Until the beginning of this century men played the beau rôle in life’s comedy.  As in the rest of the animal world, our males were the brilliant members of the community, flaunting¹ their gaudy² plumage at home and abroad, while the women-folk remained in seclusion³, tending their children, directing the servants, or ministering to their lords’ comfort.  
In those happy days the husband ruled supreme⁴ at his own fireside, receiving the homage⁵ of the family, who bent⁶ to his will and obeyed his orders.
 
During the last century, however, the “part” of better half has become less and less attractive in America, one prerogative⁷ after another having been whisked away by enterprising wives.  Modern Delilahs have yearly snipped⁸ off more and more of Samson’s luxuriant curls, and added those ornaments⁹ to their own coiffures, until in the majority of families the husband finds himself reduced to a state of bondage¹⁰ compared with which the biblical hero enjoyed a pampered¹¹ idleness.  Times have indeed changed in America since the native chief sat in dignified¹² repose¹³ bedizened with all the finery at hand, while the ladies of the family waited tremblingly upon him.  To-day it is the American husband who turns the grindstone all the year round, and it is his pretty tyrant¹⁴ who enjoys the elegant leisure that a century ago was considered a masculine luxury.
 
To America must be given the credit of having produced the model husband, a new species, as it were, of the genus homo.
 
In no rôle does a compatriot appear to such advantage as in that of Benedict.  As a boy he is often too advanced for his years or his information; in youth he is conspicuous¹⁵ neither for his culture nor his unselfishness.  But once in matrimonial harness this untrained animal becomes bridle-wise with surprising rapidity, and will for the rest of life go through his paces, waltzing, kneeing, and saluting¹⁶ with hardly a touch of the whip.  Whether this is the result of superior horse-womanship on the part of American wives or a trait peculiar¹⁷ to sons of “Uncle Sam,” is hard to say, but the fact is self-evident to any observer that our fair equestrians¹⁹ rarely meet with a rebellious²⁰ mount.
 
Any one who has studied marital²¹ ways in other lands will realize that in no country have the men effaced²² themselves so gracefully²³ as with us.  In this respect no foreign production can compare for a moment with the domestic article.  In English, French, and German families the husband is still all-powerful.  The house is mounted, guests are asked, and the year planned out to suit his occupations and pleasure.  Here papa is rarely consulted until such matters have been decided²⁴ upon by the ladies, when the head of the house is called in to sign the checks.
 
I have had occasion more than once to bewail the shortcomings of the American man, and so take pleasure in pointing out the modesty²⁵ and good temper with which he fills this role.  He is trained from the beginning to give all and expect nothing in return, an American girl rarely bringing any dot to her husband, no matter how wealthy her family may be.  If, as occasionally happens, an income is allowed a bride by her parents, she expects to spend it on her toilets or pleasures.  This condition of the matrimonial market exists in no other country; even in England, where mariages de convenance are rare, “settlements” form an inevitable²⁷ prelude²⁸ to conjugal²⁹ bliss³⁰.
 
The fact that she contributes little or nothing to the common income in no way embarrasses an American wife; her pretensions³¹ are usually in an inverse³² proportion to her personal means.  A man I knew some years ago deliberately³³ chose his bride from an impecunious³⁴ family (in the hope that her simple surroundings had inculcated homely³⁵ taste), and announced to an incredulous circle of friends, at his last bachelor dinner, that he intended, in future, to pass his evenings at his fireside, between his book and his pretty spouse³⁶.  Poor, innocent, confiding³⁷ mortal!  The wife quickly became a belle³⁸ of the fastest set in town.  Having had more than she wanted of firesides and quiet evenings before her marriage, her idea was to go about as much as possible, and, when not so occupied, to fill her house with company.  It may be laid down as a maxim³⁹ in this connection that a man marries to obtain a home, and a girl to get away from one; hence disappointment on both sides.
 
The couple in question have in all probability not passed an evening alone since they were married, the lady rarely stopping in the round of her gayeties until she collapses⁴⁰ from fatigue⁴¹.  Their home is typical of their life, which itself can be taken as a good example of the existence that most of our “smart” people lead.  The ground floor and the first floor are given up to entertaining.  The second is occupied by the spacious⁴² sitting, bath, and sleeping rooms of the lady.  A ten-by-twelve

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