The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-07-23
OUR GIRLS.
hy rRANcEs couarENAv uAyLoR.

lay FRANCES coURTENAv BAYLOR.
What IL u woman TO do when she
Ii left with "a house Ia keep aud no
$ wants u keep IT.; with II sick old
mother, and no Nurse for her: with a
home bus no income | declare; Il
often feel utterly distracted when I
think OF it," exclaimed Mrs. Morgan,
adelicate widow whose husband had
been killed 10 a railroad accident,
leaving her with seven boys and not SO
much as the smallest life insurance
policy.
Mrs. Morgan was talking to Miss
Susanna as they sat on the veranda Of
her small semi.detached cottage in
/ Winnville, Ala. Miss Susanna had
another name, and 1t was Higgs. But
as miss Susanna" she was universally
known, respected and beloved for a
spinster OF sterling quality.-silver as
To speech, golden as to charity, and
steel for ~staunchness, loyalty and
every - womanly quality. She had
come at once to Mrs. Morgan on hear
ing of her great sorrow. What shall
do? Seven boys !" repeated Mrs.
cook going, and mother bed-ridden,
aud only thirteen dollars ia the house !
Seven boys! Ii had only one daugh-
ter to help me! But what can a woman
do with seven boys, the eldest only
seventeen ?"
Make them girls" suggested Miss
Susanna briskly, and as clearly as she
could with n crochet hook between her
lips. why don't you ?" she went on,
her eyes fixed on her work. you've
got to have help"
Make girls out OF my boys? 1" cried
Mrs. Morgan, astonished. What do
you mesn?"
Easily enough. Teach them to do
girls work. Many's the fool I've seer
working herself for a great hulking
husband and u lot of strapping sons
that b might get him a second wife
and give them a stepmother. Don't
be such u gump, Anna | hate d gump!
You'll get no thanks. and you'll do
only way to make men Of them is to
let them see what 1t is to be u oma
Take my word for it. We are all the
better Tor wearing the yoke, and il
ONE don't YEA 1t l don't know
anything about it. The best man |
ever knew was brought up q girl, and
he was the next best thing to a good
woman. Nobody can say more for any
man living" replied Miss susanna.
But never heard of such u thing"
exclaimed Mrs. Morgan.
Very likely. The world would be a
poor place to live in IL the wisest of US
knew all there Is to know about it,"
said Miss Susanna, sententiously.
But shouldn't know where TO be.
gin," objected Mrs. Morgan, impressed
by the practical value of these coun.
sells, but at a loss how to execute them
begin at the beginning" said Miss
Susanna. "Begin this minute, ano
,all to Ned to give up go ny swimming
and ont the wood for vnl1r fra m.
morrow morning, while Tom draws
the water and puts the salt fish in t.
soak, and grinds the coffee. and Jtck
waters the vegetables. They are over
there at the wood pile making rabbit
traps this minute. William John can
give up cleaning his gun and weed the
vegetables his father planted, instead
Of your breaking your back over them
as [ saw you doing yesterday. And
you set the twins to sweeping ana
making beds? And teach them all to
sew, Anna, every mothers daughter
Of them. Ii there is a thing [ despise
to see, it's a man that can't sew a but
ton on for himself in Nova Zembla
with u threaded needle put in his hanG
waxed and knOtted. They arc poor
creatures at best, but they were never
meant to be the sticks that some Of
IuSHl COulS W.. IL 10 VIC WOu1SH Ulal
take all the man out of them, and emo
up by finally making them helpless,
selfish, and rough, and grasping, ana
,verbearing, and cautankerous cum
berers of the earth. We spoil them
by doing everything for them. I'm
for making them do everything for us.
They never will be worth much, no
matter how you fix it, but they can be
made useful-under direction. Now
you take my advice. You are a deli.
cate woman, and you are the sort OF
woman that likes to slave for her men
folk. But don't you do it--for their
sakes. They'll be twice the boys they
would otherwise be If you make girls
Of them. And you'll live to u green
old age, in clover, better loved and
more respected by them than if you
were to make hash of yourself every
day and serve yourself up on toast.
Mother will be everything with
them, you'll see."
Thus encouraged, Mrs. Morgan made
i great departure and metaphoricaily
popped her seven lads into petticoats
md pinafOres from hat moment. Tn,
Boys were nice boys To begin with, it
- true. Miss Susanna, too, talked
a OF them int the firm belief that
ne was to take his fathers place, and
convinced each n that he was tn,
prop and mainstay Of his mother.
AT first Ned, who was us luzy ano
as proud as IL S%paniard, felt inclined
to sulk when ho was required 20 do
certain distinctly mental Offices, and
said 1T wasn't boys work. and not,
=" fit y for him.
Pooh Nonsense ~ said Miss
Susanna, chcerfully. looking over the
fence at him. You amt u boy now (;
you are q girl. Remember that. II
1t isn't fit for you, it certainly isn't fit
for your mother. 1t is You or she
WAC must do 1t, and | known you are
too much Of u man to put rough work
of N. Il m And when you've
done, Ned, step in. here's IL cold
apple tart on the pantry .helf waiting
for Il good 'girl-t0 eat it,"
Miss Susanna knew human nature :
more, she knew boy nature. She
made light of the whole matter with
finite good nature. She backed up