Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-02-28
Practical Education.

Practical Education.
The following is an extract from
letter written by girl in celebrated
seminary in New York state;
"You know they fit us for life here
teach us French ceramics, music, and
homework. To-day took my first
real lesson in housework. Heretofore
] had had taste of it in being detailed
to pare apples for half an hour after
supper, To-day was called Off
that is, instead Of working regularly
after supper at the apple business, |
had to take another girls place after
dinner 1t was my first experience
with what the girls call the black
artillery and may it be my last The
black artillery you must know, are
great black iron steam kettles in which
they cook our meals. There are six Of
them. They are ugly looking watts.
They had been used for dinner, and Of
course, they had to be cleaned. l had
never seen the girls cleaning them, and
| hadn't the remotest idea Of how the
thing was done. I was too proud to
ask. So went to work with two mops,
an iron dishcloth, a dish towel, and
some soap. The things are so deep
that had to balance myself on their
rims. With heels waving in the air
every now and then I made frantic
dip at the bottom. The result of these
gymnastics was a smutted apron, a
sprained back, and very unsettled
temper. When had got through div
ing into the kettle l tried to regain my
equilibrium. Shades Of misery! my
luckless heel capszed great pail OF
dirty water used in cleaning the vat.
This brought the matron down on me
in the shake of a goats foot She
ordered me to mop it up instanter, and
not track around in it; and I was
actually forced to come down to the
indignity of moping up that dirty
greasy stuff. Topped around wildly
with the pail and mop for about twenty
minutes, but my spirit was broken. !
was ten minutes late for hall, having
worked like a slave for an hour and
half and got one kettle cleaned. Wild
horses couldn't have dragged me back
to attack the other five.
However, I have had two consola
lions. One is seventy-hve minutes
plus time. and the other is that l left
the pipe all stopped up with grease. I
had to ladle out every drop l put into
the kettle When they 60 to cook any
thing there'll be flood big enough to
float every one of the miserable things
off to Jericho One of the rules of the
institution is an enforced half hour Of
meditation in closet every afternoon.
! was in lovely mood for meditations
that afternoon. l don't think ever
spent more joyous thirty minutes.
1--WE have a house full of visitors,
among them young Englishman and
his wife, who have come on from India
to finish an education for missionary
life. They have been here about three
years. He expects to graduate from
Boston University in year more, and
then they will return to India. Mean
time, she will remain here partly as a
scholar and partly to learn how to con-
duct a girls school. It seem. 50
strange to have a married woman in
classes with us. She is thin little
creature with the worried, anxious,
deprecating face which all missionaries
wives seem to wear.
REV. Joseph Cook lectured here
about week ago. l never heard such
lecturing in my life. | was just COM
pletely spell-bound. The first thing he
said was: TO me Smith College,
Wellesley, and Vassar are sacred, but
this institution is simply divine. The
faculty were so dull of comprehension
that they thought he meant them, but
us girls knew better. He meant U.S.
didn't hoSn