Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1884-10-02


Te were asked lately to join in n raf-
le for ! crazy guilt nnade up OF nine
shonsznd scraps of silk and satin set
together with much ingenuity Of design
ard niccness Of stitching. To the
maker and- her friends il appeared a
monumental labor Of taste, industry
and artistic talent. To us il stood for
\ misdirected energy and perseverance
too common among woman If IL cost
but ssn minutes to add one scraD 10 an
OtheT-an allowance far too small-the
I quilt represented an outlay Of fifteen
/ hundred hours, one hundred and rwen-
ty-iivc working days OF twelre solid
hours each. or one hour day for more
than four years
What might not this industrious
I young woman have accomplished in
that me- II she really cared for dec
orative Art. fifteen hundred hours OF
close study and practice would have
developed an admirable and remnnerat-
i've skill in embroidery or painting.
They would have sufliced for the acqui-
sitinn of n modern language. a sound
knowledge OF history. poetry. litera-
ture, art. music They might have bcca
exchanged for the important science of
housekeeping and kitchen chemistry.
Devoted to educational work, their
helpful influence ooalI not be reckoned.
The crsze for decorative art has
wrought certain definite misch;efs with
much good One harm Is that busy
idlcueSs has been made % seem imDrOY-
ing. Cross-stitch dogs with bead eyos
on rags. and parrots in high relief on
lamp mats. are now Is: netly recOg-
nized and stunned as survivors of =
'-chromO civilization '-wasters Of time
and sIayers Of taste. But The makers
Of kensing'on-stitch table cloth borders,
Holbein towel ends decorative
wastc-baskets, pen-wipcrs, Iat-iron
covers. lamp shades. and s.crav patch
work. seem to have eaten Of the insane
root that axes the reason prisoner.
Their countless stitches and ugly in
genuity appear 20 them the lit express
sion OF aesthetic instincts. and they give
thanks that they live in the cultivated
age which ornaments its whisk-brOom
holders Raphael and Leonardo would
never have thought of that.
II Is the chef misfortune and li1nifa-
ton Of women that their aims are petty.
When these are conscientiOusiy petty.
as in the misguided struggle for decora-
ton. it IS naturally diiiicalt to sabsi;-
tute larger ones. The cumulative
teaching Of all time having beer that
women shoIld be satisfied with patch
work. mental. moral and manual. il Is
perhaps unreasonable to expect them 10
repudiate II. But aost women have
ambitions. if not aspirations. And
most women need 10 b. rem n led that
the time they daily industrioaslv waste
would do fCr them what il does for men
conquer new worlds.
Last winter great historian died.
His last book. The Conquest of En- I
gland. was published after his death.
For years he had been struggling for /
life enough to finish the great work he /
had planned to do. He seized every
Of momenta-y strength. OF 4
relaxation from pain. to write. HIS I
preceding volume. The Making OF En- |
gland. lad been s~ritten in the shadow I
OF death His wife SAYS. in her tender 4
preiace. that Il was the opinion Of his 1
that life was prolonged from 4
day TO day, throughout that sime. 4
'-ooly By the astonishing force OF his 4
own VIII. BY the cOnstancy \ resolve /
that lad wholly set aside all personal \
aims. L was only when the pen fell
from his exhausted hand that lie said:
Il am weary; / can do 10 more"
with such sustained zeal. such eager
was his work done,
hat macn OF it was WHOLLY rewritten
five times" The books themselves are
II profound interest, admirable in mat
ter and in manner. But no tale in them
Is more heroic than the patient. per-
sis.ent toll that achieved them, IN
spite Of suffering. weakness and natural
s0rrow.
They who that civilization waits
IOr the advancement OF women en;reat
Ihem iC prefer tie intellectual lie. But
his does not imply constant comnaa-
OnShip with books. II was 4 wise and
good saying that .'the essence of intel
ecsual living lies not 50 much in ext Mt
lf knowledge or in perfection Of ex-
preston as ia the constant preference
1f higher thoughts over lower The
patient student and historian John
Richard Green may stand for ono class,
ne patient c9ntriyer and piccer of the
cray Guilt for the other. II Is not
ii-h qualities that women lack; il is
high directiOns.-Harper's Bas1r.