Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-09-16
The " Finished" Young Woman

The plight of the young woman
whose education has Just been "fin-
lshed, that is to say, whose education
IL the usefulness and praeticalities OF
life has just begun, is by no means as
envlable as it appears, or as perhaps il
actually seems to the young woman
herself. Our methods of instruction
teach her little or nothing of the duties
OF life. If she is poor, they often in
terfere with her requirements in home
industry. make her discontented with
its hardehips, and provide her with few,
If any, means of conquering them. II
she is rich, her time is apt to be de-
voted largely to frivolity, flirting,
excitement, fitting from one pleasure
to another, in the vain hope of quieting
the restless and reckless desire for
time-fllirg and time-killing entertain.
ment. Sooner or later, of course. she
looks forward to marriage, but even for
that, an empty and unproductiye in
terval OF small talk, lunches, "Ger-
mans, ice cream, chatter, gossip and
Irritation is very poor preparation.
Old-fashioned mothers see and lament
this condition of things; sensible teach.
ers deplore it; and in some cases at :
tempts are made by the introduction of
art study outdoor exercise, archery,
sailing, and horseback riding, literary
circles and women's clubs, to fill up
part of the long-drawn- leisure
which comes to young women between
their leaving school and setting up
homes of their own. But many OF
them do not care to read, unless it is q
light novel; few like to study-many
of them, in spite of their schooling,
never having really learned to study
and the vexatioas problem of how to
get through the hours, without some
new zest to an already jAded experience
and fresh FLIP to an already palsied
sensation. haunts them day by day.
A club of young women in Hartford.
Connecticut, have attempted to satisfy
this state of mind by series of novel,
If not picturesque, experiences. They
are known as the Saturday Morning
Club, and have of late been devoting
their leisure to thorough examination
and at least superficial mastery, ol
the industrial arts with which Con.
necticut abounds.
To this end they have, with compe.
tent instructors, visited all the princi.
pal manufactures in the city and
vicinity, made study of them. a1d
endeavored to SO far comprehend the
processes asl to gain an intelligent
notion of the method OF fabricatinp
articles, many OF which are strew n
about thea every day of their lives
They have visited thread mills and
learned how thread is made; Colts
pistol factory; the rifle mandatory
the works of the Gatling Gun Company
sewing machine shops; ak shops; car
pet factories; the making of books and
newspapers, and other ingenious, bu
common. manufactures.
Now while much of this will not be o
great practical use-although it is easy
to imagii young womans making &
better bargain in carpet for knowing
how it was made--yet it tends to slim
ulate their minds, and it affords
topics OF thought and talk su
perior certainly to the inordinat'
amount of attention given to dress, L
beaux, and to society gossip. The
precise mode adopted by the Hartford
young women is of course practica
only to : limited extent, but in many
places theie might be excellent substl
tutes for it, at once interesting an,
informing. = Detroit Free Press.