Newspaper Page Text
MARCH, 19C9.
for Woman’s Wobi.
BABY’S WM/MM
L,EEP, baby, sleep, the dreamland elves are calling,
Dream fairies steal about thy downy bed,
O’er vale and hill, the twilight shades are falling,
Peace descending, in silence bending, her pinions lowly hath spread,
Sleep, baby, sleep; sleep, baby, sleep.
Sail, baby, sail, out on the dream tide ocean,
Far, far away, the slumber breezes blow,
Safe is the hand that guides thy boat’s swift motion,
Sweetly drifting.o’er wavelets shifting,to dreamland’s shore thou shalt go,
Sail, baby, sail; sail, baby, sail.
Dream, baby, dream, bright angels now are winging
Through realms of light, where golden portals glow;
Low are the strains of heavenly music ringing,
Angels singing, sweet visions bringing, to baby’s dreamland they go.
Dream, baby, dream; dream, baby, dream.
Olive A. Smith.
F»r Woman’s Work.
PLAY AND REAL LIFE.
WOULD that young people and par
ents of young people could be
helped to realize the value of
time and tiie good —both moral and ma
terial—that accrues from taking an in
terest in things that are worth.while.
Many valuable lessons come .easily
to us all, but are irrevocably lost be
cause we are non-observant and heed
less. We somehow stumble over
them without stubbing our awkward
toes against one of them. None of
life's processes and concerns are
without value to the cheerful, help
ful nature. Every one’s environ
ment is crowded with affairs of va
rious kinds. Open eyes and active
minds and hands readily pick up,
without conscious effort, what others
of different dispositions can gain only
through laborious toil.
When one has once tasted the joy
of creating and doing, his self-con
fidence begins to develop, and the
next attempt is the more easily con
quered. Repeated experiences in
overcoming, must foster the feeling
that one can do whatever he wills
and tries. Consequently he strides
on and on. Os course there is de
pendency caused by sickness, acci
dents, and other unfortunate com
binations of circumstances beyond
the control of the afflicted; but those
who are familiar with the general
run of people who habitually hold
a hand open for assistance, know
them to be those who have never
learned to do anything really worth
-while.
The time to begin to do useful
things is in youth. The notion that
youth is the time for idle sport and
adult age the time for real work, is
a fallacy. As the year advances so
slowly that the end of one season
and the beginning of the next can
not be defined, so proceed the suc
cessive stages of life. In the vege
table world, unless there is a start in
growth in spring, there is no fruit in
its season. In the growth of human
habits and characters, it is very much
the same. The individual who lives
for a dozen or a score of years in an
active world without attempting to
do anything serious and useful, comes
to have helpless hands, and eyes that
are blind to chances that offer them
selves. While the most desirable
opportunities do not always stand at
hand in waiting, yet there are gen
erally modest ones which, if patient
ly accepted and utilized, will prove
stepping stones for the worthy man
or woman.
There is a lesson taught us by
pioneer life —one of which society
is losing sight. In early days society
was differently constituted. Then
families lived further apart. rhere
were not so many ways for children
shild ” ||
CULTURE. |
to drift into idle pastimes. The
children were not kept for so many
months in school, away from the
home interests and the domestic in
dustries; they were allowed to amuse
themselves with homely affairs, being
early assigned tasks which were not
arduous, but which occupied time
that would otherwise have been idled
away—the faithful performing of
which tasks was a potent factor in
establishing habits of increasing use
fulness.
Now all is changed. Families are
congregated together so that every
child has a flock of playmates as
idle as himself; there are more out
side attractions to lure; in fact,
there are so many that his little
mind is distracted, and —instead of
developing habits of concentration —
he habitually scatters his interests
to the noisome winds. The child
is held in school for such a time that
he consequently misses many of the
ordinary family operations and the
business or working plans of the
father. In mistaken kindness he is
excused from such others as he might
with profit take a hand in.
Sorry to say, many parents are so
thoughtless as to drive the children
of the family away from them with
the remark that they “have no time
to bother.’ or that they can perform
the thing in hand easier than they
can show the little ones. As a
result, our youth approach manhood
and womanhood with false, im
practical notions, and without the
noble feeling that “Who sweeps a
room, as for Thy laws, makes that
and the action fine.” Considering
the conditions of the modern family,
with its social life, the wonder is
that there are as many useful men
and women as there are. Most of
them have developed in spite of un
toward circumstances.
The children are the children of
parents, and, barring occasional out
side influences which are beyond
control, the child’s successful future
lies in the parents’ hands —pro-
vided they plan wisely and act in
accordance. The voluntary act of
bringing a child into the family, ob
ligates the parents to give it every
possible opportunity to develop Into
a self-protecting, useful individual.
Dumb animals instinctively acquire
the art of self-protection. Man fos
ters, shields, and rears his young in
away which tends to weaken and in
some cases to destroy his instinct
and ability to protect himself. The
adult who can not earn an honest
living is deficient in self-protective
power—one of the most Important
of life’s powers.
Why should the child be thrust
from family interests ? Life is to
Woman’s Work.
him a series of concentric circles.
Home is the innermost one: school,
the church, the trades, the profes
sions, business, the state, are others.
Os the greatest importance is the
relation and the attitude of each
child in the home. With wise man
agement there can easily be aroused
and fostered a deep concern on the
part of a very young child in the
affairs and things that surround
him.
The child which is carried around
home on downy pillows will grow to
expect downy pillows all through life.
If at any time a hard board becomes
his lot, even temporarily, in his in
ability to help himself out of it he is
apt to cruelly curse his situation. Far
more grateful in future years will
be the one who has been taught to
conquer conditions.
The way in which many a girl is
raised in the household, with nothing
to do but to make of herself one more
to be waited upon, is lamentable.
How some girls can live for years in
a family of living, active people, and
pick up as little skill as they do,
would be past believing were it not
so much in evidence. Domestic
work and household management
are matters in which every girl needs
to be trained. The poor young wo
man —and the poor husband of the
young woman—-who takes her first
lesson after marriage, must be pitied.
All girls do not marry, yet, rich or
poor, it is the exceptional woman
who does not at some period in her
life need this particular discipline.
There was a girl in her teens. Her
mother died, leaving a babe. Having
always been an earnest little helper
to her mother, the girl—not much
more than a child—quite capable
took charge of family affairs, suc
cessfully caring for and rearing her
baby sister. An example of the op
posite character is a young girl who
has been an only and much indulged
child. As her mother was taken
from her by death, she is now living
with an aunt. She constantly talks
of the future, when she is to be her
father’s housekeeper; yet she has no
established habits of observation, no
skill at her command, and —what is
worse—she shows a deadly indiffer
ence. Thus far it has been impos
sible to arouse in her a realization of
the fact that there is something for
her to do to fit herself for that re
sponsible position. The deluded
maiden appears to think that
she can wear the honors of the priv
ilege as easily as she can wear a
new dress which a dressmaker may
make for her.
Bessie was another little mother’s
helper from infancy. When less
than three she would pull the clothes
from the bed. She knew the sheet
was the first thing to go on. After
tugging to get it upon the bed, she
would climb upon the mattress and
spread it, and in the same manner
she would get the other covers on.
When her mother sat down to sew,
Bessie wanted a needle and thread.
She had a young woman cousin who
was a dressmaker. For hours she
would amuse and busy herself among
the scraps, making doll clothes and
other fanciful creations. Her mother
encouraged this child to habitually
entertain herself in these ways. The
family ambition was to make a
teacher of Bessie. However, be
fore she was prepared for that work,
unfortunate circumstances compelled
her to become a bread winner. She
applied at a dressmaking establish
ment and received $2.50 weekly for
the first season. During her second
season she commanded $5 a week.
An ambitious young woman who
has successfully begun a career in
the schoolroom, wishes to advance
herself in her profession. She teach
es during the school year. For three
years, as soon as the summer vaca
tion has come, she has gone to a large
city where she secured good-pay
ing work as a pastry cook. Where
and when did she learn her art ?
When a child, while her comrades
were idling, she was watching and
helping her mother.
There are boys, too, who, having
been allowed and encouraged in
childhood to seek their own amuse
ment in ways that amount to some
thing, have stepped directly into a
support without being obliged to be
gin at the bottom of the ladder.
Within the narrow circle of my ac
quaintance are three lads belonging
to different families, who took up
amateur printing. One of them Is
now a promising publisher. An-
other made his knowledge of printing
a stepping stone to something bet
ter. The third is finding in it a means
of helping himself through college.
A boy who was attracted by a book
on lettering and sign painting begged
his mother to let him try it, as fie
coaid do so with insignificant out
lay. As he had money which he him
self had earned selling papers, she
readily consented —although she
had no thought that it would prove
anything more than a passing fancy.
He has now attained a proficiency
which brings him all the work that
he can do at odd times, and opens
up before him a higher education
which he desires, but which had seem
ed beyond his reach.
There is a man commercially in
terested in a telephone company.
One of his sons, who was frequently
with him in the office of the com
pany, amused himself around the
premises. When his school days
were over, he immediately stepped
into a fine position as an electrician.
Although still nearer 20 than 30
years of age, he now holds the re
sponsible position of superintendent
of electrical works in Washington.
D. C.
A son of a practicing physician
was interested in photography. Al
though he is not forced to strive for
self-support, while now a student in
the high school, he earns many an
odd dollar with his kodak and his
skill.
The wisdom of allowing and lead
ing children to seek amusements and
pastimes in ways 'that are worth
while and which will lead to some
thing practical, can not be made too
emphatic. Thousands' of private ex
periences and the kindergartens have
demonstrated that through the play
instinct much training and some
ability can be acquired. Overcome the
erroneous idea that the children’s play
needs no supervising, and turn it into
profitable channels This is not so dif
ficult to do. Normal children are usual
ly interested in hustling life and are
eager, if they have but half a chance, to
getintoit. If unsympaihetically shutout
from the desirable avenues, they may be
easily drawn into an eddy of a question
able character.
When a child in youthful exuber
ance announces that he wills to at
tain a certain end, if it is honorable
—even though his aspirations may
seem unreasonable and impracticable
—he should never be discouraged.
On the contrary he should be direct
ed and assisted, that he may with
less friction reach his goal. The
fact tha.t he sees the end, and that
he is willing to bend his energies in
that direction, is proof that he has
the God-given ability (if it is proper
ly developed) to gain his purpose.
Discouragement from his elders may
overcome the worthy impulse on the
one hand, or, on the other, place
more obstacles for him to overcome
in an unsympathetic atmosphere.
Last Christmas a lad of fourteen
worked during the holidays for a
prosperous, well-established house.
Later, while telling an older compan
ion about it, with all the earnestness
and determination imaginable in a
youth, he stated, “I am going to be
that man’s partuer some d<y!” The
rash, overconfident statement caused
the older boy to burst into a hearty
laugh.
“Oh, well!’’ said he with increased
seriousness,—“you’ll see that I mean
it, and that I’ll yet be his partner!”
The mother of the ambitious lad
was present. Did she laugh ? Qh,
no: she was too wise. While it seem
ed like a preposterous expectation
the mother had too much respect for
the child’s earnestness to make sport
of his innocently expressed will.
What advancement has he made ?
What prospect is its view ? Nothing
more than this! The proprietor—
who does not know of the lad’s cas
tles, but who was pleased with his
service—has told the mother that
when he is through school, to bring
him around and he will give him em
ployment. If his parents wish to
help this boy in his chosen work,
what is the thing for them to do ?
Help him to keep the fires burning
brightly in his castle, and help him
to secure a commercial education—
the education that will be practical
for him. Loveday A. Nelson.
Woman’s Work has a very at
tractive agency proposition for
someone in each county.
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