St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-02-19

for the welfare of his household. bui
one day he gets his feet wet and ia
three days pneumonia has closed his
life and the daughters are turned ou,
on a cold world TO earn bread, and
there is nothing practical that they
can do. The friends come in and hold
consultation. Give music lessons.
says an outsider. Yes, that is q useful
calling, and if you have great genius
for it, go ON in that direction. But
there are enough music teachers now
starving to death in all our towns and
cities to occupy all the piano stools and
sofas and chairs and front door steps
of the city. Besides that, the daugh-
ter has been pltying only for amuse-
ment aud is only Mt the foot OF tho
ladder, to the top OF which n great mul-
titude of masters on piano and harp
and fute and organ have climbed.
Put the bereft daughters as sales
women in stores." says another adj
wiser. Bat there they must compete
with statesmen OF long experience, or
with men who have served an appren-
ticeship in commerce and who began
as shop boys ut ten years of age. Some
lkind-hearted dry gooIs man, having
known the father, now gone. says:
Ave are not in need of any more help
just now, but send your daughters TO
the store, and will do us we'll by them
as possible" Very soon the question
comes up, why do not the female em-
ployes of that establishment get as
much wages rs the male employees?
For the simple reason, in many cases,
the females were suddenly flung by
misfortune behind that counter, while
the males have from the day they left
the public school been learning the
business.
/ How is this evil to be cured? Start
clear back in the homestead and teach
| your daughters that life is an earnest
i thing, and that there is u possibility.
If not strong probability. that they
will have to tight the battle of life
alone. Let every father and mother
| say to their daughters: Now, what
would you do for livelihood if what
l now own were swept away by finan-
cial disaster, or cid age, or death should
end my career?"
"Weil, could paint on pottery and
do such decorative work" Yes, that
is beautiful, and il you have genius for
it go on in that direction. But there
are enough busy at that now to make
IL line of hardware as long as yon Penn
sylvania avenue.
HaI1 I TT
public aad earn my living as a drama
tist; coull render King Lear or Mac
beth till your hair would rise on end.
or give you Sherilan's Ride o. Dick
ems ..Piclswicls. Yes, that is beau
tiful art. but ever and anon, as nov,
there is an epidemic of dcamatization
that makes hundreds of households
nervous with the cries and shrielss AMI
seolis OF yoli: trt.. ltsll.s dy-
ing in the fifth act, aud the trolb!e is
that while your friends would like to
hear you. and really think that you
coull surpass Risto.i aud Gaoriotte
Cushman aud Fanny K.mble of the
past, to say nothing of the present
you could not, in the WY of living.
in ten years earn ten cents.
My advice to all girls and all unmar-
ried women, whether in afh uent homes
or i'll homes where most strin sent econ
omies are grinding, is to learn to dc
some kind of work that the world must
have while the world stands. l am
glad to see n marvellous change for the
better, and that women have found
out that there are hundreds of prac-
teal things that a woman can do for q
living if she begins soon enough. aud
that men have been compelled to adj
init it. You and l can remember when
the majority of occupations were
thought inappropriate for women; but
our civil war came, AMI the hosts of
men went forth from north and south;
and to conduct the business of our
cities during the patriotic absence.
women were demanded by the tens OF
A1ousanls 10 take the vacant places;
and multitudes of women, who had
hitherto been supported by fathers
and brothers and SONS, were compelled
from that time 70 take care of them
selves From that time a mighty
change took place favorable to female
employment.
Among the occupations appropriate
for woman place the following, into |
many of which she has alrea iy en-
tered, and AL the othcls she will en-
ter: Stenography, and you may find
her at nearly all the reportorial stands |
in our educational. polite II and reli-
gious meetings. Savings banks, the |
work clean aud honorable. ani who SO |
great q right to toll there, for woman
founded the first savings bank-Mrs. |
Priscilla Wakefield? Copyist. aud
there is hardly professional man that |
does not need the services of her pen
mansilip; and, as amlauensis., m1ny |
of the greatest books of our day have
been dictated tor her hanl writ |
ing. There they are as florists, |
and confectioners, AMI mu sic teach /
crs, and book-keepers. for which they /
are specially qualified by patience and
accuracy; and wood engraving. in
the Cooper institut. has turned out SO /
many qualifed; and telegraphy, for
which she is specially prepared. rs
thousands of the t.legraphic officers
will testify. Photography, and is near
ly all our establishments they may be
found there at cheerful work. As
workers in ivory. and gutta percha.
and gum elastic, and tortoise shell.
and gliding, and in chemicals, in porce-
lain. in terra Gotta As postmistresses,
and presidents have given them APP
po.ntments all over the land.
As proof-rea:lers, as translators. as
modelers. as designers. as draughts-
women. as photographers, rs teachers
in schools and seminaries. for which
they are especialiy:cndowed. the first
teachers of every child, by divine ar
rangcment, being woman. As ply
sicians having graduated after rcgu-
lar course of study from the female
colleges OF our large cities. where they
get as scientific aud thorough prepara-
ton as any doctors ever had, and 60
forth to work which no one but
women could SO appropriately and
delicately do. On the lecturing plat