Evening star., 1902-01-04
THE ENGLISH WIFE.
An American Describes Her as Hum
BILE and Patient.

BILE and Patient.
From the Kew York Tribune.
The English wife is perhaps ef all wives
the most devoted. perhaps We may say the
most humble, patient and abject of wives"
declared Mrs. Emil L. Boas before meet
ing of the Women's Alliance of the Lenox
Avenue Unitarian Church, held in the
church yesterday afternoon. The subject
of her paper was Woman in Society at
Home and Abroad"
81 have seen English women do what
think no other woman in France or Ameri-
ca, or even Germany, would" continued
the speaker, and she cited as a case in
point that of a man in good society. who
took it as a matter of course that his wife
should walk up five flights of stairs I'm a
hotel to get his overcoat. In speaking of
the leading characteristics OF the French
woman the speaker said: I'VE do not
realize how closely the life of a mother in
France is bound up with that Of her chill
dren Love through the very circum-
stances arranged marriages. can rarely
exist before marriage, and often does not
come afterward, so that the woman's COM
pensa ton comes through her affection for
her children, and all her love and devotion
are concentrated upon them" The German
''hausfrau' was summed up as essentially
domestic in her tastes and life.
The American girl. Mrs. Boas said, has
blended in her all the instincts and attri-
butes of the women Of other nations, and
in addition enjoys all the advantages of the
untrammeled, unfettered life and educa-
tional advantages Of this country. She
has just a little too much alteration" con-
tinued the speaker. ''She must be worthy
of her inheritance, and the liberty she en-
joys must not become license"
Mrs. C. Campbell Gleason, who was intro
hx oh, 30
man." coincided with Mrs. Boas in her
views of the English woman's status, and
expressed the opinion that the woman who
marries an Englishman must be content to
lose her individuality. She claimed, how
ever, that the position of an English wife
had it's compensations in the ideal home
life. Il don't think We know what home
really is in America" she said. THE
boarding house is unknown among the Eng
lish people and the Englishman is a good
father"
Mrs. Henry T. Peirce who spoke of wo-
men in political life, said in part: This is
a time Of wild agitation concerning the por-
tion of power that belongs to women and
the old-time lady has stepped aside to avoid
being run over by the wheels of the new
woman. In times past woman has been
able to influence the affairs of men, because
she has not attempted to direct their af-
fairs. In the future she can maintain her
power only by being as we'll educated as
men are, by knowing the things that men
know as Well as men know them, and by
using the knowledge to supplement mems
work in the world-not to usurp it.
Miss Clarita Spencer, who is an under
graduate at Barnard, and the editor of one
Of the papers published by the students,
gave brief eXtemporaneous address on
the American girl She expressed the con-
viction that college life is of the greatest
value in fostering a democratic spirit of
mutual helpfulness Those from the high
est and the lowest walks of life met on
terms of equality, and this was helping to
make the ideal woman.