The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-10-07
A Wise Father and Sensible Daughter.

A Wise Father and Sensible Daughter.
Judge A. was leading lawyer and a
prominent Christian in the city of B., a
man of property and influence, honored
and respected by all that knew him.
One of his children was a daughter,
highly educated and accomplished, and
favorite in her social circle. She had
every comfort in the home of her pa
rents and their property was such as
to give her the prospect of ample means
if they should at any time be taken
away. But the father was wise and
the daughter was sensible. So one day
he said to her:
" You have every prospect, my
daughter, of comfortable provision for
the future, and that, in case of my death
you would be independent as to prop
erty, and without care and anxiety as
to the means of living. But the changes
of life are beyond our control and re-
verses often come when we least expect
them. And think if you were to learn
some trade or business, so that if you
were left poor you could earn living
for yourself, and. if need be, help 9TH
ers, it would be the wisest and best
thing you could do"
The daughter at once understood and
fully appreciated the sensible views of
her father, and fixed on dressmaking as
that to which she would give her atten-
ton, and an arrangement was made
with leading dressmaker of the city
that from her she should thoroughly
learn the business, just as any young
apprentice might do. She did so; and
while many in the leading society in
which she moved wondered that the
daughter of Judge A. should ever think
of such a thing as learning to be dress
maker, she quietly went on with her
work till she understood thoroughly all
its details, and found pleasure in max
ing her own dresses, as well as in aiding
her mother in many ways for which she
was before unqualified.
And now mark the result Within a
year or two after the time alluded to
she became engaged to marry gentle
man well known to the world as one of
the most scholarly and devoted mission
aries that ever went forth from this
country. And, as the accomplished
and educated wife of such a man she
was not only greatly useful as an III
structor in the female seminary con-
nected with the mission, but in teach
ing the girls as to their own dresses and
giving most valuable suggestions and
help to the mothers and families of the
vicinity. She led them on to views of
domestic economy and comfort and
civilization to which they might long
have been strangers but for her personal
and practical knowledge of dressmak-
ing. And she often remarked that she
never could be thankful enough that
her father had been so thoughtful and
wise as to suggest the course she had
taken.
A somewhat similar case is that of an
only son of wealthy parents who grad
uated at college with high honor and
then entered a machine-shop and be-
gan at the very lowest point and dill
gently and faithfully worked his way
up through all the steps of locomotive
building till he made himself thorough
ly familiar with the rolling stock of
railroads and the connected engineer
ING. His college associates and friends
went, for the most part, TO some one of
the professions; but he went steadily on
with his mechanic employment, coming
home at night to take off his greasy and
soiled clothing and appear as the gen
tleman in the parlOr and in the morning
rising for breakfast long before the
family and going off to his work for the
day. And the consequence is that hav-
ing thoroughly mastered the details of
his work, he was at once called to an
important and lucrative position on one
of the large railroads of the land, with
the fair prospect of rising to its highest
Office of honor and trust.
Are not these facts full of instruction?
Are there are not many young ladies of
wealthy families who would be wise if
they would in some way, by the knowl-
edge of some business, prepare to be
able to support themselves if, in the
changes of life, they should be left de-
pendent? And, instead of crowding the
professions, as such multitudes of young
men are doing, where for years they
can for the most part, expect but a
limited and precarious income, would
they not be far wiser to engage in those
mechanical employments which are so
conducive to the progress of society,
and almost always amply remunerative
to those who intelligently follow them
Christian Weekly.