Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-10-10
Little Talks by
Beatrice Fairfax

Tor or the FAMILY fortune, Sne re-
CARDS these gifts as negligible on
the part of her daughter. She may
go even further, and cherish a
vague If not positive antipathy to
her daughter becoming proficient in
any of these things.
''I don't wish Gladys to learn how
to sew" one of them once said to
me- eff she doesn't know how, some
one will always do it for her-I
know" she finished rather bitterly,
because I've spent my time sewing
for all the incompetents of the
family.
So Gladys was not taught to sew,
instead she went to "a finishing
school," And took music lessons
and French, though she never really
learned either accomplishment.
"The Spring Song" was her highest
musical flight, but she could never
play it consecutively. And her
French would not have carried her
farther than ordering lunch in a
cafe where the menu was written in
that language. But her mother
persisted in the belief that If her
daughter did not know how to do
all the useful and interesting things
in which she excelled, somehow life
would be easier for her child.
And doubtless there is one Gla-
dys, at least, to every Jnree fami-
lies in the United States. Some
times the ratio is three Gladys to
one family.
The chances for happiness and
usefulness of such girl are be-
ing spoilt, because her mother i'm
agines she would enjoy being the
parent of "a society girl" or high
ly successful woman of the world
and she begins an attempt to hoist
her daughter to the top of the lad
der by cutting away the inter-
vening rulings, the theory being
that Gladys must reach the top be-
cause she is entirely unacquainted
with the bottom.
There may be no money in the
family; no prospects, nor any con-
spicuous talent, but mother persists
in her fond delusion that if Gladys
pays as much for her hat as Eu-
nice Vanderpool, with whom she
went to school and who is heiress
to few millions, daughters
chances somehow or other will ap-
proximate those of Eunice.
So the family goes without and
Gladys gets the hat, but no miracle
happens.
Nothing a Year.
For the same reason, Gladys, af-
ter completing her course at the
finishing school, does not take up
profession or go into business. Her
destiny is to be "a society girl" on
fathers salary as a bookeeper, de-
partmental chief, confidential clerk
or assistant something or other.
1t is a pretty Cinderella-ish busi-
ness, but mother is sure the prince
is going to discover Gladys. The
girl is rather fed up on the prince
legend, as it has not been SO long
ago she stopped reading fairy
stories and taking them seriously,
and she is quite willing to sit
around, look pretty and wait till she
is discovered.
But as the years go on the prince
proves to be rather a poor Sherlock
Holmes, he doesn't discover Gladys
or make any attempt to do so, and
she gets rather peevish waiting for
him to come and find her.
She notices that the girls who
have gone into business at the same
time she started her career as "a
society girl" on nothing a year,
have nearly all married young men
whom they met in business and
these young people are now wholly
In hnx In 10
suburbs, saving for Ford or pride
fully relating the baby's latest
trick.
Gladys no longer feels very much
at home with these young married
people. Their interests seem such
miles away from hers it is hard to
get on the same plane with them
even for conversational purposes.
She feels superior to them in being
"a society girl" and yet they have
homely happiness that she can't
help resenting. Somehow or other
the world seems to be passing
Gladys by.
And yet she keeps right on being
helpless-and like Mr.. Macawber,
waiting for something to turn up.
Her mother continues to manage for
her; she. still does much of her sew
ing and mending, waits on her and
apologies. for the delay in the
princes appearance.
Mother Responsible.
Mother having begun the princely
legend, feels it is up to her to make
good with the mythical son-in-law;
she feels responsible for him and
his failure to materialize is a
source of keen modification to her.
To retrieve poor Gladys and her
hopeless prospects, her mother
would cheerfuHy go to- the stake
Her maternal instinct warns her
that it is now too late to teach
anything practical to Gladys; the
time has passed when a girl regards
a successful culinary flight in the
kitchen as an achievement. There
is no great adventure in a spoiled,
girls making a batch
of doughnuts, or a cherry pie
these things have to be taught
young.
Gladys cake invariably turns to
dough; that is. the history of the
type. But the great war has given
such as she the chance to redeem
the spoiled loaf. She may now turn
it into toast, or a pudding, and
serve it with sauce. piquante and
convert what promised to be an ut
ter failure into partial success.
For IL has given "tha sociptNy