AS SEEN THROUGH WOMAN’S EYES.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXV, Issue XIII, 29 September 1900, Page 609

AS SEEN THROUGH WOMAN’S EYES.

Burdens Placed on Girlhood. One of the most noticeable facts caused by recent economic and business changes is the increased employment of young girls in factories and stores. It is a fact to be greatly deplored, threatening unfortunate consequences to the race, and the remarks with regard to it by the Rev. Samuel G. Smith in “ Harper's Bazaar ” are worthy of thoughtful attention. He says: — The war for children, which was a holy crusade against wealth and greed, has been well-nigh won. Though the children are still crying as Elizabeth Barrett Browning heard them a generation ago, it is now a softened wail, and her brothers have also heard, and in nearly every state of the Union the factory * legislation of England has been used as the model for their defence from undue toil. The result of the agitation and legislation of the past twenty years in this country is clearly seen in the large reduction of the number of children employed in gainful occupations. In 1880 of all the children between the ages of 10 and 15 years, 17 per cent, were employed. In 1890 the number was only 8J per cent. Reformers, when they heard the result of their labours, felt it was good to live in a world that cotim improve so much in a single decade. But. unfortunately, as too often occurs in human affairs, tue improvement is more apparent than real, for while the children between 10 and 14 have received some protection, the remorseless machine of business has been securing in their stead an enormous increase in the employment of young girls between 14 and IS years of age. Indeed, the most significant fact of the decade from 1885 to 1895 was the augmented burden placed upon the girlhood of the nation. But did not their grandmothers toil in dreadful fashion over wheel and loom at home They did. But that toil was sweetened by human love, it was blessed with the thought that the sum total of the production was for the family, it was done in wholesome surroundings. It was always morally clean. I would not wish to return to the old days, but I would have machinery lighten the burdens upon women, rather than increase them. From 1880 to 1890 men increased in number in gainful occupations about 27 per cent., and women increased 47 per cent. At this rate, in a few decades women will be doing the bulk of the world’s work. The machine makes it possible for the work of production to be done with less muscle and endurance. Women and children are cheaper than men. Economic laws, unrestraineu by conscious effort and moral force, will employ' the cheaper labour, to the displacement of men. the lowering of wages, the ruin of the home, and the dissolution of society.

When I plead for the limitation of women in factories and trade, I am not pleading the cause of men, except as men depend for their hope in the world upon the inspiratior and sympathy of women. I plead the cause of womanhood. Nature has put upon the gentler sex a heavy burden in the wifehood and motherhood of the race. To give her child life from her body and love from her soul is tax enough without adding to that load the burdens of economic production. The defence of the home is the defence of woman also, for her home is her only' castle of safety. Even the few women who succeed in the terrible struggle of open competition succeed only' at the cost of all the emotions and finer virtues which give human life its real values.

But the effect upon society of the employment of young girls in their immature years is so evil and so menacing that good women should awake to the conditions which confront the nation. Go look upon those anaemic faces, those crooked bodies, that graceless step, of the myriads of youthful toilers, and tell me what you think of the future motherhood of the nation! It means degradation of the race. It means children born in increasing numbers to add to the lawful burden of the feeble-minded, the pauper, and the insane classes. It means drunkenness and wretchedness, for a broken mother is even worse for the offspring than a dissolute father. It is not the physical side of the problem alone that is instructive; the

social side is of the greatest moment. A young girl who has been accustomed to the store or the factory from her teens lacks the economic knowledge required in the management of a home. If the home be rich, a woman may perhaps afford to be ignorant, though I do not think so: but if a home be humble, the ability of the wife to perform its duties makes the difference between heaven and its opposite. Onlyone in five of the homes of this country can afford a domestic servant. When I discuss this question I aiti not pleading the cause of the better classes, so called, but the great masses of our people whose lives must, under present conditions, be passed in comparative poverty. For the sake of the woman and the nation, all wage-earning occupations should be absolutely closed to girls under 18 years of age. These constitute one-third of the working women of this country. When that reform has been accomplished, it will be time to discuss other things. It will be accomplished just as soon as the women of the country are awake to the enormities of the present system, which is devouring the girls of the country, soul and body, in order to make more goods and to make them cheaper. Do the people exist for the sake of production, or is production to be made the servant of the development of the people? This is a question, indeed, which should be seriously' considered and honestly answered. What Men Like in Women. A bright woman writes and asks if we will tell her what are some of the principal qualities in women which most atfa-act men. We think the word attract is not correctly used by' our correspondent, if she will allow us to say so. for often the things in women that attract men are possessions of doubtful value in any woman. What attracts a man is one thing; what will hold him and command his respect is quite another. A woman’s smile, for example, attracts a man, but an even temper retains him. A pretty gown attracts a man; the know-ledge that it was inexpensive delights him. A pleasant manner attracts a man; brightness of brain holds him. A knowledge of how, when, and where to be a little stately attracts a man; an appreciation of the folly of frivolity- wins his respect. A respect for the religious belief of every human being attracts a man; irreverence in woman is to him abominable. A consideration for his comfort attracts a man; a continuation of this makes him your most humble slave.

A chat in w-hich there is no malice attracts a man; neither scandal nor evil-speaking makes a woman seem sweet and lovely’ to him.

Loveless Marriages. Mr Fronde’s biography of Carlyle gives us a clearer insight into the cause of the shadows which rested over the life of that, most unhappy' ot men.

His wife, a brilliant and sensitive girl, was in love with Edward Irving, but finding it impossible that they should ever marry, was persuaded to listen to Carlyle’s suit, because she believed that he would rise to great • eminence. His success surpassed her highest hopes, but he was selfish and hard to cruelty in his treatment of her. He kept her six years in a lonelyhouse on a barren moor, in absolute solitude, while he was engrossed in writing, sometimes passing whole days without speaking a word to her. She was his cook, charwoman, even ostler, but not his companion. She performed her duty to him faithfully, but in bitterness of soul. “I love my husband,” she said, frankly, years after their marriage, “but 1 have never been ‘in love’ with him. I married for an ambition, and it has been more than gratified, but my life has been most miserable.” Carlyle and his wife was sympathetic tn intellect, both were conscien-

tious in fulfilling in every point their duties to each other. Nothing was lacking to the union, but the magical intangible something called love, without which every sharp point of character and temperament of each was left bare to goad and wound the other.

Life, for which they were so largely dow< ;•( d with power and opportunity, was for both a long, and, unfortunately for others, a garrulous rage of disappointment. One of the most brilliant of women, long a leader of society, was once asked what fate she would choose for her daughter, if she could control her life. “To be the obscure, loving wife of a man who loved her,” was the reply. Good Advice to Girls. Be cheerful, but not gigglers; be serious, but not dull; be communicative, but not forward; be kind, but not servile. Beware of silly, thoughtless speeches. -Although you may forget them others will not. Beware of levity and familiarity with young men. A modest reserve, without affectation is the only safe path. Court and encourage conversation with those whq are truly serious and conversable. Do not go into good company without endeavouring to improve by the intercourse permitted to you. Nothing is more unbecoming when one part of a company is engaged in profitable conversation than that another part should be trifling, giggling and talking comparative nonsense to each other. Women’s Table Talk. To a woman a cup of tea is a panacea for all ills. If a woman is tired or faint, the cup of tea braces her up and cheers her downeast spirits. If she is about to start on a journey, oils in the deepest abyss of woe, the cup of tea is recommended as the verybest thing for bodily and mental fatigue. Tea is the great feminine beverage the world over, the one drink for womankind, old or young, rich or poor. So long as a woman gives the required proper attention to her food she is most unlikely to abuse the good which tea, taken at the right intervals, does to most of its devotees. But it is a well-known fact that most women and girls are exceedingly careless about their diet. If the men of the family happen to be away for a few days, the female portion of the coinunity generally contrive to "put up” with hastily prepared meals, inferior in quality than would be the case if paterfamilias were dining with them; in some case tea will take the place of that important meal dinner. This is a great mistake, for it is quite out of the question to kep a. good fire in the physical furnace without proper and sufficient material. Some women will, without a murmur, swallow all

sorts of nauseous drugs, when all they need is a generous nourishing diet, supplemented with plenty of outdoor exercise. Such a course of treatment would bring them up to the standard in a shdrt time, and would diminish the doctor's fees. If the question of diet received its proper amount of consideration we might then hojie for strong, well-developed girls and women. fit for all the mental and physical duties of life. Is the High Heel Modern? The high heeled shoe, which is considered by many people to be the author of so many diseases and so much trouble to women, is no new invention. It first appeared in the reign of Louis XIV.. when it was carried to such excess that the heels were five inches in height, so that walking was not only difficult but painful. But as women evidently knew then as they know now that pride must be pinched they dutifully followed fashion and bore the pain without a murmur. O O O O o Hare's a Hospitable Cat. A certain cat of my acquaintance has been trained to enjoy being lifted up by his tail. As a reward for this exercise, before he really began to delight in the sensation, lie used to demand and receive food on a plate In the back yard. At first no one could understand why he refused to eat in the house, but eventually it was noted that as soon as he got the meat a number of homeless cats appeared in the yard, though not one had been in sight when the plate was filled. Roberts (all cats are named Roberts now) was watched, and it was learned that no sooner was he by himself with his food than his loud "meow” called in the visitors. They were all of the thin, half-starved class of back-fence haunters, and Roberts seemed to get as much pleasure out of feeding them as they did out of the dinner.

It was not long before the further discovery was made that through appeals to various members of the family Roberts would get enough to satisfy himself before he insisted on the back-yard feeding. Then his owner found that he would pick his guests. Some of the most disreputable and equally hungry were ruthlessly driven awav.

Roberts has other peculiarities. He likes to lie on a clean counterpane, and the more elaborate it is the better ho is satisfied. He is also fond of all starched goods, and will invariably hunt out a lawn skirt to make his bed on, if one is incautiously left around. But his friendship for plebeian cats is getting him into disrepute. and there is pretty persistent talk about sending him to the country. where he will have to keep better company.

A Sermon on Selflessness. To the current number of "Harper’s Bazaar” Mrs Kate Gannett Wells contributes “A Little Sermon” on what she calls "selflessness.” The word is not as good English as a more familiar but longer one — self-forgetfulness, which means the same thing. Either the shorter or the longer form, however, constitutes an excellent text for a sermon. There never has been an age of the world, no doubt, wherein selfishness was not the chief and besetting sin of both man and womankind. Indeed, it may truly be regarded as the genuine, simon pure, original sin, since there is no offence in the calendar of wrong doing, from the crime of most hideous blackness to the most venial sin, so-called, that is not traceable to the primal impulse of selfishness. But a fault which is characteristic of our own time is an undue coddling of that form of selfishness which is known as self-consciousness. Our method and manner of education directly abet its growth in the young to a degree which sadly interferes with their happiness. Therefore, these paragraphs which we quote from Mrs Wells’ article are altogether timely; —

"One’s self usually gives one’s self more trouble than do other people. The facility with which we drop into ways of thinking about ourselves is exasperating. Even Channing’s phrase, “the dignity of man,” has abetted a consciousness of one’s own worth, actual and potential, that sometimes is humorous. What person is more aggravating than he who stands on his dignity until he topples backward, claiming his sense of self-respect demands his insistence upon this or that right.

“He is as much of a nuisance as the man who is always apologising for his existence, and whose assertions of his good-for-nothingism have to be contradicted just out of decent sympathy for his unhappy state of mind. Verily, the self-conceited people, even if tiresome to their neighbours, are happier in their own estate than those who

wallow in the mire of self-abasement.

“ There is another unhappy kind of person, who takes what he calls a just view of himself, records his own reflections in diaries, examines himself periodically, vivisecting his consciousness with comparisons under the name of self-respect or of moral improvement. If such an earnest introspective individual meets a gay, happy girl, who does not bother herself about herself, and whose bubbling enjoyment springs from belief that since " God’s in His heaven, all’s right with the world,” she is chided for not taking life seriously. As if one could be good without being happy.

“There is no greater self-deception than that of fancying we are not selfish. that we demand a thing not for our own sakes, but only because it is right (delusive phrase!). We give an expensive present or practise some relinquishment of personal pleasure to prove our unselfishness, not seeing that we do both those things to pacify our selfish selves. Penance is only punishment of ourselves. It is not getting rid of self. When we have no self-consciousness, when we are eager to do right because it is right, to love because love is the fulfilment of the law, when we care for culture and health to use them for the sake of others, and when we care for ourselves. as care we do, only to use ourselves for others, then is self lost in service.

“It is much more convenient, satisfying and ennobling to get rid of self and strip one’s self alike of conceit or morbidness. of ancestral and family dignities, of personal rights, and just be one’s self and take comfort in nature, books, friends, prayer, and work. The cordial easy dignity of the well bred, the ready grace of tender sympathy, the transforming of the daily drudgeries of self-support into angelic errands of duty—all these are tests of the art of selflessness, to some an almost an inborn faculty, to other an art, acquired thrrough character.

"Children feel when they are ‘observed’ (the school word). Foolish or

undue importance is attached to their draw ings and remarks. The ‘contents of their minds’ (again the school word) are classified. Verily, if the mind of the modern child, with its modern appendages for or of improvement. should be thoroughly explored., self-consciousness would be found in the brain of the little one.

“One’s mind may be a comfort, according to the old adage, that one’s mind is his kingdom: but average people find that the truth of the saying depends upon whether one has a self-conscious or altrustic mind. Surely. if we want to be happy in this world of perplexities, and of visions too. the only way is to be selfless, our lives then unconsciously expressing themselves in big and little noble our selflessness.” The Care of Clothes. One often hears one woman remark to another. “I can’t think how it is your clothes always look so nice; mine get shabby so quickly!”

Surely, the reason is not a very mysterious one. If one could take a peep into the wordrobes of the two in question, one would be almost certain to find neatness and order reigning in the one and disorder and confusion in the other. Clothes will not retain their freshness and beauty unless they are properly treated, and if—as is only too often the case in these busy days—dresses are crammed carelessly into an already overcrowded cupboard, with perhaps three or four garments on each hook, and ribbons, gloves, laces, veils, etc., piled in a confused heap in some drawer, the owner can hardly expect her belongings to look well for any length of time. To keep one’s wardrobe in good condition it is necessary to thoroughly brush a dress on its removal, and make any repairs that may be needed; the skirt should then be bung on two hooks by means of a loop on each side. No other garment should be

placed on the same hooks, so that the skirt will not be at all crushed. The bodice should be carefully laid in a drawer, and covered with tissue paper. Avoid, if possible, wearing the same gown day after dav. Keep all small items of dress in a place by themselves; if possible, have one drawer for gloves, another for ribbon. another for lace, another for veils, and so on. If you do not possess the requisite number of small drawers for this purpose, place a number of small boxes in a large drawer, which will answer the same purpose, and you will always know the exact spot in which to find what you want without overhauling everything else. Stretch out and fold neatly each little article of dress before laying it in its box. You will be surprised how long your clothes will retain their freshness under this treatment.