Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1886-03-18
A Model American Girl,

The American girl that is being inn
mortalized in serial and novelette, for
future generations to admire or censure
does not represent the model of the ma
Jority. Fifty years hence the girl of the
present period will live in the pages OF
literature as a witty, vivacious, dressy,
self-possessed, extravaganza being, whom
the undercurrent of conversation will
then lower to the descriptive terms OF
pert, saucy, vain, rude and wasteful.
Children will look with distrust upon
their grandmothers and great aunts as
the girls who once snubbed youn ger
brothers and sisters, and condemned
their mothers as being behind the times,
while they took the lead in household
customs and society affairs Our En-
glish cousins now look upon our good
girls as fair barbarians,n bold, over
dressed, presumptuous creatures, yet
marvelously sweet and attractive Such
individual descriptions do injustice to
the average, for throughout our rural dis
stricts and country towns hundreds of
girls may be pointed out who are modest
and intelligent, industrious and econom-
lcal Many of them are self-supporting,
and put more energy in weeks work
than some of their critics use in whole
year.
Let me give you pen picture OF one
of my acquaintance. She is well edu-
Gated, sweet-tempered girl of nineteen
years; is very domestic, and lifts quite d
burden from her mothers shoulders by
her assistance in homework and enter
tanning company. She teaches eight
months of the year in the public school
of their little village, and, having
learned dressmaking, employs the va
cation in doing the family sewing. She
is bright example of sisterly devotion
and filial affection. In all matters of
society she shows a daughterly defer
ence to her mothers opinions. She
teaches in the Sabbath school, and is
an enthusiastic member of society for
literary culture. She can not play, but
considers it no disgrace; and her course
OF general reading and her natural con-
versational powers quite overshadow the
lack of this accomplishment.
This brief sketch is not overdrawn in
any particular, and 1 might give scores
of similar examples of self-sacrifcing
girls, who, by teaching, clerking, book
keeping, dress-making, telegraphy and
like employments, are earning enough
to take them through college, pay off
mortgages on fathers farm, or support
a widowed mother; and yet, if these
girls were suddenly to acquire wealth,
their characters would still retain the
sweet pearl of humanity and the orna-
ment of a meek and quiet spirit.
There is a great deal of unjust raillery
in regard to the idleness of the girls of
the present day. Their grandmothers
and great-grandmother are pictured as
patterns of industry, and of course they
did excel our young ladies in the execu-
ton of hard, physical labor But in
comparing this with the vast amount OF
social demands and mental discipline
which our bright, ambitious girls are ex-
pected to meet, we find that their vim
and spirit is equal to that of their an
cestors, though manifested in differ
ent direction; and when we contemplate
the overwhelming burden of advice
that is poured upon them through the
channel of books and magazines, il
seems that they ought to be models o.
physical strength and beauty, perfectly
familiar with rules of society etiquette
and well acquainted with all modern
feminine accomplishments. We are
glad that they are willing to accept al
the counsel they can profitably use. anC
that they are keeping step with the
march of progress and improvement
God bless our brave, self-reliant, Chris
tan girls.-Cor. IN Rstrol NeeO Yorker