The Republican journal., 1869-01-21

1AticllCd GINS are NCi y uclSIitliI' IAuN
in one point they fairly surpass the ma jority
Of English girls--they are all educated and
vell-informcd. 1t is a very painful, but l
fear a too incontrovcrtible fact, that most
Of the girls on this side are very ignorant
on general subjects. | don't blame them :;
blame the system of education. Some
girls are very fascinating whether they are
educated or not but to be left alone, as one
sometimes is, with girl who knows moth
ing, in a room with no piano, is exceedingly
embarrassing-afte the weather has been
exhausted. There is never the same diff
Guilty with American girls. The admirable
educational system of New England, cover
ing the whole area of society, has given them
education, whether they be poor or rich !;
has furnished them with great deal of
general information. and has quickened
their desire for more. An American girl
will talk with you about anything, and feel
(or what has the same effect, seem to feeD
interest in it, Their tendency is perhaps to
talk too much, and to talk beyond their
knowledge. With the cleverer, Cor as they
would say themselves, the "smarter') of
them, it seemed to me sometimes to make
no perceptible difference whether they knew
anything of the subject they talked about or
not. But they generally know Il little of
everything and their general intelligence
and vivacity make them very delightful
companions.
had an idea before going out that the
New England ladies spent time over intel
lectual pursuits to the neglect of household
duties. did not find it SO. Comparing
class with class, they are quite as good
housekeepers as ! have seen anywhere
They had need be, for service at present Is
in a very wretched condition Ill America !;
so much so that middle -class families in the
country often dispense with servants alto
gether. The young ladies can make beds
as we'll as demonstrate propositions, aud
detrimental philosophy whatever it amounts
to, never interteres with the perfection Of
the pies. Samuel johnson used to say that
a man would rather that his wife should be
able to cook a good dinner than read Greek
But he does not seem to have anticipated
a time when a woman could learn to do
both.
Now for a word about the children. The
children !--as | write the word, how the
many sweet voices start from the silence Of
memory and fill the air with melody and
laughter how many bright and beautiful
faces, far far away gather round me once
again If could picture forth some of
these little ones with whom the happiest of
all my happy hours in America were spent
If | could reproduce the fun, the ronping,
the games on the carpet, the hundred little
innocent delights we shared in common
my readers would sec that after all that has
been written about American precocity, the
children there are children stilI--in most
points just like our own-the joy and sun
light OF every home.
This, hope, will not be forgotten in
noticing at present one or two points Of diff
ference.
One thing that astonished me was the food
given to the children. 1t seems to be the
rule in America to let the children have a
share of everything on the table. Iremem-
Der sitting beside one little boy Of four years
who had soup, slice of fowl with dress
ing, a sweet potato, plate of pudding, and
bunch of grapes. He was a very small
boy, and had to get the slice of fowl cut for
him by his aunt. A lady in Washington,
speaking of her OWE little boy Of two years,
said "He cannot 60 to bed without his
piece ofturkey. He must have it, Fancy
this in Scotland! AT the Clifton House,
Niagara, the hotel on the Canada side, a
family party sat down at one Of the break
fast tables. One Of the party was beauti-
fully dressed child, between two and three
years OF age, who was waited upon by a tall
negro. The first thing this small gentleman
had was cup of milk and biscuit. Then
he had TWO eggs, beat up in a glass, and a
slice o! ,Iohnny-cake Ga cake made of Indian
meal and eggs.) He slipped very little Of
the egg, and then called for fish. After fish
he had beef, and after the beef-steak, bacon
and biscuit. What more he might have
needed was left uncertain, by reason OF his
spilling the remainder of the beat eggs over
his own and his mothers dress which caused
him to be carried away from the table in
state of humiliation.
American children are undoubtedly pre-
cocions. l think this peculiarly, though
partly owing to the quickening effect of
climate, is due, to some extent, to the
American practice OF bringing children to
the table from their infancy. A New Eng
land lady, who boasted Of eleven children,
Ga very rare thing in New England,) told
me that every one of them had been brought
to the table at seven months old, and at
thirteen months could handle their forks as
neatly as she could Brought to the table
so soon, and hearing all that goes on, they
begin at Il preternaturally early age to take
an interest in general affairs, and to acquire
the IDEAS and language Of grown people.
An old doctor Of divinity in Canada said
that calling one day at friends house, a
little girl was sent in to amuse him till her
mamma was ready. The child told him,
among other things, that she had been writ
ing parody on Kingsley's song of the
Three Fishers" but when drying it at the
open fire, it dropped from her hand and was
burned.
Burned p exclaimed the doctor '.if |
had been the fire | should have stopped till
yon had got it out again.
80 no, DOCTOR" said the child, gravely,
''you couldn't have done that. Nature, You
know, is nature, and her laws are inviola-
BILE p