The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1886-10-27
NEW IDEA.
What is One OF the Greatest Curses oil
This Intellectual Age.

What is One OF the Greatest Curses of
This Intellectual Age.
Prom Hearth and Home.
One OF the greatest curses of this
intellectual age is the great lack of
proper education of our girls in the
practical affairs of everyday life. They |
all want to be "schoolmarms," gov
~'ernesses or the wives of rich men.
Household work, which should form
the basic principle of OUr economic
life, is Stunned by them as something
degrading. a young woman will
stand behind q dry goods counter four
teen hours a day for a mere pittanCe-not
enough to clothc her-lose her health,
become anmmic and untitled for the
performance of her natural duties,
rather than accept Il position as a
domestic, where she would have n
become properly fitted for the duties
Of a wife and motncr. The ranks of
the unfortunate arc filled with shop
girls, who, having no place tC spend
their evenings, seek the parks and
beer gardens, where young men, as it
were, lie iii wait for them as their
natural prey, How many Young
women can trace their downfall to
this misplaccmcnt Of their talents:
Good dOmestics and wives who are
good cooks are so rare that when one
is found she is worth her weight in
gold.
We have schools in which our girls
are taught cooking, embroidery, music,
painting, school teaching, the Ian.
guages, but positively not one in
which is taught the art of housc-kecp-
ing. Why: simply because of the
prejudice against it. Yet all girls
desire to get married, which is very
easy TO do, but it is very, very diff
cult to live happily in marriage: and
where the wife has no knowledge of
the art of housekeeping, domestic
husband as rich as Crp>us, her lot will
be miserable. Such a woman is totally
incompetent to be a life: her proper
place is in some garrett ''singing the
song of the shirt While a man
admires womauly beauty, yet in mar
ried life ne admircs much more a good
square meal, cooked by the hands of
his wife or under her immediate dircc-
tons. That VIC mean By n good
square meal is not simply roast beef
and potatoes, with a piece Of indigcs-
tible pic and q cup ot ordinary coffee,
but q table covered with snow-whitc
linen, the china and glassware shin
ing like so many miniature mirrors,
with bouquets Of fresh blooming flow
crs in season, and napkins soft and
fresh from the laundry, not stiff rs
~pastcboard, 50 that they will slide
from your knees. These preparations
cost but Il tritle and arc the invariab!c
precursor Of q good appetite. No
dish should be served undcCoratcd, the
fish and meat should be surrounded
with small pieces Of either parsley or
bects, carrots or turnips cut by mOlds
into various kmick-knack devices, not
SO much for eating as for ornamental
ton, and also As an appetizer. For
puddlngs, melons, etc, ~pulvcrizcd
sugar should always be at hand, and
for iced tea a Slice or w Of lemon
with graduated sugar. These and a
thousand and one other little things
we could mention concerning the
table, cost no mog than the s%lovcnlv-
served, Notwithstanding foods of
the present time. Cleanliness Of tic
table should be coinportant with
cleanliness Of the body. Such a table
would never fail to make homo the
abiding place Of true love and solid
comfort.
But as we have no schools for teach
ing the above art what arc we to do?
Why not establish one, establish a
dozen, yes, and in every city and every
village. Have it a school of practical
housekeeping. Instruct the pupils in
every department, from the ~scrubDing
of the front door steps to the mvstc-
RIGS Of the Kitchen. Run it actually as
q boarding house. Issue diplomas OF
graduation to your servant pupils
after q two, three or four years course.
Have each pupil begin by learning the
most mental labor, and by degrees
advancing until She is thoroughly
qualified in every department Of the
scnllcry, chamber, laundry and kitchen.
Have her TO do practical work, not
work in theory. Take in boarders,
charge good prices, give first.class
service, and as COlOncl Sellers would
say, "thcrc's millions in it, Will
any of our readers take the hint? A
diploma from such an institution
would insure marriage, and what is
still better happiness in marriage.