The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1897-05-12
MISCELLANY.
Gran'mas and Our Girls.

Nothing so exasperates young CIR
as the ding-donging into her ears o.
those cant phrases, 4" / never did tha
when was a girl" %" never read such
books when was GIRL" Such things
we're considered unfit for the young II
my day."
The mothers and grandmothers
aunts and great-aunts, who indulge in
these nagging remarks, forget that 80.
cial conditions change from generation
to generation. Fortunately for the
peace of mind and well-rounded devel-
opment of the young of today, there are
only few left who harp on that old
phrase, "unft for the young"
Those who do, love to talk about the
good old times when the young were
restricted, guarded, denied and protect
ed; when they were considered utterly
incapable of undertaking the RESPONSE
bility of their own conduct, much less
their own education. They argue that
in olden times the young were supposed
to be under their mothers wing-the
boys until they went away to board
ing school and the girls until they mar
ried; and furthermore they assert that
this was better state of affairs than
the one existing to-day, when the young
are given their head, so to speak, and
like little Topsy" jus' grow morally,
mentally and physically, instead of be-
ing brought up by some one else.
A woman who sees much of her sis
tiers in New York society said: "It
always amuses me to hear mother
say to her daughter; l didn't do that
when l was girl Nine times out of
ten it was because she couldn't. It's
nonsense to talk about this, that, and
the other being unfit for the young.
When is a person young? Who is to
decide? One girl is old at twelve
years, while another is child at eigh-
teen. The truth is, our grandmothers
had to work too hard to pay much at
tention to their daughters. The girls
of those days never heard of chape.
ron. 1t is only within the past twenty
five years that the chaperon began to
be necessity, and only fifteen since
she became absolutely so. This doesn't
apply to small towns and even to many
cities now, but is especially true of the
large cities on the eastern coast of the
Atlantic. The chaperon was introduced
into American society mainly out of
regard for the feelings Of foreign Wis
itors. They look askance at the girl
who isn't properly chaperoned, and it
matters not il the chaperon is only
matron of two hours.
sit is quite true that girls are allow
ed more liberty in the matter of liter
ature and amusements now than they
were in our grandmothers' time, be-
cause we have so much more to read and
so many more forms of entertainment.
Of course, girls were restricted then,
and they are restricted now, in the Sc
lection of their reading matter. When
1 was girl, Don Quixote,' 'Hudi-
bras,' The Three Guardsmen,' Tale
of Tub Romance of the Forest
and books of that sort, were considered
too giddy for young women to read.
They were, indeed, forbidden fruit in
nearly every household, and, were it
kept at all, placed on the top shelf of
the bookcase, place forbidden to the
young girls OF the family. This was
the law in my home, but l read every
one of those books before l was fifteen.
How did 1 get themp / got up on
selected the book l wanted,
tied it to my garter, and away went
with it. No one was any the wiser and
neither was l after l read the books.
So it is with the young to-day. They
wouldn't understand many of the books
that they are forbidden to read.
"The girls of to-day have better
chances than their mothers had, and
the girl with a scholarly bent doesn't
care for inferior literature. In fact,
many mothers are not so fit to Judge of
what their girls shall read, after they've
reached maturity, as the girls them
selves.
81 have no Latience with those peo-
Pile who believe that the person mod
ern girl least respects as her guide and
least regards as her friend,
is her mother. This is untrue. The
observant person knows that a more
perfect companionship exists between
the mother and daughter of to-day than
ever before"
Nothing delights Mrs. Elizabeth Cady
Stanton so much as to contrast the old
times with the new. She says she re-
members just how the grandmothers
trained their girls. Sand the contrast
is wholly in our favor" she adds with
laugh. "Then we had less form and
less freedom, and now we have more
form and more freedom. The Ameri-
can girls of to-day have infinitely more
dignity, self-possession and intellect
than women of other countries. I've
spent considerable time in England,
and the girls there from sixteen to
eighteen years of age can scarcely ex-
press well-digested opinion on any
thing. English girls grow up with the
idea that they must be seen and not
heard. No such idea prevails in this
country. Our girls, from the time they
can toddle, are seen and heard on all
occasions. shall never forget attend
ing dinner in an old English castle,
once occupied by Queen Elizabeth.
Murat Halstead's daughter, chit of
a girl, was present, and when she VEN
tured to express well-rounded, thought
full opinions on everything that came
up, including politics, l wish you could
have seen how astonished her hearers
wore For waeks thew talked of tho