The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-08-06

Then, as in all crafts and arts, there
must In time ensue the teaching Of basket
weaving. which would be an industry in
itself.
Not only are there distinctions in the
sizes and shapes Of baskets, but in the
weaving patterns, and the coiorings EN-
ployed.
Any one who has admired the basket
work of the Indians cannot but be struck
by the possibilities of such work in more
educated hands.
The fact is that, for the past few sea-
sons, many women who spend their sum
mers in parts of the country where the
Indians are to be found have become pro-
fcient weavers on their own account, in
most instances their baskets showing
.. marked advances over those Of their pre-
ceptors.
Basket weaving is really the fashionable
summer activity at present. having quite
usurped fancy work in many places. So
far as the practical side of the work goes,
the dealers say the main difficulty is not
to dispose of fancy baskets, but to secure
the services of women who will produce
a sufficient quantity of work to be salable
through the ordinary trade channels.
A speciality Of the times consists of
cycle baskets; small, compact, handy
hampers so constructed as to be swung
with convenience upon a bicycle. Small,
oblong wooden trays with wicker rims.
designed for breakfast and five O'Clock tea
use. are a novelty.
AS with SO many other handicrafts per-
formed By women. basket work needs to
be placed upon a surer and more econ
c,,o Ia ha~f~@ - - - i. II 49,
done "just for fun" or by women under
conditions of too much, isolation. and too
little continuity.
An end of the century girl recently re-
marked. II do not want to be an old
maid. ! should love to have my own
establishment and a house of my own,
with as many other temporal blessings in
the way of t%urnouts, pretty clothes and
well trained servants as Providence sees
fit to bestow. | love children. too. and
should adore my own. There is only enc
thing about it all that I hate the idea
of, and that is the mani, Such inde-
pendence of masculine -companionship is
a marked feature Of modern feminine de-
velopment, and this summer it seems
likely to be more pronounced than ever.
now that so many of our young men are
"off to the war" just as they were dur-
ing the acknowledgements summer
days in the sixties. The curious differ
ence between the modern girl and her
mother. however, is that the former does
not apparently miss her absent SWANS
in the least, while the latter, in her day,
mourned and refused to be comforted.
just as the young soldier would wish the
girl he left behind him to do. Now. row.
ever, I'VE have changed all that The
up-to-date maiden takes her lovers alb
sence most philosophicaIly. She is too
keen about her golf. cycling and other
sports 10 be melancholy, and even If he
is nearer and dearer than the others she
is not inconsolable.
do you know" said a hard hearted
young woman, the other day. sI hink it
is lovely TO have no men. The girls are
ever so much nicer; there are no Jealous
les or rivalries or heart burnings of any
kind-every one is sensible and agreeable.
Of course / wan the war to be over, and
our soldiers to come home, but in the
meantime l think we are going to lave 4
delightful SUMMER Hen parties bid fair
to be the fashion this season. Hen din
ners, which have become more or less of
a feature in entertaining of late years,
will be more popular thar ever. House
parties. composed entirely of girls. are an
innovation which has been inaugurated
with great success. and even dances are
spoken of. In short, women are no longer
dependent upon men for their amuse-
ments, and although 'the old, old story
viii never become obsolete for the want
Of the telling. and young men and mai
dens will go falling in love and marrying
as of yore, it is some consolation to the
minated ones to know that if they do NOT
happen to meet their afinities they may
lead a comfortable and even enviable ex-
stance without them.
***
st is sometimes argued that the college
units q woman for domestic life.' writes
Edward Box in the August Ladies
Home Journal sHThat is true, 7 think,
only so far as a girl can or cannot adapt
herself from one condition to another.
The difference between the college and the
home is simply the difference between all
training and real work in the world. If a
college course is rightly understood and
taken advantage of, 1t will prepare rather
than unfit a girl for the wisest govern
ment Of a house. If she has used her
time and opportunity at college, well. her
training of system and discipline will
prove of the first Importance to her in
conducting the domestic machinery.
Aside from the direct application of her
training to her work, she has the great
advantages of resources of mental re-
freshment when moments of leisure come
to her. The domestic courses. now being
so generally introduced into the curricu-
lum of our girls colleges. also give a
practical value to a college education for
a girl which it did not possess a few years
ago. The value Of these courses lies in the
foundation which they give to a girl to
build upon.
.All things being equal. a college train
ing is unquestionably a source of inesti-
mable value to a girl as It is to a man,
she is the better equipped for her
duties of wife and mother because of it.
knowledge Is always valuable. Yet it
does not. by any means, follow that a
girl. unable to go through college, is at
a disadvantage with her girl friend who
Where it is feasible and possible it
IS an excellent part of a girls equipment,
and it's advantages will come back to her
4 thousandfold in her future years. But
in the majority Of cases a college train
ing is not feasible nor possible. IL going
to college simply means to a girls mind