The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-10
THE MOTHER OF TO-DAY.
How She Compares With the Women o
Lang SYne.

Lang Syne.
There are copious folios written about
the girl of the period, the up-to-date girl
and the modern girl, but we do not often
hear anything about her mother, and yet
it seems to us there is, if anything, vaster
difference between her and the mother of
the last generation.
The mother of long ago was much older
and more sedate. She sat great deal by
the fire and seldom walked out, EXCEPT
for ceremonious calls or necessary shop
ping. She usually wore galoshes when she
took the air. and little shawl of dainty
white or pink wool lay over her shoulders
as she sat writing long letters to her alb
sent children, in a fine, sloping, Italian
hand. She made no end of "simples" and
pomades and liniments, and had a remedy
and recipe for every evil under the sun
She disapproved of theaters and balls and
smoking, and she was wild with terror
when any of her brood went skating. She
never cared to talk to men other than the
vicar and the doctor, but had cronies of her
own ilk to whom she confided all of her
troubles. She carried her keys in a basket
and looked well to the ways of her house
hold.
Her best dress was a rich black silk
which was made and remade in a matronly
fashion, and she had drawer full of
priceless little pits of lace. She wore a
cap, and parted her hair in the middle.
She was inexpressibly shocked when she
heard of anything like flirting going on
among the girls, and laid down the most
stringent aXioms, and yet she had been
fearful firt herself, because, when sit
ting over coy fire in the cleaning, her
heart expanded and her tongue loosened
by the inspiring influence of Christmas
or wedding, she would tell US most de-
hcious little episodes of the sweetest and
quaintest love making, in which she
played the leading lady, "long before l
saw your dear papa, girls" She made
dear old lady, and as grandmother she
was perfection. On the whole, though, her
views on some of the occupations and
amusements of youth, her extraordinary
propensity for airing everything, and her
yearning after flannel as first article of
attire made her somewhat of a nuisance
now and then, much as her children all
loved her.
The up-to-date mother is quite different.
To begin with, she is much younger-quite
young, in fact. She is infinitely younger
and better looking than her 20-year-old
daughter. She may have reached 35, but
she never passes it. She wears far more
stylish and becoming clothes than her
girls, and enjoys balls and parties and con-
certs more than they do. She is brilliant
talker; she has horror of women older
them, eagerly welcoming her men friends,
ofwhom she has regular cortege. She goes
everywhere and knows everything. She
never carries key, and she never obtrudes
her housekeeping into notice; yet her
house to outward observation, is beauti-
fully kept, her decorations artistic. She
gives charming little dinners, though she
neither makes, mixes nor tastes the cook
cry thereof
Her sons are proud of the "mater," and
contide in her, and tell her things their
father would have expired rather than he
would have told his mother. Her daugh-
tiers admire her immensely and are quite
happy to be her satellites and maids of
honor, and to follow meekly in her wake.
She is, in fact, very attractive, and has a
real good time of it, and, if fate DEGREES her
to be a graudmamma, it is quite pretty
and a huge joke to see the fascinating and
youthful granny with the little grandchild.
She is infinitely more playful and skittish
with him than his own mamma is, and is
delighted when people say, "Fancy you
grandmother"
We think every one will agree with US
that these are some of the differences be-
tween the two mothers. Which of the two
is to be preferred? We leave it to our
readers to decide.-London Lady.