New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-01-09
THE THEN AND THE NOW.
MISS BEAsTON DELIVERS AN INTEREST.
ING LECTURE ON "wOMAN's LIFE
THE DANES OF COLONIAL DAYS COMPARED
WITH THE DAUGHTERS OF THp TWEEN
rIETH CENTURY.


Miss Beaston delivered yesterday the last lecture
in the course OF six given by her on Friday after
moons at the home OF Mrs Jacob Hess. No. 50
West Sixty-eighth-st. THE Danes and Daughters
OF Colonial Days" have furnished subjects for the
preceding five lectures. and the last httingy
devoted to the place OF woman to-day as con-
trasted with Colonial and antecedent times. and
the causes to which her changed plane OF action
is due
Miss Beaston began by saying: THE eighteenth
century flows like a great river between the Then
and Now OF woman's life. between the old order
and the new 1t has been we'll said that Life Is
the translation OF an ideal into action. But there
may arise the question:: Whose ideal? The child
and the slave only translate the ideal OF the
parent, the master. While men buy and sell
woman, practically II not theoretically. woman can
only translate into her lite the ideal held by man.
the master. Through all the centuries hat ideal
has been the same. In patriarchal days Sarah ex-
presseu this ideal in her attitude toward Abraham
She 'worshpped him and called him lord. In
medieval times, the story OF patient Griselda pre-
scented the same type Deprived Of infant son, OF
baby daughter OF friends. even Of decent clothing
by her Jealous husband. she bore all with uncom-
planning adorng meekness until 1t pleased him to
restore all to her. when she kissed his hands IN
paroxysms OF gratitude for his late repentance.
Coming down modern life Charlotte Bronte
in Shirley represents Mr.. Helstone as saying that
he never allowed conversation at his table, as
women had no right to opinions and ideas. Even
to-day a few men exist who hold this ideal. and
even women heard 10 say: on We are weary
OF this eternal talking about women's sphere. our
husbands hers. our brothers look after our
Interests and why should we concern ourselves
about f?' sefshly forgetting the many women
who have none OF these tender protectors
Women clamor about ill-payment. il-treatment,
and what not Why have they thrust themselves
into public and business life? Why did they not
stay in their sheltered homes?
These are questions often harShly asked The
answer is They did not thrust themselves; they
we're thrust into the vortex OF public life and occu-
patton by the fiat Of human progress Two great
mechanical inventions compelled women to 90 out
from the sweet secluson OF their homes to leave
the heaven assigned occupation OF spinning ana
weaving beneath the rose-embowered TOOL, u!a ta
the shade of the rustic churchtower. and enter the
"a chemical discovery added its force. making
mighty triad There were nineteen processes neces-
sary before the fax was ready to weaving Wn i
La Grange discovered certain acon ana rocesne
were abolished. When the spinning Jenny was
invented and w RI, Was umS Rpea
TT was science. my sisters, that drove women
into business life outside their homes The women ,
and the children whose hands had toun I'M ON, ,
in many Of the lighter ,b ,askS bread q. n the
large cities and towns. Greed ana hoartiessness
imposed 100 heavy sne hours day. The
women could suffer in silence. but they could not
see the little children suffer. ana III tine they
ciamored for legslation-and behold. woman In
politics. 49,. ,.. 3D.. ,r,ro
ductinn NJ machinery came the realization tnat
intellect and not brute strength controlled lie. ana
this idea at first dmly seen. grew INTO oenlahd
for higher education of women -,
What an cutlery there was at first! Even TO-DAY
echoes OF II NAV be heard. II is only few weeks
since a leading man in "A large city said that all
the education a woman needed was enough TO
annreciate her husband ignoring the fact that the
minimum OF educa ton. in that case, would pe more
than enough to appreciate some men ana the
ma ximum too little to appreciate others -,
The lecturer in closing touched lightly on the
worn-out objections that too much education tended
TO make women untidy in their persons, slovenly
in their housekeeping and unified them Tor true
motherhood In this connection she spoke laugn-
,noiv ~ a Young woman I'm an English university
who three years ago took the highest mathematical
honors and rated senior wrangier. ana whose
70 Paris and buy a gown from Worth.