The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1876-10-25

| Iei NalS UeCWeen USaSara anu LanZl OAR,
in connection with the Highland Las
sic, running from the latter place to
MOmbas.
CENTENNIAL LETTER.
The Women's Department. and Horticultural
Notwithstanding about the
| GrouIdS-Beautifui
| Exhibits.
do not wish to be thought captious
1T is much pleasanter for me to praise
than to censure, but the faithful chron-
icler has something to do besides
beslobbering with laudations the
things which are utterly unworthy.
The women's department is beauti-
full building to look at, and it has one
of the finest situations on the whole
Centennial grounds. 1t stands on Bel
mont avenue directly between the
Government building and the Horticul-
tural Hall. The railroad passes in
front Of it, and in the rear the mag
nificent terrace, gaudy with the lovli-
est flowers, stretches out like a royal
garden, gladdening the heart with the
exquisite beauty it unfolds. This
building was erected so says the
guide, at a cost Of thirty thous-
and dollars, contributed by the work.
ing women of the United States. I
confess my heart warmed when I
heard of the project of showing wo-
mans work at the great Worlds Ex-
position. I thought it was in the
hands of those who would not only
show us of what women are capable,
but what they are actually doing. l
! expected to see the new avenues of la
| Dor that had been opened for her ad-
vancement, and to be greeted with the
evidences of her work. I Expected to
see the practical workings of that ed
ucation which would make them bet
ter wives and mothers, and, in short,
| to have their attention turned away
from the frippery, nonsense and gew-
gaWs which arc to-day the curse of wo-
man in every land from Labradore to
China and this [ conceived to be wo-
mans mission at the great Centennial
Exhibition. ''Vanity of vanities,'
said the preacher, call is vanitys'' and
| he was right. These daughters of Eve
At'sO ACsSA ACIA IOUAl11S VI llc SlcdC
problem Of life. Many of them *ssow
not, neither do they spin, and yetSolo-
mon in all his glory was not arrayed
like unto them.''
Three young ladies sat by printers
case, composing stick in hand, working
at the trade which has made the
names of Guttenburgh and Faust i'm
mortal. I took off my hat as I passed
them by, for here was an element of
substantial progress-here were young
women not afraid Of soiling their fing-
| ers-nOt ashamed to be seen earning
their bread by the honest labor Of
their hands. For them all reverence
and honor. Among the articles exhib-
tied one women had invented a writ.
ing desk, and to show how impractical
women are when they NEEDLE with
things outside of their sphere, the cost
| of it would furnish house from bot
tom to top for the family of a respec-
| table mechanic, but she never thought
of the cost. She had succeeded in in
venting writing desk that nobody
ever did buy, and nobody ever will.
Another women had invented a pat
tent life-saving mattress which left
your body and legs dangling in the
water so that sharks might come nib
bling around them.
Would Mrs. Gillespie or some other
advanced female apostle teach these
young maidens who are to be the moth.
ers Of the coming generation the best
| way to bring up babies and how to
take the best possible care of them
selves. SO that they shall not be con-
slant affection to their husbands,
with headaches and neuralgias, and
backaches and rheumatism, and all
those fashionable ills that afflict the
present female generation. Will they
show them how to make light bread
and broll steaks, and concoct stews
that will delight the heart of a man
and set lightly on his stomach after
they are down, instead of making him
dream all night of the Guyaseutus and
all sorts of other horrible things? If
the exhibitions at the women's de-
partment of the Centennial are the
only evidences of woman's advanced
work, there are centuries of thraldom
yet in store for her, for she is so heav.
lily yoked in the bondage of vanity that
it will require ages to free her from
the thrall. Another disappointment
is the Horticultural Hall. The build
ing is magnificent when viewed from
the distance. The style is moresque,
rich in gaudy color. Standing at the
end of grand parterre of the gayest
and lovelist flowers, it is the admira-
ton OF all beholders. Entering the
building, one expects to see tropical
flowers and fruits from every quarter
| of the globe, and it is with an unqual-