Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-04-07
THE GIRL OF THE PERIOD.


educators are discussing the girl OF
the future" If they will study the
girl of the past as represented by
our grandmothers, they will find a
truthful solution that will make an
easy problem out of the question of
what the present and future girl.
should be. As long as the inward
and outward man do not change,
the qualifications of the wife must
necessarily BIZ the same, as human
nature is ever the same. These
qualifications are simple. The law
and the prophets OF domestic happi
ness and the welfare Of the human
race, depend upon the knowledge of
handling baby and managing a
stove. That is putting it more plainly
than scientifically. Managing stove
includes the perfection of home COM
forts and social attachments. Hand
ling a baby includes the precious
gifts of a mother, the admirable pos
sessions of a wife, and the highest
accomplishments OF lady. The
mothers of the past were that and
nothing more.~ The artificial and
superficial qualifications Of the girl
of the present neglect or rcpndiate
these essentials and substitute par.
Tor ornamentation, science in dress
and the classics in department and
accomplishment, but they can't or
wont handle a baby or manage
stove. The consequence is shabby
aristocracy, genteel poverty,-mort.
gage, bankruptcy, domestic confu.
ion,-divorce. Ladies'" are rs
plenty as grasshoppers in Kansas
grass patch, but cooks, honsekeep-
ers, nurses,-they are not to be had |
for love or money. One of the caus-
es is, that housewives know too lit
tie of housekeeping and presume to
know too much. The girl of the per.
iod can't be kept in kitchen slavery
When she IS the peer of the lady of
the house in the knowledge of house.
keeping. Therefore they go to the
shops and factories, rather than to
the pantry or the nursery. Another
reason is that too mach shoddy arts.
tocracy has corrupted the working
girl; she has her wits about her and
when she finds that the quality is
simply family varnish and down.
town credit, she sets up shop for
herself" and the girl who "was
your niger last year" takes a
neighboring parlor and soon aspires
to be your peer. Many OF the TRACE.
dies enacted in domestic life that
find their way into the divorce and
criminal courts, have theis origin in
cherries ENTHUSIASTICALLY managed
stoves and poorly provided tables, -
and their sequels in gilded parlors.
The girl of the period should CON-
bine what was good and useful in
the girl Of the past with what is
grand and noble IN the girl of the
future. The GROWING point
woRK-must be restored.
These criticisms apply to the ten.
dency of the age in the education Of
young ladies. The fond mother is
at fault when she raises her girls
better than she was raised and her
mother before here. The dangers
of girlhood are the dangers of
womanhood,- to live an easy life
and shine in Observation-Disclosures
that is not warranted by the times,
in which it is so difficult to make
more than an honest living. Many
fathers of family work hard year in
and year out, and do not get further
ahead, but slowly lose ground until
their credit and reputation are gone.
The girl of the period is best raised
and most accomplished who graces
the pantry,-the wash.honse,-and
the bake-house,-as creditably as
she does the parlor window or the
drawing-room. She is a grander
lady if she is as good as her mother
than if she is BETTER.
There is great need OF HELP,-not
to paint anc powder, not to put on
ill-ftting airs and disgusting aztec.
tation,-but HELP for mother and
help for farther,-to cook and bake
and wash and take care of the chill.
dren. This is practical age of ne.
cessity and demand, and their COM
mand is higher than tashion,-the
divine command itself to LABOR.
A good girl is a treasure to any
family; is priced as friend and
companion, and stands as high in
her sphere as the best birth or blood
good girls are sought for their valne
and usefulness,-a premium over
wealth or station. The average man
is lost if he marries the average girl
of the period; to get along these
days he must have a HELPMATE;