Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1897-11-18

IN A well-to-do but eminently COM
mon-place German burgher family
4 baby girl was born, and they baptized
Ter in an eminently commonplace way
by the name of Ida. The mother was
hs stout, matter-of-fact German house.
wife as ever ate sauerl1raut, and she
brought up the infant in thoroughly
practical, ordinary manner, until she
was able to run alone. Then the un-
usual and the abnormal began to step
into little Ida's story.
The father was q man of very orig
inal mind; he had peculiar ideas about
most 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, i'll
truth, a matter of surprise, as we look
Mt 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 very
When their first little daughter was
born, the father at once made up his
mind that he would carry out with her
NIL his extraordinary notions with re-
gard to the education of woman; and
tie mother, though her opinions were
most Numerically opposite on the sub
iect, yet, nevertheless, put the girl, os
soon as she could prattle, completely
into his hands.
Now, the system of education which
Ida'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 boy. The little
girl was dressed as 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-
plishments; 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
fady, when left widow, were good
deal increased by the fact that she had
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
1T once in her own matter-of-fact way.
She popped Ida into petticoats before
the girl could look around, and set her
10 sweep the house, and learn to cook
and to sew, according to the fashion of
all German maidens of her rank and
Ege.
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 tbs or that in proper house
wifely manner, blt it was quite another
Thing to get her to do it. She had been
coerccd into petticoats, it was true, but
she still persisted in beirg boy to all
intents and purposes. She was forced
bv her mother to do all sorts of domes-
tic Offices, but never were such Offices
performed in a like way before. Pitch
ers were broken, buildings were spoiled,
rents were left in lucliless garments,
as the recusant damsel went hither and
thither in the house performing her I'M
willing duties; and had not her moth
err possessed q very large fund of firm
resolution, she would have given the
attempt up in thorough desperation of
making her daughter into young lady,
If the good wife set the girl down to
study cookery book, she found her,
when she returned to the room, deep in
n volume of travels; if she beheld her
on 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 few min