THINGS WE MIGHT DO.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2152, 24 April 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

THINGS WE MIGH T DO.

Bt Lili.ii: Uark.s in* tax Newoasti.b CIIRONICLB.

•'Ooit Young Lvlies " are divided tuto two ttUuM r and drones and the bees, and alack -a-diy, I sadly fear that the former ha\"o a large majority. I am constantly hearing healthy young girls com plaining of. the timo hanging heavily on their hands, and almost in the s.ime breath thay own to having no occupation. This is a state of things that cannot be too greatly deplore*!, and unfortunately it is a growing evil. I care uot how wealthy a girl may be, an occupation is a physjfcal'and moral uecessity to her ; without it she is apt, nay almost certain, to become dissatisfied, listless, and discontented. She gets wearied of doing nothing, amusements pall on her ; she is conscious of a void, an emptiness in her life ; shelongs for the unobtainable ; she loses all taste for wholesome recreations. I will give you a specimen of au average day passed by one of our young ladies of the drone class. She rises very late, has breakfast ; if fine, goes into the town, looks at the shops, returns home in time for lunch or dinner, which is alreadyprepared for her ; in the afternoon she either reveives or visits friends, or else does a little crewel or any other fashionable work, in a desultry sort of manner ; in the evening, she languidly plays the latest waltz, sings a little, reads a little, works a little more, and finally retires to rest. Thf- proceedings of the day may possibly be occasionally altered ; she may practice in the uorning, and go out in the afternoon * but, even then, has her day been properly spent? Surely a woman has a higher mission in life than to beooraeJan adept at fancy needlework ! There are so many things a girl can do who has plonty of time, if there is no neceraity for her to utilise it in earning money. She can instruct her younger brothers and sisters in muiic, &c, and belp them to prepare their lessons ; she can visit the poor : she can see poverty in its cruel aspect ; she can contrast her own :weU-fed, well-warmed, happy lot with the wretched mechanic out of work, who, with his wife and children, are herded. together in one room, without fire or food, omy sisters ! think of it ; think of those who are homeless, without friends or money ; think of women, flesh and blood like ourselves, tramping along bare-footed, clad in rags, whose only home, is the streets ; think of the bairns crying for bread, their poor little limbs scarcely protected from the icy withering northern blast ; think of the misery and distress that are around us, and you will quickly see one of the things we might do. We consider ourselves charitable because wo give a stall at a bazaar, and, dressed in becoming costume, play at shopkeeping. That is not charity. Neither is it charity to feed the hungry with tracts, or sit down (with our furs wrapped round us, looking the picture of cosy prosperity) and read a chapter of the Bible to a shivering family who are looking wistfully at the empty grate. luhtt'ad of wasting our time and money in embroidering kitchen towelling, let us employ it by making clothing for tho poor ; let us put some of our pin-raoney away, so that when we visit them we can i give something more {substantial than our advise. Another thing we might do is to visit the sick. Ido not mem that we may rush into infection ; but there •re many girls who are helpless invalids, who have been struck down by the dread band of disease, who are so frail, and whose tenure of life is so uncertain, that the very wind of Heaven may be too much for them. Think of the monotony of their existence— no change, no amusements , every day the same, except that it britiga them nearer te the end ; then think of the pleasure your visits would give. ' I know that you would always be bright and cheerful in the sick room, and you would think of all the scraps of news and jokes to tell ; of course, you would take a ,ievr, fresh flowers whenever you went, and be richly rewarded when yon saw the gleam of pleasure in the sunken •ye, and the warm fluHh of aratification mount into the pallid cheek ; needless to say all the latest novels you had you would lend to your invalid, and any delicacy you Baw that miijht tempt a capricious appetite you would prorapdy purchase. I say thai I know all of you. my readers, would you do nil these little things which help to make your visits streaks of sunshine in the grey livas of our sick sisters. There is one thing which wo all ought to do, and that is, COOK [large capitals please, Mr Compositor ; if you happen to be in lodgings, or a young husband, I am sure yon will comply with my request, for ydu well know by experience what an important topic I am going to touch upon].' Don't talk to roe about women suffrage or the emancipation of women; we don't deserve it till we are all past mistresses in the culinary arts. Before we went in for " ologies," we should graduate in bread-making, potato boiling, meat roasting. We should receive honorary degrees for pastry-making and proficency in cooking fish. How can wo be independent when we are in moral terror of" our cook ? True despotism it is to be found only in the kitchen. If she is a good cook we would not contradict or Tex her for worlds ; we treat her with buge respect, we apologise humbly for venturing into her domain, and feel abashed and painfully ignorant in her awe-inspiring presence. Our he's are firm here : they do not mind how much we grumble at tho rest of our servants, or how 1 we treat our governeises, lady helps, ftc. ; but one thing they insist ou, and that is, that the cooks are treated with utmost deference. Horrible thought! suppofeshe was to leave, what should wo do ?." "For", our china and lustra painting would not help us to prepare the dinner. We are virtually at her mercy ; how different would it be if we could roll up our sleeves and know exactly how to roast, boil, and bake. And you, my dear young ladies', who have to go into the world and fight toe hard battle of life for yourselves, you who aro members of tho gorernpaa And companion brigade, if jon have' a light hand at pastry, or a huppy turn for made dishes, and you duu't mind utilising your knowledge when Mrs gives a dinner paity, believe me she will appreciate it. It seems strange to note with what scant courtesy governesses nnd companions are treated in certain sections of society. True, they may have bepn brought up and, educated as Indies in a tender, loving home, when suddenly, by an irony of fate, they are forced into the world ; insteaa of their brave independence being admired, their position is kept constantly before their eyes. Tho mistress of the bouse languidly tolerates them, and tbu servants naturally take their cue from her ; if the poor girl, heartsick and discouraged, give notice, her employer cares but little, an that market is completely glutted ; she knows she has only to advertise to receive dozens of applications. Now how different with a cook, who very often gets a much larger wage — or perhaps I hnd bettor say salary — than the hardly worked young governess. To this despot, as I have already said, mistresses pay homage, and would enduro any insolence, or gratify any caprice, rather than lose their treasure. You bluSbirig damsels who aro soon going to entlr ' into the bledsed state, remember a large proportion of yorfP ' future happiness depends upon ""the unrtmantic art of cookery. At dear Edwin is content with brefccT'and cheese and kisses, as long as he 3Bas plenty of the latter; but afterwaMs' he will require something morn sabifential, and, we bolievo a man's ardHtir and romance will 000 l rapidly if exposed to the sad realism of a course of badly cooked dinners. Cookery is a science, to bo studied solemnly and practiced carefully ; all you who are yet ignorant of it, purchase a book of recipes — (I have uot written one, so you need not think I am giving myself a gratuitous

advertisement)— try till you are p«rfj<:t, and then in the futuro will it huvewt ol bl<-.»->in^H come home t» me, for you hi your inmost w>uls will bo griiU ful for tJu hint, mid ho will tho oppoaito ccx, for tlirn thoy may possess what now very fow newly-married men h'tve, i. c , a perfect digestion. Lustra an 1 china painting uro jii-t now fas'iionable amusements, and should help to fill up our time ; but, in addition, we should mike our own dresses, or at leant ow everyday ones, at home. Iv the<o dijs of scientific dresHinauinj,' wo could eu-iiy do this. If fa not alone for tho saving of money that I advocate it, but boon u*e weiring uny thiu£ we make ourselves is peculiarly graf-fyini*. The time pjsses quickly aud happily when we are usefully and innocently employed. I see no reason to prevent us trimming our own hats or fashioning dainty little caps for mother. If we have no taste for millinery, we can see to the garden. A pair of wash-leather gloves will prevent our hands getting hard or brown, aud we cm spend a few hours pleasantly and profitably in weeding and pruning. If our fathers-are in trade, it would not be *»/ a dig were we to keep their book*, or, if not that, we could at least act as their amanuensis. Some of us paint cleverly ; others have a gift for literature, as poor editors know to their cost ; bat the great majority of us are of average intellect, and unless we portion out our time exactly, it drags sadly. So much of our day should be devoted to keeping up our atudiet, aud reading sound and instructive books. It is a lamentable fact that, after a parent spends a small fortune over the education of his daughters, directly they leave school they at onoe proceed to forget everything they have learnt tkere. Thu could easily be avoided by an hour's reading every j morning. Oar daily newspapers contain an immense amount of useful and reliable matter, smartly- written leading articles on the topics of the moment, the latest news from all parts of the globe, accounts of new discoveries; in fact, the regular perusal of a good paper alone, is a liberal education ; our minds get riohly stored with useful knowledge, our ideas enl irged, our views expanded ; there^are no words adequate to describe the influence the now.spaper has on us, how it imperceptibly forms our characters and helpa us to mould our future lives. I find that I have not space enough at my disposal to say anything to the working bee.*, except this:— When you are told that the labour market is overstocked, mediocrity ha» a bad time of it ; but if you are talented and persevering, you are bound to co'o.o to the fore. There is no such thing as unrequited genius, for true genius is modest and plodding, not •elf >assertive and boastful. Mediocrity is at a discount, for there is so much of it ; but talent, whether it be iv paiuting, music, or literature, is bound to command success. For the drones of society, I wish emphatically to repeat that balls in the winter, Uwu tennis iv the summer, reading novels and doing- fancy work, are all very well for recreations, but they should not bo regarded as the business of life. To try our best iv relieving the poor, helping the sick, and leading useful, blameless, industrious lives, is what we all might do. Ln,LiE Harkis