Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1880-05-22

habits OF Incidence and such notion
about work. you arc preparing for your
selves = miserable future.
Work" says one OF my letters
and Il II written by q woman who doe
not need 70 labor for her own support
and who does enjoy with = keen rclisl
the rctinements of life" work. which
you no plainly showed to be good fo1
our boys. is quite as necessary for ou'
girls"
Closely connected with what has Jus
been said. is the mistake If many girl
in making dress the main business o
life. / quote now from one Of my let
tiers. whose writer has had unusual op
portunitics Of observing the things sh,
describes:
From the time when the little on,
can tottcr to the mirror 70 see how
sweetly she looks in her new hat 4
the hour when the bride at tho ALTA
gives more thought to the arrangement
Of her train and veil than TO the vow.
she is taking upon herself, too large 8
share Of time and thought is devoted BY
mothers and daughters 70 dress"
IL have heard" writes one Of my
correspondents, "a vain mother say o.
her beautiful baby, I'm 30 glad it's .
girl; can dress her so much finer than
I could . boy" o woman! woman
to what depths Of degradation you have
sunk when you can look into the face Of
. baby lying in your lap-the face of q
child that God has given you to train
for the service Of earth and the glory
Of Hcavea-and have such n thought a
that find moments Judgment in your
mind! The pity Of it, the pity Of it,
that children should ever bc-given 10
such women! 1t is one of the inscruia.
bic things of Providence. What can
such woman do but destroy the souls
of her children2 y
Listen to these strong words Of an
otheT correspondent: h.. III 5
"From the cradle TO the casket, and
including them both, the important
question is not Of the spirit and its des.
tiny. but Of the frail house Of the soul,
how much money it can be made to
represent, what becomes it. and Is it
all in the la.cst fashion. The occasion
al sight of a young girl simply and
giriishly dressed is like a sight Of i
white rose after \ bewiidering walk
through lines of hsllyhocks and sum
flowers. 1t is generally conceded that
early tastes leave indelible results in
What may. be propheeied
for the future Of our girls with their
banged, befriZzcd hair, iing1ing orna-
ments and other fashions, which some
one has well characterized as scream
ing fashions'?" 4a ss1sa
1t is not that there is any harm in
about dress, or in wishing to
be tastefully attired; it is only that per-
sonal appearance comes to be in the
minds Of SO many of you the one sub
ject. to which everything else is snbor-
dinate. This weakness, if INDUCED,
must belittle and degrade you.
do not think that the girls, or their
mothers. are wholly to blame for this
devotion to dress. The van
ty of women is stimulated by the fool
of men. A young woman who
IS modestlv and plainly clad is much
less likely to attract the notice of young
men than one who is gorgeously ar
rayed. From bright, intelligent, finely
cultured. sensible girls, whose chief
.dorning Is not the adOrning of braided
lair. or golden ornaments. or of gay
the young men often turn
lway in quest of some creature glitter
ng in silks and jewelry, with dull
mind and selfish heart. But be-
'eech you to remember. girls. that
1onng man who cares for nothing but
style in a woman is a young man
whose admiration you can well afford
o do without. If that is all he cares
ior in you. you cannot trust his fidelity;
when you and your finery have faded,
some bird in gayer feathers than you
ire wearing will easily entice him
away from you, and the sacred ties of
and parentage will prove no
barrier TO his wayward fancies. The
.irl who catches husband by fine dress
90 often finds that the prize she has
Won is broken heart.
Another mistake that many of our
iris are making is in devoting too
much of their time to woodworking.
The reading of an occasional novel OF
,ure and healthful tone may be not
,nly an innocent diversion, but a good
mental stimulant; but the reading of
he lighter sort of novels (Which. if
hey do not teach bad morality, do rep
'esent life in morbid and unreal light,
md awaken cravings that never can be
atisfied). and the reading of one OF
wo or three Of them in a week, as is
he common habit of many of our girls.
must prove grievously injurious totheir
minds and hearts. 1t is mental dissi-
,ation of very dangerous sort; its in
Iuence is more insidious than, but am
lOt sure that it is not quite as fatal to
liaracter as the habitual use of strong
rink. Certainly the mental dissipa-
ion of .novel-reading is vastly more
than the other sort of dissi-
'ation. not only in :" the best society,""
nut in the second best, as well; and five
lives are ruined by the one
There one life is wrecked by the other.
Ruined" do say? Yes: no weaker
7ord tells the whole truth. This in
craving for sensational fiction
7eakens the mental grasp, destroys
he love of good reading, and the
over of sober and rational thip king,
axes away all relish from the realities
f life, breeds discomfort and Incidence
nd seliishness, and makes the one who
addicted to it a weak, frivolous. pet
liant. miserable being. l see girls all
round me in whom these results are
'orking themselves out steadily and
italy. E9..Ft slt.T ~,
Another mistake which our girls are
which their. parents are
too early initiation Into
ne excitemcnts and frivolities of what |
called society. 1t was formerly the |
nle for girls 10 wait until their school |
avs were over before they made their |
ppearance in fashionable society. At
hat age. let us inquire, does the aver /
re young lady of our cities now make
err debut? From my observations, 1
puld answer atabout the age of tIirse.
hey are not older than that when they
egin to 90 to children's parties, for
hich they are dressed as deliberately
r