The times., 1901-03-16

spring but closed her remarks by the anti
climax that the whole she would rather have
a city Eat than a farm
Mrs May B. Bedell injudiciously commented
on farmhouse cooking, saying that she wondered
that the farmers had any health, as they lived
principally on potatoes, pie, and cake. She IN
dulgod IN some painful "reminiscences evidently.
as she asserted that steak a thing 10 he
dreaded in the country. This aroused the mem
hers who were born on farms, who rose en maSse
20 protest One remarked with tears IN her voice
that farmers wives were as much ladies as We
men in the city, which brought Mrs Bedell 10
her feet in mortified disclaimer Of having in any
way referred TO their manners or good breeding
Miss, America Phillips asserted that. as far As
health Vas concerned. people in the country take
a great deal more medicine than in town she
gave an instance in which country cousin ad-
YiSed her 10 take a spring medicine. saying thhl
she could get six quart bottles for -. Just
think of huyinC six quarts al one time. eNcaim-
ed Miss Phillips in tones OF dislnay. she theh
'insnuated things about the farmers men
tality that aroused another storm Of wrath among
the rural members. Mrs. John Eehy retorted tnat
in a wide acquaintance with country lie she hsu
known only one crazy person. ana that was ma" %
who came TO New York and worked with Dr-
PsrkhUrst"
Apparently this mixture Of tTlVlailtles'
personalities, and acrimonious retort is
what that club considers political study
II there are many such clubs in the coun-
try. il might be a good thing TO establish
a mission TO bring the wandering sheep
back to the good old-fashioned Dorcas
Society. where nobody pretended to know
anything about politics, and the topics
Of discussion We're confined to The mys'
teries of herr.uEbone stitch and the al
fairs of the noighbors. At these meetings
the housewives of the neighborhood eX-
changed, not only gossip. but recipes for
cake, and patterns for gowns, and the
result was often increased perfection in
housekeeping which every woman in
those days considered her real trade, and
which must still be the trade of at least
seventy-fve per cent of the women of to-
day There is dignity in doing some one
thing well. II it is nothing but soap
boiling: there Is none at all I'm neglecting
real work to play at political discussion
and get into hysterical fuses over fan
cied insults.
There are women here and there who
are really interested in studying politics
and other things, but they will seldom be
found in such clubs as these, any more
than a genuine artist will waste his time
at a studio tea where nobody knows any
thing about the principles Of art. but
everybody wishes TO make a pTeNeICc oi
knowing. Unless people desire to know
a thing well, it is not only useless, but
utterly ridiculous, for them to study it
superficially, for the purpose of appear
ing intellectual The tendency toward
sham knowledge thus fostered is consid-
erably worse, from any point of view,
than the densest ignorance, because it is
essentially dishonest. The plain old
countrywoman, honestly and rightly
proud OF her butter, her cheese. her
cakes. and her thriving poultry yard, de-
lighting in her daintily clean house with
its old-time furniture. clinging with a
wholesome instinct 10 the quaint, pic
turesque speech and the half-poetic, half
grotesque traditions Of her great-grand-
mother. is as much more dignitied than
these sham-inteilectual clubwomen as an
cld-fashioned eight-day clock is more
valuable and more beautiful than nickel
watch. The sooner the Selma Whites of
this day and generation ind that out the
more chance they will stand of making
something respectable out Of themselves
their children, and the life Of this coun-
try.