Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-06-22
THE AMERICAN GIRL.
WARD M'ALLlSTER WRITES OF HER AS
SHE is IN NEW YORK.

He Says She Learns to Be Self Reliant
While English Girls Are Slaves of Their
Mothers-No Girl In This Country Has to
Marry to BE Free From Home Domination
have often been asked whether knowl-
edge or ignorance is more beneficial to a
young woman. AS far as regards the self
supporting class of women, should most
decidedly answer that it is better that she
should know. knowledge of life causes
them to value themselves. They quickly
acquire the agility to distinguish the right
from the wrong, andtheir parents are there
fore enabled to trust them anywhere. Cir
cumstances force this knowledge on our
self supporting women.
There is probably no woman in any civ
ilized country better able to take care of
herself than the American. AS rule, she
may be little too eager to advance her
self, for if nature has blessed her with
good looks you may be sure that she is
fully aware of 1t and will make the most
of this rare gift In this city, at least once
a week, usually on Saturday afternoons,
she makes it her business to appear, well
and attracts the attention of the passers-
by. Our young men, who are not slow to
appreciate q pretty girl, are sure to take
her in and ever after keep on the lookout
for her.
She thus learns how to stand the fire
from the battery of eager eyes in search Of
just such beauty as she possesses. She
then takes her first lesson in captivating
man, and her battle of life begins in ear
nest. She goes into the fight single hand
ed, as no mother or chaperon accompanies
her. 1t is remarkable what wonderful re-
suits she accomplishes. Provided only
with such stock in trade as she had acquir-
cd before leaving her mothers apron
strings she in most cases secures a fitting
companion for life.
A girl of this Sort born and brought up
in this city, becomes possessed of such an
intuitive knowledge of the world and Of
man that the complete liberty Of action al
lowed her is her safeguard, as it makes her
wholly self reliant. In some cases the self
supporting girl is better off than the young
society woman, for this same self reliance
and knowledge of right and wrong car
ries her safely over the pitfalls of life.
To deny absolute freedom to young
women will do in England or rather it
has done up to date, but it will not work
in this country. English writer's now tell
us that their girls, like ours, must be
trusted. Emerson says that self respect
and self reliance in young women are the
master keys to their lives. AS to the lib
erty given young women of fashion, an
English authoress tells us, 1.-TWO in a
house must entirely sympathize, or one
must rule" In England the mother is
always the head of the house, but with us,
from the hour when the fashionable daugh-
ter makes her debut into society, the head |
of that house is the daughter.
In most instances the mother is actually |
in the way of the daughter, who feels that |
her parents, having had their day, should |
now permit her to take charge of affairs.
In some cases the daughter is jealous of |
the mother, for it not infrequently hap
pens that the mother not only looks young,
but is young. She cannot help it. She
cannot help being merry and gay as long |
as her constitution is sound and her COM
pleXion provokingly clear. The daughter
feels that she must be crowded out and |
made only a fgurehead in the household.
But here she should remember that fair
and 40 is often preferred to half baked 49,
When the American young woman does
not care to marry, but prefers to be indie
pendent, it often complexities matters In
England girl rushes early into matri-
mony in order that she may have a good
time. In this country our young women
do not like to marry early, because the gay
period of their lives comes to them when
they are young girls. In old times firt-
ing was done mostly before marriage, but
as our women become more Europeanized
they cling, even after marriage, to this de-
lightful accomplishment.
We idolize our children and do not hest
tate to make any sacrifices for them. In
the summer mother goes TO Europe with
the daughter to place her in the modiste's
hands, while the father is left to encoun-
ter the heat in half shut up house, with
usually one domestic to look after him. A
man and his wife may have had large
circle of devoted friends. Their daughter,
on coming out, finds them all intolerable
bores and at once seeks substitutes for
them in gayer and more fashionable peo-
pie.
A man or woman Of middle age rarely
makes new friends. But for the sake of
their daughter they are willing to abandon
the friendships of lifetime and substitute
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