Bismarck weekly tribune., 1889-12-27
OUR LOST GIRLS.

A Mother Sadly Regrets That She Cannot
Have the Training of Her Daughter.
There has been no mysterious disappear
ance, neither have they wandered from the
path of rectitude; they fit in and out of our
homes, these bright, sweet, good girls, but
we have nearly lost them, and the sense Of
loss increases every day. When they nestled
in our arms, and we cared for them so ten
derly during the years of helpless infancy
and development from babyhood into young
girlhood, we thought we could keep them till
that far off time when they should leave
home to seek educational advantages or enter
upon the worlds work.
But, alas! just as our daughters are enter
ing their teens, or before, we discover that
we have lost them. Where have they gone?
We rub our eyes, partly to brush away the
tears, and partly to convince ourselves that
we are not dreaming. It is fact that the
average girl is restless unless she can visit or
receive visits from some young lady friend
most of the time. The result is that the
household tasks, if she is so fortunate as to
have any, are hurried throughwith unseemly
haste, to the end that she may leave home as
soon as possible The presence Of other girls
during these tasks only adds to the haste and
carelessness of their performance, leaving
very little opportunity for quiet attention to
home duties
A mother said to me not long since: "Oh,
part of the timel have no opportunity for
quietly training her or cultivating her com
panionship."
Every judicious mother may be able to do
for her daughters before they are fifteen what
l.n< %o,,
Sympathetic companionship; little seeds of
counsel dropped wisely here and there; a
knowledge of what the girls are thinking
about and what they are interested in; a wise
ignoring of some girlish follies-all these are
needed, but cannot be secured unless the girls
spend considerable time at home, in the
society of their own family circle Our homes
should not be simply boarding houses where
our children eat and sleep, but dwelling
places where they are tospend most of their
time out of school hours.
Of course, girls should be allowed to enjoy
much freedom of outdoor life, which is es-
sential to health as well as happiness. They
should be permitted to cultivate, within suit
able limits, friendships with each other that
often deepen and broaden into a lifelong bless
ing Staying at home as a rule, and visiting
as an exception, Will not lntertere with these
social advantages.
The habit of being able to enjoy ones own
society occasionally is a valuable one; per-
son who cannot do this will always carry q
restless spirit, thereby losing that quiet
strength of character which every woman is
sure to need in the varied experiences that
make up her life.
"What is mother for2" was asked. .of one
who shrank little from the labor and anx
iety of training half grown daughter. Per
haps if all mothers would ask themselves this
question, their mission and duty would bt
more clearly defined in their own minds The
years speed by so rapidly that we cannot af
ford to lose our dear girls before we must
and they cannot afford to lose mother
companionship and training during the criti
cal years of early girlhood J. g. Fraser
in Congregationalist.