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For Woman’s Wokk.
The skies were bright, the grass all green
And blossom flecked,
And rose-buds, leaf and vine between,
Peeped forth unchecked.
We walked together down the lane
And crossed the stile,
Then hand in hand sped on again
Through a defile
Where two hills sloping downward met,
On either side
A stream in bands of emerald set—
a tiny tide.
We climbed the hillside then, my love
Dost mind how far?
To where a tree, felled from above,
Stretched like a bar—
Across the chasm there grown wide.
The achievement won,
All breathlessly but filled with pride
We sat thereon.
The merry birds had come before,
And squirrels played
Above us. and in chattered lore
Our motives weighed.
For Woman’s Work.
EMPLOYMENT FOR SOUTHERN
HE late Civil War, among many
other sad legacies to the South, left
numbers of its fair women, in the
T
dawn of their youth and beauty, deprived
of the protecting arm of father, husband, or
brother, or the warm heart of one “nearer
and still dearer,” —to battle alone with the
cares and perplexities of a rushing, bust
ling, work-a-day world. Toothers, whose
babyhood and childhood were spent among
scenes of lavish Southern luxury and care
free existence now known to memory and
story alone, it brought a future of changed
circumstances, where the problem of the
wherewithal had to be solved by minds
and hands ill fitted for such service. Thus
it is that we find so many of our honored
Southern women emerging from their
hitherto shielded homes, and bravely en
gaging in the hand-to-hand fight for each
day’s shelter, food and raiment, side by
side with their brothers who had so long
been the sole “bread-winners” of the
South.
While regretting the stern realities of
war and its attendant calamities, the ne
cessity that demanded this change of af
fairs was a salutary one; and the truth
that “there is good in every ill” was
brought out most strikingly. “It was good
for us to have been afflicted,” so that our
native powers and latent talents might be
unearthed, —unpinned from the folds of
the napkin where we had hidden them so
long—and caused them to work for our
own good and that of the teeming millions
around us. The noble, energetic, inde
pendent women of the North and West
have been, for many years, setting us an
example of usefulness that it has been to
our shame that we had not followed, ere
a cruel fate was compelled to force us to
complete the ends for which we were cre
ated.
Before the war, how passed the days of
the average Southern lady? As we are
sorry to see so many of her sisters in this
age of progress still doing—in a ceaseless
round of petty aims and vapid pleasures;
a dolce far niente life, with dainty little
white hands (often as strong and nimble
as a brother’s) crossed in “silKen folded
idleness,” with scores of servants at ev
ery beck and call, ready to run hither and
thither, to spare the kid-encased little feet
the trouble, perhaps, of even going into an
adjoining apartment for a coveted novel.
But it will do no good to reiterate all these
stubborn facts. Let us thank the over
ruling Power that tore from our future
lives that evil of dependence, and forced us
to the knowledge that we must be
“Up and doing,
With a heart for any fate.”
The business world of men, with a few
noble exceptions, has heretofore been rather
slow to recognize the right, or privilege,
of women to earn their own support, if
they so elect or if circumstances drive
them to such a necessity. They have dis
couraged when they should have gladly
and chivalrously tendered women the en
couragement they have so sorely needed
and so richly deserved. But the day is
dawning for us here in “the Sunny South”
more and more brightly, when our noble
women may unmolested take their right
ful places among the paid toilers of the
earth; and a woman of energy, good inten
sions, and brains will win her merited re-
A REMINISCENCE.
BY M. J. HEADER SMITH.
WOMHN.
BY LISETTE CLAYTON HOOD.
We had no dial, counted not
How high Sol crept.
Onr souls with Nature’s own inwrought
Knew where she kept
Her diary; and so we searched
Each graven leaf.
The lessons learned while there we perched
Were past belief.
Such wonders from each page we drew
On which to feast,
We noted not when sunbeams threw
Our shadows east.
Well, that was long ago, but there
We revelled in the mysteries taught.
With guileless hearts, all free from care,
Found every page with wisdom fraught,
And later on, 'mid skies as bright.
We on another problem wrought,
And lo! Love beamed upon our sight
And quite another lesson taught.
The last remains unfinished yet,
Though sweet will be the task, alway,
Until we see how God has set,
For us, Life’s plan, some day, some day.
ward.
There is an increase of at least fifty per
cent, in the last ten or fifteen years, in the
number of women supporting themselves,
in this country—especially in the large
cities. But it is noticeable that this change
is due to what women have done for them
selves, rather than what the other sex has
done for them; and it is to be noted, also,
that the increase has not baen in conse
quence of any loud-voiced agitation in fa
vor of “women’s rights,” but in spite of it.
Women have quietly taken up all kinds of
occupations, many heretofore considered
impracticable for their sex. They have
gone into artistic work of every kind, from
designing buildings to high-art painting.
They are skilled doctors, nurses, dentists,
lawyers, photographers, hair-dressers, and
in some of the cities almost the entire re
tail trade is in their hands. They are hor
ticulturists, florists, truck-farmers, poultry
and stock raisers, and hotelists. They
have pushed their way into every position
in a newspaper-office, and undertaken ev
ery kind of manufacture done by hand,
and much of that done by machinery. All
this, too, is done by that class of women
who work with the least noise or boasting.
They deserve, in short, the name of good
citizens, just the same as any man would,
who honestly plods his way to a settled
income by a self-respecting life. The way
to increase and help this class of women,
is to give them the instruction which a
workman would receive, the protection
which he would not need, and then leave
them to enter the market precisely as he
would do. Good work, good wages, sham
work, poor wages, with no question of sex,
should be the inexorable rule which would
bring order out of the chaos of this much
debated question.
Often the most obstinate and effective
opposition to a Southern woman’s ability
to support herself is found in her own
home, or among her chosen friends in so
ciety. They do not make such a furore if
a girl, after graduation, announces her in
tention of becoming a teacher, or of “tak
ing a few pupils” in music; and they will
not oppose the bewildered young creature,
when, for want of something more profita
ble or congenial, she turns in desperation
to the martyrdom of the needle, and day
and night bends her lithe young form, and
strains her clear young eyes over a piece
of work that must be finished by a speci
fied time, in order to receive the pittance
that is often so grudgingly doled out to
her.
Then again, a father or friend forgets
that girls often feel the same anxiety about
a choice of occupation, or longing for
some favorite one, that boys experience.
As long as these desires do not overstep
the limits of womanly prudence, the
daughters should be allowed the same priv
ilege of making their choice that the sons
enjoy. Everyone knows how difficult a
matter it is to work at a profession or busi
ness that is utterly distasteful or unconge
nial, and which is forced upon the worker
through mistaken kindness. It is not ev
ery girl, or woman, who has that peculiar
capacity and fitness, outside of mere liter
ary attainments, to become a successful
teacher. Since we cannot make teachers
of all the girls, in a suppositious wage
earning family, what must be (Jone with
(he others?
WOMAN’S WORK.
How often do we hear fathers say: “I
will give my girls the best education that
money can procure, so that they may
teach, if at any time thev are thrown on
their own resources.” Very good, so far
as it goes; but why not carry the principle
into something else, so that if that “noble
army of martyrs,” called teachers, has no
vacant place in its ranks, they may be able
to do some other kind of work with
equal skill? Why restrict them to “the
three Rs,” when they are more capable of
winning diplomas in some higher and bet
ter-paying business? There are some very
liberal-minded men who will say: “ Be
cause we fear that contact with the world
of men may expose our daughters to temp
tations from which they are shielded at
home.” There is, at first glance, apparent
reason in this objection; but on closer in
spection we see the fallacy of the argu
ment, for the ranks of the fallen ones show
the truth of the old maxim: “An idle
brain is the devil’s workshop.” Give a
woman some occupation in which her am
bition to make either a fortune, or a name,
can be gratified, at least by the attempt to
do so, and she is far safer than if she had
no outlet for her vanity, except in becom
ing a social queen, or a leader of fashion.
Half the flirtations, which often bring in
their train either ruin or unhappiness to
women, begin in sheer idleness. Found
schools and colleges, ye multi-millionaires,
where your daughters can be trained inbusi
ness methods, just as you have helped to
found seminaries where they may be
taught music and dancing, drawing and
painting, French and German. She can
drop her business knowledge, if necessary
or preferable, after marriage, and be none
the less womanly for having the ability lo
take care of herself, should it ever become
necessary for her to do so.
I do not wish or intend these remarks for
those numerous happy, cherished, and
much indulged wives, living in affluence,
without an ungratified desire—mistresses
of comfortable and often elegant homes.
But for those who, by death, affliction, or
some kindred cause, have lost their natu
ral support; or who, though wives of
strong, hearty, willing men, are compelled
by circumstances and adverse fortunes
best known to themselves, to aid in re
plenishing the family exchecquer; or for
unmarried women and girls, who are noble
and independent enough not to wish to be
a burden to an old, over-worked father, or
a drawback to a rising young brother.
There are thousands of such women in the
South; and it is to them that I would ap
peal.
One of the noblest professions that befits
a woman is that of a physician or trained
nurse to her own sex and children. I
know personally many lady-doctors, orna
ments to the profession, an honor to their
sex, respected and appreciated among their
co-laborers, and performing a grand and
useful work among the afflicted ones in
this world. Who batter than a woman
can understand a woman’s peculiarly deli
cate organism, and her complicated symp
toms of constitutional disorder, and who
can best sympathize with her, and allevi
ate her many sufferings? Who is the
most natural, and the most wished-for
skilled attendant upon a woman, when
the dreadful pangs of maternity convulse
her weak frame? Gentle, tender woman
nurse, —whose hands are softer and cooler,
whose step is lighter, whose voice is
calmer, gentler, and more soothing? Who
can be more careful in mixing and admin
istering the healing draughts, and in pre
paring dainties to tempt the delicate and
capricious appetite of the invalid? And if
a woman is fired by such a noble ambition,
who is more eager to dive deeper and still
deeper into the mysteries and secrets of
the profession, and grapple with even the
most abstruse technicalities of the sciences?
The objection may be advanced, that the
nervous system of a woman is of too deli
cate a nature to stand all the exposure inci
dent to the profession, and to often witness
such appalling sights and scenes of suffer
ing as make the stoutest man’s heart quail.
But if she fully realizes all these draw
backs before she undertakes her life-work,
a firm will and an unconquerable determi
nation and ambition will compel her to
rise triumphant over even her own weak
ness, for the sake of the blessings she may
bring to others. There is nothing more
potent than unyielding resolution, in over
coming all fleshly Apollyons.
There is another honorable profession
which, through the kindness and courtesy
of its members, now joyfully receives wo
man into its ranks. It is that of journal
ism. There is no profession to which wo
man is better adapted than this. The
physical labor is not half so trying as that
of sewing, either by hand or with a ma
chine; nor the mental labor half so wear
ing as that of teaching. It requires quick
ness of comprehension, facility of expres
sion, and a talent for working rapidly on
any given subject—more than strength of
.mind| or superior literary attainments—to
become a good editor. These qualities
women often possess in a higher degree
than men; while for gossipy news-letters,
the faculty of gathering and detailing lit
tle items of interest, she entirely “lays him
in the shade.”
I know of numbers of women who make
capital book-keepers, and are now com
manding ample salaries. Then there are
crowds of milliners .and costumers, dry
goods and variety clerks, etc.; and dozens
of positions might be mentioned, which
none better than women could fill. In my
days of editing, I discovered many ladies
who are successfully carrying on book
stores and news-agencies. 1 think this
just the employment best suited for wo
man, with her refined tastes, cultured
mind, and careful ways. I scarcely need
allude to the department of literature, as
in that field the world acknowledges that
women are reaping as many if not more
laurels than men.
The various Departments of the Govern
ment are now crowded with female wage
earners, who make the best of clerks, and
draw the same salaries as their male co-la
borers. It may be urged that the present
Civil Service Examinations are so rigid
that few ladies can successfully pass them.
That may be, and it is true in many in
stances; but they can begone through with,
as I know from my own experience, for I
have successfully passed a Civil Service
Examination for a clerkship in the Depart
ments, and now hold a Certificate of Eligi
bility. Apropos of this subject, I append
the following true incident, to show the
pluck and determination some women
evince, when they seek to carry out their
purposes. The young lady alluded to is a
native of Atlanta, Ga.
HOW SHE GOT INTO THE DEPARTMENT.
One bright morning last spring the Hon.
John Sherman was sitting in his office,
when suddenly a bright-haired, pretty girl
dashed into his presence. She was appar
ently sixteen, and had about her an air of
business, which even the cool gaze of the
Ohio statesman could not transform into
maiden fright or flurry. Deliberately tak
ing a seat, the girl said:—
“Mr. Sherman, I have come here to get
a place.”
“There are none vacant,” was the reply.
“I know you can give me a place if you
want to, and I think lam as much enti
tled to it as anybody. My father spent his
life in the United States army, and when
he died he left nothing. The responsibili
ty of the family is on me, and I think I
have as good a claim as any one else on
the government.”
“What kind of a place do you want?”
“I don’t care what it is, but I must have
work at once.”
Mr. Sherman assured her that there were
ten applicants for every one place, and there
was very little chance. She very deliber
ately told him that such an answer would
not do, and declared that if he would al
low her she would come up every day and
black his shoes, if he couldn’t do any bet
ter for her. The Senator was struck with
her determination and charmed by her
bright face and her sprightly manner, so
he told her to come back. In less than a
week, she had a good place in the Treasu
ry, which she still holds. Every morning
she walks to the department with the step
of a business little woman who is proud that
her delicate hands can be the support of
others. She receives SIOO a month, and
supports in comfort her mother and sister.
The girls of the South, as a class, are too
dependent; they do not know their power,
or, if they do, they shrink from exercising
it. There are many vocations in which
they may engage, and earn an honorable
and comparatively easy livelihood, if they
would lay aside the excess of pride and
timidity inherited by them from an ances
try reared in the lap of plenty, and sur
rounded by an institution which tended to
an undue development of these character
istics. Beautiful utility we concede to be
a most needful and important factor in our
Southern girls. Indeed, there are many
among us who will hail with delight such
an era, when a girl will go forth into the
world of workers, and shake oil with joy
the manacles of dependence. We were all
put into this world to fill some niche, and
to accomplish some Divine purpose; and
the sooner we all find that place, and work
smoothly and contentedly therein, the
happier we will feel, and the more wo will
cause other hearts to “sing for joy.” Work
is the sweetest incense that we can offer to
the Throne of the Creator. Then arise,
noble women of all lands and nations, and
fill the spheres that have been so long
waiting for you.
“Labor!—all labor Is noble and holy,
Let thy great deeds be thy prayer to thy God!”
Give your work your best thought and
attention. Close application is the key to
success, J
APRIL, 1896.