Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1867-04-11
From Moore's Rural New Yorker, !
WOMEN AND BOOKS.
BY AAILIE PETIT.

BY AAILIE PETIT.
Early chronicles relate that ga
Countess Of Anjou, paid two hun
dred sheep and five measures each
Of rye, wheat and millet for a book
Of homilies" Would we be far
wrong in asserting that not one Of
our modern bellies would rclinquish
a single adornment, saying nothing
Of investing half her income, for a
similar purpose?' Some people
thinka "Bible and cook book" IL
brary enough for a woman; but
mankind generally prefer the socie-
ty Of learned and accomplished la
dies especially after the freshness
and bloom Of youth have passed.
In the young, beauty is charm suf-
fcient to enthrall half the world =
but when the artless grace Of the
first twenty years, that golden age
Of love and ingenuousness, has
flown, then woman needs some
thing more to hold the affection she
formerly inspired.
Venus and the Graces deck only
the young; Pallas Athene must be
invoked to make aged women at
tractive. The education of mod
ern girls is suited only to their free,
girlish days, when their mission is
to please and adorn. These soon
pass the music, poetry and accom-
plishments Of school days are neg.
lccted, and, since "nature abhors a
vacuum jewelry, feathers and fash
ion occupy the otherwise empty
mind. When the maiden becomes
wife and mother, the great fault
Of her education is fully apparent !;
she has no resources within her
own mind and soul the culture she
has received was outward; draw
ing and music were in her fingers
no deeper; reading was but proper
pronunciation of wniis, a task to
be done; outwardly she was charm
! ing, but so little was she morally
and Intellectually benefited by this
education that she yet retains the
instincts of savage nature and
adorns herself with beads, brass
ornaments and feathers according
ly.
1t is because of this outside de,
velopment that the women of to.
day are so little for literature, do SC
little for its encouragement, sc
rarely collect books or own libra
ries. A wealthy lady will pay for;
camels hair shawl, or a rich velye
dress, money, sufficient to buy q
elegant and precious yoluines,price
less to her for the knowledge they
could impart. What boards O
mental wealth could not almost ev.
cry woman accumulate by applying
: to the purchase Of books the sums
spent by her in plumes and laces
that give no warmth, ribbons and
buttons that fasten nothing, and
long yards of trailing silks that
clothe only the pavement! What
noble pictures and engrayings
might she not buy with her golden
trinkets!
Not that we would nave women
eschew all ornaments and appear in
mans coarse fabrics. No! delicate
colors and soft textures belong by
birthright to women, the flowers Of
the human race, Rich lace abOut
the throat and wrists adds new
beauty to form and face; but tC
what purpose are great webs o
lace, dangled and festooned roun(
a dress, unless to evoke courses no
loud but deep" from those who
have the ill fortune to get entan
gled in the meshes
Yet all our ladies have not thus
fallen into senseless imitation OF
Partisan follies. Surely, we have in
our land tenthousands of pure
hearted women, who are only
thoughtless not heartless. They
wilt listen to a friendly voice that
tells them to retain that simplicity
than which there is nothing more
charming; expend their longihgs
for beauty in earnest, loving study
of flowers and pictures collect,
read and love the writings of the
pure and gifted, rigidly eschewing
those books which, under various
forms, present false views of life,
and, cultivated and truly refined,
prove anew to the world chow bet
ter than fine gold, more precious
than rubies," are true women.