St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-09

y
lady who named her dog "Perchance.
The young lady in question was the
| poSseSSor of a s'sWeif' pup. Having
finished spasmodic reading of "Childe
Harold" she determined to quietly i'm
| part the fact of her familiarity with the
| poem by christening her swell Quadru-
ped "Perchance." Some one making
| inquiry as to the origin of the name, she
| drew herself up in all her literary
grandeur and patronizingiy replied:
why, don't you remember Chiide
Harold's dog Perehanee, referred to in
| that perfectly sweet stanza
"Perchance my dog will whirl in vain
Till fed by stranger hands
And long ere | come back again
| He'd tear me where he stands.
Bryon must have smiled, though
| it were grave smile, in appreciation of
| the very high compliment. Think you
! the young woman who read "Childe
| Harold" with such result was more
| cultured OF we'll read when she closed
| the book than when she opened it,
| She had learned about as much of the
| beauties of "Childe Harold; as one of
| our ambitious linguists with whom we
| are all acquainted) knows of the beau
| ties and intrcacies of the German
| language. This young lady is always
! seen with her German grammar under
her arm hurrying to her German lesson.
| No one ever having heard of her really
| taking lesson, we are forced to smile
and surmise that her teacher awaits her
| at some point quite as mythical as the
horizon. We cannot learn German by
! carrying q grammar under our arm. or
become well read by rushing frantic
ally through books, while dreaming OF
the pleasures of last nights party.
| Ii young women wish to become ac-
| cOmpliShed and interestingly literary,
| they must be willing to deny themselves
| some of the sweets of life, and learn
| first and foremost to read intelligently.
We hear a great deal about clubs for
| the exercise of ones feet, societies for
| the furthering of charitable objects, all
| Of which should certainly receive the
| praise and communication which are
| their due. Must they exist to the eX-
| ciusiOn of clubs for the exercise of
| ones mind, for the requirement OF some
| literary adornment? Girls who have
| been so fortunate as to gain, either by
| study or travel, a knowledge of some
| foreign language, should cultivate the
means of preserving, that knowledge.
| German clubs, French clubs, exist in
| social as well as literary pleasure. Can
| they not exist in st. Paul? Ii society
| girls find time to meet once week for
| sewing, why can they not find time TO
| meet occasionally for reading, ana,
while bowling and scraping before the
| enthrOned Society, pay some tribute to
! the goddess Literature, acknowledging
that without her gifts they can never
| rise TO the standard Of an ideal woman.
Remember "tempus fugit;" it will
| not be long before the girl who may
manage to drift through society a brain
! less know-nothing, will find herself &.
! sooner or later, q responsible mother.
Will she who has made such poor use OF
her own mind be a capable tutor of the
infant intellect entrusted to her care?
Though she may not be able to reach
the heights to which the tree may soar,
it viii be her own fault if she cannot
incline the tWig in the right direction.
Who but herself will she be able to
blame if some day she finds herself the
mother of an irreligious, blaSphemous
son, when she had no more knowledge
Of the religion in which she Strove to
bring him up than lady who gave as
her reason for being an Episcopalian
that "Franky was getting old enough
to go to church, now; he must be
brought up in some religion. and on
the very coolest days st. Johns church
| was kept so comfortably warm"' On
most of the subjects of life women may
allow men to think for them; in such
cases let men do the thinking, but
woman should not become so incapable
OF Thought that when the emergency
arises she will find her brain completely
out Of order.
Should st. Paul young women wake
10 the realization that they 40 not
breathe the intellectual atmosphere of
which they are capable, and as means
of climbing to higher eminences,
organize some sort Of literary club, l
trust they will not soar Immediately to
the heights of Mont Blanc, but remem-
Der there are other mountains from
which they may gaze into literary fields
and the altitude of which WILDE for
them far more healthy. add this word
Of injunction, for well remember the
young women of another city. waking
from an intellectual Stupor, with I'M
curbed ambition, tlocked around young
| philosopher, enthusiastically begging
| him to give them course of lectures in
| philosophy. He unwisely yielded to
! their entreates. and before very long
the time-hOnored topic Of the weather
was obliged to abdicate in favor of dis
There" and the "W hichness of the
What" May common sense never so
| far fOrSake our young women! | beg,
| however, that they will consider the
| business of my observations, and, by
| whatever means they may see fit to
| adopt, raise the intellectual standard of
| our society girl.
| 1t is amidst our society girls that we
| find the translator of the German story.
"Our Little World" q translation which
! bears testimony of the thorough knowl-
| edge of the German language possessed
! by one of our number. Ii was again a
| society girl that wrote the sparkling
| little parlor play, IA PerpleXed Romeo"
! presented at the residence of Mrs. Ba-
| con last July. To such young women
as these appeal, women whose cult
| waited minds and Womanly accomplish
ments not only give them right to dis
| tinctiOn in literary circles, but lend to
| them an additional ulster III the domain
! of society.
Select impartialy from the social
kingdom those whose literary attain
ments raise them intellectually above
their fair sisters. Have you not names
never absent from society listso There
by it is clearly proven that society and
literature, instead of waging war with
each other, should adopt the principles
of free trade, and allow their respective
subjects to enrich themselves with an
exchange of their respective gifts.
If our young women would refuse to
give society all their time, and spend
| some hours in the purchase OF literary
| culture, the day would not he far dis
tant when st. Paul, proud of the intel
lectual standard adopted by her society
leaders, would bow i'll gratitude before
LITERATURE" whose valuable gifts
would have made of her fair bellies ac-
complished society girls, capable OF be-
coming loving, sympathetic wives, yir-
tuous and responsible mothers.
! CONJUNCTION.
| GENERAL SOCIAL,