Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1881-01-29

Thu SOCIAL PROBLEM WHICH FER
pLEXFS MANY HOUSEHOLDS.

"A fine thought and wise exoFtatiOn, and
the saying which reminds Us how
every cloud has a silver lining is n
of the finest and wisest. If only we
would adopt it a. a line by which to
rule our minds when things look dark
and doubts of ultimate brightness
gather around us, how much unneces-
sary sorrow we should be spared and
how great would be our gain in happi-
ness!
Home and the family life naturally
make up the greater half of woman's
existence. Of those who have to go
out into the world to seek their OWL
fortunes and make theirO own livelihood,
the proportion is as yet. happily, not
the larger. To them, indeed, the doe
trine of the silver lining is of all most
sadly needed as a true and living faith.
When they find the battle of life al
most more than they can wage, when
wounded, sore, beaten to their knees,
overcome in the desperate struggle for
existence which has to be made by
them against the opponents OF SO much
greater force, they cry aloud in fear
give themselves up to the unbelief OF
despair, who shall blame them: Poor
w~eak-handed sisters. hustled here and
there by stalwurt men with their weak
ones to protect, how can they fail to
fear" And yet even to them come. tie
sweet doctrine of hope, Of realization
through endeavor, and of the peace OF
tomorrow after the turmoil of to-day.
And after all, which, is Wors. to bear
the active troubles OF life or the gnaw-
ing pain, the corroding rust OF sloth
Looking at things honestly, re>o-
lutte to deny pleasant fallacies and to
SEE human life as it is, we are forced to
acknowledge that Il middle-cla,s house,
where there are~many girls treading on
each others heels, too well off to make
work for money Il necessity, yet not
sufficiently rich to make costly pleas
ure the only occupation, is often not
tile most peaceful or happy. Sisters AS
they are, their personal Interests are
apt 10 clash, and their tenlpers do not
always %harinoniZe. If they live in the
country there is an absence Of all stir
ing excitement, and they have no oc-
cupatiOn which takes them out of
themselves or which lifts them above
tl, ,-%t, .% - Al ,..ot n a. nf
They get tired Of their foolish little
bits of fancy work, none Of which
have the dignity of sustained effort or
a noble kind of use when done. They
have no taste for arduous study, and if
they have they stitie it as u thing to be
rather ashamed OF than encouraged.
They hammer on the lower tracks Of
schoolgirl art till they themselves get
weary of their false prospective, their
muddy coloriny, and those new pieces
of music. which they know they do
not render properly and they slur over
all the difficult passages. They read
the lighter books Of their local Lend
ing Society, but they scarcely glance
at the graver and heavier, and think it
is a shame that they should be intro
duced at all. They are standing aside
from the crowded thorOughfares of life
| and are out of the rapid currents of
pleasure and excitement, and they
know that they are waiting for the
chances of marriage: whether they
like to confess it or not, they know
this is the truth, and that i they do
not marry there is nothing for them
but a long and gradual descent into
old age through the dreary aths OF
monotOny, restriction and suppression.
This is the cloud which hangs over
many q household where the girls
abound fortunes are moderate. and low
ers willing to undertake II ready made
family of five or six sisters are ~ rare
AS so many black swans and ~ shy a
the marmOts on the hill sides.
What are they to 30? They are
young, good looking, with natural al
fections and we'll principled. They
have in them possibilities Of harpines.
which seems as if they would never
blossom into actualities. They would
MAKE good wives. good mothers, good
mistresses Of Il hnn~c all round We,
years glide on and see them pass !ruuI
their first youth into the zenith Of theii
maturity, and then to that day wheI
the peach has hung too long on til,
wall. and has gone on from mellow
ness to decay. And during all thi,
time they have done nothing ans
learned nothing, saw perhaps that SAT
lesson of resignation tn enduring nlel
ancholy and discomfort which is hal
the sorrow Of their state. What ar,
they TO do? Where lies the silver lin
ing to their cloud? Where it lies for al
OF US, in work and duty-work which
supplies 50 much interest as makes 70
us that kind OF second self which i
the main charm OF love duty which
shall take us out OF the harrow spher
Of our Owl individual interests only