Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-05-22
Sisters OF Charity.

Lovely woman is never more lovely than
when holding forth her hands to cheer, help
and elevate. Her activities in some directions
are less than mans but in ingenuity and
power of sympathy she is his superior. To
I find spheres within which she can revolve
without criticism, outside home, appears to
some difficult task. We venture to recall
Ia few of her efforts, of which the writer has
had personal cognizance, with opportunity
to observe, during the last winter, and which
might be reproduced in every considerable
town over the country. We throw the views
into didactic form for the sake of directness,
and to save circumlocution-and type.
Are there even twenty poor women, moth
ers or not, living on the edge of starvation,
doing little needework when they can,
some of them unskilled in doing it, with
poor clothing, cheerless homes, and few
sympathizers Gather them together, once
a week, (half dozen ladies can do it) say
in the lecture-room or Sunday-school room
of church, for couple of hours A little
fund will provide needles, thread, and some
useful stuifs and musins, to be cut by the
ladies into forms of grace and usefulness, and
TO be completed by the poor women, there
and at home, and paid for, not below store
rates, and then sold to the women; not above
store-rates, when they want them, or to Others
if they wish to buy. Blend with the details
kind words, smiles, hand-shakings, cheerful
hymns, and, in proper ways, verses and
prayers, and call the institution Helping
Hand or Employment Society," according to
taste.
Are there even twenty little girls of the
poor in the place, getting no instruction in
the use of the needle though, perhaps, am
bilious some of them, of the piano? They
will be girls by-and-by, then women, and
wives, with husbands and boys endowed
with boundless capacity of wearing out
things they will not know how to deal
with the difficulties, and even boys, and
even fathers, will lose temper, money, and
much besides in consequence. Gather them
as above, say on Saturday (no school that
day., having obtained at the dry bookstores
multitudinous pieces, old patterns, etc. (pay
for them, please, it is poor work to be be-
nevolent at other peoples cost, and on these
teach the girls to sew, cut, hem-stitch, work
button-hoes, and all the art and mystery of
the plain sempstress, throwing in, as before
counses, children's melodies and kindliest
encouragements and stimulus To all womanly
respect. You can call this The SeUing-
School,
Are there half dozen children in your
tant to go to the Sunday ?" Per-
haps their parents have no aptitude for
teaching; perhaps-wel, who of us is per-
feet ? But the children may grow up, as to
divine thoughts. much as if they had been
in Alaska, and with greater facility for pick
ing up the other kind. Open your parlor,
good friend, for an hour on Sunday, and be-
gin class. If you have one or two pupils
of your own, all the better. Make it pleasant,
neighborly, informal only teach. Get some
nice pictures if you can strike the piano
and sing, all the better only teach. Call it
The Home Class.
Is there crowd of young ones among the
respectable people of the town, such as are
Observation-Disclosures and then, at
children's parties and other like atrocities ?
What lady has the blessed gift of song Let
her open her parors in the afternoon for an
hour-no niore--to the little tots--ranged
round in order, small ones in the front row
and give them hearty singing lessons in
innocent and sacred melodies, mothers and
maids waiting by, if they will Let them,
without cake or candy-kisses not forbidden
go home on the minute. One short text
per week may be given, and at the closing
day sensible clergyman may come in and
smile on the " wee ones with pleasant chat,
confound ministers and undertakers as they
grow up; but no other parade. Call it by
any nice name you will. 1t gives the little
ones acquaintances enough in good way,
and does them good for life. Let it be
Home Singing-schoOi
How many young women are there around
=" help" we call them-away from homes,
mothers, and restraints of ones own neigh
borhood, little attached to churches, tempted
like Others and with the ordinary appetites
for social sympathy and for affection They
are too big for Sunday-school, too busy for
weekday meetings, but they have a little
time " of Sunday" Let the wisest and
| softest-voiced lady to be found to open class
| of them, in a separate room, at the time con-
venient to the majority, lasting three-quar-
ters of an hour (they work too hard to listen
long), and the other quarter for hand-shak-
ing, and individual conference at the close.
Class-book ? The book of books. Tone
That of a mother. Atmosphere Home
love. Everything that interests young
girl, with her small savings, and no savings
bauk book, with her troubles, her womanly
hopes, and her heart (Which is of the same
nature, substantially, as yours, Miss Elmina
Van Osten, only daughter and heress, but
that she has neither home nor parents to
counsel herr. And object ? To do them
good, social, temporal, moral, spiritual. 1t
may be in church room, round the melo-
deon, or in a private parlor, if numbering
only ten. Call it, unless you have some
sweeter name, The Young IVOmen'S Meeting.
Is there Hospital or lnfirmary in your
town, with an ever-changing succession of
patients, away from home, suffering, some
of them nearing the long home How their
poor hearts yearn for informal, non-profes-
sional tenderness Let half dozen ladies
group themselves together, make one the
secretary, divide up the days of the week
when visiting is proper, according to the
judgment of directors, doctors, and master,
(with whose respective duties there is not to
be any, the slightest, interference) and go
in as a visitor, staying only long enough
with each for a little sunshine, a Christian
word, or softly uttered prayer, or, perhaps,
TO leave bit Of animating printed matter.
If any lady's day is made impossible to her,
timely notice enables the secretary to call
on her "reserye for such cases, so that the
invalids, in their monotonous hours, can
count on their ministering angels as CON
fidently as on doctors or drugs. The follow
ing rules are inexorable Never criticise any
thing; nor gossip; nor carry in delicacies
(they may be poison TO your proteges y nor
look gloomy. Is there not long tradition
for angels being sever bright and fair p
You can call this the Ladies Hospital Com
mitiee.
To compensate for the absence of rhetor-
ical flowers in this column, and TO complete
the number seven, inherently sacred here,
one more suggestion founded on obserya-
tion, is respectfully offered. In every town,
and round about IL, there are flowers that
wither, or :" waste their sweetness on the des.
ert air." of which the owners would be glad
to make use if they knew how, Even the
costly aud snowy heaps that doduty at we'd
dings and funerals, though for hospital uses
only second.rate, can be utilized. Let a
small society be formed for collecting and
distributing these flowers, where the sick
and old and poor are in public institutions
and If perchance flower-pot should ever
come, all the better, 1t may reward, per
! haps evoke, virtue in some one sick OF same
: ness, aud dying OF that dreadful disease
nothing-to-care-for You can call this, The
FiOber Enterprise.