The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1909-11-14
THESOUTH'S GRANDMOTHER
Good Enough Models for the Girls Of
Today

| extensive three month trip, during
which she visited most of the csnvents
of her order in the prominent cities Of
the East and West Mother de Ricci
went for the purpose of making obser-
vations with a view of broadening the
educational work of the Dominicans in
the city, and though she has made
some plans they need revision, she
says, before they will be ready for
publication.
The advice of Boston nun whom
| met in Memphis" Mother de Ricci
said, (which was given to the girls of
her convent seemed to me to be an all
comprehensive one in regard to educa-
ton. Girls, you can not do better than
to emulate your grandmothers.,' she
said. The elegance, the culture and
fine domestic virtues of these ancient
Southern women would be model for
you i'll everything
Il agreed with her" Mother de Ricci
said. "and | think we are getting too
far off from these old ideals We are
adopting new fads and fancies too
readily, and we are apt to forget the
Southern elegance that our grand
mothers breathed so freely.
Zone point l would like to empha-
SIZE" Mother de Ricci continued, is
that New Orleans people do not know
what they have There are so many
beautiful and interesting things here
as | have seen anywhere, and we have
as many advantages. Our street car
system is better, more expeditions and
more comfortable than any l have seen
elsewhere, and though perhaps our
buildings may not be as costly as some
of the residences of the East and West,
there is more home about them. In
tellectual1y, [ saw no better work be-
ing done in the academies and college,
than in New Orleans. The West is ac-
knowledged to be a great country, and
from many points of view it is but
there are few real homes there, and
i in Denver | met with so many tram
sients that | came to wonder Whether
anybody ever really lived there. t
is, in my opinion, good place to leave.
Colorado City | found very charming
little place"
St. Louis. Mother de Ricci liked very
much There she had an opportunity
of visiting the great Jesuit University,
where she has brother studying theo-
1ogy He will be priested in 1911 The
institution visited by Mother de Ricei
during her travels she found working
pretty much upon the same lines as
that being done in Catholic institutions
in this city In Illinois and Wisconsin
she said the members of her order are
affiliated with the universities, which,
in her opinion rather hampers than
helps them in their work
University men," Mother de Ricci
said, ''are not the ones to plan a course
of study for a woman. 1t takes
woman's mind which is especially adap-
ted for detail to plan the work that
a woman should do | think woman
who is capable of high culture should
receive it by all means, and at the same
time | think woman should be educat-
ed along domestic lines, too. If a girl
chooses to become nun and expects
to teach the very highest education is
none to good for her, and though all
far fhfa
religious life, and it is pity that many
more do not embrace it. the girl who
has every advantage that education can
give her is more apt to be fitting COM
panion to her husband than one who has
been deprived of such advantages. l
do not think woman should be slave
to man, but | do think that she should
know how to make his home comforts
able for him, and | think that girls
should be educated along domestic
lines think it a pity that more girls
do not enter the religious life. If they
did we would not hear of SO many
broken hearts, that is certain"
Mother de Ricci was very much sur
ipriSed at the small amount of grounds;
around some of the institutions she
said, the children had to form in ranks
on the sidewalk "If Our children had
to do that, we would think it terrible
said she. THE spacious grounds of the
| Dominicans here did not lead me to
expect such limited space. OF course
this was explained by the enormous
land values We think New Orleans
dirty, but it nothing to Chicago New
Orleans people, | tell you, do not real
lie what they have There is no place
more beautiful or that has more- ad-
vantages than we have right here andI
am certainly glad to be home"
We have time just now to do some
work for you. May be you have nor
Tired orr nrinfinO phone roOO