New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1869-07-28

And in the West every bloody; battle of the
frontier is lighted up by womans courage and
,voYnon,s devotion. True, those early days are
lacking in much that is now deemed requisite.
Had the mothers of the May1ioWer possessed
more of voice in the management OF affairs,
we would doubtless be spared the recital oil
that terrible epidemic of smallpox which has
pitted so many pages of our early history.
Had Pocabontas received modern education,
she might have saved her lovers life by moving
tbe nrevious question, and kept the memory
Of the day ever green and lively by an organ
lied anniversary. Of this ancestry, however,
deficient as it is in certain modern require
ments, the Girl of the Period may well be
proud. Why, then, may she not study the
useful lessons of the past without being tOrced
to cipher out the dubious presentiments OF the
future2
The truth, plainly told, is that that Girls
greatest danger comes from her own ranks. Not
that she is any less charming or useful because
she dresses as she peases; not that her hair
by changing color or shape derogates from her
intrinsic value; not that she becomes frivolous
because her intuitive perception OF the beaut-
full leads her to initiate the seasons, and place
her graces in a more beautiful setting by adopt
ing an occasional change Of foliage but De-
cause her modern aunts and grandmas are
teaching her lessons of masculine discipline
which bid fair to eradicate the delicacy her an
cestors bequeathed her. A poet has spoken OF
"A perfect woman, nObly planned.
To warn, to comfort and commando
Aud vet a spirit-sIill and bright,
With something OF an angelhght"
If that Girl receives the instruction which Is
now forced upon her, we must expect to see
this CANCEL Light which has been so long
appreciated, crammed into a balOt-bOx, or
forever hidden in the deep pocket Of future
manly costume. There are some of US not quite
ready to give up that Girl. We have read
many pleasant things about her, have heard
many beautiful songs sung in her favor, have
believed that there was much In her nature
necessary to the fulfllment OF mans happl-
ness. Yet present appearances seem to forbode
that we may lose her. 1t is said that in death
the last image on which the eye rests is indel-
IDLY pictured on the retina. If so many OF the
feminine eyes of the period cast their last gances
on a pair of pantaloons, and die carrying that
representation to another world, will it re-
auire a very active working of the Darwin
ian principle to Obliterate entirely the gentler
sex from among the creatures of this globe
How shall we obtain an antidOte Happily,
easily. BY making our girls recognize
the fact that home duties are steps in the
upward pathway of life, and that the Roman
mother who looked upon her nursery as her
casket was, by the intention of the Creator,
more perfect being than the Amazon who sought
distinction from her culver; by teaching her that
woman's voice, while often discOrdant in public
halls and crowded auditoriums, never fails to
chord with the harmony of nature when heard
in conflicts of n lowlier life, drying with
smile the tears of the unfortunate and directing
messages of love to those who need her nursing.
Our greatest possible favor at present, be we
grandfathers or grandmothers, will be to let
the Girl alone.