Smyrna times., 1880-08-25
A Plain Word Or Two.

!
the condition Of that large class Of young
girls, the daughters Of small farmers,
tradesmen, mechanics, and shopkcepers i'll
inland towns. They have, as rule, hon
est blood in their veins. Their father is
hard at work now in field or shop; their
mother is drudging Just as hard in the
kitchen; they live scantily, and save
every penny to "give the children lift
in the world" To accomplish this, the
boys are pushed through the high school
or some local college, and then sent out
West with profession Or trade; the
girls are given two or three year at school.
With that, their preparation for life stops
short.
In France, farmers daughter of this
rank becomes the head of the dairy (as
our farmers daughters did two genera
tions ago) She knows nothing about
decorating ginger jars or strumming
waltzes on the piano, but she turns out Of |
her skilful fingers delicate cheeses aud |
butter, which command the highest price
in the Paris and London markets CA
merician butter" says the last report,
"does not rank high, because it is hand
led by machinery the Breton is worked
by manipulation" So high do the Bre-
ton diaries rank, simply in consequence
of the personal supervision Of them by
the farmers wives and daughtcrs-womcn
with intelligence as well as hands-that
it is not IL common for q dairyman to
give his daughter a dover of from S1j,-
900 to $4,000; much Of it the product
of her own skill in detail work and man
agement. This great industry in its
higher branches is open to the class Of
Which We write In Germany girl Of
this class and very often the classes
much more elevated is carefully taught
9 domestic duties, and expected also to prac-
tice them. In the Scandinavian nations
she is taught work in her school; is
brought to confirmation, and thencefor-
e ward the good pastor of the village with
~ her parents watches over the maid to
S keep her modest and devout.
{, Now, what is girl Of that class in
g this country taught to do? The affection
lc of her father contents itself in supplying
e her with cheap fnery, which she befrills
h and ties back after the latest Worth de-
-" sign her mother, in nine cases out OF
ten, stands between her and work Of any
kind, drudges herself and turns the girl
loose to have good time and to catch a
I'd beau. The girl herself, though innately
in virtuous, truthful, and disposed to religion,
III III by the time she has dawdled away three
&c or four idle years, filled her Ignorant
nd brain with the literature Of the cheap
NJ story-papers, and carried on a dozel
at romping firtations, is coarse, blatant, anC
lot pert beyond the tolerance of decent pco
ehh pie. She has just enough schooling tt
ys, enable her to look down upon her ole
as ,ris father and mother she has no trade, no en-
os3e ployment, no object in life except to b
ed married. If she had fortunately belonged
ed ieed to lower rank in life, she would have
had to learn industrious habits by work
GGS ,GS ing for her living if she belonged to
our higher rank, she would feel the necessit
ug. of selfcultivation, she would learn to us
:" both head and hands in music, art, in tn
thousand duties and accomplishments be
y longing to a refined woman. But on
- poor girl is neither the useful ant nc
n ornamental butterfly. She is her Ow
y mistress She goes, as we have seer
alone with young men to baysides an
camp-meetings, and nobody thinks an
harm of it. Ruin, as in the case we hay
noted, does not often follow it. But Il
coarsening and vulgarizing of this lay
of our social life is the inevitable resul
. We wish to be understood. There are II
moro virtuous women than the American
this unlicensed freedom granted to Of
young girls is q sign that VIC all belieN
that. But the freedom is being carried
little too far. Let us have modesty
a. we'll as virtue.
Every class of women has its defeC
The defect in this one lies not in any i
feriority of morals or intellect, but simp
in that they have reached that stage
development when they arc idle. Th,
are not elevated enough to work wi
their heads; they have learned to dc
=. piso household labor as menial and no
other offers to them in the country.
co., compelled to earn their living, they CROW
at once into the cities. The best priva
houses would welcome an intelligel
modest, expert American girl as hou'
keeper, cook, or waitress, would give b
a secluded home, high wages, aluxurio
etf table, and, most valuable of all, protC
- ton. But they invariably prefer to ent
! N mills, to run sewing machines, or to to
Y places as unskilled shop girls on was
that range from 81 to 81 per week
lodge in garrets and live on starvati
fare. 1t is out of the ranks of these 81
that the lowest depths of infamy in {
" cities are filed. .'at.-t
!. The cure for the defect seems to
y that fathers and mothers should ts
better care of their daughters. Civ
girl as well as boy work of her ov
and let it be done under their fathC
roof and their mothers eye. Give
~ them an old-fashioned faith and skill
downright work and, whether you
farmer, tradesman, surround your Iii
daughter from her cradle with the prot
- ton, the honor, and the modesties due
2s-tf her as woman You viii not only hi
eleveted her life, but you will have d.
II more than you can measure to civilize;
a refine the class TO which she belongs