The Wanganui Chronicle. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1908. ESSENTIALS TO WOMANHOOD.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12145, 11 March 1908, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 1908. ESSENTIALS TO WOMANHOOD.

There is a likelihood of Germany making it compulsory for girls to learn cookery and other household, requirements. Whatever may be thought of the indiscretions of the Kaiser, the German Empress is universally esteemed as a womanly woman and a skilled housewife. She believes in a woman excelling in what is womanly, and maintains that any girl who wishes to best fulfil the requirements of wife and mother must know ;how to prepare meals and keep a house free from cobwebs. This idea of the Kaiaerin has apparently permeated the German nation. Later, no. doubt, legislation will enforce it in the schools. If this is done another evidence will have been given that the head of the Government in any : land exerts a strong though indirect influence on the citizens. When the influence is for good the one who exerts it is a public benefactor. In this connection ah American journal expresses the opinion—an opinion, we fear, which may also be pertinently expressed in countries other than the Great Republic—that in this age of materialism girls too frequently become convinced early in life that they need not learn the simple of the home They hope and believe that by some happy turn pi circumstances a Prince CharniiHg, with all his; pockets-burden-ed with gold," wilt come along 'and them. TMs good fortune will relieve them of prosaic duties and make life ono long sweet poem, with no other scenes than the most beautiful of the Romeo 'and Juliet type! Dreams are pardonable,- particularly in the young; Ambitions and success to some extent are.builfc upon such slender-foundations. But they should be largely confined to the dark night, hours. The daytime is not for fancies, which are as vacant as soap bubbles. The age of youth is the daytime, of our lives. If we dream it away the iawakening will be tearful. Girls and boys who are allowed to grow like weeds in a .back garden, free from all restraint, from parental advice and control, and from the education which common-sense gives, are spending the Maytime of their careers in dreams too idle for humanity. With daughters, one of .the most marked tendencies is that of romance. They delight to think that they will pass into realms of love and matrimony without experiencing any of the tedious domestic obligations of their mothers. With these said misconceptions of real, life and its seriousness, they enter womanhodd. It is then they begin to realise,what a woman must know to be most a woman. Few enter this stage well equipped with knowledge of the kitchen.. They may be advanced in music, in song, in the silent arts of femininity, but they know nothing of the heavier science of the household. Many of them have a pronounced dislike for the dustpan, the oven, the dishcloth, and the washing board. This is indeed regrettable, considering how numerous are the men who want clean homes, well-cooked meals, and white linen. The experience of the past teaches that while -there is much transpiring that is romantic, much that is only pleasure, the. average girl marries into modest conditions. Her rich Prince Charming is only a faithful mechanic, clerk, artist, or business man. He has to work hard for his income, and he has to pay coal, grocery., and other bills whether there is money in the bank or not. The'girl who knows how to cook, to wash if necessary, to prepare* meals and darn socks is the vroman who possesses foremost qualities of a good wife. If she cannot do these things she gives little assistance, but much worry to Her husband. How arc tho' girls of New Zealand qualifying themselves for the homes they are destined for? According :to tlie director of the "Wellington Technical School — and assuming that his experience is typical of what is going on throughout the Dominion—the girls of this country are neglecting the study of cooking, dressmaking, and hygiene, the three essentials of womanly domestic economy. By tho way, how many of the girls oi Wanganui are to-day availing themselves of the splendid opportunities afforded by the local Technical School? "We suggest that parents, as well as the girls themselves, should give this question their serious consideration. - The Empress of Germany sets a good example which no British girls nee-el hesitate to follow.