The Dickinson press., 1883-05-19
An American Girl Heard From.

From the Rural New Yorker.
1 am another one of those girls who,
like "Annie Winfrey," do not think
homework so very charming. If the
able writers who often take us for q SUBJ
ject would only say: "Get the girls in.
terested in housekeeping" l could agree
with them, for every girl should know
how TO keep and manage Il house.
Housekeeping means the management
of domestic affairs which acquire great
skill and Judgment; and while it may be
construed to mean a performance of
many household laoors it does not nee
essarily mean all the downright hard
work ola house. But, instead of house
keeping, they say; Get those girls in
terested in Homework" which means
ali the work of the house, washing, iron
ing, scrubbing, cleaning, cooking, etc,
and if we dare ever so family say we do
not like this work they glare at us with
open disapproval. Now, | think we
girls are greatly abused. If YOU choose
to look the country through ! do not be-
lieve you can find one girl in a thousand
sits down, leaving her mother to do the
work alone.
Yet the papers OF to-day TEEN with az
tlcles &C using lis of not working. You
can hardly find one of us who does not
do all in her power to tighten her moth
er's work, and we deserve more credit
than is given us for doing so mach that
is unpleasant. Not that louSework is
degrading, but hard and disagreeahle.
Still we do this wo:k willingly and cheer
fully because we con-ideri it our duty and
orn int r.Sin,] i'm prr I,t,,c, D., tl;c ~
tent, We know the work must be done
and it is our place 10 do il and more sat
isfaction is given when work is done
we'll tlan otherwise. This is not saying
that we like the endless round of house
work, and why should We: Why should
we like to soak our hands in dish-water
three times a day, steam ourselves Owe
Il WaSh-tub, srorch ourselves over the
ironing-table and roast ourselves Oyer Il
cook stove until iii faces are scarlet,
gradually deepening TO Il royal purple
a very beautiful color i'm its place but not
often admired in the face. Are we vain
because VIC do not like to do work that
makes our hands rough and faces
coarse? To say nothing of backaches
and weary limbs.
wonderlt there are many ONE who
can truthtully say they would rather do
homework than anything else:
To country girls llsllsework frequently
means, iii addition to the above, feeding
pigs and chickens, and sometimes even
milking the COWS, an always %@cttin9the
vegetables from the Garden, picking
berries and hundreds of other things
not thought of until they tam up to be
done. In Mrs. Annie l.. Jacks charm.
ing stories there is always at least one
servant to do the d%rudgery. | can see
how homework in tina; way could be
made very pleasant, but doing it alone
is a different thing. Perhaps not one OF
these writer's who take us to task so
often cver went into Il kitchen and did
the work week after week, year attcl
year, or they would not think it sc
strange that we dislike it. Since consid-
ering this subject | have taken some
pains to consult my girl friends who
know do q great deal of housework and
have not found one who says she likes
the work, Still does it conscientiously
and checrillly.
Ofcourse Ialnspeakingofpeople whose
circumstances make it necessary fol
their women to do the work. If one car
have plenty of servants | don't bla me
the girls for not going into the kitchen
There must be som" way OF learning II
keep house we'll and doing houseworl
in case of an emergency (slch az marry.
ing a poor NAM, without a lifetime o.
practical experience. There may be
some girls i'm poor circumstances who
let their mothers do the work in order
to preserve their w beauty Ent | an
sure they are few compared with tho
number of girls in the worll. These fea
are probably so hardened that no ad'
vice can touch them; therefore why lee
turc and scold us all so often when SC
few are the sinners and they evidently
beyond refor,np