The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1871-09-21
CUR YOUNG GIRLS.
As Seen thruOgh the spccinclcs OF
Ono of Our Old GirIs-Eiizabcth
Cndy StantOn's Recent Lecture In
SNn Francisco.

san Francisco.
Goethe, the great German, says
"Thc destiny of II great nation is set
tied by the opinions of tho young
men under twenty ycals of age
| came there to tell you that tho dcs'
tiny Ola nation is settled by the
health and brains of young women
under eighteen years of age. Ap'
plausc.
YOUNG GIRLS!
What are they? the music of oul
churches, the sunshine ofour streets
the flowers of our social life. Boys
rand girls are one at school, never
dreaming that one was born tc
clutch tic stars and the other tc
gravel in the dust. But watch tho
girls as they grow up. They become
listlcss and dissatisfied they have nc
aim in life. Their calling is simply tc
rcvolvc around some man-to-day, 4
father or q brother; tomorrow, @
husband or son. Girls feel all this
though they may never utter it.
was once walking in Central Park
New York, with my son, when VIC
came upon the frequent sign, "Nc
dogs admitted here" "What a bless.
ing it is to the dogs that they can't
read" he remarked, "ior it would
hurt their feelings SO if they could
Now they don't know the restrictions
they are placed under" l told him
there was a great similarity between
The doors Of Central Park and the
doors Of useful occupation. The one
were closed to the dogs and the 9TH
cr to the girls, and neither realized
the dcprivations they suffered by
the restriction. A dog may lay drow-
silly Oh his rug, not dreaming that he
cannot enter the Park, but il he try
to enter, u sharp rap on the nose
will remind him that he is out Of his
sphere. A girl may be satisfied with
her present lot until necessity COM
pclls her to do for herself, and then
She feels, from the sharp opposition
she meets, that she is only girl, and
out of her sphere.
This haslatcly been illustrated at
Harvard, Two young girls, after years
of effort, had perfectly prepared
themselves to enter the college, and
applied for admission, but old IIar-
yard slams the door in their faces
simply because they are girls. Per-
haps they fare sumptuously in pala-
tial mantions; but if they awaken to
the inspiration that thcymust be ac-
tive to be happy, they arc doomed to
feel that they arc only girls.
What u terrible moral effect must
this have Oh the hundred of boyss in
Harvard. From just such actions
low the terrible results Of insults
and contumcly which are daily heap
cd upon women. And when pro-
lcsSors and clcrgymcn uphold such
restriction, | hold them responsible
for the terrible overt acts everywhere
showcrcd upon women by the lower
orders of men.
| had more trouble in my family
to keep the boys and girls on an
equal plain than by any other dilli-
Guilty. Seeing that the world dis
eliminates thus against Girls the boys
infer that they arc endowed with
superior natural gifts. Even if u
girl braces up her mind TO resist,
what can ono brave girl do against
the whole world?
FALSE TRAINING.
Custom has made the boy the lord
and the girl the slave, the mere pend
age to the lord, the man on which to
hang his title Of name and fame. She
is the mother, daughter, or wife of
Major so-and-so or Lord so-and-so.
This should not be. Women should
have an individual aim and purpose
through life. The boy has u will Of
his own. lie has sclf-dcpcndcncc,
and is growing stronger, Drawer and
noblcr as he moves through life.
Alas for the girl. Tho girl denies
her field for ambition. 1t furnish
cs no career for woman, and she is
taboocd if she steps out of the con-
vcntional beaten path. Surely the
battle of life is hard enough for the
boy, but it is tcn-fold harder for the
girl.
For example, look at Winnie Rcam,
really a bright, beautiful little girl,
with a love for her art. She has
done well, and displayed great ariis-
tic skill, considering the advantages
at her hand. But sec how she has
been h oundcd by the press because
she was engaged by Congress to
form u statue of Abraham Lincoln.
That is a good statue. have seen
It, and it is exactly like the original.
You all know that Abraham Lincoln
was an akward, ungainly man. Is
it expected Of an artist to remodel
subject and present the likeness un-
like the original? The Capitol at
Washington is filled with daubs Of
prominent men, Ill made by men ar
fists, and never ono of these many,
all OF which is poorer than Winnie
NCdIil D StdtuC VI l-lilIOlIj HIS CNCT
been bounded rs she has been.
There is no labor field for girls.
They are dying for want of some
thing to do, longing for the want of
peace only found in action. | know
a beautiful girl, eighteen years ofagc,
illl of force and fire, who longs to
take the stage for a profession. Her
in private :hcatricals is
She lives in the ideal.
She will give imitation to the life,
and will read Shakespeare, apprcci-
ating all the shades of thought. She
thinks of tho stage day and night.
Her friends have power to say to her
nay, and blast her life, but how can
they fill the void in her heart? "Thc
stage" say they, "is not respectable :"
as if a royal soul could not dignity
any profession. Applause.
Can they surround her with luxu-
rics all her life? No, the skill ana
cunning of a girls own hand arc the
nuIv reliance She las i'm tiIuc ofuco1