It does not sound logical, and I know of no theory of woman's
rights which will satisfactorily account for the phenomenon. But
then--there are the facts.
A Cape household is a simpler affair than you will meet with in the
city. If any young marrying man waits for a wife who shall be an adept
in the mysteries of the kitchen and the sewing-basket, let him go down
to the Cape. Captain Elijah Nickerson, Hepsy Ann's father, was master
and owner of the good schooner "Miranda," in which excellent, but
rather strongly scented vessel, he generally made yearly two trips to
the Newfoundland Banks, to draw thence his regular income; and it is to
be remarked, that his drafts, presented in person, were never
dishonored in that foggy region. Uncle Elijah, (they are all uncles, on
the Cape, when they marry and have children,--and _boys_ until then,)
Uncle Elijah, I say, was not uncomfortably off, as things go in those
parts. The year before Elkanah went to New York, the old fellow had
built himself a brand-new house, and Hepsy Ann was looked up to by her
acquaintance as the daughter of a man who was not only brave and
honest, but also lucky.
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