Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1873-04-12
Miscellaneous.
Lost (sirl1lOOsl.


We remember of reading, not long ago,
a singularly pathetic article in some news
paper, entitled "a Boy Lost" 1t was the
complaint of mother whose boy had
grown up to be man, and who missed the
dear delighted drudgery of the days when
the house was ringing with his Jacket, aud
her heart and her hands were full of
the care and labor that his mischief brought
her. But were there ever any little girls in
the good woman's home, and if so, she can
inform us what has become of them ? Our
own impression, based on careful observa-
tion is that the race of little girls is rapid
ly becoming extinct.
There is no sort of danger that the crop
of boys will fail. Saith not the proverb.
Boys will be boys ?'' We wish that there
were proverb to insure us that girls will
be girls. The fact that there is none is omi-
nous.
There is no falling off of girl babies, and
there is an alarming overplus of young
ladies, but the little girls-where are they
The space between infancy aud young Iady
hood has become sn narrow us TO be almost
invisible.
Not many weeks ago we were sitting in
n village parlor, when the servant came in
bringing the cards of two young ladies. 1t
was only year before that we had known
them as little girls, aged respectively eight
and nine and at that not very remote pc
riod we had been quite in the habit of cali
ing them both upon our lap. They had
come to make n fashionable call upon
young lady, aged ten, whose home was our
resting place. The entrance of the visitors
in the paror was highly impressive. They
were dressed in n manner which dclies de-
sCriptiOn enormous paniers supported
stunning sashes, dainty kid boots encased
their ankles, and in their kidgloved hands
they carried shell cardcases. The young
lady Of the house, who was not expecting
st, iish callers, and who was dressed for the
afternoon in IA plain muslin irock, WAS con-
sidcrably overwhelmed by their appear
ance, but she did their best to entertain
them politely, The conversation oi the vi
sitors, in which, for very astonishment,
ventured to take but little part, was itselfa
study. Don't you think and would
you believe - were the notes of admiration
invariably sounded before the simple state
mcntS. Six objects were described as
''nice,' tour as perfectly lovely, lovely"
and five as "horrid." There was some-
times painful lull in the conversation,
which was generally terminated by the
running on' of one of them about some
trivial matter, in valuable manner, and
with very loud voice--a trick of making
talk which she had doubtless learned at
home. After fifteen minutes of edtying
conversation, the callers arose, declaring
that they should never finish the calls they
must make that afternoon if they tarricd
any longer, took their leave with true con-
ventional "gush," flirting their silks
through the hall.door, mounted their car
riage, and bade their coachman drive on.
What mournful spectacle ! To wit
ness the self.consciousness and atlectaton
of these two children to see how COM
pletely were they already, at their tender
age, immersed in the conventionalites of
artificial life, and to reflect what must be
the results in their characters before they
were grown, was altogether depressing.
They ought to have come in their calico
trocks, and spent the afternoon romping
under the apple trees in the back yard. To
send them forth on this errand of vanity
was refinement of cruelty which no Chris
tian mother who knew how much q soul is
worth, could ever have been guilty.
We beg our readers not to imagine that
this is an exceptional circumstance. The
| like is taking place elsewhere. The C. IL
spiracy III fashionable society to dwarf the
minds and poison the hearts Of our little
girls, is widespread and formidable. We
happen to know that the sketches in ''The
Old Fashioned Girl" of little girl life in the
stylish circles of Boston, are simply photo
graphs. And the half has not been told.
OF course there are many mothers who
have too much sense TO permit their chill
dren to be made the fools of fashion, but
even these find it hard work sometimes to
resist the frivolous influences which sur
round them.
The remedy for this evil must come from
literature, from the pulpit, and from the re-
sOlute example of intelligent parents. Miss
| Alcolt has done noble service already in
picturing this folly, and displaying a more
wholesome idea. Every preacher, and ev-
cry leader of public opinion should raise
his voice to lenounce this conspiracy
against girlhood. And above all, every
mother whose brains are not already ad-
died by the vanities of society," should set
/ her face as flint against the whole system
/ of snares by which our little girls are drawn
| into the deceitful and dangerous paths OF
! fashionable life. Exchange.
!