Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1875-12-26
g SORROWS CROWN OF SOR.
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10th chronicles the attempt at sui
eide of . young girl sixteen years Of
age, whose name is withheld out of
respect to her father. "The circum-
stances which caused the girl to at
tempt this rash act" says the "Sen-
tinel," "are pretty we'll known in
this community. and are scathing
commentary upon the so-called pro
gressive spirit of the age which
would seek to obliterate all the bar
riers Of disparity of years, caste and
social inequality. The case in ques-
ton is particularly sad one-sad in
every possible view; but, believing
as we do, that the deplorable result
is attributable more to the prevailing
but misguided sentiment Of the
times, and the encouragement of
others than any other cause, we re-
frain, for the present at least, from
giving names or further particulars"
The 1Sentinei has barely limited
at thought which, had the editor
followed up its train, would have
formed a subject which should be
carefully thought over by all, and
particularly by those who are rear
ing up children to bear their name
and fame through life. There is no
blotting out of this one truth, that
the so-called progressive spirit of
the age" as it is applied and felt in
society, has done and is doing more
towards the degradation Of the youth
Of our time than can in a moment be
realized. We refer more particularly
to the rearing and social education
of the young girls of the Pacific
Coast. Not that we believe them to
be worse trained than those who are
brought up" in the shadows of en-
liShtened Eastern cities, but that
they see less Of reactionary charac-
ter in the society in which they move
to influence them to choose the better
path of life in preference to that
which lead so closely between virtue
and abandon, that she who treads it
does so in constant peril of her good
name and future happiness. The
system by which society governs
itself on the Pacific Coast and in the
large cities of the Atlantic seaboard,
is as totally different as are the
climes of the two countries. There
is too great desire in both sections
to crowd young girls into gay soci-
ETY. before they are free from the
= to make "young
ladies Of them before the swad-
ding clothes are fairly dusty from
disuse. In the East, the young girl
who is thus driven into society to
display her charms of figure and
conversation, is chaperoned by an
ambitious mother, who, while she
exposes her offspring as tempting
fruit to the libertine, protects it from
despoilation, though not from con-
tamination, by jealous guardianship.
The young miss of Eastern produc-
ton may take occasional glances at
society from under mothers hover
ing wing, but must not think Of
gentleman escort until she has been
regularly "brought out" Gener-
ally speaking, this is not SO of
the Pacific Coast. Here in this
s'fast" country, where formality gets
the name of "airs" and modesty the
title Of stupidity, "our young girls,
in most instances, are given an un-
restricted freedom to go into society
too many times Of their own
choosing) as soon 81 their limbs are
plump and their tongues have lost
their childish prattle. In Califor-
mia and Nevada, the miss Of twelve
is q young lady," and chooses her
own company; she is a "fashiona-
BILE belle" at sixteen; ON the mar
riage list, at seventeen, and "get-
ting to be an old maid" at eighteen;
while at twenty, unengaged, she is
looked upon as "soured." These
are plain statements. They are,
also, true ones. Is it any wonder
then that with all the false allure
ments which gay society throws
around the young girl Of this gen.
Grafton and this country; with the
unlimited freedom given them by
too fond and too thoughtless parents
that they soon become blase with
ordinary pleasure and banker after
keener excitements and more reek-
less amusements To our mind,
no. Having thoroughly exhausted
the list Of harmless enjoyments and
being surfeited with the ordinary
pleasures Of good society before
they are even Of suitable age to
properly appreciate them. it is most
natural that they should inordin-