Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-08-23
WOMAN'S DEPARTMENT.
FRESH FIELDS.

this city does the difficult question arse
-@''what shall this daughter Of ours do?
Shall we keep her at home with no
other prospect before her but a possi-
Bile marriage, which may not come at
all, and may be unfortunate anyway;
or shall we teach her some independ-
ent method of gaining her livelihood,
which should not of itself, in the pres
ent state of popular opinion, prevent
her from marrying any right-thinking
man; and if so, what avocation is the
best of those open to her?" This ques-
tion is being rendered more easy of So
luton every year, not so much by any
change in the abilities or disposition OF
the girls of this generation from those
of the last, as by the Overwhelming
field of wage-earning which now pre-
sents itself TO womankind
Some OF these new paths are curious
ones, too, as Tribune reporter discov-
cred the other day. "Who's the Co
in your frln?" he asked of a real
estate agent, an old acquaintance, on
whose sign he noticed the recent addi-
tion. why" was the laughing reply,
81 don't think I've told anybody yet,
but there's no reason why | shouldn't.
The Co is no other than my wife. It's
her own idea and | scoffed at it at first,
but she really has brought in some
good business and has shown more apt
itude thar | for some parts of my Old
business. am coming to think that u
clever woman is especially fitted to let
out or secure desirable tenants for fur
nished flats or houses 1t is the woman,
you know, nine times out OF ten, who
rents the house anyway, and the best
person to bring out the advantages of q
house, or to size up desirable ten
ant. is a clever woman. Then again,
if she has an extended acquaintance,
she can find out long in advance what
families intend to move, and when, and
by keeping her ears and eyes open, can
turn the dreary round of social calling
to great pccuniary advantage"
Another portal that is being opened
to girls is the door of the drugstore.
"If had an application for an appren-
ticeship from smart, neat young wo-
man, whose parents / knew said an
Eighth avenue druggist to the reporter,
in answer to a leading question, 81
should be glad to take her behind my
counter and teach her the business.
am sure she would do better than plenty
of the young fellows we have to take,
and she would find the preparation OF
doctors prescriptions exactly suited to
her abilities. Such work requires deft-
ness and carefulness, and has as little OF
the disagreeable about it as any other
business, and is fairly remunerative.
Her good taste would have plenty Of
scope in arranging the pretty things we
sell in addition to drugs, and plenty oil
our female customers, am sure, would
often prefer women to wait upon them
For girls who aspire higher than this,
medicine presents more and more at
tractlve field. Twenty-Five years age
a woman doctor was stared at as some
abnormal growth of civilization, not one
male physician in five hundred would
consult with her, no medical society adj
mitted her to membership; but since
DR.. Elizabeth Blackwell opened hcl
Office in New York in 1851, the path ha:
grown steadily more smooth and
straight, ELL now there are more thar
one hundred practicing female physi
clans in New York and the adjacent
cities. Some of the best medical schools
are open to her, her worth is recog
nized, and the profession offers, per
haps, the best opportunity of any to al
educated woman for usefulness ani
moRey-making. Fer others who eal
not compass the expense incident ol
attaining u degree in medicine, there i
that beautiful profession, not yet filed
though many are already in it, of tn
trained nurse. Two or three years 0
study and training and hard work vii
establish for sensible, healthy cir
in this line, n regular clientage that vii
insure her a respectable living, wit
less anxiety, hard work and privatiol
! than falls to the lot of thousands G
actresses.
Speaking of actresses, the wonde
never ceases that so many girls stan
continually and beg before the locke
doors of this profession. Not that tn
doors are locked in any but a metz
t ph.rical sense. Almost any girl ca
+ Get chance to try her hand at tn
| stage in one capacity or another, but s
many and so great are the obstacles
+, the way of any success when on it, th'
l much of their honest but misguided e
: fort would be ludicrous if it were not $
pathetic 1t is the same way with lite
e ature. Numbers of women waste tim,
Q money and the brains they have, wri
/? ing stories and poems of perhaps IN
: dunn merit, but absolutely wor;hle
/. from a marketable point of view, az
n think themselves unjustly treated b
g cause publishers VIII not pay for ther
= when like perseverance and energy in
more prosaic but less crowded callir
q would insure them satisfactory r
9 turns
% For the less ambitious class OF wom'
q who must be self-sustaining, sewing h
,, long been the old standby, but Il
;, slavish toll and pitiful pay in come
ton with most of it makes the high
branches of it alone attractive.
these branches millinery is one, and
= novel method of following the pursuit
now coming into vogue. Skillful m
: liners are now beginning TO go out
work bv the day at the houses OF ths
{, customers. A girl OF good taste a
- skin can in this way easily comma
y FIVE dollars day and get more We