The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1897-12-03

! MADAME IDA PREFER.
BY Alice King

IN 4 well-to-do but eminently COM
80 mon-place German burgher family
a baby girl was born, and they baptized
,ler in an eminently commonplace way
by the name of Ida. The mother was
as stont. matter-of-fact II German house
wife as ever ate sauerkraut, and she
brought up the infant in IA thoroughly
practical. ordinary manner, until she
was. able to run alone. Then the I'M
into little lda's story.
The father vas a man of IL very orig
NAL mind; he had peculiar ideas about
mcst things, and most especially he
had peculiar ideas about female educa-
ton. How he came to choose the very
prosaic mate, appears to us to be, in
truth, a matter of surprise. as we look
at the strangely assorted pair, except
that the happiest marriages are some
times the result Of strongly marked
contrasts, and this husband and wife.
certainly a strong contrast in character
and opinion, yet proved to be a very
happy and harmonious couple.
Whef their first little daughter wa,
bern, the father at once made up his
MUD that he would carry out with her
\ ali his extraordinary notions with re-
gard to the education of woman: and
tie mother, though her opinions We're
most Numerically opposite on the sub
jet, yet, nevertheless, put the girl, as
soon as she could prattle, completely
into his hands.
Now, the system of education which
lGa'S father proposed to carry out with
regard to her was simply this: He was
resolved that she was to be brought up
precisely as if she were a boy. The little
girl was dressed as a boy, and was
taught to join all boys games. She
engaged in all sorts of outdoor exer-
cises and sports, and became expert in
running and ~leaping. She was taught
Greek and Latin, instead of music and
dancing and other feminine accom-
p~lishments; a needle was never so much
as put between her fingers.
Thus things went on with little Ida
until she was about ten years old. when
the course of her young life was entire.
ly changed.
The father died rather suddenly, and
Ida was Immediately, of course, thrown
Under the sole care of her mother.
No doubt the troubles of the poor
lady, when left n widow. were a good
deal increased by the fact hat she mad
this anomalous being. this boy-girl.
upon her hands. However, she made
short work of the problem which her
husband had left her; she solved it
nj once in her own matter-of-fact way.
She popped Ida into petticoats before
the girl could look around, and set her
to sweep the house, and learn to cook
and to sew. according to the fashion of
all German maidens of her rank and
Eye.
But the good lady soon found to her
cost that she could not cut the Gordian
knot in this summary way as she had
intended. 1t was all very well to bid
Ida to do this or that in a proper house
wifely manner, but il was quite another
Thing to get her to do it. She had beer
coerccd INTO p%etticoats, it was true, but
she still persisted in being a boy to all
intents and purposes. She was force,!
by her mother to do all sorts of domes-
tic offices, but never were such offices
,atfrrn,nL L., N 1sI.a xx.a hafnra Difnh.i
ers were broken, buildings were spoiled,
r. nts were left in luckless garments.
as t~hesrecusant damsel went hither and
thither in the house performing her un
willing duties; and had not her moth
er possessed q very large fund of firm
resolution, she would have given the
attempt up in thorough desperation of
making her danghterinto a young lady.
II the good wife set the girl down to
study a cookery book, she found her.
whenehe returned to the room, deep in
a volume of travels; if she beheld her
on d summer afternoon sewing her
sampler in the garden, and her matern-
al eyes. ~rejoiced in the sight. she was
sure, did she look away for a few min
utes, to perceive, to her dismay, that
the girl had vanished, and after some
search. to see her seated on the topmost
branch of a tall tree; il she left the girl
trundling her mop diligently, as she
fondly thought, in the front hall, she
would find the pail left in the lurch,
while the young lady rushed after a
passing post-chaise and INDUCED in all
sorts Of airy ~specnlations about its
inmates. In short. never was ~unfortu-
nate middle-aged matron so hardly
bested through the pranks Of a maiden.
The civil war in the household be-
tween the mother and daughter con-
tinned some five or SIX years. and still
the refractory damsel' was unsubdued.
She chose to be a boy, in spite of the
long skirts and braided hair. She de-
clared stoutly that she would be one,
and a boy in all her tastes. in all her
aspirations, in all her habits, she re-
manned. |.
Then the mother hit upon n new ex- L
Eedient to subjugate the unruly girl. /
who, notwithstanding her protestations
t AHa Ihs W. \ hoy, md nothing but 4
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