Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-03-31

girls DO :? IL seems to be Kind OF tacit un.
derstsnding that they will Asy mere do
nothines Their great work sppears 10 be
simply to walt I'LL somebody comes along
and marries them-or to 90 a. far 70 meet,
or TO find, that somebody as the rules OF
propriety permit.
Tho thought never seems 10 enter the
parents head, and OF course not the girls,
that thore IL just bare possibility Of being
left, and not being married st all, probably
through no fault OF their own, but Just
through the perversity Of circumstances ("
What then What else but to keep on
through life being supported by the parents,
or dependent upon the semi.chsYity Of
nephews or nieces, or some other relative !;
unless indeed forced by circumstances, or
constrained by the spirit Of independ dence, To
take up heslavish drudgery Of saleswomen
or something OF that kind.
IL is true within comparatively recent
times tho sphere OF womans occup patton, /
mean occupation for the sake OF making Q
living, has been greatly enlarged. Various
clerkships have been opsned to her, stem
ography, bookkeeping, telegrsphy, aud
similar work, but It Is all OF q kind that
moro or less detrscts from true woman's
dignity and seli-respect II for no other
reason than this, that she has to do 1t for
less pay than man would got, she Is rated
Inferior to man on the scale OF pr .ces, even
though his superior In that of actus, accom-.
plishment And besides, all such work
Implies more or loss sacrifice OF personal in
dependence, that is even more ifksome to
woman than q man,
Leaving anph
question, however, IL 1t not q gross and rad,
ical defect in our prevalent modes Of female
education, indeed In our whole wsy of
thinking about and treating woman, that
does not accord TO her, what Is not only a
great doom Itself, but Also think, an i'm
portant element In the doyelopment nj
human character, the couscionsness NJ
being able 10 do at least some one useful
thing thoroughly we'll? 1t is not wholly
the iault OF the sex. This IL shown by ~
Iact tnat nearly every girl and woc me
want TO and enjoy excelliDg jp r. man does
Inc trouble is that cusioSo Ola something.
things in y'.s. Myrs oompsrssiVeIy M i,eey iss iaw
exoeirsr e rhich It Is allowable for her to
nh y h!id thase few for the most part either
c an inferior, trivial character, or at least
mainly Of little or no practical use In the
world. In these days, for example, when
tuO pnhOis COAicStiOHCi Wuu EtbtAuIht6uTs
bring us ail we need OF food right to our
doors, is no longer strictly necessary, or
at least not deemed so, for piri to be q
thorough baker and cook. Nor IL skill In
plain, that il strictly useful sewlpg, con-
sidered an essential, to say nothing OF the
other accomplishments that go TO constitute
| q drsss-maker. Consequently even these
fundamentals OF simple housek keeping are
| neglected almost wholly in the training OF
girls, and instead they learn TO play on the
| piano, To paint, do clancy work" with the
| needle, and hundred other things, good
In themselves, but ridiculous " made to
| constitute the whole or the main part OF any
| ones education.
| 1 maintain that this Is harmful to the
character, and an injustice to woman. by
making her busy herself only or chiefly
With mere triviaiiiies she must become
trivial hersel. She must lose In grea
| degree that sense OF the dignity and
seriousness OF human life without which
the character itself becomes undigpit ed
and shallow, without which 1t must lose tts
self-respect.
OF course l don't mean to say that oul
public schools should teach the trades and
professions. IL they teach them 10 boys,
do think they ought In common justice
/
that they should teach them to neither. II
| Ia their function not so much to train for
| specific performances ~ to develop capacity
anil ability In general not to build the
superstructure, but lay the foundations.
| Tho after. building must be done by each
individual himself out of the material fur
| ntshed by experience and circumstance ces.
lndeed II can DO done in no other way.
Now the trouble Is that even II tolerable
| foundations are laid, custom aud popular
sentiment give little opportunity and nc
encouragement to girls to build anything
OF real and practical worth on them. Boys
are expected to and usually do choose some
one trade or profession OF which to become
masters; some mode of work which,
whether they need 1t or not, yet shall make
them competent to gain a livelihood, and
| 80 far make them independent and self
respecting. But glrls,-well, AZ l SAID
before, they are expected 10 and do maiTly
| wait, and OF course try to make the tiD.e oil
waiting as short as possible.
| Perhaps this is all right, / M san the
waiting at least l shsli not ispute 1t here
But do think that, while they are wait
Ing, they might aud should also 10 some.
thing like what boys are expected to do
that Is, they should master some one form
at least OF useful, practical work. dom
mean only that they should learn a it'll.
| about this or that, little baking, q little
cooking, little sewing, or, II you please. q
little painting, music, type-writing, 40.
but that they should select at least one such
| kind OF work and try to thoroughly master
II, make themselves perfect In IL, try TO bt
able te 90 II. not only a. we'll as Others, but
| To 40 1t better than others. For II Is Onl5
| the sense OF mastery over something that
gives the highest selt-respect and the sense
OF real independence. And it Is only ths
which we eau do better than most
others that We can ever make 9
paying occupation, and means OF
seif-support And 30, too. are very few
things by which, five really excel in them
we cannot when necessary maze living.
l know the fashion now-s.dsys 10 rather In
| the direction OF learning q little OF every
thing, and not much OF anything. But thai
Is only superficial current The real, deer
tide OF tendency IL ust the opposite, towards
the constant differentiation OF occupatio ms,
towards specislism, II 1t may be called so.
The person who can do one thing thor
oughly well In the struggle for exist
ence, Is the superior OF him who can do a
little OF q dozsn things, but Is master Of
none.
This whole line Of rt flection was started
in my mind by recently reading modest
little book written by Mrs Catharint
Owens and published by Messrs. Hough
ton, MiiilIn II Co., OF Boston, under the
suggestive title OF "Gentie Bread " inners
the Story OF One OF Them" Merely as
story 1t Is capital, instructive and entertain a.
ing from the first to the last page, q book
every right minded and pure hearted
young lady must enjoy. And this In spite
| OF the fact that II is q "story with q pur
pose" The purpose OF It Is to prove
| and illustrate the worry point which
1 have lust tried To make tho necessIt Y