The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1898-06-16

destiny. Had she stayed in the tent
or house while the other six daughters
of the sheik attended TO their herds,
her life would have been tame and
life in the solitude, but her
industry, her fidelity to her fathers
interest, her spirit of helpfulness
brought her into league with one of
the grandest characters of all history.
They met at that famous well, and
while she admired the courage of
Moses, he admired the tilial behavior
of Zipporah.
The fact that it took the seven daugh-
ters to drive the focks to the well i'm
plies that they were immense flocks
and that her father was man of
wealth. What was the use of Zip
porah's bemean,ng herself with work
when she might have reclined on the
hillside near her fathers tent, and
plucked buttercups and dreamed out
romances and sighed idly to the winds
and wept over imaginary songs to the
brooks? No, she knew that work was
honorable, and that every girl ought
to have something to do, and so she
starts with the neighing droves to the
well for the watering.
Around every home there are focks
and droves of cares and anxietics, and
every daughter of the family, though
there be seven, ought to be doing her
part to take care of the fiocks. In
many households, not only in Zip
porah, but all her sisters, without prac-
teal and useful employments. Many
of them are waiting for fortunate and
prosperous matrimonial alliance; but
some lounger like themselves will
come along, and after counting the
large number of father Jethro's sheep
and camels, will make proposals that
will be accepted; and neither of them
having done anything more practical
than to chew chocolate caramels, the
two nothings will start on the road of
life together, every step more and more
a failure. That daughter of the
Midianitish sheik will never find her
Moses. Girls of America, initiate Zip
porah. Do something practical. Do
something helpful. Do something
well. Many have fathers with great
focks of absorbing duties, and such
father needs help in home, or Office, or
field. Go out and help him with the
hocks. The reason that so many men
now condemn themselves to unbalanced
and solitary life is because they can
not support the modern young woman,
who rises at half-past ten IN the morn
IN and rafipnr Of ,,,s1~;<-1,A ~>f
the trashiest of novels in her hands
most of the time between the late ris-
ing and the late rctiring-a thousand
of them not worth one Zipporah.
There is question that every father
and mother ought to ask the daughter
at breakfast or tea table, and that all
the daughters of the wealthy sheik
you do if the family fortune should
fail, if sickness should prosterate the
bread-winner, If the fiocks of Jethro
should be destroyed by a sudden ex.
cursion Of wolves and bears and hyenas
from the mountain? What would you
do for a living? Could you support
yourself? Can you take care of an in
valid mother or brother or sister as
well as yourself?" Yea, bring it
down to what any day might come
to a prosperous family. ''Can you
cook q dinner If the servants should
make a strike for higher wages and
leave that morning?' Every minute
of every hour of every day of every
year there are families flung from pros
perity into hardship, and alas! if in
such exigency the seven daughters of
Jethro can do nothing but sit around
and cry and wait for some one to come
and hunt them up a situation for which
they have no qualification. Get at
something useful; get at it right
away! Do not say: IF l were
thrown upon my own resources would
become a music teacher" There are
now more music teachers than could be
supported if they were all Mozarts and
Wagners and Handcls. Do you say:
II will 20 to embroidering slippers. ;"
There are more slippers now than
there are feet. Our hearts are every
day wrung by the story OF elegant
women who were once atfiuent, but
through catastrophe have fallen help.
less, with no ability to take care of
themselves.
Our friend and Washingtonian
townsman, w. w. Corcoran, did mag
nificent thing when he built and en-
dowcd the Louise House. for the sup
port of the unfortunate aristocracy of
the south-the people who once had
everything, but have come to nothing.
We want another w. w. Corcoran to
build Louise House" for the un-
fortunate aristocracy .of the north
But institutions like that in every city
of the land could not take care of one
half the unfortunate aristocracy of the
north and south whose large fortunes
have failed, and who, through lack OF
acquaintance with any style of work,
can not now earn their own bread.
There needs to be peaceful yet rad
ical revolution among most of the
prosperous homes of America, by which
the elegant do-nothings may be trans
formed into practical do-somethings.
Let useless women 60 to work and
gather the Hocks. Come, Zipporah, let
me introduce vou to Moses, But YOU