The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-04
GRAN'MAS AND OUR GIRLS.
oLD-TtuE APRON-STRTNG METHOD
HiNDICIPPED THE YOUNG.
,,-.. HI,ynbcth Cndy stanton Makes n Plea for
SIN wider Liberty for Our Giris-rhe
M for Young" BuEnboo Disposed Or-In-
,,rrnrc Orten Criminal Ignorance.

NN'hinC so CNaSpcrHtcS n young ElEI us bho
,,n,Uonging into her ears of those cant phrases,
81 mover did that when l was II girl" 81 mover
-.,d such books when l wns n girl" such
hing. we're considered unit for the young in
my day
The mothers and Grandmothers, aunts and
urcnf.aunts, who indulge in these nagging re.
marks, forget TINT social conditions change from
generation TO generation. Fortunately for the
pcoce of mind and wCll-roundcd development
Of the young Of to-day, there arc only n few left
who harp ON that old phrase, unfit for the
young
times when the young were restricted, guarded,
denied, and protected; when they wcro consid-
cred utterly incapable of undertaking tho re-
snonsibility OF their own conduct, much less
their own education. They argue that in olden
times he young were supposed to be under their
mothers %wing-thc boys until they went away
70 boarding school and the girls until they mar
ricd: md furthermore they assert that this was
a better state Of Affairs than the one existing to-
day. when the young arc given their head, so to
speak. and like little Topsy " jus grow" morally.
mentally. and physically. instead OF being
brought up by some one else.
woman who sccs much OF her sisters in New
York society said: 1T. always amuscs me to
hear n mother say to her daughters: 4 didn't do
that when | was a girl Nine times out OF ten
II was because she couldn't. It's nonsense to
talk about this, that. and the other being unfit
for the Young. When is n person youngi Who
Is to decide Ono girl is old Mt twelve years,
while another is n child at eighteen. The truth
is, our grandmothcrs had to work too hard to
pay much attention to their daughters.
Tho girls Of those days mover heard of a
chapcron. 1t is only within tho PAST twenty
five years that the chapcron began to be a ncccs-
,i,- nnI only fift ron since shp hrrnn1p ALSO
lutcly so. This doesn't apply to small towns nor
even to many cities now, but Is especially true
Of the large cities on the eastern coast of the At
lantic. The chapcTon was introduced into Amer
lean society mainly out of regard for the feelings
Of foreign visitors. They look askance at the
girl who isn't properly chapcroned, and it mat
tiers no. II the chaperon is only n matron OF two
hours.
ut is quite true that girls arc allowed more
liberty in the matter OF literature and amusc-
ments now than they were in our grandmothers'
time, because we have SO much more to read
and so many moro forms OF entertainment. OF
course, girls we're restricted then. and they are
restricted now, in the selection OF their reading
matter. When l was a girl, Don Quixote.'
'HuGibras,, The Three G~nordsmcn,', Tale
Of tb ITo' so ,FoW Wsre e OF shS fS9Fe too and SidaS books 57
young women to read. They We're. indeed.
forbidden fruit in nearly every household.
top shelf OF the bookcase, a place forbidden to
the young girls Of the family. This was the law
before | was fifteen. How did l get them |
got up on a stepladder, selected the book l
with it. No one was any the wiser and neither
was | after l read the books; So il is with the
q S1p T%s b ,S:fEsy that tf they y Sro forbi HhaSf5 to rsaa many
The girls Of to-day, have better chances than
sso, 5 I9othGr SI had fo and %ia,t the si ITie with seih he Indiy'
many mothers are not so fit 70 judge OF what
their girls Fhal! read. after they've reached ma
turity, as the girls themselves.
licye that the person a modern girl least respects
friend. is her mother. This is untrue. The OBJ
servant person knows that a more perfect COM
daughter Of today than ever before.
Nothing delights Mrs. Elizabeth Cady stanton
so much as to contrast the old times with the
grandmothers trained their girls. And, tho
Si aash. i @aS wy had IN H isss ,f ioFm q SdI ls saf iTe Sita a.
and now we have moro form and more freedom.
The American girls OF losiey have Infinitely
women of other countries, I've spent consider
able time in England. and the girls there from
.weil-dieested opinion on anything. English
girls grow up with the idea that they must be
this country. Oar girls, from the time they can
totnie. arc seen ana heard on all occasions. |
English cestle, once occupied by Queen Eliza.
beth. MuTat Haistosd,s daughter, q chit OF a
Cir; YVES giSsTaj;i and when she yentHTed to OK,
everything thet came mp. including politics, l
wish YOU could have seen how estonished her
hearers. were. For weeks they talked OF the
wonderful American girls.
In every respect the present training of girls
Is better than the past. Then they were Shut
out OF colleges. and any woman who was thrown
on her own SELF had two demonstrating and
sewing; Fine teachers they wcre! There was a
time when women were not allowed 10 study the
classics. u We are going TO sin out everything
tnhl Is lndellcate, we must begin by throwing
out tho Bible and SlatpgDeArp nlOnu wit tho
cIasSics, and many OF the old poets must follow.
The term unfit for The young no longer cx.
ISIS a. y vital principle. Some people hold that
the modern mother guides her sons with a bet
ter UNDERSTANDING, and, ,coincident with this
daughters: The wise mother talks to her boys
End girls Just alike; she h9s the same code for
no% ! ana girls tod the truths which our grand
t eayc should 4 haTc pr 'tse7 in the most deli
drc,n, 10 assume thtt 2 mother can guide her chill.
great many cases her children know more than
she Goes. Many mothers hamper their children
instead Of developing them.
IN many case:, as they have too much latitude
In others. The most. c%ripp!inG influence in
drei years ago had 70 contend with it, and they
Are ar contGmiin{ With i, to-day. Children are
no nylf ms cr %H!nlis'0"t fear eye tbs HRsoa d To %af tS
,ih1 i" SHorJHS SSdfH' ana 'A svcry !]HhtinnsF'' to s5 fsnE
from ny own experience, Ny mother Was a
spLehI!d woman, but she believed in the mili-
Eb H. So, GisGiipinG, 60 and he gosth,' Come and
Iply else. Nothing is so conducive to human
%hMaIpinrss and, development as liberty. and
sIl'GFen don't have half enough OF IL. ! and
~, sisters were restricted in our read
ihs. We were trottod to the old Pres
SGyteFian church every Sunday. and made
y listen TO a sermon OYER mn hour
iohg, and then we were trOttcd homo and made
,2stndy the catochism and read the Bible for
NE rest Of the day. Fortunately, my Bible had
a. y. aP0crypha and, | could read about Bel and
,ne Dragon. The devil was constantly held up
10 US, and nearly every day when our childish
spLfIl' broke loose we werG told. You must
surely hc a child of the devil
Peter, nm old colored man, whose sole bust.
ness vast o look after my two sisters and me.
y Ne only human being we were not afraid
III, we gained some freedom through him.
dha!;s vent on this way until one Of my sisters
married 4 Mr.. Bayard OF Maine. an uncle III
Thomas, +. Bayard, who was Ambassador 10
England under President Cleveland. Hc had
iHr those days very queer ideas about training
tvIT, ana a good deal Of freedom slipped into
OE home when no entered it. We never had
smy rhupCroning. Ny father was II Judge of tho
supreme Court. and when he'd hold court we'd
soa"hE and dine AT the hotel with the lawyers
Sha spend the evenings playing chess and dan
tllE WIN tl.Ia 1Itn ,,,,t. I,,v. nl,pn, 1 hal