The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-10-27
A NEW IDEA.
What is One oE the Greatest Curses OF
This intellectual Age.
From Hearth and Home.

What is One oE the Greatest Curses OF
This Intellectual age.
From Hearth and Home
One Of the greatest curses Of this
intellectual age is the great lack c.
L.oper 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 4 dry goods counter four
teen hours day for mere pittance-not
enough to clothe her-lose her health,
become an@mic aud untitled for the
performance of her natural duties,
rather than accept position as .
domestic, where she would have a
comfortable horne, good health and
become properly fitted for the duties
of a wife and mother. The ranks of
the unfortunate are 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 in wait for them as their
natural prey. How many young
women can trace their downfall to
this misplacement 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 house-keep-
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
economy, or is q poor cook. be her
husband as rich as CrGsus. ~ lot will
be miserable. Such a woman is totally
incompetent to be wife: her proper
place is in some garret singing the
song of the shirt" While man
admires womanlv beauty, yet in mar;
ried life he ad,nires much more a good
square meal, cooked by the hands OF
his wife or under her immediate direc-
tons. What We mean by q good
square meal is not simply roast beet
and potatoes, with 4 piece OF indiges-
tible pie and a cup Of ordinary coffee,
but a table cov""ed with snow-whlte
linen, the chi I'd glassware shin
ING like so mahy miniature mirrors,
with bouquets of fresh blooming flow
crs in season, and napkins soft and
fresh from the laundry, not stiff as
pasteboard. so that they will slide
from your knees. These preparations
cost but trife and are the invariabIe
precursor Of a good appetite. No
dish should be served undecorated, the
fish and meat should be surrounded
with small pieces Of either parsley OF
beets, carrots or turnips cut by molds
into various knick-knack devices, not
so much for eating as for ornamental
ton, and also as an appetizer. For
puddings, melons, ETC., pulveriZed
sugar should always be at hand, and
for iced tea a slice Or two Of lemon
with granulated sugar These and q
thousand and one other little things
we could mention concerning the
table, cost no more than the slovenly-
served, sppetite-destroying foods OF
the present time. Cleanliness of the
table should be coimportant with
cleanliness Of the body. Such q table
would never fail to make home the
abiding place Of true love and solid
comfort.
But as we have no schools for teach
ing the above art what are we to do:
Why not establish one, establish a
dozen, yes, and in every city and every
village. Have it school of practical
housekeeping. Instruct the pupils in
every department, from the scrubbing
of the front door steps to the myste-
ries of the kitchen. Run it actually as
boarding house. Issue diplomas OF
graduation to your servant pupils
after a two, three or four years course.
Have each pupil begin by learning the
most merial labor, aud by degrees
advancing until she is thoroughly
qualified IN every department. of the
scullery, 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 Colonel Sellers would
say, ssthere's millions in it." VIII
any of our readers take the hint? A
diploma from such an institution
would insure marriage, and what is
still better happiness in marriage.