Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-12-16
RICH AMERICAN GIRLS.
Qualities That Make a Woman
Desirable as a Wife.
Mss Helen Gould Typo Inc Drawback
is That sho Can Hardly Feel safa to Ac
oept Any Mans Offer The Marrying of
Titles.

practice is good for woman and a
blessing for everyone else in the house
from the husband to the scullery maid
A woman should be able to sew we'll
and TO understand how to cut out and
ut her own dresses, though If she can
afford dressmaker let her by all
means employ one. She should qualify
herself to be not only Il kind mother
Dut wise one--making q thorough
study of hygiene and learning some
thing about physiology and therapeu-
Tics, so as not to get ratified if here be
no doctor at hand. She should be hon
eStly familiar with good literature and
Know and speak her own language
well, even il she study no other. 1t
can do her no harm either to have
mastered elementary science and to
Keep abreast mot too ambitiouSly) of
scientific progress. Finally, she should
develop her body, not excessively. but
Systematically, by exercise outdoors
and in. eat healthy food and be fanati-
cally immaculate in her person Such
woman will make u desirable wife,
whether she be rich or poor, plain or
beautiful.
Miss Helen Gould may be selected as
one of the best types of young woman
hood living. The only drawback for
Miss Gould or any other great heiress
is that there is hardly any male being
she can trust enough to feel safe in
becoming his wife. a man hitherto
honest may be transformed into
fortune hunter by Il girl like that.
Marriage. doubtful risk under the
most equal conditions, becomes IA mad
cap hazard for heresses. 1t is surpris-
Ing how often they have been, to all
appearances. fairly successful. Mary
Letter Gladly Curzon) is reputed TO be
happy and she certainly makes Il good
.tcprpinN. nf itp1n
cri lit who undertook the rehabilita-
- ~ the Ma ihCr0u~hS. appears sat
isfactory. Concerning Miss Martin
-ae!y CtaHcn). Catherine Goddard.
y lF!ncess Poniatowski Clara
Huntington. who married Prince Won
Haizre!dt. and many others. sufficient
Ga for TasSing judgment is lacking.
i'ut, generally considered, there is no
good reason why wealth should not
prove beneficial to women. 1t is more
lliely than formerly to prove so, be
VhuSe we haIc more enlightenment as
to tie conduct of life than we used to
have. our standards for women are
higher and more sensible Than of yorc
and the new careers" for women have
given their ambition u better direc-
ton.
The number Of beautiful women has
enormously increased in the last thirty
years; the Example of the stage and its
adoption by many society women may
have had something to do with that:
hut knowledge of how to live and the
popularity of exercise and sports have
had more. woman healthy in body
and enlightened in mind is much more
likely to lie good in other ways than
Is her INCOMPETENT sister: and since
wealth affords the best opportunities
for this kind of development 1t ought
to he, broadly speaking. beneficial to
the sex in this country.
40
samc temptations that rich boys have,
and it Is our boys, and not our girls.
who ought to lie blamed for the latter
marrying foreigners. a foreign aristo-
crat has at least a position and IL ca
reer 10 offer to Il girl in exchange for
her money; but what have our RICH
young men to offer her? What sort of
career 1t that of Il rich Americans
wife? Such cases as that of Miss Nor
gan are TOO rare to argue from. Miss
Iimmerman's marriage 10 the young
Duke OF Manchester, on the other hand.
has historic value. and II racial one
loo. for the noblemen of England are
bound to exercise great influence upon
English destinies. and it is therefore
desirable that they should strengthen
ana purify the stock as much as posi-
Bile. am glad the young couple has
been forgiven by Papa Zimmerman
and so well received in this city by our
people.
But the idea of a rich and beautiful
American girl marrying a creature like
some of our Anglo American dudes is
nauseating. Such n fate would be
wholly degrading. For her to marry
an English peer who was personally
insignificant might certainly not he the
highest destiny conceivable, but neither
need it be altogether base. There are
Conversations and opportunities in the
latter case which would be entirely
lacking in the other. If her domestic
life fails the wife may console herself
by building up or maintaining a great
social position: she may enter into af-
fairs OF state and do good in many in
cidental ways. But the unhappy wife
OF a rich American has nothing to turn
to but vice and dissipation IL her hus-
band be nincompoop or a scoundrel;
and one can only hope that the future
may stimulate our young men to make
themselves better worthy of our rich
and beautiful girls than they have
shown themselves to be of late.
Unless this happens the situation will
be singular. For there is every sign
that wealth will continue to increase
III this country. and If it continues to
harm our young men and to benefit
our young women. and thus to cause
their paths in life to diverge and to
drive the finest type of our woman
mood into the arms of foreigners, we
might be moved to pass law making
wealth transferrab BILE to the female side
Oh the family only. However, we need
not cross that bridge till we come to it.
Julian Hawthorne in New York
A