The evening times., 1898-10-01
ARE WOMhN
BETTER ?
It Is a Subject That Causes
Spirited Discussion.
Mary and Martha Washington Had
Gossip Less Prevalent Now.

There are no names in the list OF
American women that are regarded with
more reverence than those of the mother
and wife of George Washington. They
have been constantly held up as types
Of pure and noble womanhood. They
were good women, but many of their
virtues are apocryphal. and owe their
fancied existence to the inventive ge-
MUS of the school teacher Weems. who,
to spice his biographies, made out of
whole cloth such anecdotes as that of
little George and the cherry tree, and OF
Francis Marion and the sweet potatoes.
Various letters and memoirs that are
extant show that the first President was
not entirely satisfied with either his
wife or his mother. says Jane Howard
in Chicago exchange. He frequently
reproved his mother for her foolish ex-
travagance and shiftless way of keeping
mouse. She had way of borrowing
Iom the neighbors, which Washington
thought was wrong and once he had
TO rebuke her for coming into a room en-
aeshabille in the presence of strangers
she was quarrelseme, and il was her
temper that led him TO declare thar he
would never have two women living in
the same house while he was there
himself He also complained that she
was frivolous and given to gossip.
George himself had a hot temper.
which he had great difficulty to control,
aho' as Martha his wife, was also not
sweet-tempered, he often had difficulty
in avoiding tilts with her. She was the
wealthiest woman in Virginia, and some
what older than he, but she was a great
oeHe before her marriage, and rather
1rlVoious- Washington himself was not
very well educated. but his wife was an
lgnoramus. She could not spell at all
ana Washington was so ashamed of bar
orthography that he made ii point 10
destroy all or her letters. Most of her
letters which are in existence were writ
ten by Washington and copied bv her
hiuch as many OF Nashington's state pa
pers. including even the farewell adj
dress, were of other peoples authorship
Mrs. Martha Washington's Ignorance
was so appalling that Jefferson. Hamil-
ton. Madison, and all who came in con-
tact with her We're impressed
On, yes out she was d good housekeep-
er. mat would be the remark of the
critic of the women of today and the de-
fender of those of the past. She was NO,
good housekeeper. She was a Door one
and she knew il so well that she was
greatly pleased when her husband en-
gagged a woman to keep house She her
sell was eXtravaSant and Washington
had to enforce upon her the duty she
owed in observing simple and economical
habits In the household for the sake of
the needed example to other women and
TO the country.
Inc woman of a century ago was badly
handicapped. by her environment. She
was compelled to gossip and be frivolous
Those were her duties and her educa-
tional development was entirely along
these lines.
The reason women are less frivolous
and trifiing today than they were is that
then they did not make any real study of
science, philosophy and history. Where
the only objects with which woman came
IN contact were those of the kitchen the
nursery, the drawing-room and the ward
robe, she could not have broad ideas of
life and the world. When dress was the
most important object of her experience
or society, then dress and society were
the topics of her conversation But as
the sphere of woman has become broaden
ed and she has been taught more of great
subjects her mind was broadened. As she
begins to learn about great social prob
lens these Supplant the narrower world
of her nefghbors and take the place of
trivial gossip. This is why the woman of
today is so far ahead of that of the mas
generation or any other generation in
every respect