The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-05
THE LOT OF THE OLD MAID,
AND THAT OF HER SUCCESSOR, THE
BACHELOR WOMAN.
\ Riaee IN tho Househoid That Has Bcen len
unhiied since the Advance or woman
BrouGht About the Evoiution - uencnis
which the Ola Rlnin aheh Arnnnn Tier.

BrouGht About the Evolution = Bencntu
watch the Old Maid shed Around Her.
In times gone by tho old maid had her own
Bfaco in tho household. The wife's sister. tho
mothers sister, the maiden cousin, even the
pteD-aunt and the Rodmothcr. filled In the ta!nks
aouut the family circle. and formed q back
ground against which the main figures shono
UNANIMOUSLY. It is some time now since these
odd chips OF womnnkind fled the family tree and
set mp separate maintenance OF their own.
Aunt Dole, who could always quiet tho baby
and was such n good hand at rubbing up mus
tard p%lastors, 10 cashier In the town drug store.
Miss Rebecca, "Uncle Georges stepdaughtcr,
you know, who always lived with us" Is away
also, keeping accounts In n big concern and TAX
ing care Of herself. Cousin Carrie, too. has dc.
serted. She was such "A help with the childrcn's
clothes and always mcnded the tatlccloths 30
that YOU couldn't tell where the piece was put
in; but she has her shopping .on.commission
cards out now In a distant city and makes knick
knncks in between whites.
The old maid, so far as tho homc is consid.
cred, is a bnck number. She has emerged into
bacheloraom. There Is stern purpose in her
life and the will TO show tho world how we'll
she can get along without certain things long
believed indispensable to woman nature. In
stead OF doing odd tasks, with no prospect Of
tangible reward, she now does definite work for
definite pay. It is a question, however. whether
this evolution whereby she leaves the cats. the
babies. the tea drinking, and other old maid
prerogatives behind and steps out into the bust.
ness world is peg onward in the march of
progress or the reverse.
ST i had anything to do with a girls future.
with her career as they call It," said a woman
bachelor the other day. 81 should tell her to
swing on to the family tree rs long rs there
were any two limbs Of 1t hanging together. The
domestic woman has hurts and annoyances
doubtless; sometimes she Is much tried; but at
any rate she Is human. more Of q real flesh and
blood being. not 10 much a machine"
But independence is sweet, enrolling. To
DO q hanger on Of other people is belittlinR to
ones nature" it was argued.
"Belittling fddlesticksi' said the older
woman. THE old maid Of the old pattern was
never dependent. She frequently did more In.
dispensable things for the people she lived with
than all Of the paid functionaries Jumped to-
gether; and often she was tho prime mover in
things of great as well as Of small moment In
the family. Women, that is the majority OF
women, were never intended for business life.
1t 10 too set and rigid q school for them, and
warps their womanliness. They get self.centred
and demoralized."
as business life n good thing for women r. re-
peated another woman. q wage-earner who has
achieved good standing and salary In the mart.
"Unhesitatingly I say not. Indeed, I feel SO
strongly on this subject that I would advise any
girl to marry even the man considered a poor
match. and one whom she is not passionately in
love with, rather than dedicate herself to busi-
ness. 1t would be far better, for the woman part
of her. to have to sweep the piazzas and tidy the
children. and oven sew patches on the carpet,
rather than escape care and annoyance at an
oflce desk. or course I am speaking now of
girls just starting out; older women with ideals
TO satisfy are q different matter; but a business
Life is bad for any. It's like being schooled and
echooled and drilled and drilled until all tho
Bappy impulses and softer ibres OF ones nature
are put under. never to crop up again. And the
worst of 1t is that you get SO you don't want
them to crop up; you want to stay In that dor
mant' unfeeling condition where n good dinner
pr weli;ftting gown affords the highest posi-.
oility or happiness. Business life does not affect
mems nature that way, but it does woman's."
ties there are not enough men to parcel out
among them. and even IL there were the right
i SaRi Mou unm not Ss. to f the rishs w q Sn;t thereby srIss
sailing about at odds. Nobody draws differences
concerning snnS g, the unmatched man: He Is looked
bachelordom and elected to do things in " bust.
TO her and with whom she could form home ties.
She was apt to be timid about travelling alone,
mouse or a bat. She never would have dreamed
Of indorsing a check or Of going to a bank or Of
naving any money transaction whatever with:
out masculine assistance. In fact, she looked
upon checks and all business papers with awe.
as entirely out OF her world. In many ways the
oar mala was a5surdiy IN the wake OF her wage
IL womeniy and intsliiGent. however. her po-
eition in that household where her home ties
hinged was no insignificant one. She may have
Kept count Of the spoons, and forks, looked after
the laundry list. and such small details. Might
nave lain awake ntDhtQ fhinkinD hnuv Iplfa'a
winter coat could be let down long enough for
her or how the three year. old shrunken nannels
inRly trivial matters might have employed her
mind, but she was for all that a vital influence
thar, their mother, being exempt from social
and household obligations, and In family issues
OF any Rind, grave or gay, the OLD maids judg-
She Would know whsro the here Se asi'e OF aRef house.
hoids papers were, very often when his wife
track the youngsters lost cap, ball, or knife to
lis hiding place. to bind up a bruised finger, get
over gaps untitled but for her.
A.ti tel Aunt Fanny; she'll know what Is
e@sre se 49, anG TG from s SS dhs s sssaet Sentences taacs In In
away a headache or assuaging wounded vanity.
always BIO depended upon to do the best thing:
Cousin Jeanette or Aunt Fannie was not paid
them could never have been footed up and cor
tainiy could not have been paid for IN any coin
yet uefibeu. sometimes the old maid had money
Of her own sufficient for her simple needs: but
even Il she did not. her dependency was regard
"a as Tar more OF q trust than an REMEMBRANCE;
and certain types Of the old maid of that old
pattern never thought, of their position in the
leave those children, she knew that, and who
would look after the iowersa and have the par.
!or curtains put away properly at the right time
II she was NOT there to see to til That was tho
way the old maid would reason. Then when
the long evenings shut In and the lamps were
ut and the youngest fodder cuddled into her
arms and the others got as close as they could,
and she told them stories and sang songs and
made them comfortable, the feeling that stirred
her heart was YER close 10 motherhood. She
was happy then. In the self-sacrihcing, disln.
terested way that IL woman's way.
Inc old maid Is emnn ipated now. She has all
per time to herself after business hours and
knows exactly how much she has to live on and
exactly how much she has TO do, and exactly-a
goo many other things. The time and interests
are mapped out, by rule and measure. She has
only her own pleasure to consult (outside OF
business hours) and there Is no one 10 interfere
with her going and coming, her uprising and her
tying down. She lives In oneness, the full, free
life inf Ihn inhfpfdttal Ia thn I'd, ln..lG,. l-,,n