Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-08-24

pect too little of our maidens, too much
of our matrons." 1 would add to this,
that in household, where there should
be equality Of usefulness, we expect too
little Of our boys, and too much of our
girls, whose strength is frequently quite
| inadequate to the demands made upon it.
The cooperative principle in education
is nowhere seen to better advantage than
in the family. The girl is strengthened
and vivitied by the bat and ball, the oars,
the bow and arrow, or the skate, as much
as IS the boy, and she needs, and her fami-
ly needs the sparkling vivacity which
| only outdoor amusements can give; but
the girl who has two beds to make has
not so much time for recreation as the
boy who uses, but who makes none. The
care of one room for each would be a
happier adjustment. At a school which I
lately visited, the boys under the care of
a matron, were taught to make their own
beds and to keep their rooms in order.
They showed no incapacitv for the work.
Their clean beds with white covers were
as we'll made as though done by their
sisters. Neither boots, stockings, jackets,
shirts, nor collars were on the floor for
somebody else to pick up; on the con-
trary, just as much pride IN the appear
ancc OF the room was manifested as
though American boys in general were
accustomed to such duties, and as though
these boys in particular tad always been
trained to it. They were rewarded for
their care by bright strips of carpeting.
which gratiied their taste as much as it
would that of girls. What has been done
by a matron with large number of boys
could be done by any mother with her
sons, not only with positive advantage to
them, but with justice to their sisters.
So with other household duties. I shall
never forget the manly pride with which
fine little fellow told me that his moth
Ell had permitted him to wash her best
china. The pleasure was in being trust
ed to perform duty reserved for careful
hands only. 1t was reward as we'll as
delight.
The mother of the distinguished nat.
uralist, John K. Townsend, believed it a
duty to prepare her sons as we'll as her
daughters for any emergency in life, and
with this view she taught them the use
of the needle, and gave them sufficient
knowledge OF cooking, to enable theln at
any time to provide comfortable meal.
How often, when far removed from civil
lization, and entirely dependent on lis
own resources, must her naturalist son
have blessed his mother for her wise fore
thought If all sons had been taught
like these, how seldom would we find
those MEDIEVAL scarecrows, the shirt but
ton and the darning- needle, forced on the
attention OF women. In my young days
l used to hear repeated, as a warning,
some lines sent to literary lady, who
preferred to mend her pen instead OF her
hose, and who on one occasion permitted
an ominous wear to appear above the top
of her slipper. The impertinent critic
spake thus:
ITO see a lady of so much taste
So slatternly, is shocking;
Your pen and poetry lay by
And learn to mend your stocking"
The disgrace of the poor lady was so
burned into my mind that 1 cannot to
this day avoid an uncomfortable sense of
boots, with latent wonder whether all
is right beneath them, even with an out
fit perfectly new; but after this lapse of
time, another thought occurs to me. 1
query as to how the gentleman himself
managed. Did he, too, mend his own
stockings, or did he in playful ease dash
off his rhymes whilst his mother or sister
sat patiently by the piled-up darning
basket?
once met young man-blessings on
his memory for that good deed-who,
wishing to spend his vacation at home in
the society Of his mother and sisters, Sc
liberately examined his hose and burned
every pair with hole to be mended.
Call it wasteful extravaganza, If you
please. do not say it was an example
to be commended; some poor person
might have been made happy by the
darn1ng: bu: the deligh: With which l
learned that youth cared so much more
for his mothers and sisters companion
ship than he did for their darning nee
dies, was worth to me alone whole gross
of stockings.
I can but hope he has found good
wife, and that he continues his annual
burnt offeridns, or else that he IS thought
full enough to send out his mending. If
men knew what dread the stocking bas-
ket becomes to one person, they would
do one of two or three things-learn to
darn themselves, buy darning machine,
or hire the work done by some needy
person. Every small town should sup
port two or three members.
Not long nee met judlcious moth
er who had resolved to abate the nuisance
Of careless, wasteful and expensive ser
wants, and, instead, to ask Of each men,
Der Of her household, sons and daughters
alike, a sufficient contribution to the
days work to complete all which the dal-
ly necessities of the family demanded.
She had tried the plan for several months
and had found it to work admirably.
Her own cares had lessened in proper
ton to the increase of family enjoyment,
and all were well-served, since they att
ed on themselves and on one another.
There is, undoubtedly, general tend
dcncy to curl the evil of incompetent SER
vice, by dispensing as far as possible
with outside help; but such tendency
p'esupposes and requires the mutual
helpfulness of all concerned
The household aid given by men will,
OF course, find its complement in that
offered by women in the field, the WORK
shop, or the Office. In families trained to
mutual helpfulness, the girls will plant
corn, rake hay, or transact important bust
ness, as faithfully as would their father
or their brothers. During the war, when
harvest work pressed, and men could not
be found to perform it, a young lady
friend of mine drove the mower and reap
er for her father until all +ho oro,,, ,,,