St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-02-22
SAINT PAUL.
FROM UNDER AN UMBRELLA

that wheh YOU unfurled it in the seclu-
sion of the garnet those old, rainy days,
you Wondered what manner of,men they
were who carried it. You thought of
Goliath of Gath, and believed the lines
in your Sunday reading, half-doubted
before, 'there were giants iii those
days" Compare the clumsy thing with
the light balloon frame" covered with
silk, with which you take your walks
abroad these days, and be thankful, it
you are not a gianteSS.
But you have been reading DR.. Saw
ages sermon on the perennial servant
girl question Sunday, and have made
good resolves and are in pious frame
of mind, and recall DR.. Watts hymn,
set you as Sunday task in those old
days
when e'er take my walks abroad,
How many poor see,
and are moved to new desire to do
more for these sufferers, till you try TO
find some one who will be willing to do
days washing in return for one of the
big round dollars of the realm. Alas,
your search is often in vain; or, per-
chance, you find a woman guiitlesS of
knowledge of the English language,
who promises to come to your help by
all her gods; OF at least that is the inter-
probation you put on her solemn voice
and uplIfted hands and eyes, and you
put your truStin her and are likely to
be deceived. The morning comes. The
clothes are gathered up. The water is
hot, soap, starch, tubs and wringer are
ready, but no ''lady from over the
Rhine" puts in an appearance. The
hours pass. Your lips, as you ponder
on the deceitfulnesS of women, close
tighter and tighter; the children speak
In whispers; the cat, doubling the sta
bility of the domestic sky, HES
her to the shelter and comfort
Of the furnace pipes, and all is
expectation, but no washwoman ap-
pearson happier day; the lady from
Norway comes, sees, and washes. You
are full of smiles and, when she has
finished, give her your cherished dollar
with a guSh of gratitude; but. alas !!
when you take those clothes down from
the line your gorge rises, as one after
another you recognize the same old
spots that married their purity before
the waShwoman came.
Perhaps, worn out with searching,
you decide that this woman is sample
of her class and will do as well as any
of them if you will only speak to her
about it; and when she comes again
you do speak to her, and your heart re-
TO your face as one VINO has been too
harshly dealt with, but she says ia"
in the meekest way, and you take hope
and keep letting her wash, till al length
your clothes resemble Jacobs cattle in
being ''ringed, Streaked and spotted"
If in nothing else. Then the limit of your
patience is reached, and you pay her for
the last time and see the kitchen door
close on her retreating figure with
thankful heart. But the next time you
recall DR.. Watts hymn you remember
the last lines:
Not mere than others 1 deserve,
But he has given me more
and you're not SO sure about that de-
and that is that you give honest effort,
and the very best there is in you,
in the way of work, for every dollar you
get; and If that does not constitute de-
Bert, what does? There is certainly
something peculiar about this woman's
work question, and you are not so
rharitably iuclined after these expert
snces as you were before.
Umbrellas are not the only things
that have changed: There's that much
discussed woman question; how that
has changed. As long ago as 1925 girls
were not allowed to attend public
schools, and when high school was
opened in Boston for girls in that
town of steady habits and
crooked streets to pieces, and
women. mothers mostly, opposed the
project so bitterly that it had to be aban-
doned. The dear mothers kept their
girls in white muslin and low slippers,
and would not allow them to associate
with coarse boys. The girls may have
looked at the matter differently. In
fact, think they did. One dear old
lady used to tell me of her desire to
study as her boy cousins did, and being
a granddaughter of Edward Holyoke,
for many years president of Harvard
college. and living in an atmosphere of
books and culture, she made UP her mind
that she would study Greek at least.
and, after a struggle, mastered that lam
guage and began Hebrew, and became
proficient IN that. A cousin, an officer
In the navy. who was aboard, hearing
rumOr of her dOings, wrote to ask if it
was true. How her bright old eyes
used to shine while she repeated this
clause from the letter: my dear Els
Rbeth, ii it Is true, beg of you do not
let it be known beyond the precincts of
your own chamber that you are doing
30 unmaidenly thing"
She used also tell of time when she
wanted to go to the house of friend to
spend an afternoon and take tea, but
the maid who usually accompanied her
was i'll and she could not go alone. Her
brother, boy OF nineteen. offered his
services as escort, but if she allowed
that the neighborS would think that she
was walking about with beau. The
matter was finally settled by her max
Ing the daring suggestion that she
could walk on one side of the street and
the brother on the other. What do you
think of that, girls-you who walk
TO and from school with somebody's
brothers every day.
The study of Hebrew had a pretty
little touch of romance to end 1t up
with. The pretty Elisabeth met and
loved theological student; they were
engaged, and then began long wait,
real old-fashioned New England en-
gagement of seven years. Books were
dear in those days, and money scarce in
the students pocket. By chance
was it chance or Providence?-
Elisabeth became the confidant
of a professor in the college who told
her that for long time he had been
busy preparing a grammar of the He
brew language that ne felt sure would
overcome many OF the difficulties of the
study. She was deeply interested in
The progress of the work. One day the
professor came to her with package in
his hand and told her that he had just
been told by a brother professor that he
had finished Hebrew grammar, but was
not willing to send it to the publisher
until he had submitted it to his friends
review. So together the professor
and Elisabeth read the manuscript and
declared that it was ready for publlca-
ton.
what will you do about your own
Aook?" she asked.
IL shall not publish it now.''
"Oh, but yours is the best. 1t will
be a great help to Students" she urged.
prof. Blank confided in me. He
trusted me. This book means every
thing to HIM. shall not publish mine
until his has had fair show before the
Students"
Elisabeth thought the matter over.
There was one student she was de-
termined should have the benefit of the
new methods of study suggested nv har