Huntsville gazette., 1892-12-31
IN WOMAN'S BEHALF.
THE AMERICAN GIRL.

cussion at the women's headquarters in
Mechanics building the other morning.
A large audience had gathered in the
cozy section of the great gallery. when
Mrs. Ellen A. Richardson introduced
Mrs Kate Tannatt Woods, after briefly
outlining the previous talks given dur
ing the fair, showing the advancement
of women, mot only is there a call for
skilled laborers in every direction"
said she, ''but earnest work is tails
man WIZ ;ch has power to convert the
thoughtless, foolish trifier into the
serious, reliable woman"
Mrs. Woods paper was in part as fol-
lows: ''The average girl of to-day is a
fountain of ideas; she sees for herself,
thinks her own thoughts and expresses
herself in concise and terse English.
never for moment believed in the pos
sibility of Daisy Miller until met her
in a foreign land, and even then the
type was SO scarce and the style SO un-
usual that her own country women were
quite as much surprised by her as were
her foreign cousins Ever since such
weakling types and abnormal girls were
first made conspicuous in fashionable
novels, l have looked for them up and
down the land. AS yet l have never
been able to discover these namby-
pamby, sentimental, weak-minded girls,
who utter society nothings and talk
nonsense with all the glibness of we'll
this type of girl in America is in the
minority, and a very small minority at
that.
''Our departments at Washington are
filled with noble women whose social
records have been the delight of the
fashionable world; and it is tribute
not only to America, but to all woman
hood, that these sharp reverses are
borne without murmur. Financial
failure frequently shipwrecks man,
but the American woman seizes the
oars and beats on against wind and
tide In all the wide world our woman
has no peer. She may be frivolous at
sixteen. but later years finds her
faithful wife and mother, with queen
ly soul, who sees on heights beyond
more work to do
lie dll-dTOuuu hIucTlCdu SlIl Ii IC-
spectful and obedient She never pre-
tends to dictate to her elders, to criti-
cize her mothers dress, speech or ac-
quirements. 1t is enough that she is
her mother and therefore sacred. She
believes devoutly in the gospel of good
health, and knows it can never be found
by indulgence in late hours, exposure
=, d,,orc ~. Nv, ;Yrorr,,l,r diat Che pouoY
talks of her nerves She is cheerful by
nature; thoughtful because it is her
duty to think of others before herself;
unselfish on principle, and industrious
because work is divine law and the
entire creation resounds with the an
them of labor. She conquers great
things by being attentive to little ones
She does not boast of her ignorance
concerning domestic science, because it
is not only a duty but a pleasure to
keep the human machine in order, if
we would use it perfectly and harmo-
niously. She 'looketh well to the ways
of her household or her mothers until
she has one of her own. She is truth
full because it is right to be so. She is
modest; neither too shy nor overbold.
1t is her place to hold the standard of
womanly dignity high, otherwise men
would never do so for her. All her
studies, works, amusements and aims
tend to develop the womanly power
which is daily becoming greater force
in the world. She recognizes even in
her youth that character building must
begin with the individual, and work out
ward and upward through the family
relation into national strength.
'.The all-around girl is always a
'mother-gir for even when bereft and
feeling what Mrs, Browning describes
as the mother want about the world,
she generally creeps into some good
womans heart and profits through her
experience and loving counsel She is
affectionate, for love in one form or
another moves the world, and there
never was woman SO strong and so
self-poised as to do without the loving
tenderness of some loyal heart. She is
never fiirt or coquette who makes a
pretensc of love. She is genial, kind,
witty and vivacious, but she draws the
line sharply between sportive jest
and mocl1ing of things sacred. Wom-
anly honor is safe in her hands: she is
perfectly happy in her home, useful,
Joyous and helpful, without the COM
panionship, if need be, of the other sex.
She never longs to be a man, for she
knows it is the grandest thing in the
world to be a good woman. She never
depreciates or denounces men. for she
fully comprehends the fact that if clear
headed and noble-hearted they are her
best helpers Louise Alcott once said
to me: 1T takes three women to carry
one man from the cradle to the grave
his mother, the mother who raised a
wife for him and the wife / replied
that it needed four in most cases, since
daughters so often do loyal service for
fathers.
..The all-around girl is repelled by
untrue men; her instincts OF self-pro-
lection are a great safeguard, and she
does not permit sentiment to outstrip
reason. The woman's temple at Chica-
60 is a monument to her skill, tact,
business ability and perseverance. The
men who scoffed at the plan now ad-
A. ,v,I a