webster. Elisha was a lawyer of considerable note in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1824, 1829 and in 1831 was elected Mayor of the City of Cincinnati. He also served in the Ohio State House of Representatives, thirty third general assembly and extra session in 1835. Godey's Lady's Book was the first American Magazine for women, founded by Louis A. Godey in 1830.

Elisha Hotchkiss was born on October 11th, 1778 and settled in Chelsea Orange County, Vermont in the year of 1804. He was a native of New Haven, Connecticut, and was elected Judge in the New Haven courts. Elisha visited the western country in 1814 and in 1818 moved his family to Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the first son of Silas Hotchkiss and Esther Gilbert, he married Phebe Gallup, daughter of Captain William Gallup and Lucy Denison, his wife, on October 21st, 1804. Phebe died October 2nd, 1847 and Elisha died June 10th, 1858. He and his wife are buried in Spring Grove Cemetary, Lot# 43, Cincinnati, Ohio.

This article is posted by Up2Tempo, the webmaster of Up2Tempo Magazineestore where you will find a variety of Magazine Subscriptions at discount prices.

posted by ujzboi @ 1:15 PM 0 comments