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ri^ANCES C. WiLLAPD
ASSISTED BY
HELEN M. WlNSLOW and
Sallie joy White
CONTAINING SEN^IlNTN'-riVI!: ILLUSTRATIONS AND POPTRAITS Or
PROMINENT WOMEN
" They talk about a woman's sphere,
As though it had a limit;
There's nut a place in earth or heaven,
There's not a task to mankind given.
There's not a blessing- or a woe.
There's not a whisper, Yes or No,
There's not a life, or death, or birth,
That has a feather's weight of worth,
Without a woman in it."
, U/ i^'/OO
The Success Coivepanv
COOF>ER UNION, NEW YORK
1897
.h
(c/ ^ O
Copyrisiht, THE SUCCESS CO.
J ..CONTENTS-- i*--
PAGE
I. What Is Life For? 21
II. What Your Hand Finds To Do, 25
III. This One Thing I Do, 31
IV. The Spiritual Side, 36
V. Preserve Making and Pickling, 41
VI. The Wa}' it Happened, 47
VII. Professional Menders, .... 55
VIII. Co-operating for a Home, 60
IX. Books and Reading, . , , 67
X. Guides, Shoppers and Chaperons, 72
XI. A Chapter on Dressmaking, 78
XII. What Career, . . , 84
XIII. Occupations that Kill, 9c
XIV. What Physical Culture Can Do, ■ . . . 95
XV. Women as Farmers, 102
XVI. Bee Culture, Poultry Culture and Silk Culture, 108
XVII. Caring for Pets, 114
XVIII. Lunch and Tea Rooms, , . „ „ » » , = . o . 120
(13)
14 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
PAGE
XIX. From the Successful Woman's Standpoint, 126
32
XX. Telegraph and Telephone Girls, i
XXI. Stenographer and Typewriter .... 127
XXII. The Faithful Saleswoman, 142
XXIII. Women in Advertising, 149
XXIV. Women in Real Estate, . , 155
XX\'. Women in Banking, 160
XX\T. Women in Insurance, 165
XXVII. A Chapter of Facts 171
XX\'III. In Temperance Work 175
XXIX. The Day of Small Things 185
XXX. Women in Medicine, 189
XXXI. Women in Politics 196
XXXII. Woman in the Pulpit 204
XXXIII. Piano and Organ Tuning, ' 209
XXXIV. Public Singers 215
XXX\'. In Choir and Concert 220
XXX\'I. Pianists and Composer.^- 225
XXXX'II. In Orchestra Work, 233
XXX\III. Where Is My Place ? 238
XXXIX. Women as Photographers 242
XL. Women in Interior Decoration, 249
XLI. How a Girl May Work Her Way Through College, 257
XLII. Women as Teachers, . . -f^2
XLI 1 1. College Presidents, Profe.s.sors aii(i Principals, 269
CONTENTS. 15
PAGE
XLH'. In the Lecture Field, . 277
XL\'. Newspaper Women, , 283
XL\'I. Ivditors, Magazine Writers and Paragraphers, 293
XL\'II. In the Dranialic Profession, 300
XL\'III. Women as Dramatists, 305
XLIX. Wiiat the Blind Can Do, 310
• L. Women in Science, 317
LI. Women in Unusual Paths, 322
LII. Just Wiiat Women Are Doing, 333
LIII. Cooking School Teachers, 338
LA'. The Kindergarten Teachers 345
hy. Women as Inventors, 349
L^T. Women as Business Managers, 355
L\'II. In Government Service, 359
L^TII. Architects, Civil Engineers and Designers 366
LIX. Women at the Bar, ... 371
LX. Chances for Colored Girls 377
LXI. Trained Nunses, 383
LXII. Women in Millinery, 390
LXIII. Manicuring and Hairdressing, 395
LXI\\ Dentists and Pharmacists, 400
LXV. Printing and Publishing, 405
LXVI. Bookkeepers and Cashiers, 411
LXVII. Up-to-date Rich Girls, 416
LXVIII. Women in Art = ...... 423
1 6 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
PAGE
LXIX. My Brave Helper 429
LXX. For Study at Home 435
LXXI. Women's Exchanges, 439
LXXn. What We Owe to Pioneer Women, 443
LXXIII. In New Fields 448
LXXI\". What Two Girls Did, 455
LXXV. An Old Girl's Talk to Girls, -463
LXX\'I. Beauty and Dress, 467
LXX\'II. Our Aims, 473
LXXVIII. Working Girls' Clubs, 480
LXXIX. Marriage as a Career 485
LXXX.- The Devastation of Loopholes, 490
LXXXI. A Closing Word, 495
' i •: ILLUSTRATIONS > \ '
^ J _ ' g);
PAGE
What My Hand Finds to Do, 27
Preserving and Pickling, 43
Mrs. Ida Moore Lachmund, 4^
The "Robert Dodds" with Raft in Tow, 49
Miss Catherine Humes Jones, = 52
A Pleasant Home, 63
Guides, Shoppers and Chaperons, 75
Physical Culture, 97
At Work in the Garden, . 103
Miss Sarah A. Taft, io5
Caring for Pets, i^5
Lunch and Tea Room, 121
Mrs. J. C. Croly (Jennie June) 127
The Faithful Saleswoman, ^45
Miss M. B. Caffin, 152
Miss Grace J. Alexander, 161
2 (17)
1 8 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
PAGE
Lady Henry Somerset, 177
An Errand of Mercy, 184
Operating Room in Women's Hospital, 191
Mary A. Livermore, 197
Rev. Caroline Bartlett Crane, 207
Piano Tuning, 211
Gertrude Franklin, 221
Nannie Hands-Kronberg, 223
Martha Dana Shepard, 227
Mrs. H. H. A. Beach 229
Margaret R. Lang, 230
Fadette Orchestra, 232
Mrs. Caroline B. Nichols, 235
View in Franklin Park, Boston, 245
Professor Maria Mitchell, 272
Alice Freeman Palmer, 274
"Homelike Appearance Inside the Observ^atory," 275
Lena Louise Kleppi.sch, 279
Mercedes Leigh, 280
Alice Parker Lesser 281
Mrs. Sallie Joy White, 285
Eslelle M. H. Merrill 287
Adeline E. Knapp 288
Catharine Cole, 289
Helen M. Winshnv, 292
Margaret E. Sangster, 295
IIvLUSTRATIONS. 19
PAGE
Miss A lice Stone Black \vc41, 297
Miss Katherine E. Conway, 299
Olga Nethersole, 301
Mrs. Julia Marlowe Taber, 303
Mrs. Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland, 308
Willie Elizabeth Robin, 313
Helen Kellar, 314
Edith Thomas, 315
Mrs. May French-Sheldon, 328
Palanquin in which Mrs. French-Sheldon Traveled in Africa, 329
Marie Robinson Wright, 330
A Model School Kitchen, 339
A Girls' Cooking School, 341
Public Cooking School, 343
Mrs. Van Leer Kirkman, 354
Miss Helen A. Whittier, 356
Mrs. A. Emmagene Paul, 360
Miss Harriet P. Dickermau, 364
Woman's Building, Nashville Exposition, 367
Mrs. Myra Bradwell, 373
Miss Lutie A. Lytle, 379
Miss Lilian Lewis, 381
"A Ministering Angel Thou," 385
The Trained Nurse, , 387
Mr. and Mrs. George H. Krafts, 391
Madame Juliette Pinault, 396
20 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
PAGE
Mrs. Cora Dow Goode, 403
Women Operating Typesetting Machines 407
Miss A. Florence Grant, 408
A Sea View 422
Miss Anna Adams Gordon, 430
"A Fine Needlewoman Finds a Ready Market at the Kxchanges," .... 441
Susan B. Anthony, 445
Julia Ward Howe, 446
Woman's Veterinary Hospital Ward, 451
Lida A. Churchill 456
" We will Sing Ever}' Song in the Book," 459
Deeds of Kindness, 465
Miss Cornelia T. Crosby, 475
Up and Doing in the Early Morning, 482
The Sunshine of a Happy Home, 487
Occupations tor Women
WHAT IS lifp: for?
IRLS, what are 3^ou going to do with life? Develop it, make
the most of the talents God has given 3^ou and accomplish
something for the world, or sit calmly down and wait for the
impossible to happen, or dream idly of what you would like
to be if 3^our surroundings were only different ?
Madame Ristori stated once in answer to a question
asked by a young girl, that " having too many talents is as
bad as not having any." Not but what it is a thing to be thankful for if one is
blessed with many talents, but that one should develop the single talent in which
perfection may be reached, and which may perhaps bring the success of a lifetime.
I once heard an old farmer say of his son :
" I'm kind o' puzzled what to make o' my Bedford. Sometimes I think he'll
make a minister, and then ag'in his gift o' gab sort o' recommends him for a
lawyer. So I d'no' what to make of such a smart bo3\"
" Well," answered a neighbor, " if I were in 3'our place I'd try, first of all,
to make a 7nan of him. Sometimes I think we need good men more than we need
ministers and lawyers."
The remark impressed me very much at the time, especially as this same
Bedford had not seemed to his young companions as a very promising youth.
(21)
22 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
When lie i^rew up to be a man he went into a bucket factory, where he has since
been working at clay wages, although I am told he is a good man, if not a great
one.
Do we not need good women to-day more than we need brilliant women ?
But the world needs us more than ever before in some line of effort which shall
really count toward the sum of human happiness and real accomplishment. Did
you ever stop to think what fortunate girls you are to have been born just when
you were and to be girls just now ? Fifty years ago a girl could do nothing beyond
teaching a dame school, and was not even allowed to attend a high school, or to
study anything beyond the primary branches. If she failed in school teaching,
possibly she might be allowed to keep a small thread and needle shop — although
this was hardly deemed respectable — and a girl could onl}^ depend on her nearest
male relative for a living.
To-day girls in almost ever}^ position in life are wondering what the}- shall do
for a living. Shall a girl go into business, study for a profession, go on the stage,
take up art, or strike out on some new line into paths hitherto untrod ? Like
their brothers, the girls of to-day want to be sojnething, do something, accomplish
something. Now, then, how shall they go to work to do this? Not by dreaming
all day long, although as long as girls are girls, doubtless some dreaming will be
done. Dreaming is the poorest of all grindstones on which to sharpen the wits.
There is only one thing to do: have a fixed purpose and stick to it. Around this
you will .soon find your dormant ideas, hopes and possibilities anchored. You
will find ill your cranium that a resolute aim takes the place of an aimless reverie.
No man has ever yet succeeded who did not have a definite aim in life. From
the dawn of thought in his sturdy young brain he has been taught that, if he ever
meant to be a living power in the world, he must settle on a definite purpose and
stick to that one thing if he would reach the pinnacle of success. In the past,
girls who are quicker of wit, swifter in mental process, le.ss unwieldy in judgment,
and every bit as active in mind, have not been taught the power of concentration.
They have been allowed to sit down and wait for the handsome prince to descend
upon them, lay all his fortunes at their feet, and carry them off in a golden chariot
tf) some castle in .Spain. To-day this is all iion.sen.se. In fact, it always was, only
to-day we are finding it out. " Paddle your own canoe," has come to be just as
much the motto of the girls as of the boys, only you want to be sure that you are
paddling it into the swift current of your strongest and noblest inclination.
First of all, remember one thing: that a "jack of all trades" is good at none.
I would rather .see a girl of nune ])o.s.sessed bv a steady purpose and a plodding,
thorough disposition, than to have her one of those brilliant creatures who can
j)aint passable pictures, sing fairly well, write a poem or an occasional .story, talk,
readily on any subject that is offered, do a bit of artistic fancN' work, and yet excel
^'HAT IS LIFE FOR? 23
in nothing". Of the two, give nie tlic girl witli one talent and the patience to
cultivate it to its utmost possibilities, and I will back her at the age of thirty-five
against any of your brilliant girls with a smattering of every possible gift except
a gift of plodding, patient application.
Select your specialty, then, and cultivate it. The world wants your best and
needs it. You can make for yourself a place which shall command the respect
and honor of the world, and possibly may shine in the galaxy by whose light
centuries take their places in the firmament of history. There is no more
practical form of philanthropy than this because every girl who makes herself a
high place in the world's roll of workers leaves a place lower down for some
woman who, but for this chance, might be tempted into wrong paths, or to let go
her hold on right endeavor. Whoever fits herself for some employment involving
good pay and higher social recognition, graduates from the lower grades and
leaves them to those who cannot advance, and so helps the world of women in a
substantial wa>-.
" Be not simply good; be good for something;" said Henry D. Thoreau.
Remember, when going forth from the garden of your early dreams into some
avenue of honest hard work, that " the world is all before you where to choose."
Will 3^ou select an aesthetic calling like drawing, engraving, designing ? Will you
be an editor, an architect, an artist ? Will you be a lawyer, a minister, a physi-
cian? Have a real searching talk with yourself before you decide. Don't take
the advice of admiring friends alone, who will be sure to tell you that you can do
anything and do it well without a preliminary course of preparation. Decide
seriousl}^ which gift you will cuitivate, and then stick to the development of that
one. If 3'ou choose the ministry or the bar, plan all your studies to that end
just the same as your brother would. If you are to be a musician, study music,
particularly that of the best masters, and don't stop when you can entertain your
friends, but only when you can so charm the public that they will pay and pay
well for your music. Remember that for any profession it takes a long course of
study before any real and substantial success can be looked for. It is not what
'comes to 3'OU, but ivhat you come to that determines whether you are to be a
winner in the great race of life.
If 3'ou decide on chemistrj^ or mathematics or stenography or farming, make
up 3^our mind that you will be the best chemist or professor or stenographer or
farmer that it is possible to be. Nowadays a girl may be anything, from a college
president down to a seamstress or a cash girl. It depends onh^ upon the girl
what rank she shall take in her chosen calling. Set the goal of your ambitions,
and then climb to it by steady, earnest steps. In this way 3'ou cannot help
accomplishing something in the end, and instead of dreaming and hoping and
longing indefinitely for a life of romance wherein impossible heroes shall give all
24 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
and demand nothing, you will become a strong factor for good in the sum of
human happiness. Even when this impossible hero does appear in the back-
ground of your dreams he will resemble the actual man; and when you marry —
for surely girls will go right on marrying and becoming good wives and mothers
in the real old-fashioned way which the Eord designs for girls — you will marry
not an impossible man, not the hero of the silly girl's dream, but a man whom
you will love and respect, and who will cherish you all the more because you
have a practical knowledge of the world's needs and have not been afraid to
demonstrate it by earnest endeavor.
I believe that each one of you has a " call " to some specific work which is
indicated by God's gift of heart or hand or brain to you.
"The world owes me a living," is a common expression. You owe the
world much more than a living; you owe it a duty. You owe it the best part of
your life either in one way or another. In the evolution of your powers do not
think of yourself alone. If you acquire, let it be that j'ou may share j-our talents
with others; if you achieve, let it be that others may enjoy the glow of jour
prosperity. The soul, like the sun, should radiate every particle of light it
contains. We are human spirit lamps designed b\'- Providence to light up other
lives by our own unceasing purpose. Do not forget that there is one indestructible
material which nothing in the way of adversity or discouragement can ever
overcome, and that is character.
Have that good searching talk with yourself; decide what you will be; then
say to yourself — say it earl)', say it often — Fail me not, Thou.
II.
WHAT YOUR HAND FINDS TO DO.
"^^^HE girl just from school and standing on the threshold of
i^?* womanhood with life stretching out before her is apt, in
her ambition, to pass by the duty nearest to her and look
far afield for her life work. Jennie June says, "Distance
;^^^ lends enchantment to work, as to other things; and the
girl who sits idl}" at home or has to face the problem of
having no home to sit in, idh- or otherwise, feels most of
all the necessit}^ of flying from her present surroundings and making a new depar-
ture elsewhere away from existing scenes and circumstances. The unwisdom of
the step she will not consider. It presents itself to her as a necessity. She does
not realize how much of the seemingly imperative nature of the case is born of
desire for change."
I want just here to say a word to girls outside the large cities who think the
career for which they so ardently long may be seized at a grasp within the boun-
daries of the town. There can be no fallacy more fatal than this. The city is no
place to come, expecting to find employment, unless one has friends who can use
influence in her behalf, and befriend her when she comes, friendless and strange,
into the midst of a new life.
Workers are plenty in the cities. To find this out one has only to go into the
office of some merchant who has advertised for extra help. If fifty are wanted,
five hundred will come. Four hundred and fift}' have to be disappointed, of
course. All these applicants are from the city or its near suburbs, and with all
this army to choose from, what chance does the girl stand who is unused to
city ways ?
(25)
26 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
I have heard country girls talk, of coming to the citi for employment, giving
as one reason that they wanted more social life. They will not get it, for the
woman of business is not the woman of leisure and she has no time for society.
v^he will find more social life in her own home than she ever could have in the
cit>-. and there is no lonesomeness more absolute than the lonesomeness of the
stranger in a crowd. Salaries are not large enough to permit much relaxation in
the way of entertainment, and after an absorbing day's work, one is too worn out
to go in search of enjoyment. In the country home in these days the daily paper
and magazine keep one in touch with the world, even if it be far awaj- from the
bustle and confusion of city life. The fashion articles tell the girl how to dress her
hair and make her gown and give her the latest notion in small toilet details. No
town is .so small that it has not its public library where the new books come, and
the lecture and concert are not infrequent in visits. Railways and telegraphs have
bnjught the corners of the earth together so that one is never ver}' far away from
the centre of things. There are plenty of occupations for the girls who stay at
home if they will only seek for them.
I can see the impatient frown which will come upon many faces as this is
read, but all that I say is absolutely true.
Of course, if a girl has a special talent in any one direction, if she feels it so
iKjrne in upon her that only in the exercise of this talent can she find happiness
and reward, then by all means let her cultivate it. That is her duty. She has no
right to neglect any God-given heritage. But it is not to this girl that I am
talking. She will find her way and make it if, besides her talent, she has perse-
verance and a belief in the possibility of her own success.
The girl I mean is the average girl; she who has no special predilection for any
branch of work, but feels that she must do something. She is not content to be
an idler, but as yet has no definite idea of the sort of worker she would like to be.
And unle.ss .she has definite purpo.se, it will be worse than useless for her to under-
take to do battle with the world and expect to be victor.
This girl should look about her, find the needs of the communitj' in which
she lives, and endeavor to fill one of these by her own work. Mo.st of these needs
are apt to be homely ones, but none of them unplea.sant; they bring the girl into
kindly, helpful contact with her neighbors, and .she not only enjoys the social
intercourse which she thus obtains, but in addition, she earns for henself an income
sufficient to meet all her modest needs and ])ossibly, leave something over for the
little luxuries which every girl covets and wliich it is natural that she should
fksire.
A clever newspaper woman has made .some very bright suggestions for this
very class of girls. In every connnunity there are mothers of children who arc
always needing patterns of little garments. The.se ])atterns are expensive and
WHAT MY HAND FINDS TO DO.
,27;
28 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
inatiy a mother is compelled to hesitate before buying a pattern which costs
twenty-five cents and which, perhaps, will be used but a single time. Let one
of my girls come to the aid of these perplexed mothers. Begin by securing a
number of large sheets of wrapping paper and a few simple patterns of children's
clothing. Many of these you can borrow from obliging friends, or, if you are a
clever girl and have made clothes for your own dolls, you may make the patterns
for yourself. You will find that you can design more original, more artistic and
more becoming things than you can buy, and you will thus have an opportunity
of exercising whatever gifts you may have in this direction. Cut patterns of
boys' short trousers; blouse waists and jackets; of girls' underclothing, dresses
and aprons, and all sorts of dainty baby clothes. Then put a short advertisement
in your local newspaper, stating that you are prepared to sell these home-made
patterns, or to cut the garments themselves for ten cents each; and you will soon
find many a silver dime coming in from this source as soon as mothers find out
the convenience and economy of this arrangement.
Can you make a pretty bow? Twist the brim of a hat into all sorts of
impossible shapes ? Make the most impossible bonnet becoming to its wearer ?
Then you've got an income right at 3'our fingers' ends. Become a home milliner.
If you have a knack of doing this sort of thing all 3-our friends know it and they
will be glad to employ you, especially if with the knack you have originality in
design and sufl&cient artistic taste to know what will suit each taste. I know a
family of girls all but one of whom owns her inability even to tie a bow; they
can do all sorts of other things, but a bit of ribbon is a poser to them all. The
one exception, however, makes up for the lack of the others, and she can do
anything with a piece of ribbon, a bit of lace and a bunch of posies. She makes.
all the family bonnets and .so pretty are they that she is often begged by friends
outside of the family to trim a hat or bonnet for them. At first she did this with,
only thanks for pay, but .she found her time so taken up that she felt she could
not afford it; so she began by telling her friends that while she was willing to give
them the benefit of her artistic taste and her clever fingers, she must have some
pay for her time. Now she makes enough money to at least buy her own
materials and many coveted articles for her wardrobe.
The value of the home milliner to her patrons is, that she doesn't disdain to
make use of the materials at hand. The professional milliner would disdain even
to use them, to say nothing of suggesting any use for them. It is because the
home milliner is willing to be economical, because she is interested and anxious to
help out, that .she liecomes valuable to her patrons. In place of having them
come to her, she goes to them; she looks over the contents of their boxes and sees
the pos.sihilities; she will steam and brush the matted velvet until its pile is
restored and it looks almost as fresh as new. She knows how laces can be restored
WHAT YOUR HAND FINDS TO DO. 29
and how ribbons can be cleansed; she can curl straightened feathers and do all
such little, but important things, and is interested to do it. She saves her patrons
many a dollar and in this way proves herself invaluable.
The girl who can cook well can easily form a cooking class among her
friends, or even among older women, which shall meet once a week in the
kitchens of the different members; have a course of six or twelve lectures, com-
prising the making and baking of bread, muffins, rolls, the preparation of soups,
salads, oysters, and above all, the making of rechauffes, as the French call the
delicious dishes made from the left-overs of some meal, which American house-
keepers are likeh* to throw awa}' or to waste by not understanding the appetizing
way of preparing them. The teacher may, if she likes, add a supplementary
course which shall include elaborate desserts, fancy ices, and manj- of the decorative
dishes which all women like to know how to prepare and which the}- take great
pride in using on special company occasions. In making the price of 3-our course
of lessons, you will have to take into consideration the cost of materials which
)-ou use, as well as the value of your time. If your class numbers eight or more
you can well afford to give the lessons at $2.00 a course for the simpler dishes, and
at $3.00 for the more elaborate ones. This is assuming that j-ou have twelve
lessons in the course. If you wish, you may at the conclusion of each course,
give an exhibition and food sale, which will add to 3-our profit and increase the
interest of your pupils.
I don't know whether the girl in the country is still taught to do up fine laces
and muslins as a part of a gentlewoman's accomplishment, but if she is, man}- a
girl can make a good income b}^ washing fine laces, muslin embroideries, as well as
flannel and bed blankets. If you were near a large town 3-ou would be almost over-
whelmed with work of this kind, particularl}^ during the spring and autumn months
during house-cleaning time, for even,- housekeeper is unhappy in sending these
things to the laundn,- or trusting them to the tender mercies of the washerwoman.
Delicate home-made candies are alwaj-s in demand. Children are fond of
sweets, and doctors have decided that confectionery made from pure sugar is not
harmful when taken in small quantities, and may be in certain cases really
beneficial. The girl who can make these candies will find a ready sale for them in
any community, but especially in one in which there are school girls or shop girls.
She must take care to put them up daintily so as to make them attractive, and she
can easil}' sell them for twenty-five cents for a half-pound box. During the
holiday season she will find it profitable to solicit orders for special candies which
may be used in decorating Christmas trees, in putting up in bags for Sunday-school
festivals, or in daint}- boxes as holida}^ gifts.
I know a young woman who paid her way through college by the preparation
of meat for mince pies, and also by furnishing a specified number of pies for one
30
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
of tlie college houses each week during the cold months. In summer she made
fruit pies to take the place of the mince.
The girl who is fond of her needle may find occupation by making pretty
things to sell for Christmas, birthday or wedding gifts. Hemstitched linen or
lawn handkerchiefs with lace edges, embroidered doylies, tray cloths, centrepieces,
and five o'clock tea cloths will always find buyers. By studying the fashion and
the taste of the hour she will know what to add to her list of articles, which should
always be perfectly fresh and quite up to date.
It is possible that in some small communities a girl could start a little business
for herself by keeping for sale, or obtaining on order, things not usually found in
a countr>- store, but which all women buy more or less according to their means:
embroiden,' silks and linens, crochet threads, fine perfumeries and soap, the
newest but not the most expensive materials for art needlework; standard quali-
ties of stationery in the newest colors and designs; pins for the hair and the
toilet; in fact, all the things coming under the head of " trifles," that are never-
theless absolutely necessary to the cultivated, refined woman, but w^hich she is
usually compelled to send to the city in order to obtain. This would not require a
large capital; what is most needed is an intelligent perception of other women's
wants, judgment in furnishing them, and quickness in filling orders. You would
not need a large stock of articles; indeed, your success would largel}' lie in the fact
that your small .stock was choice and constantly replenished with the best novelties
which the market could afford. This little business could be carried on in your
own home so that it would not involve large expense, nor would it place you in the
class of merchant. You would be a medium of supply between the shopper and the
shop. A business like this would occasionally take you outside the limit of your
own town and give you in the pleasantest possible way, as a business woman, that
contact with the world which vou so much desire.
III.
THIS ONE THING I DO.
'■di^ YOUNG woman was unexpectedly left in a position where self-
"^-^ support became imperative. For a time she was bewildered.
She could play the piano, she could paint, both somewhat
better than well; she was a graceful letter writer, with a
pleasing knack of expression which some of her friends took
for talent. But she could make none of these accomplish-
ments available. She could not obtain pupils enough to pa}' her
either for her time or her trouble. The editors of magazines
and newspapers did not find the peculiar charm about her work which her friends
declared that she had. She was almost at her wits' end and was really beginning to
think there was no place in the world for her, when she suddenly found her
vocation.
And what do a'OU think it was ?
Simph" this: fr3-ing potatoes. Humble enough, wasn't it? And evidenth-
unpromising, but a good deal came of it. She could fry potatoes in a special
fashion, called "Saratoga chips," deliciously, and among her friends her fried
potatoes were even more famous than her letters. One day it occurred to her to take
orders for them and see what she could do. Her friends were glad enough to avail
themselves of her willingness to ser\^e them, and she had very soon a small but
paying business. Then her fame went out into the large city near by, and she
(31)
32 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
supplied families there. The business increased so that she was obliged to take
in an assistant, and she is now on the high road to prosperity, just because she
could do one thing, though a very- simple one, better than her neighbors.
In one of the large Western cities is a young woman who goes to eight
different houses and writes letters. She is paid a dollar for each visit. To some
of the houses she goes once a week, to others twnce a w^eek, and there are two
houses where she goes ever>- day. She writes plainly, spells and punctuates
correctly, and is past mistress in the art of letter wTiting. One has but to give
her an idea of what is wanted and in a few moments a charming letter or note is
written. In these busy days many women who have innumerable social duties to
perform and are, besides, engaged in charitable or philanthropic work, require the
ser\-ices of a young woman who acts as private secretary. There is one require-
ment above all others that this young woman must meet. She must be a good
letter writer. Girls, those of you who have talent in this direction, cultivate it,
for you don't know of how much use and profit it may become to you.
A young girl who chanced to know a great deal about a certain country- in
Europe decided last winter that she would try at an entertainment given for a
charitable purpose to tell her friends what she knew, and see how they enjoyed it.
The experiment was a success; such a success that after a while she was asked to
repeat it oftener than she could afford to, so .she decided to ask a fee for her even-
ing's talk, and she got it without any difficulty. Her profits during the season
were enough to enable her to go to Europe and have a number of photographs of
the country taken to be used in her lectures. There has already been a demand
for her lectures for the coming season, and it has been great enough to justif}' her
in doubling her fee, and even at that rate she already has many engagements —
enough to make her feel that her .success for the winter is assured. She is a
pleasing girl, with an engaging manner and a sweet voice, and her lecture consists
in reality of nothing more than a series of anecdotes agreeably told. She began
the work as an experiment, and her success shows how unexpectedly a woman
may find employment of an agreeable and profitable kind.
There is in Philadelphia a young woman who has found a way to help her-
self, and at the same time to be useful to other people. She offers her services to
hunt hou.ses. receiving for such .service a commission from the real estate man in
rase i)( securing a tenant, from whom .she also receives a .small fee for looking
after his interests and .saving him much wear and tear of mind and body.
" Women make just as expert carvers as men," declared the head car\'er in
a Chicago hotel, "when they will give their mind seriou.sly to it. I know a
woman in a restaurant in Paris who does nothing but carve, and for this she draws
a salary equivalent to two thousand dollars a year. She is the swiftest, cleanest,
most economical carver I have ever seen."
THIS ONH THING I DO.
33
A young woman in New Haven, Connecticut, makes a handsome income by
liunting- up Revolutiunar}- ancestors for women who are anxious to become mem-
bers of the Revohitionary and Colonial Societies, and who have not the patience
to do this for themselves. She is an expert genealogist, and has assisted many
families in tracing their pedigree.
Miss Clara Millard, an English woman, has the enviable reputation of having
created a new work for women, and of demonstrating that by persistent effort the
business may be made successful. She calls herself a book hunter, and whatever
the volume is that may be needed to complete .some portion of the library, .she
will find it, and she has .shown marvelous aptitude and .skill in tracing out rare
volumes. In one instance she secured for a New York banker a copy of Brown-
ing's " Pauline," of which before her di.scovery only seven copies were known to
be in existence. It is true that the work can by no possibility become one in
which many may engage, for it requires some qualifications, such as acquaintance
with literature and libraries, which cannot be picked up in a moment; but the fact
that she has made her special business so successful is evidence that women do not
need confine themselves to stereot3-ped methods of support, but can find business
for themselves if they will have patience and persistence.
There is always a market for good work. People will pay for what the}^
want. Fill a want, and you have a market. The story is told of a farmer's wife
who wanted to give her daughter unusual musical advantages, but times were
hard and money scarce. She said to her daughter, " There's no one in this part
of the country who can make sausage like mine; I wish I could sell some and get
money to pay for your music lessons." Now, this girl was so earnest in her
desire to study music that she said, " If you will make the sausage I will try to
sell it." They put the sausage in little pound packages; the girl took it to town
and sold it. People who once tasted that sausage were alwa^'S anxious to buy
it again. To-day the name of that farm on a package would sell almost anj-thing.
As a special recommendation for her sausage the mother proudh- shows a letter
from her daughter, written in Boston, where the girl is now studying music at the
Conservator3\ It reads like this: " Dear Mother — I am living on the sale of your
sausage, but oh, how I wish I could have one nice little sausage to eat!''
There is a woman in a New England city who has raised and educated a
family b}' making doughnuts. She makes them fresh every da^^ and she sells
wagon-loads of them. Everybody in the city wants Mrs. Hoffman's doughnuts,
because the}* are the best that are made.
Not one of these girls or women would have accomplished anything in life if
they had sat waiting until the time came when thej' could do the thing they
wanted to do. They were wise enough to see opportunity and to realize that it
comes often est in the humblest, quietest and most unexpected manner. Perhaps
3
34 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
that is the reason why so many fail to recognize it. They are looking for some-
thing so much larger, more imposing, and more exacting, that they are apt to
.sconi the thing that presents itself iu a perfectly natural and rather matter-of-fact
fashion.
If, instead of sighing for the thing beyond reach, our girls would cheerfully
take up the task lying nearest their hands, they w^ould find success crowning
present endeavor, and a possible way opening to the larger thing beyond. It is
(juite true that larger and more important duties are never offered until one has
>hown her fitness to do the smaller ones which lie close at hand.
Nearly every person in the world excels in some one thing; it may be the very
humblest; but whatever it is, she may find some way of making it profitable.
Supposing the woman who could fry potatoes had refused to recognize this industry
as one which she might make a means of support because it wasn't genteel or
artistic, or .something else equally nonsensical, wouldn't you have called her an
exceedingly .stupid and foolish person ? Take care that in slighting some homely,
but useful occupation in wdiich you may be of service to others and bring remunera-
lii^n to yourself, you do not write yourself down as one of the stupid and foolish
ones of the world.
" My pride would not let me," says .some silly girl, when a friend ventures
to suggest that she shall enter upon .some avocation which does not seem
to her de.sirable. "It is all very well to do this in one's family, or for one's
.self, but for money and for other people, I .should die of mortification at the
very thought."
Yet po.ssibly that very thing is the only thing which that girl can do well. It
is her only point of excellence. Instead of being too proud to make this a means
of money making, she should be proud that she excels even in this. Girls, and
particularly young ones, have very mistaken ideas oftentimes of what genuine
wcjinanly pride indicates. In.stead of revolting at any labor which makes her
independent of another, it should revolt at the idea of dependence. Any labor
or any task undertaken with the true womanly spirit does not degrade the worker;
on the contrary, it is the worker who lifts the labor up to her own level. So long
as a woman keeps her self-respect, and the respect of those about her, labor cannot
hinniliate her.
Of course we all recognize the fact that certain avocations are pleasanter and
more agreeable than others, but not every one has aptitude or opportunity to enter
these vocations; .so to the girl who has her way to make, and to wliose knock the
-ates opening into the broader world refuse to open, I would say, study your
attainment, fmd fuit the one thing you can do and do well, then do it; not secretly,
as if ashamed, for then you will never .succeed; but willi liontst endeavor and
womanly jiurpose, letting the world about you know of your intention so that it
I
THIS ONK THING I DO.
35
may come to your help, and when you have made success and have shown yourself
ready for the wider duty —if then you still desire it — you may be sure that the
duty will present itself. You have served your apprenticesliip, have proven your
faithfulness antl ability, and you will be let beyond the limitations by which you
have been held, to meet the larger opportunity because you have proven your
ability to grasp and to hold it.
IV.
THE SPIRITUAL SIDE.
/SMj^^^ f jl/'To WOMAN can really win in the world's thickening battle
^^^^ ' ^viio is not, first of all, obedient to the decalogue of natural
law, " written in our members." There is no mistaking its
utterances as they sound from the ever-radiant Sinai of
physiology and hygiene.
I. Let the dress be such as will impose no ligature upon
any part of the body, nor in anywise restrict the freedom,
naturalness and perfect equilibrium of all its members.
Let it be equally distributed over the entire figure, without excrescences or
furbelows, and carefully adapted to the season.
2. Let the functions of digestion be normally preserved by the use of the
simplest foods, into which enter the elements of nutrition suited to the season,
and by a careful, physiological study of the conditions of tlicir healthful main-
tenance.
3. Let tlie only drink be water, hot or cold, and milk. Never drink at
meals, and never drink ice-water at all.
4. IvCt the sponge-bath be a daily means of grace.
5. lyCl G«xl's pure, fresh air have full access to your room, especially at
night.
6. Let exercise in the opuu air be your daily hal>it, and cultivate athletic
sports.
7. I/Ct brain work be dispensed willi after tea, and insist on eight hours'
.sleep in twenty-four.
(36)
TIIlv SPIurrilAL SIDE. 37
8. Remember the v'^al)!);!!!! day to keep it holy. In the six days thou shalt
labor, but in them do all thy work. If the Sabbath is necessarily a day of brain
work — as to public speakers, Christian workers, etc. — take one day in seven for
rest or recreation, as the surest means to a useful life and hale old age.
9. Give your soul up to faith. Believe in God, in immortality, in human
brotherhood, in the sure triumph of everything pure and good.
10. Habituate yourself to prayer. Let it be the pulse of your whole life; so
natural to you that your spirit turns to the Star of Bethlehem as steadily as turns
the needle to the polar star.
I am not gifted in divination and will not attempt to cast your horoscope,
brave girls of the new America, but I do not fear to predict an absolutely happy,
a most winning, and a thoroughly successful life to whomsoever will obey these
ten commandments. To write of them severally is not my purpose. But to lay
down some simple rules relative to the daily conduct of life, is a part of ni}- .scheme
in talking to you of " How to Win." For we must build our strong foundations
on the solid bed rock of natural law. Though our foreheads are lifted toward the
sky, our feet are firmly planted on the earth. This body is, in a sense, the uni-
verse to us. We get no light save that which comes through this strange skylight
of the brain. The " man wonderful " lives in a "house beautiful," and it is all
in all to him. It was meant to be his perfect instrument and not his prison.
Perfect obedience to its laws would make him the true microcosm — the mirror of
the universe — nay, of its Creator. The blessed word "health" once literally
meant "holiness," and that means simply "wholeness." This body of ours was
meant to be the temple of the Holy Spirit, but enemies have taken possession of
it and dimmed or well nigh extinguished the shekinah. A sound mind cannot
exist except in a sound body. The Saxons had a saying that " every man has
lain on his own trencher," and it is not only true that " the man who drinks beer
thinks beer," but " he who eats swine thinks swine," bristles and all. Good old
Dr. Peter Akers — of the Peter Cartwright school of preachers, a saint still linger-
ing with us, I believe — says he would like to offer as a fitting oblation to the
devil, "a hog stuffed with tobacco in an alcohol gravy." For my owm part I
have formed a settled conviction that the world is fed too much. Pastries, cakes,
hot bread, rich gravies, pickles, pepper-sauces, salads, tea and coffee are discarded
from my bill of fare, and I firmly believe they will be from the recipes of the
twentieth century. Entire wheat flour bread, vegetables, fruit, fowl, fish, with a
little beef and mutton, and water as the chief drink, will distill, in the alembic of
the digestive organs, into pure, rich, feverless blood, electric, but steady nerves,
and brains whose chief delight will be to think God's thoughts after Him.
May the high thinking that consorts best with plain living be a well-known
" way to win " among the maidens of America.
38 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Again, without beauty it is impossible to win. The plain-faced girl who has
a pretty sister commands my imnost sympathy; for just there I have been, and in
a soul most sensitive and timid have hidden away the pathos of that evermore
difficult and unspoken situation. To have beside you, nearer than any other
human being, a sister fair and winsome, whose ribbons always " match," whose
hair takes kindly to the latest style, whose gloves invariably fit, and whose bonnet
cannot be unbecoming; to know yourself for a creature awkward and unadorned,
upon whom this gracious, loving comrade at your side vainly expends all the skill
of fingers deft and delicate — this is not what a girl's heart would choose. But
the ' ■ ripe, round, mellow years ' ' have given me glimpses of that open secret,
most ineffable and blessed, " How to be Beautiful." It is not in paints and pow-
ders, not in ruffles, ribbons, or false ringlets, and not in the use of anj^ soap, or
"Balm of a Thousand Flowers." For one learns, after a while, that this face
and form we wear about are but a mask, a thin, almost transparent veil, through
wliich the spirit looks, coyly at first, but later on, with calm and stead}' gaze.
Every seven years the veil must be renewed; with time come wrinkles, where the
soul breaks through, and our whole historv is written in them for those who have
learned to read. What is behind this changeful face, moulding and making it
forever new? It is one's own true self. Nay, more, the face itself is as cla}' in
the hands of the potter to the spirit that lies back of it.
There are scientists who teach that it is possible to modif}- the outline of an
eyebrow, the bulge of a forehead, the protuberances of a cranium, b}' the slow
processes of an education which shall develop memor}' at the expense of perception,
or convention alit}' at the expense of reason. For m3'self, I believe the day is not
distant when the schools shall teach these principles, and in that da}- the physical
ba.sis of character, the expression given by outward form to inward grace or grace-
lessness, how to overcome the one and cultivate the other, shall replace much of
what the schoolmen of our time are serving up under the name of " Knowledge."
Perfect unity with God's laws written in our members, obedience to the deca-
logue of natural law, and the ritual of this body which was meant to be the
temple of the Holy Ghost, would have made us all beautiful to start with; would
have endowed us by inheritance with the fascinating graces of Hebe and
Apollo. But generations of pinched waists and feet, of the cerebellum overheated
by its wad of hair, the vital organs cramped, the free step impeded, and the
gracious human form bandaged and dwarfed, all these exact from every new-born
child the penalty of law inexorable, law outraged and trampled under foot through
long and painful years.
The desire to be beautiful is instinctive, because we were all meant to be so,
and may all claim our heritage upon this spiritual plane, even though so ruth-
lessly defrauded of it, on the material plane, by the ignorant excesses of our
THE SPIRITUAL SIDE. 39
ancestors and the follies of our own untaught years. But while I would beg
American girls to make a special study of the sacred laws of health, I would still
more urgently impress the importance of the spiritual law of beauty upon their
sensitive young hearts.
Aside from all that I have said about the insanity of fashion, about h3'giene,
and outward adorning, about the possibility of modifying both "bumps" and
features, let me emphasize the highest method of acquiring that beaut}- which
is the result of one's own inner life. Behind everything there is a thought. As
a man thinketh so is he. Expression is the loftiest and the final charm in every
human face. While it is right, indeed a heavenly intuition, to desire beaut}-, and
while attention to the laws of h3-giene, good taste and good behavior mightily
conduce to it, heavenly thoughts are the onl}- sure recipe for a countenance of
heavenl}- expression. St. Cecilia heard the music of the upper courts, and hence
her face mirrors its ethereal loveliness. It is not onl}^ true that prayer will cause
a man to cease from sinning, even as sin will cause a man to cease from prayer;
but it is also true that no heart can be lifted up toward God, as a lily lifts its
chalice to the sun, without the face beaming with a light which never shone on sea
or shore, but which reflects the shekinah of the upper sanctuar3^ The ever-
welcome, ugly face of a beautiful soul is vastly more endearing and endeared to
wistful human eyes than the classic brow of Eugenie, the sparkling eyes of Patti,
or the statuesque pose of Mar}- Anderson. Their beauty is on the material plane,
and evanescent, but this is on the spiritual plane, and beauty of expression shall
endure and grow forever if we but keep on thinking thoughts of peace, purity
and tenderness.
Be true to the dream of your youth. Hold fast to the highest ideals that
^ash upon your vision in hours of exaltation. But no guest can ever keep 3-ou
company, so rare and radiant as the Hol}^ Ghost (miscalled a ' ' Ghost ' ' in
theological nomenclature), and He comes to us as the present Christ, the only
antecedent of a present Heaven.
None but the beautiful can win, since beauty is the normal condition of us
all, and whatever is abnormal is in so far a failure. But let us not forget that
while this law of physical beaut}^ holds in full force, its application is no less exact
when we emerge upon the broader consideration of our theme. For there are so
many kinds of beauty after which one may strive that we are bewildered bj^ the
bare attempt to number them. There is beauty of manner, of utterance, of
achievement, of reputation, of character, any one of which outweighs beauty of
person, even in the scales of society, to say nothing of celestial values.
Cultivate most the kind that lasts longest. The beautiful face with nothing
back of it lacks the ' ' staying qualities ' ' that are necessary to those who would be
wmners in the race of life. It is not the first mile-post, but the last, that tells the
40
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
slory; not tlic outward bound steed, but the one on the " home stretch." that we
note as victor. The loom of life turns out many different fabrics. Is the beauty
that von seek the v^ossamer of a day or the royal purple of a century ? Beauty of
manner, tender considerateness, reverence and equipoise, will make it impossible
for you ever to be desolate, and will insure your always being loved. No physical
defect, however irremediable, bars you from this choicest of all exterior attractions.
lieautv of utterance lias a fadeless charm; opens all hearts whose key it is worth
while to wish for; and makes, those once obscure, the favorites of fortune, the
heroes of society, the peers of kings.
Beauty of reputation is a mantle of spotless ermine in which if you are but
enwrapped you shall receive the homage of those about you, as real, as read}- and
as spontaneous as any ever paid to personal beaut}^ in its most entrancing hour.
Some sort of reputation you must have, whether you will or no. In school, in
church, at home, at work, or in society, 30U carry ever with 3'ou the wings of a
good or the ball and chain of a bad reputation. Resolve to make it beautiful,
clear, shining, gracious. This is within your power, though the color of your
eyes and hair is not. But reputation, after all, is but the shadow^ cast by character;
and beauty, in this best and highest sense, commands all forces worth the having,
in all worlds. Every form of attractiveness confesses the primacy of this.
Beauty of character includes ever}^ good of which a human heart can know,
and makes the women who posesses it a princess in Israel, whose home is every-
Ixxly's heart, and who.se heaven is everyw^here. The dullest eyes may reflect this
lK*auty ; the pale.st cheek bloom with it; the most unclassic lips may be enwreathed
with its .smile of ineffable good-will and heavenly joy. For beauty of character
conies only from loving obedience to every known law of God in nature and in
grace. Lovingly to learn and dutifully to obey these laws of our beneficent
Father is to live. Anything le.ss is but to vegetate.
Dear younger sisters, " let us keep our Heavenly Father in the midst," let us
be beautiful, for we were meant to be; let us not only desire but determine to be
winners, but most of all let us remember that "the King's daughter must be all
glorious within."
Vr.-^-
''^^fj.
V
arc-
rs^^
.x3
V.
PRESERVE MAKING AND PICKLING.
HAT can I do to earn money ? Where is my chance?"
There is scarcel3' a day passes that one does not come
face to face with this question asked by a woman.
It is not always the young woman with health and
strength at her command who asks this the most earnesth\
There is always enough for her who is young and unbur-
dened to do. Avenue after avenue opens to her imperious
knock, and her summons to be let in to the mysteries beyond is hardlj' ever
denied her.
The most that one can do for the girl is what this book is trying to accomplish;
you can see that she is set in the right way — the waj^ that is best for her — and
that she has the right ideas regarding the work she is going to take, and her own
attitude toward the world while she does it. Usually unencumbered and having
onh- herself to care for, she is comparativeh' independent and may go wherever
the wa}' opens.
But when the necessity' of bread-winning comes, as it so often does, to the
woman who has a family of her own, or some relative depending upon her who is
bound to some locality by ties that she cannot break, thus having opportunit}^
circumscribed, the outlook is sad indeed; and who shall wonder if at times it seems
utterh^ hopeless ? What can such a woman do ? It is quite evident that she must
do prett}' much what she can with all her limitations, regardless of her own desires
or her own tastes. Money earning with her is not a pastime in which she
indulges simply to add some luxuries to the comforts she alread}- possesses; it is a
stern and inexorable necessity before which everything else goes down utterly.
(41)
^2 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
She cannot go out into the world to do her work, for duty holds her where she is,
and there she must stay. Consequently her choice of occupation is circumscribed;
>^he can only do what comes to her to be done.
The suggestion made to her in this chapter is embodied in the personal
experience of one woman. Many may draw counsel and help from the story.
Hut I want to say just this, first: look over your stock of accomplishment and see
what you can do best, and try to turn that to your advantage; see if you cannot
make it pay you something.
Vou will take notice that I say accomplishment and not accomplishments.
Phis means literally the something that you have done and done well, no matter
how small or humble it may be, not the showy veneer that passes current under
the name of " the accomplishments." No; the literal definition of the word must
be insisted upon in this case.
The great trouble underlying the whole system of wage earning is that, as a
rule, many girls, as well as women, are not willing to do what they can. Their
imbitions have a fa.shion of outrunning their abilities, and then follows a series of
mortifying failures, that make the workers feel that they are not appreciated, and
thev grow bitter and discouraged and complain that they are not well treated and
that the hand of the world is raised persistently against them. This is nonsense.
I'liere is something they can do in the line of useful art and you know it is quite
.nipossible that the whole world shall be purely decorative, or even the entire
feminine half of it. It is better to set a patch nicely than to paint a china cup
badly, or to make a good loaf of bread than to do inartistic " art needlework."
This especial stor>' is for the young woman who lives in the country, and
who has an opportunity to get berries and small fruits; perhaps lives on a farm
where they are raised, or may be with work and care. The woman in the story
lives on a pretty little home farm of a few acres, just outside the busy city of
I'awtucket in Rhode Island and not far from the still busier city of Providence.
She had been a b(X)kkeepcr in one of the Pawtucket mills at a large .salary and
had married and settled down on the home farm. Accu.stomed as she was to a
busy life, and, alx)ve all, to being the mistress of a pocketbook of her own, she
soon found herself missing both and wishing she had something to do. Like
another woman whose story will be told by and by, .she found her vocation quite
by accident.
Her mother had been a notable New Kngland housewife, whose cooking, and,
alx>ve all, whose pickle and pre.serve making were famous in the neighborhood.
I Iff daughter had inherited this peculiar ability and was as proud of her store
closet as her mother Ixrfore her had been of hers. It happened one autunni day
as she was making a special kind of pickle which was liked by all her friends
who had the good fortune to taste it, one of her neighbors ran in for an informal
PRESERVING AND PICKLING.
(43)
^j OCCrPATIOXS FOR WOMEN.
call. The ncw-amicr oMiuiunUil on the pickles, bewailing her own ill luck in
making thcin, ami c-ndcd by saying how she did wish it was possible for her to
-blain some. It was at this instant the money-making idea came into Mrs.
Thoniton's heatl.
" I will make some for you," she .said.
"You!" replied her friend.
" Yes; why not ? You want pickles, I want occupation."
And so the thing was .settled, and so soon as others heard that she was willing
to undertake tlie work they came /to her with orders, and she found plenty of
pickling to do. Then came requests for catsups, sauces and relishes, and she
filled these orders.
Her neighborhood .success set her to thinking seriously, and during the winter
>he laid further plans. She interviewed friends in Providence and took personal
orders for jellies, preserves, pickles, and things of alike nature, and she made arrange-
ments with the Woman's Exchange to .send her any orders they might get, and also
to take wliat she might have to spare on .sale at their rooms. As soon as the spring
opened she l)egan her work; .she looked after her strawberry beds and her rasp-
Inrrry and blackberry vines; she was careful to see that her fruit trees were in con-
dition; she personally tended her cucumber vines and tomato plants. Her garden
had come to mean something more than merely an appendage for family comfort,
it was to \ye the basis of .supplies for the new business.
All summer she worked; as the fruit ripened .she "put it up." The straw-
iK-rries, most frail and delicate of all fruits, she picked herself, allowing no other
h.inds to touch them, hulling as she picked, .so they need be handled but the once,
and taking care that they should not be crushed. She also picked her own rasp-
iK-rrics; she .says, and truly, that much handling spoils the flavor of the fruit and
that it injures lK>th the taste and the appearance of the preserve. Currants she
allowed tUhcrs to pick for her, and .so with the hardier fruit which would not be
liarnied by the handling. vShe used the greatest care in making her jellies and
prescrN'ts. and the results were most satisfactory. From the time the first fruit
riiHTUed until the la.st pickles were made in the autumn she was constantly employed.
It proved, tcx), to Ix* a remunerative employment. The .second year her business
almost drjubled and now she has all she can do. She might enlarge it, but she
d<Krj.n"t care to undertake to do more than she can do hcr.self, as she fears that if
my one undertf>ok it with her the results would be le.ss satisfactory than they are
■ ■ ■ •;!. Like a sensible womati. she concludes that enough is as good as more,
.. makes .sufficient money during the busy months to la.st her all the year
tlirouKh. to let her d«j what she likes in the way of improvement of her place, of
jojiriirviiig .ilKtut in her leisure season, and of being able to help others who have
M-.t U<ii s., r.Mfnu.ii.- Slic has a room fitted up in the cellar of her house well
PRESERVE MAKING AND PICKLING. 45
lighted and cool, opening oul on to the garden, and here she d(jes her work. The
boiling of syrup and jelly is done over an oil stove because she can get a perfectly
steady heat from beginning to end of the process in that \va\-, and such absolute
evenness of temperature is not possible even with the steadiest coal fire.
There is many a woman living in the countr\- who, although not the owner
of a farm, has a "garden .spot" which she might devote to the growth of
small fruits and turn these into money by making preserves and jellies that will
find a ready market at good prices. Of course not every one who lives in the
country, even, can do this. One must have patience and the natural aptitude
for cooking, to be successful in this business. It never follows that any one can
do a thing well .simply by wishing to do it, but there are enough who can do just
this thing well to make it worth their trying. It is not very difficult to find
customers; the women who are never .successful in putting up fruit will gladly
avail themselves of the skill of those who are. Nearly every one has friends in
town or city who will be glad of the genuine country fruit well prepared, the fruit
fresh, the sugar good, and with the wdiole care that makes the difference between
the work well done with good results, or carelessly done with indifferent results.
Then, too, the business does not last all the year through and there is well-earned
leisure for study and other work. It is absorbing while it does last and it takes
the time in the summer, the pleasant part of the year, when one feels the least
like exertion. But one is willing to work to reap such results. It is a good plan
if one lives near a large town to make an arrangement with some store to keep the
goods on sale, if one has more than enough to fill private orders. People in cities
buy preserves and canned fruit in quantities from the stores; would they not prefer,
if they knew it was obtainable, the carefully prepared home preserve rather than
that prepared in bulk at some factory and put up wholesale in haphazard fashion ?
Of course they w^ould.
The girl who undertakes this must not be afraid of small beginnings. One
girl started out with an order for one dozen glasses of quince jelly. This was
followed by an order for half a dozen bottles of tomato pickle. That was the
whole of her first year's work. But the two frieiids who were her first patrons
took special pains, when jellies and pickles were served, to mention the name of
the maker, and in a casual wa}', remarked that she was read}- to take orders for
other sweetmeats. Not a person who was recommended to her failed to respond
with an order for the next sea.son, and now she makes yearly a sufficient income
to pay her w^ay through the art school where she is a pupil during the winter.
She sometimes wonders which will pay better in the end, making pictures or
preserves.
If any girl who reads this is impelled to undertake such work for herself,
there are some things which she must not fail to remember. It is better to attempt
46
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
small quantities cvcji after she has hecoiue an expert, since if by any accident her
preserve should be spoiled or fall short of the mark so that she would not wish to
deliver it to the customer, the loss to her would be small.
" Do you never fail ?" asked a curious visitor of Mrs. Thornton one day.
"Sometimes I do. for success is never certain, especially in jelly making. I
would rather do a thing several times and have it right every time than to make
a failure with a large quantity of fruit and sugar, trying to do more than I can
manage.'
Huy only the best ot sugar, see that your fruit is fresh, keep 3'our patience
and don't hurry, and be satisfied if your beginnings are small. When your
reputation is once made, you will find you will have all you can do.
Here is a practical way in which money can be earned, and that it is a possible
way is shown by the fact that many women are already making a living by it. It
is a pleasant way, a cjuiet way, and certainly a sheltered way, since one need not
go beyond the home walls to do it. Perhaps it is not the ideal career you have
marked out for yourself, but if j'ou want to become a world worker, you nuist
learn the first lesson, which is, to do with a thankful heart and cheerful mien the
work that the world brings vou to do.
V \
1
^
w
.V.^fff^
■^^v-^*^^-
^
VI.
THE WAY IT HAPPENED.
W. VERY little while the newspapers chronicle the stor}^ of some
" woman who is engaged in an occupation so foreign to any
heretofore undertaken b}" her sex that one wonders how she
came to undertake it. When at last curiosity is satisfied it
proves that the undertaking was the most natural thing in
the world, and that in place of seeking the position which
she occupies, it was, by some stress of circumstance, forced
upon her. For instance, when one hears that Miss Clara M. Stimson, of
Houlton, Maine, runs a saw-mill, she wonders whether it was the fascination of
the occupation that induced her to venture into it, or what the reason is that she
devotes herself to making boards, planks and shingles.
It comes to her as a natural heritage. Her father was a lumber manufac-
turer. When he died some 5'ears ago his daughter took up the business where he
left off, and since then has handled it, along with other speculative operations,
with such energy and rare good judgment that she is now reckoned with the solid
manufacturers of Aroostook County. Her lumber and shingles have earned a
reputation in the markets now, but the pluck}- little woman found man}^ discour-
agements at first. When she went awa}' a few years ago to sell the products of
her mill, dealers seemed afraid of her; the}' couldn't understand the situation.
The idea of a woman operating a shingle-making establishment inspired them
with apprehension. But she had samples, and she knew how to talk plainly,
directh' and in an eminently business-like fashion. She said, " No, 3'ou don't
know me and I don't know a'Ou, either; but 3'ou're buying shingles and I'm
selling them. I back my shingles. I live in Houlton, Maine, but I haven't any
(47)
48
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
references. I won't ask an\b(»d\- lor references, and I don't believe tlicN- amount
to much, either. Hul my .shingles are just what I say they are, and I warrant
them lo l)e .so t)n the word of a woman witli a desire to develop a business and
make an honest dollar. Do you want to purchase ?' '
The dealer to whom she talked looked at her and said he believed he did.
He Ixjught, and has been a patron ever since. Her market now comes to her.
Occasionally she makes a
trip to the big cities when
prices don't suit her, and
she never fails to stir the
dealers up to an apprecia-
tion of the quality of her
goods.
How do men like to
work for the new woman ?
There are regularly five
men around her for every
joij that she has to offer.
She insists on capability
and honest}', but she pays
well, is punctiliously
honorable, and if the man
is compeent the situation
is his as long as he
behaves.
"Now, I couldn't
make a living at dress-
making," she said to ai
visitor the other day
" I know that the hats I
trinuned wouldn't have
any sale, and as an artist,
I should have to go with-
out either butter or bread.
But when we come to
shingles and handling a
tTcw of men, I claim, without egotism, I trust, that I know my bu.sine.ss. If
I didn't. I should liavc left the trade."
Miss Stimson jxiys her men on the fifteenth of each month, and makes .special!
trips lo Ma.sardis, the town in which her mill is situated, for that purpose. Her'
Mk.S. IDA MOORK I.ACHMUND.
{A9I
30 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
order-l)lanks are of her own design, not transferable, and a man receiving his
money on thcni signs away all recourse for damages or injuries he may
ha\c suffered or claimed to suffer in the mill. Few business enterprises of
Aroosttxik County arc conducted more .sy.stematically than this mill, operated by a
woman who, in spite ot her continual active life among men as one of the business
world, is yet ver)' womanl\-. She can trade horses with any man in Houlton who
is proud of his shrewdness, yet she can talk on books and chatter on womanly
topics with as much gusto as the matron of a household. Besides her various
personal ventures, she is bookkeeper for the local beef concern, handling all their
cash and business.
Towing rafts of saw-logs on the Mississippi is the unique occupation of an
Iowa woman. She lives at Clinton, owns and operates the steamer "Robert
Dodds." and cU^es all the sawing for two big saw-mills. This woman is Mrs. Ida
Mcx;re Lachmund. She has been in the business for ten years, and is one of the
Ijtst examples of what a woman with energy and pluck can do to make anj- calling
a success if she only wills it. Mrs. Lachmund is an Eastern woman, well
educated, and comes of the best Pennsylvania stock. She was born in Phila-
delphia, where she lived until her marriage. After her marriage she came \Vest
with her husband, who.se business required him to spend much of his time on the
river, and he became much interested in rafting steamers. Mrs. Lachmund many
limes accompanied her husband on the trips, and gradually became deeply fasci-
nated with the work. She closely examined every detail of a trip down stream
with a million-foot raft, and soon no man on board was more familiar with them
than was this educated young woman of Quakerdom. She has owned interests in
half a dozen lx>ats. Some of them went to the bottom, but the mistress of the
'*I><xi(ls" knew as well how to raise them and put them on the ways as her
captain. When the "Robert Dodds" was placed in the rafting trade, Mrs.
Lachmund i)ersonally inspected hull, boiler and machinery. vShe, with the
assistance of her officers, plans all repairs. She buys all her stores and fuels.
She makes her own contracts with the mills and adjusts her losses and differences.
In a cosy upper room of the Lachmund home in Clinton is her office. Much of
her correspijndence is dictated from here. On tlie down trip Mrs. Lachnmnd's
cu-slom i.s to leave the boat at some point near liome and run in ahead on the
railroad. In the interval between the arrival and departure, she gives any needed
attention to her home, writes up her business and- gets her orders for the next
trip. Her friends say of her that she is an accomplished housewife and keeps one
of the tidiest liomes in Clinton. She has performed her whole part in morally
training and educationally fitting her sons for as active lives as her own, and
during the trips up stream she finds time to keep herself informed as to what is
going on in the busy world in which she is a figure.
THE WAY IT HAPPENED. 51
Mrs. Ainiie Shanivan, of Tulare, Cal., claims to be the oul}^ woman engineer
in the world, and is proud of the distinction. She has been running the engine
for the planing mill at Mountain Home in Tulare County for over a year, and she
likes the work, although a great deal of it is of the roughest kind. Mountain
Home is a hamlet that exists more on account of the planing mill than for any
other reason, and the people there are of the rough, sturdy sort. It is more than
three years since Mrs. Shanivan and her husband arrived at Mountain Home.
They were from the East, where the husband had charge of the motive power of
a big flour mill, with a handsome salary. But his health broke down and so
they went to Mountain Home, where he was to take charge of the engine in the
planing mill. For a time his health improved in the grateful air of the California
hills, but finally he had to give up and let his wife undertake the work. There
was nothing else to do, for monej' was scarce and sickness expensive, and the
woman has done the work satisfactorily ever since. She does everything about the
engine, from shoveling the fuel under the boiler to making the repairs, and keeps
everything in the best order.
Philadelphia enjoys the distinction of having a woman shoemaker. When
asked how she happened to adopt a business that men have always monopolized
hitherto, she said, " I never liked to have men either measure my feet for shoes or
fit them on, and I concluded that there must be other women who felt the same
wa}-. I w^as convinced that all such w^ould prefer to patronize one of their own
sex. so I learned the trade and went into the business of shoemaking. I am glad
I did, for I have made myself independent." This shoemaker is a most practical
worker. She does the measuring, draws the diagrams and gives detailed instruc-
tions to the journeymen in her employ. She formerly did the cutting up of the
leather and can do so still, if necessary. She began in a small way, but has
prospered abundantly and now has an establishment that is patronized largely
by women of the most exclusive social set.
Another Pennsylvania woman, Mrs. Pollock, of Pittston, mends shoes.
Her husband was a cobbler and she frequently assisted him through a rush.
When he died and she was left upon her own resources, she bravely picked up the
last and awl, and continued in her husband's business. This new departure — a
woman cobbler — created much consternation in the neighborhood, which resulted
in a decided decrease in patronage. But Mrs. Pollock knew the waj^ into a
woman's heart and offered to mend shoes at a " bargain " rates. When she thus
cut down the prices fixed by her husband the women ventured to trj^ her. She
turned out such good work and the orders w^ere so promptly filled that she soon
had a large trade. She now employs a man to assist her and earns from $20.00
to $25.00 a week.
Whether it is because Pennsylvania is more advanced than any other state, or
5>2
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
whether she boasts of tlie brightest women, the fact remains that she furnishes
the majority of sliiiiing examples of what women do in new fields. For instance,
in Belk-fonte, Miss Catherine Humes Jones, a girl not yet out of her teens, has
been regularly elected collector for the Edison Illuminating Company of that
place. She won the po.sition over the applications of half a dozen or more men,
and although she suc-
ceeded her father, who
had been, up to his death
in June, the collector of
the company for years, her
selection was made purely
from a business standpoint
and on her own merits.
The wisdom of the choice
is exemplified in the fact
that never before have
the bills been collected so
promptly; since Miss Jones
has acted in that capacity
there is not a dead bill on
the list. In addition, she
has succeeded in collect-
ing several hundred dol-
lars of old accounts, and
effecting settlements that
even the officials of the
companj' were unable to
^ \^ 11 make satisfactorily. The
IttM*^ X^ / m ^^i^isin^ss of the comjiany
^^^pft J I JP aggregates many hundred
^^^■^^-'^ m' dollars a month, and in all
^^P^^B|9^M» c her work this young girl
^HBflj^l^^l^ ^ j[:M&i collector has never made
MISS CATiiKRiNK HfMKs joxKs. the mistake of a penny.
In addition to her collect-
ing, she has taken the agency for a number of houses in Bellcfonte, and in this
way lier monthly salary as collector is added to until her income is even greater
than that received by the average clerk in any mercantile hou.se.
An anthracite coal mine that is almost entirely operated by American female
labor is the unusual s[)ectaclc that can be .seen in the Mahanoy valley, .several
THK WAY IT IIAPPICNEI). 53
miles south of Shamokin, also in Pennsylvania. The owner and operator of this
mine is Joseph Mans, and his four grown daughters and three younger girls assist
him in operating the colliery in a manner that would make many mine owners
and slate-pickers envious. In the opinion of their father, these women and girls
are the best colliery employes in the anthracite region. As he says, they are
prompt, willing and expert in the arduous duties assigned to them, and have never
yet gone on a strike for either real or fancied grievances. Mr. Mans adds, that
were it not for the valuable assistance his daughters have rendered him ever since
they have been old enough to work, he would have been compelled to retire from
the mining of coal many years ago, as he started in with a ver}' limited cash
capital, and consequently pay days were few and far between. The women mine
workers are splendid specimens of womanhood, averaging six feet in height,
straight as arrows, stronger than the average man, none of them knowing what it
is to be sick, and each of them weighing in the neighborhood of two hundred
pounds. They labor hard six days every w^eek, but seem to be perfectly contented
with their lot, as do also their younger sisters and brothers who assist in the
colliery. These young women are expert farmers and, in addition to knowing how
to run a coal mine, are perfectly at home performing the household duties that are
indispensable to all w^ell- regulated homes.
A successful stationery store in Yonkers, N. Y., is run by the widow of the
late proprietor. In the .same city the widows of an undertaker carries on his
business more successfully than he did. When he died a little over two j-ears
ago, he was on the verge of bankruptcy; she took charge and has since then not
onh' paid all that he owed, but put the business on a good basis and is making
money.
There is a woman bridge-tender in Chicago. Her husband tended the bridge
until he died, wdien she was left without means of support. The appointment was
secured by a charitable man for himself. He paid his own bond, then turned
over the work, the salary and the fees to her. There has been no complaint about
the way in which she performs her duties.
From Maine to San Francisco is a far cry; and yet, from each point comes
the stor}- of a woman who, on her husband's death, assumed his bu.siness and
brought it to new success. The San Francisco woman is a bill-poster; the one in
Maine is a .stone-cutter. It is only fair to sa}- that these women do not, any more
than their husbands did, attend to the practical part, posting up bills and chipping
stone with their own hands, but they have a crew of men, well-trained laborers,
who work for these w^omen as they did for their husbands.
The wife of a physician in a country village found after his death that, when
all the bills were collected and the funeral expenses paid, she had less than a
hundred dollars between herself and absolute want. Her two ^•oung daughters
54
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
were unable, on account of their youth, to assist her, and she knew of nothing to
which she could turn for a livelihood. In the meantime there was the mourning
to buy. She was only able to purchase the material for one best gown for each.
To supply the others .she dyed all the colored clothes black, using the packages of
dye which ct)uld be bought at the store for ten cents. She had such success in
this that all her friends commented upon the freshness and beauty of the dyed
material. One neighbor said she had a faded cashmere which she would like to
have colored, only it co.st so nuicli at the establishment. The woman astonished
her by telling her that she had done them herself, and offered to dye the cashmere
for her neighbor, if .she would trust it to her, at a much less price than w^ould be
charged at the regular dye-house. The offer w^as accepted, and this gave the
widow an idea. vShe acted upon it at once. She advertised in the home paper
that she would dye garments at reasonable rates, and she also went from door to
door .soliciting jjatronage. What work she obtained she did so well that it brought
her still more, and she soon acquired a good business. Now she is at the head of
quite a little establishment, employing one assistant constantly, and more during
her very bu.sy times.
I wonder if in any of these cases the result was one of mere " happening."
Was it not, rather, a direct leading into the way in which success would be found?
VTI.
PROFESSIONAL MENDERS.
ISS JOSEPHINE JENKINS, one of the cleverest and
brightest newspaper women in Boston, who conies through
heritage to her recognized literary ability, since she is the
niece of N. P. Willis and Fanny Fern, and grand-
daughter of the Rev. Mr. Willis who established the
Yozith's Companion, said not long ago in the Boston
Herald:
' ' With all the wish in the world to earn nionej^
girls let many ways of doing so escape their notice
simply because they are lacking in practical application.
Here, for instance, is one means by which an honest penny, if not an entire
support, could be obtained: It is to become a visiting mender. And what does
that signify? asks the impecunious seeker of fortune. What is the 'visiting
mender?' Nothing more or less than an angel with a thimble, and who is skillful
with the needle, who goes from house to house to mend the family stockings, sew^
on buttons and repair whatever needs repairing in the week's wash. This is the
visiting mender, and a much-needed individual in hundreds of households, where
the mother would rather pay fifty cents for a quick morning's work than to waste
her own precious time taking stitches. A regular seamstress is, perhaps, too
expensive, but the visiting mender, deft of hand, comes within the possibility of
the average household. Any girl who understands the art of darning and mend-
ing would soon find this sort of business paid. Such a vocation may be humble,
for it does not demand a 'higher education,' but it is one to command respect,
and would certainly be appreciated by many women whose own employments give
them no chance to apply the stitch in time that is believed to save nine. Young
(55)
56 OCCrrATloXS FOR WOMEN.
mothers who would like.- to keep up with the procession, but find the luendiug-
basket an oiistrucliou, and the gayer butterflies who have no taste for replacing
missing buttons on their boots and gloves, are some of the people who would bless
such a visitor as the professional mender."
Ni.w Miss Jenkins knew what she was talking about; she knew it by experi-
ence, jn>t as all women do. who lead busy lives and have to let some things go
because they can't possibly attend to everything in the world. You and I both
know that bright women may do a good deal, may, in fact, almost achieve the
iniix)ssible. but there is, after all, a point at which even they must stop.
Another clever woman who is the art critic on one of the leading city dailies
was l(X)king over all her gowns to find one to put on; something was the matter
with every one, and the situation finally resolved itself into the puzzle, which could
be made ready to put on with the least outlay of time; as her despair deepened her
feeling found expression in words:
" I would give a good slice out of my salary, and so would you," she said,
" to find a woman who would come with scissors and thimble once a week and put
us in order; who wouldn't ask a single question, but would go through closets
and drawers and stocking-bags and shoe-bags and mend the hose and sew on the
missing strings and buttons, replace the bit of frayed braid, sew up the rip in the
pocket, brush things, and make them all ready to put on. I have suggested this
to half a dozen or more women who have come to me wanting something to do.
and such a .sniff of contempt as I received! They all want to be companions or
copyists or .something genteel, until I'm so tired of their mock pretensions that I
don't know \Vhat to do. They must have something to do; they appeal to my
sympathy, and then when I take the time and show them the work that lies right
at their hand they refuse to see it and make me feel as though I had insulted them
by the mere suggestion."
Now here is a suggestion for a clever girl with quick fingers and common sense
enough not to be ashamed to become a sort of common-place ministering angel to
other women who need just such ministrations as she can give. This may mean
alwencc from home for a few hours at a time, but so much may be done at one
jKiiut that the other hours don't really count; the work may be a homely one, but
it is extremely useful and is in the interest of economy. Tlie stock in trade is a
capacious work-basket with scissors, thimble, thread, .silk and cotton tajK*, buttons
of all kinds and sizes, and all the other little ap])liances that naturally belong to
.such an outfit. With this and an unlimited stock of i)atience, you may set your-
self Up as a profe-S-sional mender, and if you manage properly you will soon have
a large class of cust<miers and ])lenty to do.
The tKX'Upation, rightly managed, need not be an uni)kasanl one; to one who
loves her needle, it may be even delightful. The art of mending in our day is
PROFESSIONAL MENDERS. 57
much neglected, but il was one of which our grandmothers were verj' proud.
Fine mending was a species of exquisite needlework and ranked with embroidery
ill nicety of detail. The old time gentlewoman could mend anything, from house-
hold linen to lace; she darned stockings until it was a delight to see the fine
stitches, and she set a patch absolutely by the thread. Did the least bit of wear
show itself in the table linen, it was taken in hand at once and darned to a new
strength. Did body linen wear, a patch was set in so neatly that the garment
never had the appearance of being an old one. To mend well was an accomplish-
ment of which every woman w^as proud. The advent of the sewing machine,
while it w^as undoubtedly a great saving of time to women, lessened the respect
for hand sewing. Still a few old-fashioned people have always insisted that
certain parts of sewing should be done by hand, so that some have kept up the
practice. In the cities, the teaching of sewing in the public schools has made
good needlewomen of the growing girls, and with the knowledge of the detail of
the work has come a revival of respect for it that is one of the most hopeful signs
of the times. The girls in the schools of all the large cities are taught to mend
and repair as well as to make garments, and many of these young needlewomen
may find way to a pleasant support through the medium of her shining implement
of industry. The mending is recommended as something well worth thinking of.
It is annoying to a busy woman to have to stop to sew on the missing button
and fasten the ripped braid when she is in great haste and her work of the utmost
importance. It is aggravating beyond measure, when she is so tired after a hard
day's mental labor that she can hardly hold up her head, when every nerve is
quivering under the lash of stimulation, to make a long day with the needle in
repairing something that must be made ready for the next day's wearing. There
is a disinclination to manual exertion that becomes positive physical pain after a
day that has been so wearing to brain and nerve. Oh, if the other woman could
but be found to meet this woman's needs! And it is the help that should come in
ways like this that one is so ready to pa)^ for if she could only get it; that would
make the real rest.
There are families who need such work done, as well as women. Manj^ a
tired, overworked mother dreads the sight of the weekly mending-basket and
would be much relieved if she could get a few hours' help each week from somebody.
You and I have heard many a woman say this, but she always ends b}- declaring
she can find no one who will do it. She can get any number of dressmakers and
seamstresses by the day, but she can't afford to pay day prices for the work that
she wants. If she could only find somebody who would come to her by the hour
and who would go away when her work was done and go willingl}^ because some-
body else was waiting for her, it would be the greatest possible comfort in the
world.
jS OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Ami there are men who feel this need quite as much as the family mother and
the woman worker; young men who live in boarding-houses and have no one to
loiik after tlieir clotliing and make needed repairs; they would make a good and
willing class of customers; it could be easily arranged that the work for this class
ci)uld be taken to one's home and returned when it was finished.
One or two women have told me that they tried to do this work, but couldn't
get it.
" How did you try ?" I asked them.
'■ Oh, I put an advertisement in the paper, but nobody answered it."
Well, that i.sn't .so very strange, after all; an advertisement of that sort gets
easily lost to sight in the midst of all the wants in the daily papers. Personal
endeavor is what is needed, and that was what won success for one or two girls of
whom I would like to tell you. La.st winter a bright young girl found herself
wanting .some new and expensive books. The family pocket book was strained to
its utmo.st to meet material needs, and there w^as nothing left for the ' ' would
likes" after the "must haves" had been secured: but did the girl give up her
desire for her books? Not a bit of it; she wasn't that kind of a girl. She went
to a friend of her mother's, a woman of large wealth, and asked to be allowed to
di) her fine mending. The friend to whom she applied knew her abilities in
needlework and gladly gave her that for which she asked. " I consider it exceed-
ingly kind of you, my dear," she said; " my maid cobbles my silk stockings until
it is a disgrace to wear them." So all winter the girl kept at her labor, spending
many a plea.sant hour with the friend for whom she was working, and at the end
of the .sea.son she found herself not only the owner of the coveted books, but with
a tidy little sum in her pocketbook to meet the next need as it arose.
A young woman in New York who evidently took a sensible view of things,
has a ver>' good and paying business among the young business men of the city.
Perhaps you would like to know just what she did to establish her business and
how she did it. You know, in this world we all build our own endeavors upon
the line of .some one el.se's success. It is perfectly natural. Life is, after all, a
jTort of serious game of "Follow my leader," and what is already done or
achieved, it is quite a matter of course that some one else will trw And now for
the way in whirli the girl I have told you of went about her work. She had some
cards printed willi her name, addre.ss and business on them. These she took to the
large stores and gave them herself to the clerks, at the .same time explaining her
projc<'t. She then said she would call at a stated time for any work they might be
willing to give her. Of course it was an experiment, but she felt it was worth the
trying. Her prices were small, from five to ten cents a pair for stockings according
to the anuMint to Ik- done; two cents apiece for sewing on buttons; and prices in j
proiMirtion for other mendimr. She came for the bundle at the promi.sed time and '
PROFKvSSIONAL MENDERS.
59
the very first day she had her larj^e shopping bag much more than full, so that she
had to have a separate parcel made. These she returned at the time she had
agreed upon, and the next week her patronage had increased to such an extent
that she was obliged to have tlie bundles sent by a messenger boy. Now she has
a boy constantly employed to get and return the parcels, and has two assistant
menders. What one girl has done, another may if she will only go to work in the
right way and with the same spirit of determinati'on.
" I know just what I want to do," a woman once said to me, after detailing
a plan of work, " and I also know that there is somebody in the world who wants
done just what I can do; now, why won't some person set us toward each other
so we may meet? "
My dear girls, I dare say many of you are asking that same question. It is
a hard one to aiKSwer, but personally I believe that the only " setting tow^ard " is
done by the worker, and it must be confessed that even with tr3nng, the result
may not come at once. But when once success has crowned effort, you may be
said fairly to have won, for, when one gets the first chance, others are sure to
follow. So, in begmning 3-our work as professional mender, recognize the value
of your first patron, but do not let endeavor cease because you have the first sign
of success, for 3^ou will find that it requires quite as much endeavor to retain as
it does to attain.
VIII.
CO-OPERATING FOR A HOME.
WONDER how these girls live?" was the thoughtless remark of a
young woman, as she wandered through one of the large department
stores of a busy city. Her careless words had been overheard by one
of the girls behind the counter, and the hot blood surged to her face
at this uncalled-for insult. " Quite as well as you do," she muttered
under her breath, not daring to speak aloud lest she should be reported
for impertinence. And yet there was no thought of unkindness in the first girl's
careless utterance. But her own sheltered life had nothing in it to indicate the
quality of life of the girls who occupied what seemed to her so public a position.
It never occurred to her that in many, indeed in most, wa^'^s the other girl was
cared for just as lovingly and carefully as she was, but that necessity compelled
her to take lier part in the actual bread- winning of the family; that while in the
store she was the woman of business, occupied by the details of trade, yet in the
home she was the bright, clever girl, the graceful hostess, the charming enter-
tainer, with a .social influence in her own little circle that was as strongly felt as
was that of the young woman who had wondered about her as though she were a
sort of curiosity.
This girl was one of many who have recently been trying the plan of making
homes for themselves on the principle of co-operation. They have learned its
value, and by combining forces, have made comfortable and pretty homes for
themselves, where they are fjuite independent and live in a most common-sense
fashion.
In most cases' one will have a mother, an aunt f)r an elder sister who is so
siluale<l that she can keeji house for them and give her labor in return for the
(60)
CO-OPERATING FOR A HOME. 6i
home and small stipend. Little liou.seholds like this are constantly growing up
in moilest apartment houses in all the cities, and in the pretty cottages in the
suburbs, and the girls constituting them are not merely contented, but supremely
happ\- in having .solved the question of how to have a home.
One girl, in describing the way .she lives now and contra.sting it with the
dull, dreary life in a boarding-house, .such a boarding-hou.se as her small salary
would allow her to patronize, said, " If I only had bread to eat, it would taste
sweeter under my own roof than the most elaborate dinner in a boarding-house."
This girl voiced the opinion of all others who have tried both ways of living.
Two people joining interests can live better for less expen.se to each than she
would have when living alone, and when the two became three, four, or even five,
the cost of each is proportionately smaller. Every woman likes a home, a place
that she can call her own, that represents her individualit}' and her interests; that
gives her opportunity for freedom and lets her down from a constant .sacrifice to
the conventionalities of life. She likes a place, be it ever .so small, that she can
fit to suit herself, that she can make a reflection of her ingenuit}^, an exponent of
her taste. She cannot get this place in a boarding-house, and .she can only
approximate it in lodgings; but in a home all her taste finds expression, and in
her freedom she is happ3^ It is economy of money and nerves alike and both
these need to be saved, the nerves, perhaps, more than the other, since, if the
nerves fail, the money will fail too, for the w'orker cannot go on with the vital
forces exhausted. And that is wh}^ the sensible working girls are becoming
di.sciples of the doctrine of co-operation.
One ma}^ tell all da}^ long how desirable this co-operative work is, but if
places are not .shown where it has succeeded it is but an idle tale. In one of the
suburbs of Boston is a pleasant home where three .sisters live together on the
co-operative plan. There were four, but one married and w^ent awa}^ a short time
ago, leaving three to carr}- on the home. One of these girls is a magazine editor
and a writer of fine capacity who.se work is growing to be better appreciated every
day; another is a teacher, and the third is a stenographer for a large manufac-
turing firm. The home which these girls make is nearly ideal in its prettiness
and coziness. They are artistic in their tastes, and are accomplished; one is a
fine pianist, all play better than well, and one of them paints and decorates. It
is too great a temptation not to tell how they manage with their furniture. A
chamber has to be fitted up. Now, girls who work, can't afford to buy chamber
sets, much as they would like to, and heavy furniture would be quite out of place
in a little French roof .semi-detached cottage. The artist girl made an excursion
to a furniture .shop — not a warehouse, but a manufactory — and bought some pieces
that had not passed through the painter's hands. Then she went to work on
them and the result was delightful. The color is the soft blue of the summer sky
62 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
just where tlie fleecy clouds are blowing across it, and each piece is decorated
willi field flowers in different designs; one shows a mass of wind-blown daisies,
another has pink and white clovers with waving grasses, another shows the
golden buttercups; no two are alike in design or arrangement, but the result is
exquisite. Not all girls who co-operate can paint posies on their bedroom
furniture, but that is no reason in the world why they may not buy the unpainted
pieces as this girl did, and finish it in plain colors with the enamel paint, and so
get furniture at very little expense. In this family the magazine girl is the
housekeeper and she administers affairs very happily. If you were to eat her
bread or partake of a dinner she had cooked you would never set her down as " a
literary person," though why bad bread and good poetry- should always be
supposed to go together is an enigma that is not yet solved. It really doesn't,
you know, and one makes a great mistake when he believes that a woman who
can turn a graceful point to a newspaper paragraph can't make a .salad or cook a
steak. At any rate, this girl" deanonstrates every day that she can do all these
things. She makes the homiest kind of a home for her sisters, and these girls,
accomplished and bright, draw a very pleasant circle of friends about them.
"But," you say, "the.se are sisters and it is perfectly natural that they
should moke a fainily home, but what of the hundreds of girls who are alone, who
have no sisters to work with them ?"
Still it may be done. Find some congenial friend or friends who want a
home as much as you do, and do the very thing the.se girls are doing. Here is
a case: A young girl employed in one of the large stores was anxious to make a
home. She and her mother had been left alone in the world, with nothing in
their pockets, .so lx)th must work. They owned a small house, but they had
nothing to keep it with, so they rented it; the mother took a position as house-
keeper and the girl went into a store. Boarding was dista.steful to her, for .'^he
liad always l)een accustomed to the freedom of a home. She found other girls
who had known what it meant to live in a home and who were drearily existing
in the dull houses which they could afford to patronize.
One day an idea struck the girl; there was the house, there was the mother;
here was she, here were the other girls, homesick and lonely. Why not l)ring
here and there together, and make a result that should be pleasant and comfort-
able for all ? She talked with the girls, they were delighted with the idea; she
consulted with her mother and found that she, too, was longing for the home
aKain. So the tenants were given notice, and as soon as possible the newly-
organize<l family took pf)S.sc.ssion. That family exists to-day as harmonious and
as happy as any jjtiU will find. The mother heart is open to take all the girls in
an<l Ihcy go to her with their confidences and take her advice. They are pretty,
bright girls, and great favorites. They have a church connection and that
A PLEASANT HOME.
(63)
64 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
brings them into social contact with pleasant, helpful people. They belong to the
King's Daughters; the)- have pretty much what the home girls have, and they
work for it all. And in spite of the work, perhaps because of it, and the fine
independence which it gives them, they have remained genuine gentlewomen
through every stress of circumstance. They are not of the class which call them-
selves "salesladies;" the^- are too well educated, too well bred, and understand
the use of language too thoroughly to permit themselves to commit such a solecism.
But they are glad to be good saleswomen during business hours, and gentlewomen
all the time.
Some years ago, two young girls went to Boston from a countrj' town in
Massachusetts. They were fair .specimens of genuine New England girls, and
both of them bore names that had been familiar in the old Bay State almost since
its first settlement. They were well educated, both had been through the public
schools of their native town, and had then taken a course at the Academy, from
which they had been graduated with honors. They had been designed as teachers
by their families, but unfortunately for the plans ofthe.se worthy people, they had
neither inclination, or temperament for the vocation. Fortunately, they recog-
nized this fact, and rather than invite failure in a profession for which they
knew they were not suited, the}^ packed their trunks, counted the money
in their .slender purses, and brimful of courage and hope, they turned their faces
Bo.stonward.
They both found positions, one as a bookkeeper, the other as a saleswoman,
in an establishment where she was virtually forewoman, each one earning about
ten dollars a week. At first they boarded, but they soon tired of that; then they
hired rooms, and took their meals at a restaurant: that was worse than the first
plan. Finally one of them suggested housekeeping. They took a day off, and
went house-hunting. In a retired .street in the old portion of Bo.ston, they found
ju.st what they wanted — a tenement of four rooms with the added luxury of a
bathroom, for this was before the era of apartment houses. The\' sent home for
pieces of furniture and bedding that they knew could be .spared; a relative hearing
of the new determination gave them a carpet for parlor and bedroom, and they set
to work furnishing; they had a kitchen which they used also for a dining-room;
it had an old-fashioned rag-carpet on the floor; the tiny range was bright as
polish could make it. The tal)le standing between the two windows was covered
witli a pretty cloth when it wasn't in u.se as a dining table; a bird in his gilt cage
hung in the window, and jilants blos.somed on the window-sill. The parlor and
bedroom were furnished simply, but prettily, the carpet was new and cheerful, an
old-fasliioned sofa was recovered, and with big pillows made a most comfortable
lounging place. There were comfortable rocking-chairs, a table to hold the
magazines and papers and books from the public library, for the girls kept up
CO-OPKRATING FOR A HOME. 65
their habit of reading; the bedroom was jointly occupied by them, and they had
still another room which they called their guest-chamljer.
The fun they had in housekeeping ! It was no trouble to get up in the
morning and get the simple breakfast. The baker left fresh rolls, the milkman
left milk, and with the rolls, a nice cup of coffee and boiled eggs, or an omelet,
or a chop, the breakfast was pronounced better than any they could get at a
boarding-house. After a while word came to them of another girl who under the
strain of work had broken down nervously, and her eyes had failed her; she had
no home, and w^ant stared her in the face. The guest-chamber was set in order
and she was invited to visit them in their new home. She came as guest and
remained as a permanent member of the family. Her physical health was unim-
paired; she was one of the girls who have a rare faculty for housekeeping, and she
fitted into the place which was evidentlj' intended for her. Restaurant lunches
were given up, and in their place were the delightful home lunches, always made
more delightful by some little surprise.
When the first year was over the girls took account of stock; apart from the
money spent for furnishing, it had not cost them so much to live in this way as it
had to board; thej' had lived better, had been in better health, had added' many
artistic things to the house, entertained many of their \yorking girl friends at their
home, and, above all, had wrested another girl from suffering and given her a
home where she felt she w^as helpful and was needed — the best tonic she could
have to restore her to health. And with all this, there was monej- over to deposit
in the bank. The}- had not denied themselves some legitimate pleasures, either.
It was in the days of lectures, and there had always been three tickets for the
lecture course, occasionally a theatre ticket wdien there was something exceptionally
fine to be seen, and at least two evenings at the opera. To be sure, the seats for
the latter were in the family circle, but that did not matter. Nobodj^ enjoyed the
music more than the three happy girls, to whom the occasion was a real treat,
enjoyed the more because their own money procured it.
I might go on citing instances, but these will do to show ^-ou how the home
idea has developed among the girls who are wage-earners; how quickh' the}'
adapt themselves to it, how fondly they cherish it.
The need of a home is a vital one to every woman. Especially is this true
of the woman who works, and above all, of the young woman who, more than
her elder sister, needs the shelter and protection of a home roof during a most
trying and critical period of her life, when she first faces the world as a wage-
earner, and before she has learned its ways and found out its rough places. So I
would have the girls who are taking their lives in their hands and going out to
meet the world, have a home life that shall be so pleasant and restful that it will
help make the other life more profitable and more pleasant. You may not be able to
5
66
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
accomplisli all you desire at the very first, but there is one thing you can do, and
that is, to bring the home atmosphere into the humblest room. Make it as pretty
as you can ; put out your photographs and your books and your writing utensils.
Whatever speaks to you of home, let it be in evidence.
But keep in mind that this room is only your beginning. As j'ou come to
know other girls — those whom you meet in the store or the office or the shop, or
in church, you will be drawn to those who are the most congenial, and if they, like
yourself, are far from the real home, you can unfold your plan to them and see
what they think of a co-operative home. Select those who have tastes similar to
your own, and, above all, only tho.se with fixed, firm principles. You must
exercise this care that your family life may be a happy and harmonious one.
There should be an elder one. who will take the position as head, and who
will give propriety and dignity to the family. Find what your united income is,
then settle yourself in accordance with it. You won't appreciate half how nice it
is until your friends who are still existing in boarding-houses, begin to visit you.
Rl'Lr/.V/.T/Tnrr.VrTrvrTTt-VA-j I'TTrr /r-rTTrrT.-T-r.T-]-
. IX
BOOKS AND READING.
-^feT IS almost indispensable that the modern girl, in what-
ever position she finds herself, whether one of the
world's workers or the girl of leisure, should give a
portion of her time to reading. In this way only can
she keep abreast of the time, sharing its best thoughts,
understanding its important movements, and learning
her own attitude toward the world and her duty toward
it. She must read her daily paper, selecting with the
utmost care the one that she should read regularly,
and choosing only the one of clean, pure tone, that
makes little of the social sensations, gives small space to the chronicling of crime,
but that deals with the living questions of the day, honestly and fearlessly-, and
stands for what is sweet and good and strong in life. She must not omit her own
weekly religious paper. These, with a good standard magazine that will be both
entertaining and helpful and give her the best literary thought of the present
time, and a few well-chosen books, should constitute her mental bill of fare She
must remember that being a " great reader " is not, by any means, the same as
being a " good reader."
The greater part of books that flood the market at the present time is trash
of the trashiest sort; and because one can devour such a vast amount of the stuff
in an incredibly short space of time, she fancies that she is doing extraordinary
things in the way of self-culture and mental discipline. Quantity, not quality,
seems to be the standard by which intellectual abilities are measured; as somebody
whom I have seen counts every page that he reads, makes a record of it, then
exhibits this record to his friends to show what a great reader he is.
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68 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Thank goodness, girls, he isn't one of you, but after all, I fear he is not
so very unlike some of you in certain points, either as you are now or as you
have been at some period of your existence. For, though you don't count pages,
many of you get through with almost as great an amount of nonsense, and then
make an ostentatious parade over your extensive acquaintance with books and
their authors; oftener than not, just the kind that it might be quite as well to
refrain from acknowledging.
I heard a conversation between two school girls the other day that I cannot
refrain from quoting, it w^as so \ery characteristic, and reminded me so forcibly
of the manner in which, some years ago, the girls who are women now used to
discuss their favorite authors and go into raptures over their productions. And I
wondered if we who were girls then could have the opportunity of talking together
in the old familiar way, how much our opinions would have changed, how much
more elevated would be our standard of taste. We know from experience what a
fashion girls have of admiring one another — their abilities and attainments — and
that a school girl friendship is, after all, a sort of mutual admiration society, the
first ideal worship that by-and-b}- finds other outlets, but in the meantime
demanding an object on which to lavish itself, selects one girl from all the rest,
who is for the time the Alpha and Omega of the worshiper's existence.
This was evidently the relation between these two girls; one the adorer, the
other receiving the homage offered at her shrine quite as a matter of course and
accepting it with an air of gracious condescension that was amusing to watch.
Number one rolls up her eyes in an ecstacy of admiration and rapturously
exclaims: "Oh, Lillie ! I never .saw anybody like \'ou — always with a book; you
must have read everything. I wi.sh I knew as much as you do."
Number two looks conscious, and modestly, but ver}' faintly disclaims the
universality of knowledge ascribed to her b\- her friend, and goes on to say, " But
I do read a great deal. I'm a real book-worm. I don't do anything else morning
or night, and I always carry a book to the table with me, so as to lose no time.
I get two books out of the library every day. I just dote on intellect; and my
greatest ambition is to be called intellectual. Mother says .she expects me to turn
into a book some day."
Number one grew more rapturous and the eyes rolled more alarmingly. ' 'Well,
but if you don't turn into a book, you'll be .sure to write— and that's the .same
thing — and wouldn't it be ju.st perfectly elegant ? I should think you'd try; I
know you could write a story just as good as ' The Stolen Bride,' just splendid and
real exciting."
There's where it comes, and tl.ere's wliere the mischief lies — " .something
real exciting." The constantly increasin;.; demand for .something unnatural and
exaggerated, to which most modern novels ])ander to an alarming extent. I
BOOKS AND READING. 69
didn't hear any more of their conversation, but I had heard enough to change
aniusenient into regret; and I was glad to find myself beyond the reach of their
voices.
Do you think this is exaggerated ? Not at all. I have quoted the conversation,
word for word as I heard it, and it has been food for serious thought ever since.
I remember once at school two or three girls and myself, fired by an ambition
similar to that expressed by the young woman who wished to be literary, formed
a club and passed an hour or two of our recreation time daily in reading. We
did this quite without direction or advice from some one older and wiser, and we
made a sad mistake. We fancied we were doing wonderful things, and gloried
amazingly over our more frivoloush- disposed schoolmates, who sensibl}^ preferred
romping in the open air to romance in a stifled room. Had we remembered that
discipline means strength, and gone to work accordingly, we would, no doubt,
have obtained a modicum, at least, of the good sought.
But we forgot, or remembering, chose to ignore that important fact, and began
a desultory course of reading that amused and excited, but did not strengthen
any more than any stimulant which exhilarates for the time one is under its
immediate influence, but whose after effects are weakness and prostration. And
so. what was intended for a benefit became, through our thoughtlessness and our
lack of wisdom, a source of serious ill whose after effects were long felt. We
lived entirely in a realm of romance of the most unhealthy kind. Nothing
pleased us unless it was sensational, or, as that phrase was little used b}^ us then,
" ver}^ exciting. " We received distorted and unnatural views of life, and were
in no wa}- prepared for the reality of living, as we have since found living to be.
The men and women we have met in our actual lives were not the people of our
books; and there is a grandeur and strength in true living far bej^ond what we
ever found in the ideal world of our romances. And what was true of us then is
true of girls now. Indiscriminate reading enervates the mind and lowers the mental
powers, although we do not see this until much mischief has been done; yet it
may not be always too late to remedy the evil in a measure, at least, if we are
interested enough in our own self-advancement to care to apply the remed}'.
I scarcely know which time is to be the most decried — the time when novels
and all light reading were strictly tabooed from all God-fearing families, or these
days when scarcely anything which is not a novel will be tolerated, when even our
histories and books of travel must be tinged with romance and sprinkled with
poetic dew to make them palatable to the modern taste.
Fault may justly be found with both conditions; but perhaps one is onlj- the
cause of the other. When once the strong, unyielding cords of puritanism were
broken, there was a rebound to the farthest extreme of latitude, and we have not
swung ourselves yet into our proper poise. Much as we find to condemn in the
70 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
stern severity of the old time, it gave us strong, rugged men, and grandl}''
enduring women; just the men and women needed to do the heroic work of the
age in which they lived. There was too much hard reality in their lives for
romance to have even the smallest part, and thej^ would have scorned the senti-
mentalities of their successors. Not but that one likes a certain amount of grace
and softness mingling with and tempering the strength, smoothing rough places,
rounding sharp corners of character, and so making a life beautiful and gracious,
as well as strong and enduring. But I fear we are tending too much toward the
smoothness and ea.se, and leaving .strength quite out of the question. We cer-
tainh- can gain no mental discipline from the majorit}^ of the popular books of
the day. There is no use ,sa3'ing "We read what is given us; if the books were
not written we .should not read them." It is a cowardly plea. There is no u.se
in trying to put off one's .shortcomings upon the shoulders of some one else. The
fault is the reader's, and the reader's alone. One is not obliged to take arsenic or
prussic acid because they are marketable articles; neither need one read undesirable
books unless she chooses. Besides, your own argument ma}' hold good against
you. If you did not read the books the}- would not be written. Just .so long as
authors meet encouragement in any particular branch of writing, just so long
they will continue in it; and just .so long as 3'ou read trash, just so long somebody-
will write it.
But do not for a moment imagine, girls, that I advi.se 3'ou to give up all your
light reading and devote yourselves expres-sl}^ to solids. You must ha\'e a certain
amount of literary recreation. I do not want you to steer from the Scylla of
extreme silliness straight into the Charybdis of di.sagreeable pedantry. There must
be a happy medium somewhere, and there is no reason why you should not find it.
Throw aside novels ? No, indeed! Not while there is an edition of "The
Waverlys " extant, giving you such in.sight into vScotch and Engli.'^h history as
the.se wonderful books give. Not while Thackeray, .sharp and clear as a keen
north wind, .shows you his views of life from his ever fre.sli pages; nor while
Dickens, the inimitable, brings before you in their quaint reality the people who
make up his world; nor while MacDonald, the man with the deepest .sympathies
and broadest humanities, reaching down deep into the hearts of men and .setting
them face to face with nature and nature's God, makes us better for his writing.
Not while you have Jane Au.sten's sweet and simple .stories, nor Mrs. Stowe's
" Uncle Tom's Cabin," and Helen Hunt's " Ramona " — the gospels of two down-
trodden races.
While you have the.se and (jthers liku them, which cannot be mentioned here
for lack of sjxacc, you need fear no harm from novel reading. But when you get
beyond, into the field of .sensational literature, the harm begins. You can go on
as you are, growing lower in the mental scale; or you can elevate your ta.ste, and
BOOKvS AND READING. 71
come out upon hi<:^her planes of livin^^ llian you ever have known before, and it is
your books that will help you; they are to be your educators. Look at what lies
before you — poetry, essay, history, biography, science. Will you call history
stupid when Motley and Prescott invest every word they write with a new interest
and enchain you to their pages by their exquisite imager}- and. elegant diction?
When John Fiske writes American history so that you feel glad and proud of
the achievement of your forefathers, and are made to realize how the story of
America, its achievement and development, is but a carrying on of the story of
the world, the Christian world, which was begun almost twenty centuries ago?
Will you vote essay dull when you have Charles Lamb — dear, gentle, quizzi-
cal Charles Lamb — to take into your heart of hearts? Where no one else
penetrates, he enters with his queer drollery that overlies the deepest pathos,
drawing smiles and tears simultaneously from lips and eyes, just as sunshine and
shower struggle for mastery on an April day.
There, too, is Macaulay, with his somewhat confident self-assertion, but no
less fascinating style and keen discrimination noW and then blunted by prejudice;
our own American Whipple, Curtis and Higginson, names well known in the
pages of literature.
You never liked biography ? Then you know nothing about it. Take the
lives of some of the men and women who have lived and labored for humanity,
who have struggled and won, who have left names behind them that are beacon
lights on the path of endeavor and achievement, and who have made the world
better because they lived and worked and attained. See then, after you have
finished reading of these rare souls, that you can say any longer, that you don't
like biograph}'.
Do you say you can't endure poetry ? What! not while you have the grand,
heroic songs of Homer, the deep grandeur of Dante, the sublime majesty of
Milton, the subtle, sympathetic humanity of Shakespeare, together with the sweet
singing of America's Longfellow, Whittier and Bryant?
I have left until the last the one book which comprehends for you the
whole world of literature; in it you find history, essay, biography and poetry, all
the highest and the best. I mean, the book that you must make your daily guide,
your closest companion, j^our best beloved teacher; the book which must be " the
guide to your feet and the lamp to your path" — your Bible. Following its
guidance and its light, you can never go far astray; it will be your helper and
comforter through every stress of circumstance, pointing j^ou the way to the
broader life beyond. It gives j^ou mental and spiritual strength. It feeds brain
and heart, so if it chances that this book combines your entire library j^ou will,
if you peruse it properly and study it diligently, be both a great and a good
reader.
X.
GUIDES, SHOPPERS AND CHAPERONS.
HE women who came home from Europe about half a
dozen j-ears ago had a great deal to say on their
return about the lady guides of London. In fact,
they spoke of them with enthusiasm. It seems that
some of the clever, educated, independent women of
England, feeling the need of earning money, conceived
the idea of forming an association of lady guides
whose business it should be to show strangers, particularly ladies, about London
and its suburbs, extending their duties to remoter points, even to the continent,
if desired; although the field which they especially undertook to cover was the
city itself In connection with its guides it established a bureau of information
for boarding- and lodging-houses, suitable for women who were traveling without
men protectors. The idea proved a most happy one, and the women connected
with it speedily had all they could do, and their office became one of the most
popular points in the cit}' of London, especially for women. In these days of
telegraph and cable it takes an idea but a short time to travel, and so eager are
women for the new employments that are open to them that they no sooner hear
of any experiment in an industrial line than they go ahead and tr}- it for
themselves.
The work in London was reported in New York, when straightway it was taken
up and an association formed which is called " The New York Ladies' Guide and
Chaperon Bureau." With the establishment of this association, the time has
passed when the unj^rotected woman may look forward to a visit to New York
with trepidation. It has issued a circular which it is .sending about, and a few
quotations are given from it so that the girls who read may have some notion of
the work. It is even more far-reaching than the one in London, and has added
(72)
GUIDES, SHOPPERS AND CHAPERONS. 73
quite a number of new features. The circular informs the public that their guides
have a practical knowledge of the history of all important places of interest, and,
being armed with the association's badge and credentials, receive a more cordial
recognition than the mere stranger. From these advantages and from the varied
experience among shops of all kinds, the benefit to be derived is self-evident.
The chaperons, selected with the utmost care, place at the disposal of the
3^oung ladies whose mothers or guardians are unable to accompan}- them, the
facilities so often required of going to the theatre or concert. Young ladies are
escorted from and to their homes; and school children to and from school. Choice
seats are furnished for all places of amusement, carriages are sent whenever
desired, direction given to permanent or transient guests for the best hotels and
boarding-houses, rooms are engaged in advance, railway and steamboat tickets
and berths are engaged, strangers coming to the city are met at the station if
desired, and all arrangements made for their comfort during their sta3^
The association also sends out home or foreign excursion parties of ladies
under the care of experienced chaperons who attend to all ordinary and necessary
details. The circular goes on to say: " The bureau can be used to great advan-
tage by those living in the suburbs, expecting friends whom it is desired they
should meet; by telephoning to the bureau a chaperon can be sent who will
conduct the visitor from one station to another and save time and mone}- for the
patron without discourtesy to her friend. A new and important feature of our
work is to provide lady experts to assist in or take full charge of the interior
decoration of a house, furnishing it throughout, selecting books for libraries, etc.
Elocutionists, pianists and singers supplied for entertainments. In short, there is
no aid or service that one woman may be able or required to render or perform for
another, that will not be cheerfull}^ undertaken and the best efforts made to give
satisfaction."
In order that the bureau might be reall}^ of service, the charges were made
quite moderate, the following being the schedule adopted by the association:
Guides for shopping and sight-seeing, according to competenc}-, $3.00, $3.50
and $4.00 a day.
Those who act as interpreters, 50 cents to $1.00 a day additional.
Deductions are made for weekly engagements.
Chaperonage to the theatre $1.00. Chaperonage of children to and from
school $2.50 a week.
Directing to boarding-house 25 cents. Securing room and board 75 cents.
Securing seats for the theatre for one or more 50 cents.
Phj^sicians and lawyers recommended 50 cents.
Use of the room for changing toilet, meeting parties on bu.siness, etc., 50
cents.
74 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Typewriting 5 cents per folio.
Meeting ladies at station, accompan3-ing young ladies and children, or any
brief service, 40 cents an hour.
Shopping orders executed for 5 per cent on the amount purchased.
This circular is issued by an association, but the rules and the scope of work
may give a hint to some young woman of what she herself may do. Great
succe.>^s has followed the innovation of the woman guide. It is the latest addition
to the forces of a New York hotel. The services of this woman guide are dail}'
in demand. Women of means, who have come to the city with their husbands
to see the lions, have generally had a stupid time and have often gone home with-
out the glimpse of even one lion. Business has kept the husband away all day
and the lonel}' wife has spent her time looking out of the hotel window. Now
she pays this young woman guide to show her all over the cit3\ The business is a
good one. if it /.y tiring. One guide said, "A tour of the picture galleries and
other points of interest about the city, including a spin through the park with a
description of the obelisk and the various statues and pictures in the Art Museum
and on the drives, cost $5.00; while a day at the shops cost my patron $10.00."
But women with money are willing to pay it.
Not every young woman can undertake the task of entertaining people — for
this is practically what a guide must do. There are certain indispensable
requisites. In the fir.st place, one must be well educated, able to talk well, and
imderstand all the history of places which she is to show. She must be well bred
and courteous, po.sse.ss kindline.ss and tact, and have some knowledge of human
nature. Meeting many different kinds of people, as she must, she will need all
these qualifications. In the large cities .she must know w^hat is going on at the
various theatres and places of amusement, so as to know just where to take her
party. She must know the picture galleries, keep the run of the art exhibitions,
and know the best .shops for bargains. All this a bright, quick woman may easily
learn, and she may keep her knowledge at her tongue's end and her finger tips.
Having these requisites, with a fund of cheerfulne.ss and good temper, and
being sure that she is ready to meet any emergencies that may arise, she may
start on her work. Of counse, she mu.st find a waj' to gain patronage. She
would do well to make friends with the leading hotel people and the best of the
.shop keepers. vShe should have cards prepared, stating what she is ready to do,
giving as references the name of her clergyman and one or two well-known men or
women whose names will carry weight with whoever may .see them. She should
leave these cards at the hotels and see personally every day that they are distrib-
uted to the newly arrived women guests. She should also insert an adverti.sement
in the leading papers, not only of her own city, but in the papers of cities at a
distance from her home. vShe should be at the various hotels at certain appointed
GT'inE'^, SHOPPFRS AND CHAPKROXS.
(75)
76 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
hours every day to see if anyone needs her services. All this time friends are
speaking for her, distributing her cards, and if she has any acquaintances in out-
Ij-ing cities, she asks them to recommend their friends to her care while in town.
In this wa}^ it will not take her long to work up a good business.
It should not need to be said — but alas, the necessity does exist for sa5-ing it
— a guide must take care to be well and quietly dressed. She must look and be
the refined, gracious woman, w^ho for the time is acting the part of hostess, and
she must bear in mind that to be anything less than refined in her outward
appearance would be an insult to her guest, or to the person who for the time
occupies the position of guest. A dark cloth tailor-made gown, with wrap and
bonnet to suit, immaculate linen, nice gloves and boots — and your are ready.
Wear a bonnet rather than a hat, for a bonnet is alwaj's ladylike, while there is
an informality about a hat that is not appropriate to the occasion.
You can make j'our prices from the circular that I have quoted to you,
varying them as it seems to you best, although this is a fair list. Of course it is
understood that ^-our patron pays your expenses, the car fares, lunches, carriage
rates, etc. That is, she may allow 3'ou to do it, but 3'ou must keep the account
and settle the expense at the end of each day.
If you are to meet a woman who is a stranger to ^-ou at one of the stations,
you may wear the badge which has been adopted by the New York Woman
Guides — a knot of blue and white ribbon on the left shoulder. She cannot then
mistake you.
Although this chaperon system has been some time in vogue in London,
it is comparativel}' new in New York, and there are many cities in which it does
not exist at all. Consequently, this new field is anything but crowded, and there
is room for ladylike, educated women who thoroughly understand themselves" and
the city in which they live. They must be able to see about hacks, plain baggage,
find expressmen, and settle all the preliminaries of hotel or boarding-house. In
short, they are supposed to be able to do everything for the healthy stranger
witliin the gates that a man could do, and much more besides. This gives you
possibly a fair idea of what the duties of the guide and chaperon must be.
As these duties will not probably fill all j-our time, those of you who under-
take them may add those of shopping on commission. In this friends living out-
side the citj' will be of great service to you. They may influence people to send
to you. and thus enlarge your business constant!}-. When once you are well
established, you will probably be able to make such terms with the leading
mercantile houses as will induce them to give you a commi.ssion on .sales in
addition to the commission j-ou receive from shoppers, and in this way you may
make >-our income from both sides. You could not attempt such an arrangement
in the beginning, for the houses would not enter into it until they found that your
GUIDES, SHOPPERS AND CHAPERONS. 77
business was a valuable one and that it paid them to induce you to bring it to
them.
You will understand that the successful shopper must be a person of taste,
must know the very latest fashions as well as the most recent fads and notions;
she must possess good judgment in selection, an artistic eye in matching, and
understand the values of materials. I know one woman who makes a good income
by shopping on commission and doing nothing else. She not only shops for
out-of-town patrons, but she has a set of families in town whose principal purchases
she makes. She goes every morning to their houses, receives her commissions,
and goes out to fill them. In this case she is paid a certain salary instead of
commission on her purchases, because she must report for duty every morning,
whether there is anything to be done or not. Each family pays a small stated
sum — $2.00 or $2.50 a week and car fares — and with several families, this serves
to make a good income. She supports herself well and is educating a daughter at
the best schools b}' her business as a family shopper.
While hardly coming under the head of chaperon, there will perhaps be no
better place in which to refer to the scheme which one young woman has of earning
an income. She is ver}' fond of children and, in return, they are ver}- fond of
her. She has a fund of entertainment for the little ones, is a clever little story-
teller, knows all sorts of games, has all the nurser}' rhymes and children's songs
at her tongue's end, and she goes out by the hour as children's entertainer. She
is iti demand for children's parties, and man}- mothers put the planning and entire
carrying out of these little entertainments into her hand. She writes the invita-
tions, orders the refreshments, lays out the games, and when the time comes, is
on hand to assist the 3-oungsters at their merrymaking. In the houses where she
is an habitual visitor, no sort of a time is considered good by the children unless
she is in it. She amuses the little convalescents, reading and singing to them and
lulling them to sleep by her quiet, sweet waj^s. She advises mothers about the
dressing of the little ones, for she has the most exquisite taste. In short, one of
her patrons summed up her list of attainments by naming her "The mothers'
universal helper." Onh- the girl who loves children can make a success in this
special line, but every neighborhood must have at least one among its 3-oung
women who can take a place among the mothers of the communitj- in which she
lives similar to the one held by the girl just mentioned.
XI.
A CHAPTER ON DRESSMAKING.
|X ALMOST ever}' town and village are young women and
girls who are anxious!}- asking what they can do in their
own community to earn a livelihood. The big outside
world has no attraction for them. They want to keep in
the shelter of the home which they love so well and which
seems a part of their very life, or there is somebody in
that home for whom they must be the horaekeepers.
Circumstance rather than desire or ambition must be the
governing power of their lives. If you would know how
large is this army of waiting women you should pass a
day at any of the women's exchanges or industrial
unions in the large cities and get the superintendent to tell you of the appeals that
come daily from Maine to Oregon, from Wisconsin to Florida; and the burden of
all the appeals is the same:
" Tell me what I can do at home to earn some money!"
I would like just here to tell 3'ou how the Boston Union came to be so
besieged with applicants. The story will interest }-ou and I am sure some will find
a word of needed warning and advice in it. A few years ago the newspapers in
city and countr}', daily and weekly, were filled with advertisements headed " Work
at Home," and promising that if women would send either one dollar or two, as
the case might be, they would receive instruction for art work which was to be
done at home, as well as the outfit for doing it, and that after they had learned
they would be supplied with steady work at good prices. You can have no idea
how the replies came. Dollars literally poured into the hands of the advertisers.
In return, a piece of very coarse velveteen stamped with a pattern and a few
needlefuls of silk would be sent, with the directions for working. When this
piece of embroidery was fini.shed it was to be returned to the supply company with
another dollar, and if it proved satisfactory, permanent work would be furnished.
(78>
(79)
So OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
In nearly everj- case there was no return for the last dollar. In hundreds of
instances the dollar or two could not be spared, and meant such sacrifices as few of
3'ou can understand. Presently this matter came to the notice of the Women's
Union in Boston and it set to work to stop the business. It obtained all the
evidence it needed and then sent its lawyers to the address given in the advertise-
ment. In most cases no responsible persons could be found, so nothing could be
done by law. It then interviewed the proprietors of all the leading newspapers,
with the result that such advertisements were refused place in the columns. It
couldn't get back the mone}- for the poor women who had already been duped, but
it might prevent others from becoming victims. In this way the work of the
Union began to be known ail over the country and women began to write there for
work. Of course the Union could not supply them ; it could only point out to them
what to avoid.
There was something shown by the flood of answers that came to this fraud-
ulent advertising. Not only were there hundreds, yes, thousands of women
wanting work, but the majority were anxious to, do " art " work of some kind.
Honest work that was genuinely practical found little favor in the eyes of the
multitude. The}^ seemed to have an idea that anything that was " art," no matter
how bad art it was, hadn't the flavor of labor about it. Even if it was work, it
was " genteel " work and " ladies" could do it. Now, girls, honestly, isn't that
silly and stupid ? If one finds it necessar)^ to do anything for monej^, wh}^ not
stand up squarel}- and face the fact and do the work that comes to be done, what-
ever it may be, in a straightforward fashion instead of dodging about under all
sorts of make-believes ?
I have already referred to the misuse of the term "ladies," and just here I
want to emphasize it. It is incorrect, a mistake in language, to speak of 3'ourself
or of any other person as "ladies " in connection with work of any kind. The
term "lady" presupposes leisure. In the same way the word "gentleman"
carries a like significance. Now you know verj' well that the term "gentleman
of busine.ss " is never u.sed, and you certainly never heard of a " salesgentleman."
Aren't the very sounds ridiculous? And j^et your man of busine.ss is more often
than not the polished, well-bred man of .societj^ with a position which no one can
di.spute. You can be well-bred women, even if 3'ou are work women. You may
be ladies at your lei.sure. But insisting on the term won't make you so. On the
contrary, the very u.se of the word in connection with work stamps you at once as
ignorant, if not ill bred.
And now, if you are prepared to take up your work in true dignified work-
woman fashion, I have a suggestion to make to tho.se of you who have quick eyes,
deft fingers and a true taste. I might also add "an arti.stic instinct,' but I'm
getting to be a bit afraid of expressions of that kind. They're too apt to make
A CHAPTER ON DRESSMAKING. 8i
miscliief. Still, there is an art side to the occupation I am about to suggest, but
it must be taken sensibh- and not to the sacrifice of an3'thing else. I know you were
expecting something delightfully new, and I imagine I hear a murmur of deep
disappointment when I sa}- — dressmaking.
But you must understand that there is dressmaking and dressmaking. It is
not the old-fashioned kind that I am about to commend to you, but the new, which
has originality, idea and principles about it. The principles are beauty and
comfort; the idea is becomingness and health; and all of it combined constitute
originalit}'.
I dare sa}- you have all read about dress reform, and have grown to
have a horror of the term because in the pa.st it has .stood for ugliness pure and
simple, and for crankiness unadulterated. Well, we won't talk about dress reform
any more, but in its place we will substitute the term, "artistic and hj'gienic
dressing;" that describes the new phase of it. This began with Cynthia Bates,
when she invented the waist that should take the place of corsets; it was to be
adapted to the figure rather than force the figure to be adapted to it. Mi.ss Bates
was a w'ise woman; she saw that invalidism for women was rapidty going out of
fashion, and that to be healthful was to be correct. She foresaw the generation
of golf playing, canoe paddling, horseback riding, bicycling, mountain-climbing
girls, devoted to athletics of all kinds, and she wi.sely made ready for them.
Room to develop, room to grow, w^as the principle upon which she built her waist.
She started no crusade against beaut}- — wise Miss Bates. ' ' Have everything as
pretty as you like," she said, "but above all, be true to nature." Indeed,
through all her business Miss Bates has preached the true gospel of beauty. At
first women eyed the waists askance; they were suspicious of innovation, but b}'
degrees they became convinced; and the best proof of Miss Bates' success is the
large number of patent health waists that have been put upon the market since
Miss Bates introduced hers, and the numbers that are sold.
But that was only the beginning, and it was left to another woman to make
a rounding-out of the idea of proper dress. If there is anybody in the world that
does not believe that a healthful dress can be a pretty one, I onty wish that she
could see some of the delicious gowns that Mrs. Annie Jenness Miller evolved
from that keen brain of hers. Thej' keep close enough to the line of the fashion
not to seem queer, but each gown is original and picturesque, having in it the
very spirit of graceful and becoming dressing, at the same time it is on strictly
hygienic principles. Now there are hundreds of women who would like to adopt
this dress plan, but their own dressmakers turn up their noses at it, and it is, as a
rule, impossible to get such dresses made.
I venture to sa}' the reason why so few dressmakers take it up is because it
does require originality and arti.stic instinct to make it successful, but the girl or
6
82 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
woman who is artistic in her feelings and who has a gift of expressing these
feelings has here a field open before her that she will find very remunerative. It
requires more skill to make dresses in this way than in the stereotj-ped fashion
because so much depends on individual expression.
Here is an open field that is, as yet, practically unexploited. So man}- others
are overburdened with workers, but this invites the workers to come into it. You
see I was right w'hen I told you there was dressmaking and dressmaking. One
must understand the principles of fitting, be a good needlewoman, have an eye
for color combination, and be able to adapt styles to different individuals. The
girl with originalit}' ma}" design for her different customers. If she have the
ability to do this she could be much more valuable than one who is able onl}' to
follow other people's models, and she may command a large price for her work.
There is hardly a tow^n of any size that will not support at least one dress-
maker of this kind, and she may either go to her own customers by the day, or
she may have them come to her house. Good dressmakers who go out get all the
w^ay from $3.00 to $4.00 a day, according to their ability and their originality.
These are city prices, of course; but I suppose there is no place where a stylish,
competent dressmaker with original ideas and a talent for making her customer
look her very best, would have less than the first named price. A girl could thus
have a good income and make herself invaluable to her emplo3'ers. At the same
time, she is doing something eminently satisfactorj- and is exercising her love for
the beautiful and refined. With right governing ideas of what is beautiful, it
must be a delight to work on the prett}' stuff that is used nowadays.
There are other branches of dressmaking to which a clever girl ma}' turn her
attention — making over dresses is one. There is a knack in making an old dress
look like a new one; and this knack once acquired is w-orth money to the w'oman
who will take pains to learn it thoroughly. There are plenty of women who are
willing to pay to have their old garments utilized. It is an economy which the
majority are compelled to practice; the only trouble, .so far, has been in having it
satisfactorily done. As a rule, the average dressmaker turns up her nose at the
very idea of remodeling, and refuses to take the pains with a gown which .she is
putting into new shape from old material, that she gives to that one made from
an entirely new fabric. Then again, not ever}' dres.smaker who is willing to make
over is successful in her attempt. It is really a profession by itself — this renovat-
ing and making over. Any young woman who will take up this branch alone is
sure to do well in any community of size.
A girl went to a town where she was unknown and hung out the regulation
sign " Fa.shionable Dre.ssmaking. " It didn't attract one customer. Not a single
soul even called to ask her prices. She didn't rai.se a ripple of curio.sity on the
.surface of that community's life. But that state of things couldn't la.st. When
A CHAPTER ON DRESSMAKING. 83
she stopped counting the dollars in her purse because onl}- pennies remained, a
thought struck her; it was the inspiration born of despair. She had always been
successful in making over her old dresses, so that her friends used laughingly to
tell her that her remade old dresses looked better than their new ones. So she
took half her remaining mone}' and had another sign painted — " Dresses made
over." The old sign was taken down — this was hung in its place. It hadn't
been up half a day before a customer came. In time others came and it was not
long before she had built up a good pa^'ing business of making dresses over. She
learned the most improved process of cleaning, and even brightening old dresses.
Somehow everj^thing that came out from under her hand took on new beauty,
new freshness and new grace. It was just as her girl friends had said — her made-
over dresses did look better than man}- new ones. She added to her business that
of remodeling a mother' s old dresses for a ^-oung daughter; many was the new-
Sunday dress for the little girl — that had not even been considered fit to wear even
on Saturda}' before — that went out of her room, which had been worn b}- the
mother for a long time.
And that suggests still another phase for the home dressmaker, one that
requires special taste and abilitj', that of making dresses for growing girls in the
awkward age that comes between childhood and womanhood. Manj^ mothers
are at their wits' end to know how to dress a girl becomingh', and the dress-
maker who makes st^'lish women's clothes almost alwaj-s fails when she tries to
turn out something suitable for the woman's daughter. It would seem an easy
thing to do, but an}- mother w^ould tell 3'ou that in nothing did she find so much
difficulty as in securing a tasteful and competent dressmaker for her little girls.
This should be a happ}- suggestion to some young woman, for nothing can
be more delightful than working on the pretty fabrics of which girls' dresses are
made, and exercising the taste in devising something new and dainty to form
them into. There is such latitude allowed in the planning of these little gowns.
Fortunately for the dressmaker, fashion forgets to be arbitrary in her laws
regarding the dress of children. There is ever^'thing that shall suggest originalitj'
and picturesqueness, from the portraits of the children which Sir Joshua Reynolds
painted, to the quaint little figures which have immortalized the name of Kate
Greenawa}-. The one thing that the child's dressmaker must not be, is conven-
tional; she ma}' give free play to her fanc}', and the quainter and more picturesque
she makes the little girl look w^hose gown she is fashioning, the more successful
she ma}' account herself She will have steady patronage and an assured income,
won, certainly, in a most pleasant fashion.
Was I not right when I told you, girls, that there was dressmaking and
dressmaking ? Hasn't one of you gleaned an idea that 3'ou may use and make
valuable from all that I have said ?
XII.
WHAT CAREER?
i^^^'^' ET no girl dream that this question will ever be adequately and
conscientiously answered except b}' her own heart. No time
is ever more uselessly emploj'-ed than in listening to advice on
this subject. "The .soul's emphasis is always riglit,"
declares Emerson. He might as truthfully have added that
the emphasis of any soul, the decision of any mind, except
one's own is far more likely to work disaster than to bring
satisfaction or success.
"^^ ^"^ And satisfaction and success are twin gods whicli walk
together like a man and his .shadow.
Every girl wants a career which will bring success. And what is success ?
To scarcely two people in the world would it be represented by the same thing.
"Would you exchange places with that woman, performing her duties and
receiving her income?" I asked of a poorly remunerated literary toiler, with
whom I was speaking of one of the buyers in a large dry goods establishment,
who received as salary several thousand dollars a year. " Never!" was the quick
reply. " I .should rather write for tlirce dollars a week than to ])argain for
fabrics and faces at a hundred."
Xo amount of money, on the one hand, or of literary creation, however
largely rewarded, on the other, would liave made tlie work of one of these women
truly a success for tlie other.
The .shivering, starving, disappointed life of Millet, whose hard.ships con-
tinued till nearly the end of his days, was to the painter of the Angelus a greater
success than would have been represented l)y the Vanderbilt millions, had he been
oljligcd to emijloy \'anderbill methods to .secure them.
(84)
WHAT CARKKR? 85
Tliink you that to Aiulul)oii, to whom to knoweverj^ bird of the forest by the
shade of its feathers or the fibre of its notes was knowledge of utmost importance,
the splendid triumphs of Edison would have meant success ? And to the master
of the lightning what could have seemed less like success than to become accu-
rately acquainted with the habits of birds?
Success is ever an individual thing.
What career shall you choose? The caj-eer which has cJioscn you. The work
which means success to you. In this choice lies your only safety, since there is no
real dynamic power outside of one's soul.
Most of us have seen a disabled locomotive propelled along the track. It
took a dozen men to move it, and then the progress was exceedingly slow, and-
inefFective. How different w^ere its movements from those of an engine whose motive-
power came from the boiler!
" The talent is the call," — a call which can remain unheeded only with the
direst results.
Supposing the literar}^ worker, tempted by visions of gain, had attempted
a commercial life ? or the buyer of fabrics, instigated by thoughts of fame, had
undertaken to become a writer ? What if Millet had essaj^ed a mercantile career ?
Audubon to master the secrets of electricity ? Edison to become a naturalist ? The
chances are a million to one that each would have met with complete financial
failure, and missed satisfaction as well, because she or he was attempting work
which was not born hers or his.
Did you ever try to care for a stranger's child ? In two hours probabl}' you
were irritated, exhausted, and too impatient to take the measures which might have
most effectively assisted in your assumed task. To the mother of the child even
the labor of caring for it was dear, and her endeavors to develop it a work of love.
It was not born yours; it was born hers.
No one can effectively handle that which does not belong to him. Pythagoras
the learned had no wiser rule than this : ' ' That which concerns me I will attend
to. That which concerns me not I will let alone."
" Well," said a character in one of Sophie May's books, " I have done what
I could." "Ah, no," replied her sister, " you have done what 3'ou couldn't."
This girl had turned away from the things she really could do to advantage, and
had written a book, not because she had a talent for writing or anything to say,
but because she considered writing "genteel."
Don't let your career be \vrecked, girls, as so many careers have been, on the
rock of gentility. Remember that work to be really genteel must be genteelly
done; that it is not the occupation itself, but the manner of handling it which
makes it fine or unfine work. The book which the born milliner writes will not
be a fine book. The bonnet which the appointed poet trims will not rank among.
86 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
works of art. Many a girl can handle cooking utensils genteelly whose picture
would be a bungle. Many a splendid stenographer would distract the neighbor-
hood by her music.
The first rule of life should be, IVork accorditig to your ideals.
One day two women, who were driving in a New Hampshire town, rode up
to the door of a farmhouse to ask for information about routes. While the lady
of the house stood by the carriage, a man was seen approaching whose costume
bore but a faint resemblance to anything usually worn by mortals. There was a
decided discrepancy in the size of the trousers legs, the shape of the coat sleeves
was like nothing in particular, the vest was like no other vest the beholders had
ever seen.
" Where," asked one of the ladies respectfuU}-, " does jour husband get his
clothes?"
" I make 'em," was the reply.
"And where do you get your patterns ?" was the next question.
" Oh," answered the wife, " I don't bother with patterns. I just glance at
Johnson once in a while, and cut."
" Life is all a misfit," said a young woman to me one day; a remark which
was but the repetition of the same complaint uttered or written in many different
phrases by many different people — people who were simply seeking relief by the
outpouring of their doubts and fears, or asking comfort and counsel.
After the girl whose life was a misfit had taken her departure, I gave my
mind up to the possible solution of the riddle why so many were finding existence
inadequate, ineffective, unsatisfactory; and the conviction was forced upon me
that the disaster was, in many cases, due to the same cause which clothed Johnson
so uncouthly — want of patterns.
Did one of you ever know of anybody accomplishing a satisfactor>^ piece of
work without a pattern? Ever>-thing, from the largest to the least, that grows
under the hand of the sculptor or painter, is formed from a model, which is either
actualized or in the mind. The .story, the play, the essay, exist in outline before
they are written. You could not fashion the simplest gown nor cut the plainest
apron without either a material or a mental pattern. If you tried to do this you
would inevitably produce a shapeless, and partially or wholly useless thing. The
entire world owes its strength, its utility, its beauty, its " every good and perfect
gift," to patterns, or ideals.
What is a pattern ? Something to fa.shion after and compare with, is it not ?
As the sculptor chips the marble he keeps his model constantly in sight. No
.stroke of the painter's bru.sh is made witliout reference to his sketch. The
author's every .sentence is written with his outline in mind. If one of you were
cutting a garment you would pin y(;ur cloth to the pattern, and be very careful
WHAT CAREER? 87
that your shears did not go here and there aimlessly, or cut a piece too wide or too
narrow, or cut out of proportion or relation to the whole.
And yet many a girl is trying to fashion that most stupendous thing, a char-
acter, that most marvelous thing, an effective and noble life, without a pattern.
Her shears are running everywhere and nowhere, her chisel is gouging and
defacing, or is idle; her picture has no central figure, or no consistency.
Is it not as clear as possible that such a girl should begin at once to possess
herself of a pattern ? That she should stop her aimless and defacing hacking, and
begin to chisel by rule ?
And don't hesitate, girls, to set your standard at perfection point. If you
never reach it you will get much higher than those whose aims are lower. And
write this sentence in your minds in letters of fire that they may brand themselves
in. and become a part of your inmost consciousness: Vou will 7iever be large?' than
your thought. Little patterns make little productions; uncertain patterns bring
forth uncertain results; half-patterns give half- realizations. A perfect thing must
have a perfect pattern.
Imagination is nearl}^ always spoken of b}- the unthinking as a mist}- and
unimportant thing, or is regarded as reprehensible. " Don't let 5-our imagination
run away with j-ou," is a sentence which has chilled, if not checked, the enthu-
siasm of most of us. But imagination is really the master-builder of one's most
satisfactory life-structure, and when it " runs awa^- with " one, becomes the most
powerful dynamic in the world. What does imagination mean? Imaging;
building a thought-pattern, a mental model, an ideal. " Nothing great was ever
achieved without enthusiasm," asserts Emerson. Imagination is enthusiasm's
vital principle, its inward life, its kindling fire. Imagination "ran aw^ay with"
Peter the Hermit, and across a continent tramped, with great loss and terrible
suffering, thousands of people, following an illiterate and hitherto unknown man
who had magnetized himself and his followers by the thought-pattern of the Christ
tomb free from Moslem possession. Carthage fell and Rome became supreme
because imagination "ran awa}' with" Cato in picturing the destruction of the
African metropolis, and kept zeal at white heat till the rival of the Eternal City
was demolished. We have the electric telegraph and the submarine cable because
imagination took the bits in her teeth and gave Samuel Morse and Cyrus Field no
rest till the world-revolutionizing messages were clicked and flashed out in intelli-
gible signs. We ride, and cook our food, and light our homes b}- electricity
because imagination got on so unstoppable a canter with Moses Farmer and
Edison. The Red Cross and the White Cross movements, and many other things
of world-wide worth, came into existence because in the minds and souls of such
women as Clara Barton and Florence Nightingale and Jennie Collins imagination
refused to be bridled.
SS OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Never be afraid of imagination!
The second rule of life should be, Foacs your energies. I believe it is an
entirely demonstratable fact that more failures in life have been caused by want
of direct aim and concentration than by lack of ability or opportunity.
Through many lands, Inroad as a lake, majestic as an ocean, flows the Missis-
sippi River, bearing on its bosom many crafts for human transportation and the
carriage of freight. What if its volume was dissipated by flowings into smaller
rivers, by emptyings into lakes, b\- drainings into creeks ? It would soon lose its
majesty, and become a comparatively useless and entirely inadequate body of
water. Its might and power lie in concentration of volume and a straight onward
flow.
In every life which is to be a success the less must always be sacrificed to the
greater. No one can have a Mississippi and all the little lakes and rivers and
creeks beside.
It may be urged that there are professions, such as those of the author,- the
painter, the musician, which can be attained to in a measure which will yield a
livelihood only after years of toil, and that in the meantime the poor girl's power
must flow out into side-streams, that she ma}- earn daily bread. True ! But
if .she keeps her main object steadily in view, keeps working toward it in spare
hours b}^ the occasional .storj' or .sketch, the .sometimes picture, the interspersed
hour of mu.sic, and by the con.scientious performance of her enforced, bread-
winning duties, learns consecration, and ab.sorbs whatever knowledge comes by
her touch with a side of life different froni that which .she has chosen as the life —
if .she does this, she will find these side-occupations not streams flowiiig from but
tozcard her Missi.ssippi, increasing its volume and augmenting its might.
In no life can any kind of knowledge come amiss. She who writes in the
deepest and most comprehensive vein, she who paints the things nearest to reality,
.she who mo.st potently touches the human heart l)y her voice or touch on the
instrument, is she who has .seen most of life, mingled most with the pcojile, felt
most the throl^bing of human heart-beats. There nuist be .something to write
about, something to put on canvas, .something to insjiirit the music. One mu.st
live worthily and widely before her pen or brush or bow can speak intelligently
and worthily of worthy and wide things.
Do you say, girls, that I have suggested a hard and strenuous life? Yes,
but the work one loves, and which is born hers, hard and strenuous though it
may l>e, is the most satisfying thing which will ever come to her. The world
over those who have chosen the careers which have chosen them will ])ear testimony
to this truth. True living and real achieving can never be anything but earnest
w^ork, Init it may ])e very far removed from unjileasantncss. And if you watch
other lives you will learn, as every careful observer nuist, that one bears far less
WHAT CAREER?
89
hardship in Hving the Hfe ol" soul-whiteness and effective acconiphshnient than in
traihng out a careless, heart-spotted existence, which leads to no desirable goal.
The way of the transgressor of any law of holiness, of constancy, of courtesy, is
hard. Life everywhere proves this.
The man who seeks for diamonds digs no deeper, fares no harder, waits no
later, than he who delves after common stones, but in the end he holds in his
hand nothins: less thaji a diamond !
XIII.
OCCUPATIONS THAT KILL.
SHOULD think 3'ou would die!" exclaimed a woman to a friend
who for months had dragged along under a terrible burden of
work and care.
"I'm dead already," was the repl}^ " only no one can stop
to bur}- me."
There was more truth than the speaker knew in this answer.
There was certainly nothing which could be called essentially life
in this woman's existence, unless a sluggish flow of blood in the veins
could be thus designated. For several years she had been the bread-
winner for herself and a number of others, always working in a forlorn
and blackened old kitchen furni.shed with few conveniences; cooking,
everlastingly cooking, in the same order the same things, each day of
the week having its appointed and never varied bill of fare; fare for
factory operatives, who.se purses could not command, even if their appe-
tites craved, the delicate combinations and dainty frostings which
might have interspersed a little poetry even into this lavi.sh prose of
cookery. At night she sank early and heavily into bed, to dream,
perchance, of pudding pots and stacks of pies, or the oft-repeated " boiled-dish."
The remark has often l)een made by those who have never come to think of
anything but food, drink and raiment as essential to life, that " It makes but little
difference how one's living is earned." Never was there less truth in an a.sser-
lion! It makes all tlie dilTerence between happine.ss and misery, between .sanity
and insanity, between life and death.
This is not mere theory, but scientific fact. The conclusions of the past have
beeji drawn far loo largely from material, or outside appearances, without relation
to mental attitudes. We are fast coming, with .science and psychology as
(90)
OCCUPATIONS THAT KILL. 91
antlu)rit\-, to lake lueiital fitnt-'ss and feeling as llie only relia])le basis from which
to make reckoning and decisions.
The saying that " One's meat is another's poison " is as true of occupations
as of food. A thing to be guarded against, even when one's chosen work is her
proix^r "meat," is of partaking too lavishly or exclusively of this meat. Utter
sameness of pursuit, long-continued and with its induced tension unrelieved by
frequent relaxation and change of sensation, means some degree of insanity; for
that which is called morbidness, melancholia and hysteria is often an unrecognized
form of insanity. Statistics show that more women have been taken to insane
asylums from remote farms than from any other place. The reason is obvious.
The long, monotonous hours, filled with every-day-repeated tasks, the few inter-
ludes for rest or reading, the scarcity of books, and nothing stimulating to enjoy
in the evenings, are conditions literally maddening.
Mrs. Abby Morton Diaz speaks in her able and comprehensive Talks, of
employes, who, by being always engaged in performing just a little part of the
manufacturing of articles, become that which they are called — simply hands.
Brain, imagination, intellect, are in no way called into play, and day by day
become more dormant. I have heard of one man thus employed who after a
comparativel}^ short time was taken to an insane asylum.
' ' When I have been obliged to make a large number of duplicate copies of a
paper," declared a young woman, " it has been such a relief to my brain to have
even one word changed, and when I have been engaged for a long time directing
envelopes, to have those of a different color from the ones I had been handling
come to me, has often saved me from a nervous headache."
The story is told of a destitute man who asked a philanthropist for work.
The philanthropist, having no employment to give, improvised a task by setting
the man to removing some bricks from one side of a yard and piling them on the
opposite side, and then reversing the process, and so on ad libitiun. After a day
the man abandoned the work, though he w^as sorely in need of mone5\ Its monot-
ony and meaninglessness drove him distracted.
" I should think she would go mad, she has so many things to think of," is
a remark we often hear regarding one with a many-branched occupation. But it
is never the person with many things, but the one with little or nothing to think
of, who is in danger of madness.
The social management of which Bellamy speaks so eloquently in ' ' Equalitj' ' '
would work a wondrous benefit to mankind in that it would, by short hours and
the constant transference of each kind of manual labor from one to another, do
away wnth this brain-benumbing, insanitj^-breeding sameness which pertains to so
many kinds of manufacturing.
Another pernicious idea which largel}^ obtains is that one's surroundings
92 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
while engaged in work, so that they be withont actual discomfort, are all that can
be reasonably desired. The trnth is, we shall be a more effective as well as a
more sunny and agreeable people when we come to recognize beauty as a health-
giver, color as a real factor in our lives. One who is obliged by circumstances to
lead a monotonous life should take especial pains to render her working place as
beautiful as possible. Fresh paint and a prettily colored wall paper will do
wonders for a kitchen and the cook's mind, and a few bright prints will heighten
the effect.
It is gravitation in the right direction when we grow toward a recognition
of things as character- formers, of adjustments as teachers, of colors as instructors.
In a course of valuable and interesting lectures, the Hindu .scholar, Mr. Virchard
Gandhi, teaches that seeing, or even calling before one's vision in imagination, a
blue shade produces calmness and coolness; red enriches and warms the blood;
yellow stimulates mentally and physically. One feels a double assurance that this
is true when he remembers that without being aware of any occult law which
accounted for his feelings, he has often exclaimed: " Blue is beautiful in sunnner,
but is too cold-looking for winter!" or in winter: " How nice and warm-looking
red is!" or in summer: " How hot this red looks!" And did you ever pause
before a garden-bed where yellow flowers were growing, or stand near a florist's
window where they were di.splayed, without experiencing an added exhilaration?
No wonder Wordsworth wrote:
"And then my heart -with raptnre fills,
And dances with the daffodils."
We need only the dictum of common sen.se to decide that the things which
soothe us, entertain us, satisfy our hearts, are helpful things. Have you not been
in rooms where every individual piece of furniture was, in shape and shade, at
war with every other piece, and gone away weary, disgu.sted, belligerent, without
])erhaps knowing what had caused your soul-ferment? Have you not entered.
tired, heated, irritated, into an apartment where every article of furniture was in
entire relation of form, and in perfect harmony of tint with every other article,
and gone out calmed and refreshed and .strengthened? Some years ago a gen-
tleman who.se usual taste was so ]K'rfect that a departure from it seemed to denote
a temporary aberration of the mind, made a visit of .several days to .some ladies,
wearing a suit of a glaring ])laid ])attern. Tliose ladies, even after the lapse of
two years' lime, cannot think of that suit without a shudder. In spite of all the
philo.sophy and reason whicli they brought to bear u]X)n the case, their friends
unfortunate aj^parel made his visit far le.ss pleasant to them than it would other-
wise have been. Some months ago a lady costumed in dainty fashion sjient the
afternoon with a friend. The work willi winch she occupied hersell during the
OCCUPATIONS THAT KILL. 93
visit was a heavy colored woolen shirt, of coarse material. In vain her hostess
mentally protested that her visitor's w'ork made no difference. It remained a fact
that it not only spoiled the afternoon for her, but the remembrance of it made her
uncomfortable lor months afterward. Very foolish in l)()th the hostesses of the
man in the plaid suit and the woman with the coarse work ? No; very wise, only
the>- did not recognize the wisdom, and blamed them.selves for it. The human
mind is always cr\ing- out for fitness, clamoring for harmon}^ and is nervous and
irritated when these things are wanting. The glaring plaid suit did not fit the
character or position of the man who wore it, or the home or tastes of the ladies
whom he visited. The coarse woolen work was not in harmony with a hot
sunnner afternoon, a daintily clothed lady who was making an afternoon visit to
a cultivated and scholarly woman.
The fact is that we shall not get perfect understanding until we come to
realize that beauty and fitness and harmony are not merely things which we
like, but which we can do w^ell enough without, but are necessary to health and
happiness, since it is being more and more clearly proven that spirit jar and mind
irritation and brain disturbance are fruitful sources of nervous diseases, and lead
to the shattering of the physical s^^stem. Pleasure helps to digest the food, to
send the blood properly through the veins, and to keep the brain in equilibrium.
Some hour of the da}" or evening is usualh' free to ever}^ one. That hour
should be given to something which relaxes and stimulates. Entertainment is
sometimes spoken of as " childish. ' ' That it is childish, that it is something which,
for the time being, brushes care aside, and relieves the mind of stress and strain,
renders it for the entire mentality that which its name indicates: I'e-a^eation.
Avoid monotony, girls, as you would mortal sin. If it does not lead 3^ou
into mortal sin it leaves you in devastating sadness. "A merr}^ heart doeth good
like a medicine."
There are occupations which actually kill the body in a ver}- short time.
Were we writing for both sexes we should mention sugar refineries, iron pud-
dling, and many others. For women there are less, but still too many, of these
occupations.
The sweat shops have been too widely spoken and written of to need exten-
sive mention here. An occupation which soon dispatches those who engage in it
is the preparation of any form of tobacco. The constant absorption of the nicotine
through the nostrils and the pores of the skin has the inevitable effect of accumu-
lated poison.
A second fatal employment is working in paint manufactories, where women
are largely engaged to solder cans and paste on labels. One who visits a paint
factory will note the stifling atmosphere, thick with the odor of chemicals, the
slimy lower floors, the faces of the workmen, humid and green with arsenic. The
94
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
choking, lung-destroying odor permeates the whole building, and is breathed in
from the open cans which the girls constantly handle.
Paper mills are, also, places where a multitude of women are found, and
which are extremelj- detrimental to health. Many germs of disease lurk in the
rags which are brought in, and the glue and other materials used give out a most
clogging and disagreeable odor.
Wool-sorting is an occupation which requires that the mouth and nose shall
be covered by a bandage, the girls who handle the fleeces being obliged to draw
in the air necessary to actual life under the cloth wound around their faces.
I have never, thank God! known of but one woman saloon-keeper in America.
She was what might have been expected, dying in body, and in soul already
" dead in trespasses and sin."
Many of the department stores are killing places; killing not onl}^ by rea.son
of the work, which keeps a girl for almost the entire time on her feet, but because
of for the most part sightless corners in which clerks are confined, the inhumanly
small wages which afford only mean lodgings, poor food and tawdry clothing;
killing because there is in the positions of their cheap employes nothing to give
dignity of feeling or stimulation of thought. Cheap surroundings and cheap
remuneration always tend to cheapen character. An occupation w'hich does not
give a sen.se of importance, or of .something important connected with it, is an
occupation in which lies the indifference which is the soul's demoralization.
Broadly speaking, those occupations which do not give employment to both
l>ody and mind, which fail to yield any considerable outlook upon life, which afford
no reasonable hope for advancement, which .seldom touch with healthy action and
allow few opportunities for air and sunshine are the occupations which tend
toward bodih' and mental death.
" 'Ti.s life whereof our nerve.s are scant,
More life, and fuller, that we want."
XIV.
WHAT PHYSICAL CULTURE CAN DO.
OT by constraint or severity shall you have access to true wis-
dom, but by abandonment and childlike mirthfulness. If you
would know aught, be gay before it."
Thus runs the gospel according to Thoreau.
A severe life is a dangerous life. A colorless life is a
killing life. Monotony is an enemy to morality. Everything
must have life, movement, change, or it clogs and congests.
The only place in which this clogging and congestion are
not recognized as things which must be carefully guarded
against is among humanity. Day after da}^ during many years, if, in spite of
their vitiating conditions, the}^ manage to live so long, thousands of women in
liundreds of cities clean, brush and oil thousands of sewing machines. The)"
know that if this cleaning is neglected the machines will become unfit for nice
work, ere long unfit for any work at all. Every da)^ thousands of mill laborers
clear thousands of cogs and levers and wheels that smooth and rapid action ma}'^
not be retarded or rendered impossible. At frequent intervals numerous operators
look to the parts of their typewriters or telegraph relays and keys to make sure
that nothing congests or clogs them.
And 3'et in every country there are millions of clogged and congested lives
which are never thought of, as such, and with a view to cleansing and clearing,
not at all. They are clogged bj^ want of happiness, by the absence of outlook, by
the dearth of change and color. Natural depravity may have slain its thousands,
(95)
96 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
though I strongly doubt it. That misety of mind and drabness of life have slain
their tens of thousands could, I imagine, be easil}- demonstrated. The insanity
which incites to murder, theft, suicide, anarchy, to every evil thing, is, in a vast
majority of cases, bred by unhappiness. He who generates happiness to any
degree is a public benefactor. I say public because no life is so isolated that it
does not, at some point, touch some other life, and impart to it something of its
atmosphere and vibrations, and this atmosphere, these vibrations, are in turn
passed on to others. Whether it will or no, the race is a human house-that-Jack-
built.
Change, color and progression are the trinity which, perhaps, more than
anything else make for happiness. Health of body and mind usually comes by
the three things, and health is the right hand of accomplishment and the left hand
of content.
How, under our present cramping and benumbing social system, shall change
and color, as the forerunners of progression and health, be introduced into the lives
of the thousands whose bent bodies, misshapen bj^ sewing machines and tj-pe
machines, by desk work and factory work and farm work, have resulted in
bent souls ?
It seems patent that physical culture has here a most beneficent field of action.
First, its initial requirements necessitate things which are beneficial. It takes
one who is waary with seams or with sentences, with the weaving of webs or the
watching of dots and dashes, into a lighted room to meet people who will send out
to meet her a new magnetism, and whose picturesque garments will, at the outset
— for it is now an established scientific fact that color has a decided effect on the
nerves — impart to her a fresh set of sensations, and begin the replacement of
sluggishness. Again, the feeling of freedom and gracefulness which the gym-
nasium garments assure are a most welcome change from the generally begirting
and in many cases unbecoming costumes worn by women.
Then follows that which to many souls which have been strait-jacketed by
circumstances, environment and atmosphere, .seems mere play, but which is to
the older ]xrrson what the kindergarten is to a child— play with far-reaching
meaning and re.sults.
So here is answered one eternal and not to be overlooked need of the soul;
entertainment and recreation. This recreation, intelligently directed as it is,
serves several purposes. In many cases by keeping young women thus happily
engaged, it shuts them in from outside entertainment whose insanity and excess
might .seem for the time being like happiness, but which would resemble the real
tiling as the flu.sh of fever resembles the glow of health, and whose after effects
u]>on character and life w(nild be like unto the ravages and the lassitude which
follow fever in the system.
^
s'-i'y^
^i <4 ^ J* ^^'«* ■^■•^'
c,p,ENr«=
PHYSICAL CCLTURE.
(97]
98 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
And with this picturesqueness, and freedom of limbs, this posing and pos-
turing, there will come, without striving or strenuousness, gracefulness and
grace.
A lady told me about a visit she made to a colored man and his wife who
lived in the South, and who were formerly her devoted servants. The
wife was asked b}* her former mistress how things were going with her and her
husband.
" Eberyting is mighty fine," was the reply. " Wes got along scrumptious.
We own de place, 'n de hoss 'n pigs, an' de craps are dat big all de time, an' I
jest reckon de Lord done sent you 'long, honey, fer Sambo an' me we jest tink it's.
time we sperienced 'ligion, an' we donno how to do it, an' dat's a fac'. You c'n
tell us, suah."'
The lady learned by a series of questions that the two people had been from
their cliildhood in the habit of praying, that they had been honest since leaving
her emplov, as they were while with her. that they were humane and loving, and
at peace with all men. She assured the wife that they undoubtedly already had
religion. That through all the years of right living it had been coming to them.
" Well, 'fore de Lord !" chuckled the delighted " mammy," " to tink we wus-
gittin' pious all de time, an' got 'ligion an' nebber knowed it !"
It is much after the method of these two in getting religion that the phy.sical
culture student gets gracefulness and grace. It is an untortured, agreeable and
unconscious unfoldnient into better things. Before she realizes their existence the
results are obtained.
There is a wonderful sympathy between the body and the soul. A .slouching
body and a slouching character nearly always go together, and whatever lends
uprightness in the one is apt to have a corresponding effect upon the other. The
girl who stoops, and shuffles and drags, is, almost invariabl>-. from sin or sadness,
or both, mentally stooping, and .shuffling and dragging.
I'^mer.son declares that "A beautiful form is better than a beautiful face."
By a judicious use of physical culture one is almost certain to secure both. By its
exercise the unshapely form may .surely be changed, and by the drill which sends
the blood equally all over the body, purifying the complexion, recoloring the
cheeks and lips, bringing brightness to the eyes, supplemented bj' the helpful and
ennobling ideas which every concientious teacher .suggests, the face is provided
with new beauty and expression.
It may be .said that surely women who sew, or run sewing machines, or
manage typewriters, or do housework, have, at least, sufficient arm exercise.
Kmily Bishop, whose work at Chautaucjua has been so notable, and whose
admirable book, " Self- Expression and Health," I wish could be owned by
every woman, young and old, shall answer this observation. Mi.ss Bi.shop says:
WHAT PHYSICAL CULTURE CAN DO.
99
" It lias been ol)served that washerwomen, a class which use their arms much,
are often corpulent, and otherwise shapeless. Washerwomen do have much arni
exercise, but not in nac/iin^^ upward.
"Too much emphasis cannot be laid upon the fact that indiscriminate exercise
is not sufficient to keep our bodies symmetrical, healthy or harmonious in move-
ment. In truth, housework and manual labor in general, as well as brain work,
increase rather than diminish the necessity for systematic, nerve-soothing exercise.
The restricted mechanical movements that are made day after day in any ordinary-
labor or occupation, make the body either dull and heavy, or nervous and angular
in movement. Labor necessitating mechanical motions forms a large portion of
tlie occupations of mankind, but the deteriorating effect of such work can be counter-
acted by the freeing and the rhythmical movements of Health and Expression
culture.
' ' W^omen are not responsible for their features, but they are, in a large degree,
responsible for their figures. All cannot, of course, have the height or the size
they mo.st admire, but neither of these constitutes a good figure. Proportion, not
height nor size, is the characteristic of a beautiful figure, and nearly everj' one can
have a well-proportioned body b}' paj'ing the price for it ; namely, exercise.
' ' When we grow to an appreciation of the beautiful lines of the normal human
figure, we shall earnestl}^ seek to exemplifj- ' the good, the true, the beautiful ' in
our bodies; then, full, well- developed chests, delicately poi.sed heads, firm, young
muscles will be the rule, and protruding, hea\'3' abdomens the exception."
The close application and sedentary habits of most American women have
the effect of aging them rapidly. On this subject, also. Miss Bishop speaks
words of wisdom :
"What," she says, "is old age? Not the lines of expression on the face,
which are the carvings of thought and emotion; not the soft, white hair that is
like a halo of purity about the face. It is rather, as relates to the body, loss of
elasticity, or vigor, of the power to do certain physical acts that were once as
spontaneous as play.
"Can a person avoid growing old? To a great extent, yes. Of course, a
person cannot always remain only twenty 3'ears old, or avoid being sixty years
old ultimate!}', but he can prevent the marked difference in the physical con-
dition between these two ages. The years will roll ceaselessly by, unheeding
individuals, but each individual has the power to determine in a large degree what
the effect of those A-ears shall be upon himself. Experience furnishes many proofs
in point: a noted danseuse of seventj^-five had all the lightness and flexibilitj' of a
young girl; a tight-rope walker was expert at eighty; a dancing master was lithe
and graceful at seventy -eight. Such illustrations of youth retained b}' exercise
suggest approximate possibilities for all. Years should bring a ripening,, enriching
too OCCl'PATIONS FOR WOMEX.
influence to the mind, but not infirmity to the bodj-. That the}- often fail to bring
the former and do result in the latter is due to pernicious habits, mental and
physical.
" There is no point in years when a vigorous, young-feeling and j'oung-
acting person must be called old; while others are old long before they reach fifty
years. ' As a man thinketh in his heart so is he,' is true regarding the physical
as well as the spiritual man. We expect old age and we are not disappointed; we
believe that the j-ears must bring decrepitude, and the)^ do; moreover, we hasten
the condition that we expect by allowing bad physical habits to enchain us.
" How can we keep our bodies young ? As Bancroft did, as Gladstone has —
by systematic exercise."
One great and not to be overlooked benefit to be derived from physical culture
is that by it a person learns how to breathe properl}-. It is a fact that exceed-
ingly few know how to breathe effectively. If from an open window in one end
of a house the entering air should zigzag into a side pas.sage, and thence down
cellar, and then return to the house by a window opposite to that by which it first
entered, its movements would resemble the manner in which the breath circulates
through the ordinary pair of lungs. This misdirected air would cleanse only a
small part of the house, whereas if .sent in a straight, .strong, regular draught
through the rooms it would displace bad atmosphere, and cleanse and purify.
The properly guided breath will go straight through the vital parts of the system,
removing foulness, and strengthening and purifjMug the whole being, physical
and mental. Breath is nothing less than life, and if it is not spirit it is closely
allied to it. All the expre.ssions that relate to the word breathing and the word
spirit come from the same Latin root: spirihis. It was taught b\- the Greeks, that
full, deep inspirations clean.sed the .soul as water does the bod}-.
Dr. Lennox Brown .says:
" Exercise in moderation, regularly and con.scientiously repeated, will increa.se
the breathing capacity, improve the voice, and make .speaking easy. It may
change, as it has changed, the falsetto of a grown man into a full, sonorous man's
voice; it may re.store, and has restored, a lost voice. It will certainly turn a
greater quantity of dark V)lue blood into bright red blood; llie nii]ietite will
increase; sounder sleep will be enjoyed; the flabby, ])alli<l skin will fill out, and
get a healthy, ro.sy color. All this, and more, may be, and often lias been, the
result of lung-gymnastics carried on in moderation and jierseverantv."
A word of warning just here. There are a number of books on the market
which give rules for breathing; among them one entitled "Nature's Finer
lM)rces," but it is usually dangerous for the uninstructed reader to attempt to
follow rules for this cxet;cise wilhonl a ttaclK-r. breathing, like chclricit\- and
other powerful forces, is very ben^'licent wlun ri<;]itl\- govermd, but its excessive
WHAT PHYSICAL CrLTURIv CAN DO.
lOI
or ignorant use nia\- rLSull, indeed, lias resulted, in dire harm. Learn to Ijreathe
under a good teacher.
The point of securing an efficient in.structor is an important one. If you do
not live where )'OU can attend a gymna.sium or college, or if your means will not
admit of your doing this, go or wTite to some well and favorably known institu-
tion, and ask to be informed concerning a capable and conscientious teacher who
will come to you at stated intervals, and teach a class at a moderate rate. Of
course, you should first be sure of getting your class.
It will richly pay you to attend to this matter. In the business world, in the
social world, the world of art and of letters, the things which phj^sical culture
gives, self- poise, dignity, the magnetism of an illuminated face, clear eyes, and a
pleasing personality, count for much. To find favor in the eyes of the multitude
will be a long stride in the way of progression.
XV.
WOMEN AS FARMERS.
NE both smiles and siglis when she hears a woman who toils
from fourteen to sixteen hours a day with her needle,
earning, perhaps, from seven to nine dollars a week, or a
clerk who every day stands from eight to six o'clock in a
stufFy corner of a stuffy store retailing various cheap
articles, with a salary of from three to five dollars a week,
speaking of farm work as "drudgery."
"Americans do everything but think," some one
remarked not long since; an extreme assertion, for surely
many Americans think to splendid purpo.se, but when one
realizes how much multitudes bear for want of a few hours' thought and a
modicum of energy and decision, the remark does not seem wholly unju.stifiable.
Most needlewomen and store employes could hardly work under more dis-
tressing conditions, and through a lull in their employment might .starve or become
j)aupers. As farmers, star\'ation and pauperism would be impossible.
If it is objected that many girls are too delicate for outdoor employment, it
may be answered that in numerous ca.ses these girls are too delicate for anything
else. Sunshine, air and exercise are three of their most vital needs. Many a
consumptively inclined per.son has become healthy and ha]ipy by close daily contact
with the soil, the facing of free winds, and i)lenty of outdoor employment.
Of course the rule holds good here as it does regarding other kind.'; of employ-
ment. No one should adopt farming as an occupation who does not love outdoor
pursuits and farm belongings. To any other it would su'"ely mean drudgery, and
(102)
AT WORK IX THE GARDEN.
I04 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
slavery as well. But there are thousands who love "all outdoors," and any
occupation which had to do with country wideness, and green, growing things
would be their delight. If these could be weeded out from the city workers much
sorely needed relief would be afforded to thousands of other workers as well as to
themselves.
The woman farmer is no longer sufficiently unique to be wondered at, sneered
at, or smiled at. She is found in many parts of the country, and is, if one ma>-
judge from the facts brought to light, as successful in her chosen work as is her
brother tiller of the .soil.
It will seem surprising if in the near future we do not see communities of girl
farmers located near enough together to be helpers and companions to each other.
Co-operation would lighten the heaviest toil, and the recreation and relaxation
which .such a neighborhood would make possible would do away with that which
is usually a farm's most objectionable feature — its loneliness.
One can begin her agricultural pur.suits with very little land if nece.ssary. A
writer on this subject says:
" Americans are only l)eginning to understand that a small patch of land may
be cultivated with great profit. The Japanese immigrants who have settled in
California within the last few years have aroused the interests of horticulturists to
their method of tillage which has prevailed for ages in Japan. They understand
the art of getting a bountiful supply from every inch of .soil. With three or four
acres the Japanese farmer satisfies his every want, keeps clear of debt, and lays up
money. With one acre in vegetables he is independent.
" Many a woman has a home with a bit of ground attached, which hardh-
pays the taxes. She is fretting and .struggling to make a little money to live on.
The onh' way she can think of is to .sew or teach or find .something to do for which
she will be paid, however small a sum. Her bit of ground can be made to pay like
a bank, if .she goes at it right. Let her buy a good Viook on Market Gardening,
study it, and set to work to get the most out of her bit of ground. ' Onions for
Prf)fit.' publi.shed by a Philadelphia publisher, will give her instructions on that
l)rofitable specialty. ' Market Gardening and I'arm Notes,' by P)urnet Lanchvlh.
one of the foremost practical and scientific liorticulturi.sts in the laiited Stales, will
be as good an educalif)n in gardening as can be had from a book."
A Chicago paper is responsibk- for the following st()r>- concerning an Illinois
widow:
" Her capital con.sisted of a comfort.'ible house located in a large barren village
lot a stable and one cow. Slie had three de]:)en(k'nl children, and no income.
After due consideration and i)re])aration, she had the lot jilowed in early si)ring,
and converted it into one large strawberrx- bed, wliile around its sides were planted
black-caj) rasjjberries. She .selected standard reliable wirieties, and gave her ])lants
WOMEN AS FARMKRvS.
105
good and thon)Ui;h culU\;iti()n. The next sprin.L^ her plants were stnjng and
thrifty, and in good bearing condition. A compact was made with her grocer,
wlio undertook the sale of the entire crop. When the sea.son was over and settle-
ments made, the widow felt well repaid for all her work and anxiet\^ for her berries
had returned sufficient over expen.ses to provide for all the needs of herself and
children till the next
spring. Then she secured
an adjacent vacant lot on a
long lease, at a low rent,
and filled it with the in-
crease of plants from her
original patch. The ques-
tion of support was set-
tled. There was no need
for her to leave her home
to labor, and last but by
no means least, she was
able to interest and em-
ploy her children, to teach
them the lesson of self-help
and mutual help, and to
keep them under her care.
In tilling the soil on a
large scale women seem
to be as successful as in
the berry patch."
The success of Kate
Sanborn as a former has
been too widel}^ and inter-
estingly heralded to need
more than passing men-
tion here.
About seven years
ago there moved about the
town of Uxbridge, Mass. ,
a young girl named Sarah A. Taft, to whom life had offered no occupation which
was at all congenial to her tastes. Her friends, noting her slim figure, pale face,
and the tiny hands which mated feet which number two shoes covered, shook their
heads and smiled when she declared that she wanted a farm. After a time she
managed to gain her heart's desire in a farm located two or three miles from the
MISS SARAH A. TAFT.
io6 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
town of Uxbridge. It was pretty discouraging for the first two years, but
knowledge and experience were being gained, and the third year some profit was
realized. Then came numerous evils to the young farmer. Her barn, hay and
entire stock were burned, she broke her arm, money was stolen from her desk, and
her hired help seemed determined to give her all the trouble they possibly could.
But she went straight on, rebuilding, reconstructing, learning by every present
failure how to make a future success. One who is so fortunate as to visit ' ' Beech-
wood " to-day is driven from the station by a healthy -looking young woman whose
small, strong hands guide a pair of handsome grays which are harnessed to a
luxuriously upholstered double carriage. After drinking a glass of milk which
makes one wish that her hostess might become her milk provider, the visitor is
shown over a neat farm now mostly given up to hay, small fruits and poultry.
Miss Taft has ju.st built a poultry shed 144 feet long, and expects, with her
experience with hens, to reap a good profit from poultry culture. She has done
well with small fruits and milk, all her wares being disposed of in the town. Each
succeeding year, since she recovered from the eifects of her disasters, has brought
her more gain, and considering the time of her trial, she ma}" be considered one of
the most successful farmers " in all the region round about."
A newspaper correspondent tells the story of a Southern woman who found
sheep-raising profitable. "If," he saj's, "one has decided to try the sheep
venture, as did a Southern woman on the same line, let any priestess of an aban-
doned New England farm, or a Virginia plantation, or an old Pennsj'lvania home-
stead, buy her live stock from some reputable farmer or drover, and pay not more
than $3.00 apiece for her ewes. If a small flock of sturdy animals are purchased
in September, and turned to grass at once, they will feed themselves and ask no
care till the stress of winter comes. Somewhere on the bookshelf should be kept
a volume of common-sense advice on sheep-raising, and when in doubt as to what
is best to be done counsel should be taken with the author. Under fairly good
conditions the drove of eight or ten ewes between January and March ought to
be increased to a re.spectable flock of fifteen or eighteen lambs, and lambs born in
January sell in the .spring for $7.00 and $10.00 apiece in good markets.
" Becau.se her pasture was not large enough, and because .she taught school
for a living, and so had no great amount of time to give to her flock, the Southern
woman did not let her number increase bexond sixty ewes, but .some years .she
drew as much as $5cx) from her .sheeix"
At Greenwich, Conn., Miss Churciiill owns and manages a large dairy farm,
making a good ])rorit Ijy sending her milk and cream into the country to su])])ly
customers.
The three daughters of the late J. I). Gillett, of Logan County, Illinois,
manage three farms whose acres aggregate over four thousand acres. These three
WOMEN AS FARMERS. 107
young women, wlio are finely educated, speak P'rencli, and have a taste for art,
literature and nuisic, are enthusiastic over farming as a profession for women.
The farms now yield four times as much as they did when managed by Mr.
Gillett. They are divided into small sections which are tilled by tenants with
whom the crops are divided. A lake on tliis land was drained by digging a ditch
a mile and a half long. These women often ride thirty or forty miles a day on
their tours of inspection.
Mrs. Taber Willett, the woman who so successfully manages a farm of two
hundred and fifty acres at Roslyn, L,. I., is described as a small, lithe person, with
winning manners, a sweet face, and fine mind.
" I was born a farmer," .she declares. " Farmers are born, not made."
' ' You speak of a new woman farmer, a new woman this, and a new woman
that," said Mrs. Willett to a new.spaper woman. "There are no new women,
but there are new men ; for they are beginning to recognize the worth of women,
and to acknowledge it. Women are the same as the\- always have been, only the
sudden opening of the world's eyes to their power has given them courage to
strike out and conquer new fields. These are my farmer friends," she continued,
as she tapped on the glass doors of an immense bookcase, assuring her caller that
every reliable work on farming was there, as being acquainted with scientific
methods was the only way to farm with profit. On being asked if there was
really any profit in farming, she replied emphatically:
" There is just as much profit in farming as ever, and even more, for modern
machinery and implements have reduced the work to a minimum. The farm of
to-day is just like a great factory, and in.stead of requiring competent hands to
turn out hard work, in many cases it only requires raw hands to see that the
wheels go round. About a year ago I had about the largest yard of thoroughbred
Guernsey cattle in the State, and I used to make all the butter, and attend to a
large .share of the milking. There were over fifty of them."
In reply to the inquiry if she believed that women were as capable of manag- "
ing farms as were men, Mrs. Willett replied: "'Indeed, I do. Sex makes no
difference. Women who work on farms become as health}- and rugged as men.
Then they have more patience, and the power to adapt themselves more readilj',
and their dispositions are such that the}- grow to love their work in the fields
becau.se it brings them nearer to nature, and their work is a constant reminder of
the goodness of their Maker. I have done everything that can be done upon a
farm, from hoeing potatoes to stacking hay, and there was no task, however heavy,
but was lightened by the thought of His touch having been there before.
" Of course, there are plenty of women who could not be successful farmers,
as there are plenty of men. If a woman loves farming well enough to make a
success of it, .she'll manage to get a farm somehow, and when she does get it you
mav be sure she'll make it Dav."
XVI.
BEE CULTURE, POULTRY CULTURE. AND SILK CULTURE.
ERE we have a trio of occupations in which women have
shown them.selves experts. The first two are, when
well managed, very remunerative. The third will
probably become more remunerative when the silk
manufactories of the United States are increased.
\V. L. Hutchinson, in an article published
a few months ago in the Washington ( D. C.)
Ho7Jie Magazine, says:
" Of the minor rural industries none
appeal more strongly to women than that of
bee-keeping. In one sense bees may be made
pets in something the same way as may be
done with fowls; in fact, they need the constant care
and attention that a woman can give with such deft-
ne.ss to any object in who.se welfare .she is interested,
be it a house-plant, a chicken, a baby or a colony of"
bees. Then, too, bee-keeping has its sesthetical side.
It has verv appro]iriately been called the poetry of
agriculture. The busy little workers leaving their hives to gather nectar from the
beautiful flowers, the dainty white coml)S that they build, the exhilaration of
swarming, all appeal to woman's poetical nature. Not only this, but bees take
their owner out into the .sun.shine where heaven's own breezes put color in faded
cheeks. Of course a woman cannot care for so large a number of colonies as can
be taken care of by a man, but for what .she can do the remuneration is fully as
great as that which could be secured by the same .strength put into .some other
indu.stry. There is one branch of the indu.stry that is particularly adapted to
(108)
BKK CULTURK, POULTRY CULTURK AND SILK CULTrRR. 109
women — that is, the rearing and sale of queen bees. This requires almost
constant attention to a great many details, but none of the work is laborious.
Quite a number of women have been wonderfullj- successful in this line of bee-
keeping.
" Fear of stings probably- keeps a great many women out of bee-keeping; but
this fear is almost wholly groundless, as a thorough knowledge of the disposition
of bees, and of methods of protecting the person, will almost wholly prevent the
getting of stings. If sufficient care is exercised the operator need never be stung.
In the first place, bees sting only in defence of their lives. There may be an
occasional exception to this, but it is the rule. Bees out in the field gathering
honey are as harmless as so many bluebirds. It is only near the hive that an
attack is ever volunteered, and need not be expected there if the bees are pure
Italians of a peaceable strain.
" The first step is to procure some literature upon the subject and ' read up.'
I will give the addresses of the leading periodicals in this country devoted to
bee culture. Glcani7igs in Bee Culture, Medina, Ohio; America Bee Jour?ial,
Chicago, 111.; American Bee A"<?(f/><?r, Jamestown, N. Y. ; Bee Keeper's Review,
Flint, Mich.; and The Progressive Bee Keeper, Higginsville, Mo. The editors
of any of these publications will gladly send sample copies, and in the columns of
these journals will be found the advertisements of text-books upon bee-keeping.
After having read one or two books devoted to bees and their care, it is an
excellent thing to visit the apiary of some successful bee-keeper, and to subscribe
to one or more of the magazines devoted to bee culture. It is difficult for a
beginner to understand much that is in the magazines until he has read some of
the text-books. After getting a fair theoretical knowledge of bee-keeping from
reading and visiting bee-keepers, a few colonies of bees should be purchased; just
how many is difficult to say. Probabh' a dozen colonies would be as large a
number as a beginner ought to commence with, and it is possible to begin with
only one colony. The point is just here; it is likeh' that some mistake will be
made at first, and it is better that the mistake be made with only a few colonies,
letting bees and the knowledge increase hand in hand.
" Buy Italian bees in movable comb hives of the nearest reliable bee-keeper,
unless the bees would have to be sent a long distance by express, when if bees in
box hives can be bought near at home and at low prices, it may be better to get
them and to transfer them than to pay enormous express charges. All in all, Italian
bees are the most desirable, at least for a beginner. They are the most gentle,
the best of workers, and a beautiful golden color, while with the modern methods
and fixtures most excellent results can be obtained from them."
A woman in Santa Ana, California, who sells thousands of jars of honey every
season, 2;ave the following statement to the author of " Women in the Business
no OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
World": "Neatness and order are essential, and energy is necessary. There
should be no human drones about an apiary. .i.iiy of the standard works on bees
can be relied upon. Much can be learned from the bee journals.
" Five hundred dollars will start any one with fifty colonies of bees and all
necessary appurtenances to operate the business. An income can be expected
within a year, or less time. It is a business which gives quicker returns for the
capital invested than any I know of. Should a woman have a liking for this
occupation, and not the capital, she can begin with a few swarms and soon build
up and increase her colonies, and in a few years have a large apiary. As the bees
would only require a small portion of her time, she could be employed in some
other employment besides. The average yield of a colon}- in California is one
hundred pounds of honey, besides the increase."
A Maine woman declares that when the price of box honey is good that she
averages fifty dollars from each swarm of bees.
Bee-keeping in cities has been tried in recent years with surprising success.
Roofs have been found to be good places for the hives. Bees range a long distance
for their food, and parks and gardens furnish the city bee with fine banquets and
his owner with much honey.
"Poultry raising," declares Samuel Cushman, for seven years president of
the Rhode Island Agricultural College, " is one of the best paying occupations in
which anybody can engage. Women, as a general thing, do better with poultry
than men, their tendency to look after small details being much to the advantage
of the business. The most successful poultry raisers I have known have been
women. One should read up well before he engages in this pursuit, and although
the business can be started on small capital, it is better if the one who engages in
it has considerable money to put into it at the start."
Land which is too barren and sterile for anything else serves even,- purpose
of poultry raising.
In a comprehensive article in the Cosmopolitan John B. Walker, Jr., .says:
"As the problem of living becomes more complicated from the competition
resulting from increasing population, attention is being given to many industries
which in former times were held as of little consequence. How to live comfortably
off the product of twenty acres is an interesting question to the man or woman
who seeks escape from the confinement of the town or city; and one direction,
which is attracting not a few, is poultry farming. The incubators on the market
to-day do not require the care of an expert of long standing. There are two
classes of apparatus — one heated by hot water, the other by hot air. Some are
regulated by thermo.static bars made of bra.ss, iron, rubber and aluminum; others
by alcohol, ether, electricity and the expansion of water. The eggs are placed in
trays and the trays put in the incubators directly under the tank that supplies the
BEE CUIvTURE, POULTRY CULTURE AND SILK CULTURE, iii
heat to the egg-chamber — the incubators being built double- walled and the air
space packed with asbestos to prevent sudden changes of temperature from affect-
ing the egg-chamber. In size the smaller incubators range from twenty-five to
six hundred eggs capacity, and can be operated the year round, although the
results are less successful during the hot summer months than in the spring or fall,
or even in the winter.
"On the larger poultry farms the incubators have an underground room
speciall}^ constructed to secure the eggs from sudden changes of temperature.
" There are poultry plants that, if kept steadily at work, and every egg put in
the incubators were hatched, would be able to turn out three hundred thousand
chickens each 3^ear, and there have recently been built some large incubators with
a capacity of sixty thousand hen eggs, which would give a capacity of more than
half a million a year.
" The chickens are easily hatched; but it requires the closest watching and
much experience to bring them to marketable age. The incubator does not
merely do away with the hen as a hatcher, but supplies a demand for broilers at a
time of the year when it would be impossible to persuade the hen to set, and is of
unlimited capacity, economically considered. Where formerly we were able to
hatch one chicken we can now hatch a thousand.
' ' In order to give some idea of the profit to be derived from chicken farming,
a computation has been made which supposes that each hen averages two hundred
eggs per year, and that she is kept for two years and then sold. The estimate
regards her as laying thirty-three dozen eggs, for which a fair price would be
twenty-five cents per dozen — rather low for fresh eggs. This would amount to
eight dollars and eighty-five cents. If it cost two dollars to raise and feed the
chicken for two years, there w^ould remain a net profit of three dollars and forty-
two cents a year; and the profit derived from ducks and broilers is estimated to be
even larger. In New York City and vicinity the poultry and eggs consumed in
one year amount to forty-five million dollars — while that of the entire United
States probably does not fall below seven hundred million dollars. An estimate
published in a leading poultry journal puts the number used in this country last
3^ear by calico print works, wine clarifiers and photographic establishments at
fifty-four million dozens, and many additional millions b}^ book-binders, kid-
glove manufacturers and for finishers of fine leather.
" Year by year the agriculturist sees more clearly the advantage of the small,
well-cultivated farm, and to this class poultry raising offers special inducements.
The season when most farmers are Mle is that during which the poultry man is
busiest.
Plum or pear trees can be made to bear wonderfully well when planted in
the chicken-yard. They not only afford the birds a desirable and efficient shade,
112 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
but the chickens keep the trees free of insects. In fact, on some of the large
pouhry-fornis, the fruit obtained from the trees in the chicken-yard, when placed
on the market, amounts to a very large item every season."
■' A traveler," says the writer of " Women in the Business World," tells of a
farmer's daughter in California, who, on her return from college, gave her atten-
tion to raising chickens, and netted a thousand dollars a year from her work. She
had a number of small enclosures, each with capacity for forty chickens, with a
little house in the centre. The cost of all the enclosures and tiny houses was less
than two hundred dollars."
The same author is authority for the following:
"A chicken farm in New Jersey which has buildings that cost $5000, all
made out of the business, was started three years ago with only $25.00 in money.
The proprietor is a man who has been engaged in business in New York all the
time, and could give it his personal attention only nights and mornings. His
farm is devoted exclusively to the production of eggs. As he has 1000 laying
hens, which he manages to keep laying almost the year round, it is ea.sy to see
that his income is very respectable. " Some start with a capital of $100, and
others have put as high as §40,000 into the business in the beginning."
Eternal vigilance, and very deft and delicate vigilance, is the price of success-
ful silk culture. The want of near markets and the coldness of the American
climate render it difficult to derive any large benefits from this fascinating
employment. The business should have a special building or room to meet the
requirements for hatching the eggs. Artificial heat must always be employed
during hatching time. The process of hatching is facilitated by washing the
eggs in clear water, thus removing a kind of gumminess which adheres to them
when they are laid. As the eggs are about the size of a pinhead this washing is
a decidedly delicate affair.
The natural food of the worm is the white mulberry leaf. It will also eat the
leaf of the black mulberry, and lettuce leaves, but the black mulberry leaves
so late in the season it is practically useless as food for the in.sects. To keep the
worms from crowding together, the food must be carefully distributed on their
trays. Many cultivators chop the leaves fine and strew them about.
Great care must be taken not to allow the worms of one hatch to mix with
those f)f the other hatches unless exactly of the same age, as the .stronger insects
deprive the weaker of food.
The eggs are laid at the beginning of one sunnner, and hatched at the l)egin-
ning of the next. The cater]>illar changes his skin four or five times during his
growth, and when near one of the.se changes is apt to die. The eggs cost al)out
S5.00 an ounce. The green cocoons are .sold from fifty to .seventy-five cents a
IKjund. The i)rice of the reeled silk varies from $5.00 to $8.00 a j^ound.
BEE CULTURE, POULTRY CULTURE AND SILK CULTURE. 113
An experienced worker in this field, who is (juoted in " Women in the Busi-
ness World," says:
" It is very hard work, and no let up. During the sea.son of six weeks the
food must be always fresh, and the worms breakfast between five and six in the
morning, and want a full meal about ten at night. Perfect cleanliness is essential,
and that means constant attention. They must have plenty of fre.sh air, but no
direct current, with a uniform temperature of seventy-five degrees.
" Other leaves mixed with mulberry may prove fatal — peach leaf, for instance.
Tobacco in any shape is poison. Their enemies are legion. Birds, ants, insects,
rats, mice, are all anxious to get at them. And so on, to say nothing of a dozen
diflferent diseases. Besides all this, the cocoons are to be ' gathered, ' ' stifled'
and ' reeled,' and the mulberry to be cultivated."
\^^
XVII.
CARING FOR PI^TS.
HERE is one field for women's work that is not yet crowded.
The woman, young or old, who lives near a city, may easily
support herself by keeping a boarding-house for domestic
pets.
There is one little woman in Boston who makes a good
living, simply by taking in canaries and other birds, that
are the pets of rich women who go traveling in Europe, or who
do not want the care of them at their summer homes. In
one little room .she has twenty-five or thirty cages, and she
personally sees that they are kept warm and well fed and
that the\- have plenty of water f<^r drinking and bathing.
Another old lady in South Boston keeps a boarding-hou.se
for pet cats. " A boarding-house for catsi What next ?" I hear some one say.
Well, why not? Nothing is more heartless or unchristian than the way some
rich women have of keeping pet cats on delicacies all winter, letting them sleep
on silk cu.shions and in cosy corners, and then in the .spring, when the time comes
for migrating to the country or to luirope, to turn out these pets on the deserted
streets to starve. They would not do it, if along in March or April they were
to receive a neat little circular, or a personal letter to the effect that Mi.ss Mary
vSmith, of some near suburb, was prepared to board ])et cats at Si. 50 or $2.00 a
week, and would guarantee excellent care; for rich women are not heartless
wcjmen.
Vou would need to have a comfortable yard, which could be enclo.sed in wire
netting, .so the pets could not run away; one with a tree or two would be best, as
(114)
jt-.:.v
\\>>
U
CARIXC FOR PETS.
(II5>
ii6 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
cats love to climb trees. Then, opening into this yard there should be a warm
out-building, or perhaps a back room in the house, where comfortable beds could
be provided and the pets could have their meals. Plenty of oatmeal and milk
should be given them, with one meal a daj- of cooked meat; or some of the reliable
prepared cat foods may be substituted for meat. Spinach, string beans, asparagus,
any cooked vegetable, also, should be given now and then to keep them in health.
And don't forget, as an occasional treat, a bunch of catnip!
Up at Newburgh, on the Hudson River, Mrs. E. A. Barker started such a
place a few years ago. She advertised, not in the papers, but by private circulars,
among New York women. To-da}- her " Sparrow^' s Roost" is famous every-
Avhere among cat lovers, not only as a care-taker for city pets, but as having the
finest cat kennels in the country. She imported two or three very fine Persian
cats and began to breed them! Her " King Humbert" and "Jasper" are cats
whose money value runs into the hundreds, and she sells kittens for large sums
every season.
Of course one must understand this business, but it is easily learned if one
starts with a real love for cats and a real purpose to build up a successful business.
SaNS Mrs. Barker:
"My knowledge of the special traits of my Persians has been, perforce,
self-gained, as there are comparatively few in America who have these cats, w'hile
all the books upon the subject are English. I fear the long-haired cat has been
grossly slandered in regard to amiability and dispo.sition. I find they are not
unlike ourselves and our children — they will follow a good example or the reverse.
With an affectionate, well-bred mi.stress, pussy's manners are confidence, self-
control and a devotion personified. Such animals will never need to be handled
with a ' pair of leather gloves. ' A well-bred cat requiring to be thus managed
cries '.shame!' upon its master or mi.stress. In my large kennel of long-haired
cats, I have never had one a stranger might not pick up with impunity, meeting
with politeness from the most reserved, while from a few there would be no end
of insinuating advances, not to say downright love-making, from two or three
distracting little flirts I have in the kennel. ' King Humbert,' ' the head of the
herd,' will, if allowed, put his plu.shy paws quite around one's neck, rubbing his
head up and down one's face and purring one the most fascinating Persian compli-
ments in the most courtly manner. And ' Prince Charming,' son of the famous
champion ' Abdul Za])hir,' will flutter his silver bru.sh, fix his golden eyes upon
a .stranger, study the physiognomy like a Lavater, when, if the result be satis-
fying, he will make one bound upon the visitor's shoulder and forthwith express
his opinion in the most enjoyable, if slightly personal manner. As a rule, cats
are more subtle judges of character than the dog, and infinitely more reticent and
exclusive.
CARix(; i<()R rirrs. 117
"If a cat lovc's a place nu)rc than a person, tlial i)cr,s()n does not deserve that
cat's devotion. My pats delight to take strolls with nie, and I often wander over
the fields and far away with thirty or more of. them, and we do enjoy it so. If
the grass is high or the underbrush rough, and if they fancy themselves tired,
tliey come to be taken up. I carry them a little while, when off they go again,
as bri.sk as ever. Cats are not gregarious animals, which makes a difficulty in
rearing many together. They often form friend.ships for each other, which are
very close, and when broken, are seldom replaced b\' another."
Mrs. Barker sjieaks from experience and gives advice which other women may
well lay to heart in saying: " Don't attempt to make cat-raising a business with-
out true love for the beautiful animals, and courage and capacity for plenty of
work; as of all the fancies this is the most intricate. They should be well-bred
drawing-room pets you are rearing, so the kennel must be such that their educa-
tion can begin there. It must be comfortably large for winter, and must be well
warmed and immaculately clean, and for long-haired cats, what is still more
important — their daily toilet. Ailments must be attended to and studied, manners
mu.st be first taught and unceasingly enforced, and kittens trained. Lines of
breeding are to be followed, types determined and persevered with, color blending;
and experiments therewith, lending a constant fresh interest and making an
entrancing occupation, and more than worth all expended care and devotion.
The mere winning of prizes in the show pen should be looked upon as a secondary-
consideration, and only as means of showing others the perfected results of skill,
care and love, that we may all enjoy the fruits of labor and combine to give Pussy
her proper place and raise her to her just station as one of the most perfect house-
hold pets."
Her remarks are of value because there is a rapidly growing demand in this
country for fancy cats, and this gives women a fine opportunity to establish a
profitable and congenial business.
Another woman who has established such a business is Mrs. Percy West, of
Geauga Lake, Ohio. Being obliged to undertake some form of livelihood, and
having always been a lover of cats, she decided to start a cat farm — not for their
fur. as some more heartless people have been known to do, but for the production
of thoroughbreds for cat lovers.
On the borders of this Ohio lake she has built a number of neat, well-kept,
Queen Anne houses, in which cat families are born, reared and allowed to grow
up into stately and beautiful animals. At this place the owner spends most of
her time, at certain seasons of the year, giving her personal supervision to the
wrrk.
Mrs. West says, " My venture was the result of a bequest of two fine Angoras
from a friend going abroad. As I became greatly attached to them, and as I
iiS OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
found that kittens of this species were often in demand, I resolved to go into the
business. When my husband was living he was greatly interested in dogs, and
as I only had to add my cat kennels the labor was a light one, and profitable as a
means of subsistence for my family.
" But with all my knowledge of animals I soon learned that although cats
are not troublesome creatures, yet in the rearing of Angoras for the first eight
months great care should be taken not to expose them to wet or chill. They
cannot live without fresh air or exercise. Each mother is provided with a clean,
cosv kennel, and cannot be let out only on the days that are sunn\- and warm.
But the main point is clear weather, exercise, and plenty of liberty until they
grow to be fine large cats. Cats of high degree, such as the.se, are not expected to
have the nine lives allotted to the ordinary feline, and therefore must be guarded.
They are clean, dainty and loving, and when once their affections are given it is
hard to part with them at an\- price. ' '
When Mrs. West turns her steps eastward she is pretty sure to bring with
her from two to six Angoras or Maltese to replace those which are sold when
vacancies occur. vShe affirms that, "Take them all in all, they are charming
companions, and in many respects are as human as men and women, and that the
Maltese sell as well as the Angoras, often better."
Mrs. We.st declares that cat raising is a healthful occupation, and for delicate
women who are dependent upon themselves, if a method is persisted in, it will
surely prove a success. Now, surely, some enterprising young woman will take
a hint from the experience of these two, and start a business for herself.
Dogs, too, may be made the specialty, in the same way. But I still believe
that the boarding-house for pets is a much needed institution, and that the woman
who opens one is sure of a comfortable income from it.
Love of dogs is an almost inherent element in the human make-up, and there
is certainly money to be made in supplying special breeds, and catering to fash-
ionable fancies. One brave woman, at least, has turned the fact to good account,
and has e.stabli.shed large kennels at Germantown, Pa. Like most enterpri.ses of
the sort, it had its beginning in a small way, and one St. Bernard puppy was the
whole stock in trade. That, however, netted a profit of fifty dollars, and so
became a nucleus of a more extended business. To-day the kennels are known far
and wide, and their owner has won prizes and medals without end. " You nuist
watch the market closely," .she says, " but if you are at all careful there is really
little risk. The greatest danger comes from within; for one is apt to grow so fond
of the creatures it is a wrench to part with them even when a good .sale is to be
made."
And .so with animals, as with inanimate things, it is the fitness that tells —
the special adaptability that means success. If one has no bu.siness, so to speak,
CARING FOR PETvS.
119
general l)usiness affords many opportunities, provided there is quickness to learn
and mental grasp. But in the sphere of bread-winning, as elsewhere in this
world of many tastes and much freedom, it is always the novelty that attracts,
and it is wiser by far to search diligently, and to consider well if there be not
something peculiarly one's own to be found.
Then, whether it be slightly eccentric or not, it is almost certain to succeed,
if only originality, enthusiasm and fidelity be called into play.
XVIII.
LUNCH AND TEA ROOMS.
F I were to lose my po.sition or in any way become inca-
pacitated for continuing professional work, I should
open a tea room," .said one of Bo.ston's brightest
newspaper writers.
A group of women had been discussing the chances
of occupation, lamenting that the fields had become
so overcrowded that it was difficult to gain entrance
to most of those already occupied, when the woman
who had kept silent through the di.scussion made the
above announcement. It was a sensible thought and one that might be under-
taken by some woman or girl in any community and carried to successful results.
There are plenty of restaurants, such as there are in ever}- place, but a daintily
aj)'iXiinted room in the quieter part of the town — and yet not so far from the
shopping portion as to be inaccessible — where women might drop in and find a
dainty lunch served in a quiet apartment which had the atmo.sphere of home, is
Ux> infrequent.
There are one or two in New York, and one has recently V.een opened in
Boston which was a success from its very beginning. The young woman who
undertook it was educated atid refined, and knew by experience just what the
better cla.ss of women wanted and needed to refresh themselves in the hours after
shopping or on returning from the matinee. vSo she took parlors on one of the
best streets just on tlie edge of the shopping district, fitted them up prettilv and
artistically, and opened tliem as aflernf)on tea rf)oms. At first .she only ser\'ed
afternoon tea from 4 until 6 o'clock, but she has since undertaken to give PVench
(120)
LUXCH AND TEA ROOM.
(121)
122 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
breakfasts from 8 until lo, and delicate luncheons from 12 until 3. In connection
with her tearoom she opened what she quaintlj' calls "a gift shop," and this
name defines itself. She keeps on sale all sorts of dainty, pretty novelties, suitable
for birthday, wedding and holiday presents, many of them things that one cannot
buy at the regular shops. These she sells at fair prices and adds largely to the
revenue of her rooms.
It is quite the thing for Boston women of society- to drop in at Miss Stearns'
for luncheon or tea, and they rarel}- leave without either purchasing some exquisite
bit which they see temptingh* displayed, or marking it for future purchase. Every-
thing is served in the most exquisite fashion on the daintiest of dishes and with
all the accessories of the most finished home table. Her tea is delicately brewed,
her chocolate and coflfee are perfection. Everything that she serves is of the very
best and is made as attractive as possible.
This woman knew her public and ministered to itexacth'. Any other clever
woman with a talent for managing could do just the same in any city of size.
Indeed, the afternoon tea room could be made the popular rendezvous for the
society women, where they could meet friends by appointment and have even a
quieter hour than they would be able to command in their own homes where the)'-
are so constantly liable to interruption of all kinds. It should be a lady's resort
exclusively, no men being permitted to share its hospitality.
It requires both .shrewd business management to start such an undertaking,
and the most exquisite tact to carry it on successfully. But it nearly always
happens that your successful business woman is a tactful woman as well. It is
necessarily so, since tact is one of the first requirements for success in any line
where one is brought ijito contact with either men or women.
The mistress of the lunch room may add to her revenue by taking orders for
the tea, chocolate, cocoa and coffee which she serves, and supplying them to her
customers. She may also take orders for bon-bons, for confections, and for special
kinds of biscuit or fai:cy cakes to be .served at madame's 5 o'clock tea at home.
She may also arrange with the large importing houses to .sell special novelties on
commission, and also take orders for embroideries and art work. There is almost
no end to the limit of possibilities which occur naturally to one engaged in this
enterprise.
Quite apart from this is the lunch room in the busy part of the city, where
lx)th men and women are .sen-ed. This lunch room should lie made totally distinct
frrmi the large re.staurant which keeps open all day. It .should be a well-apponited,
quiet place, where specialty is made of certain home di.shes to be served between
the hours of 12 and 3. There is no need of a large variety, but what there is
should be of the best quality, beautifully cooked and temptingly ser\'ed. It
always helps a place of this sort very much to make a specialty of one or two
LUNCH AND TEA ROOMS. 123
dishes, and always serving these, but giving variety by changing other articles on
the bill of fare daily.
There is in one of the large cities a lunch room of this kind, which has made
itself famous by its coffee jelly. This is made in pretty moulds and served on
delicate ornamented plates and piled high with whipped cream. Hundreds of
people go there daily just for the sake of this jelly. This is not exaggeration, for
I was curious enough to ask how many moulds were served daily, and I was told
that the average number was six hundred.
In another city, away down in the business part of the wholesale district,
where few women penetrate, is a lunch room kept by a countrN'-bred woman
whose custard and squash pies have made the place famous. There is no
ambitious attempt at display in this little room; it is rather dingy, although
scrupulously clean ; there are no tables, but the patrons sit on stools at the counter,
and are served with little ceremony; but the making of good custard and squash
pies has also been the making of that woman's fortune. Various attempts have
been made to induce her to go up town into the more fashionable district and open
a restaurant there; but she is a wise woman who lets well enough alone; she knows
her own limitations and is perfectly well aware that while she is successful in this
luncli room, where little style is required, and cleanliness and good cooking are
respected, she would only challenge failure if she attempted anything run on more
elaborate lines.
There is a restaurant in New York, one of the very most prosperous, whose
beginnings were so small that the result reads almost like a fairy tale. I wonder
if Miss Avary will pardon me if I quote from her story in the New York Inde-
pcndc7it ? This story is so simply and directly told and is in itself such a helpful
suggestion and encouragement to many another woman, that I wish to reproduce
it just as it was told for fear I might spoil it should I try to clothe it in new
language:
" On the top floor of one of New York's great downtown buildings lived a
janitor and his family. His wdfe — we will call her Mother Smith, as she came to
be called by a very large family living all over Manhattan Island, Long Island,
Staten Island and Jersey — was just a wholesome, simple body, with a generous
heart and a thrifty hand. Her daughter — Mary Smith, w^e will say — had like-
wi.se the generous heart and thrifty hand. It may be observed, by the way, that
the generous heart and thrifty hand work to much better profit when they work
together than when either works alone.
" Mary was a telegraph operator in another great downtown building. One
day Mary brought a .sick companion to her mother. Mother Smith did not fret
and say, 'Look at all this extra trouble on my hands. It is none of my affair.
What have I to do with it?' Not even saying it in her heart, her look did not
124 OCCrPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
show it t(i the sick girl, whom we will call Laura. She siinpl\- niothcrecr Laura;
made her lie down on the sofa, wrapped her up, cuddled her, and bnnight her a
cup of delicious tea.
"Several days later Laura's mother, who lived in Jersey, called on Mother
Smith. She said Laura was delicate. Would Mother vSmith take her under her
wing, and give her a lunch every day on business principles? Because of that
good masonry which exi.sts between mothers, ^lother Smith consented. And
that was the beginning of Mother Smith's restaurant, one of the most prosperous-
to-day in New York City.
" Mary and Laura would bring a friend to lunch now and then. The friend
invariably asked to be admitted to the charmed lunch circle on business principles.
And the restaurant grew — grew until Mother Smith's room could not contain it,
and until the elevator man complained that Mother vSmith's girls crowded regular
occupants of the building out of the elevator during midda}- hours. Mother
Smith's girls declared that they could not give Mother Smith up, she that she
could not give them up; neither were she nor they willing to inconvenience the
business men who were tenants of the building. Accordingly, Mother Smith
looked about her and did a great deal of planning and thinking, the result of
which was that her full-fledged restaurant was quickly established in a home of
its own. This home was cho.sen on the second floor of a decent but very plain
house — downtown, of course, not too far from Broad wa}-, and yet not near
enough to involve high rent. It was also clo.se enough to Fulton Market for that
to be a great advantage to one who meant to keep her prices down by paying low
rent and being a clo.se shopper.
" At her room in the house where her husband was janitor, she had managed
to do all the work herself Her girls coming at different hours made this possible;
but with her increased space and cu.stom, Mother vSmith began to employ outside
heljj; thus her enterprise took on another form of ti.sefulness.
" Last year 150 girls sat down to her lunch tables six days in every week;
.sometimes there might be a few more, sometimes a few le.ss, but this was the
average. One dollar for six meals was the price charged; and the luncheons are
substantial — a soup, a meat, a vegetable, tea, coffee or milk, all the bread and
butter yon want, and a dessert. Mother Smith has made money at it. Within
the ])ast few months she installed one of her trained assistants as manager at this
place and went out herself to establish a branch institution for the benefit of
gentlemen — this in response to demand for it. The restaurant whose history we
have given is west of Broadway; it has been suggested to Mrs. Smith that she
start a similar one cast and further down-town.
■' During this ]K-riod of increasing success in business. Mother .Smith lias not
left off her habit of mothering .sick girls. The little .sofa, the cup of tea, the
LUNCH AND TKA ROOMS. 125
timely medicine, are all within their reach. And if for any girlish pleasure an
out-of-town boarder wi.shes to stay in town over night, Mother Smith has ever
been ready with any acconnnodation which it was in her power to render. It is
not easy to estimate the good she has done to her charges apart from the very
valuable one of feeding their bodies well for what they could afford to pay."
Could anything be more helpful or more interesting than this true story of
the evolution of a cup of tea into a thriving business enterprise ? Indeed, is it not
a happy illustration of what this book is always insisting upon — that the improve-
ment of small opportunities opens the door to large ones? You may, my dear
girls, get tired of having this fact so constantly pressed in upon you, but it is such
a valuable one, one upon \vhich so much depends, that it cannot be too often
repeated nor too well remembered. This story is also happy in showing — what a
thousand unwritten things in life show every moment — that simple goodness and
kindness unselfishly shown, pay; and that not only in the higher sense in which
we delight to exercise it for its own sake, but in the lesser of bringing material
recompense. One doesn't " be good " expecting to be paid for it, but when one
IS paid, the pleasure of doing is greatly enhanced.
There is another thing to be learned from the result of Mother Smith's
experiment as well as from that of Miss Stearns— each catering to the wants of
women, but at quite different ends of the social scale — and also from the woman
who makes good custard and squash pies: whoever furnishes food at reasonable
prices and of unexceptionable quality to men and ^vomen in any station of life, is
conferring a public benefit and doing humanit}^ a better service than any charity
can possibly bestow. Here is the chance for some woman with a talent for
catering. She must not rely alone upon the fact that she is a good w^oman, or
that she is a good cook; she must combine both qualities. She must also possess
judgment in making her purchases, and a knowledge of how much of each
article will be required for daily use. None of the detail can be left to other
persons. If she wishes to be successful and to make money, she must give her
personal attention to even the smallest detail.
With the qualities mentioned and courage to work, she may undertake a
business of this kind, feeling reasonably certain that in it she will find her way to
self-support.
XIX.
FROM THE SUCCESSFUL WOMAN'S STANDPOINT.
O ONE has a better right to .speak for the girls who are making
^ careers for themselves than Mrs. J. C. Croly (Jennie June),
the pioneer newspaper woman of New York. In a recent
article she says:
" No finer an.swer could have been made to the objec-
tions rai.sed in the beginning — that is to saj-, a few years
ago — against young women taking positions as typewriters
and stenographers in the offices of men than the rapid multiplication of them, and
the universal satisfaction expressed at the admirable character of the girls and
their work. Any one who has occasion to visit a lawyer's office, or the counting
room of a business man downtown in New York City — or, indeed, in any other
large city — must be struck with the number and quality of young women
employed as corre.sponding clerks, as department bookkeepers, as cashiers, and in
other capacities demanding trustworthiness as well as trained capacity. And thi.s
is particularly what has made them desirable — the quality of faithfulness, of
freedom from temptation to speculate and peculate, a certain single-mindedne.ss and
devotion to the employer's business and interest which the hardest heailed of
them api)reciate.
" ' Yes,' said a lawyer not long since in reply to a question, ' I am free to .say
I have changed my opinion. I opjiosed the introduction of women into business
offices because I lielieved it to be impossible in the nature ot things. P.ut it proved
itself quite possible. The first thing I knew they were there. The results I
feared did not follow; the girls fell naturally into line, proved them.selves business-
like, a.sked for no .special consideration, and kept to theii hours as well, if not
(126)
FROM THE SUCCIvSSFUL WOMAN'S STANDPOINT.
127
better than men. They are now as much a part of the accepted order as the desk
they work upon; and, in fact, we should not know what to do without them.
They make the most intelligent clerks, are quick to grasp an idea, and require
few words to understand the special aspect of the case.'
The census of 1870 reported only seven women stenographers in the United
States. Now the number
of persons earning their
living by stenography and
typewriting is estimated
as more than 175,000, of
whom two-thirds are
women. In New York the
15,000 women out of the
25,000 stenographers em-
ployed is probably a low
estimate.
This industrial com-
petition of women with
men upon their own
ground, and their success-
ful achievement of equal
place and opportunity-, is
not the result of agitation,
but of courage and persis-
tent energy working
against ever}' natural and
conventional obstacle.
The result is exacth- what
the teachers have accom-
plished before them — that
is, accepted po.sition and
numerical .strength. The
ge "^rally received state-
ment that women work
for less than men (other
things being equal) is not nearly so true as it seems or as is believed; and the
difference, which was to a certain extent inevitable in the beginning, is lessening
all the time.
In some fields — notably that of medicine — the charges of the average woman
physician are higher than those of men. In all professional occupations there are
MRS. J. C. CROLY (jenny JUNE\
128 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
individuals, both men and women, who receive both higher and lower rates than
the average; not always as the measure of their professional worth, but of theif
own modest, or otherwise, estimate of their own service.
There is a considerable difference between the professional and industrial
aspect of a career for girls. In the first instance she is usually helped; in the
latter case she is almost always opposed by her family. It is common to speak as
if all difficulties had been smoothed away from the path of girls who wish to earn
an independent livelihood; and certainly they have been helped by the measure of
success some have attained. But women who have had to fight their own battles
unaided, and women who have to guide the destinies of daughters, know well the
lions that still stand in the way, and even hang round the doors that have been
opened. The new opportunities do not come unattended. In their train are
dangers that are a source of fear and anxiety, when they do not present an
insurmountable obstacle. The reasons for this are twofold. One is, that a girl,
to obtain a career or even a livelihood nowadays, must go out into the world and
separate herself from her family. The other is, that the life of the child and its
preparation for the future have rarely any relation to or correspondence with the
pa.st of the parent, and is, therefore, neither helped nor guarded by it.
In the old days of hand labor, arti.sans and craftsmen had their own shops —
generally a room in their house — and were their own masters. Sons and daughters
grew up beneath the roof tree, and shared its occupations, and helped to make the
record which was transmitted from father to son and from mother to daughter.
It was a restricted life, but it had its beautiful side; and this was in the cultivation
of home life, united family interests and the building up of personal character that
became in itself an inheritance as well as an obligation. To-day the majority of
working men are in.significant parts of a machine. Their occupations hold out no
opportunities, no future — at least, none commensurate with their ambition — for their
children; they do not want their sons or their daughters to be parts of a machine.
They want to put them on the high road to di.stinction, to honor, at least, to tho.se
pursuits which offer no barrier to social or individual success.
Education is the keynote to this success — for girls particularly — and therefore
the doors of the free college and the high schof)l are besieged by ambitious mothers,
who work like galley slaves at home to give their daughters the stepping stones to
freedom and independence. When this, however, has been achieved at untold
sacrifice, they find ihem.selves confronted by the far more difficult problem, what use
to make of it. Teaching? This is the one vocation for which competent schools
are provided at the public ex]K-nse, consequently it is crowded both by tho.se who
are fit and those who are unfit by nature to become teachers. The teacher is born.
The schfK)ls furnish the weajions, the technical instrumentalities, but not the
insight, the sympathy, the patience, the ])ersonality which makes tlie teacher.
FROM THK SUCCESSFUL WOMAN'S vSTANDPOINT. 129
The girl of to-day choosing a career finds herself still between two fires: one,
the traditions of her sex; the other, that which guards the door to desire and
achievement. The majority of those women who are deemed successful, who have
been the successes of the past half century, have made their own way, have cut
their own road through untried paths and have thus opened the wa}' for others.
Hut all are not made to be pioneers.
That there is still a problem not solvable by the vocation of the teacher, of
the stenographer, of the trained nurse, or of the decorative artist, is known to
many; and one of the most natural solutions appears to me to lie in treating boys
and girls more alike, and from the human rather than the .sex point of view. We
make too much of the difference in sex. The needs of both are the same. The
best qualities of both are as necessary to one as the other, to make the well-
rounded human being.
Fathers should take their daughters into their own business, have them
trained for business, and pay them or give them an interest in it as they do their
.sons. Girls have often a business capacity, and generally a degree of steadfastness
and reliability in which boys are frequently lacking; but these qualities are left to
fester and create discontent in the girl's heart, or she is reduced to a subordinate
capacity in the service of a stranger simply because she is a girl. A 5' ear's
training in a business college turns out practical bookkeepers and ca.shiers at
good salaries. Man}- a man would have saved himself from failure if the bright
daughter who was teaching or typewriting had been behind his own desk or
counter. The puritan spirit has had much to do with the sex difficulties in this
country. It put the iron heel upon the prostrate woman. It made her subjection
a part of her religion. In removing the distinctions of class it created those of
sex, and made the woman subject to the authority vested alone in the man. The
man claimed this authority as a divine right, but tempered it with the theory of
protection; and, like some other things, women have been almost protected to
death.
When w^omen arrived at this point they decided to look out and see how it
was for themselves. Thej' saw that the protection that was everj^body's business
was nobody's business. They saw that food and clothing and shelter and partici-
pation in the life about them were necessary to everj' human being, and that these
did not come like manna in the wilderness, but had to be worked for and struggled
for and held by persistent energy when once they were obtained.
This is what a career means. It means work, work, work — work with a
purpose, and without stopping; for if you leave the ranks the surging crowd fills
up the gap, and you lose that which you have gained. The diflference up to this
time between the careers of men and women has been mainly that men seek a
career for its own sake, as a law of their life, of their manhood. Women from
9
I30 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
necessity, from some failure or incompetency on the part of men. This is not
surprising. Women have had no help, no stimulus, no inducements in this direc-
tion; instead of these, all sorts of obstacles — the opposition, above all, of public
opinion. Motherhood and the care of the household were demanded of her.
Whatever her .special aptitudes, they mujjt be set aside; she must be wife and
mother, without recognizing the fact that motherhood is a career in itself, the most
comprehensive, many-sided and exacting of all careers.
We read of the perfect motherhood of birds and animals. It is inirely
physical; it feeds and guards its young; but the human mother has always had to
perform far higher duties and these also. In a primitive age she was the care-
taker of the interests of the family, she accjuired the property, she transmitted her
name, she represented wealth and social status. If we have passed the matri-
archal age, so also have we passed the patriarchal. To-day the individual is king
or queen; particularly the young man, the young woman. To-day it is almost a
crime to be old; it is the young who are called to the front; it is the young blood
that is wanted, the daring of inexperience that is most prized. Society, public
opinion, releases sons and daughters from obedience, but it cannot relea.se the
mother from her responsibility. It only makes it more difficult of fulfillment.
She must keep in touch with the activities of the univer.se. She must be an
eternal reservoir never exhausted. She must know how to u.se nerves and vital
forces without straining them; she must know what is good for the growing body
and also for the growing soul. Finally, she must respect the newly-acknowledged
individual kingship and queen.ship in the children she has reared, and be willing
to wait till the buds blo.ssom and the fruit ripens, for reward for her labors.
It is not, however, .so necessary to-day that every woman .should marry as it
was two thousand years ago. Women are women, as men are men, whether they
are wives or mothers or not. It is just as much their business to work out their
own liv^es, to build character, as it is that of a man. Men and women are their
own artists; they carve out of their own lives the man or the cur, the woman or
the creature of instinct and appetite."
Another bright New York newspaper woman who ma.squerades in print under
the 7iom dc plume of " Bab, ' ' says a wise word which is worth quoting for the girls
who, like lier, are interested in studying conditions both from personal interest and
from a desire to keep abreast with what is going on in the world. " Bab " says:
" I have taken much interest in watching the women who succeed, and I have
come to one conclusion — the woman who succeeds is the wt)man who does her
work to the best of lier ability, who is properly businesslike, but who never lo.ses
what might be called the arts of feminity. vShe never becomes clnunmy with men.
She is ]K)lile to them, Init when ])u.sine.ss forces her to talk with them, she never
lets them f(ir:;et that sIk- is a woman. Not because she whimpers to them; not
FROM THK vSUCCICSSFUr, WOMAN'S vSTANDPOINT. 131
because she tries to fascinate them; l^ut simply l^ecause she is herself. Some
newspapers and public .speakers have an unpleasant way of telling us of the
disagreeable things that happen when a woman is introduced in a business way
into an office where men are. They forget the other side of the story. A man, wlia
is no better than any other, probably, from a moral standpoint, worse than some,
told me that he had never regretted taking a lady typewriter into his office. He said
she had improved the whole tone of the place; that no man in his office ever used
a profane word before her; that the men were more polite than before her arrival,
and he believed it was entirely due — this change for the better — to the woman
herself. And yet she had said nothing and done nothing. She had only taken it
for granted that the men around her were gentlemen, and when she was not well
posted about her work she hadn't hesitated to ask their help. And she had gotten
it because she expected to. She wasn't young and she wasn't beautiful, but .she
was a woman who had a peculiarly womanly power for influencing men for good."
Miss Irene Hartt, talking to girls just entering the world of labor, says:
' ' A girl who sets out to earn her own living must bear two things in mind.
The first is, that in every department of life, .she requires a great deal of push.
To succeed, she must be energetic and per.severing; she musn't allow herself ever
to be discouraged; she will be knocked down time and again, as she fights her way
up in the world for fame and bread. That is to make no difference. She must
rise up every time fresher and stronger for another battle. If she takes reverses in
this way, she cannot help grow stronger at each one. She must never forget that
no man or woman ever rose to the top without fighting every inch of the way up.
Victory is always at the end for the determined fighter through life.
" Secondly, a girl must always remember that there's room at the top. When
you choose a profession, make up your mind that you will rise to the very highest
point in it. Down on the level it's jammed. The higher you go, the more
breathing space you can have. In other words, the better skilled you are, the
better price and po.sition you can demand."
XX.
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE GIRLS.
T IS such a usual sight — that of a young woman presiding over
the telegraph in offices and railwa}^ stations — that one has ceased
to have even a feeling of surprise at seeing them there. Among
the occupations that properly come under the head of professional,
no employment is probably within the reach of so man}' j'oung
women as telegraphy.
Miss Edith Sj'monds recently gave the New York Independent
2l capital resume of women's work and its requirements in this
profession, and, craving her indulgence, I am going to quote
something of what she says on the subject. In regard to the
requirements she says: "An ordinary common school education,
with a special ability to spell well and write plainly, and more or
less rapidly, either in common writing or on the typewriter, is all
that is required in a pupil before she may begin to learn this busi-
ness. It is an occupation attracti\'e to women because it is office
work witli just enough bustle and activity about it to keep it from being dull, and
with an (Kcasional chance, in times of public excitement, of its being exception-
ally interesting. Women can learn to become telegraph operators at any age;
young girls at fifteen have successfully studied the art, and women as old as fort}-
have ma.stered it; l)Ut the age recommended l)y expert teachers as being the be.st
is between eighteen and twent>'-five. The time which it takes to become an
efficient operator depends, of course, on tlie brightness of the pupil, her general
intelligence, and quickness of apprehension. Some young women take to the
art very readily; others never become sufficiently proficient to take positions, no
matter how long they may study. Telegraphy requires a certain knack, and
('32)
TELEGRAPH AND TKLKPHONE GIRLS. 133
demands that the student shall love the occupation if she expects to become
skilled in it. The course of instruction in most institutions where telegraphy is
taught covers a period of six months. Presuming that the student loves the art,
if she gives her time to it for four or five hours a day for the period of six months
she will master it; when it comes to attaining speed, however, that is a matter of
practice. In this respect telegraphy is very much like stenography. A person
may learn the principles of the latter science in comparatively a short space of
time, but to avail herself really of its advantages, a great deal of practice is
required. The principles of telegraph}' are far simpler than those of stenography,
but the necessity for practice is equally important."
Telegraph}- is taught as a special brancli in about fifty colleges in different
parts of the union and in special schools to be found in every city. The Western
Union Telegraph Company instructs some of its help, but they exercise consider-
able care in selecting their pupils. They will not encourage dull or inactive
young women to learn the art. Quick, active-minded young women generally
turn out to be the best telegraphers.
In the general operating department of the Western Union Telegraph Company
in New York, the company educates its own operators. Young girls are first
employed as office messengers; the office consists of a large room, with a branch
department in an adjoining building. These rooms are filled with operators sitting
in a row, at long desks stretched across the apartment. The business is such
that the operators are continually in need of messengers to send their despatches
from one department to the other. Thirty young misses are employed in this
service. They begin at this work with the idea of becoming telegraphers, and
the company allows them a certain number of hours during the day to study and
practice the art under the direction of competent instructors. For this messenger
service, combined sometimes with clerical work, they receive from $3.50 to-
$6.00 a week.
The salaries of women telegraphers vary according to their ability. In the
Western Union office in New York they range from $8.00 to $15.00 a week. The
hours in the general operating department are from 8. 30 a. m. to 5.30 p. m. In
this department over 100,000 messages are received every day.
Brokers' offices supply the positions most sought after by telegraph operators.
There are ver}-fewof these positions, however. They call for special ability, but
the salaries paid vary from $75.00 to $90.00 a month. The hours of work are
light, being from 9.30 a. m., to 3 p. m. A woman employed in such an office
must not only be rapid, but accurate in her work. She must be a woman in
whom the utmost confidence can be placed, and possessed of that rare womanly
gift — the ability to keep a secret, for she is, in reality, a sort of confidential
clerk.
134 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMKN.
Still more responsible positions are those of chief operators in the main tele-
graph office of a large citj-; there they are paid as high as $23.00 a week.
What is called a good position may be either in a city or in the country. In
fact, the word "good" used in this connection is purely a relative term. For
instance: the salary paid ma\' be larger in a city, but the expense of living w^ill
l)j greater and the work more arduous than it will be in some country town,
where the wages will be lower. During the summer months positions at the
various watering-places are particularly .sought after, the pay of the operator being
;5 30.00 a month and hef board. In the large city hotels, where the business is
quite brisk and important, the salarj- is from $40.00 to $50.00 a month.
One authority states tliat if there is any reason why women are not as
successful as men in this profession, it is the same old argument that is constantly
used about nearly all the vocations they enter — that they do not make it a life
profession; they look forward to marriage, and give more or less thought and
attention to the stages which are preliminary to this important event. This being
the ca.se, women do not have the incentive or the' opportunity to advance as men
do. The few who are in receipt of high salaries are women who have taken up
the profession as a life work and have been employed many years — some of them
as long as twenty-five years — before they were in receipt of such salaries.
Though women often make excellent operators and receive very good pay for
this kind of w^ork, they do not obtain the enviable positions that exist in the
.service. They do not seem to possess the ability, in the majority of cases, of
grasping the various details of a large business and conducting it with .system and
regularity. In one large metropolitan telegraph office there are women who have
been employed for the la.st twenty years; but they are receiving no more pay than
they received ten years ago, and ten years from now their salary will be no higher
than it is at the present time.
A prominent telegraph official says that telegrapli\- is a good occupation for a
young woman. Provided she has no talent to do anything belter, it will furni.sh
her a rea.sonably pleasant, profitable and sure means of employment. Of course,
this occupation, like every other, is affected by good or bad times.
Another reason why it is a good profession for women is because, after having
left it, they can return to it, and if competent, be rea.sonably .sure of obtaining
work. Many women having married, have been made widows, or having left the
.service for some rea.son or other, have met with misfortune. They need the finan-
cial help that the work once gave them. When such women have been employed
by the large telegraph companies, an effort is always made to reinstate them; in
fact, other things being equal, they have the preference over the new-comers.
Of late the typewriter has played a very important part in telegraph work,
and it is doing .so more and more every day. Young women who are correct and
TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE GIRLS. 135
rapid typewriters have better chance of securing positions with tlie large telegraph
companies than those who have no knowledge of these things. When the young
woman learns how to receive messages over the wires, she finds her knowledge of
t\pewriting to be of great advantage; she can take down a message on the machine
as fast as it is received. In this way this branch of the work is made much easier,
and many young women telegraphers have voluntarily learned how to use this
instrument simply as a means of lightening their labors. A considerable number
of \vomen telegraphers can take down messages as they are received at the rate of
seventy or eight}^ words a minute. No one, of course, could begin to write as fast
as that in common waiting, and, if such a feat could be performed the writing
would not be legible. All telegraphic matter must at least be legible, and the
typewriter style of copy is being favored more and more on this account alone.
The girl who .seriously considers undertaking telegraphy as a profession,
should be extremely careful in .selecting the institution where .she will be taught.
Before entering any one of them .she should obtain the advice of .some honest and
disinterested man or woman already in the profession, who knows something of
the character of the various institutions. It is hardly safe to trust to the adver-
tisements which she will find in the various newspapers throughout the country
of the firms who engage to teach telegraph}' in a surprisingly short time, and at
equally surprising high rates for tuition. Some of these may be good, but many
cannot be recommended. Therefore she should take counsel before trusting her-
self in the hands of any teacher.
The Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Boston has rendered
invaluable service to the ^-oung girls in New England by finding out and exposing
the concerns who are not hone.st in their dealings with students. To the .shame
of men be it spoken, there are in various cities a number who make a living by
preying upon young girls, promising them work if they wall become students and
pa\- them a certain amount of money. The training amounts to nothing at all,
tliey are in no position to secure positions even if they could prepare the girl for
them, but they unblushingly pocket the fee and leave the girl to do the best she
can for herself. Thanks to the Union, this number of men, in Boston, at least,
has been largely decreased because, knowing the close espionage which is kept of
all their movements, the}^ have found it more profitable to seek other fields where
there is no Union to expose them and protect their victim.
Of course, this does not refer to the standard schools, those in the accredited
business colleges and those conducted by teachers of reputation. There are plenty
of the.se wdiere the girl may get the best possible training for a small .sum, and to
which she may be directed b}^ any person conversant with the profession.
Since the perfection of the telephone and its almost universal use, there have
been opportunities offered for a large number of women. This number is
1^6 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
constantly increasing, for not only are they employed in private offices and on the
day force in public offices, but recently there has been in one city at least — Boston
— the substitution of women for men in the night force. This almost doubles the
number of employes in the general office.
The duties of the telephone girl are not hard and the hours are about the same
as the telegraph operator. The salaries paid vary according to the duties per-
fonned. The girls who attend the long distance telephones receive from $12.00 to
SI 5.00 a week, while the girl in the local office averages about $7.00, except the
more expert, who command $9.00 or $10.00 a week. The girl who becomes a suc-
cessful telephone operator must be quick and bright intellectually, keen to grasp
an idea, and with command of language to enable her to carr}' on a conversation
intelligenth'. a clear voice, and an utter absence of ner\'es. Indeed, this latter
qualification is perhaps the mo.st necessary of all; for the girl who is easily rattled,
who gets a headache at the slightest provocation and flies to pieces under a pressure
a little above the ordinary- is w^orse than useless in the telephone office.
It is, perhaps, needless to say that one of the main requisites is patience;
probably more exasperating things happen over the telephone than under an\-
other conditions, but the well-poised girl can meet all the.se successfully. Even
personal dignity may make itself felt over a telephone wire, and the person at the
other end ver>' quickl)^ learns whether it is safe, in masculine phrase, to attempt
" to jolly the hello girl."
It does not take time to learn, as does the telegraph, and it is more a question
of fitness than of .special preparation. A girl who undertakes it very soon finds
out whether she is in her proper place, and if .she has the slightest doubt on the
matter, she would better give up the po.sition at once rather than wait for her
employers to discover the unfitness which she already suspects. This applies
more particularly to the work in general offices. The girl who gains a position
as telephone operator in some hotel, railroad office, or exchange, finds the duties
less arduous and nerve-trying than she who has to .stay at the .switchboard for
hours at a time, doing nothing but connecting different lines and attending to the
wants of the subscribers. But, unfortunately, the places in the outside offices are
much less in number than those in the general office, and consequently are more
eagerly sought. In nearly every office, except the special ones just mentioned,
the telei)hone call is answered by any emjjloye who chances to be nearest to it,
and the need of a special attendant is not felt.
The girl with sound nerves, dignity of character, pleasant temper and calm
temperament, will find pleasant occupation in this comparatively new field of
labor.
XXI.
STENOGRAPHER AND TYPEWRITER.
NE of the more recent avocations to be taken up by-
women is stenography, and incidental to this, type-
writing. The latter is also adopted by some young
women who do not make a profession of the first;
but these are usually copyists who transcribe from
manuscript, but do not undertake work from dicta-
tion. But by far the most successful typewriters
are those who are stenographers as well. Of course
the work of preparation for the latter branch is
much more arduous and takes a longer time, besides
being more expensive. A young woman w^ho is
ranked among the successful workers in her own profession and yet who knows by
observation the other side of the story, gives a very good resume of the situation
as it now appears.
"Tell you about the typewriter? Yes. What do you want to know? Oh,
I see. Is it a good business for girls ? That depends. It must be a good girl for
the business in order to be a good business for the girl. What do I mean? Simply
this: there must be natural qualifications, else the girl will not succeed. You can't
expect ever}^ man to make a good minister or lawyer or newspaper man or merchant,
can you ? He must have the something in himself that compels the success. Every
man cannot succeed as a stenographer or typewriter, neither can everj^ woman. It
requires a good memory, an ability' to spell, a generally good education; and by
that, I mean understanding of affairs and knowledge of events, a quick eye and
hand, and no nerves. You see the list of requirements is a long one, and the
trouble is, each one is equally imperative. Many girls are attracted to do this
138 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
work because they think it a pleasant way of earning bread and butter and it seems
a step in advance of so many other things; a girl would rather say she was a type-
writer than that she sewed in a shop. It is one of the class of intelligent profes-
sions that presupposes a certain amount of education. Not all who begin it carry
it through — this refers especially to the study of stenography — and nianj^ who do
get to the end of the course some w^ay or other cannot make it available after thej-
finish. The fault is not in the method by which they were taught, but in them-
selves; they haven't the requisites for success. When the}^ come to be put to
practical work they make dismal failures.
" Do I like it? Yes, very much. I get an insight into a great many things
that wouldn't otherwise come to me; and let me say just here one thing that I
neglected to mention when I was giving my list of requirements. A very important
one is discretion. Naturally one hears a great deal about people and unavoidably
learns much not only of their character, but of their private affairs, and an
honorable girl understands that this knowledge is to be put out of mind as
speedily as possible. Why. a stenographer could make no end of trouble for
individuals if she wasn't guarded. Then some people have a way of regarding
their confidential clerk as a sort of receptacle into which they may pour their real
opinions about everybody with whom they are connected in a business way. 1 have
had men stop in the midst of dictating a letter to tell me all about the person to
whom I was writing, and before I finished I knew his family history, his financial
standing and his moral character, although I wouldn't know his face if he were to
come before me. vSo you can easily see how necessary discretion is. I'm not sure
but I ought to have put it down after the ability to spell, in degree of importance.
"You musn't infer from this that the habit of talking about one's correspond-
ents is general — not at all; it is only one of many phases of character which the
stenographer finds among employers. I never knew two men who dictated alike;
some are of the communicative kind, as I have told you; others go to the other
extreme; they give you what they desire you to write in the fewest words po.ssible,
with no side remarks by way of variety. They regard the amanuensis as a
machine to grind out a .setting for their ideas. Those are the people who pride
themselves on their exactne.ss, and who require everybody around them to keep up
with their exactitude; I don't know but they are a trifle more exa.sperating than
the other kind; they perpetually annoy us by their excess of all the virtues. It's
wearing to flesh and depressing to spirit to be obliged constantly to regard such
l)aragons. Other men shun dictation; they know what they want to say, but they
don't want to be bothered with the detail of ]mtling it into shape. They usually hand
over to their amanuensis all correspondence, giving her the idea of replies to
each one and these she is to make in her own language and submit them for
approval."
STENOGRAPHERS AND TYPEWRITERS. 139
The great danger with this, as with so many other new avocations, is that it
will become overcrowded, and as a consequence, salaries will be diminished. It
is one of the laws of political as well as social economy, that if the supply is in
excess of the demand the value of the work is lessened. You will all linderstand
this without any difficulty, and you may feel that you know one of tlie under-
lying principles of political economy, the bugbear that you hear talked about
so nuich.
Nothing indicates so plainly the number of women and girls who need to earn
money because they must be bread-winners, or who want to earn it in order to be
independent, as the rush to take up any new industry that is offered. There is
no thought of fitness for the work. The idea is simp!}' that of getting employ-
ment which will pay. The consideration of special preparation does not enter the
mind of the majority. of young women who undertake work of any kind, except,
of course, a profession, in which one cannot get on without work beforehand and
careful study. And here is found one of the reasons why women are so seldom
advanced in their position. They do not take up the work with the earnestness
that men do; it is, more often than not, a temporary make-shift, a something
which must be done to bridge over a certain time of waiting, usuall}' the time that
elapses between leaving school and " getting married." It is not regarded as a
permanent thing and the girl very openly says that she accepts a position of the
kind only until such time as the coveted position of wife is open to her.
Now, in one way, that is all right and natural. There is no one in the list
of employments in all that come to a woman's hand to do, so important and so
beautiful as that of making a home. But the work, meanwhile, must be just as
faithfully done, as much brain and endeavor put into it as if one expected to do it
forever. It makes the way easier for other women who have to follow in some
footpath of toil, and it adds to the self-respect of the worker as well as to her
value to her employers. So, while I would not have 3'ou look lightly upon the
most royal gift that can come to your life, neither would I have you stand in an
attitude of waiting expectanc5^ but go on in a dignified fashion, rounding out
your life on ever}^ side until the great glory of perfected womanhood comes to.
3^ou; then take it, feeling it is j^ours bj^ divine right.
Stenography is, in truth, a profession. It requires hard stud}^ and long
practice to make one proficient. Experienced stenographers say that two years is
a reasonable time in wdiich one may expect to work fairly well after beginning the
stud}'. To be sure, there w411 be work that one ma}^ do in less time, particularly
the stereotyped work of an office, while on the other hand it will take more than
two 3^ears to become what is known as ' ' an expert. ' ' Some persons learn more
readily than others, but I am speaking now of the average learner. The cost for
preparation varies according to the way in which one studies, whether with a
I40 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
private teacher or in a school, but it is safe to say that it will range from thirty-five
to a hundred dollars.
Now typewriting, which is a purely mechanical labor, can be learned in a few
days, and it is only a question of practice when one may become an expert. As
I have said, not all typewriters are stenographers. I know one young woman
who can write from dictation on the typewriter as rapidly as any one can give it to
her and not once in a hundred times miss a word or make a mistake. She works
entirely from dictation and commands a salary of fifteen dollars a w^eek. She
considers this good pay. There are times during the 3'ear when if she were not
steadily employed, but worked by the piece, she could make much more money
during the week, but when the unemployed weeks and the dull weeks are taken
into consideration, she really would average no more a year than she does under
the present arrangement, and possibly not so much. At any event, she is much
better satisfied to know that she has a fixed sum upon which to depend than to
feel the anxiety which one cannot help having whose employment and consequent
income is more or less spasmodic; and really this salary is considered large.
A bright young woman who is an expert stenographer and typewriter says
that the number of girls who get less than ten dollars a week in this profession is
larger than those who get even that sum. Eight, nine and ten dollars a week are
the most frequent salaries for this kind of work, while the girl who gets steady
occupation at twelve, fourteen and fifteen, feels that she is fortunate. This young
woman herself gets fifteen dollars a week, but she has a very important position as
confidential clerk in a large newspaper office.
Still another who is the head of an office of her own says that apart from the
independence which she feels in managing her own affairs, she would prefer a
.settled position. She says:
" There's nothing so satisfactory as knowing exactly what your income is;
you can regulate your affairs and expenses to meet it, even if it is a smaller one
than you would like. You may be able to understand something of the fluctua-
tions of the independent earner's income when I tell you that in my own experience
my weekly receipts have varied from le.ss than two dollars to over eighty, eit^^er
extreme being an exception."
All the young women of whom I have .spoken are more than ordinanl>- well
educated; they are good French and German .scholars, know something of the
cla.ssics, and have a creditable knowledge of English literature atid history. And,
girls, those of you who have an idea of taking up either one or both of these
branches as a means of livelihood, I wonder if you realize how necessary this
knowledge of hi.story and literature is to you? The better informed you are on
these topics, the wider will be your opportunity. A gentleman who had been
engaged on a .special work of literature in which he employed a stenographer said
STENOGRAPHERS AND TYPEWRITERS. 141
that he had no idea of the difference in attainment of young women who did this
work until he had this experience: he employed a young woman who had been
recommended to him very highly; she was accurate in following him, but she was
not a good speller and she never knew if her employer made a mistake in date or
event, as will sometimes happen even to the most careful. Her work w^as subjected
to the most careful revision; he was obliged to respell several of her words and to
take out every allusion of which he was not altogether certain. During the
progress of the work, she was taken ill and a substitute was sent him. He says
the stenographer's illness was his salvation. The substitute went far ahead of her
predecessor; she was quick and alert; not only did she write rapidly, but she was
ready to challenge misstatements and she often made a suggestion that gave a
needed point. " It was a delight to work wdth her," said the gentleman; " and
when the work was done I paid her more than she asked, for I felt if the first one
had earned that sum of money surely this one had earned much more."
The reason why so many women fail is, that they have not acquired as a nile
the habit of practical thought as men have. The whole plan of woman's educa-
tion has been insufficient and superficial, while men have been trained in harder
schools and more thorough method. As a consequence, the masculine thought
habit is better developed and the qualities most needed in special work are
more common in man than in woman. This is not the fault ofwomen so much as
it has been the misfortune of their training. That all of them have not suffered
from this wrong method is proved by the good work done by so many.
One stenographer tells me that a knowledge of bookkeeping is of great
advantage to the girl seeking a position as stenographer at the present time.
Indeed, in watching the advertisements of the daily papers you will often see a
stenographer called for "with some knowledge of bookkeeping." The same
person says that the qualities most needed to make a successful stenographer are
calmness, self-poise, intelligence and confidence in one's ability.
The sensitive girl who possesses nerves and flies off at a tangent under the
least stress of excitement need not waste her time in trying to become a
stenographer. Even if she succeeds in mastering the mysteries of the profession,
she would literally go to pieces under the first pressure. But the girl who has
application, steadiness of purpose, and patience, who knows how to spell, can
hold her tongue, keep her self-respect and command the respect of others, who is
intelligent and well-mannered, has self-confidence but not conceit, may undertake
this profession with a reasonable certainty of making at least a modest livelihood.
XXII.
THE FAITHFUL SALESWOMAN.
HEX I was a girl," our noble lamented Lucy Stone once said, "I
-•^ seemed to be shut out of everything I wanted to do. I might
■^^ teach school — that is, if I would keep as good order and teach as
well as a man, for considerable less mone}'; I might go out dress-
making or tailoring, or trim bonnets, or I might work in a factory,
or go out to domestic ser\ace; there the mights ended and the might
nots began. A few years ago when ray daughter left Boston
University with her degree of B. A., she might do what she chose; all the profes-
sions were open to her; she could enter into any line of bu.siness."
Mrs. Stone did not say — although she might have done so with absolute trutli
— that it was because she, and others like her, had been persi-stent and courageous
and true that the way had been made possible not only for her own daughter but
for thousands of other daughters. Every woman in the world should say
devoutly, " God bless her for the brave work she did!"
To-day the young woman pauses to consider which of the many open roads
slie shall take. It has ceased to be a matter of obligation with her; it is largely a
question of choice.
One of the first openings that came to women outside of the circumscribed
list which was given by Mrs. Stone, was that of tending in .stores. This opening
was made at the time of the civil war when .so many men went into tlie army,
leaving occupations of every kind, that women must needs do the work. Tho.se
of you who have made a .study of history from its philosophical, rather than its
statistical .side, understand that when an advanced step is made it is never retraced.
There is no such thing as going back. vSo when in the hi.story of the world's
progress you read of the advancement made by women, you take the fact gladly
(142)
THK FAITHFUI. SALESWOMAN. 143
because it is something done for all time. The women who have lived and worked
any part of the time for the past thirty years have felt that they were living and
working" in one of tlie most important epochs in the history of the civilized world.
A young girl, alive and alert as the girl of to-day is, said not long ago: " I am so
glad that it has been given me to live just now. I come to ail the good things of
life as a heritage and yet not so late but that I catch the echoes of the .struggle
for their possession and kiss the hands of the women who have gained them
for me."
And she was right. Being a girl of average ability and firm principle, it is a
good time in which to live. The chances for success are good and opportunity is
better than it ever has been.
Take mercantile life, for instance: I have often heard girls say that it was
all nonsense to expect any preferment there; that only the men get advanced; and
that only men become the head of the house. Now, there is no reason why a
woman should not conduct a mercantile business if she wishes and if she has
the capital. Probably one reason why women do not oftener do this, is because
when they have money the}' prefer to invest it in some manner which shall bring
them a stead}- income without exertion of their own. The}- let the money do the
earning and they take the result. Another reason is, that when girls take a posi-
tion, they do not, as boys do, take it with the idea of making it a life-work. It is a
temporary matter — something to bridge over the time of waiting between leaving
school and settling down into homes of their own. With a boy, it is .serious
business; with the girl it is a makeshift. The success of any one in any line of
work depends upon the spirit in which she takes it up. A young girl had tried
for a long time for a position in one of the leading dry goods shops in Boston.
Her persistency was rewarded by a trial. She was put at the handkerchief
counter during a bargain sale. The very first morning .she was there a gentleman
came by and stopped at the handkerchief counter, looking carelessly at the goods
and at the prices which were marked on each box. She did not wait for him to
ask for anything special, but .'^he immediately called his attention to some handker-
chiefs which were really low priced when one 'considered their fine quality. He
did not seem inclined to buy, but she was so interested to make the sale and talked
so intelligently about them, that he took half a dozen of the handkerchiefs.
When she was paid hei salary at the end of the week, .she received a sum much in
advance of that which had been agreed upon. She took it at once to the head of
her department, thinking there must have been some mistake; but she was
assured that it was all right.
" Do you remember selling half a dozen handkerchiefs to one gentleman the
first morning you were here?" he inquired.
" Why, yes, I remember," she replied; '' but what has that to do with it ?"
144 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
" Simply this — that was the head of the firm; and he was so pleased that he
asked about you and said that any girl who could sell his own goods to a propri-
etor was worth a good salary and a steady place. So he ordered you put in the
pay roll at the wages I have just given you, with the promise of a rise as soon as
it was possible."
A thing like this isn't likely to happen every day, perhaps; nor even once in
a lifetime; but of one thing you may rest quite assured, mj^ dear girls who are
reading this — simple eye service is noted more frequentl}" than you imagine, and
so is the honest, hearty rendering of your dut}'.
Not long since a prominent business man in Boston said to me when we were
talking over the reason why so few j-oung men reallj- succeed, some things that
will bear repetition for the girls who think seriously of a business life. "The
boys " — and he might have said, the girls too — " in the store whose watches are
always on time at the dinner or closing hour are the ones who will not advance in
business; while those who are asking for more to do, instead of making apologies
for work not finished, are those who find room at the top of the ladder and who do
not complain of the crowd at the foot."
Possibly another reason why women do not oftener attain a higher position
in mercantile life is, because the}' do not learn the business as a man does. When
a girl seeks a position in a store she expects a living salarj' at once; the immediate
need of money is the force which impels her to work; she must be her own bread-
winner. A boy expects to give a certain time to learning the detail of business,
and takes a place at first with very small remuneration, working his way to the
more profitable position.
In the city stores the rules governing the duties of the various emplo3'es are
arbitrary. And they are strictly enforced. The law has taken the matter of child
labor into its protecting hand, so that now. no boy or girl under fourteen may be
permanently employed in any establishment. That, then, sets the date when the
girls may begin to work. The cash girls in the large stores are, as a rule, four-
teen and fifteen years of age ; their duty is to run on errands, carry bundles from
counter to counter for customers, aud be at the beck and call of ever>'body else in
the store. In the days before money was sent to the desk by machinery, the girls
had to carry it and bring back change and parcel. But even with this duty taken
from them in so many stores, the cash girls still find enough to do, and do not
liave many idle moments. They have to be at their post, ready to begin work
when the store is opened. As most of the stores open at half-past eight o'clock,
this means being there certainly at quarter-past eight. They must report to their
superintendent, put away their street garments, and be at their places in front of
the counters at the unlocking of the doors. The time of their arrival is marked
against their names and if they are late they are fined a small sum. In some
"^SJjK^v
(lOj
THE FAITHFUL SALESWOMAN.
1145)
146 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
stores they are allowed to work out their fine by shortening their dinner hour as
many minutes as they are late, but in others this chance is not given them, and
the fine must stand. All day long they are on their feet, flying about here and
there, and nobody is gladder when the big gong gives the signal to lock the door
at half-past five than are these young girls. For these long hours and all their
work, they receive $2.50 or at most, $3.00 per week, and this is oftentimes
decreased by the fines. If a cash girl proves herself bright, clever and capable,
she may look forward to being advanced into a position as stock girl or sale.sgirl,
or given a place in the mail order department. The stock girl, as she is called,
has the charge of the stock for a certain counter; she must see that this counter is
kept well supplied and the goods in order; she must be watchful, quick, and have
a pride in the attractive appearance of her goods. Her hours are the same as all
the rest, and she has from $5.00 to $6.00 a week.
It is the ambition of every cash girl to become a saleswoman and it is a proud
day when she is allowed for the first time to attend upon a customer and supply
her wants. In that trial she usually proves whether or not she has the stuff" for
success in her. Many eyes are upon her. The hours that the saleswoman has to
keep are the same as those of the cash girl, and she is subject to the same rules,
until she arrives at the head of a department, when a little more latitude is
allowed. The same system of fines prevails that governs the cash girl. One
would think that when a girl had been given a position of dignity and responsi-
bility, there would be no need of anything like discipline; but it is found necessar\^
— to the shame of the workers be it said.
In most of the large stores the proprietors know just how much each sales-
woman sells every day, and in that way it is eas\- to keep track of her value to
the firm. When girls complain that their salaries are not raised when some other
girl is advanced, they do not take into account that they have not made them-
selves of value to those who employ tliem.
Discipline varies in different establishments. In some it is almost niilitar\" in
its severity and its perfectness. The girls are not allowed to converse with each
other, except upon topics connected with the business; at other stores they may
chatter as nuich as they please. They are not supposed to neglect customers, but
they sometimes do, or else betray such an utter indifference to the customer's
wants that .she goes away irritated, without making her purchase.
I had a funny little e.xperience in a Boston store. I wanted to match some
silk with ribbon, and I went witli m\- ])nttcrn. As I entered I was met by one of
the projirietors, who was known to me, and we walked along to the ribbon counter
together. I handed my sample to a girl, who did not Ujok up, but reaching it
back to me, said rather curtly, " We've nothing like it."
" But you haven't looked," I persi.sted.
THK I'AITIIFUI, vSALK.SWOMAN. 147
She was about to persist also, when an odd expression on the face of one of
the other girls made her glance at me. As she saw the proprietor standing by my
side, she turned very red, muttered a confused apology, and began looking for
the ribbon, which she very soon found. I didn't pity her distress one bit. I
think I was rather glad she was caught in that way; it will probably be a lesson
to her and .she will be more careful in the future.
Quite in contrast to this was something which occurred in another large
establishment. A lady brought a little girl for whom .she wished to purchase a
cloak. The child was very large of her age, and most difficult to fit; but the
saleswoman who was attending upon her did not lose her patience in the least;
.she tried on garment after garment; she was as interested as possible to please the
cu.stomer; she made valuable suggestions, and did all in her power to help the
mother out of the difficulty and give her exactly what she wanted. The result
was that she made a good sale, and at the same time secured a constant customer.
Do you suppose that that lady will ever go to that establishment again without
a.sking the same girl to serve her ? It is women like this one who make them-
selves valuable to their employers; and they are the ones, also, who are .steadily
advanced, and who come b}'" and b}^ to be the heads of departments. They are
the women, too, who get the larger salaries; they are worth the most mone}^ to
their emplo5^ers; customers will wait for them if they are busy, and will not, if
they can help it, purchase of any one else.
There is something very mean in the mere giving of eye service; it is" a
species of dishonesty. One of Boston's leading merchants used often to say, in
speaking of his help, " I would rather one of ni}^ salesmen or women took
money from my pocket than the time which belongs to me and for which I am
paying. One is just as much stealing as the other, but the latter is the more
dishonorable. ' '
With an honorable employer, honest service cheerfully given is nearly sure to
meet the reward of advancement. It is difficult to be always pleasant of voice;
eye and bearing; it is not easy to feign an interest one does not feel — but the thing
to do is to feel the interest. Make the customer see that you are as anxious that she
should be pleased as she herself is. It will be much easier to please her. There
is no reason why the purchaser and the one who serves her should regard each
other as natural enemies, and each be constantly on the lookout for some fancied
insult or slight. If both of them would exerci.se patience and charity, they would
get on perfectly well together. The girl who takes a position in a store can't
afford to proclaim a declaration of independence to every customer by the insolence
of her deportment. Courtesy, self-respect and a genuine interest in her business
are the conditions of ultimate success, and no girl need be a failure if she has
these qualities, added to the natural abilities to do the work which .she has
1 48
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
undertaken. She will succeed, and .she will also win for herself a multitude of
friends who will both respect and admire her and make her, in their own thought,
the pattern for other women of her class to model themselves upon.
So you see there arc good chances for girls if they will only take them, as
well as for boys; but they must be in earnest, must work as though it were a
life-work, even though they do lay it down after a while; must not despise the
day of small things, but be read)' to do every duty as it comes to them, remem-
bering that it is only when the le.s.ser duty is well done, that the larger duty is
offered.
XXIII.
WOMEN IN ADVERTISING.
■ *^ BUSINESS field which women are exploring with success
ip is that of advertising. They are becoming advertising
agents, taking the position in establishments in charge of the
advertising department, and above all, are finding large
remuneration in writing special advertisements for manufac-
turing firms. The last named is an especially attractive emplov-
ment for the bright girl with a quick brain and a happy faculty-
of expression. So clever have women proven themselves in this
special line, that hardly a manufacturer having goods toward which
he wishes to attract attention, fails to avail himself of their ability. The story is
told of two sisters left dependent upon their own exertions, without an idea what
they should do. One was a skillful amateur artist, but there were so many just
as clever as she that she failed to meet the recognition she desired. Her sister
wrote verses which she sent to all the leading magazines; the}^ came back to her
with a despairing regularity. Almost at their wits' end, and too discouraged tO'
attempt attracting the notice of publishers an}- more, they were almost giving up
the battle, when one of them noticed an advertising card hanging in a railway
car, on which some doggerel verses were printed.
" I could write much better verses than those," she said to her sister.
" And I could make a prettier picture," said the other.
" Let's tr}^ our luck at it," said the first one.
The result was eminently satisfactory to themselves, so they took picture and
verses to a firm whose advertising cards they frequently noticed. The firm was
pleased; they not onl}' accepted the sample that was submitted to them, but the}^
gave them large orders for other work. Elated by their success in this direction,
the}' went to still other firms soliciting patronage, and now they have all they can
(149)
I50 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
do, and support themselves handsomely with a work which they find as pleasant
as it is profitable.
" It may not be quite so fine as doing verses and pictures for Harper s and
The Century, but what's tlie use of doing pictures and verses and sending them to
these magazines when they won't take them, as long as we are sure of a well-
paying and always open market for our wares elsewhere?"
"But," said the sister, " they do get into Harper's and T/ic Cen furr aiter
all. for if they are not in the bod)'' of the magazine, they are counted among the
prettiest and most attractive of the advertising pages, and what is better than
being the best in any place where you happen to be?"
It is by no means an uncommon thing to see articles inserted in periodicals of
various kinds, with the name of some well-known writer attached — articles calling
attention to the virtues of some new food product, some novel invention to ease
the housekeeper, some fabric which is being introduced into the market, some new
toilet appliance, or some one of the hundred and one things which modern living
counts as a necessity and whicli is invented to meet a newly discovered need. If
any of you in the innocency of your heart have supposed for a moment that either
the writer or the periodical w^as bringing this something new^ to public notice out
of sheer kindness, please disabuse yourself of that notion at once. The writer
was hand.somely paid for the article in question, and the publisher of the nevv.s-
paper even more handsomely rewarded for the use of his column. There is hardly
a magazine writer of note who does not take this means to add to her income, and
if the truth be told, this class of writing pays very nmch better than literature
pure and simple.
The number of women engaged in this work is increasing all the time. The
patent medicine proprietors are among the men who avail themselves most
constantly of this .sort of service. One clever woman does nothing but interview
men and women who have taken a certain treatment, and writes up these inter-
views for her employers to use both in circulars and as advertising in the
newspapers. This work does not take nearly all her time, for she is a house-
keeper— one of the old-fashioned kind, one who looks well to her household, and
assuredly doesn't eat the bread of idleness — and she makes on an average $ioo
a month outside of her hotel and traveling expen.ses. She says it is a mo.st
delightful life, taking her about in \arious communities, bringing her in contact
witli ])leasant people, and giving her a larger income than she could earn in any
other way with the same amount of expenditure of physical and r.ervous force.
One of the largest houses in Milwaukee, Wis., employs a woman as adver-
tiser. She has charge of all the advertising and catalogue work of the firm that
employs her. Miss Annie M. Rose began her business career as .stenographer for
the largest dry goods hou.se in Rochester, N. Y. It was the policy of the head of
WOMEN IN ADVERTISING. 151
the firm to have every letter tliat went out oi' the liouse typewritten, and so the
heads of all the departments dictated their correspondence to Miss Rose. In this
way every order for their large business went through her hands, and as she was
of an intelligent, progressive turn of mind, she familiarized herself with every
tletail of the business. In course of time she was made the head of the mail order
department, which is one of the most extensive in that part of the country. On
one occasion a branch house in the southern part of the State was to be started,
and Miss Rose, who had been the " advertising man " in the Rochester house,
and felt that her long and varied experience had made her just as capable of man-
aging the concern as were any of her brother workers, said to the head of the firm:
' ■ Why don't you send me to to take charge of the store ?' '
The answer was a laugh, and "Why, you're a woman." That settled the
matter.
She saw that, no matter what her capabilities, " because she was a woman,"
she had reached the limit of her possibilities in that house, at least, and she deter-
mined to try her fortunes elsewhere.
Her next position was that of private secretary for Mr. Warner, the proprietor
of patent medicines that bear that name. The knowledge that she had acquired
made her determine to try her luck as an advertiser, and she took that position
for a house in Chicago. This she retained until the opening of the World's Fair,
when, with the doubt of a woman's capabilities, which still troubles some
masculine minds, the firm felt they mus^ have a man in charge of the work.
It gives one a bit of malicious pleasure to be able to say that Miss Rose's
masculine .successor is said ?iof to have been a success.
She then became a newspaper woman on the staff of the Chicago HcTald;
after that she had the charge of the advertising department of the Chicago Inter-
Occan . From there she went to Milwaukee to take the place that she now occupies.
In regard to her own work she says: " I believe in truthful advertising, I don't
believe in the brass band style of work, and I do not endorse prevarication in any
degree. When those who read the announcement of a certain honest firm, that
it has marked a particular line of goods to half-price rather than carr}^ those goods
over to another season, they know they can depend on the word of that firm that
those goods are worth the original price. That advertisement will pay. The
public is not quite so easily fooled as some people imagine. An advertiser must
also adopt the style that takes best in the town or city where she is working. ' '
When asked if the work was remunerative, Miss Rose smiled and said, " It
is, for men. ' ' Doubtless her modesty would prevent her making a personal matter
of the question of salary, but one may be sure that she would not have gone
from position to position if one better and higher than the one which preceded it,
had not her compensation kept pace with her advance.
IS2
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
The Jiowafi's Journal, the paper founded by the lamented Lucy Stone and
now carried on so ably by her talented daughter, Miss Alice Stone Blackwell, was
jnit on its feet financially by its woman advertising agent. The late Mrs. Susan
C. Vogl occupied this position for many years, and she brought the paper into
prosperity by her able endeavors. Slie kept in harness until her death. She
made herself friends by
her genial cordiality; she
was true and honest and
her every statement could
be relied upon. Men used
sometimes to say that they
would give Mrs. Vogl ad-
vertisements when they
would not give them to any
one else. ItwasMrs.Vogl's
sunniness that won every
time, and her genuine
good will to everybody.
There are several ad-
vertising firms in the vari-
ous cities of New Eng-
land composed of women
and they do very good
Ijusiness. They have a
large number of patrons
and control several news-
l)a]iers. They are evi-
dently making money, for
everything about them
bears tlie stamp of pros-
perilw One woman has
undertaken railroad ad-
vertising, and slie has
done .so well that her .story
is worth the telling. P'or
.some time .she controlled tlie acUertising along the line of the New York 6v:
New England Railroad, and no one could advertise without making terms with
her. She left tliis position to take a larger one, with headquarters in New York.
When the Chicago fire occurred she was a happy young wife, living in the
midst of luxury, for she was the jutted daughter of rich jiarents and the cherished
MISS M. H. CAFI'IN.
WOMEN IN ADVERTISING. 153
wife of a still more wealthy man. This young coujile had everything before them
to make life bright and pleasant — riches, social position, youth, a lovely home, a
dear little girl — it seemed as though nothing was wanting, but the fire came and
swept away everything: the home, the property, all; and left them with little
beside their youth, their baby and their willing hands. If that had been the end!
But the hu.sband fell ill from exposure at the time of the fire, and died, leaving the
young wife and baby to face the world alone. They had something left, but not
enough to live as the wife would like, and there would be the child to educate; so
she came East and went to work. She had friends in plent}- and those who were
ready to give her a home and render labor unnecessary, but she was an independ-
ent body and proposed to work out her own destiny. She tried one or two
things, going a step in advance ever}' change she made, until the advertising
opportunity came to her. It was a large undertaking, but it found a woman
ready to meet it, and not only ready, but entirely able. She undertook the work
and made a great success of it. She had an office in Boston where .she made her
contracts, attended personally to them, for she quickl}' found that her own judg-
ment was better than that of any one she could obtain, and the terms were sure
to be more satisfactory if she made them herself. From Boston she went to New
York, where success still attended her.
She is a capital business woman and no man ever attempts taking unfair
advantage of her simph' becau.se she is a woman. Throughout all, she has
retained the same refined, charming personality that characterized her when she
was a purel}^ society woman; and she is so evidenth' the gentlewoman that men
become more gracious when in her presence, recognizing the womanly element
even in the most intricate of business problems. Her little daughter has grown
to gracious, sweet womanhood under the careful mother's eye and is housekeeper
and home companion in a dear little cos}^ apartment in a fashionable quarter of
the city \vhere she is surrounded b}^ the friends who have stood by her all
through her career.
It is the presence of women of this kind in the business world that makes it
a desirable place for other women. It is the influence of women like this that
makes it easier for others when they are in the world, and it is an example like
hers that should be regarded by the women who are to become business women.
There is one thing this woman does not do that I would like to emphasize.
She does not consider it necessary because she has her way to make in the world,
and because she has to make it in the business world, to copy the dress and
manners of the men whom she meets. She is essentially w'omanly in dress and
manner; she is content to be a woman and to keep to a woman's waj's. She wears
as she should, simple tailor-made gowms at her office and about her business, but
there is no suggestion of mannishness about them. Her bonnets are becoming.
154
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
and her hair prettily arranged. All the trifling accessories of the toilet are
attended to and she is as fresh and as dainty in her office attire as she is in her
pretty dresses at home.
If only every girl who is setting out to make her own way could be imbued
with the idea that she would get on better and win more genuine respect from
those she comes in contact with by keeping her refined femininity than by aping
men in dress or manner, a valuable lesson would be learned. Boldness is not
independence; self-assertion is not success. Be content to be what 5'ou are, and
assume nothing else. Gain respect for 3-our sex by the respect that you win for
yourself, by your honest, fearless, but sweet and true womanliness. You will
find your influence will be more far reaching than if you tr}' to be in manners and
conversation like the men with whom you are associated. The world Hkes a
womauh' woman, and this you can be, no matter how far afield you go in the
world of personal endeavor.
^^•i-v;
XXIV.
WOMEX IX REAL ESTATE.
OOKIXG back over a quarter of a centur}-, it is not
only interesting, but surprising to note the strides
which woman has made in the world of work. It
ought, indeed, to be a source of profound gratification
that women generally have proven equal to all the
demands made upon them in these new fields of
endeavor, and are taking the departure from former
habits and ideas with freedom and strength, while still
maintaining the integrity and inherent traits of womanhood. Thej- have shown
themselves fully capable of wise action in emergencies and of holding their end of
the line in all faithfulness and power. The}- have won golden opinions in positions
of trust and are more and more sought for as their fitness is recognized. Men
freely admit that they prefer women as clerks, as stenographers, and even as
accountants.
"I am utterly lost," said a business man the other day; "I have lost my
bookkeeper; she has been with me nearly six years, and during all that time I
have never had any trouble with an account; she has had hardh' a day's absence
except during her regular vacation, and I have come to depend on her like my
own right hand. She leaves me because she's going to be married; had it been a
question of position or salary, I should never have let her go. I don't know how
to look out for some one to take her place. ' '
" Yes, it's got to be a woman; I don't want a young man; they are not so
reliable nor so painstaking."
It is only the trained worker of whom all this can be said. Presumably,
there are among women a class of incompetents who are not willing to take the
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156 OCCUPATIONvS FOR WOMEN.
trouble to learn thoroughly any line of business, but are satisfied with what money
they can earn by doing things in a slipshod, half-hearted fashion. This class is
naturally growing smaller, however, and women are learning that, unless they
are equipped, they do not get the places they seek, or having gotten them, they
don't succeed in keeping them.
Now a young man would hardly venture in business without some idea of
what he was going to do, and he would expect to spend some time at learning the
profession which was to give him a livelihood. Why should a girl think to come
at once into a position that it would take a boy some time and a good deal of hard
work to attain.
The truth is, girls until recentl}' have not taken the idea of business as
seriously as boys do; it has not been considered the one great thing for them —
the life-work, which the}' are to carry on indefinitely. And yet it may be. No
girl can tell when she begins, at what time she may leave off, and at any event, to
make success sure for herself and the way easier for other girls to come after lier,
she should see to it that she does her work earnestly and thoughtfully. You and
I are not doing our work alone for ourselves; there is something beyond individ-
ual intere.st even if we refuse to recognize it. Our success or our failure is not
ours alone; it is that of every other woman who shall come after us, working
along the lines in which we have worked. What we do makes it either more
difficult or more easy for them. We cannot afford to be selfish in our way of
regarding this question, and to think that it makes no difference how we do, .since
it is t»/^r loss and gain. If it were ours alone we might, but it is that of every
other woman worker. Earnestness and determination are necessary to success,
no matter in what line our work may be done.
But I started to make a suggestion, and in preaching my little bit of a sermon
the thought has been almost overlooked. A business that women are taking up,
and are succeeding well in, is that of real estate brokerage. There are several
who have attained moderate wealth in its pursuit, while I have yet to hear of one
who has met with failure. It certainly has no features that women would find
difficult or unpleasant. The New York Real Estate Exchange has one woman
member, Mrs. Agnes Murphy Mulligan, who has won distinguished success as a
land appraiser and real estate agent. Mrs. Mulligan studied law in order to be
better qualified to deal in real estate, and .so expert is she regarded in her particu-
lar profession that slie is often called upon to adjust values when the parties in an
im])(>rtant deal fail to agree. She apprai.ses land for many wide extending rail-
road corporations, and, to u.se her own phrase, is often kept "actually too busy
to eat." Mrs. Mulligan has fifteen clerks in her office who also kee\) the wires
working, and .sometimes she is unable to give personal attention to her more
iin]V)rtant clients, among whom are many of the largest land owners of the
WOMEN IN REAL EvSTATE. 157
metropolis. She is of Irish blood, but her people have been in this country for
more than a century. She first went into business to attend to her father's affairs
when he was .stricken with illne.ss. She is still a young woman, being only a
little past thirty, and although po.ssessed of wonderful acumen and sound knowl-
edge of business values, she is proud of being a happy wife and happ\^ mother.
One of the first women to take up real estate brokerage as a Ijusine.ss was
Mrs. Carrie lyaCoste, of Maiden, Mass. She kept a fancy goods store, but her
health failing, she was compelled to get some business which took her out of doors,
and some friends gave her some houses to manage for them. She sold her own
business and managed so successful!}' with the estates in her hands that others
gave her opportunities, and .she soon found all she could do. It was a saying in
Maiden that none of Mrs. Lacoste's houses ever remained a long time unlet and
that she had a faculty of securing most desirable tenants.
Still another to make a success in this business was Mrs. Woelper, of Boston.
Mrs. Woelper was a Southern woman, born in New Orleans of Northern parents.
Her husband was connected with one of the New Orleans newspapers, but he
died verj' earl}' in their married life and she found that she must look out for
herself. Through the exertions of her husband's newspaper friends she was given
a position in the post-office in New Orleans as an expert in deciphering illegible
writing — a position of great responsibility.
But she could not endure the office confinement and all the time her heart was
going to New England, the birthplace of her ancestors, where she had passed
many happy days during her girlhood. She had a small property in New
Orleans and she managed it so wisely that it yielded her a good return. She liked
the work of looking after it, too, and when finally .she made up her mind that she
would give up her position and go North she also made up her mind that she
Avould go into the real estate business. To think and to act were simultaneous
and she speedily found herself in Boston where she took an office and began to
advertise. She had a few friends and they helped her what they could, but the
greater part of her work was done by sheer and untiring effort.
At first ver}- few people knew that E. G. Woelper stood for a woman when
they saw it signed to advertisements of estates that were to be let, and not long
after she was established and was doing a good business, a business man who knew
her happened into the office of another real estate agent. On asking casually
about business, he was told that it was very brisk and that he — the real estate
man — and that fellow Woelper," seemed to have the most of it.
" Do you know Woelper?" was the query of the amused vi-sitor.
" No, I don't, but from all the indications I should say he was a hustler,"
was the reply.
"Well, you ought to see that fellow," said the friend.
158 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
" Why, particularly?"
" Well, as a matter of interest to you, it happens that that fellow Woelper
isn't a fellow at all, but a clever, bright woman, and a pretty one too."
To say the real estate man was surprised would be putting it very mildl}- ; he
was simply overcome.
From nearly ever}- city comes the report of women who have formed corpora-
tions to deal in real estate, and we all know that more than ever women left with
property on their hands are managing for themselves instead of placing the
property in the hands of men to manage for them. This shows at least that a
woman finds nothing in this business that she may not do with propriety and
success. It is a hard work and carries a weight of responsibility with it, but it is
pleasant, profitable and healthful. It compels the person who follows it to be a
good deal in the air, and thus keeps her well in spite of herself. To be successful,
a woman must have business abilit}^; she must have that tact which shall enable
her to meet people pleasantly and adapt herself to their situations and their moods.
She must have a knowledge of the market values of buildings and of lands; she
must understand the laws that relate to the government of real estate, of proving
titles, of conveying mortgages, and all the other business technicalities. She must
be well up in the science of drainage and ventilation, so that she may be able to
judge of the sanitary conditions of a house; but this knowledge is not alone
necessar\' for the woman who is to become a dealer in real estate; every woman in
ever>' community should understand thoroughh' the laws of sanitation in order
that she may protect herself and her family against the dangers that come from
bad drainage and poor ventilation.
There is nothing in all this that any bright woman may not learn, and learn
very readily. None of the women who have adopted this business have found
any difficulty whatever in acquiring all the knowledge needed. They did not
gain it all at once; it has come by degrees as the need of it has been felt. And it
has come naturally without severe mental strain. In fact, as one of these women
said in .speaking of her experience, " It comes almost unconsciously; some way
or other you find yourself knowing just the thing you ought to know without
being quite sure when or where the knowledge was acquired."
Women are adaptable, very much more .so than men, as a rule, and since this
is true there is no reason why they .should not succeed especially well as real estate
brokers, as one of the greatest needs in the bu.sine.ss is that of adapting themselves
to the persons with whom they come in contact. They must be as deeply and as
truly interested in the man or the woman who has a small place for sale, or who
desires to purcha.se a cheap house, as they are in those who have the larger com-
mi.ssions for them. They must be as interested in finding the suitable, responsible
tenant for the inexpensive cottage or flat, or the suitable abode for the family of
WOMEN IN REM, EvSTATE.
159
limited means, as they are in looking up the tenant for the more pretentious estate,
or finding a home for the man or woman of abundant means. It is the plan of
the successful business woman that every customer shall bring another, and she
works with this end constantly in view. And, girls, those of you who propose to
go into business of any kind, that is a good plan to go on.
Said the proprietor of one of Boston's largest .stores to a friend after he had
reproved a clerk for carelessness and inattention to a customer and had been met
with the excuse that all the woman wanted was a paper of needles:
" It isn't the value of the sale; it's the fact of the sale. A woman comes
here for a paper of needles, a paper of pins, or any small article; if she is made
to feel that it is a pleasure to serve her, she's coming again; not only will .she
come herself, but she will send others. If I lose her cu.stom because the needles
or pins are given her as though she had insulted the store by making so petty a
purchase, it's a prett}^ expensive paper of pins or needles for me; I don't care to
pay the price. ' '
That's true of all business transactions. If it is made pleasant the result is
sensibly felt, and if unpleasant the result is even more apparent and not satisfac-
torily so. If this is borne in mind the girls who read this wall have learned one
good lesson in the economics of business, and a most important lesson which will
stand them in stead all the way through. It is, indeed, the underlying principle
of all business success.
s^
vf
XXV.
WOMEN IN BANKING.
HILE it cannot yet be claimed for women that they have in
large numbers invaded what has been popularly supposed to
be a province sacred to man — the banking house — nevertheless
enough of them have within the last few years been called
upon to occupy the positions of cashiers and tellers to make it
quite proper to include this among the list of possibilities for the girl who has
business talent and finds that she must win her own way in the world.
Most of the women who have occupied these stations in the past have come
into them through accident or some stress of circumstance beyond their control.
One of the first women to be chosen as a bank official was Miss Grace J. Alex-
ander, of Winchester, New Hampshire. This pretty little town in the Ashuelot
valley, like many another country town, finds that its young men as soon as they
are fitted for business seek occupation in the cities or go West in search of the
fortune which they feel sure awaits them. So it has been found difficult to obtain
educated, ambitious young men for the home position. Miss Alexander was
chosen to fill a vacancy in the National Bank as teller until such time as a man
could be found who was fitted for the position. But as time went on Miss Alex-
ander so fully demonstrated her own special fitness and .so won the confidence of
all with whfjm she came in contact, that nothing more was ever said about looking
for the man, and she has occupied the position ever since. A few years r.go some
of the leading business men of Cheshire County were desirous of establishing a
savings bank at Winchester, and at a meeting of tho.se intere.sted it was unani-
mously voted that if, in addition to her duties as assistant cashier of the National
Bank, Miss Alexander would undertake to act as trea.surer of the proposed .savings
bank, it should be establi.shed.
"For," said one of the men, "if Grace Alexander undertakes it we won't
liave to bother our heads with the affairs of the bank. We ju.st know we've got
(i6o)
WOMEN IN BANKING.
i6i
an honest official. I'd trust that wonuin before any man in the State of New
Hampshire.' '
The savings bank became an estabii.shed fact, and to this day Miss Alexander
liolds the two positions. She attained her position, n(A through accident nor
special stress of circumstance, but because she simply demonstrated her eminent
fitness for it.
The P'irst National Hank of Indianapolis, Indiana, has a woman as cashier —
Mrs. Sarah Frances Dick, who is also a director in the institution, and has demon-
strated in every way her ability to fill with
perfect satisfaction the important function.
When she became assistant cashier she was
then Miss Sarah McGrew, and she took
the position to assist her father, who at
tliat time was the cashier. This was in
1873. In 188 1 the bank was reorganized,
her father was promoted to the presidency
and she became cashier. In the meanwhile
she had been married to Mr. Julius Dick,
one of the most influential merchants of
Huntington, Indiana. She has since filled
the position in a manner that is entirely
satisfactory to the bank director}-.
Mrs. Dick received her education in
the common schools of Indianapolis, and
afterward took a course in the business
college at Dayton, Ohio. She is quick and
accurate in her accounts, and writes a bold
round hand. In the handling of money,
both coin and paper, she is very expert
and rarely makes a miscount. She dis-
poses of a mass of business with a dispatch
that puzzles her men associates. She writes all the notes, drafts and deposit
certificates of the bank, counts up the interest on the collections, cashes checks,
discounts paper, and attends to a lot of work that ordinarily requires the work
of several persons. In one day recently she handled fifty-four thousand dollars
in small accounts, involving six hundred transactions in three hundred and
sixty minutes, with an average of thirty-five seconds to each transaction.
In California Mrs. Mary Costa has just taken the position of cashier in the
bank at San Jose. Her husband is the principal owner in the bank, but that does
not detract from the fact that she fills the position as well as any salaried employe.
MISS GRACE J. ALEXANDER.
1 62 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Mrs. Costa is a born and bred American and a native of San Jose. Her girlhood
went on in a country town a few miles from that city, and her education was at
tlie district school such as California at that time maintained. After marriage
her business instincts began to assert themselves and presently she became the
secretary of her husband, and was soon his principal business assistant. As she
grev/ in business knowledge she l^ecame more and more fascinated with the detail,
and from the embryo financier she became fully fledged and an adept in the mys-
teries of the various transactions in which her husband engaged.
Out in that far Western world a bank, such as the new cashier officiates in,
has a multitudinous amount of detail to consider. It is not only difficulties in
English that have to be met, but in this particular institution she has to confront
financial sorrow in Italian, with an occasional experience in German and French.
To understand how to handle an emergency that arises under the auspices of one's
own tongue is not so difficult a task, but when you have to meet it from the stand-
point of other countries it is decidedly different, and there is where Mrs. Costa
demonstrates her eminent fitne.ss and capacity.
The Rev. Ru.ssell H. Conwell in speaking before women in 1891, on how
girls and women can make money, gave the statistics of the number of women
engaged by the banking houses of Boston and New York, and compared it with
the number employed in 1880, showing an increase of over two hundred per cent.
It is probable that during the present decade this percentage will l)e largely
increased, especially if among the banking emplo3'es are counted, as in all fairness
they should be, the stenographers, typewriters and confidential clerks of the bank
officials.
The employment of women in private banking houses is much more common
than in the national and savings banks, and yet, while in the large cities very few
are found filling positions, in country places it is b}' no means an uncommon thing
to find a young woman officiating in the local bank.
It is not in this country alone that the .services of women have been found of
value by bank directors, but as the result of long and careful experiment, the
governor of the Bank of France has now entru.sted the work of detection of forged
bank notes and of debentures with altered numbers entirely to a special corps of
women clerks. He declares that the keen sensibility of their finger tips enables
them in handling the notes to distingui.sh the difi'erence, however .slight, between
the forged and the real article. The means adopted for bringing to light the falsi-
fied numbers on debentures are rather more elaborate, and consi.st mainly in llie
distinction of the difference in the symmetry of the figures, and of the ink used,
magnifying gla.s.ses being used for the former, and chemical preparations for the
latter. It is claimed that the women are more careful and more correct than men,
and that they rarely fail in their work of detection.
WOMKN IN BANKING. 163
Hankers have been ver\- inaleriall>- assisted by the invention of Miss Jennie
Wertheimer of Cineinnati, who has made a fortune by the introduction of this
happy thought of hers: Three years ago she liit upon a scheme of commercial
})aper which would effectually exclude all possibility of raising amounts on checks,
forging names, or otherwise tampering with its face value. The persevering little
woman spent many days, as well as long night vigils, to perfect her system. She
patented a private check system for the benefit of bankers, and a plan of com-
mercial paper to make attempts at forgery futile. The principal feature of her
invention lies in the form and composition of the draft. From the top of the note
to the name in favor of whom the amount is made out the paper material has the
usual thickness. But from that point it becomes as thin and transparent as tissue
paper. At the same time the paper preserves its strength and durability. If the
note has been tampered with in any way it will be shown by holding the paper up
to the light. Miss Wertheimer sent to thirty paper manufacturers throughout the
United States before she could get one able to work out her idea. She has been
offered the interest on eighty thousand dollars for the period of twenty years, and
at the expiration of that time the property is to be turned over to her. Possibly
Miss Wertheimer should be classified among the inventors, but her work has been
so directly a help to those in the banking business, and was so evidently the out-
growth of some experience in banking affairs, that it has seemed better to include
her in the list of women whose interests and labors are in banking.
Not all girls can be successful as these women have been in a line of business
which calls for so much judgment in financial affairs, but then, neither can every
man. There must, for success, be a general business talent, and with this,
inflexible honesty, absolute accuracy, quickness and correctness at figures, and a
knowledge of the mone}^ and stock market. Unless one possesses a natural busi-
ness gift it will be worse than useless to attempt to enter this business. But,
having the talent, it is worth while to fit one's self to enter a banking house by
first taking a thorough course in some good business college. Even then, the
opportunit}' for which you long will not come to you so readih^ as it would were
you a young man. This is one of the cases in which sex militates not against
success — for in almost every case the w^oman banker or banker's assistant has
proven successful — but against the opportunity. Whether it is because men
engaged in banking business are more conservative than other classes of men who
employ skilled clerical labor, or because they have been so long in the habit of con-
sidering young men as the only possible candidates for positions, one cannot judge;
but whatever maj^ be the reason, the fact remains that very few women are called
to such positions. It ma^^ be the fault of the girls themselves. The possibilit}^ of
the banker's career may not have presented itself. It wouldn't be strange if that
were the case, for women have been so accustomed to hear themselves set up as
164
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
examples of bad financiering and have so often been told that they knew nothing
about the value of money, that they really have come to believe this; and that, in
spite of the fact that in household affairs and in the handling of their own modest
income, tliey have proven their ability to make their expenses come within the
limit of their income — an economic achievement which is the dominating principle
of all business success.
And now, since the way is open, it only remains for the brave, ambitious girl
to set her daring feet within it. As yet, the path is not very well trodden, but
enough have gone before her, blazing their way through the forests of prejudice
and tradition, to make it safe for her to follow.
-3^-
XXVI.
WOMEN IN INSURANCE.
|HE .soliciting of insurance and the management of insurance
business, as a legitimate and practical work for women, has
recently come to attract widespread attention. At iirst this
work was almost wholly restricted to life insurance, but
following the successful work done in that direction, the
women agents are extending their lines to embrace fire ri.sks
also. Nearh^ all the prominent life insurance companies now
have a woman's department, efficiently directed by a woman manager. Such
po.sitions as the.se, demanding unusual executive abilit}-, and commanding more
than generous salaries, must of cour.se be comparatively few in number; but the
field now opening to women for soliciting life in.surance and placing fire ri.sks„
and for managing local agencies, is almost ulimited.
Miss Carrie Kirtle^^ the manager of the woman's department of the Mutual
Life at IyOui.sville, K}-., at the Business Woman's Congress in Nashville, Tenn.,,
in 1897, read a paper on " Life Insurance as an Investment and Field of Work for
Women," in which she said:
" Taking the insurance field as a place of work for women, or insurance as a
real bu.siness, I believe that it is the coming work for the intelligent, energetic
women of the South as it is of the North, East and West. Some time ago a
periodical published a list of the best income-earning women in the United States.
Among those named were two Vassar graduates who are soliciting insurance. A
woman's department is now a feature of nearly all the State agencies — intelligent
women are sought and offered good pay, if successful. All the better classes of
women are solicited. The teacher saves a part of her salary to take care of her
(165)
i66 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
when her duties grow too arduous. A ten-year policy gives her an annuity, which
takes the place of her salary. The clerk, bookkeeper and stenographer buy
policies that are to mature during their lifetime. The business woman insures
that her business may not suffer a .shrinkage at her death, and that her credit may
be better. She holds no stronger collateral than a polic}' in a good company. The
wealthy woman protects her estate and buys investments in life insurance where
there is little fluctuation in steady earnings, or she buys a policy such that a certain
sum be paid to her heirs, or to her estate, during a certain number of years."
While it is true that many of the women who are entering upon the insurance
business to-day do so from choice, it is probably equally true that the majority
of those who began the work in years past were influenced to take it up by force
of circumstances. It has often happened that the sudden death of a husband and
father, leaving his wife to provide for the family, has led her to seek, in the
insurance agencies which he had managed, the means to furnish that support.
If she has acquired some knowledge of her husband's business and shows promise
of ability, the companies often appoint her to succeed him as their agent. In
many other cases a bright daughter, fresh from school and anxious to do some-
thing, has gone into the office "to help father." As time passed she has
mastered details and developed ability until when her father died, or became too
old to continue the business, the companies which he represented have been glad
to make his daughter his successor. Such cases are growing more numerous
every year.
Successful women insurance agents have been at work longer than most people
are aware. The Metropolitan lyife Insurance Company recently published an
article of considerable length, speaking in the highest terms of the efficient work
done by three women in its employ, and showing by comparisons with the work of
men, how well the women held their own in industrial insurance. These women
were Mrs. IvOuisa Wood, of New York, who has been in the employ of the company
for twelve years, taking up the work upon the death of her hu.sband; Mrs. Hattie M.
Gifford.of Syracuse, N. Y., who has been at work for the company for fifteen years;
and Mrs. Edith McGregor, who seventeen years ago, when her husband's health
failed, began to do his work, and after his death continued it. Of the.se three
women the company's article goes on to say: " The spirit of resolute determination
which has actuated them in their work, the pluck with which they have removed
the barriers to their progress, the courage and fortitude with which they have
met every difficulty and overcome every discouragement, furnish an object
lesson from which a moral may be drawn with profit b>' many of the so-called
sterner sex."
Mrs. Louisa A. vStarkweather. the superintendent of women's agencies at vSt.
Louis, for the Mutual Life of New York, is perhaps as well known and as successful
WOMEN IN INSURANCE. 167
as any woman in the business, but every insurance register now gives the
names of scores of women fire and life agents. The widow of Mr. Emil Fischer,
of Indianapolis, is successfully carrying on his business. Miss Georgia Todd, of
Kansas City, Mo., has recently been appointed agent for the Royal Insurance
Company. Miss Clara Goodspeed, of Joliet, 111., has just succeeded to a profitable
business which her sister, recently deceased, had built up. Mabel M. Hobart, of
Hingham, Ma.ss. , since her father's death, has managed the agencies which he
represented. Mrs. F. W. Cheney, of Manchester, N. H., is the manager of the
woman's department of the Mutual Life agency there for New Hampshire and
Vermont. When Mr. C. G. Stevens, of Clinton, Mass., retired from business at
an advanced age, his daughter, Miss E. K. Stevens, took charge of the several
agencies which he had managed. These are only a few of many. The Insurance
Register, of Boston, for instance, shows the names of a large number of women
insurance brokers doing business all over the city and suburbs.
Among women workers in the insurance journalistic field Miss Emily A.
Ransom, of Boston, holds a unique position, being associated with her father, Mr.
C. M.' Ransom, in editing and publishing the Standard, a weekly insurance
newspaper. While of the sixty or so insurance publications in the United States
there are several owned by women, as a part of estates left by their husbands, the
Standard is, so far as the writer has been able to learn, the only insurance paper
actively managed by a woman, and containing a special woman's department.
Miss Ransom is an authority upon questions pertaining to her work, and by
invitation read a paper on " Life Insurance for Women " at the Women's Congress
of the Atlanta Exposition. Writing at that time Miss Ransom said:
"According to the best information obtainable, the American life insurance
companies have to-day about $50,000,000 of insurance on the lives of women.
Allowing $2000 per policy, it follows that about 25,000 of the women in these
United States have made provisions for their own future need or that of others.
When it is remembered that there are in this country about 4,000,000 women of
insurable age, it will readily be seen that the solicitors who shall undertake to
place before them the benefits of life insurance will find a plenteous harvest ready
to be gathered. In this connection I would suggest that while the proper study
of mankind is man, the proper solicitors of life insurance among women are
women, and to-day we find many of our sex adopting this business and working
most acceptably side by side with the male solicitors. Twenty-one women carry-
insurance to the amount of $100,000, several are carrying $75,000, and some fifty
are insured for $50,000 each. One woman carries $300,000, one $150,000, and
another $135,000, while four carry insurance to the amount of $125,000 each.
While these amounts may seem enormous, they sink into insignificance when
compared with the insurance carried by men, as, for instance, Mr. John
i6S OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Wanamaker, of Philadelphia, who, if he should die to-morrcw, would leave insur-
ance to the amount of nearly $2,000,000."
In this connection it is interesting to know what some prominent women in
various lines of work think of life insurance for women. The Insurance Press,
of New York, recently collected and published in pamphlet form the opinions on
this subject of a number of well known and successful women, from which some
extracts are here made.
Mrs. Ellen M. Henrotin, president General Federation of Women's Clubs,
says:
"It is just as necessary for a woman to have her life insured as it is for a
man, and how any other idea could prevail it is difficult to understand. It is a
great mistake to suppo.se that the mother does not contribute as much to the finance
of the home as the father.
"A great deal has been written about the feeling of security of a man in
dying to know that his life was insured, and women would be equally comforted
in reflecting, as they leave the scene of their active labors, that their children
were provided for. In fact, the same arguments which apply to render it necessary
to insure the life of a man apply to that of a woman, with a few others added. I
regard it no less the duty of a woman to insure her life than a man, and think in
the near future many will do so."
Mrs. Mary Lowe Dickinson, president of the National Council of Women,
general secretary of the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons,
says:
" Women the world over must, it seems to me, welcome better facilities and
better conditions for life assurance for women, as a new factor in the agencies that
protect and further her welfare. The reasons why woman should not benefit by
these provisions are difficult to understand, while the reasons why she .should
benefit thereby are .so plain that ' he who runs may read.' "
Mrs. Harriet Prescott vSpofford .says:
" I believe heartily in life insurance as a .safeguard of the family, and the
friend and j^rotector of women."
Mrs. Belva A. Lockwood, attorney and solicitor, and .secretary of the Amer-
ican Branch of the International Peace Bureau, says:
" Life insurance for women is desirable for widows and spinsters. To such a
gof)d life insurance might i)rovide a burial fund, opportunit\' to create a worthy
charity, a fund for their own old age, or one to provide for children or relatives in
a manner that could not 1)e otherwise obtained. To them it is worth considering."
I'rom Octave Thanet, the well-known writer:
" Life insurance is as valuable to women who have families to su]ii)ort as it is
to men in the .same case. It is, in fact, more valuable, .since the wage-earning and
WOMEN IN INSURANCE. 169
money-accumulating capacities of women do not ecjual those of men. Man)- a
mother of little children, whose husband is dead, has less sleep than she needs
because of the black thoughts that come of her little ones' future, sliould she die.
To such a woman I can imagine no greater boon than a sure dependence in the
shape of life insurance for enough to take care of her children until tlie older ones
shall be able to take care of the others."
Miss Laura S. Watson, principal Abbot Academy, Andover, Mass., says:
" In these days when hundreds of thousands of women are supporting not
only themselves, but parents, children, and even husbands, what wiser means for
providing against the day of misfortune than that wdiich most men deem wise for
themselves — life insurance ?' '
Rev. Anna Howard Shaw, M. D., says:
' ' I consider that life insurance is alike a protection against ill-health and a
prolonger of life itself. When the care of children and others devolves upon a
woman, the consciousness that if she were taken away the dependent ones would
still be cared for, or (in case of her own old age) that her endowment policy or
annuity would provide for her, would give her freedom from that anxiety and
worry which is often the cause of sickness and premature death."
Dr. Phebe J. B. Wait, A. M., dean of the New York Medical College and
Hospital for Women, says:
" My advice to women, married or single, is: Insure, and then hold fast
to the policy, even though sometimes other things have to be gone without
thereby."
Mrs. Annie Jenness Miller says:
"I firmly believe in life insurance for women, and I prove my faith by
carrying policies of considerable size. As an investment for women, the plan is
as good as for men, and it is particular!}^ good for the working- woman wdio has
others dependent on her. The knowledge that a yearly investment in the shape
of premiums, which she can arrange to meet by judicious management, will insure
beloved ones against suffering, in case of accident to her, will remove a great
haunting fear from her daily life."
Mrs. Emil}^ Huntington Miller, dean of Woman's College, Northwestern
University, Evanston, 111., .says:
''I shall be glad if any word of mine can add weight to the arguments in
favor of life in.surance as a protective investment for women, and induce them to
avail themselves of its opportunities instead of risking their earnings in doubtful
speculations."
"Mrs. Ruth McEnery Stuart says:
" It goes without saying, does it not? — that life insurance is quite as important
for w^omen who have families dependent upon them, as it is for men in like
I70
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMKX,
circumstances. When the renunal oi' a mother would mean the witlulrawal of a
family's living, manifestly that mother would do well to insure. "
With all this accumulation of evidence in favor of insurance for women, is it
n(;t fair to argue that they would prefer to deal with women both as medical
experts in their examinations for insurance and as writers of their policies? Since
so many are already in the field, there is no rea.son why others should not follow
and why it should not be made one of the regular avocations which girls ma\- take
up in order to win a livelihood.
XXVII.
A CHAPTER OF FACTS.
,OSSIBLY some of you girls who prefer romance to reality-
may feel inclined to turn up >our noses at this chapter, but
I assure you you will rind very much of interest and profit
in it, and will be paid by a careful study of the statistics
which it contains. Figures aren't always interesting, to be
sure, but a study of them is almost certain to be helpful, and
this is submitted to you that you may know for a fact what
women already are doing in the world of labor, and the
many opportunities there are for you in whatever field you may think 3'ou will
excel.
The detailed table of occupations just issued from the Census Office gives
many interesting facts in relation to the entrance of the American woman into
various branches of trade and industry, and also throws light upon her advent into
the professions.
The totals of the occupation tables were published a year or two ago, and
from them it was learned that the number of women engaged in the gainful
occupations increased between 1880 and i8go nearly 48 per cent, while the
number of men engaged increased about 28 per cent. During this period profes-
sional women increased 75 per cent, and those engaged in manufacturing and
mechariical ]xirsuits nearly 63 per cent, while in trade and transportation the
increase was 263 per cent and over — two and a half times as great as in 1880.
These were figures to make one think and they naturally awakened curiosity as to
what particular professions, trades and industries women had selected as a means
of earning a livelihood.
To satisfy this curiosity and reply to the inquiries the Census Bureau made a
comprehensive inquiry as to the occupations in which women find a means of
(171)
172 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
support and usefulness. The inquiry included also the comparative work and
wages of men, women and children. The information elicited is just given to
the public.
Broadly speaking, it would appear that the American woman, like her British
kin beyond the .sea, has taken a dip into every occupation. The advance of
woman has been complete, and, with the exception of the United States army and
navy, there are no blanks. She labors in the field and dairy, and thrives as a
farmer, planter and overseer. She goes forth in a boat and braves the wind and
sea in fishing, and drags the bed of the ocean for oysters. She may be found in
lumljer camps, doing duty as wood -chopper and lumberman, and even as a rafts-
man woman has tried her hand, and is not afraid to own up to the census man.
With pick and dynamite she quarries stone and delves into the earth in search of
tlie connnon minerals and the precious metals.
In the professional world woman has made here appearance in every occupa-
tion .save that of manshaling armies and conducting war. Her progress in
jjrofessional life has been as marked as in trade and industry. Here we have it
with all the authority of the government official:
1S70. i8go.
Actors, 692 3-949
Architects, r 22
Artists and teachers of art, . . 412 10,815
Authors and literary, . . 159 2,725
Chemists, assayists and nietallurgisls, . . 39
Clergymen . . i,'43
Dentists, drauj^litsmen .ni'l inventors, .... 13 305
I^ngineers (civil, mechanical, electrical and
mininf^), . . 124
Journali.sts, 35 888
Lawyers, 5 20S
Musicians and teachers of music, 5.753 34 5'8
Officials (f^overnment), 414 4,^75
Physicians and surgeons 527 4.557
I'rofes.sors and teachers, 84,047 246,066
Theatrical managers, sliounicn, etc., 100 634
Veterinary surgeons . 2
Other professional service, . . . . 8 479
Totals 92,257 311,687
Isn't that an interesting story told in figures? A story of advance, of
endeavor, (jf actual accomplishment. It is full of su.ggestion to the bright girl
who needs only a hint to set her in the way in which success will l)e found.
Beside all the old occupations, we find wouieu ])l;iuning houses and decorating
them; in the chemical laboratory; administering gas and pulling teeth; designing
A CHAPTER OF FACTS. 173
.iiid invcnliiii^; and grappling; willi tlic difficult problems of civil engineering.
They are on the road as theatrical agents and managers, and in the roll of veter-
inary surgeons, administering to the ailments of dumb animals. Notice, if you
please, the increase of newspaper women — that is so much better term than jour-
nalists— from 35 in 1870 to 888 in i8go. and as authors, from 159 to 2725. There
are six times as many women on the stage in 1S90 as in 1870; three times as
many profes.sors and teachers; ten times as many women government officials;
nine times as many women physicians and surgeons; more than forty times as
many women lawyers; six times as many women musicians and teachers of music;
twenty-five times as many artists and teachers of art; while the number occupying
the pulpit has increased from 67 in 1S70 to 1143 eleven years later. Summed up.
we find an army of over 300,000, or about one-third of all persons engaged in
professional services in the United States, to be women. This is not only a large
actual increase, but, relatively to the men, the number of women is greater than
in 1870.
Turning from this brilliant advent into professional life, we will follow
woman's progress in what the dr}- tables of the census office generally term
"domestic and professional service." Beside the old stand-by occupations —
lodging-house keepers, laundresses, nurses and ser\-ants — we find the nineteenth
century woman pushing into heretofore unheard-of avocations; as a barber, her
dexterous fingers lighth' remove man's grizzly beard; 19 women brave the wilds
of forest and mountain as hunters, trappers, guides and scouts; while, more
singular still, perhaps, 28 evince no fear of ghosts and spirits in the somewhat
mournful occupation of sexton. There are three times as many women hotel
keepers as in 1870: nearly twenty times as many janitors; while entirely new
occupations have been discovered for women as engineers, watchmen and detec-
tives, under which last head 279 are returned.
It is in trade and transportation that woman has made her most tremendous
record in these 3'ears. Over 200,000 intelligent, industrious, capable women have
found a sure and honest way of making a living. As bookkeepers, clerks, type-
writers, stenographers, cashiers, telegraph operators, women have found a profit-
able field of labor and occupation for which they are as well fitted as men, if not
better. In the largest class — bookkeepers, clerks and saleswomen — the increase
has been phenomenal. As agents and collectors, the number of women has
increased from 97 to 4875. There are five times as many women returned as
merchants and dealers, and over thirty times as many under the Head of " packers
and shippers" — aggregating in 1890, 6520 women. From 355 operators in 1870,
women telegraph and telephone operators increased to 8474 in 1890, and probably
number over 10,000 now. Women seem to flourish and increase and multiply in
trade, transportation, as bankers and brokers, commercial travelers, dairymen,
174 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
peddlers, weighers and gangers, as bank officials; yet as sailors, nndertakers,
anctioneers, boatmen and pilots, they have met with no success.
In manufacturing and mechanical pursuits women have found new and
important industries and have not been .slow in availing themselves of the oppor-
tunit)' thus oflFered for bread-winning. The census shows five times as many
women bookkeepers, nearly four hundred times as many engaged in making boots
and shoes, seven times as many employed in box making, as there were in 1870.
In 1S90 clock and watch making gave employment to nearly 5,000 women, and
in 1870 to only 75. The increased demand for confectionery of all kinds brought
the number of women emplo\-ed in that industr}- from 612 to 5674. About one--
third was added to our cotton operatives. The tremendous increase in dressing
the women and children of our country may be studied in the fact that our army
of dressmakers, milliners and seamstresses multiplied more than five times in the
period mentioned. Potter\', photography, lithography — all now give employ-
ment to nearly 10,000 women. The printing office, the rope and rubber factories,
the shirt, collar and cuff manufactories, the silk mills, are employing more than
50,000 women.
In the industries American women are literally taking a hand in all branches.
As blacksmiths they ply the hammer on the anvil and make the sparks fly. They
bind books, and make bottles; as contractors, they build houses. They work in
all the metals, including gold and silver. They cut stone, lay. brick and plaster
walls. And one woman has returned herself to the census man as a well
digger.
A study of the figures given above not only suggests the intense fight for
existence which has been going on for the last quarter of a century and has made
it necessary for the women of the family to do something for themselves, but it
likewi.se brings out the fact that they have not been slow in taking advantage of
opportunities afforded them for a wider range of employment. While they have
taken up .some peculiar occupations, the .satisfactory feature of the inquiry lies in
the fact that they have made greatest headway in the occupations which are best
fitted for them, namely, the professions and trades and many branches of manufac-
ture. Upon the whole, the 4,000.000 women bread-winners of the United States may
be congratulated on the headway they have made on the road to independence,
and .still more are they to be congratulated at the reputations they have won for
themselves as workers. In almost every ca.se those who employ women .speak of
their honesty, their sobriety, and above all their extreme faithfulness. They
obey not only the letter, but the .spirit of the unwritten rules that are .set for the
guidance of every employe. With the.se qualities, it is no wonder that women
have come so well to tlie front and that the po.sitions which they occupy are
constantly increasing in im])()rtance.
XXVIIT.
IN TEMPERANCE WORK.
FTER all, this is the vital question: With what sort of a weapon
will >ou ward off the attacks of the blood-hound Poverty,
which Dame Fortune is pretty sure to set on ever}' body's
track sooner or later, that she ma}' try his mettle, and learn
what manner of spirit he is of? In times like these, when
men's hearts are failing them for fear, when riches are saved
the trouble of ' ' taking to themselves wings ' ' by the faithless
cashiers and bookkeepers v\'ho are adepts at furnishing these
flying implements, and, above all, when labor is coming to be
king, the question " JV/iai will yo2i do V has fresh significance.
After all, it doesn't so much signify w^hat you do as that you do it well, what-
ever it may be. Think a moment. Will you be led to say, "The good old ways
are good enough for me," and so drop into the swolleii ranks of teacherdom, or
rattle away on a martyrized piano, and then set up for a musician, though you
have not a particle of music in throat or finger-tips? Or will you stay at home
and let papa support you until you grow tired of doing nothing and expecting
nothing, and proceed to marry some man whom you endure rather than love, just
to get decentlv out of 3'our dilemma ?
Nay, I do you injustice. Few girls who breathe the free air of our Eastern
mountains and Western prairies will be so cowardly. I will venture — that when
you marry, you will seek not a name behind which to cover up the insignificance
of your own; not a "good provider," to feed and clothe one who has learned how
to feed and clothe herself; not a "natural protector," to shield 5-0U in his plaidie,
the gallant, gallant laddie, from the cauld, cauld blast; but you will seek that
rarest, choicest, most elusive prize of man's existence, as of woman's — namely,
a mate.
(175)
176 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Ill less enlightened daj-s, your ideal woman composed the single, grand class
for which public prejudice set itself to provide. She was to be the wife and
mother, and she was carefully enshrined at home. But, happily, this is the
world's way no longer. The exceptions are so many, that not to provide for those
exceptions would be a monstrous meanness, if not a crime. And the provision
made in this instance is the most rational — indeed, the only rational one which it
is in the power of .society or government to make forany save the utterly incapable
— namely, a fair chance for self-help. Clearly, to all of you I am declaring a true
and blessed gospel, in this good news concerning honest independence and brave
self-helpl Clearly, also, no one is wise enough to tell who, in future years, shall
need a bread-winning weapon with which to defend herself and perchance also the
helpless ones between whom and the world there may be no arm but hers. But
it is a principle in public as well as private economy, that the iviscst foresight
provides for the jrinotest eontingeney , and thus, in its full force, all that I have
been saj'ing applies to every woman who maj- read the.se pages. Suppose that
many of you, dear girls, are destined to a downy nest, instead of a strong-winged
flight — what then ? Will the years spent in making the most of the be.st powers
with which God has endowed you be wonse employed than if you had given them
to fashion and frivolity ?
Thus far I have been trying to impress upon you the reasons why you should
cultivate individuality^ and independence in word and deed. I have claimed that
each one of you has a " call " to some specific work, indicated by God's gifts to
you of brain, or heart, or hand. But if you acquire, let it be that you may
dispense; if you achieve, that others may sun themselves in the kind glow of your
prosperity'. People who .spend their strength in absorbing are failures and
parasites. It is alike the business of the .sun and of the .soul to radiate every
particle of light that they contain. And .so, having made sure of your
light, strength and discipline, strike out from the warm and radiant centre of a
self-poised brain and heart, into the lives about you. and you will find that " What
is good for the hive is good also for the bee." " Self -culture " is much in vogue
nowadays, and has for its high prie.sts some of the most incisive minds of this or
any age.
But self-culture stops in the middle of the .sentence I would fain help
you to utter. It .says, " Make the mo.st of your powers;" it does not say " for
others' sake as well as for your own. " It claims that if we set the candle of our
gifts upon the candlestick of modern society, its life will inevitably radiate
according to its pf)wer of shining, and thus, while brightening ourselves we shall
have done our utmost toward lighting up the general gloom. But self-culture
forgets that a candle is no type of you and me. We are human s])irit-lamps.
whose rays should be directed and intensified by the blow-pipe of an unceasing
LADY HEXRV SOMERSET.
(177)
1 78 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
purpose; for we are all so made that unless we ivill to light up other lives, we can
never do so to the limit of our power.
Now, then, young women who are ready for work, the memory of \\\y own
early aspirations leads me to add: I desired financial independence — that is, to bear
my own weight. I said, "Grant me a place to stand," and sought a lever by
which I might help to move the world. If this describes your mental outlook,
let us confer together concerning your vocation.
There is none nobler than that of a teacher or a professor in an institution
for the higher education. But the.se ranks are overcrowded, and without decided
talent, some experience or rare influence, you risk much in making choice of
teaching as your field of labor.
Journalism is difficult. Literature, without the highest order of talent, is
hopeless. Lyceum lecturing has passed its prime and the most gifted and famous
alone can win in that arduous field. Public reading as an avocation for women
is as much overcrowded as the legal profession is for men. In music, vocal and in-
strumental, there is an absolute glut of the market, save for the highly endowed.
Moreover, in all these lines the standard is rising so steadily and to such a height
that mediocrits", once endurable, is now hopelessly condemned. To be a fourth
or even a third-rate musician is to have failed outright. To paint daubs and call
them pictures is a positive sin. To murder the modern languages by false accent
and atrocious grammar hath not forgiveness in this world. But behold, all these
things are done daily by droves of young persons who are blindly or ignorantly
resolved upon the unattainable.
This inventor}- includes most of the higher occupations save one, and that is
the well-nigh boundless field of practical philanthrop\-. There is a welcome from
the best, for women, on the moral battlefields of this busy age. Soldiers are
needed; new recruits eagerly sought. No class of workers outrank women in
opportunity, dignity, or the rewards that a .sincere heart prizes most. To be sure,
wealth cannot be won here, but a moderate income, sufficient for current needs,
is certain to all faithful and efficent workers. A noi.sy fame is not to be attained,
but a thousand homes will be your own and ten thou.sand hearts will bless and
.shelter you.
Growth of brain, heart and conscience is nowhere more certainly
a.ssured. There is no one-sided development, as in purely intellectual work, but
thought and sympathy go hand-in-hand. It is a home-like place for a woman's
soul to dwell in. this golden harvest field of Christian work.
I might enumerate the .societies for Home and Foreign Mis.sions, Indian
Reform, Associated Charities, and many other attractive lines of work, but my
present object is to win your attention to the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union as the most promising field of labor and reward that can be named for
IN TRMPRRANCE WORK. 179
woiucu, young or in i del le- aged or old. Let nie tell you something of its history
and aims as I gave it in " How to Win: "
The National Woman's Christian Temperance Union, with its fifty auxiliary
State and eight Territorial Unions, besides that of the District of Columbia,
is the largest society ever composed exclusively of women, and conducted en-
tirely by them. It is now organized in every State and territory of the nation,
and locally in all important towns and cities. Great Britain, Canada and Australia
are also organized, and we have organized a World's Woman's Christian Tem-
perance Union.
This .society was founded through the agency of the National Woman's
Christian Temperance Union of the United States in 1883. 1*^^^ National Union
was organized in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1874, and is the sober .second thought of the
great Woman's Temperance Crusade which swept over the country during the
previous winter, and whose influence extended to lands beyond the .sea. Scarcely
was the organization of the National Society completed when the question arose,
Why not have an International Woman's Chri.stian Temperance Union? At the
Detroit Convention, held in 1883, the president urged, and the Plan of Work
Committee recommended the appointment by the Executive Committee of a com-
mission on a Plan of Organization of a World's Woman's Christian Temperance
Union, and in the .same year Mrs. Mary Clement Eeavitt received her appointment
as pioneer missionary for the proposed organization. Through her untiring
labors during the intervening years, supplemented by those of other mi.ssionaries
wdio followed her later, and of individual workers in various nations, unions have
been organized in more than forty countries and provinces. Mrs. Margaret Bright
Eucas, of England, the first president, was elected in 1886.
The chief National Auxiliaries are those of the United States, Canada, Great
Britain, Australia, South Africa, Japan and the Hawaiian Islands.
The first delegated Convention of the World's Union, held in Faneuil Hall,
Boston, Mass., U. S. A., in 1891, adopted the following Declaration of Principles
and form of Constitution and B^'-laws:
Declaration of Principles of the World's W. C. T. U.
We believe in the coming of His Kingdom whose service is the highest
liberty because His laws, written in our members as well as in nature and in grace,
" are perfect, converting the soul."
We believe in the gospel of the Golden Rule and that each man's habits of
life .should be an example safe and beneficent for ever}^ other man.
We therefore formulate, and for ourselves adopt, the following pledge, asking
our brothers of a common danger and a common hope to make common cause with
us, in working its reasonable and helpful precepts into the practice of every-day life:
iSo OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Pledge.
" I hereby solemnly promise, God helping me, to abstain from all Alcoholic
Liquors, as beverages, whether distilled, fermented or malted; from opium in all
its forms, and to employ all proper means to discourage the use of and traffic in
the same. ' '
To confirm and enforce the rationale of the pledge, we declare our purpose to
educate the young; to form a better public sentiment; to reform, so far as possible,
by religious, ethical and scientific means, the drinking classes; to seek the trans-
forming power of divine grace for ourselves and all for whom we work, that they
and we may wilfully transcend no law of pure and wholesome living; and finally
we pledge ourselves to labor and pray that all these principles, founded upon the
Gospel of Christ, may be worked out into the Customs of Society and the Laws
of the Land.
To this end we plead with all good women throughout Christendom to join
with us heart and hand in the holy endeavor to protect and sanctify the Home as
that temple of the Holy Spirit which, next to the human body itself, is dearest of
all to our Creator; that womanhood and manhood in equal purity, equal personal
liljerty and peace, may climb to those blest heights where there shall be no more
curse.
We a.sk all women like-minded with us in this sacred cause to wear the white
riblx)n as the badge of loyalty; to lift up their hearts with us to God at the noon-
tide hour of prayer; to take as their motto, " For God and Hcmie and K\er\-
Land." and to unite with us in allegiance to the foregoing Declaration of Prin-
ciples and to the summary of our plans and purposes, as embodied in the Preamble
of our Constitution adopted in Faneuil Hall. Boston. U. S. A., November ii, 1S91.
Till-: Polyglot PirriTio.x.
A great petition has been circulated in all parts of the world against legalizing
the sale of opium and alcohol, and in favor of an equal standard of personal purity
for both sexes. This petition has been called " The Polyglot," because translated
into and signed in so many different languages. Over seven millions of names,
either by signature or endorsement, have been secured to it. The length of the
petition is 7000 yards. It is the largest petition ever presented on behalf of any
object, and is the mo.st international in its ])roposcd reforms. ICvery i)rominent
nation has had a share in signing it. and in due time it will be presented to all the
leading governments. The Polyglot has recently been photographed, and it is
hr)ped all White Ribboners will order copies from the W. W. C. T. U. Secretary.
C.'.tholic and Protestant. Gentile. Jew. Hindoo and Mohammedan have found in
the Polvglot Petition a common ground of faith and works.
IN TEMPERANCE WORK. i8i
At the Women's Temple, Chicago, is located the Woman's Temperance
Publishing Association, a stock company, whose directors, stockholders and
l)usiness manager are all women. This house sends out about 135,000,000 pages
annually. The L 'nuvi Signal, the official organ of the Union, has a large circulation
in all parts of the world.
The Woman's Temperance Hospital, located at 16 19 Diversey avenue,
Chicago, demonstrates the value of non-alcoholic medication.
The general officers of the World's W. C. T. U. for 1897-98 are as follows:
president. Miss Frances E. Willard; vice-president-at-large, Eady Henry Somerset;
secretary, Miss Agnes E. Slack; assistant secretary, Miss Anna A. Gordon;
treasurer, Mrs. Mary E. Sanderson.
The first round-the-world missionary was Mrs. Mary Clement Leavitt, of
Boston. The second, Mi.ss Jessie A. Ackermann, of California.
As a general estimate (the returns being altogether incomplete), we think
the number of local unions in the United States about ten thousand, with a
paid membership of one hundred and fifty thousand or more, and a following
of three hundred thousand, besides numerous juvenile organizations. This society
is the lineal descendant of the great Temperance Crusade of 1873-74, and is a
union of Christian women of all churches, for the purpose of educating the
young, forming a better public sentiment, reforming the drinking classes, trans-
forming, by the power of divine grace, those who are enslaved by alcohol, and
removing the dram-shop from our streets bj^ law.
In the order of evolution, the departments of work are embraced under the
following general classification: (i) Organizing; (2) Preventive; (3) Educational;
(4) Evangelistic; (5) Social; (6) Legal.
Twenty-three years of constant study and experience have enabled us to re-
duce to a science the methods by which these departments have been made
successful. These can be learned b}^ active co-operation with the local society
in your own town; by reading our weekly paper. The Union Signal (Chicago);
" Do Everything " (our handbook); and by studying our national minutes and
other practical helps, to be had hy addressing Mrs. Kate L. Stevenson,
Headquarters National W. C. T. U. , Chicago. For a history of the origin and"
growth of this great movement, and some knowledge of its leaders, I refer j-ou to
my own book entitled " Woman and Temperance." (Same address.)
Hundreds of women have already become experts in this branch of social
science and religious activity. As organizers, national, State, district and country,
they are kept constantly bus}-, and their income is provided by those for whom
they labor. As local and State officers, salaries are often paid, but not as a rule,
and in but one office of the national society. Nearh' all these workers have
learned to speak acceptably in public without manuscript or notes. They are
i82 OCCUPATIONvS FOR WOMEN.
quiet, well-mannered, sensible women, who would compare favoraljly with the
same number of teachers, artists, or musicians.
Among the noted speakers and workers of the \V. C. T. U. in the last
twenty-three years since the Crusade have been Mrs. Mary T. Lathrap, Mrs.
Mary A. Woodbridge, Mrs. L. M. N. Stevens, Rev. Anna Shaw, Mrs. Mary H.
Hunt, Mrs. Katharine Lente Stevenson, Mrs. Sallie F. Chapin, Mrs. Clara C.
Hoffman, Mrs. Frances J. Barnes, Mrs. Helen M. Barker, Mrs. Louise S. Rounds,
Mrs. Frances E. Beauchamp, Miss Belle Kearney, Mrs, S. M. I. Henry, Mrs.
Helen L. Bullock, Mrs. Ella A. Boole, Mrs. Jennie F. Willing, Miss Anna A.
Gordon, Mrs. Helen G. Rice, Mrs. J. K. Barney, Mrs. Addie Northam Fields,
Mrs. Lucy Thurman, Miss Elizabeth W. Greenwood, Mrs. M. B. Ellis, Mrs.
Caroline F. Grow and other women who devote their entire time and talent to
building up this greatest of all women's societies.
The White Ribbon Women have founded a publishing hou.se and a hospital,
the latter for the purpose of demonstrating the advantage of non-alcoholic medi-
cation. The Women's Temple in Chicago is universally known as the head-
quarters of the Association, Mrs. Matilda B. Car.se is its founder.
Indeed, the majority of our leaders have, at some time, been teachers, but
found the profession of Gospel temperance workers broader, just as independent,
and no less beneficent. By the efforts of our societies the teaching of physiology
and hygiene, with special reference to the effects of alcoholic stimulants and
narcotics, has already been introduced by law into the public schools of almo.st
every State, and by the action of Congress into all the territories and the District
of Columbia. Kindergarten (with temperance adaptations) is one of our
departments, also kitchen garden, both departments, helping to prepare those
who teach in them for the home cares, which later on, will come to most of
our young workers. As corresponding secretaries of local unions, as private
secretaries, clerks and accountants, many are supporting themselves and help-
ing the greatest of reforms; others, as organizers of Young Women's Christian
Temperance Unions and Juvenile Societies. In our delightful " Flower Mission "
there is great promise for willing hands, while our temperance, literature and press
departments offer the widest field for cultured brain and skillful pen. As lecturers
in our departments of heredity and hygiene many a young lady physician has
added to her power, while girls who would gladly have studied for the mini.stry
have found the door wide open in our Gos])el temperance meeting, and credentials
furnished by our department of e\angelistic work.
Tlie White Ribbon movement throughout ih^- world stands i)r()n()unce(l for
the ballot for women. This has been chiefiy l)rouglil about through the influence
and work of its i)resident. who began the agitation in 1.S76. In iS,S6 she urged
-^ the adoption of the dei)arlment of i)urity and was made its superintendent. This
IN TEMPERANCE WORK.
183
has now developed into a great nioxcnient attached to tlie W. C. T. U. ; Dr. Mary
Wood Allen, of Ann Arbor, Mich., is the present superintendent.
Dear younger sisters, think about these things. Tliey are ' ' true, pure,
lovely, and of good report." Talk them over in your literary society, your
Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle, your quiet hour with loved ones at
home. We want you, and perhaps you hav'e need of us. Before long we shall
establish a training school with model Woman's Christian Temperance Union,
niotlel juvenile society, kindergarten, kitchen garden, etc. If you should apply
in sufficiently large numbers I am confident some wealthy temperance friend
woukl help us to a "local habitation" for this u.se, l)ut we have already begun
with sununer training .schools at .several plea.sant sunuiier resorts. Lake Bluff is
one of these, near Chicago, on the .shore of Lake Michigan. Having been so
many years a teacher, before enlisting in this grand Woman's Chri-stian Temper-
ance Union work, I have long meditated .sending out this invitation to "sweet
girl graduates " and any others to whom it might be like a friend's hand pointing
to a safe and helpful avocation.
May our blessed Master lead you wisely to decide the question of your work
*' for God and home and native land."
AN l.KKA.NIi ()!■ .M1.KC\'
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XXIX.
THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS.
BEI/IE\'E — indeed, this is one of the chief articles of my creed
of livnig — that no one was sent into this world without a work to
do; there is nothing without its mission in the whole catalogue
of created things, and it is not likel}- that w^e, ' ' made in the
image of God," and " only a little lower than the angels," will
be exempt from our share of usefulness. What the special
life-work of each may be, depends entirely on surroundings
and opportunities. Each one must decide for herself wdiat her
duties are, and in what manner she can perform them to the
best advantage.
Golden opportunities present themselves every day to all, if the}- onh' would
u.se them, but either they do not see them, or in their careless indolence thej- pass
them by. not attaching the proper importance to them. The trouble is, girls,
nearly every one is inclined to " despise the day of small things," and wants, if
she is to work at all, to do something grand and startling, out of the common
course, that will astoni.sh the world; and in her lookout for the grand opportu-
nities that .so seldom come, she may lose many ways of doing real good. • Not all
can be representative women or do grand, heroic deeds, but each one can W'Ork
quietly and unostentatiously, carrying the deeds of kindness into everj-day life
and making herself better and every one around her happier by the influence of a
consistent, lovely, tmselfish life.
But because you have a work to do and life is earnest and you are to be in
earnest with it, you need not go through it with knit brows, as though you were
puzzling over some perplexing question in mathematics. Not a bit of it! You
should carry so much sunshine in 3-our hearts that it wnll shine through 3' our eyes
and brighten your faces. The world needs all the sunshine it can get, and you
(185)
,86 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMHX.
liave got to help make it. Clouds will come sometimes, as a matter of course,
but they need not come as frequently as they do if you would not let them; you
often make your own clouds, let trides annoy you, grow impatient and fretful at
small troubles and render yourself and everybody else uncomfortable by your
unhappy mood. Clear away the clouds — you can do it by a little patient endeavor
and some consideration for the comfort of others.
Less of self and more for others, and your work is well begun; after that,
once fairly started on the upward way, your progress will be easier; you will find
your field of labor extending before 3-ou are aware that you have begun your
task, and with each day's duties will come new love and interest in your work.
You nmst have aims, each one of you, not clearly defined, perhaps, vague
and but half realized, it may be, yet there notwithstanding, latent in your mind
and only waiting opportunities to form themselves into some tangible shape and
show you clearly in what particular channel j^our life-work lies. Even to the
most aimless of you there comes a time when j^ou recognize the fact that there is
something beyond your every-day life with its pett}' annoyances and wearying
trials, and you long to do some act that .shall r aise you above the present level of
your life. No life is perfected without some grand motive power, some definite
end which you wish to attain. Otherwise it w^ould not be living, but mere exist-
ence— something which animals have in common with you, but which is in no
whit beyond animal life; nay, it is rather below it; for the\' use to their best the
powers that are given them, while you willfully let run to waste the energies and
talents that belong to you, either through indifference, or because you are too
laz\- to exert your.selves, and do not care to do more than you are at present
accomplishing, which is nothing at all; worse than nothing; for you cannot stand
still — you must either advance or recede, grow or dwarf.
There are girls — I hope you who read are not among them — who have every
gift that one could a.sk bestowed upon them, yet treat them as indifferently as if
they were things to be thrown carelessly one side, and who live on as if life held
nothing beyond the present moment, their to-morrow nothing grander or greater
than their to-day. One looks at such girls and wonders: they are anomalies.
One feels .sorry for them and grieves over their wasted lives; they must .sometimes
have a longing for something that is more satisfactory, a perception that there is a
height tliat they have not yet attained, a possibility that by and by may become a
living reality, and they may glow with a desire to attain this in their better
moments. Hut this desire is only a fla.sh; it goes out again when blown upon by
the cold breath of their scjcial .surroundings, and it may be a long, wasted time
^•♦•forc it is rekindled.
Hut while there is this cla.ss of girls, there is another at the other extreme —
girls who want a career, who long to become bright lights in the world, to do
THE DAY OF SMALL THINGS. 187
something that shall make them famous forever — who cannot comprehend what a
vast amount of good can ])e done in a quiet, unostentatious way, but think every
attempted work of philanthropy or reform must be begun and carried on with a
blowing of trumpets and beating of drums, a sort of advertisement of their work,
just as the side shows at the country fair draw their spectators in numl^ers
proportioned to the noise they make at the entrance. These girls are in advance
of the others, for a thing is better overdone than not done at all, though they too
are .sadly at fault. The danger is, that these girls, finding themselves falling far
short of their mark, and seeing others succeed quietly where they fail noi.sily, get
disgusted, and fall out of the ranks of the workers, crying out that they are not
appreciated! The simple truth is, they were working for the world's approval,
entirel}' ignoring the fact that the truest reward w^as the approval of their own
consciences and the trusting, restful belief in the approval of that Higher Power,
for whom their w^ork should be done.
It is satisfactory to do something grand enough and brilliant enough to win
the applause of the world and make it acknowledge you and 3- our achievement,
but as I have told you already, you cannot all be representative women; yet none
the less can your lives be filled or 3'our influence felt. What you are, more than
what you do or sa)', gives others their ideas of 3'ou, and when they see a life full
to the brim of charity, good-will and gentleness, recognize a soul whose aspira-
tions are pure and noble, they feel that they are the better and the happier for
coming so in contact with that beautiful life. It may be the name is never
breathed beyond the little circle of home and friends. To those who do not know^
the wearer, it would signify nothing; yet there are those to whom it is a perpetual
song of praise, a never-ending hymn of thanksgiving. It is never seen in the list
of the reformers, yet none the less does she who bears it do her own quiet work of
rescue, reformation and redemption. To stranger eyes there may be no glory of
sainthood throwing a halo around the beloved head, but those who know her best
see the aureole shining there. Is not her work as complete, her life as grand a
success, as though her name were trumpeted to all the world?
To you all a life like this is a possibility, something to which you may attain.
It cannot be reached at once, but you might get a long way toward it while you
are folding your hands and lamenting your inability to do what some one else has
done before you, whose life-work lay in quite a different direction from your own.
Girls, you whose brains have turned with all sorts of impracticable, quixotic
schemes, stop dreaming of impossibilities, and instead of being mere castle-builders,
become actual workers and do not think because you cannot be Joan of Arc,
Madame Roland or Florence Nightingale, that there is nothing for you to do.
There may be a moral heroism in overcoming yourself, greater than any you have
ever read in the pages of history. It may be knowai only to God and yourself;
ISS
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Nc-t whose approval would you rather have than His? Is there anything beyond
that to care for? Can the world's praise heighten your pleasure or give more
i-plh to your satisfaction?
And you who do not care, please give the matter a little thought. Your lives
do not satisfy you. There is a longing for something better than has yet been
brought you. Mere existence is not sufficient. You cannot feel that you are
fulfilling the grand plan of your being. How shall you do it? First of all, let
every one try to make her own life so sweet and .sunny that her influence will be
felt on all around, and after that, the other opportunities will come as fast as 3'ou
can use them. They may not be large ones, but whatever they are, take them up
and do them faithfully, because being set to your hand, it is for your hand to da
tlicin.
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XXX.
WOMEN IX MEDICINE.
HE first of the professions to be invaded by women was the
medical. Now the name of a woman physician is to be seen
in ahnost every cit}' block in any of what are known as
"physicians' districts," and almost every town of size has
at least one woman on its list of medical practitioners.
The first woman to graduate from a medical school was
Dr. Elizabeth Black well. Her sister, Dr. Emily Blackwell, dean of the Medical
College of the New York Infirmary, was the second. The story of the difficulty
of gaining a proper medical education is well told by the latter of the Blackwell
sisters. She says that to appreciate the advance which women have made in the
medical profession one must go back forty years, to the time when not only had
no woman in America written " M. D." after her name, but women graduates in
any department of study were almo.st unheard-of. Diplomas, advanced courses
of instruction, were then things entirely outside of the ordinary life of woman.
It is difficult for .students of the present day to realize the narrowness of the then
existing opportunities for intellectual cultivation, not only in the absence of college
courses, but in the comparative slightness in the scope and quality of instruction
in the girls' .schools of that time.
But aspirations for a higher life were in the air. Miss Lyon, Mrs. Willard.
Catherine Beecher, and other pioneers in the education of women, had begun their
work, and less conspicuous women all over the country were beginning to give
expres'^ion to the coming demands. The entrance of women into the medical
profession must be reckoned from the time when a woman first obtained admission
to a medical college to pursue the course of study required by law as a preparation
for the degree of Doctor of Medicine, with the legal authority to practice and the
,9o OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
pr>)fessional recognition as a physician which the degree confers. This dates from
the admission of Elizabetli Blackwell to the Geneva Medical College in 1848.
When, a few years earlier, she began to make inquiries, and asked advice of
physicians as to how to accomplish her purpose, she was met on all sides by
inoredulons and contemptuous amazement and discouragement. In 1848 she
addressed letters to several medical colleges asking permission to matriculate as a
student. B\- most of them no notice of the application was taken. Others simply
declined. From one onl\-, the C^icneva Medical College of New York, a favorable
answer was received.
How this answer came to be given was told Miss Emily Blackwell by Mr.
Stephen Smith, of New York, and it shows how quixotic an undertaking it was
then regarded. Mr. Smith .said:
" The first course of medical lectures which I attended was in a medical college
in the interior of the State. The class numbering about 150 students, was
compo.sed largely of young men from the neighboring towns. They were rude,
lx)isterous, and riotous beyotid comparison. On several occasions the residents of
the neighborhood sent written protests to the faculty, threatening to have the
college indicted as a nuisance if the disturbance did not cease. During lectures it
was often almost impossible to hear the professors, owing to the confusion.
" Some weeks after the course began, the dean appeared before the class with
a letter in his hand, which he craved the indulgence of the students to be allowed
to read. Anticipation was extreme when he announced that it contained the most
extraordinary request which had ever been made to the faculty. The letter was
written by a physician of Philadelphia, who re(iuested the faculty to admit as a
student a lady who was studying medicine in his office. He stated that she had
been refused admission by .several medical colleges, but as this institution was in
the ccjuntry, he thought it more likely to 1)e free from prejudice against a woman
medical student. Tlic- dean stated that the faculty had taken action on the
conununication, and directed him to report their conclusion to the class. They
decided to leave the matter in the hands of the class, with this understanding,
that if any single pupil objected to her, a negative reply would be returned. It
subseqncntly appeared that the faculty did not intend to admit her, 1)Ut wished to
e.sc-ape giving a direct refn.sal l)y referring the c|uestion to the cla.ss.
" But the whole affair assumed tlie most ridiculous aspect to the class, and the
announcement was received willi the most uproarious demonstrations of favor. A
meeting was called for the evening, which was attended by every member. The
resolution approving the admission of the l;i(l\- was sustained by a number of most
extravagant speeches, which were entliusiastically cheered. The vote was taken,
with what seemed t(j be one unaninums yell, 'yes.' When the negative was
called, a single voice was heard uttering a timid 'no.' The scene that followed
OPERATING ROOM IN WOMAN'S HOSPITAL.
('9')
192 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
passes description. A general rush was made for the corner of the room which
emitted tlie voice, and the recalcitrant member was onl\- too glad to acknowledge
his error and record his vote in the affirmative. The faculty received the decision
of the class with evident disfavor, but returned an answer admitting the woman
student. Two weeks or more elapsed, and as she did not appear, the incident
of her application was quite forgotten, and the class continued in its riotous
career.
"One morning, all unexpectedly, a lady entered the lecture room with the
professor. She was quite small of .stature, plainly dressed, appeared diffident and
retiring, but had a firm and determined expression of face. Her entrance into
that Bedlam of confusion acted like magic upon every student. P^acli hurriedly
souglit his .seat, and the most absolute .silence prevailed. For the first time a
lecture was given without the .slightest interruption, and every word could be
heard as distinctly as if there had been but a single person in the room. The
.sudden transformation of this class from a band of lawless desperadoes to gentle-
lUen, l)v the mere presence of a Vv'oman, proved to be permanent in its effects. A
more cjrderly class of medical students was never seen than this, and it contiinu-d
to be till the close of the term
" Our woman student came up for examination for graduation at the close of
the term, and took rank with the best students of the class. As this was the first
instance of the granting of a medical diploma to a woman in this country, so far
as the faculty had information, there was at first .some hesitation about conferring
the degree. But it was finally decided to take the novel .step, and in the honor
list of the roll of graduates for that year appears the name, Klizal)eth Klackwell."
Xol withstanding the amusement the a])plication .seemed to have caused, the
letter of the faculty admitting the woman student was accompanied b}- a handsome
letter from the class assuring her that there should be nothing on their ])art to
make her position difficult. And they kept their word. An\- annoyance slie
e.xperienced came from outside. The ladies at her boarding-house ignored her
I)re.sence. Those passing her in the street not infrecjuentlN- testified their
di.sapjirobation by manner, even l)y remarks. vShe often felt when tlie college
dfKMs closed behind her, that she had entered a refuge.
When the degree of Doctor was taken, the first ]ihase only of a medical
education was completed. The hospitals in whicli the student must acciuire
familiarity with the ])ractical i)art of the profession were aijsolutely clo.sed to the
young woman doctor. Her oidy chance to seek such oi)])orlinnties was in the
great medical centres of Kurope. and again she was discouraged on all h.inds by
assertions of the imjxjssibility of a woman studying without insult among the
crowds of foreign students. But she was not to be diverted, and true to lier
intention, .sl)e went abroad, and after three \ears of successful studies in Kurope,
WOMKN IN MRDICINK. 193
Dr. Blackwell rcUinicfl and established herself in practice in New V(jrk. The
new departure was made.
Inunediately after her graduation a few women were admitted to other medical
colleges. Invariably so much pressure was put by the medical .societies upon any
college admitting a woman, that the doors of that particular college were hence-
forth clo.sed. Exclusion from all medical in.stitutions became the settled policy.
Separate colleges for women were promptly'- established, Boston taking the lead
in 1850, and Philadelphia following in the same year. And yet, not all men were
opposed to this new- departure. As early as 1845 Dr. Samuel Gregory, in
connection with his brother, Mr. George Gregory, published pamphlets advocating
the education and employment of women physicians. In 1847 he delivered a
series of public lectures upon the subject, and proposed the opening of a school
fin- the purpose. In 1848 a class of twelve women was formed, under the
instruction of Dr. Enoch C. Rolfe and Dr. William M. Cornell. An association
styled the "American Female Medical Education Society" was organized the
same year, and afterward merged in the New England Female Medical College,
chartered in 1856, which .still owns valuable property and has many facilities for
its work.
In 1854 the doctors, Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, obtained a certificate of
incorporation for the New^ York Infirmary, the first, and for many years the onlj^,
beginning of a woman's hospital.
Now followed the period of the greatest depression for the new effort. The
first women students had, to a certain extent, the advantage of the great system
of instruction organized for men. Their immediate successors were restricted to
the facilities afforded them by the small women's schools. The adverse sentiment
which closed the college influenced unfavorabl}- the growth of the schools. Some
of the medical societies declared that physicians teaching in these schools .should
be excluded from their ranks. The unfriendly tone of the profession was that of
the general public. Social and professional ostracism was the rule in regard to
both students and teachers. When Dr. Blackwell established herself in New
York she was obliged to purchase a house, because she found it impossible to rent
reputable rooms. When, in 1857, the indoor department of the infirmarj- was
opened, under the charge of Dr. Zakrewska as resident physician, many of the
friends feared that the little hospital would come to grief. Some of the trustees
were remonstrated with bj- their friends for allowing their names to be connected
with an institution that would cause scandal and trouble.
That opinions have changed since those early da3\s and that, after all, the
correctness or propriety of anything depends upon our own standpoint toward it,
is shown by the following little incident which happened at the Boston home of
this same Dr. Zakrewska after she had left Dr. Blackwell' s ho.spital and started
13
,94 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
into practice for herself. Her home was the centre of attraction for all the women
medical students of Boston, and they were always welcome there. Living with
Dr. Zakrewska, as housekeeper, was her widowed sister who had a little daughter
about si.x years of age. This little one was a pet among the girl nieds., as the
students were familiarly called. It happened that her mother took her one da}- to
see her dentist. At dinner the little girl seemed much absorbed and neglected to
eat. Dr. Zakrew.ska said to her, "What's the matter, little one? Why don't
you eat your soup?"
"Oh, Auntie," was the child's reply, "what do you think ? I went with
mamma to .see Dr. and that doctor was a man !"
The idea that a doctor could be anything but a woman was as strange to this
child, brought up among women physicians, as it was to the men physicians of
fit"ty years ago that a doctor could be anything but a man. So you see, after all,
it is only a question of standpoint.
Mrs. Clemence S. Lozier was one of the first women to study medicine. She
was a native of Plainfield, N. J., her mother was a Quaker, a woman who had a
natural love for tending the sick, and good qualifications for doing so. Her elder
brother was a doctor of repute in New York. In 1830 she married Mr. A. W.
Lozier. His health soon failing, she opened a select school in West Tenth Street.
She continued here for eleven years, introducing into her school the .study of
physiology, anatomy and h^-giene. She was the first to teach these branches to
girls. During this time she read medical works under her brother's direction.
When her scholars were ill, .she would generally be called before the physician,
and in ordinary ca.ses she was the .sole reliance. She also prescribed for many
poor. Her hu.sband died in 1837, but it was not until she was thirty-five years
old, in 1849, that .she regularly attended medical lectures. She graduated at
Syracuse Eclectic College, having been refused by all others, on the ground that
no woman student could be received. Returning to New York, she entered at
once into regular and successful practice.
Struggles such as those of the Doctors Blackwell and Dr. Lozier are over.
The girl has now no trouble to gain admi.ssion into the best medical colleges.
They are open to her all the country over. It is only to will to study, and to do it.
Hundreds of women phy.sicians have a large and lucrative practice. Dr.
.Mary Putnam Jacobi, the wife of an ecjually renowned physician, has her office
thronged with j)aticnts. It is said there are as many in her waiting-room as in
lier hu.sband' s. Dr. ICUa ^L'lrk, of Baltimore, one of the younger women in the
profession, is earning fame and reputation by her .skill. These are only a few of
the hundreds of successful women practitioners in this country alone.
Women are now becoming speciali.sts. A few have taken a step in the right
direction, in becoming oculists. The Emperor of Austria has lately authorized
WOMEN IN MEDICINE.
195
Madam Reba Kershbaumer to practice as an oculist. In vStrasburg the Princess
Hohenlohe and her daughter Elizabeth have taken a practical course in military
hospital nursing, assisting at operations, amputations, cleansing and bandaging
wounds.
In Buffalo, N. Y., Dr. Lilian Craig Randall, with a corps of woman assistants,
has opened a surgical hospital for women. Dr. Randall is possessed of great
firmness and decision of character, together with a gentle and most womanly heart.
She believed that such a hospital as she proposed could obviate many of the
distressing features connected with surgery, where sensitive women are the patients.
As soon as it was made clear that her enterprise was in no way an aggressive
attempt on the part of women to usurp the place and work of man, 1jut merely the
result of an earnest desire to fill a long-felt want where women were so often the
sufferers, the new enterprise received the hearty good-will and co-operation of all.
It has had a steady growth and been from the first entirely self-supporting.
It has taken courage and faith and self-devotion in the pioneer workers to
struggle through the long day of small things, but the result of their labors is
shown in the stable and influential institutions into which these small beginnings
have grown and the right of way which is given to women in this profession as
though her choosing it alwavs had been a matter of course.
XXXI
WOMEN IN POLITICS.
HE last presidential election showed a remarkable
increase over other elections in the number of women
who did active work in the political field. This was so
noticeable that not a few persons have commented on
the fact as one of the most significant proofs during
the last few years of the rapidh- widening scope of
woman's influence. Each of the several parties had
its feminine advocates. Mrs. J. Ellen Foster, of Wa.sh-
ington, was at the head of the Woman's National
Republican Association of America. In the various vStates the
same organization had active and able leaders, Miss Helen
\'arick Bo.swell being State President for New York. In the
West women have been particularly prominent in political work. In New
I-jigland several prominent women actively championed the gold cause, while
Mrs. Elizabeth Sheldon Tillinghast, the daughter of Judge Sheldon, of New
Il.'iven, Conn., proved herself an eloquent speaker in behalf of free silver. The
l'r<jhil)ition party has for years counted many noble women among its most earnest
wcjrkers. and has repeatedly inserted a plank in its platform stating that it believes
educational qualifications, and not sex, should regulate the elective franchise.
The lalx)r and .socialistic movements have devoted and able women among their
speakers and leaders.
All this is of comjiaratively recent origin, though. Mrs. Lucy Stone,
•Speaking f)f this in Boston not many years ago, reviewed the developments of forty
years. In speaking of the first National Woman's Rights Convention, which
had met just forty years before, some of the things Mrs. Stone said were:
(196)
i
■^3, /
I
I
MARY A. LIVERMORE.
(197
,98 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
■ Forty years ago, when our convention met in Worcester, the papers far
and wide laughed at it as a 'hen convention.' That was what they called it.
One of the gains between that time and this is that women can meet and sit in
convention and find themselves fairly and well reported.
" Among the first and best gains that have been accorded to us is free speech
for women. Up to that time and before it, the women speakers had been hailed
with mobs, brickbats and stones. When I held a meeting in Maiden, Ma.ss., the
pastor of the Orthodox Congregational Church, being asked to give notice of the
meeting (this meeting was under the auspices of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery
Society; William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips were officers of the
Society), this minister in Maiden held the notice up before his face, and he said, ' I
am requested by Mr. Mowry to say that a hen will undertake to crow like a cock at
the Town Hall this afternoon at five o'clock. Anybody who wants to hear that
kind of music will, of course, attend.' So unpopular and unwelcome was the
idea of a woman speaking in public, that, after ^-ears of effort by Angelina and
Sarali Grimke and Abby Kelley, that was the welcome that came to a younger
worker. The consequence was, I had a very large meeting. Everybody came.
and Mr. Mowry was asked what kind of a hen it was, and all about it; and
altogether it was a very good advertisement of the meeting.
" Then see the different tone of the press. Deacon Samuel Bowles, editor
and founder of the Springfield Republican, a most excellent man, said of me in his
own paper, 'You she-hyena, don't you come here!' To-day the Springfield
Republican is one of the staiinchest advocates of woman .suffrage, and it
j)ubli>hes a department every week concerning woman and her interests."
In the times of anti-slavery agitation women exerted a strong influence in
jKjlitics, often amid scenes of great excitement. Mrs. Stone was a little woman
with an attractive face and a sweet voice. It is told of her that once, at an anti-
slavery meeting held on Cape Cod, in a grove, in the open air, a platform had
iK-en erected for the speakers, and a crowd assembled; but a crowd so menacing
in aspect and with so evident an intention of violence, that the .speakers one by
one came down from the stand and slipped quietly away, till none were left but
Stephen Fo.ster and Lucy Stone. She said, " You had better run, Stephen; they
are coming!" He answered, " But who will take care of you ? ' At that moment
the mob made a rush for the platform, and a big man .spratig up on it swinging a
club. She turned to him and .said without hesitation, "This gentleman will take
care of me." He fleclared that he would. He tucked her mider one arm, and
holding his club with the other, marched her out through the crowd, who were
roughly handling Mr. F'oster and such of the other .speakers as they had been able
to catch. Her representation so prevailed ui)on him that he mounted her on a
slump and stood by her with his club while she addressed the mob. They were
WOMEN IN POLITICS. 199
so moved bj- her speech that they not only desisted from further violence, but
took up a collection of twenty dollars to pay Stephen Foster for his coat, which
they had torn in two from top to bottom.
In 1869 Mrs. Stone, with William Lloyd Garrison, George William Curtis,
Colonel T. W. Higginson, Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, Mrs. Mary A. Livermore and
others, organized the American Woman Suffrage Association. From that time
until now the cause of woman's suffrage and the interest of women in politics
generally has steadily increased, although not without the opposition and disap-
proval of many of the same sex.
Sixty years ago women could not vote anj-where. In 18^15 Kentucky gave
school suffrage to widows. In 1861 Kansas gave it to all women. In 1869
England gave municipal suffrage to single women and widows and Wyoming
gave full suffrage to all women. School suffrage was granted in 1875 by Michi-
gan and Minnesota, in 1876 by Colorado, in 1878 by New Hampshire and Oregon,
in 1879 by Massachusetts, in 1880 by New York and Vermont. In 1881 muni-
cipal suffrage was extended to the single women and widows of Scotland.
Nebraska gave school suffrage in 1883 and Wisconsin in 1885. In 1886 school
suffrage was given in Washington and municipal suffrage to single women and
widows in New Brunswick and Ontario. In 1887 municipal suffrage was extended
to all women in Kansas and school suffrage in North and South Dakota, Montana,
Arizona and New Jersey. In 1891 school suffrage was granted in Illinois. In
1892 municipal suffrage was extended to single women and widows in the
Province of Quebec. In 1893 school suffrage was granted in Connecticut and full
suffrage in Colorado and New^ Zealand. In 1894 school suffrage was granted in
Ohio, a limited municipal suffrage in Iowa, and parish and district suffrage in
England to women both married and single. In 1895 full suffrage w^as granted
in South Australia to women both married and single. In 1896 full suffrage was
granted to women in Utah and Idaho.
The first petition for woman suffrage presented to Parliament, in 1867, was
signed bj^ onlj^ 1499 women. The petition of 1873 was signed by 11,000 women.
The petition presented to the members of the present Parliament was signed by
257,000 women.
The well-known new^spaper correspondent, Harold Frederic, says, "The
question may be one at which many politicians smile, but the steadily increasing
support it receives cannot be denied by an}- careful student."
Naturally, it is in the four Western States of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and
Idaho, where suffrage is absolutely free, that women have become most prominent
in politics. The Colorado House of Representatives for 1897 contained four
women members. They acquitted themselves of their duties creditably and with
dignity. One bill in connection with which they did specially good work was
200 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN,
that for the establishment of a separate reformatory for women. An observer of
this branch of the Colorado Legislature wrote:
' ' The lower house outranks the Senate in the serious decorum of legislative
deliberation. The few women who sit as members in the representative hall of
the beautiful Colorado capitol seem unconsciously to impose upon its proceedings
a greater regard for the amenities of speech and conduct than is observed in the
ui>j)er house, where there are, as yet, no women to be considered."
The office of chairman of the Committee on Printing, of the same Legislature,
was filled by Mrs. Conine, one of these women, and so efficiently that the cost to
the State for the printing for the session was $2000 less than ever before.
Mrs. A. J. Peavy, State Superintendent of Public Institutions for Colorado,
proved herself a woman of strength and ability. The office sought her, and not
she the office. Her administration was characterized by thoroughness, economy
and honest>'.
A similar record was made b}' the County Superintendents. Twent>--six
women occupied these positions to thirty men.
Wyoming has had for some time a successful State Superintendent of Public
Instruction in the person of Miss Estelle M. Reel.
In city politics the women of Denver particularly distinguished themselves in
1897. In the spring of that year the Civic Federation, consisting of about 10,000
women, conceived a plan to call a convention and put out a non-partisan ticket for
the municipal election of April. A single organization not being strong enough
to carry an independent ticket, the Civic Federation accepted the invitation of the
Tax-payers' League and joined forces in an effort to secure a ticket in the interest
of good government. The Tax-paj-ers' League was organized as a revolt against
gang rule, and its platform received the endorsement of the Civic Federation in
1895. Both organizations stand for Home Rule and the interest of the people as
against the control of corporations. The call for the convention was issued con-
jointly by the Civic Federation and Tax-payers' League and when the election
occurred their candidates were elected.
The convention which was the result of this movement assembled in the
Chamber of Commerce Hall at 10 o'clock, February 25. Mrs. Frank Hall,
president of the Civic Federation, was chosen temporary chairman, and presided
until the convention was organized. The delegates, numbering more than a
Innidred, represented the best elements in the city — ministers, lawyers, physicians,
lalxir nieiV trades assembly, etc. Women constituted about half the delegates.
At the Silver Republican Convention, held a week later, a score of women were
delegates.
The following account of an election in Denver is interesting. It was written
by a woman who was not herself in favor of women voting:
WOMEN IN POLITICS. 201
" I went from polling place to polling place in the lower part of the city. I
did not see one person under the influence of liquor. Every saloon in the town
seemed closed. The polling places were invariably clean, and in perfectly
approachable buildings. There were no crowds, and no disorder of any kind.
The women were treated with absolute courtesy in every way. I saw not the
slightest sign of that contempt which is said by opponents of suffrage to come with
too much familiarity. Neither did I see the little self-consciousness which marks
the ordinary woman in the ordinary crowd. The women seemed serious and
straightforward."
While it is not the purpose of this article to give prominence to any special
movement, but to speak of women in politics in general, it is interesting since
woman suffragists are generally most active in politics, to read what certain well-
known men and women think of the suffrage question.
Clara Barton, in speaking to the soldiers, said:
" When you were weak and I was strong, I toiled for you. Now^ }ou are
strong and I am weak. Because of my work for you I ask 5'our aid. I ask the ballot
for myself and mj' sex. As I stood by you, I praj^ you stand by me and mine."
Hon. John M. Long, Secretary of the Navy, said:
" Somebody sa3^s few women would vote if enfranchised. Well, it often
happens in an election that more than half the tnen refuse to vote. But if one
man or woman wants to exercise the right to vote, what earthly reason is there
for denying it, because other men and women do not wish to exercise it? If I
desire to breathe the fresh air of heaven, shall I not cross mj- threshold because
the rest of the family group prefer the stale atmosphere indoors?"
Hon. George F. Hoar, United States Senator, said:
' ' If an^^ person deems the franchise a burden and not a privilege, such a person
is under no constraint to exercise it. But, if it be a birthright, then it is obvious
that no other person than the individual concerned can rightfull}^ restrain its
exercise. The committee concede that women ought to be clothed with the
suffrage in any State where an^- considerable part of the women desire it. This is
a pretty serious confession. What has become of the argument that women are
unfit to vote?"
The names of the women who have been prominent in politics are too many
in number to be included with any degree of completeness in an article like this.
One thinks of Miss Susan B. Anthony, who years ago declared her constitutional
right to vote, in New York State, voted in spite of the law, and was arrested and
fined. The fine was never collected, but the courts decided that women did not
have the right under the Constitution to vote.
Mary Elizabeth Lease, of Kansas, has proved one of the most eloquent
speakers, and has perhaps come to be quite as well known throughout the countrj^
202 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
as aiiv other of the "new women" of whom she speaks so earnestly. Two
quotations from Mrs. Lease show^ her picturesque power with words.
" The hands on the dial plate of time mark the hour for a new dispensation.
The Samson of soul power is shaking the pillars of material authority. In the.se
later days the phrase ' new woman ' has become strangely familiar
Looking into the soul life of the world we find abundant evidence that the new
woman, new in a much higher sense than many can now perceive, is here, a prime
factor in the world's redemption."
" Then strong in faith the hour abide.
Light, Truth and Love, the battle-ground,
For every wind and every tide
That pulses all the wide world round,
Shall start the languid pulse of time,
Shall beat and surge in rhythmic song.
All hail! the New Woman for w^hose love
The world hath hungered long. ' '
Mrs. Anna E. Diggs and Mrs. Anna Waite are prominent Populist leaders
among the women of Kansas. The latter edits a paper in Ellsworth. Mrs. Laura
M. Johns, of Salina, Kan., is a Republican worker. Mrs. Judge Henderson,
the wife of a former Senator from Missouri, took an active part in the last
campaign as a gold standard Republican.
Mrs. Belva A. Lockw^ood, for many years a practicing lawj'er in Washington,
came prominently into public notice as a presi dential candidate in the campaign
in wliich Cleveland was first elected.
It is much to the credit of our .sex, however, that their most important politi-
cal work has been done in and for the Prohibition Party. This party was founded
.sfjuie twenty-five years ago, and from the first has .stood not only for the prohibi-
tion of the liquor traffic, but for the full enfranchisement of women. Its record
has been that of an educator of other parties, although it has elected .some candi-
dates, and has had tickets in the field in almost every State in the Union. So far
as can be learned the highest number of votes yet polled is three hundred thou.sand.
Women have served on its executive connnittee, and on that .small central com-
mittee which manages its affairs ; they have been delegates to its convention, and
have received every recognition. At the last ]iresidential campaign the Prohil^ition
Party left out all its previous planks except that relating to the liquor tralhc, which
caused a divi.sion, and about one-third of the delegates, led by Governor St. Jolm,
of Kan.sas. adjourned to another hall and formed the Liberal Party, which makes
women's ballot part and parcel of the movement, because it is believed that the
ballot in the hand of women means prohibition.
The white ril)bon women of the country symj>athi7.e strongly with this wing
of the party, but inasnnich as the Prohil)ilion Party had a re.st)lution for the
WOMEN IN POLITICS.
203
ballot, although it did not at this particular convention include the subject in its
platform, the W. C. T. U. is loyal to both these parties, and its influence is in
favor of their being merged in one as before. They have been requested by the
white ribbon women to change their name to Home Protection Party, because this
name indicates preciseh- what all the temperance forces of the country are work-
ing for.
The names which have been given above are only a few of those which the
history of the last few years have made prominent, and although the turmoil of
political life may fail to attract some women, may even for a time, at least, repel
them, the passing years have shown that here, as in so many other fields, the
opportunities for women to work, and to make their influence felt, have vastly
increased.
XXXII.
- ^ WOMAN IN THE PULPIT.
Ill N no profession which woman has entered has she encountered
11 such bitter opposition as was shown her when she tried the
111 niinistr}'. Much as those had endured who in the eariier days
11 became medical students, it was shght compared to the obloquy
Isp showered upon those who sought entrance to the .schools of
theology. They were assailed by pulpit and press. St. Paul
was quoted to them, their opponents meanwhile overlooking,
in teaching the letter of the Apo.stle, the spirit of Christ, which
was revealed to women as well as to men. But the barriers
of prejudice were at length broken down, for a few strong, fearless men gave the
benefit of their influence to the women, and now the woman minister is no unu.sual
sight, and her ministrations are followed in almost everj^ case by ble.s.sed results.
The Universal ist Church has from the first welcomed woman to its councils, and
ha.s accorded to her the fullest liberty in the exercise of her powers in its service.
Maria Cook and Lydia Jenkins, both of New York State, were the fir.st women
who arc known to have preached Universalism. They preached for a .short time
in the early part of this century, though neither of them .sought ordination.
()lynii)ia Brown was the first woman upon whom ordination was conferred. This
<K-ctirre(l directly after her graduation from the Canton Theological School in
iH^^. There are sixty-five women in tlie ministr>- of the Univer.salist Church.
There are more than twenty women in this country who are jiastors, not
preachers merely, but settled pastors over Unitarian churches, and they are
uniformly .successful. The president of the Iowa Unitarian Association, Rev.
Miss SafTord, is one of the most conspicuous women pastors. vStill another is the
(204)
WOMAN IN THE PULPIT. 205
Rev. Mary P. Wliitnc)', of the Unity Churcli, vSoutli liostcjii. She is not only an
able pastor, but a woman of force in church councils; and the .same may be said
of the Rev. P^lorence Iv. Pierce, of Pomona, Cal. ; the Rev. Harriet D. Boynton,
who, with her husl)aud, is settled at Roslindale, Mass.
The Congrei^ational Church of to-day draws no line of elegibility to pastoral
ordination between men and women. According to the latest pastoral lists, how-
ever, there are only .seventeen ordained women preachers in the Congregational
Church. Half a dozen of them are in the New England States, the majority are
stationed in the far West.
The Methodist Episcopal Churcli refused to ordain women as preachers.
But licenses have been granted to many, Mrs. Jennie Fowler Willing, si.ster of
Bishop Fowler, and Mrs. Mary T. Eatlirop being the most prominent. It can be
but a little time before this church, UvSually so broad and liberal in its views re-
garding women, will wheel into line and ordain those who desire to become
preachers of the Word of God. Certainly there are no more devoted women in
the world than those belonging to the Methodist Church.
While the women preachers of the Methodist Church are more properly
evangelists, yet many have gained for themselves the name of able preachers, in
the full sense of the term. Mrs. Maggie Van Cott has been for many years
engaged in active evangelistic work in almost every State of the Union. Other
well-known w^omen preachers of the Methodist denomination are Mary Sparkes
Wheeler, of Philadelphia; Grace Weiser Davis, of Jersey City; and Mrs. E. O.
Robinson, of Indianapolis, and many evangelists of the W. C. T. U.
Rev. Anna Howard Shaw graduated from the theological department of the
Boston University with high honors in 1878, and served the Methodist Episcopal
Church at Hingham, Mass., for a year. Her second pastorate was at East Dennis,
Cape Cod, where she faithfully discharged her duties for several years. The
' ' fault of being a woman ' ' prevented the Methodist Episcopal Church from
granting her ordination, notwithstanding her long and useful services, so in 1880
she applied to the Protestant Methodist Church and was regularly installed a min-
ister of that denomination.
A prominent woman minister in Greater New York is the Rev. Alice K.
Wright. She and her husband are co-workers in a parish just outside the city
limits. They graduated in the same class at the Canton Seminary, were conse-
crated together, then married. In speaking of her work Mrs. Wright says:
" I make the young people my specialty, and they come to me for advice and
counsel. I am the confidante of almost every young man and girl in our congre-
gation, and I am kept busy straightening out the many unhappy tangles into
which young people fall so easily. The older people go to my husband with
their difficulties, but I find that he often turns them over to me when there is a
2o6 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
particularly delicate case to handle, or when the persons concerned require an
extra amount of sympathy and patience. This is the one thing that makes the life
of a woman minister more difficult than that of a man. Being a woman, she is
expected to have an extra supply of those two qualities — patience and sympathy
— and to have them ready for immediate use on every occasion. But I love the
work, and am doing everything in my power to encourage more women to enter
the ministry. During the ages of woman's bondage she developed many charac-
teristics which unfitted her for useful service in the new fields of labor to which she
is now called. Our most successful leaders had much to overcome within them-
selves while they carried on the conflict against prejudice and ignorance.
"When we .stud}' these conditions we cannot but marvel at the wonderful
success that has so early crowned woman's eflForts in the new fields of her choice.
"But during those ages of 'the dominion of muscular force,' as Oliver
Schreiner calls them, woman developed some characteristics which, I hope, she
may never lose, as such a calamity would divest her of the power by which she
rose above bondage and by which she is destined to succeed in whatever good and
worthy thing she undertakes.
"The characteristics are chiefly patience, tenacity, tact, truthfulness, and,
above all, mother love. And when woman comes to focus these tendencies upon
great and unselfish ends they broaden and develop into glorious potencies.
"The ministry is one of those fields of effort where the characteristics
mentioned are in demand, and where women seem peculiarly fitted to perform a
much-needed work. I believe that the ministry is the broadest, loftiest field on
earth for the exercise of noble and helpful characteristics. No field furnishes so
great an opportunity for reaching all classes, all ages and both sexes with the
gospel of purity, honesty and equality for which the world is famishing.
"The responsibility of the ministry exceeds that of anj- other profession, in
the fact that one who preaches with real and lasting effect is one who tries harder
than anybody else to live up to the truth professed."
Rev. Caroline Bartlett Crane has established a working church in Kalamazoo,
Mich., of which she is the pastor, and which is one of the most influential for
grxKl of any church in the city. Rev. Augusta J. Chopin is another active minister
doing noble work.
Atid why should not women enter the ministry? The mother heart of God
will never be known to the world until translated into speech by mother-hearted
women. Law and love will never balance in the realm of grace until a woman's
hand shall hold the scales. Men preach a creed; women declare a life. Men deal
in formulas, women in facts. Men have always tithed mint and rue and cumin
in their ecclesiasticism, while the world's heart has cried out for compassion,
forgiveness and .sympathy. Men's jjreaching has left heads committed to a
WOMAN IX Tin-: ITLPIT.
207
catechism and left hearts hard as nether millstones. The Greek bishop who said,
"My creed is faultless; with my life you have nothing to do," condensed into a
sentence two thousand years of priestly dogma. Men reason in the abstract,
women in the concrete. A syllogism symbolizes one, a rule of life the other.
Religion is an affair of the heart; the world is hungry for the comfort of Christ's
gospel, and thirsty for its every-day beatitudes of that holiness which alone consti-
tutes happiness. Men
have lost faith in them-
selves and in each other.
Boodlerism and ' 'corners' '
on the market, greed of
gain, passion for power,
impurity of life, the com-
plicity of the church with
the liquor traffic, the pref-
erence of a partisan to a
conscientious ballot, have
combined to make the
men of this generation
faithless to each other.
The masses of the people
have forsaken God' s
house. But the masses
will go to hear when the}'
speak, and ever}- woman
who leads a life of week-
day holiness and has the
gospel in her looks, how-
ever plain her face and
dress may be, has round
her head the sweet Ma-
donna's halo, in the eyes
of ever}' man who sees her,
and she speaks to him
with the sacred cadence of
his own mother's voice.
Men have been preaching well-nigh two thousand years, and the large
majority of the converts have been women. Suppose now that women share
the preaching power, may it not be reasonably expected that a majority of the
converts under their administration will be men ? The entrance of woman upon
REV. CAROLINE BARTLETT CRAXE.
2o8 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
the ministerial vocation gives to humanity just twice the probability of strength-
ening and comforting speech, for women have at least as much sympathy,
reverence and spirituality as men, and they have at least equal felicit}- of manner
and of utterance. Why, then, should the pulpit have been so long shorn of half
its power ?
Formerly the voices of women were held to render them incapable of public
sjieech, but it was discovered that what these voices lacked in sonorosity they
supplied in clearness, and when women singers outranked all others, and women
lecturers were speaking daily to assemblies numbering from one to ten thousand,
this objection vanished. INIen said that admitting women into the pulpit would
disrupt the home. In this, as in other arguments, they have been proven
wrong. The mother heart has not changed — never will change. Women
may enter the arena of literature, art, business, the professions, what 3'ou will,
become a teacher, a physician, a philanthropist, a writer, a minister, even, but she
is woman, first of all, and cannot deny herself. A woman in the clerical profes-
sion is never in danger of forgetting that she is a woman. She is continually
expected to do things that are never required of men in the same position, that
men could not do if thej' would, and at the same time she is required to perform
all the regular duties of the minister. And what is the reward for all this?
None whatever, unless she finds it in her own heart, born out of the love for her
work. The woman who goes into the ministry thinking thereby to make a good
living in an easy way, or to popularize herself and get her name before the public, will
meet as she deserves to do, disappointment, dissatisfaction and failure. But when
a woman goes into the ministry with a true ideal of her work, if after one year
of conscientious effort — one year of trial and heartache, too, perhaps — she turns
back, she will be an exception to the rule. There is a satisfaction, an inspiration
which comes ver>' early in the work and binds one to it forever. Let the di.scour-
agements and troubles come as thick and fast as they may, the true-hearted
minister will not falter in her loyalty to the grandest calling in the world, for in
her heart is a joy that can hardly be expressed, beside which " the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared."
One minister in speaking of her work says: " To know that God has worked
through you to bring .sunshine into ])ut one dark home; to give hope to one soul that
was in loneliness and doubt; to have heard the words ' My pastor' .spoken in
confidence and love when a heart could call to no other human .source for s\ni]ia-
thy; to know tiiat every week .some tired mother or some little child will come to
you for sympathy and help — it is these things that raise the minister ril)ove the
criticism, the fear of failure and disappointment. It is the desire to helj) and the
occasional .satisfaction of hope fulfilled, that makes llie ministry a good and happy
field for work."
XXXIII.
PIANO AND ORGAN TUNING.
'OMEN who were girls half a century ago, and who, looking
back over the 3^ears, see what the time has brought both in
advantage and opportunity, may well call this, as one woman
did not long since, " the golden age for women." There is
very little to-day in the way of profession or employment
that the woman with ability, steadfastness of character and
courage, may not undertake. Avenue after avenue has been
opened, and quietly, without flourish of trumpets, w^omen have set
out to walk therein. It is no longer a matter of surprise to find
them occupying almost an)^ position, and if one wonders at all, it is
that they had not found its desirability earlier.
I do not know how many of the girls who are reading this book
in the hope of finding the one suggestion that shall open the way for
their own advancement, know-how many girls are employed as piano
and organ tuners, or how successful they have proven in this posi-
tion. Does the idea startle you ? Have you grown so accustomed to
having your piano always tuned by a man that you can't imagine
doing it for yourself, or having some other woman do it for you ? Have you
always thought of it as exclusively a man's business? Well, why should it be?
It is not difficult, it is pleasant, and more sheltered than many other employments
which take women out of their homes.
The first person to employ women as tuners was the Hon. Jacob Estey, the
founder of the famous Estey Organ Company, of Brattleboro, Vt. It is thirty
years since women were first introduced into that factory, so you see this avocation
is not so very new, after all.
14 (209)
2IO OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
" Deacon Estey," as every one called him, was a very progressive man, and
his daughter stood in as high regard as his son. He believed in woman's capacity
and ability to do the finer parts of mechanical work, and when the opportunity
came he put his theory to a practical test. This was soon after the civil war when
so many women were left dependent on their own resources, and oftentimes the
sole support of little children or aged parents. New w^ays must be made for these
workers, and one of the first men to give them opportunity was kind Deacon
Estey. When first a w^oman was introduced into the factory, the men tuners were
exceedingly indignant, and after holding a meeting at which they expressed them-
selves very freely, and worked themselves up into a wrathful state of mind, they
waited upon their employer and demanded that the offending woman be sent
awav. The alternative was given him of discharging her or losing them. He
listened to them very patiently, and when they were through, he answered them
with as much determination as they had shown, but with no anger. The woman
was there, she did her work satisfactorily, she was to sta}'. Of course they could
do as they chose about remaining; every man had a right to do what seemed best
for himself; but he should never be guilt}' of an injustice to please any one. The
men listened, withdrew — and stayed. As the work increased and the business
was enlarged, other women were employed.
It is a pleasure to be able to record that this introduction of women into the
Estey Organ Works was not made in the interest of "economy;" they received
the .same wages as did the men who did the same kind of work, and had everj'
advantage that was given their fellow-workers. Good Deacon Estey has gone on,
out of this world, but women should always have a kindly thought for him and
liold him in grateful remembrance. His son, who has succeeded to his business,
f(;llows his father's example in employing women tuners, and respecting all the
traditions of liberality and justice.
A little less than twenty years ago, in response to the rapidl}' increasing
demand for practical instruction in piano tuning, there was introduced into the
New England Conservatory of Music in Boston a department which would afford
special facilities for the development of this important art. Among those who
applied for admission to this department were a number of young women; they
were cordially welcomed, for the late Dr. Tourjee was another man who believed
in the capacity of women to excel in various directions. Their progress was noted
with special interest, for they were the first, so far as could be learned, who had
undertaken the systematic study of the theory and practice of tuning. To the
great satisfaction of the management and faculty, their advancement was from the
start both rapid and thorough, and before the first term was ended, it became
evident that a new field of endeavor had been found for girls. As time pas.sed,
the highest expectations were abundantly realized; llic young women easih' kept
PIANO TUNING.
(211)
212 occrrATioNS for women.
pace with the young men who were pursuing the same course, and amply proved
their entire abiHly to excel in this new line of work. From that time the propor-
tion of women to men students has constantly increased until now they are about
equal; and years of active effort by the women who have received an education in
this department have proved beyond a question their special adaptation to the work.
The department has become one of the most important in the Conservator^'
and it is provided with ample accommodations for a full and systematic course of
instruction. The common idea that the art of tuning is exceedingly difficult to
acquire, demanding primarily and exceptionalh- fine ear, is incorrect. The success
which has attended its pursuit in the Conservatory has fully demonstrated that it
is within the reach of all who have sufficient natural abilit}- to succeed in any other
department.
The facult}- of the Conservatory strongly recommend the course to all who
would become teachers, and especially to those who reside in sections of the
countr>' where competent tuners are not to be found.
For the benefit of the girl who may like to prepare herself for this business,
the outline of the course of study is briefly given. It requires two years to obtain
a diploma, and the first year the studies include, for the first term: The general
studv of pitch and relation of musical intervals. Their application as employed in
tuning. vStructure of the temperament. During the second term: Principles and
I)ractice of piano tuning continued. Factory tuning begun. Musical acoustics,
embracing the theory of scales, harmonics, beats and temperaments. Study of
general construction of piano-forte begun, action model drafting. Polishing
begun. Third term: Tuning at Conversatory and factory continued. Study of
mechanism of piano-forte action in minutest detail. Stringing and principles of
action regulating. Polishing. Fourth term: Tuning practice as in previous
terms. vSetting up and regulating piano action. Voicing. Capping, etc.
The course for the second year includes in the first term: General review and
(level<)])ment of previous year's work. Reed organ con.struction and tuning begun.
Second term: Reed tuning continued; general repairing. Study of reed organ
building at factory. Pipe organ construction and tuning begun. Third term:
Reed tiuiing and voicing. Pipe organ tuning continued. vStudy of organ pipe
construction at factory. Organ construction coni]ikted. Fourth term: General
completion of all departments of study in the school.
In introducing this profes.sion for women it was fully expected that the .same
])rejuflice and oppo.sition would be encountered which have always greeted any
innovation, and those who were instrumental in l)ringing the movement forward
prepared themselves carefully to defend it. They knew that the objections would
be just what they turned out to be; the first one was, that young women would
lack the necessary physical .strength. To this they had the ready reply that the
PIANO AND ORGAN TUNING. 213
demands made upon the strength were not so great as tliosc made in factories,
mills, sewing rooms, or even kitchens; in fact, that the tnner's work was not so
fatiguing as were many of the emploN-ments in which women were constantly
engaged, and which came under the head of " woman's work."
The second objection made was, that women, as a rule, lacked mechanical
ingenuity. The only answer needed to this objection was to point to the many
manufactories where the nicest mechanical skill is necessary, and which are crowded
by women operatives.
The third objection was, that women lacked the power of application neces-
sary to the acquirement of a difficult mechanical art. Time has answered that
argument, as it alone could, and the experience of the years since the department
was first instituted has proven that j'oung women, with the naturally delicate ear
and touch, possess peculiar qualifications for this work, and that the fine discrimi-
nation necessary to the tuning of an instrument is characteristic of them.
A large number of the women students in this branch come from the West and
South, where skillful tuners are rare, and many of them have gone back to their
homes and are practicing this art with great success, some of them combining with
it the profession of piano or organ teacher.
The attractions which the profession of tuning presents are man}'. The work
itself is well classed among the arts, being the correct adjustment of the musical
instrument to the purposes of artistic expression. The manual labor necessary to-
the accomplishment of this branch of work is calculated to make it healthful and
strengthening, and the mental application is sufficient to impart zest and interest
to it, while it is attended also with the satisfaction of immediate results. Aside
from the limited amount of tuning done during the construction of the instrument,,
the sphere of the tuner in the homes of the people, or in the warerooms of music
dealers, lies in sharp contrast to the life in shops and mills. The profession is
conspicuousl}' one in which there is, and is to be, plenty of room. A glance at
the actual condition of the country, as concerns the tuning of pianos, and the
numbers of instruments demanding constant attention, proves this to be true. In
the cities, naturally enough, the profession is fairly represented, although the
number of thoroughly educated tuners is limited, while, as I dare say man}* of you
realize, in almost any part of the United States there are whole counties, containing
hundreds of pianos, with new ones being constantly added, where onl}' an occa-
sional traveling tuner can be found to hurriedly attend to them all. With the
vast number of old pianos, which each year demand more care as they show addi-
tional signs of wear, and the thousands of new ones, which scores of manufactories
are producing yearly — to say nothing of many times the number of organs — there is
surely no occupation which promi.ses a more abundant and ever-increasing business
than this of tuning. Every piano made requires care, whether it is used much or
214
OCCUPATIONvS FOR WOMEN.
little. And as the country increases in wealth and the art of music becomes more
luiiversal — especially as pianos become lower in price and are even in greater
demand than now — the question very naturally arises, Who shall keep these count-
less numbers in condition to be used? This, then, is a new field of labor opening
to women — another avenue in which our girls may seek employment.
Not every girl will be attracted to this new field, but there is work and
remuneration for those who are. In regard to the qualifications necessary' to a
perfect acquirement of this business, they are: a correct musical ear, a fair amount
of musical intelligence, and a desire to excel.
» f
^^V
XXXIV
PUBLIC SINGERS.
\'ER since that far-away time of which the poets sang:
" When Music, heavenl}' maid, was young,"
women have naturally turned to music as a field in which
they may properly exercise their talents for the sake of
giving pleasure to themselves and others, and when
necessary, find in them a means of earning a livelihood.
While it is true, then, that certain opportunities have
been open to women in music longer, perhaps, than in
almost an}' other direction, it is no less true that during
the last quarter of the nineteenth century new opportunities have presented them-
selves in music, new fields for work been opened, in the same gratifying proportion
as in so mam' other lines.
In vocal music there has been a widening of the field for opera and concert
work, and the addition of one entirelj- new branch in the teaching of music in the
public schools. In instrumental music, not so ver}' long ago, women played
practically no instrument except the organ, piano and harp. Now there is no
instrument in the largest orchestra — with the exception, perhaps, of the heaviest
double bass horn — which women do not play. They direct orchestras and write
music. In fact, there may be said to be no branch of music now in which a young
woman with reasonable talent, and a willingness to work hard, may not hope to
succeed.
Of all forms of musical expression, singing is the one most commonly
emploj-ed. Song comes as easily and spontaneoush' from the lips of the human
being as it does from the throat of a bird. In writing of women in music, then,
2i6 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
one naturally thinks first of the women who sing, and those who hope by singing
to earn for themselves that independence which is the ambition of so many young
women to-day.
To write even the names of the women who have become famous as singers would
fill a chapter as long as this can be. This century has seen Bosio, Sontag, Lucca,
Jenny Lind, Albani. Marietta Piccolomini, Anna de la Grange, Krezzolini, Gaz-
zaniga, Parepa Rosa, and many others almost, if not quite, as distinguished.
Nearly all of these birds of song were heard in America. Of them all no one
attracted so much popular attention as Jenny Lind, probably because she had the
advantage of the consummate advertising .skill of P. T. Barnum. The young
people of to-day cannot remember the enthusiasm which was excited by her visit
here, and since they cannot, they also fail to understand the firmness with which
the majority of people who crowded freight sheds and extemporized shelters to
hear her, contend that since her time they have never heard her equal.
Of later great singers there has been, perhaps, no greater favorite than Annie
Louis Carey, now Mrs. Raymond. She was a Maine girl, born to very modest
circumstances, who determined to develop her rarely beautiful voice, and did so,
through years of hard work in village and city choirs, concerts, and finally opera.
Albani was a Canadian girl, her father a country organi.st. She first learned
to play the organ, and pla^-ed in church. Then came the piano, both instruments
to be practically abandoned later, when she came to realize that her talent lay in
her voice. After years of work she was able to go to Paris and study with
Lamperti, eventually becoming one of the great singers of the world. Albani,
n(jw Mrs. Gye, has lived for many years in England, where her sweetness of di.s-
])osition and beauty of character, added to her talent as a musician, have given
her a hold upon the English public which makes her appearance upon any stage
a signal for a tumult of applause long before she has opened her lips to sing. The
writer heard Albani sing not long ago at the great Handel Triennial Festival in
the Crystal Palace, London. There were 22,000 people in the audience, and
4500 were in the chorus. When Madam Albani walked down the stage there
arose .such a shout of welcome as must have been a satisfactory reward for even so
many years of hard work as hers. More than that, her life and talents have .so
attracted the attention of Queen Victoria that .she has long enjoyed the royal favor
as no other artist does, and the w^oman who was once a little Canadian girl enjoys
tile rare distinction of frequent invitations to Windsor Castle, where .she is greeted
nut merely as a great singer, but as a friend.
Aflelina Patti needs no word. Her lriunii)]i;int career as rni artist is fresh in
the mind of every one. The practical financial results of it are .seen in the castle
in Wales in wliich she lives in regal style. Her wonderful coming up, with her
sister Carlotta, fnjm being bare-footed little Italian girls in New York, has always
PUBLIC SINGERS. 217
been one of the phenomena of musical history. vShe sang as naturally as a bird,
and with almost as little regard for that "method " which is .so essential to most
artists.
To-day the mind turns naturally to Nordica, Calve, Eames and Melba, when
one thinks of great singers. The State of Maine has been remarkable in the
number of great singers which it has sent out. In addition to Carey, Nordica and
Eames were natives of the Pine Tree State. Nordica came as a girl to Bo.ston to
study in the Conservatory of Music. She thought henself fortunate to get a place,
some time later, to sing in a quartette, and from that went on to concert work.
Eventually she was able to go to Paris to complete her studies. Emma Eames
was another Maine girl who was willing to study hard and profit by the advice
of older and more experienced musicians. She is gifted with great adaptability.
Her marriage to Julian Storj^, the successful portrait artist, has been a very happy
one, and without doubt, the doubly artistic atmosphere in which she has lived has
done much to develop her talent.
Melba was an Australian girl who studied in Paris, and has achieved a very
great success.
The possibility of becoming a Nordica, a Melba, or an Eames is a fascinating
one, and it is onh^ natural that in the success of such women other 3'oung women
should find encouragement for the cultivation of musical talent. And although
there can of necessit}^ be but few great prizes, such as these women win, because
few persons are gifted with their pre-eminent talents and abilities, there will almost
always be open to the w^oman of moderate talent who will thoroughly fit herself
for such work as she can do, and is willing to do it, a field in which she can earn
a comfortable living, and be happily independent in doing so. This field is by
no means narrow\ It embraces among other lines of work the ordinary teaching
of singing, the teaching of singing in the public schools — a constanth' widening
field — choir work in churches, and concert and festival singing.
The writer has asked one young woman of her acquaintance, whose experi-
ence as a teacher of singing has proved the correctness of the above statement, to
write out a brief account of what she did, wdth the thought that it will be of
interest, and the hope that it may be of help, to other young women who may
have the same ambition.
" My home was in a countn.^ town of about 2500 inhabitants. My father was
a clergyman, and while there w^as always the money which might be necessar}^ to
provide us children with the means for an education, we expected and wished to
practice all possible prudence. The fact that there was a good small college in
the town made the matter of education easier to accomplish. I think the fact
that I had a good voice was first noticed as far back as when I was a child in
Sabbath-school, and I began to sing little songs in the school entertainments.
2 IS OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
When I was twelve years old our church gathered a chorus choir, and I was
among the number. It was not long before I began to be asked to sing the solo
parts there. Two or three years later I began to take my first special lessons,
driving twelve miles on Saturdays to an adjoining town to do so. That was when
I was in college.
"We had a long winter vacation, then, of seven weeks. The last 5-ear I
was in college I spent that vacation in Boston, studying with a good teacher there.
The next winter I went to New York, and devoted the whole winter to hard work
there with one of the best known teachers in that city. It was my intention to
have returned to New York for another year with the same teacher, but an older
brother having decided to go to Leipsic, Germany, to study that year, the family
decided that as there would not be verj^ much more expense, and many added
advantages, I had better go with him, and I did so.
".\s my studies had now begun to cost more mone}^ than I could expect to
easih- have from home, I had my life insured and began to borrow from a friend who
from interest in my work was willing to accept the insurance as security. The
debt incurred then, and added to during the next few years, I was able to fully
repay after I began to work for mj^self.
" I always tried to be economical, except that I did not hesitate to go freely
to concerts and the opera, because I felt that to be a legitimate part of my educa-
tion. Fortunately such expen.ses in Leipsic are comparatively small. We used
to pay thirty-seven and a-lialf cents for seats at the opera, and although they were
far back we were able to hear well. I am frequently asked what a student can
li\"e for, and study, in Europe. M\' experience was so largely in Leipsic that I
can answer for only that city. My first year's expenses, all told, were only
lx.'tween $500 and $600. Except for the entertainments which I have spoken of I
am afraid mo.st young people would have thought I lived pretty poorly. I do not
mean but what we were comfortable, and very happ\-. My brother was with me,
as I have said. We lived in lodgings, and got our own breakfasts and suppers,
taking our dinners at a restaurant. I remember we restricted ourselves to a
supper of bread and butter, and milk, with tlie addition of so much extra as could
Ix: bought each night f(jr not more than twenty-five pfennigs, an equivalent of five
cents in our money. Sometimes that meant two little slices of cold meat, some-
times a bit of cheese, but I think we never exceeded the sum.
" I studied in Leipsic three years. The next two years cost me more, as my
brother was not with me. and I had rooms and ])oard with a family. I .studied
the piano, comp)sition, counterpoint, and the general branches of music at the
Conservatory, and vocal music with an able teacher outside. For two j^ears I took
lessons in the German language. When I am asked what I think of the advi-
sability of students going to Germany to study, I have always said that I think
PUBLIC SINGERS.
219
they will get there a better ' all round ' education in music than anywhere else.
It seems to me as if the Germans make the study and teaching of music such a
serious matter that no conscientious student can help coming to feel the responsi-
bility and value of the work, and study accordingl}-.
"After my third year in Leipsic I came to London and studied for seven
months with William Shakespeai'e, and the next year came home, in debt, but
feeling that I had now sufficient knowledge of music so that I ought to be able to
earn a living by teaching, even if I could not do anything else. I think many
young women who w^ant to begin to teach music make a mistake in thinking they
cannot be successful, or perhaps contented, unless they are in some large city.
The field is very much more crowded there. I began in a large country town,
some distance from my home, but near enough so that I could go there in the
morning and come back at night. I had no trouble in getting thirty-six pupils at
the very first, in that one town, and soon there were others in other towns and at
home. It was hard work. I used to teach all day long, and sometimes w^ould
get pretty tired. But from the very first I was able to more than pay my
expenses, and I paid my board at home, too, because I had all along been deter-
mined that there was no reason why I should not take care of myself, just as my
brothers were doing. During the next year an opportunity presented itself for
me to go to an institution in a Western State to take charge of the music there.
The salary was very reasonable, and as this institution was in a cit}^ of 20,000
inhabitants there was a chance for considerable ouside work. I succeeded in
getting a church position, and during vacations was able to take some concert
engagements. My total income the second year, when I had got fairly settled
there, was a little over $1500, and that I felt was doing very well for a girl. Since
then it has steadily increased, and I have been able to live very pleasantly, and,
as I have said, pa^' all my debts."
XXXV.
g; IX CHOIR AXD CONCERT.
HE three lines of music work — teaching, choir singing and
concert work — are so closel}' interwoven that it would be
hard to treat them separateh\ Very many musicians com-
bine two of them, some all three. Choir work forms,
[^ perhaps, the first steady means of earning money, which
the majorit}- of singers find available, although the pay at
first may be very small. As a general thing, while there
are many more paid church singers now than in years past, the average
salary is less. Many women are glad to get a chance to begin in church Avork
for nothing, singing for the sake of the drill, the experience, and the reputation
which the position gives them. Then, perhaps, a dollar a Sunday is paid, and
later two dollars. A woman who is paid five dollars a Sunday may count herself
doing well. The average salary for a good church .soprano is now from $400 to
$600 a year. Of course, there are fortunate exceptions. A few wealthy churches
in each of the great cities pay some favorite and famous .singers much higher
])riccs. I^ven in these cases $1200 to $1500 is generally the limit, although there
are exceptions, and one woman in New York Cit>- is said to receive no le.ss than
$4500 a year for .singing in church.
The training nece.ssary for making a successful cliurch .singer should be quite
as arduous as that in any line, and no one makes a greater mistake than the
W(jman who. becau.se .she has a good voice and knows a little .something of nuisic,
tliinks she is fitted to sing in a church choir. Nowhere else is the ability to read
nuisic at sight correctly so indispensable. Most church choirs can have but one
rehearsal — generally on vSaturday night. If the director is to keep any kind of a
( o'yrt\
IN CHOIR AND CONCERT.
221
reputation for hiinscU' and choir, lie must i)resent fresh music iVfJin vSunday to
Sunday, and it nuist be of a high order of merit. If he puts such music into the
hands of a person who cannot read it readily, it is like putting a French Ixjok down
for a child to read who hardh- knows English. It is possible for the ignorant
singer to learn the piece of nuisic by rote, if .she have a quick ear, but even then
the whole time of its re-
hearsal must be given to
her especial benefit, and
the time of the other three
members of the choir,
quite likely able musi-
cians, entirely lost.
The young woman
who hopes to perfect her-
self as a church singer
should furnish herself at
once with an instrument,
preferably a piano, and
then practice, practice,
practice, until she can read
readily and correctly.
Then, and only then,
ought she to think of ask-
ing for a place in a first-
class choir.
In vocal work one of
the most widely and favor-
ably known teachers,
church and concert sing-
ers, is Gertrude Franklin,
of Boston, formerl}' Miss
Virginia Beatt}', of Balti-
more. Her musical edu-
cation began while she
was quite 3'oung, and at
the age of thirteen .she gave promise of becoming a brilliant pianist. Her
taste, however, was for vocal rather than instrumental music, and prompted by
natural inclination, and the possession of a voice of remarkable sweetness and
purity, she began the study of singing. Mr. Aaron Taylor and Signor Agramonti
were her first teachers, and on the advice of the latter she went to Europe to
OERTRUDK FRANKLIN.
222 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
complete her musical education. In Paris she studied under Madame Lagrange,
and with Professor Barbot, of the Conservatoire, and in London. On returning
home she took an extended course of stud}' under Madame Rudersdorff, for
oratorio and the more serious range of classical concert music.
Miss Franklin has appeared in the symphony concerts of Boston, New York
and Brooklyn, and in classical and other concerts in most of the large cities of the
United States. Her work has been under the leadership of such men as Theodore
Thomas, Walter Damrosch, Emil Pauer, Karlberg, Henschel, Gericke, Nikisch,
Tomlins, Gilchrist and others. Her concert work was remarkable apart from her
fine voice, because of the extent of her repertoire. She sings in French, German,
Italian and English, and has the proud distinction of having the largest repertoire
of any American singer, also the largest collection of arias and orchestral scores
for the concert stage. Miss Franklin has never repeated a program in the same
place, or an aria, unless called upon at a moment's notice to sing without rehearsal.
At present her time is so engaged in teaching that she has given up concert work.
In private she is now known as Mrs. W. C. G. Salisbury.
Mrs. Jennie Patrick Walker, Miss Gertrude Edwards, Mrs. Humphrey Allen,
Mrs. Marie Kaula Stone, Mrs. Titus — one of the Boston symphony' soloists, are
only a few more of the women who in New England alone, have won reputation
for themselves as church and concert singers.
Miss Julia Wyatt, who was born in Dover, N. H., but went to Boston to
study, has won special success as a teacher. She emphasizes the point mentioned
above in her teaching, saying in public recenth':
" The pupil should learn to accompany herself In this way, self-reliance is
learned and a freedom in execution, all-important factors in the training of a
successful vocalist. How often is a pupil asked to sing and cannot do so because
see cannot accompany herself!"
The teaching of music in the public .schools is a branch of work which
is being rapidly developed. Almost all the larger towns and cities now require
the services of at least one musical .superintendent, and the majority of the.se are
women. One or more hour's teaching a week will be given to each .school, and a
general oversight kept over the music teaching of the regular teacher in that room
during all the time. In the larger towns the salary is good. Often a woman will
Ix: able to combine two or three smaller towns, going to each certain days in the
week, and from tlie combination secure a good living. The best training for this
work is in a measure distinct from that for ordinary teaching. The pupils are
instructed in large classes, instead of singly, and the teacher must learn to
imi)art musical notation in a single rhythmic way.
There are now held at various places in the United States several summer
schools of music, arranged and managed l)y the principal system of musical
IN CHOIR AND CONCERT.
223
instruction for schools now liefore the pubHc. Much can be learned at these schools,
and a few courses of their instruction, supplemented by diligent practice, have
fitted many women to do work wliicli enables them to command paying positions.
Concert work is apt to
lead very naturally out
of teaching and successful
church work. It is an ac-
ceptable adjunct to other
musical employments, but
perhaps no one takes to it
entirely for a support. A
few women can command
high prices for an appear-
ance in concerts, but the
opportunities are not
many. Traveling from
town to town is hard at
best, and becomes a much
more serious matter when
one remembers how much
care is necessary to pre-
serve such a delicate organ
as a singer's voice. Prob-
ably a scale of from $5 to
$50 would embrace the
prices paid verj' nearly all
concert singers, after ex-
penses are paid, and the
majority of those would
be nearer $5 than $50. Of
course, there are to be
excepted the great opera
stars when they appear
on the concert stage, and
all such singers as may
have made a world-wide
reputation in other lines of work. If a young woman has made up her mind
that she wishes to study music as a profession, and taking stock of her especial
talents has also decided in just which branch of music her taste and talents
incline, so that she may more reasonably hope for success in that than in any
NANNIE HANDS-KRONBERG.
224 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
other line, she should next, if she is reall}' sincere in her desire to fit herself to
do such thorough work as can only lead to genuine success, seek the judgment
and advice of a thoroughly able specialist in that particular line.
Do not trust only to the advice of relatives and friends. E\'en if they honestly
desire to be sincere in their opinions they cannot help being prejudiced and they
too often make the mistake of raising false hopes in a young singer who would do
well enough in a parlor but who is by no means a person of sufficient parts for the
arduous study which alone can make the artist, be they ever so talented.
For instance: at one time, some years ago, there happened to be studying
nuisic in Milan, Italy, between three hundred and four hundred Americans.
Over half of them were women. Out of the number there at the time referred to
only one woman, Madam Albani, has achieved a really distinguished success.
There are many things to be considered. A famous American teacher tells
of one experience thus: "A young woman came over a thousand miles to have
me try her voice and advise her if she should study for the stage. I had her
come to mj' studio and sing several arias. She had been well trained in technique,
and her voice was a beautiful one, but she sang every one of the numbers out of
tune. When she had finished I told her so, and she said, ' That may be so, but
don't you think my voice is a beautiful one ?'
' ' I told her that her voice was a beautiful one, and then tried it again, but
with the same result, and told her so. She argued that this would not interfere
with her artistic success, until finally I told her. ' If you possess all of the other
artistic virtues but that of absolute pitch, you forfeit your right to them all when
you think of following the career of an artist.' She was so offended that she put
on her cloak and went away without even thanking me."
Asked for a general summary of the whole situation, the same teacher replied:
" There is no doubt but what the musical profession is overcrowded to-day
with persons who could do .something else a great deal better. ' '
XXXVI.
PIANISTS AND COMPOSERS.
fFTER a young woman decides that she has sufficient musical
talent to be justified in devoting time and money to its culti-
vation, she ought next to try and find out if hers be a special
talent in some one direction, and if it is, direct her work and
energies accordingl)\ Of course the distinction between study
of the voice and of instrumental music is eas}- to make, and in
the latter there is generally a decided taste for some one
instrument. There is, however, a further division which can
be made in most cases, and it would be of advantage to many
3'oung women music students if they would realize this earlier
than most of them do. In the teaching of vocal music, for in-
stance, there is, as has been said in a preceding chapter, a verj- decided difference
.between the qualities necessar}' for private teaching and for teaching in the public
schools. Some young women seem to have a special fitness for dealing with
children in large divisions, which is of the greatest value in school work. It is
just the same with the student of the piano. Given talents which ma3^ be
developed into equal abilitj-, one woman ma3rbe able to excel as a teacher, another
as a concert performer, or another as an accompanist.
The remarkably successful career of Mrs. IMartha Dana Shepard, of Boston,
as a music festival pianist, is a striking proof of the truth of this statement. Mrs.
Shepard very earh^ in her life realized in just what direction her talent laj' and
developed it in that direction. Her home was in the town of Ashland, N. H., and
she lived there some years after her marriage. She had gradually won a good local
reputation as an accompanist for choruses and festivals, until through the instru-
mentality of some one who knew of her work, there came a chance for her to go
15 (225)
226 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
to Keene, N. H., to play at a festival there at which Carl Zerrahn, already the
most famous director in New England, was to conduct. This was the first
opportunity which she had had to play at so large a festival and under so expe-
rienced a conductor. Mrs. Shepard tells the story herself as follows :
" I was a young woman then, almost unused to the world outside my own
country' town, and when I came to consider the proposition found myself fright-
ened at the thought of coming before so large an audience and so able a conductor.
Mr. Zerrahn even then had the reputation of being a keen critic, and not very
lavorably disposed toward women pianists. I was determined I would succeed,
though, in the line of work which I had chosen, and this seemed to be the first
beginning to be made. I accepted the offer and made my plans to go. My baby
then was only six months old, and this in itself seemed reason enough to make me
give up, but when the time came I took my baby and my girl and went to Keene.
The girl stayed at the hotel and minded the baby and I went to the hall. To say
that I was frightened wouldn't begin to express the situation, but I watched Mr.
Zerrahn 's baton, and when that came down I came down on the piano. I did the
very best I could, and I succeeded."
Mr. Zerrahn was quick to recognize the merits of his new-found accompanist,
even if she was a woman. From that time until her retirement from her field of
work in 1897, thirty -two 5'ears, Mrs. Shepard played every year at a great many
festivals, all over New England, New York and Canada. After a few j-ears she
moved to Boston, and added the position of a church organist and director of a
choir to her other work. During the thirty-five j^ears that Mrs. Shepard was
constantly before the public she had the rare record of having failed to meet only
one engagement, and that only on account of the illness of her husband. In this
time it is probable that no one else but Mr. Zerrahn did so much for the cause of
music in New England outside the large cities as did Mrs. Shepard. Her success
was largely due to her possessing, in addition to her musical ability, the talent to
inspire a country chorus of inexperienced singers with confidence and enthusiasm.
Added to this she was gifted with perfect health and a physique so strong as to
enable her to do a prodigious amount of hard work. Week after week she has
played at her church in Boston on Sunday, taken an early Monday train for
perhaps extreme northern New England or Canada, reached her destination on
M(jnday evening, and played the .same evening at a rehearsal, played the next
four days at forenoon and afternoon rehearsals and evening concerts, and come
home on Saturday to conduct her church rehearsal on Saturday evening. Mrs.
Shepard's own explanation of her success is siin})le: "I have alwa^^s worked
hard, and always tried to do my best." The young woman who is willing to
really d(i those two things, given any reasonable amount of ability to begin with^
may hope to be just as successful
MARTHA DANA SHEPARD.
227)
228 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Of other women who have won distinction and a means of support from the
piano, the number is too great to try to count by name. The field for this work
has been greatly widened of late from the constantly increasing number of
churches desiring a capable organist, and willing to pay them. When only a few
years ago it was thought a woman could hardly play a church organ, they are now
to be found doing satisfactory work in some of the largest churches.
A great many girls, too, earn a pleasant summer in first-class mountain or
seaside hotels by playing the piano a few hours every day and evening. Some-
times they are given nothing but their board and railroad fare, and sometimes thej'
receive a small salary besides.
That such an institution as the National Con.servatory of Music of America
should 'have been founded in this decidedly practical country is worthy of note,
but that the foundation and the eminence attained by it, despite many adverse or
negative conditions, are due to the .spirit, courage, labor and indomitable perse-
verance of one woman alone, Mrs. Jeannette M. Thurber, of New York, is
remarkable. It has been .sheerly a labor of love with Mrs. Thurber, love of the
art of music and love of the culture of her countrymen; the Conservatory is not
conducted for the purpose of making money. It supplies tuition at a nominal
cost to all pupils who in the judgment of the faculty are apt to make a reputation
in the world of music. Mrs. Thurber finds repayment for the expenditure of her
time, labor and means in the hundreds of 3'oung men and women graduates of
the Conservatory who are making a name and a living as singers and players.
The National Conservatory has been in existence a dozen years at 126-128
East Seventeenth street. New York. Its faculty numbers nearly sixty, and
includes such musicians as Rafael Joseflfy, Adele Margulies, Leopold Lichtenberg,
\'ictor Capoul, Gu.stav Hinrichs, S. P. Warren and Anton Seidl, while its
director is a composer of world-wide fame, the greatest composer perhaps since
Brahms— Dr. Antonin Dvorak. The pupils of the Conservatory number at
present six hundred and eighty-six, and it has supplied tuition .since its inception
to three le.ss than three thousand pupils, in man}- cases free, thanks to Mrs.
Thurber's broad generosity and love of music. Whatever there is to be learned
in the practice and theory of music is here taught by the best masters, and, while
called national, this Conservatory is really universal in the inclu.sive scope of its
curriculum.
Of women composers of music there are at least four living at the time this
chapter is written who have achieved a success which has given them a world-
wide reputation. The.se are Chaminade, a native Parisian; Augusta Holmes, a
woman of Irish birth, but .so long a resident of Paris that .she is reckoned as a
Parisian; Mrs. H. H. A. Beach, a native of New Hampshire, and Margaret
Ruthven Lang, a native Bo.stonian.
PIANISTS AND COMPOSERS.
229
Mile. Chaniinade writes chiefly songs and pieces for the piano. Her work
charms by its delicate beauty , and it has given her a unique position in the entire
musical world.
Augusta Holmes has written songs, piano nui.sic, orchestral music and large
choral works. Her success compares favorably with that of any living writers
of music to-day. She has an unusual talent for melody.
Kate Vannah. of Gardiner, Me., is another successful song writer.
Mrs. H. H. A. Beach was born in Henniker, N. H. When but a child of
four years musical ideas began to crystallize in her mind, and she could put in
correct form the harmonies which came to her. No more interesting study could
present itself to the student of psychology than the natural talent of this woman,
which, though inherited in part from her ancestors, suddenly took a fresh bound
and resulted in genius. Before she was thirty
years old she had written a mass for solo voices,
chorus, orchestra and organ, a symphony, and
over sixty other works for piano. Her talent
becomes the more interesting when one learns
that it was self-acquired, with the exception
of rudimentary' instruction received from a few
teachers in harmony and musical form.
In musical composition Mrs. Beach for
3-ears has pursued diligently lines of study
which have proved valuable, and among which
may be mentioned the habit of analyzing the
works performed b}' the noted Boston Sym-
phony Orchestra. In addition to this practice
she translated for herself treatises not existing
in the English language, and which have an important bearing on her lines of
study. Her first public success as a pianist was in 1883, when but sixteen years of
age she appeared with the Symphony Orchestra, playing Moscheles' G minor
concerto for piano and orchestra. Since then she has appeared many times with
the latter organization, and also with Theodore Thomas, as well as at numerous
recitals, performing chiefly her own compositions.
Her ' ' Gaelic ' ' Symphony is a composition well thought out, original and
admirably handled. It does not suggest the sex of its composer, but rather the
mind of a well-balanced master in form and color. Her skill in the instrumenta-
tion of this work is remarkable. Mrs. Beach's talent in developing the heavier
forms of musical composition found instant recognition on the performance of her
Mass in E flat by the Handel and Haydn Society in 1S92. This work was
at once given just and enthusiastic praise. In the words of an eminent
MRS. H. H. A. BEACH.
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
musical critic:" Mrs. Beach at once took rank among the foremost of America's
composers.
Margaret Ruthven Lang was born in Boston, November 27, 1867. She
inherits her musical ability from both parents. Her father, B.J. Lang, the eminent
organist, leader and teacher, who has long held a foremost position in the musical
life of Boston, has been the most influential factor in shaping her musical
growth.
Miss Lang, therefore, has had coupled with her natural gifts a musical edu-
cation which has been carefully nurtured in every detail. She began writing
music when about twelve years old. Among her first compositions at that time
was a quintette of one movement for strings and piano, and several songs. She
began the study of the piano forte under one of her father's pupils, and later con-
tinued it under his direction. Sometime after
this she studied the violin with Louis Schmidt
in Boston, and continued under Drechsler and
Abel in Munich during the winters of 1S86-87.
While in Munich she also studied composi-
tion with Victor Gluth.
On returning to Bcston in 1887, she .took
up the stud}' of orchestration with G. W.
Chad wick, since which time she has written
a large number of compositions, many of which
have had great success. Her ' ' dramatic over-
ture," op. 12, was performed by the Boston
Symphony Orchestra under Nikisch on April
8, 1893; her overture, Witichis, op. 10, was
performed in Chicago under Theodore
Thomas, at two concerts in July and Augu.st, 1893, and at a third concert under
Bendix, Both of these compositions are in manuscript; also a third overture, op,
23, "Totila." Of other works for orchestra, compo.sed later, are three arias:
one for alto, " Sappho's Prayer to Aphrodite," was performed in New York in
1896; one for .soprano, " Armida," performed at the Boston Symphony concert,
January 13, 1896, and one for baritone, " Phcebus."
She has also in manuscript several jiart-songs, piano-forte pieces, songs, a
cantata for chorus, solo and orchestra; a string quartette and several compositions
for violin and piano; also forty published .songs, .several part-songs and piano
pieces.
What the.sc four women have done others may do. While it is not reasonable
to expect that all will have the special talent necessary for composition, it may be
MARGARET R. LANG.
PIANISTS AND COMPOSERS.
231
safely thought that some will have it, who, if they are willing to work, may
succeed. After all, it is the same story — application ; and if Chaminade, Augusta
Holmes, Mrs. Beach and Miss Lang were to tell you how they came to succeed, it
is a question if all four would not unite to say that they believed hard work, quite
as nuicli as talent, lay at the foundation.
^232)
XXXVII.
-V -.Tjr-^ IN ORCHESTRA WORK.
ERHAPS no one instrument has been more nearly monopolized by-
women than the harp. While there have been able and famous
men performers on the harp, like Ap Thomas, the talented
Welshman, andSchueker of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it
is probable than many more women than men play this instrument.
The attraction which the instrument has for a woman may be partly
accounted for from the fact of its picturesque accessories. It certainly
is true that no more charming picture can be imagined than a beautiful
woman, clad in a simple but artistically designed gown, playing upon
a harp.
Maud Murray is a young woman who has achieved success as a
harpist at concerts and various public performances. Another very
successful 5'oung woman harpist is Miss Harriet A. Shaw. Although she
played the violin and piano it was not until she was fourteen 3^ears of age that
Miss Shaw turned her attention to the harp. Then she went to Europe and began
a most thorough course of study. In Dresden she pursued her work under Carl
Ziech, of the Royal Grand Opera. Other teachers on her chosen instrument were
Mr. Lockwood, harpist to the King of Bavaria, and A. Thomas, harpist to the
Queen of England; also under John Thomas and lyorenzi, the Italian master, with
whom she spent two years.
This extensive course of study, coupled with diligent work, has made Miss
Shaw an artist of great merit. She has appeared as soloist with some of the most
noted foreign orchestras, and has performed with the Buffalo Symphony Orchestra,
on which occasion she performed the difficult Nikolai Concerto.
(233)
234 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Miss Shaw has also written many delightful compositions, not only as solos
for the harp, but songs with its accompaniment. Her song, "Thou Art My
Everlasting Light," has been particularly successful.
Miss Shaw seems to strive especiall3% and far more than most harpists do,
after great variety of tone-color, not confining herself to the single contrast
between whispering pianissimo and what approach to forte the harp can make, but
seeking after and often successfully exploiting a wider range of tone-effect. Her
technique is brilliant, and her playing essentially musical.
The demand which has sprung up during the last few years for small
orchestras to play at hotels, more particularly at summer hotels and summer
resorts, has opened a new field for women in music. With all due deference to
the men, any one will admit that a prettily dressed company of young women is
much more attractive to look at than the same number of men can be. They
seem to be equally fortunate in selecting and performing such music as will please
the public at these resorts. The number of these ladies' orchestras is now con-
siderable. Many are small, only a quartette, directed by one of their own
number. The larger organizations, with the exception of the Fadette Ladies'
Orchestra, have usually been directed by a man. With the Marion Osgood
Orchestra, however, came a departure in the shape of a woman leader, Miss
Marion Osgood, who started the first one in America. This organization was
succeeded by the Fadette Orchestra in 1888, with onl}- six players. In 1890 Mrs.
Caroline B. Nichols assumed the leadership and has conducted very successfully
ever since. The size of the orchestra has been greath' increased in later 3'ears,
and it is competent to perform the most difficult and intricate compositions.
From time to time another instrument has been added whenever an efficient
player has been discovered. Even then, to provide some most important instru-
ment, it has been necessary to have women specially trained. The French horns,
for instance, whose beautiful, mysterious tones add so much color to orchestral
pieces, were taken up, malice prepense, b^' two young violinists. So, at the time
this article is written, an oboeist and bassoonist are preparing themselves — are,
indeed, almcst ready — to fill the only existing vacancies in the "wood-wind"
division of in.struments. The full import of this will be better understood when
it is known that a person who already has a thorough musical understanding
nnist still devote several years of hard, constant practice to acquire even a
moderate degree of skill upon any of those difficult instruments.
In 1895 this orchestra was incorporated in Boston, its permanent home, and
since then it has steadily grown in favor. It numbers a first violin and director,
four additional first violins, four second violins, two violas, two violoncellos, two
contrabassos, kettle-drums and a l)ass, two flutes and piccolo, two clarionets, two
cornets, two French horns, three trombones, snare-drum and " traps," and piano-
IN ORCHESTRA W'CJRK.
235
forte. Six of the ladies are notaljle soloists. In the winter the work of such an
orchestra includes playing at club meetings, receptions, weddings and evening
parties. Thej' often play for dancing at balls or " small and earlies," and are
favorites for afternoon or evening musicals.
Who would not prefer, at a reception or the commencement exercises of a
girls' seminary, music evolved amid the flutter of lawn and lingerie to that
struggling up from amid the
stiff starched front and the
dismal swallow-tail; or har-
monies scented with the deli-
cate aroma of violet water,
rather than with beer, to-
bacco and bologna !
Marietta Sherman (Mrs,
Raymond) was also a pioneer
as a woman director. All
three of these women learned
to play the violin, and devel-
oped from that into directing.
Miss Osgood and Miss Sher-
man always directed with the
violin in hand. It remained
for Mrs. Nichols to assume
the baton and become the
first regular woman director.
An interesting feature in
this connection was the pres-
entation, in the autumn of
1897, of a solid silver baton
to Mrs. Nichols b\' Dr. Ivai.
Michels, a Russian diplomat,
who had been attracted b}'
the playing of the orchestra
at Washington in the suminer
of that 3-ear. All through the
summer they played at Glen Echo, on the Potomac, six miles out of Washington,
giving daih- programs of popular music in a shell-shaped pavilion on "Wooded
Island." On Friday evenings a concert of entirely classical music was given.
The auditorium seated ten thousand people. For the daih' work the members
wore a neat uniform suit of cadet blue, with jacket and militar}^ braiding, and in
MRS. CAROLINE B. NICHOLS.
256 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
ihc evenings, light silks and muslins. The leader and manager of the Fadettes,.
Mrs. Caroline B. Nichols, is a most attractive woman, with marked ability along
business as well as musical lines. She is a member of one of the old families
of Dedham, Mass., and inherits her musical propensity from her father, w^ho was
a leader in Boston's musical circles. She has devoted a number of years to
close and careful study of the violin, of which instrument she is thorough master;
also to the science of harmony and to instrumentation and orchestration.
Miss Dora P. Damon, one of the soloists of the Fadettes, is regarded as one
of the finest cornetists among Boston women. She is a member of the Damon
Quartette, her three sisters, still school girls, playing the violin, flute and piano.
Another soloist is Miss Belle B. Yeaton, whose chosen instrument is the
trombone, upon which she has no feminine rival in the country. A native of
Chelsea, she was instructed entirel}^ by her father from the age of twelve.
Miss \"iola M. Dunn, the clarionet soloist, came of fine Maine stock, where
her ancestors were among the early settlers. From her childhood she showed a
pronounced taste for music, and began her devotion to the clarionet at the age of
fourteen She has been a pupil and is now assistant to Eustach Strasser, the
noted clarionetist, who points to her with pardonable pride as his first female
scholar. She has had many honors conferred upon her, and holds the office of
clerk, treasurer and the leader's assistant in the Fadettes.
Miss Mary J. Tracy, performer on both violin and viola, began her study of
nuisic when only a child, when she took up violin playing.
The Fadettes' first violoncellist is Miss E. Josephine Hale, of Maiden. She has
done work with a quartette and trio, besides the orchestra, and at a musical
festival in Weirs, N. H., not long since, was the only woman in the orchestra, and
was highly praised for her performance.
Miss Alice E. Ball is flute soloist to the Fadettes, and the sisters Cora and
Ardelle Cunningham, of Chelsea, Mass., are the only women French horn players
in America.
To the list of her other musical accomplishments Miss F^stelle M. Churchill
adds the playing of snare and bass drums. She also intends to add tympany
or kettle-drums, but her real position is that of first piani.st to the ladies*
orchestra.
Mi.ss Blanche M. Little has mastered that unusual instrument to take a girl's
fancy, the contrabass, and is hap]i\- in the possession of a genuine Mittenwald
instrument of the finest tone and strength. vShe is a Boston girl, and comes of a
lliorfnighly musical family.
Other memlK-rs fjf the orchestra are Misses Nettie and Freda Damon, Beth
I'age, Florence Hall, Minnie Grover, Eleanor Mauser and Christine Allendorf,
all young women of character and .strength of purpose.
IN ORCHESTRA WORK.
237
What the orchestra has done in Boston can be done elsewhere. Girls of
talent will find the keys of a musical instrument more interesting to handle than
the keys of a typewriter, especially if in the former case the hours are very much
less and the pay a great deal more. Let competent women in our larger towns
and cities think on this. Here is a new field opening; here new opportunities.
Really good pla>-ers will always be in demand.
>T>l>S;/i>;i?/Lvi5/i.Ni5d.Ni:r/J.N^.'7/iNi5/ls
'//vv; 'riMiiT'-K
St/Ls*.'*.''.''.
XXXVIII.
WHERE IS MY PEACE?
'^Jk^.O the savage, woman is a slave; to the half civilized she
is a toy and to the enlightened she is man's equal.
The old Greek law gave woman a child's place
and held her in lifelong tutelage. Fathers in mediaeval
history and Christian fathers assigned no higher position
to her. From the English Heptarchy to the Reforma-
tion she was still a servant. During succeeding years she might have been seen
drawing ploughs through the furrows, bent under heavy loads, harnessed with
tlie animals in the fields and forced into every imaginable drudgery. From
American discoveries to the Civil War she seemed harnes sed in the place she was
compelled to occupy for the sake of an established custom of ser^'itude. To-
day she keeps step with man in scientific pursuits, in art and in all occupations.
The places occupied fifty years ago are not sufficiently wide and broad for
the girl of to-day. Changed conditions have brought women not only to posi-
tions of larger duties and heavier responsibilities, but to broader growth and
nobler life.
Man to-day has to cope with a knowledge and aptitude which often baffle
him at every point. This is as it should be. for a woman's intellect is as worthy
of cultivation as a man's. Does the new education, the new order of things, tend
to make her le.ss womanly?
Xo indeed; a true woman is womanly in whatever she choo.ses to do and
wherever she chooses to live. Whether she be found at llie bar, in the pulpit,
the Senate or bench, .she may still be a woman in the highest, noblest .sense.
(23«)
WHKRK IvS MV PI^ACK? 239
Since the day of woman's creation, there never was an age when so man}'
legitimate opportunities were given a girl to become a part of this working
world, an essential factor in its progress and a sharer with her bnAlier in its
emoluments.
She finds her highest service in ministering to humanity. Patients in
hospital v.-ards wait for her ministrations, pharmacists require her assistance,
childish souls need her guidance, publishers, printers, artists, architects offer to
her the chance for a cultivated and honest life in places hitherto unoccupied.
James Russell Lowell once wrote: " No man is born unto the world who-se
w'ork is not born with him."
A child uninfluenced by the suggestions of others will engage in occupations
for which she is by nature naturally adapted. She will do tho.se things which
she loves best. For hours her work will take up her attention. In one's life
vocation " a little child shall lead." A child's mind is a guide to the woman's
place.
The little girls wdiose dolls are sick, fed, nourished and nursed may in late
years find her place among the physicians or in hospital wards cheering and
ministering.
The child who for hours sits wdth her books, totally oblivious to all surround-
ings, may later find her place in the field of literature. The crude, deformed
pencil drawings of many a girl have in womanhood developed her, and her
productions as an artist are then wideh- prized. The little one who makes
imaginary pianos of the chairs and tables, who sings her lullaby s, carols, oratorio
or opera selections to her dolls and child friends, may in womanhood find her
proper place in the music world.
The child of domestic tastes, she who fashions mar^'elous creations in
dresses or hats, who produces with the scissors wonderful designs from colored
papers or teaches her mimic doll-schools, will later find her place among the
dressmakers, milliners, designers or teachers.
The lives of our women wdio have become famous in various lines of work
show that man}- hours of their childhood da3-s were spent in the work in which
they afterward became pre-eminent. The child's uninfluenced occupations are
often but the woman's work in embr^-o.
The struggles, the disappointments of many a woman in industrial pursuits
often arise from a lack of thought in regard to her chosen career.
A grave and daih' recurring mistake is made in seeking the fields which are
already overcrowded and not seeking new occupations. If fewer girls would
qualif}- themselves for the overcrowded professions and fit themselves for other
skilled employments and newer industries, there would be a less number of
anxious, discouraged, overburdened women.
240 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Even after a work is mastered, or the girl is proficient in her art, then comes
the question, where shall I pursue it? To many a girl in the country town
comes the dream of earning her living in the city. Unless her preparation has
been exceptionally thorough, her talent remarkable, her work superior to all
others, her resources and influential friends man}-, it is a risk for her to seek
the city. Stenographers, photographers, dressmakers, physicians who are
unknown in a city must wait, and wait long, must struggle, and struggle hard.
The girl who would make her work profitable must select some special branch
and pursue it diligently, striving with heart and soul to render herself as nearly
perfect in it as possible.
Her name should become known in some one occupation; one work, one
particular branch, one place.
Unless she strives incessantly to get to the top she will remain at the bottom,
and down there lies the threatening monster starvation. Unless in filling her
position, she can make her influence and her power broadly felt, unless she can
develop and bring the highest of her nature to her work, she has not chosen the
right work or the right place in which to pursue it.
Whatever may be your gift, whatever your God-given powers, cultivate your
own talents; as Emerson says:
" Insist upon yourself, never imitate. Your own gift 3'ou can present every
moment with the cumulative force of a whole life's cultivation; but of the
adopted talent of another you have only an extemporaneous half possession.
That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. No man yet
knows what it is, nor can, till that person has exhibited it."
To think we have the ability to do a thing is almost to accomplish it.
To determine upon success is frequently success itself Eager, earnest
resolution in some line of work is its accomplishment, for to a steadfast, conse-
crated, resolute soul there are no impossibilities.
Maternity is her mission and education is her work. George Herbert said,
"One good mother is worth a hundred .schoolmasters." The advancement,
improvement and the safety of the nation depend upon the perfect home, and
earth's noblest thing is the w^oman perfected in the wife, the mother who rules
that home. The hu.sband's character and work, the child's love and life, are
dependent upon her; what she is they will be.
The hi.story of the home life of our famous men demonstrate that it was a
woman's love, encouragement and help that inspired them to the noblest purposes,
and through her influence they became a power for good.
A man may build a palace, but he can never make of it a home. The
spirituality and love of a woman alone can accomplish this. By right divine
these are a woman's special and unrivaled privileges.
WHERI«: IS iMV PLACE? 241
Throughout the broad highways of life \vc find the gates liave been opened
by a long procession of noble women.
In the hospitals by the battlefields of the Crimea, Miss Nightingale gave
cheerfully and unfailingly her own vitality for the comfort and new life of the
soldiers.
The name of Clara Barton means the greatest of humanitarian movement.
Incredible exposures, tainted atmosphere, of battlefields and hospitals, unre-
mitting care for wounded soldiers, a life of love and sacrifice are all a.ssociated
with her name.
In prisons and reformatories we find the influence of Mary Carpenter, Sarah
Martin and Angela Coutts. The}-, by lifelong efforts, lessened the hours of
imprisonment, provided employment, education and shelter for the unfortunates
and left names ever to be associated with foremost deeds in philanthropy and
self-sacrifice.
In the broad fields of literature we are influenced by Harriet Martineau's
untiring work in education, government, woman's rights, temperance and
political economy. Here, too, was Fredrika Bremer, the Swedish authoress,
Charlotte Bronte and her experience with soul-despairing fate, Louisa Alcott, a
providential gift to father, mother, sisters, and hundreds of girls, and Elizabeth
Stuart Phelps' long struggle for the oppressed.
Trained for the profession as phj^sicians, conquering much that threatens
womanhood, are the names of Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell, our country's
earliest and noblest women physicians. Dr. Zakrzewska's struggles and victories
have made the path smoother and easier for other women who would study
medicine, and the work of Cordelia Green inspires many a girl to enter the
profession of giving life and strength to humanit3\
The schools founded by Mary L3'on, the organized training schools of
Catherine Beecher, the American work in kindergarten instruction by Elizabeth
Peabody, all point to a path and a place in the educational world for the j-oung
girl of to-day.
In the scientific field the obser\-ations and discoveries of Caroline Herschel
and Maria Mitchell demonstrate the w^ork is not beyond that of a woman. The
world wide-fame and true, faithful works of Rosa Bonheur, Susan Hale, Sarah
Clarke, xAnne Whitnej' and Harriet Hosmer are an inspiration to the girl who
w^ould enter the studio and produce true art and beaut}-.
A woman's place to-day, as in the early years, must largely be defined by
her taste, capacity and health.
" Blessed is she who has found her place, and is conscious that her eflforts
are strong links in the endless chain of woman's life and work."
16
XXXIX.
WOMEN AS PHOTOGRAPHERS.
>HOTOGRAPHY is especialh- adapted to a woman's
artistic taste and delicate touch. Many girls practicing
photograph}- as amateurs, do their work well and it
seems unaccountable wh}' so man}^ who reach a cred-
itable degree of excellence in the work should be
satisfied and so cease to produce better results. Why
should the}^ not continue in the art, master every
detail, enter the field as professionals, and pursue the
work as a business? Hundreds of women might accomplish
far more in this occupation than at present.
Is it lack of energ>% of courage or capital that deters
them ? It cannot be lack of energ}', for the hours spent in the
work by the ambitious, enthu.siastic and painstaking amateurs
prove the contrary. It should not be on account of insufficient
courage, for it has been said that " the business woman is a nineteenth century
production. She is honestly proud of her work, and of being a link in the great
chain which keeps the business world moving." The hesitation .should not be
based upon the plea of "no capital," for the bright, determined girl of the
present will always overcome this difficulty.
Tlie work is not too difficult for a woman. For years it was regarded as a
particularly occult and mysterious process, requiring a special gift, a knowledge
of chemistry and years of professional study. During the.se years photography,
to the woman, .suggested untidy work, blackened hands, and .soiled aprons.
(242)
WOMEN AS PHOTOGRAPHERS. 243
To-day it is acknowledged to be a fascinating work, easily understood, requiring
no superior knowledge, and demanding but a comparatively short time of study
and preparation.
The introduction of electric lights, dry plates, light machinery, and dainty
photographic devices renders the work more agreeable and available to women,
besides offering at the present day a most inviting field.
Nearly two-thirds of a photographer's patrons are women and children, and
a woman photographer of pleasing manners, obliging disposition and artistic
sense is most successful in securing happ}- results when the critical moment of
posing arrives. There is but one best position, one best view of all objects. It
is acknowledged that in woman the artistic sight is more perfectly developed than
in man. This natural gift enables her to immediately discover the one best
position — the one best view of her subject.
A woman quickly grasps the beautiful and harmonious in nature and in art.
She naturally understands posing, colors in dress, and all the details that make
up the artistic photographs of women and children. She will quickly tell why
this line, shade or curve is more desirable. She possesses the faculty of bringing
out the best in the patron who poses before her.
Man 5^ 3^ears elapsed in the history of photography before the public became
assured of these neutral gifts in women — gifts so admirably adapted to this work,
so favorably suited to its success. The photographers in several of our cities
were assured of woman's efficiency in this work after securing her aid in their
studios. It was when thus employed as assistants that women fully realized their
adaptability, discovered opportunities for improvement, and resolved to pursue
the work as a profession.
Mrs. Julia Cameron, of England, earl}^ realized that the ideal portrait
consists in portraying a glimpse of a man's soul; not only the face but the
intellect, the genius, the spirit in its completeness — these must all enter into the
faithful portrait. This she aimed to accomplish and seldom has the work been
more satisfactorily accomplished. She produced portraits which were an imme-
diate inspiration to others who were striving to do sincere and truthful work.
It is said: " She was of a most distinguished and fine nature, and was of unique
pre-eminence in the profession of which she has made a great and noble name."
Tennj^son was her neighbor, and often he posed for her. The faces of Browning,
Carlyle, Sir John Herschel, Charles Darwin and Tennyson were among her
noblest of English portraits. In these she succeeded in portraying the loftiest
aim and the utmost steadfastness which were the principles of their lives. It is
this that vivifies their portraits. ' ' When I have had these men before my
camera," she once said, " mj^ whole soul has endeavored to do its duty toward
them in recording faithfully the greatness of the inner as well as the features of
244 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
the outer man." This is the secret of her power and her success: " Truth in art
for truth's sake." It has been said that her work merits comparison onlj' with
the best portraits from the old masters.
London to-day has the most celebrated woman photographer in the world.
Miss Alice Hughes, the daughter of Edwin Hughes, the portrait painter, has
earned this enviable reputation.
Her photographs are more expensive than anj- others produced in London,
and yet she is scarcely able to attend to her orders. Her work is all done at her
home in Gower street, London, and here there are no surroundings usually
associated with photographic galleries, No outward sign on portal or windows
suggests the atelier. Her studio is built out over the garden and from the
drawing-room one descends to it by three or four steps. The secret of her success
is that she makes her subjects perfectly at ease. She lets them pose themselves
and makes only the changes that are absolutely necessar3\ Among her photo-
graphs are nearl}' all of our American girls who married Englishmen, from Lady
Randolph Churchill to Lady Terence Blackwood.
Mrs. Emily Stokes, of Boston, is an example of what a woman may accom-
plish in photography. When compelled by misfortune to give up her London
home, she came to America to begin life among strangers. Having been associated
with enthusiastic photographers in England, and believing that the position could
be filled by women as well as men, she resolved to enter the field as a professional.
For sixteen years she has aimed to produce the true child portrait. She has con-
quered difficulties, and is an enthusiastic and successful artist. "This one thing
I know," she said brightly, and it would be well if many girls could say the
same. " I know every detail of the work; it is the only way to success," she
added, as she glanced about the room at the pictures of sweet child faces.
Since the first public exhibition of photographs in London in 1852, and
especially since the Paris Exposition in 1889, photography as an art has steadily
advanced, and in the recent exhibitions in European and American cities the
photographs executed by many women have been an inspiration urging others to
enter the field. Not only have these women exhibited portraits, but their photo-
graphs of landscapes, marine views, mineral and vegetable specimens have won
for them a wide reputation.
Some of the most beautiful photographs in the United States have been pro-
duced by Miss Johnston, of Washington. She has attained a .superior degree of
excellence in all her work. As a profes.sional she ranks among the li.st of leading
photographers in the country. The truthfulness and arti.stic beauty in all her
photographs have earned for her a name pre-eminent among photographers. She
has done much work for newspapers and magazines, giving to the public truthful
pictures of much that is constantly occurring in the public life of the capital city.
(245)
246 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Miss Beatrice Tonnesen, of Chicago, has opened a studio in that cit}', and
her photographs of women and children, especiall}- the latter, are already noted
for their beauty.
Mrs. Farnan, a California woman, has earned the reputation of accomplishing
remarkable results in photography.
In February, 1896, the Youth's Companion offered prizes for the eight best
amateur photographs submitted during the following six months. Over six
thousand photographs were received in response to the offer. Miss Emma Farns-
worth, of Albany, N. Y., submitted a most truthful scene, " When the Day's
Work is Done." This was awarded the first prize, and strikingly illustrates the
perfection to which a young woman has brought her art.
Others who obtained prizes were Mrs. Sarah Holm^ of Wisconsin, and Miss
Kate Matthews, of Kentucky.
The girl who decides to leave the army of amateurs and enter the professional
arena must feel assured that she has patience, an artistic taste, determination and
business ability. She must be willing to inform herself of the multitudinous
operations to be performed; she must expect waste and loss, and she must be able
to rise above disappointments and trials. To be successful in working a " four-
by- five ' ' outfit does not impl}' an equal .success with an ' ' eighteen-by-twenty-two. ' '
The ability to make a few blue-prints daily does not mean equal success in pro-
ducing five hundred to one thousand a day in albumen, ilo or platinotype To be
able to please a few interested, intimate friends is widel)-^ different from contending
with the capriciousness of disinterested strangers. To take a picture and secure
a local artist to do all the work requires little ability when compared with under-
.standing the operating, printing, mounting and finishing. Possession and
production are widely different in their meaning. It is one thing to work for
I)leasure and one's self and quite another to work for profit and the public.
Tfx) often a girl thinks if she buys a camera, some plates and a few chemicals
she can ])ecome a photographer. In her mind all that is necessary is to expose
tile plate properly, develop it, print from it, tone and fix the prints, and then the art
will be mastered. She forgets that few can expo.se a plate with perfect success,
that judicious, ]xiinslaking care is necessary to develop it, and that toning
requires skill. It nuist not be supposed that with the cheapness of material and
the ])resent comparative simplicity in applying it, the ])ictures re(iuire less
care tluin formerly. The conditions of light and comjiosilion are the same as they
were in the early days of j)hotography. and the laws of lenses and theories of light
must still be .studied with the greatest care.
The girl who would be a ])hotogra]ihcr should consider her adaptability for
the work, and, having decided to pursue the occu])alion, she will do well to work
with some reliable firm. When once an opportunity is found in some photo-
WOMEN AS PHOTOGRAPHERS. 247
graphic studio she must work earnestly and hard in learning the details of the
work. After a short time is given she will obtain a position as assistant in the
work. If she be on the alert for opportunities she will, when fitted, find the right
locality and here build up a business of her own. The cost of materials, furniture,
rent, wages and the fund for emergencies must then be considered. One young
woman of the East fitted up a skylight for fifty dollars. The expense incurred
will vary according to the taste of the young woman. Once furnished and
equipped the subsequent outlay is but trivial, and if good work is furnished the
profits are assured. A young woman may choose to devote herself to but one
branch of the work. Should she excel she will find with determination the
opportunity of assisting in some large studio. The operator and the one who
poses the subject hold positions of importance and responsibility and are usually
paid the highest salary. An education in photographic science is required, a
knowledge of light and its effects, an artistic taste, and a knowledge of theories
that constitute art in portraiture. Women who excel in these, who are profes-
sionals, will receive from fifteen to fifty dollars a week.
Especially adapted to a woman's delicate touch is the process of retouching
photographic negatives. Before entering upon this branch of the work it is
essential that she should draw and possess a knowledge of anatomy, especialh' of
the face, neck and shoulders. If the work be undertaken without this knowledge,
distorted, unnatural productions will be shown, and failure will result. The work
also requires strong e5^es, for the use of artificial light is a constant strain upon the
eye. The amount paid for this work in large cities varies from ten to fifteen
dollars a week.
Printing is the most interesting part of the work. Several women in the
larger studios receive from twelve to eighteen dollars each week.
Girls who enter the work to mount the pictures should be alert, detect at a
glance any imperfection, and must have artistic feeling.
During the past thirty years there has been a demand for the application of
color to photographs, and to-day hundreds of young women are devoting them-
selves to supplying the demand. The technique of the work is simple. Many
women earn from twelve to fifteen dollars a week by executing orders. After a
short course of study they are able to earn more. A knowledge of drawing is
necessary, or the artist is unable to produce form, and the work is flat or distorted;
there must also be a knowledge of color, or the tints will be dry and hard.
One young lady of the East has supplied the teachers of schools with figure
subjects. She has reproduced with exactness the little dramas and comedies of life.
Here there are pictures of boys, their work and pastimes; school girls in their
natural pleasures or duties. Kites, hoops, marbles, tops, dogs, are all so truth-
fully pictured that the teacher is seldom required to tell long stories for the
24S OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
children's amusement and instruction, for the photograph's explanation is clear,
and from these the numerous stories are told or written.
Another young woman with her camera has reproduced engravings, and her
copies of famous old pictures in European galleries and prized ones in America,
have earned for her reputation and profit.
One woman makes a specialty of children's photographs, another confines
her work to landscapes, a third takes photographs of interesting events in the city
and sends them to the illustrated papers.
Everywhere in the scientific world the power of the photographic camera has
been felt. Physics, Chemistr}-, Mechanics, Astronomy, Zoology convince one that
by patience and study a woman may put her camera to a most excellent use.
Many eminent scientists are constantly preparing and publishing scientific
papers. However perfect their language may be, however clearly their thoughts
may be expressed, the words are often found inadequate to convey an actual visual
impression. These papers, to satisfy the public and make the thoughts of more
value, should be illustrated. The old illustrations of mammals, birds, reptiles
and fish are frequently untrue, misshapen representations.
The >-oung woman whose photographic work possesses merit and accuracy may
in this field pursue her work to most profitable ends and to the advancement of
learning. This field is full of interest to the gifted young photographer, but one
in which ingenuity is demanded.
This is an age of books and book illustrations. The various processes of
book illustration are annually enriched by new applications of photography. The
present knowledge of the flights of birds and the motions of animals can be pro-
duced by the camera in a most accurate degree. Here the >oung woman may
choo.se her work, and if she would succeed she nui.st strive for the best and seek
to do not only good work but a superior quality of work.
XI..
WOMEN IN INTERIOR DECORATION.
iHEREVER architecture leads, decorative art follows.
While there are women there will be homes; and women
will never cease to desire beauty and attractiveness in their
homes. This desire is inborn and universal. The home of
every woman should be as individual a possession as her ward-
robe and requires equal care and taste in the selection and purchase.
A home manifesting an air of taste, refinement and classic simplicity is far
more desirable and is a better indication of the owner's character and education,
than the possession of a costly, inharmonious, unrelated array of paintings,
porcelains, rugs and bric-a-brac. The perfectly furnished home is a crystallization
of culture, expressing the habits, tastes and character of the family. Strangers,
visitors and friends will judge the woman by the taste, comfort and equipments of
her home.
It is the woman's hand that can and has given to many a home that
mysterious, nameless charm, that atmosphere of harmony and quiet happiness
which is felt in the very entrance hall. Such women have possessed unconsciously
a knowledge of the laws of color and harmony and have been naturall}^ endowed
with the requirements which make many a woman of to-day the successful
interior decorator.
Within the past two decades the profession has grown to such a remarkable
extent that it has brought about a revolution in many American homes. During
the past few j^ears some of the most notable successes of women have been achieved
in the art of interior decoration.
(249)
250 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
It is as impossible to overestimate the importance of her work in the art as it
is impossible to overestimate the importance of beautiful and tasteful surroundings
in real life. Goethe said no man leaves a room the same person that he entered
it, and if this be true then the room should attune his spirit to harmonj', dignity
and truthfulness. Ever}' parent to-day realizes the duty of surrounding his child
with beauty and fitness; it is his dut}' to establish a standard of taste in his
children which will endure throughout their lives.
In the days of Jewish history woman's inherent love for personal beauty and
artistic surroundings was manifested in the skill with which she embroidered veils
for herself, for her home and her sanctuary-. Grecian mythology^ teems with
stories of the women who performed work for the decoration of their homes. In
all ages, when the arts have flourished, ever}- part of a room has been adorned
with ornament.
The Egs'ptian women decorated their walls. The Byzantine women, the
Moors, the Greek and Roman women never held plain walls in good repute.
Even the women among the cave-dwellers decorated the interior of their homes
with bone ornaments.
The Japanese women excelled in the simplicitj' of their home decorations.
An air of elegance, refinement and serenity of mind is manifested in their quiet,
airy, open rooms. Here there is no crowding, no incongruous objects, but everj--
■where appropriateness and harmony of coloring with exquisite workmanship.
Here there is no false standard of display. The Japanese women as interior
decorators teach us the ' ' simple grace of not too much. ' '
The women in England's homes were surrounded by examples from which
they felt beauty and inspiration. Growing up amid great museums, rare collec-
tions, noble old houses, depositories of accumulated art treasures, rich interiors,
famous architecture, is it not a natural consequence that their homes should exhibit
the influence of high art ?
Mary Moser, of England, who was early admitted as a member of the royal
academy, earned the reputation of an interior decorator. She was much admired
by Queen Charlotte, and she, at one time, decorated a room at Frogmore for four
thousand five hundred dollars. This room was one of the earliest examples of
interior decoration by a professional woman artist.
Miss Robin.son, of England, superintended all the interior fittings and
decorations of the ocean .steamship "Campania," of the Cunard line. The
appropriateness, taste and skill combined with its magnificence are a proof of
what a woman may accomplish with patience and persi.stence. She was con.scious
of her natural artistic instincts, and so received thorough instruction in the art.
In Manchester, after opening her rooms of artistic furniture, failure .seemed
imminent; few orders and no sales resulted from the venture. The few orders
WOMEN IN INTERIOR DECORATION. 251
were executed with such satisfaction that others followed. At the Manchester
Exhibition, her fittings attracted the attention of* the royalty and won for her the
appointment of " Decorator to the Queen." Success followed. A branch office
was opened in London. Her decorations were soon seen in hotels, theatres,
churches and homes. Mi.ss Robinson is said to be the first woman to receive
recognition from Her Majesty.
The women of America grew up amid different surroundings from those of
their English sisters. It was and is necessary for Americans to create examples
of this decorative art.
For years in the United States, buildings remained without ornament.
Hotels, theatres, churches and a few homes of the wealthy were ornamented
later, but not until the past few years has a general taste for interior decoration
been manifest.
This present decorative impetus is largely due to the Centennial Exposition
in 1S76. The present movement owes its origin largelj^ to the women, who
quickly gained a general idea of the true meaning and importance of the art of
decoration.
Women eagerly urged the manufacture of more artistic materials, new indus-
tries were the result of urgent requests for more artistic stuffs and metals. Several
women from this time gave their attention to the stud}' of the best mode of treat-
ment for the adornment of American homes, and as Americans are receptive
people, the new work quickly gained lodgment. To-daj' the demand for good
decorators has almost exceeded the suppl}' of competent artists in this work.
Ever3'where people are waiting for information, ideas, and designs, regarding
their homes. The}' are on the alert for anything new, suggestive, appropriate
and beautiful.
The interiors of our public buildings and homes are daily being prepared for
the decorator of taste — the artist who excels in the work.
Among the most successful of interior decorations done by women, those in
our own colonial st^de rank among the highest in simplicit}^ appropriateness, sug-
gestiveness and intelligence.
In reproducing the interior decoration of different periods or peoples, American
women have been most successful in the Moorish and Japanese styles. The old
bamboos, curious bronzes, carved teak wood, celestial porcelains, Japanese flower
panels, swinging seats and curiously wrought lanterns make a most interesting
and pleasing effect.
Several firms of women house-decorators in New York have succeeded to a
most gratif\'ing extent both artistically and financially. These women are always
prepared to make designs and decorate one room, a suite, or a whole house.
Estimates of the cost are given. One firm began business in 18S2, and employ's
2s2
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
from fifty to sixty women, who design and make hangings for honses, and super-
intend the interior decoration. During the past ten years this firm has produced
more than five hundred designs in silks and cottons which have been manufac-
tured and sold throughout the United States.
Mrs. Candace Wheeler, of New York City, is the leading spirit of the firm
called the Associated Artists. About 1880 she began a business in a modest,
unpretentious way, and to-day its influence is felt in homes from New York to
San Francisco. Mrs. Wheeler's draperies, hangings tables, stands, fabrics, show
a peculiar artistic beauty and fitness. Her skill demonstrates what a woman may
accomplish in this field of work.
Since the inauguration of this little band of artists in New York, a revolution
has taken place in elaborate interior decoration in America.
This society has elaborated curtains for theatres, balls, decorations for the
interior of churches, club-houses and other public buildings.
Under the direction and inspiration of Mrs. Wheeler (Dora Wheeler Keith),
Miss Emmet and Mi.ss Clark, the art of interior decoration has been brought to
what was formerly considered an impossible degree of excellence. The footsteps
of these few brave women have made a wide path in this new field.
Here true art and manufacturing industry are blended in their own furniture,
inlay work, ceiling decorations, wall papering, panelings, parquetry floors and
glass mosaics.
The products of American looms never before included such filmy silks and
damasks, and the tints surpassed those in the gown of Enid of old.
Hardh' a building of magnificence in the country does not possess some work
of the Associated Artists. It may be a dull Japanese portiere for the Veterans'
Rooms of the Seventh Regiment Armory, or a curtain of cloth of gold for the
lil)rary of the Union League, but in all, excellence and marvelous taste is dis-
])Iayed.
All " Wellesley girls" are familiar with the beautiful frieze in the Browning
Room at the college. This is composed of flower panels, painted by Miss Ellen
R(jljbins, of Boston. These exact reproductions of familiar flowers show in design
and color ab.solute truth in following nature.
Miss Grace Lincoln Temple, of Wa.shington, D. C, has worked up to a
prominent position in interior decoration. She had charge of the decorations in
the Woman's Building at the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, and her work then
made an impression that was national and everywhere favorable.
Every woman who is planning a home is ambitious and anxious that it
manifest a superior taste and refinement in its furniture and decorations.
This may be the old country place to l^e remodeled into the repose and
dignity of a colonial liome, the winter rooms in the city or in the South, the
WOMEN IN INTERIOR DECORATION. 253
suniincr cottage by seaside, or the niouuLaiu home; wherever it is t<j be, artistic
ideas are demanded, and each stj'le of building, location and surroundings calls
for its own particular adornment and treatment. Ivvery woman, when planning
or purchasing, is apprehensive; she fears that this or that acquisition may not be
the correct purchase. This work of planning and purchasing is often a serious
perplexity, and too frequently vexation and disappointment attend the final dis-
position or arrangement. Two contiguous objects are incongruous. The Naples
yellow tint in the new and expensive rug mars and absolutely destroys the delicate
canary yellow of the walls. How vexatious it all is ! In this extremity one must
do one of three things: be reconciled, exchange the rug or have the walls
redecorated. Inharmonious rugs, draperies, ceiling or wall decorations may mar
the beauty of a home when with proper treatment these would have been a
delight, and all this might have been accomplished at the same expense. It is in
just such instances that the professional interior decorator's knowledge is
<lemanded, appreciated and prized. Women, from these experiences, foresaw the
necessity of trained artists for this work, and earnestly made preparations to con-
quer all difficulties.
Among the first women who resolved to master the art — art it is — was a
young Eastern w'oman. She was conscious of possessing an artistic taste of more
than ordinary excellence. She resolved to study diligently and earnestly the needs
of home-makers in regard to interior decorations and furnishings.
It was an unknown path, and she had for a guide only her love and taste for
the work. Her capital in stock was represented by a little knowledge of the
general rules of decorative art, the harmonies of color, good judgment, artistic
perception and a fair amount of business ability.
Thus equipped, she searched through the various art and decorative maga-
zines, she purchased manuals and hand-books of decoration, and resolved to
succeed. She at once classified the hints given. In the index to her blank-
books were the styles: Moorish, Turkish, Japanese, Roman, Dutch, I^ouis
^uatorze, I^ouis Quinze, Henri Deux and Colonial. She studied the character-
istic features of each style, the simple but definite suggestions and descriptions
applying to each, and enlarged upon many by adding original designs.
Then she studied the effects produced by certain treatments of rooms. Halls,
reception rooms, libraries, dining-rooms that were large, small, high, low, dark or
sunny, received careful study. Her investigations included the best tone and
coloring for the rooms; frieze, wood-tints, wall-papers, curtains, portieres, rugs,
coverings, in fact every detail from a scheme for ceiling decoration to the skins
and mosaic of the parquetry on the floor were earnestly studied, together with the
quantity, quality and effect of different light, the surroundings and the inmates
of the home.
254 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
She then secured her samples of carpets, wall-papers, paints and silks.
Arranged on her tables were the cool shades adapted to entrance-halls, staircases
and vestibules; the quiet tones in olives, bronzes and greens for the library, the
warm rich shades required for the dining-rooms, the light and airy tones for
drawing-rooms and boudoirs.
In addition to these she secured samples illustrating that important and under-
lying principle of color gradation. A floor covering of pure strong tone, the wall
decoration carrying out the next gradation, and the correct tint for ceiling to
complete last gradation. This was her preparation.
She then sent her cards to a number of friends and acquaintances, announcing
herself as ready to furnish them with suggestions and plans for interior decorations
and furnishings.
Her first efforts, like those of others in all work, were of necessity limited to
a small territor\', but her energy, ability, superior taste and judgment were at
once recognized. Her work broadened. Bach new order when filled, caused the
next to look less formidable, and each new decoration represented her best work.
She soon required assistants, and to-day many Eastern homes show the skill and
resolution of this young woman.
" How may I become a successful interior decorator?" is the question asked
by the girl of to- da}'.
Go to some art school or school of design; seek a thorough training — one
which will enable j^ou to make broad schemes, comprehensive combinations; which
will teach you the laws of harmon}- and color effect, and that mechanical and
mathematical knowledge founded upon the immutable laws of both nature and
science. All this knowledge is necessary. Then obtain the co-operation of some
architect; for the day has arrived when architecture and interior decoration go
hand in hand. They are dependent upon each other for the realization, the
perfection of the highest in art.
Nearly every large city has its art schools. In these schools the average
yearly fees rarely exceed one hundred dollars. Exceptional work, marked talent
or promise of superior .skill may win a free scholarship.
At the vSchool of Applied Design in New York over two hundred pupils
assemble in the different classes.
Here young girls of sixteen are working side by side with women of fifty.
Here one's amateur accomplishments may be directed to practical use.
At the Cooper Union, one of the famous art schools for women in New York,
there are free classes. In order to enter these, each applicant nnist furnish proof
that she is unable to pay for instruction.
It is not desirable that applicants should be under sixteen years of age, and
no applicant over thirty-five years old is received.
WOMEN IN INTERIOR DECORATION. 255
To the girl who is unable to attend a school, there is the chance of serving
an apprenticeship to some firm of interior decorators. With natural abilit}', taste,
keen observation, and love for work, she may at length become an assistant.
Such a young woman will soon learn that the first principles of successful
decoration lie in harmony of color. She will next learn that the first, accurate
and best teacher of color is nature. Nature's classes are free. It has been said,
" An intelligent study of the distribution of tints in the natural w^orld will make
a successful colorist." Nature never errs, her tints and shades never jar, and here
everything works together for beauty. Ruskin dwells constantly upon this fact.
What are the chances for success in this work ?
A woman, who, at a glance, can grasp the situation of a home, the character
of its occupants, who can understand just what will be appropriate, who possesses
the power to please individually and collectively, who can group all things in
perfect harmony and unerringly combine tints that charm, will find her w^ork in
demand, her remuneration gratifying and her success assured.
Fewer occupations are better adapted to a woman's taste; few offer a greater
scope of originality and in none will the true artist more rapidly advance.
Hundreds of women whose environment and opportunities prevent them from
entering more popular or more familiar fields maj^ find their true place among the
interior decorators.
This work meets the needs of the rich, and the field is not crowded. The
work also meets the needs of the middle class of people whose refinement and
cultivation apparently exceed the means for gratifying their desires in reference
to home decoration. To the girl w^ho will make a special study of decorations,
and furnishings suited to the demands of this class, w^ho will be quick to follow
the popular taste in a way equally effective but less expensive, there is a larger,
surer opening, for the value of interior decoration depends not so much upon the
richness of material as in harmony of color.
Where is the most desirable place to pursue this work ? Where shall I meet
with the greatest success ? If unknown, and with few resources, the struggle in
the city may convince one that " art is long."
In a large and prosperous town a woman's success may be more prompt.
She will be able to provide material far more artistic and beautiful than the
average local shopkeeper can afford to keep in stock. This local shopkeeper,
too, rarely possesses the taste or understands the art even if he could afford to
keep the materials.
Among a few thousand inhabitants her ideas, her ability and taste in interior
appointments will be recognized almost immediately. Her samples of artistic
goods are soon known by all, and appreciated. A business here means less
advertising, less capital, less competition. If she excels in her work, she will
256 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
find the radius lengthening and she will soon be employed in decorating the
suburban homes of the city.
If the young woman chooses to locate in the metropolis, she will do well to
associate herself at once with architects and co-operate with them. If her work
possess real merit, her success will come, although not as promptly as she
might wish.
Is it possible to make this work profitable financially? Yes; if you have
business faculty. No; if you po.ssess only the artistic ability and lack those
business qualities which so essentially attend the success of any occupation in this
present age of competition. You may have talent, pre-eminent talent, your work
may call forth praise and admiration, but you cannot live upon these prized
phrases uttered so often by admiring friends. Praise is a sorry and uncertain
crutch to lean upon when traveling in your field. The harvest will yield but
poor profits.
If one can study but one branch of the work, which is the most advisable?
The decoration of homes is productive of most good, in that here the inmates are
daily influenced by the work.
Churches have from time immemorial been the recipients of priceless treasures
of art and craftsmanship, and to-daj- these buildings afford a large field for the
decorator, for in all true art there is religion.
There is another public building in which interior decorations should be
given more attention; this is the school. In what better place can permanent,
artistic decoration fill so important a part in stimulating the imagination and
forming the minds? Leading, distinctive and impressive .subjects should here be
seen. Whether in painting or sculpture, a suggestive, appropriate decoration
here would be a daily in.spiration to thousands of minds that would retain the
influence throughout their lives, and make them nobler and happier.
XLI.
HOW A GIRL MAY WORK HER WAY THROUGH
■^'■y, -> '^', -yj^' -y'-i-'x -y'^\ -yj-^' -yj^\
-y'-y^ j!i-yj-i-'\
COLLEGE.
T
HE desirability of a college education for girls is less fre-
quently questioned at the present time than it was a few
years ago. It has become natural to ask, when a girl com-
pletes her public school education, "Are you going to
college?" Perhaps in a few years the question may be,
" To what college are you going?" Every year the num-
ber of girls who answer, "Yes, I am going to college," increases, but the increase
is largely 'due to the fact that many of these girls are obliged to add to the
words, " if possible." To wish to go is easy; to plan and determine to go is not
difficult; but how to carrj' out the plan is the question that presses upon the girl
whose purse is light. The first thing to decide is, of course, the particular
college one wishes to attend. Among several institutions, offering equal advan-
tages in the matter of instruction, it is wise for the young woman who must get
her higher education by her own efforts to choose that one which offers her the
best opportunities for such work as she is fitted to do.
Having made her choice, there arises the puzzle of providing the money for
the expenses of the first year. After entering college one may perhaps win
scholarships, or earn her way term by term; but, for the first year, it seems neces-
sary to provide a moderate sum, sufficient to pay one's entrance fees, and to
guarantee a portion of the year's expenses.
17 (257)
25S OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
If the plans for college life have been made several ^-ears before the time
comes to put them into effect, a sufficient sum of money may be in hand from
vacation earnings. Or some friend may be found who is willing to loan what is
necessary, to be repaid when the student has been graduated and is earning her
own livelihood.
Lacking these resources, our girl will probably have to give a year to this
preparatory stocking of her bank, and the question of what to do is often very
perplexing.
One bright girl, as she was studying this problem, with her gaze fixed on the
toe of her boot, discovered the answer right there, and a room, furnished with all
the appurtenances for cleansing and blackening ladies' boots and shoes, is putting
into her purse the money for her first year at Vassar.
The year of teaching in the country school, which many girls make their
stepping-stone between high school and college, is not to be despised as a means
of income. Of course the amount so earned will be moderate. Were it large,
young girls would have no chance at all in such places.
No girl should tr}^ this means of earning, however, unless she has some
aptitude for teaching. The country school has .some rights, and is not to be
regarded purel}' as a source of income.
With willingness to do any kind of honorable work, the chances of success
are reasonably sure
Now let us suppo.se the entrance fees paid, and the young girl fairly launched
on her four years of college life.
At the ver\' outset let her be sure to be perfectly frank about her needs with
the college officers. It will not do to be too shy or too proud to ask for work,
hoping that in some way it may be offered without the a.sking. Too many girks
are in need to expect that.
" A penny .saved is a penny earned," says the familiar old proverb. Economy
nuist be a cardinal virtue with the girl of small means. It is not necessary to
specify the little ways in which economy can be practiced. Great neatness and
order in taking care of one's apparel must be a matter of course.
It is useful to know that .sometimes a chance is offered college girls to do
their own laundry work. Quite a sum may thus be saved.
The first thing that occurs to most students as a way of earning monej^ is
tutoring. This is natural, and the upper years in college give opportunities for
doing this work.
The remuneration is usually excellent, a fact which makes tutoring especially
desirable. But it is not every student who is fitted for this work. One mu.st have
some aptness for teaching, and nuist have gained some reputation as a thorough
student, During the first year some other kind of work is more easily obtained.
HOW A GIRL MAY WORK HIvR WAY THROUGH COLIvEGE. 259
In some collci^cs donicslic work usetl to l)c nietcd out to tlie students as a part
of their daily task. As the amount of mental work re(juiretl has increased this.
]>ractice has fallen into disuse.
Domestic workers are all hired at present, and the i^irl who is willinj^to wait
on tables, or to a.ssist in running the domestic machinery in any of the ways
allowed by those in charge, can earn rea.sonable j^ayment for doing .so.
The .superintendent of domestic work often needs assistance in her office, and
some girl is almost sure to find her place there.
Her fellow students may furnish a means of income to our would-be earner.
Not all who. attend .school are poor, and those who have plenty of spending
money, or even but a rea.sonable amount, usually prefer to .spend their leisure
hours in .some other w^ay than in sewing on buttons, rebinding the frayed .skirt
bottoms, or mending hose.
If the college bulletin board contains the notice that Miss A. will do such
work at reasonable rates. Miss A. will probably find her spare moments filled and
her pur.se filled also.
Do not let any girl think she will be despised for doing such work as this. It
has come to be a matter of course in college life; and the girl who is modest, kind,
cheery and ready to use whatever talent she may have to add to the .social life and
enjoyment of those about her, will find herself liked and respected, even though
she post her advertisement as " mender."
To many, library work is especially attractive. All college libraries need
assistants, and several girls may usually find work in this line.
Any one who has been a teacher will appreciate the fact that the pressure of
really important work on a college professor leaves little time for the correction of
the numerous recitation papers passed in by students. Upper class girls are often;,
employed to correct the papers of lower class girls, and to do the clerical work for
their teachers.
When a college is situated in or near a large cit}^ a way of earning money is
in vogue that cannot be used in schools distant from a city. This is newspaper
reporting. Society events, theatre, opera, concert and lecture, all are served up
b}" these young workers, who are thus adding to their experience as well as their
money.
Scholarships need hardly be mentioned. It is well understood that these
exist, and are open to all.
But one may be a very excellent scholar, and yet fail to get a scholarship,
since these are limited in number. In most well-endowed colleges, however, a
girl who has shown herself deserving in every way, may obtain some help from
the college funds, on the plan of returning the money sometime, if she is ever
able to do so. If never in a condition to return it, she may consider it a free gift.
26o OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
It is not to be supposed that an exhaustive Hst of the methods of earning
money during college life has been given. In actual experience the willing girl
with eyes and ears open, would probabh- find many other ways. The methods
mentioned are not theories, but have all been actually practiced at such colleges as
W'ellesley, Vassar and Boston University.
The only condition necessary to receive aid at any college seems to be that a
girl shall be deser\-ing, and shall be willing and able to help herself.
If the needs for work are not too pressing, she who saves a little time to take
some part, however small, in the social life of an institution is doing a wise thing.
She will gain needed variety, make pleasant friendships, and add to her education
what books can never give her. Some very definite qualifications are needed by
one who would work her way through four years of study.
First of all is health. To the strong, so many things are possible. And there
must not be simply health at the beginning, but a constant care to keep in a
healthful condition. Usually, a careful supervision of the pupils, and the gymna-
sium work and outdoor exercise required of them, keep them in excellent condition.
But only the girls themselves can guard against overwork.
In anxiety to maintain a good class standard, and yet do work enough to earn
the much needed money, the temptation to overtax one's strength is great. But
it is worse than useless to yield to this temptation. Precious health once lost,
one's plans and hopes for advancement go with it.
Two ladies were discus.sing a successful teacher in our public .schools. ' ' Her
brilliant mind," said one, "has given her success." "Her perfect health,"
replied the other, " has been as great a factor. She is a beautiful example of a
sound mind in a sound body. Her perfect poi.se gives her power that her pupils
feel though they may not recognize its source."
The young woman who takes up any line of work must show herself trust-
worthy. If she engages to do a certain thing, it must be done thoroughly,
promptly and ungrudgingly.
If one has not the quality of courage, cultivate it. Not merely the dogged
persistence that will finish a task begun, but the sunshiny courage that can
transform even drudgery.
Above all else, there must be perseverance. It will not always be plea.sant
and ea.sy to lo.se many of the good times going on around one, .sometimes from
lack of means, again from lack of time. There will come moments when the
que.stion, " Is it worth while?" will ri.se to torment one: hours when life seems all
work, with no pleasure openings at all. Then is the time for a discouraged girl to
tighten her will fibres; look at all the bright places to be found in her daily life;
set before herself very clearly again the results she hopes to gain, and then work
steadily on, ])Utting into life all the good cheer possible.
HOW A GIRL MAY WORK HKR WAY THROUGH COLLEGE. 261
The results that she hopes to gain: — What are they ?
A rich harvest of knowledge, of course. But it is to be hoped that some-
thing more is expected and obtained than knowledge of books.
The college graduate should have gained knowledge of herself, of her own
capabilities, and of the place she was meant to fill in the world. She should
know how to carry herself in society, how to entertain, how to lose herself in
consideration for others.
Through the distinguished musicians and lecturers who favor our colleges,
she has gained glimpses into the worlds of art that have helped to polish her mind.
From the precept and example of Christian teachers she has learned the
beauty of unselfish w^ork; and has come to see that success in life is not to be
measured b}' fame or mone3^
The college graduate should be able to refute the common complaint that
higher education is unnecessary for the girl who is not to enter a profession, but
is to have the management of a household.
She should feel, and be able to show, that the executive ability gained in
college can be turned to the ordering of domestic comfort, as well as to the teaching
of the classics. Her knowledge of chemistry and sanitation should give her
household proper food, and keep her home in purity. And all the knowledge she
has gained will not be too much for the guiding of a little child's mind. Some-
times it will not be enough to answer his questions.
" Frances is ^^ounger at twenty-five than she was when she entered college at
nineteen," said a mother, speaking of her oldest daughter. " She was prim and
old-fashioned then, and ver}* one-sided in her view^s. Has she not changed?"
Indeed she had. One saw a charming woman, easy in manner, interesting in
conversation, and with that subtle something about her, that would certainh- make
any one describing her sa}^, ' ' A w^oman of character. ' '
There w^as good material to work on in this case, but almost an}^ prominent
educator can recall instances of crude, unformed girlhood, that four years of
college life have softened, rounded and developed into gracious womanhood.
To become a noble, cultivated, helpful woman! Is not that a high ideal for
any girl? And if college life will help in the attainment of that ideal, then it is
worth the elad giving of work and sacrifice.
xui.
WOMEN AS TEACHERS.
" I am indebted to my father for living, l)ut to my teacher for
living well." — Alexander the Great.
\
EXT to the woman in the home, guiding and training her
own little ones at her knee, stands the woman in the school-
room teaching and leading thousands of little souls from the
homes of others. Next to marriage there is no vocation
for which woman is natttrally better fitted than for that of
teaching. She it is who guides, inspires and elevates. The
[i, safety and perpetuity of our national life is largely dependent
tipon a living, loving, womanly teacher in every school-
room of our country.
In America the first lessons in English history, literature and composition
were taught by the colonial mothers. These women teachers, by the fireside or
spinning wheel, encoitraged their children to keep up a close intercotirse with the
friends of the old home, and these early lessons from women of sterling character
left their influence upon the later teachers.
Long after schools for boys were maintained, the girls were still at home with
their "samplers;" for "educational opportiuiities for children" meant educa-
tional opportunities for boys — and boys only. "Samplers" and "manners"
should make a girl content.
Ambitious girls then, as at present, found a way to attain their desires, so in
$;roups they quietly sat on the steps of the schoolhonse to hear the boys recite.
ITow much they learned is not recorded, but there is mention that the "act was
frowued upon and in .some instances met with proper i)unishment."
( 262 1
WOMEN AS TEACHERvS. 263
In 1761, when the school at South Byfield, Mass., admitted girls, it was
regarded l)y the conservative as a " foolhard}' act," one man saying of the girls,
' It will make them less healthy, less domestic, less useful."
" Women nuist be educated; they must be!" exclaimed Mary Lyon, as .she
walked the floor with flushed cheeks and flashing eyes. Her mother wrote:
"Mary will not give it up." This young woman's determination was a reali-
zation and the founder of Mount Holyoke College represented the culture of the
early New England and New York schools.
"Added opportunities for culture means added power for usefulness," and
that every woman might have this was the plan, labor and prayer of Mar}' Eyon's
work as a teacher.
In all these schools girls proved their ability as pupils and with the increasing
number of schools came the demand for women teachers.
The importance of deciding this question of woman's abilit}^ to teach is
evident from the accounts of an old meeting. The arguments, favorable and
unfavorable, were given thoughtful attention. One man sought to convince the
others that woman was incompetent, lacked the physical force, and closed his
remarks b}- arguing: " She can never thrash the boys."
Others brought forth the argument that woman had "directed and guided
her little family with a gentle hand, tender love and sympathy; if able to teach
the J'ezc, can she not teach the many ? "
This argument won. Those who doubted and disliked the innovations of
progress were convinced as they always will be.
The charge to the woman teacher was given hesitatingly, distrustfully, by
the people. Among these teachers the struggle for bare existence and subsistence
was severe. The}- received almost nothing for their labor of love; discourage-
ments were met at every step and this new path was made even more thorny by
prejudice than by necessity. The early women teachers met and conquered every
difficult}'.
In the little school kept by Elizabeth Peabody, at Lancaster, Mass., America
earl}' saw exemplified the principles of Plato, Plutarch, Luther, Rousseau,
Pestalozzi and Froebel. The brothers and sisters whom she taught, as well as
the daughters of the farmers and traders, here learned the meaning of Froebel's
truth, " harmonious growth through self-activity."
Miss Peabody moulded the life of each pupil, and, above all, showed herself to
be the true teacher in teaching others how to live. ' ' Throughout my teaching
life, I always made human life, as such, a leading study," said she. To-day
every teacher who will ' ' educate the soul ' ' and follow the examples of Elizabeth
Peabody and her sister, Mary Peabody Mann, will not fail in her work. These
two devoted sister teachers skirted the borderland of the present kindergarten
264 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
method, but it remained for Froebel to evolve the practical methods that put
children in possession of their faculties before they are contaminated by the
world.
The call for more schools of this character and for more women teachers
increased.
In America, after the war, when the work of the reconstruction of the South
was progressing, it was largely due to the corps of devoted women teachers that
the colored people were brought into subjection and trained for industrial pursuits.
These women exerted their influence along the lines where service demanded and
duty called.
The history of every country shows that the very flower of womanhood has
entered the ranks of teaching.
The girl of the present feels this truth.
The faculty of Wellesley College was and is largely composed of women. When
Mi.ss Alice Freeman, the young alumna of the University of Michigan, became
Wellesley's second president, a great and marked development was apparent. To
know the ideals of Wellesley was to know the ideals of Miss Freeman. When
she became Mrs. Palmer, Miss Shafer made a strong permanent impression and
left her influence on hundreds of teachers in the country.
Mrs. Irwine, Cornell's graduate, has exemplified the same high standard of
womanhood, being an example of the motto on the college walls: " Non minis-
trari sed ministrare," and woman's highest honor has ever been found in faithful
service.
We can trace the work of women as teachers in our colleges of Mt. Holyoke,
vSmith, Vassar, Wellesley, and thousands attest to the deep ethical influence, direct
or indirect, exerted by Emma Willard, Catherine Beecher and Mary Lyon.
To-day thou.sands of young girls, encouraged by what has been done, are
saying: " I intend to teach when I am through .school."
This is one of the highest and noblest of ambitions, but she must carefully
consider the requirements, the preparations, the .struggles and the chances of her
success.
Let a girl ask herself these questions:
Have I good health and strong nerves ?
Have I Vjroad education ?
Do I love children ?
Am I patient to a remarkable degree?
Am I sympathetic?
Have I tact, good judgment, common sense and governing power?
Have I originality and comprehensivene.ss of view ?
Have I the faculty of imparting to others the knowledge I po.ssess ?
WOMEN AS TEACHERS. 260
Am I able to awaken interest in chiklren ?
Am I willing to give up my present pleasures, privileges and freedom for
those of a teacher?
These are among the requirements, and who is sufficient for all these things?
The girl who teaches nuist be, and if these questions are inwardly answered in the
negative, then the girl has no right to indulge in the dream of teaching.
In this work there should be no experiments. Uncertain experiment upon
human souls is tragedy of the worst kind. There is a fitness— a divine, inborn
fitness — a wisdom of heart and soul required in shaping souls that is not essen-
tial to possess in shaping clay or fashioning draperies.
To the girl who is conscious of possessing the requisite traits of character
comes the question: " What preparation is necessary?" " Get the best training
and the highest education at anj- cost," were the words of an eminent teacher.
Too much depends upon our schools to accept anything in a teacher but the most
careful training, the broadest culture and the best womanly development.
One of our foremost women teachers said: " If you are strong and healthy,
strong of purpose and determination, do as I did: borrow the monej', go to a college
or at least a training school, and in two years after the completion of 3'our course
you will have paid your debt and made 3-ourself an heiress of the world's greatest
riches."
Send for circulars of the various training schools, study and compare them,
decide upon ^-our work, and train — train as the athlete trains for the victory he
hopes to win. Exert every effort in daih' toil for the place }-ou aim to fill.
Do not seek to become the average good teacher, but seek to make of yourself
a most superior teacher.
Ever\' child in the land demands the best work, the highest character in ever^'
teacher.
Our whole nation demands it and must have it.
A course at a training' school is not long, nor is it expensive. In nearly every
instance after the first term the weekly expen.ses may be reduced by assistance
given in some line of work.
The only department of teaching which is not overcrowded is that of the
kindergarten. In this field there is still room for hundreds of teachers. This is
acknowledged to be the most important branch of the work and, as a natural corol-
lary, the training is of the greatest importance.
Energ>' and time must be devoted to the study of every possible improve-
ment adopted in the teaching of child-culture and child-development. A full
understanding of its methods means the conviction that the best hope for the
future of the world lies in the kindergarten and most of all in the kindergarten
teacher.
266 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Each year the training schools are sending out women teachers who for
months have given their attention to the fundamental laws of psychology and all
that vitally concerns the development of tender, tiny child-life.
In all other grades professional preparation is demanded. The Normal
College of New York, which furnishes ninety per cent of its public school
teachers, is a free institution. From this college about four hundred girls are
annually graduated, and five-sixths of these become teachers.
In the School of Pedagogy of New York the work lies be}-ond that of the
normal schools. Here degrees are granted and advancement and success await
those teachers who are able to acquaint students with the scientific investigations
and principles of professional preparation.
After the decision is made and the preparation is accomplished, there will be
many obstacles and struggles for the young teacher.
" Why do you select teaching as a field of work?" was asked a graduate.
" Oh, because the hours are shorter, and the vacations are longer than in other
vocations; besides," .she added, "you know the salary is a.ssured, it is a perma-
nent work if one shows ability, and one meets the most cultivated people." Six
3'ears later at a late hour one evening two hundred examination papers were
closeh' packed on a table before her. These had taxed her physical, mental and
nervous forces, and with eyes, head and heart aching, .she was closing her day's
work at eleven o'clock at night. Had .she found the hours short ?
Had she found an opportunity to meet the people .she had hoped to meet ?
Slie had put her .strength and vitality into the lives of others. She had been
making men and women. She had made the reputation of being a rare teacher;
but was she? She had never learned how to retain her forces for the benefit of
those under her charge, and had a mistaken idea of her calling and its demands.
Her life had been one of devotion but not true devotion; hers was not the ideal of
duty-doing. Hers had been a complete self-surrender, an heroic self-sacrifice, but
it had been a suicidal self-surrender and a mistaken sacrifice.
" It is all a .struggle," said a teacher of three years' experience. " What is
not?" Your realization of the deficiencies that cause the struggle, the respon.si-
bilities that increase it, is the .strongest proof that you will become a better
teacher.
"There is so much of pedagogy-, .so many .scientific principles to gra.sp!" .she
continued.
Yes, but does all this resolve it.self into simplicity when once mastered ?
Be thankful that a science of education has been formulated, adopted, and that
you are commissioned to impart it to others.
The girl who contemjjlates teaching .should clearly picture to herself the
contrast between life as a student and life as a teacher. As a pupil .she spent the
WOMEN AS TKACHKRS. 267
greater part of licr time sitting undisturbed in quiet halls, thinking of the one
lesson before her, and of her individual desires. As a teacher she spends the
greater part of the time standing or walking about a schoolroom, often noisy with
street sounds, and she must think not only of the one lesson, but the many on her
day's program, and adapt each to the minds of not one but the forty, fifty, or
even sixty pupils before her.
When at school she talked only occasionally^ was surrounded by congenial
faces and enjoyed her freedom at recess. When a teacher slie must expect to talk
a greater part of the time to a class whose faces represent all sorts and conditions
of people, and at recess her care and responsibility is not lessened.
As a student her work was planned, the interest w^as created and her liberty
was enjoyed.
As a teacher she must plan for ever)- moment, she must create and sustain
interest, and her liberty becomes confinement for at least a portion of the daj-.
A disheartening, discouraging outlook, is it? No. On the contrary, it is
inspiring, it is full of incentive, full of love, engaging heart and soul. No voca-
tion is capable of producing grander results, no work is more comprehensive, no
work well performed is so soul-satisfying than this of leading and teaching living,
breathing, human souls.
Whatever preparation is necessarj^ whatever struggles are encountered, she
must make up her mind that she will succeed.
Once a timid-spirited woman ventured to suggest to lyydia Wadleigh that
failure might attend her proposed plan. "Failure!" exclaimed Miss Wadleigh,
flashing her large black eyes in defiance and scorn, " I fail! Never!" She carried
this principle through her girlhood days among the New Hampshire hills at Sutton;
it helped her to mount the heights at the New Hampshire Literary and Scientific
Institution; it was the foundation of her success in the earh' Twelfth street school
in New York Cit}-, and finally won for her that glorious thirty-two years' record
as New York's ablest woman teacher, closing with eighteen years as finst ladj"
superintendent of the Normal College in New York. Many a teacher to-day
has felt the influence of Miss Wadleigh's " I fail! Never!''
Every girl who would teach successfull}' must be in herself all that she
desires to communicate to those in her care. The traits of her own character
stand out far more clearly to the intuitive minds before her than the chalk marks
on her blackboards. If she would teach honest}-, she must be honest; if she
would teach truth, she must be true; if she would teach conscientious duty, she
must be conscientious to her own duties. A teacher cannot be one thing and
teach her children to be another. Childish minds are quick in detecting the slightest
impo.sture and quick to resent it. Any trace of hollow pretension is supremel}^
abhorred by a child. A child's perceptive and discriminating faculties have been
268 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
underestimated. A model of pure thoughts, high ideals and noble aspirations
will l)e loved and faithfully copied by the pupils.
The new education lies rather in the spirit of the teacher than in the subject
taught; for, underlying all, permeating all, and paramount to all else in the
school is the character of the teacher.
The great aim of the teacher should be to develop character. " Moral
education is the essence of all education," said Elizabeth Peabody. Apply all
your energy to make a high, liberal, justice-loving manhood and womanhood, and
the result will be a success.
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XUII.
COLLEGE PRESIDENTS, PROFESSORS AND PRIN-
CIPALS.
X this nineteenth century women are first enrolled as college
presidents, professors and principals.
America to-day feels the influence of its women leaders in
Vassar, Smith, Oberlin, Boston, Chicago, Wellesley, Cornell,
RadclifFe, Michigan Universities and hosts of others. Our colleges
stand for great ideas and these ideas are, in many instances, the
ideas, the aims, the efforts of the women who act as principals.
Every year vast sums are left for the endowment of some
college. Money alone cannot make a college; personal leadership
can do this. Every new scholastic in.stitution needs women of
lofty ideals of the power of leadership, of administrative abilit}^
and of magnetic personality. Positions as presidents, professors
or principals require the largest executive and administrative
ability, the broadest education, the ablest, noblest women. No
more faithful, resolute, devoted women workers have anywhere
given more of their resources, of their ph^'sical and mental powers, of their ver\-
life's energy than these women as college educators who have helped to sustain,
develop and perfect the greatest institutions of the age.
Not until the middle of the present century w^ere attempts made in England
to provide for the higher education of women. Queen's College and Bedford, in
London, were established. Twenty 3^ears later Girton and Newnham follow^ed,
later still Lady Margaret and Somerville, at Oxford, then came the degrees to
women at the University of London and of the honor examinations at Cambridge
and Oxford.
(269)
270 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMKN.
These early colleges, by the conservative, were rei^arded as a source of
amusement. In 1870 the first lectures for women, resident in Caniljridge, England,
were delivered by university men. To these lectures the women came, eager
for a higher, broader education than had hitherto been offered. Soon, from
another part of England, came an application from a woman anxious to come to
Cambridge and receive the instruction. The request was considered and after
much deliberation it was granted. As a natural consequence more women applied,
and in 1871 a house was opened for students under the charge of Miss Clough,
who afterward became the principal of Newnham College.
In 1874 the first women students were admitted. Among those who attended
during the first fifteen years, five became professors and lecturers in American
colleges, one became principal of the Cambridge Training College for Women,
and hundreds became teachers.
In the educational movement in our country there were brave pioneers. The
names of Mary Lyon, Emma Willard and Catherine Beecher signify broad ideals,
early struggles and complete victories. It is largely due to their efforts that
voung women were placed side by side educationally with men. When the sub-
ject of a college course was mentioned to a conservative it was met with remarks
similar to:
" Who shall cook our food and mend our clothes if the girls are to be taught
philosophy?" or, "Think of a wife who forced you to talk perpetually about
metaphysics or to li.sten to Greek and Latin quotations !"
Emma Willard early began to plan for a higher education of women, and
with her to plan meant to accomplish. Her mastery of her girlhood's lessons,
whether Milton, by the sheltered fireside, or astronomy from the exposed horse-
block, proved that in her mind the difficulties should and would be overcome.
This principle urged her forward through the schools of Miss Royce and Misses
Fatten in Connecticut, on to the position of assistant in Westfield Academy, ta
the full charge of a school in Middlebury, Vermont, and at last to the realization
and establishment of the Academy for Female Education at Waterford, and later
to more commodious quarters at Troy, N. Y. Popular sentiment was opposed to
her " vi.sions." At her school " in Waterford, in 1820, occurred the public exami-
nation of a young lady in geometry. It was the first instance of the kind in the
State, and perhaps in the country, and called forth a storm of ridicule."
Miss Willard's path was not strewn with flowers; it was made extrcniel>'
thorny; but her one purpose was to succeed.
What did it mean to her, how was it to be acconqjlislied ? It meant study
and work from ten to fifteen hours a day, a constant effort to remoNe public
prejudice, to ri.se above ridicule, to overcome indifference, and to explore new
fields. It could only be accompli.shed by .skillful teaching, patient drilling, the
COLLEGE PRESIDENTS, PROFESSORS AND PRINCIPALS. 271
wise addition of new studies to the old, the slow winning of the co-operation of
leailing minds, submitting plan after plan to eminent educators, by arousing
philanthropy and calling upon benevolence. All this Emma Willard did. She
patientl\' and zealously prepared the way for a new era in woman's education.
Troy Seminary was the result of her life-work.
To her, as to scores of other noble women at the head of schools, devolved
the labor of arranging, re-arranging, simplifying, methodizing and leading as well
as the responsibilities of the financial management. In all this work she was a
power in that first of American schools for young ladies. The five thousand
young women who were under her training have left rich legacies of her active,
wide-reaching work.
Can one ask for a prouder, grander monument ?
It is to such women of wide intellect and resolute determination that America
owes much for its educational advancement of women.
Oberlin, Mount Holyoke, Vassar, Smith and Wellesley are indebted to the
many noble women w^lio pointed out the path and shed their own light upon it for
the guidance of others. Many of the obstacles met and overcome by Emma
Willard have been encountered by other women.
In Holyoke, Elizabeth Blanchard, its principal for five j^ears and president
for one, largeh" gave her energies for its present advancement. She arranged
new schedules, secured extra funds and aimed to have the school a realization of
the expressed purposes of its founder, Mary Lyon: "A permanent institution
consecrated to the work of training young women to the greatest usefulness."
To-day its present president, Mrs. Elizabeth S. Mead, is striving to develop these
principles, and to her devotion, her love, is largel}^ due the high standard of the
work accomplished.
Mrs. Marianne Dascomb, when appointed principal of the ladies' department
of Oberlin College, Ohio, established and sustained the fullest curriculum of
studies for women which, in the history of our country, had, previously, never
been reached. Here, in the forests of Ohio, in 1833, was established that first
mental discipline equally as thorough and severe as that which had been and w^as
then required of young men.
This college was an early example of the movement which accomplished so
much toward supplying the wnde West with great and efficient institutions for the
higher education of women.
The early foundations of that educational movement w^ere, to a great extent,
laid by Marianne Dascomb, who, at the age of tw^enty-four, in the interests of
literature, religion and humanit}-, accepted her responsible position. As the
W^estern forests were graduallj^ swept away, this institution became more of a
power each year and to her judicious management, wise judgment and noble
OCCrPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
womanhood the college at Oberliii largely owes its safety, its wisdom and its
early success.
Another girl struggling under adverse educational conditions was Sophia
Smith. Eager for study, confronting meagre opportunities for education, realizing
popular prejudice, indifference and opposition, she resolved to build a college for
women. While the brother
was gathering gold this
sister's heart was prepar-
ing to dispense it. Her
munificent gift of $400,000
was called forth by her
inmost f e e 1 i n g and
thought: "There is no
justice in denying women
equal educational advan-
tages with men. Women
are the natural educators
and phy.sicians of the race
and they ought to be fitted
for their work." Again
she said, "We should
educate the whole woman,
physical, intellectual,
moral, spiritual." The
Greek motto over the en-
t ranee door at Smith-
College, "Add to your
virtue knowledge," was
and is a principle nobly
exemplified in its women
professors.
A Vassar College wo-
man will recall with feel-
ings of pleasure and
almost of reverence the
names of Professor Maria Mitchell, Profe.s.sor Braislin and Dr. Webster, who
were early members of the faculty.
The magnetic influence, inten.se individuality and helpful sj^rit of Maria
Mitchell, who for twenty-three years was Vassar's professor in astronomy, were
long felt after her pupils had entirely forgotten zenith, azimuth, all the
PKOl-ESSOR MARIA MITCIIKI.I..
COLLEGE PRESIDENTS, PROFESSORS AND PRINCIPALS. 273
malliematical inysterit-s of eclipses, precession of equinoxes and the management
of the sidereal clock in which this gifted woman was so thoroughly informed,
and all of which were so loved b}^ her.
She once said, " I had only ordinary capacity but extraordinary persistency."
Her early familiarity with Nantucket's wide-bordering sea, the deep, blue over-
arching dome, her father's telescope, her books and this "extraordinary persist-
ence" incited her to reach forth into the mysteries of creation and the outer
universe, to earn for herself the gold medal from the King of Denmark, the
copper one from San Marino, to accept the position of professor of astronomy at
Vassar College when it was opened in 1865. Later it was this same persistency
that completed her important scientific essays, her contributions on astronomy in
the Scicntijic American, and most of all that made her work at Vassar, strong,
vital, lasting and successful.
The homelike appearance inside the observatory, w-ith its quiet, country-like
surroundings, its windows half-hidden by roses and overlooking the garden, all
proclaimed the woman, not the professor. Inside, the bust of Mary Somerville,
the pictures of home friends, the china, books, souvenirs of foreign travel, all
were evidences of womanl}- love and feminine taste.
The picture on instruction nights was that of the stately professor with
piercing black eyes, her strong face softened by snow-white curls, seated like a
queen among the beautiful, bright-eyed, laughing girls. Practical, mathematical
work, drawings, photographs, records of meteorological matters and calculations
beside the great telescope, was a part of the work required and accomplished; but
greater, grander than all this was her earnestness, inspiration, strength, truth and
justice which she imparted to every girl in her class. For such a professor a
young woman has a reverence almost approaching worship.
The grandeur and breadth of her life-work seemed a part of herself; the
quality of greatness always seen in the unfathomable spaces seemed reflected in
her character; the great suras entering into her daily calculations were symbolic
of the greatness of her daily duties.
The lives of such women as professors are not measured b}- the work accom-
plished by brain and figures.
A professor is not only loved because she can penetrate nebulae, detect
impurities in minerals, discover new specimens in science or develop a new method
in literature or history, but because she can penetrate aspirations, detect thoughts,
discover talent and develop character and womanhood.
Mr. Durant, the founder of Wellesley College, said, " Educated Christian
women have more to do in forming the opinions and making the character of men
than all other influences combined; I will build a hall large enough to accommo-
date three hundred girls. ' '
iS
274
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
While these plans were maturing a conscientious girl in the West was dili-
gently studying all that nature gives so freely and all that schools gave.
Her desire for a higher education was increased by the opening of the doors
to women of the Michigan University.
Here Alice Freeman entered, and after graduating in 1876 and spending two
years in teaching, she was called, at the age of twenty-four, to the chair of history
at Wellesley College. Her
character, lier work at
once gave rise to the
prophecy that she would
some day be its president.
In 1 88 1 the summons
came. She won all hearts.
Her ready sympathy,
her sincerity, her consci-
entious devotion were an
inspiration to every young
woman to lead the same
pure, earnest, noble life.
To her untiring energy
and conscientious devo-
tion was due the higher
standard, the broader
work, the nobler woman-
hood.
Her example has been
followed by Mrs. Shafer
and Mrs. Irwine. Others
at the head of our semin-
aries and academies have
a record glorious in its
execution and grand in
its influence. From the
East to Mrs. Mills, presi-
dent of Mills College, Cali-
fornia, no])le examples
(jf women are found in our institutions whose influence each year is broadening.
Included in the faculty of Standard University, California, is Miss Mary
McLean, who has the distinction of being the youngest woman in the faculty of
any Western college. The young lady is Iwenty-five years of age, an only child.
AIJCK FRRRM.^N PAI.MHR.
"HOMELIKE APPEARANCE INSIDE THE OBSERVATORY.
(275)
276 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
and has been carefully reared. Her father is Rev. J. K. McLean, D. D., who has
been in California for thirty years, and is known all over the West. He is the
leading Congregationalist in California. Miss McLean, after graduating at the
University of California, went first to England, where she entered the Oxford
College annex. Later she studied in Berlin and traveled extensively. At Stan-
ford Miss McLean is an adjunct to the chair of English literature. She will
introduce a number of European methods, culled from the great colleges, all of
which she has visited, into her new department.
The first normal school of which a woman was principal was founded in St.
Louis, Anna C. Brackett, a graduate of the Framingham Normal School, being
at one time its efficient head.
Not until within a comparatively recent time have colleges recognized peda-
gogics as a science. The first professor of pedagogics in America, Miss Bibbs,
was appointed in the University of Missouri.
Few people outside of those in the educational circles realize all that is
required in the character and abilit}- of our woman principal. She must always
be hopeful, cheerful, courageous; she must possess superior sense, keen insight,
wise judgment; she must show skill and tact in managing the infinite number of
college affairs, must meet every duty with devotion and zeal, must hold herself
and hundreds of others in her care with a gentle hand j-et with the firmest strength
of will, and often sacrifice her own happiness for that of others.
In her dail}' work, in personal interviews, in consultations with teachers,
matrons, parents, pupils, in assigning daily exercises and studies, in delivering
her course of lectures to her girls, in general class instruction and in her ever
watchful supervision does she not add each moment some new gem to her well-
earned crown? Is she not entitled to the highest place of honor and power in the
hearts of the college girls ?
Many in.stances are cited in which comparatively unknown teachers of
superior, natural ability and rare excellence have suddenly been called to assume
the professorship or principalship in some institution of learning.
The teachers of the highest merit are raised from obscurity into the brightest
light, she who was unknown in her work becomes known, the weakest becomes
the strongest. Many of our women professors in Vassar, Smith and Wellesley
received the call to greater, broader work when discharging the daily work in a
field less known. True merit will find its place.
The filial-like devotion and affection which never ceases to exist between the
student and the woman principal is the uniform and highest testimony to the
high esteem in which these women are held. Their noblest work is written in the
career of the thou.sands of young w'omen whom they have fitted for life's highest
and best .service.
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xuv.
IN THE IvECTURE FIELD.
N these days of women's clubs and the much-talked-of "woman's
movement," the lecture field offers great opportunities for women
with the necessary qualifications. These are, first, a thorough
knowledge of the subjects chosen; second, a talent for public speak-
ing; third, a cultivation of that talent, and fourth, a great many other
things. Too many women are trying to get before the public who are poorly
equipped. A woman is asked to prepare a paper for a club, perhaps, she does it by
looking up in an encyclopedia her subjects, and copying direct from that, instead
of trying to put life and enthusiasm and fresh thought into her paper. But when
she comes to read it before a friendly, small audience, who, perhaps, could not do
as well, she is praised and told that her effort is "masterly," " scholarl}-,"
"learned." She is fired with ambition, inconsequence. If she says to herself
"/know, if f/iej' don't, that I could do a great deal better than that," and goes
to work to improve with all her might and main, .she will succeed. But if she is
satisfied and accepts the praise of well-meaning but ill-qualified friends, and then
goes before a larger, critical audience with her patchwork, encyclopedia-ized
paper, woe be unto her! For she can only fail. In this, as in all things, earnest,
thorough study tells, and in this field, almost more than any other, it is suicidal
to a woman's best interests to venture without a thorough equipment.
Many women in America are succeeding along this line, however. The W.
C. T. U. and the suffrage movement are to be thanked for this development of
opportunities for women. When the pioneers in these movements began, what a
hue and cry there was! Now it is safe to say there is not a town in the United
States, not even in the most remote backwoods district, where a woman may not
(277)
278 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEX.
go on to the platform or stand before an audience without being sure of a respectful
hearing. All honor, then, to the pioneer women!
Fifty 3'ears ago both the woman who spoke in public and the woman who
listened to the speech were maligned and \-ilified. The}' were characterized
as " strong-minded," " blue stockings," " visionaries,' " " unsexed," " atheists,"
" unscriptural," " revolutionaries," and to-da}^ there are lecturers of all possible
kinds in ever\' part of the country. The\' do a wonderful and beneficent work in the
education of the American people, and more especially in supplementing the
training derived in schools and in bringing education down to date with those
who have been too busy to pursue their studies after graduating from some
scholastic institution .
The lecturers and their topics afford the means of determining the varied tastes
of American women. A talented speaker might have a superb address upon any
topic, but if the latter does not appeal, the lecture itself is almost certain of being
a failure. If it does not succeed after two or three trials the lecturer gives it up.
It would be impossible to even name all the women who have made a
reputation in this calling. The list with necessar}- comments would fill a large
volume, and all that can be done is to select a few representing the various fields
of thought and work.
Of the many pro:ninent ones, a capital example is Mi.ss Harriet Keyser, of
New York. She is a woman of great ability who has made a special stud}- of
political and economical subjects for many 3-ears, and who lectures regularh'
before large audiences. One of her finest efforts was entitled "The Economic
Value of Woman to the State," and be^'ond its great rhetorical beaut}' and value
it was a remarkable collection of statistics on the subject which had never before
been put together. Then there are the marvelous lectures by ]\Iiss Charlotte Hawes,
of Boston, upon music, and those of Mrs. Mary H. Flint upon architecture. The
former were entirely out of the beaten path; one was upon bells and belfries,
chimes and bell music, and gave a succinct history of the subject from the earliest
times, along with illustrative music ranging from the simplest bob major to the
greatest compositions by the Italian masters; a second was upon ancient and
classic music; and a third upon the music of birds, and the musical element of
natural life. Such work could not be obtained in any book, or even in any
ordinary library. Put together in book form it would be invaluable to the
musician and the general student. Mrs. Flint's lectures brought architecture
down to date. The latest discoveries in the East, the newly found and explored
ruins of both the Old World and the New; the newest creations of modern
architects were all ably handled and brought together in compact, concise form.
Her full course of talks would make a hand-book of remarkable value to the
reading public.
IN THE LECTURE FIELD.
279
Five distinguished specialists are Madam Eva Alberti, the president of the
New York College of Expression; Professor Mary Williams, Professor Angeline
Brooks, Miss Mary Proctor, and Professor Cornelia C. Bedford, the president of
the New York Society of Teachers of Cookery. Madam Alberti is so versatile
and accomplished that it is difficult to restrict her to any one class. In her college,
which is a post-grad-
uate institution, she de-
votes the most time to
philosophy, psj'chol-
ogy, pedagog}-, and the
art and science of phys-
ical culture, in all of
which fields she is a
recognized authority.
Professor Brooks is the
great master of kin-
dergarten science. Pro-
fessor Williams makes
a specialty of woman's
education and the edu-
cation of women's edu-
cators. Miss Proctor
is the distinguished
daughter of the famous
astronomer, Richard
A. Proctor, and i n-
herits much of his
matchless talent in
making astronomic
truths eas}^ of grasp
and popular to the
public mind.
Madam Kleppisch
lias devoted many
years to modern paint-
ers and paintings, has a superb collection of photographs of all the more
important ones, and a remarkable fund of anecdote and incident respecting both
the w^orkers and their works. She has traveled through Europe several times,
visiting the studios and galleries, and has utilized the knowledge thus gained for
her addresses.
LENA I.OUISE KI^EPPISCH.
28o
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN,
Three public speakers who add to high culture and many accomplishments,
great personal beauty and remarkable oratoric power, are Mrs. Mercedes Leigh,
of New York, Miss Mary Haviland Sutton, of Chappaqua, and Miss Mar}- C.
Francis, of Gotham. They are all young, graceful, enthusiastic and brilHant.
Mrs. Leigh is seen at her best in the highest class of poetry, such as Shakespeare,
Emerson, Goethe, and Omar Khayyan. ]Miss Sutton tends toward aesthetic
thought, and Miss Francis
to the literarj' spirit. It is
a treat to hear Mrs. Leigh
upon the "Rubayyat,"
Miss Sutton on ' ' Beaut}' in
Dail}' Life," and Miss
Francis upon the ' ' New
Woman." These three
represent the incoming
generation and show that
there is no dearth of splen-
did material for the speakers
of the coming twenty 3- ears.
The field of literature
is very well covered by
women lecturers. While
^ I -fi' \i£ar ^ '^y I 1^^ ^ of them are possessed of
1 Vjjf \\ % Imlffi ^^^v^ § ^^M ^^ broadest literarj^ cul-
- > m%t\ A\KttlKM# /J i^B ture, 3'et either their own
taste or the public fancy
has identified nearlj" every
one with some particular
poet, playwright, school or
period. Mrs. Abb}' Sage
Richardson, although a
finished Shakespearian
scholar and a learned political economist, is best known by her magnificent
lectures upon the Arthurian romances; Mrs. Sarah Cowell Le Moyne enjoys
a national reputation, but it is as the exponent and student commentator
and transcriber of Robert Browning; Mrs. Anna Randall Diehl is associated in
the public mind with Shakespeare and nothing else; Mrs. Alexander Kohut, of
New York, one of the superb leaders of the modern Jewish women, by Semitic
literature, of which, as a matter of fact, she is a great master. A lecturer who
belongs to no class, but is a class unto herself, is Madam Hanna Korany. She
MERCEDES LEIGH.
IN THE EECTURE FIEED.
281
comes from S^'ria, in Asia Minor, where she was born and raised. She came to
this country the first time as a delegate to the World's Fair at Chicago. Here
her oriental beaut}' and eloquence, exquisite manners and remarkable knowledge
soon attracted attention and made her famous. At the suggestion of the new-
found friends she tried the
lecture platform, and won
an immediate andgratif}--
ing success.
Miss Jane Meade
Welch, of Buffalo, N. Y.,
came into popularity first
as a writer and then as a
lecturer upon American
history and literature. She
began her work in her
native city. It was of so
high a character as to re-
ceive the highest praise
of the press and pulpit,
and to make her name
known in the great cities.
She took advantage of
invitations to address vari-
ous societies and lyceums,
from which she rose to the
highest step in the pro-
fession by being appointed
a special lecturer of many
women's colleges.
While law may not
seem a very attractive
field, it nevertheless has
produced some very able
women lecturers. At least
five have already attained distinction in this part of the country. Mrs. Cornelia
K. Hood, Miss Stanlietta Titus, and Miss Kate Hogan, the two latter belonging
to New York, and Mrs. Hood to Brooklyn; Miss Mary E. Greene, of Providence,
and Mrs. Alice Parker Eesser, of Boston, are all exceedingly popular, and in
lecturing before mixed audiences or before women's clubs, they have shown
great tact and wisdom, avoiding all technical terms, explaining delicate and
ALICE PARKER LESSER.
282
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
difficult points, using" as examples the questions which come up in the every-day
life of private individuals.
In this line of opportunity is it not gratifying to think that these women
occupy the positions the>- hold by reason of the demand of hundreds of thousands
of men and women, principally women, in every part of our great countr\', who
see something in life greater and better than w^ealth, frivolity, or pleasure?
They indicate that a revolution has occurred in the present century such as
our ancestors never dreamed of. and that the twentieth century will start upon
the basis of a mental, moral and spiritual plane, higher than any the world has
vet known.
XLV
NEWSPAPER WOMEN.
T
r>J-y,
fei\i!i:?/J>;i^/i<l-/iv\=/J.<i-/i>.'/-i^^$
rr^l^'HE women that we are going to talk about are not the
;:-;3i< literarN- workers, pure and simple, — those who write for
magazines or storj- papers; nor those who in the shelter of
their own home write letters for daily and weekly news-
papers. The girls we are talking about are those who go
into the newspaper office, have regular desks there, "take
assignments," and go out to attend to them; going to their work as the young
men go to theirs and working side bj'- side with them.
Among all the professions that have been opened to w^omen during the past
few years none seems on first sight so tempting as that of newspaper work. Not
"journalism," for that term is too dilettanti, too little expressive of the real thing.
Your genuine newspaper worker is an honest worker; there is no make-believe
about him or her. As for your " journalist," he is very likely to think more of
his title than his achievement. One of the best American editors has a fashion
of sa\-ing, if any one speaks of a journalist to him, "Oh, a journalist, is he?
Well, I'm afraid he won't suit me; what I'm looking for is a good, wide-awake
newspaper man."
I have in mind a young woman with "journalistic" aspirations. She had
had no experience, but she made up her mind to begin her work as an art or
musical critic; or she might consider reviewing books. She found all such places
occupied, but she could not see why the people who had growm up to a knowledge
of work and were of value to their papers shouldn't be set aside and give her a
chance. With the insolence of inexperienced and unin.structed youth, she really
thought that her claim for consideration was greater, because she was " new and
fresh " — ver}- fresh, if one may drop into newspaper slang — and that those people
(2S3)
rS4 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
who had the wisdom born of experience and were valualjle workers, whose opinions
were sought for and respected, should be put to one side in favor of her 3'outh.
She was quite indignant because it was suggested that she win her place by
showing her ability to do any kind of newspaper work first. Now, a girl like
that will never become a good newspaper woman; she will never gain the position
she desires. While she is standing out.side with folded hands, waiting for some-
body to die or resign, and so leave an opening for her, another woman — or a man,
maybe — is fitting for the place which shall be hers or his because he has won it.
Positions don't come by way of legacy in a newspaper office, I assure you.
There is more than one reason why this profession should be regarded as a
pleasant one, although it is a question whether the reasons are "good and suffi-
cient." In most ca.ses they are based on wrong premises, and arrived at through
ignorance. In the first place, many think it an easy way to earn a livelihood;
they imagine the remuneration to be greater than it really is; others think it a
work that brings influence with it, and still others regard it as a somewhat less
objectionable mode of work than that done with the hands, and they are very fond
of setting off mental against purely manual labor. Others, again, are ambitious
of position, and think it a fine thing to have, as they term it, "the public ear."
Now, any one, man or woman, who takes up this profession with ideas of this kind,
will make a speedy and signal failure. It is one of the best professions in the
world, even if less remunerative than the other professions. It catches and holds
the enthusiasm of the workers as nothing else does. It opens possibilities of
attainment that are undreamed of when the first steps are taken, but it is a pro-
fession that must be undertaken with 'humility of spirit, and treated with the
highest respect. It cannot be u.sed as a makeshift; it will do nothing for one who
takes it up carele.ssly or to .serve a mere purpo.se, intending to drop it after the
l)urpose is served, or some other position won. It gives much to its honest workers,
Ijut to the selfish and .shirking it refuses its best gifts.
After twenty-five years of constant work in the profession whicli I chose when
\ery few young women had dreamed of adopting it, I believe that it is a profession
well suited to the woman who suits it. Not to all women, for all women will not
make successful newsjiaper workers, any more than all men will. It is not an
easy work, albeit it is fascinating. It, mr)re nearly than any other I know, will
answer to the descrij^tion of woman's work in the old doggerel which ran,
" Man's work is from sun to sun;
Woman's work is nevi-r done."
This is true of newspaper work. Literally, it is never done. Your new.s-
paper goes on througli everything; it is printed every day, and sometimes several
times a day. as in the case of the paper with which I am connected, the Boston
MRS. SALUE JOV WHITE.
286 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
J It raid, which has eight daily editions. Can you luidersland what that means?"
Something fresh and new in every one. The last incident caught in its happening,
chronicled in white heat, and put before a waiting public before it is two hours
old. Nothing must escape; every class in the community must be looked after,
from the merchant prince to the rag-picker. Do you realize what this requires?
Quickness, alertness, and if you will permit the use of a specially coined word —
aliveness. A readiness to do whatever may come to you, to turn out an interesting
story on any subject, to make the most of trifling incident — in short, to give value
to very piece of work put into your hand to do.
In regard to any personal gain of influence or recognition, that comes slowly.
In taking a position on a newspaper you are but one of many workers, and you
have your own place to make. First of all, you must make yourself of value to
your employers, your editors. You must show them that you have within you
the qualities which will, when you have had experience, de\-elop into good work-
ing power. This you mu.st prove in small ways before you will be given large
opportunities. The mere fact that you have been taken on to a paper on trial
does not make you a newspaper woman. You must prove your mettle before you
are admitted fully to the inner circle and recognized as an accepted worker. Some
young women who have an ambition to be journalists imagine that the whole
thing is accomplished if the>- can secure the publication of something which they
have written, and then have personal notes of themselves put into other papers,
saying that " Miss Featherbrain, of the Tattler," says so and .so. Nobody knows
who Miss Featherbrain is, but what difference does that make ? vShe has been in
print, and she calls it being famous. It .seems .silly that persons should be content
to pose on .such very slim pretences as these, but there are many who do. Please,
dear girls who are reading this, don't any of you join this army of incompetent
hangers-on and make-believes. If you are ready to become honest, conscientious
newspaper workers, consider something beyond the negative side which has been
presented to you.
Having made up your mind that the work is not easy, but that it is exacting
and insistent, convinced that although you may make a fairly comfortable living
if you work hard enough, you will not make a fortune, and knowing perfectly
that your personality is to be swallowed up in the paper for which, ne\ertheless,
you are willing to do your 1)est work, you are ready to hear the affirmative side
of the question.
You must po.ssess the ability to write well — that is to express yourself in
gofxl Knglish free from all redundancies, with clearness and conciseness. P'ine
writing is not wanted. By fine writing is meant the tendenc\ to the use of exces-
sive metaplior, flowery language, and long words of foreign extraction. It maj''
not be easy for you to believe, but it is i)erfectly true, as you will admit after a
NEWSPArj<:R WOMEN.
287
few trials, that the simplest mode of expression, that which is elej2:ant and refined
in its directness, is the most difficult of attaimnent. If you watch yourself, you
will find tliat the tendency is to amplification and redundancy of expression
rather than to simple conciseness. You would learn the lesson very quickly
could you be an invisible listener to the criticism of the " desk editor " on a piece
of work over which you
had spent much time, and
of whicli you felt ver>-
proud. Every dash of his
relentless blue pencil
through lines over which
\-ou had pored and which
had given you most ex-
quisite satisfaction as you
read and re-read them,
would pain you. You
would writhe in mental
agony to hear this brain
labor of yours character-
ized as " gush " in a tone
of unmistakable con-
tempt. But you would
most certainly grasp the
idea that what the news
paper wants is lucid state-
ment, a clear bit of descrip-
tion, and an idea under-
standingl}' presented .
Not careless work, or
work without thought,
but the work which has to
be most carefully done
and so well written that
no one can find fault
either with the essence or
the mechanical construction. To be a successful newspaper woman — versatile,
and who can be put to do work of any kind on any copy — one must be fairh-
well read, up in historical subjects, have some ideas about the movements of the
time, and quick to catch the spirit of events. There are many well-read, highly
educated women whose ideas are worth a great deal, but who would never make
ESTEIvI^E M. H. MERRILL ("JEAN KINCAID
288
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
!
good newspaper workers simply because they, never can be made to have any idea
of relative values of happenings. They do not know how to take the public
pulse; they have no genius for selection; and so, while they are most valuable
friends for newspaper workers to have, they can do no practical work themselves.
It is not always the person who knows the most who can best impart informa-
tion. One must know
how to give out, as well as
to take in, to make a good
teacher ; and the same
qualities, in a great degree,
are necessary to make
a good newspaper woman.
It requires perfect
physical, as well as good
mental endowment, to
make a newspaper career
successful. The girl who
has not a good constitu-
tion, unimpaired health
and a perfect nervous
system, should never think
for a moment of entering
this profession. In no
profession does one have
to meet so much in the
way of phj-sical disadvan-
tage as in this. No matter
what the weather may be,
if a piece of news is
needed, it must be secured.
Daily papers do not wait
on the weather clerk's
convenience. Often there
is great irregularity in eat-
ing. Hours of labor are un-
certain; you are at the behest of others, and you must always be ready to respond.
It is only right to put all this before you, for it is far better to know that there is
a " seamy " side before you undertake the work, than to fancy it all smooth and
even and find out your mistake afterward. If you have splendid health and no
nerves; if you are ambitious to learn your profession and willing to begin with
.\Di:i. I.VIC Iv KXAI'P
NEWSPAPER WOMEN.
289
the alphabet of it; if you will understand that your remuneration will be small
at first; and that severe economy will be necessarj' in order to get on; if you are
free from nonsense — then you may undertake the work, feeling sure that there
is no more delightful profession in the world, even though it is the most exacting.
You nuist be content to begin at the very beginning of things. You may be
inclined to turn up your
nose at being sent out to
describe a shop window,
or to make a paragraph
about a removal. But it
is all in the way of your
education, and when your
superior officer, your city
editor, finds that you do
the small things under-
standingly you will be
given larger things to do,
and it rests with yourself
to make your work valu-
able and advance your
own position. The trou-
ble is, so few are willing
to begin at the beginning ;
they want to strike in
somewhere along in the
middle; or they will make
a bound for the ver\- top
— and usually come down
quite outside the limits of
the profession. Having
once obtained the oppor-
tunity- to make a trial of
3'our pow'ers, it rests with
you to make the trial a
success and 3-our position
a permanency. In the first place, do everything as well as you can. Put as much
good work into a report of the most trifling nature as you would into an important
editorial. Carr3' your conscience with you all the way along. Never let a feeling
of private pique or private personal interest influence your work. You are a part
of the paper which 3-0U represent and you must give to your work all the dignitj^
19
CATHARINE COLE.
290 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
and impartiality that belongs to the paper. There is nothing a good editor resents
so quickly as the feeling that any member of his staff is usin^ the position
occupied as a means of carrying out private schemes, whether it be of advancing
an interest or pulling down a reputation. Above all things, do not try to enhance
your own value by writing about yourself and your own affairs and accomplish-
ments. There is nothing which so quickly opens a person to ridicule as this
habit of constantly writing about herself. It is simply the most palpable and
laughable kind of self-laudation, and no girl of refinement or good breeding will
show such a lack of taste as to permit herself to make this pitiful bid for
notoriety.
In regard to remuneration, which is what every po.ssible worker wishes to
know about — it is much less than is generally imagined. There have been so
many sensational stories written concerning the money earned by newspaper
workers, that they raise high hopes in the heart of the ambitious girl. But
here is the truth to be told. The number of women who are earning less than
a thousand dollars a year in newspaper work is very much greater than tho.se
who are earning that amount, and all who are earning one thousand dollars and
over are women who have served a long apprenticeship. A girl has to work a
long time, unless she has an unexpected piece of good fortune, before she will
earn as much as a school teacher, and .she will work all the time, day and night —
with a possible two weeks' vacation — instead of having the long vacation and the
off days which the teacher has.
Within the last few years there has crept into women's work a tendency
which one cannot but regret to see; that is, the habit of many of the leading city
papers to give to the young women in their employ tasks to do which no .self-
respecting young woman should permit herself ever to undertake. It more often
happens than not that the young woman to whom such work is given is a country
girl, unaccustomed to city ways, who is anxious to "make a hit" with her
editors and who, in her ignorance, undertakes .something which the editor would
never dream of giving to the city girl who would understand its full import. The
very ignorance of the countr> girl is her .shield from harm in the beginning, but
this ignorance cannot be of long duration, and the knowledge comes to her in a
most bitter awakening, often with the loss of self-respect, if not of honor itself.
If any girl who reads this is ever tempted to make her entrance into newspaper
work through this unclean path, let her put aside the temptation and give up her
fondest hopes of becoming a new.spaper woman if they are to be attained at such
a cost.
There is an honor li.st of newspaper workers which should be given to the
world, but it is so long that only a few names can be mentioned. First and
foremost is Mrs. J. C. Croix , the woman who, as Jennie June, was tlie pioneer
i
NICWvSPAPICR WOMKN.
291
woman to enter the newspaper oflice as a regular worker on the same terms with
men. Her story is so well known that it will be needless to tell it, but all
newspaper women honor her for what she has been and are grateful to her for
what she has done to open the way for them. Other newspaper women deserving
special mention are Mary Krout, of Chicago; Adeline E. Knapp, of San Francisco;
Catharine Cole, of New Orleans; Grace Sheldon, of Buffalo; Eliza Archard
Connor, Cynthia Westover-Alden, Harriet Holt Cahoun and Eliza Heatoii
Putnam, of New York; Helen Winslow, Estelle M. H. Merrill and Elizabeth.
Merritt Gosse, of Boston; these are a few out of the multitude of women who>
have stood side by side with men and done honest, noble and con.scientious work
in the newspaper world, not as editors or special writers — although all have done
special writing and editorial work — but as everyday workers — real newspaper
women.
(292)
Hi:i,KN M. WINSLOW.
XLVI.
EDITORS, MAGAZINE WRITERS AND PARAGRAPHERS.
,T used to be commonly said in the newspaper offices
that women could never make good paragraphists.
That would hardly be said to-da}^ in the face of the
success which has been achieved by the few women
who have serioush' taken up that line of work. One
only has to point to the- clever work of Mrs. Welch,
Mrs. Kidder and Mrs. Cahoun, of Xew York; Mrs.
Wakeman, of Chicago, and more brilliant than any,
Miss Josephine Jenkins, of Boston, to prove that a
woman can write as spic}- a paragraph — one as free
from ill nature, with a clever touch of humor, as a man. A few years ago
Miss Mildred Aldrich, of Boston, set everybody talking over her Harlequin
column in the Boston Home Journal. It was a column of paragraphs, short,
pith}' and scintillant. Such work as has rarely been equaled. It is true that
the usual training of women upon a newspaper is not such as to develop the
power of pithy paragraph writing. All through their apprenticeship they are
given more or less descriptive work and work of a purely personal nature, such
as interviewing and writing biographical sketches, none of which are exactly''
the schools for successful paragraph writing. Another objection which was
brought against women in the capacity of paragraphers was that they could not
keep their personal feelings out of their writing, and were apt to be satirical or
spiteful to those whom they wished to punish, and unduly gracious to those whom
they favored. There might have been an atom of truth in the objection in the
earlier days, but as the minds and ideas broaden, this qualit}* becomes less
apparent, and the w'oman paragrapher of to-day is as strictl}- impersonal as is the
(293)
294 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
man. Not that she docs not deal in personalities, for as the subjects of the
majority of paragraphs are individuals, there must of necessit\^ be more or
less personality about them, but there may be, as there should be, an entire
absence of personal prejudice. It is a mistake to believe that cleverness and
ill nature must go hand in hand, or that criticism must be cruel, or that satire
must of necessity be ill-natured. The paragrapher who wishes to keep a reputa-
tion, as well as to earn it, must have an abundant flow of the milk of human
kindness. Never yield to the temptation to say stinging things because they
chance to be bright and raise a momentary laugh. The wound never heals and
the exercise of this power oftener than not leaves a self-inflicted sting in the mind
of the writer that causes constant pain.
Paragraphing is one of the newspaper fine arts, and the man or woman who
can do it successfully is almost sure of permanent employment. It is much more
difiicult than one would imagine to write a paragraph that shall be short and yet
carrv a vital point. It is easy enough to wTite long descriptions or dissertations,
but to get a chunk of truth wittily set in the space of a dozen lines is a feat which
not one out of a hundred men can accomplish, and so far the proportion of women
who have been discovered as adepts is far less ; yet that fact need not be a draw-
back to any bright girl who feels it borne in upon her that she would succeed in
just this line of work. All she must do is to put herself in training, writing and
rewriting, until she has attained such a degree of cleverness and ease as will give
her the courage and the confidence to approach some newspaper editor with a
sample of what she can do.
Some of the mo.st successful editors during the last decade have been women.
Harper's Bazaar, since its inception, has been in the editorial charge of two
w-omen— Miss Mary Booth, who brought out its first number and held the position
as editor until her death, and Mrs. Margaret Sangster, the present editor, who
succeeded Miss Booth, and w^ho has not only kept the paper up to the high ideal
which Miss Booth established for it, but has added new features and given new
strength and impetus to it. Mrs. Sang.ster is not only the successful editor, but
the brilliant, helpful writer. Her poems are full of the most delicate feeling and
womanly sympathy. Her prose is strong and helpful and she always says the one
wise word that .some woman is waiting to hear.
Another woman who seems born to be an editor, so keen is her sense of
literary values, so exquisite her taste, and so delightful her methods of dealing
with those a.ssociated with her, is Mrs. Ella Farman Pratt, who is be.st known
as the editor of the magazine Wide Awake, which is now merged into the
St. Nicholas Indeed, to most of the contributors to that delightful little maga-
zine, every page of which bore evidence of Mrs. Pratt's keen oversight. Wide
Awake was Ella Farman and Ella Farman was Wide Azvake. She was living
(295)
296 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
on a Michigan farm, writing books for girls, when Mr. Lothrop carried her
awa,v to Boston to become the editor of the projected magazine. For years she
contiiuied its editor, being assisted during the latter part of the time by her
husband, Mr. Charles Stuart Pratt, who attended to the art side while she had
exclusive control of its literary department. She left JVide Awake to edit the
young people's publication for Mr. S. S. McClure, but the magazine was never
the same, and .shortly after was swallowed by Si. Xicholas. Mrs. Pratt is now
editor of Little Men and Women, and is bringing to the preparation of this
wholesome little magazine all the devotion, all the conscience, and all the thought
that she gave to Wide Aicake. There are few^ editors, either men or women,
who so thoroughU- know the needs and the wishes of their readers as does
Mrs. Pratt. She rareh- makes a mistake, and if she does, she is the first to see
it and correct it. Loyal to those w^hose interests she represents, strong in her
personal convictions of what is best and right, kindly disposed toward the world,
generous and thoughtful of those whom she employs, she is indeed an editor in a
thousand.
The St. Nicholas is happ}- and fortunate also in having a woman at its head.
Mrs. Mary Mapes Dodge has occupied the position of editor of this favorite maga-
zine from its very start and no one would ever dream of the magazine going on
without her guiding hand. Mrs. Dodge has also written .some of the most charm-
ing children's books, foremost of which stands that unequaled story, " Hans
Brinker and His Silver Skates." That volume may be placed well up in the list
of juvenile classics.
The story has been told and told again of how Mrs. Nicholson, of New
Orleans, was left a young widow with a big newspaper, the Picayune, on her
hands, and how .she developed it imtil it became one of the finest pieces of new.s-
paper property in the country.
One never thinks of the Times- Democrat without also thinking of Lilian
Whiting, who has been for many years the Boston correspondent of the Times-
Democrat, and who was also for some time the editor of the Boston Budget,
and .still remains its literary editor. Newspaper women everywhere .should
be proud of Lilian Whiting's record and .should take her for an example.
Beginning as a reporter on the Cincinnati Commercial under Murat Halstead she
gradually worked herself up to the highest point which .she could attain on that
pa]K'r. then without a friend or even acquaintance she made a dash for Boston,
aiul by her persistency, her womanliness, and the ciuality of her work, gained
a foremost po.sition in the ranks of the newspaper workers of the country.
No woman connected with newspapers ever had higher ideals and none has
ever maintained them as has Lilian Whiting. She is staunch, loyal and fearless,
having the courage always (;f her convictions, and yet never saying one word
EDITORS AND PARAGRAPHERS.
297
that shall wound a person, no matter how undeserving or how ungenerous one
may have proven himself.
Those who know Lilian Whiting well and have been admitted to her friend-
ship never think of her without thinking of another one of America's most
i)rilliant women, Kate Field, special writer, correspondent, paragraphist and
editor. Kate Field is a
unique figure in the
history of American jour-
nalism. She began writing
when still in her teens,
and her letters to the
Springfield Rcpiiblican of
Massachusetts, and other
papers, over the signature
of "Straws, Jr.," were
always eagerly looked for
and as eagerly read. She
wTote from Washington ,
from New York and from
Europe. She saw things
through the rose-colored
glasses of youth, and she
portra^^ed them with a
girlish enthusiasm and
exuberance that was sim-
ply irresistible. She was
one of the few successful
paragraphists, and her
criticisms of art, music,
and the drama, were just,
brilliant and good-tem-
pered. She was both
editor and publisher of
her paper, Washington,
and it was but natural
that when she gave it up she should quietly have laid it to one side, trusting to no
other hands the work which she had carried to such a successful issue. Kate Field' s
personality shone in every page of the paper. No one wdio cared for her could
have borne to have seen it in other hands, reflecting other opinions, swayed
by another personality.
MISS ALICE STONE BLACKWELL.
298 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
The Woman's Joicrnal, the organ of the woman suffrage movement, has as
its editor Miss Ahce Stone Blackwell, the only child of that well-beloved pioneer
woman, Lucy Stone. Miss Blackwell has taken up the work left by her mother
as a legacy and brings to it all the devotion of a daughter allied to strong principle
and a brilliant mentality. Papers devoted to any one idea are rarely highly suc-
cessful, but Miss Blackwell, in her work on the Journal, as nearly approaches
success as it is possible to do.
Miss Katherine E. Conway is the associate editor of the Pilot, the Catholic
organ of New England. Miss Conway received her training as reporter on a daily
newspaper in Buffalo, N. Y., where she so thoroughly proved her ability and her
wisdom, as well as her keen sense of news value, that she attracted the attention
of the late John Boyle O'Reilly, w^ho secured her as his assistant on the Pilot, a
position which she still holds. Miss Conway is a rare poet as well as editor, and
has published two or three books of dainty verse which have met with the
approval of the critics and the appreciation of the reading public.
Miss Helen M. Winslow has been for some time one of the editors of the
Beacon, of Boston, and has just latmched a beautiful periodical of her own, the
organ of the National Federation of Woman's Clubs — the Club Woman. Miss
Winslow writes clever verse, is a good paragraphist, and a special writer of more
than ordinary ability.
Among the other women who have succeeded as editors are Mrs. Ella Ford
Hartshorn, of ihe. Household, who comes naturally by her ability for editing, being
the only daughter of Mr. D. T. Ford, the editor and publisher of the phenome-
nally successful paper, the Youth's Companion; Mrs. A. E. Whittaker, associate
editor of the New England Fariner; Miss Helen A. Clark, &6S.\.ox oi Poet Lore;
Miss Anna Barrows, editor of the American Kitchen Magazine; Mrs. Mary Sar-
gent Hopkins, editor and proprietor of the Wheehcoman; Miss Annie M. Talbot,
editor for the publishing house of Silver & Burdett; and Mrs. Emily McLaws,
editor of the American Queen. The field for women's work here is bounded only
by their own ability and desire, Init in almost every case the successful editor first
.served the apprenticeship of reporter and special writer.
MISS KATHERINE E. CONWAY.
(299)
XLVII.
IX THE DRAMATIC PROFESSION.
^HE list of professions which are open to women would not be
complete if the dramatic were omitted. When one con-
siders the number of women who are making a living in
the ranks of that much abused profession, it is difficult to
realize that it is but a little over two centuries ago since
they were permitted to appear on the stage. Wlien
Shakespeare wrote and acted all the female parts were
taken b}' young boN's, and it was not until about the time of the Restoration
that women Juliets and Ophelias and Desdemonas were seen on the English stage.
The condition of things was then precisely what it is to-day in the Chinese
theatres, where, except in markedly isolated ca.ses, the drama is in the hands of
men for representation.
The women who have won distinction, and at the same time made a place for
themselves in the memories and hearts of the public, are too numerous to be given
in the limits of a chapter like the present, but a few can be quoted whose names
are held in pleasant remembrance. Such a one was Charlotte Cushman, whom
the whole world delights to honor, as well as the city of her birth, Boston, wliich
has given her a memorial, such as she gives only to her be.st beloved, in naming a
.school for her. The Cu.shman School, in the old historic North End of Boston,
within a stone's throw of the old North Church, where John Pullen hung the
lanterns to signal Paul Revere on the night of the i8th of April. 1775, and but a
short walk from the wharf where " Old Ironsides " was built and launched, is on
the site of the house where Charlotte Cushman was born, and it was in the district
where she went to .school. When the .school was dedicated Miss Cushman was the
guest of honor of the city, and she made a very beautiful speech, her words to tlie
(300)
IN THE DRAMATIC PROFESSION.
301
uirl pupils of the school being most uplifting. If the girls of the North ICnd,
educated at the Cushnian School, could live up to the high ideals of character and
womanhood which Miss Cushmaii set for them, they would, indeed, be representa-
tive women. In all her work on the stage, all her success as an artist. Miss
Cushman never forgot her womanhood, and she held herself to all the ideals which
she gave to the girls in her
talk that September day a
quarter of a century ago.
Success did not come
easily to Charlotte Cush-
man, she had many a hard
fight to conquer adverse
circumstances, but every
struggle not only brought
her nearer to the goal for
which she had started but
it added to her strength
of character, and helped
to develop her into the
grand woman she became.
After she had won renown
and mone>" she left the
stage and lived in Rome
for many years, where she
became the friend of the
magic inner circle there
which included the Brown-
ings, Robert and Eliza-
beth ; the sculptor,
William Story, and his
delightful wufe; Harriet
Hosmer, and all the list
of English and American
celebrities who made
Rome a delightful spot
during the '50's and '6o's. But even amid all these brilliant and congenial
surroundings she often longed for America, which she dearly loved, and early
in the '70's she came home to live. It was shortly after her return that she had
the honor paid her of having the school for girls named for her, a fact which
made her prouder and happier than all her professional success. She had not
OLGA NETHERSOI,E.
302 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
intended to appear again on the stage, bnt so great was the desire to see her once
more that she agreed to give a few performances in the leading cities, and so
once more the American public had an opportunity of seeing her as Meg Merrilies
and Lady Macbeth. Her farewell tour was an ovation, but it was as much for tlie
woman as foi the artist. During her residence in Rome she crossed the ocean
to act in Philadelphia one evening for the benefit of the sanitary commission. She
was a devoted patriot, as she should be, born among the scenes of the earl}-
struggle for independence.
Miss Cushman was a deepl}' religious woman, and a constant attendant at
church. Wherever she was she found out a church and attended it, and she had
many of her closest friends among the clergy. She was naturally devout and her
thoughts were reverential. Here is a short extract from one of her letters, written
to a ver>- dear friend. " To-morrow will be the last day of the year. I some-
times stand appalled at the thought of how my life is passing away, and how soon
will come the end to all of this probation, and of how little I have done or am
doing to deserve all the blessings by which I am surrounded. But that God is
perfect, and that my own love for Him is without fear, I should be troubled in
the thought that I may not be doing all I .should, in this .sphere, to make my.self
worthy of happiness in the next."
Another American woman who won for herself distinction in the dramatic
profession, but who left it while she was at the very height of her career and the
fullest flush of her youth and beaut}', is Madame Navarro, of England, but
whom the world remembers as the beautiful Kentucky girl, Mary Anderson.
Miss Anderson made her success at a ver\- early age, being but about seventeen
when she undertook the professional career of an actress of Shakespeare's plays.
It was a tremendous undertaking, and she says herself had .she realized all that
it involved she should have never dared to face the ordeal. But her youth
and her enthusiasm and her love for the poet whose characters she desired
to portra3"made her oblivious to anything else, and she was intent only on one
thing, putting Shake.speare's heroines before the world as .she thought they
should be portrayed. Her youth, beauty and devotion to her ideals carried her
through and won success for her, and her own beautiful cliaracter gained her
the love and respect of the great public. There are ver}' few women who could
deliberately cut short a successful career, as Mary Anderson did, leaving it in
the flood tide of triumph, but .she was, after all, more of a woman than an
actress, and home life had for her the .stronger attraction. Nor has .she ever
been tempted to return to the stage. Inducement after inducement, all of the
most flattering, have been oifered her, but .she has alwa\s firmly persisted in
refusal, and nothing short of a financial stress, which does not seem likely to
occur, would bring her back.
IN THP: dramatic PROFEvSSION.
303
She loved her profession, and \et her advice to ^irl^ who are thinking of
entering it is to pause and take a second thought. It required something more
than talent and enthusiasm to make a career which one can look back to without
regret, it needs strength of character, singleness of purpose, a firm religious
conviction to keep one from yielding to the temptations by which every public
path is surrounded, this
one the most thickly of all,
perhaps. It needs ju.st such
mental and moral qualities
as Charlotte Cushman and
Mary Anderson possessed,
and which, just as much as
their dramatic talent, con-
tributed to their success.
In the same rank
with these two, both as a
woman and a probable
artist, when she shall
have had their experience,
is Mrs. Julia Marlowe
Taber, who is fast win-
ning her way to the very
front rank. And another,
who stands for all that is
sweet and true among the
women of the stage at the
present time, is Miss
Maude Adams. It is
comparatively easy to gain
a sort of reputation on the
stage, but that kind is not
an enviable one, and the
girl who risks her charac-
ter to obtain it, finds, in
the end, that she has
something it would be far better for her to be without. She is like the girl in
newspaper work who descends to " gutter" methods to win fame, and wakes up
to find it unsavory notoriety. But to come to the place which Miss Adams
occupies means hard work, steadiness of purpose, loyalty to ideals, and, above all,
a true w^omanliness of character, which forbids her doing anything unworthj^
MRS. JULIA MARLOWE TABER.
304 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
of the iirolession which she has adopted, or her own personal ideals. It
must not be supposed that in singling out these few to mention specially
that there are no others in the dramatic profession worthy of consideration; that
supposition would be incorrect. But these women, representing different periods,
with the exception of Miss Marlowe and Miss Adams, who are of the same epoch,
but who represent different schools and methods, stand for all that is best worth
following. The}- are representative of what the women in the profession should
be, in art and character. Besides they are attractive examples, and they are
American girls. To be sure Miss Marlowe, or rather Mrs. Taber, was of English
birth, but .she was educated in America, and her professional career has been
identified with this country, so that she seems to belong to us.
All the.se women agree in declaring that the dramatic profes.sion is one of the
most exacting of all, and the most ungrateful, if the artist does not meet with
every demand. No girl should undertake it imless she has unquestioned ability,
and a strength of character which will place her above all influence for wrong, nor
unless .she has proper protection. There is often a glamour about it which is
deceptive, and the loss of the illusion is painful. It is, oftener than not, a pro-
fession to be avoided, for, in its best phases there is much that is unpleasant about
it, even to the .successful actress. If you are inclined to doubt this, you should
read the story of Mary Anderson's life, told by herself, and you can then get a
glimp.se of .stage life from the inside, free from all the fascinating glamour of the
footlights. And it is told, too, by a reverent lover of the dramatic art.
XLVIII.
WOMEN AS DRAMATISTS.
R. SOL. SMITH RUSSELL said, not long since, speaking to a
girl who had been talking of her literary ambitions and hopes:
" Why don't you turn you attention to play writing? That
is to be the most remunerative field for writers who have, with
the skill to weave a plot, and the power of expression, the
instinct of dramatic values."
Mr. Russell only echoed what is being constantly said by the managers and
players themselves. It is, indeed, the cry heard ever\' where, by those whose ears
are open to catch it. New plays are wanted, fresh and pure in thought, full of senti-
ment which is not maudlin sentimentality, bright and clean in dialogue, natural in
action, just the plays that shall mirror the healthiest, sweetest side of human life.
Such plays, in intention, as "The Old Homestead," "Shore Acres," and the
drama which Mr. Russell is making so popular, " A Bachelor's Romance."
The last named plaj'' is by one of the woman dramatists who are coming to
the front, and it was in .view of the success made by Mrs. Martha Morton, who
wrote this play as well as the one in which Mr. William Crane played during the
same season in which Mr. Russell appeared in "A Bachelor's Romance," which
induced Mr. Russell to give the bit of advice to the young girl who was consulting
him about giving up literature for the stage. He felt very sure that if she had
the dramatic instinct and ability wedded to the literary power that she had the
mental outfit for a pla5^wright Of course neither Mr. Russell nor any one else
can predict success with any degree of certainty, for, in this line, as in many
another, success is elusive, and does not crown effort when it is plain that she
should.
20 (305)
3o6 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Still, women have written plays which have proven successful, and which
were not only good acting plays, appealing to the best of the emotions, but were
literary productions of ab.solute merit.
First and best in this line, standing on a plane high above that of the average
drama, are the two plays of Miss Anna Dickinson, " The Crown of Thorns, '" in
which Miss Dickinson made her own ill-starred attempt at acting, and her superb
picture of Roman life in the full flush of imperial power, " Aurelian." This play
has never been produced, although, previous to her retirement. Miss Dickinson
gave several readings from it. Mr. John McCullough had the play in contempla-
tion when it was first written, but through some misunderstanding with the
author, he decided not to attempt it, even though it was quite in his line, and he
had only the highest praise for it. Those special friends to whom Miss Dickinson
permitted the pleasure of reading this play, were amazed at it. Its classic tone,
upheld through the whole, the strong, beautiful language, the steady increase of
dramatic interest, reaching to the climax, without one lapse, the sustained power
were remarkable, and made this the drama of the century. It seemed almost
impossible that one so essentially modern and up-to-date in all her ideas and
beliefs could so enter into the spirit of a period so far removed. It was the truest
test of the genius of which Miss Dickinson's bitterest opposers could never deny
her the po.ssession. It is a great pit\- that the American siage can never have the
benefit of this work, as Miss Dickinson has absolutel}' refused to allow it to pass
out of her keeping. The same is true of " The Crown of Thorns." After she
had given up playing it, she was approached by .several persons who desired to
use the play, but .she would never permit it, although she .stood in her own light
financially. No one should play the character of Anne Boleyn except herself
while she lived, and she has been consistent and firm in keeping her word. This
is not the place to review Anna Dickinson's work as an actress, but if every
woman who adopted the profes.sion would come to it with the reverence which she
did, and bring to it the .same devotion and respect, the stage would be one of the
stronge.st educating influences that the world could have which was purely
secular.
Another of Mi.ss Dickinson's pla>s, "An American Girl," was produced
in New York by Miss Fanny Davenport, but was not a great success. How-
ever she might meet modern topics and treat them in her lectures and books,
she was not so .successful with them in her plays. She needed the hereto to
make her dramas; the trivialities of the nineteenth century .society were luuler-
neath her comprehension, and .she could not treat them with the lightness which
belonged to them, and which gave them their grace. But, if Anna Dickinsun's
dramas are ever given to the world in a printed form, they will take high rank in
literature, and stamp the woman who wrote them as a genius beyond question.
i
WOMEN AS DRAMATISTS. 307
If ever this lime comes it will be too late for her to know the verdict, aiul to
realize that the recognition and the justice, for which she so longed, was hers at
last. Without doul)t, had Miss Dickinson so willed it, had she given her ])lays to
the world instead of hoarding them away, she might have taken rank as the first
of the women dramatists.
At present the most prominent women who have taken up this line of writ-
ing are Mrs. Martha Morton, who has already' been mentioned; Mrs. Madeline
Lucette Rylej-, who has written several plays for the Frohmans; Miss Marguerite
Merrington, a young woman who gave Mr. Sothern one of his best successes,
" Captain Letterblair," and who has written still other plays, and is still writing;
and Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett, who has dramatized her story of " Little Lord
Fauntleroy," making it one of the most delightful plaj-s that has ever been seen,
and whose latest play, "A Lady of Quality," is placed on the list of permanent
successes.
There is another rising plaj'wright w^ho belongs to the class of which Anna
Dickinson has been called the head, the class of writers who do not sacrifice an}--
thing of literar}- beauty or merit to mere dramatic intention. It is often said that
it is not difiicult to write a play which shall be correct from the literary standpoint
alone, but which will never make an " acting " play. One has only to look over
the long list of literarj" men who have made pathetic failures in the attempt to
write for the stage, to realize the truth of this. What they write is delightful to
read, and fulfills every canon of literary law, but it cannot be put upon the stage
successfully. It has not the life principle. It is the description of people and
event, it is not the people themselves, nor the event. But the woman who can so
write that her play when put upon the stage is so full of life, so true to humanity,
that all who see it accept it as the genuine bit of human nature, and who with all
this can keep it up to the high literary plane which stamps the writer as belonging
to the guild of authors as well as of playwrights is the truly successful one,
whose work shall attain something more than the ephemeral popularity of the
moment.
Such a one is Mrs. Evelyn Greenleaf Sutherland, of Boston. Mrs. Suther-
land is first of all a newspaper woman and a critic, successful in her profession,
but with a taste for dramatic writing which could not be held down by the harness
of daily newspaper drudgery. She has written several plan's in collaboration with
Mrs. Emma Sheridan Fry, who was once a player, but who left the stage for the,
to her, more congenial profession of letters; but more recently she has been
working by herself, and has produced some most interesting plays. She is versa-
tile, portraying the scenes of modern life, or catching the spirit of the middle
ages. She delights in army incidents, and has made a spirited dramatization of
Captain Charles King's story, "Fort Frayne." Mrs. Sutherland has by no
3o8
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
means achieved her best work yet, but with her high ideal of the stage and its
possibilities, she will do something by-and-b}- which will surprise every one,
except her best friends.
The writer of the successful play has an assured income as long as the play
runs, for she is paid a royalty on every performance which is given of it. Some-
times .she is paid an arbitrary price, so much every evening; again, and the most
frequent way, she receives a cer-
tain per cent of the manager's
receipts nightly. The contract
settles which way it shall be.
Many young women make a
I • regular income by writing for
5 -.M amateur companies. Miss Rachel
Baker has made a specialty of this
kind of work, .succeeding her
father, Mr. George M. Baker,
who w^as the pioneer in it. Mr.
Baker's little parlor plays have
been produced by nearly every
school and society in the country,
and his daughter's are achieving
L ^p |«i _ m jg^^ the same degree of popularity.
Ih ' ^^ ^ '*. '%J0^^^^- I Miss Furniss has written several
■^ ^ '^^^Hv which have proven verv popular
iR_<^ , ^^BP^ «Aij a ^*^^ amateur clubs, and Miss Caro-
Wm a WwS^ i '^ 1^'' wSl^ li"e Ticknor has also written some
Y^ ^jI I >£ - exceedingly clever ones. Other
***** ' *^''"- \oung women have contributed to
this class of literature, and while
they have tried, as yet, nothing so
ambitious as writing for the pro-
fessional stage, there is no ques-
tion but some of them might attain
a degree of success, should they
give their attention to this class of
work .
As a rule, women's work in this line is pure and wholesome, and
a relief from much of the foreign .spirit which pervades the larger part of
the modern drama. It is surprising that managers still cling to the argument
— probably it is from force of habit, and the inability to see indications — that
MRS. KVKI.VN GREENLEAF SUTHERLAND.
WOMEN AS DRAMATISTS.
309
the public cares most for the plays of foreign life, in the face of the immense
success which has attended, for years, the simple plays quoted at the beginning
of the chapter, and such idyls as " Alabama " and "The Professor's Love Story."
The public does like sweet, pure, clean things, and the people who are making
up the attendance upon the best class of drama are the ones to be considered,
and it is for this class that the the women dramatists write.
^
XLIX.
WHAT THE BLIND CAN DO.
HERE is no name in the American roll of honor which
should be more venerated than that of Dr. Samuel
G. Howe. His devotion to the cau.se of the education
of the blind, thus opening to them the world of
opportunity and self-support which had been so
hopelessly closed, ranks him foremost among Ameri-
can philanthropists. It was through his untiring
effort that the Massachusetts vSchool for the Blind
was establi.shed and placed upon an enduring basis. During his whole life he
gave his personal attention to this school, and on his death left it in the hands
•of his son-in-law, Mr. Michael Anagnos, the present director, whose unselfi.sh
•devotion to the work for the blind has been second only to that of Dr. Howe
himself.
Formerly the blind boy or girl was considered an incuml^rance, a lifelong care
to be supported by the family if their means would allow, if not, to become a
dependent upon the bounty of the State. It was a hopeless outlook for these
afflicted ones, but with the opening of the .schools came a new hope, a new light,
into the darkened lives.
At fir.st the indu.strial training was of the simplest kind; knitting, bead
work, the ])lainest of sewing, and the simplest of hou.sehold avocations were
taught the blind girls, and their mental education went hardly beyond the simple
grammar school training, while those with musical gifts were taught to play on
the piano and organ. But even with simple training the girls who went out from
the school were able to a.ssist in household duties at home, and to earn a .small
(310)
WHAT THK BLIND CAN DO. 311
income which met their own h-n<;al wants. Knittin*;' stockings and mitten.s,
crochelting" colhirs and laces, making- toy iurniture from wire and Ijeads — these
varions tilings contributed to the support of many a blind girl.
Hut as the }ears went on, and the ability of the blind to learn was demon-
strated, the scope of the teaching was enlarged and new industries were added.
If any one who reads this has a doubt as to what these girls can do, she should visit
the School for the Blind in South Bcston and see them running sewing machines
doing the most exquisite work without ever a mistake, modeling in clay,
carving in wood, and running typewriters with the facility of an expert operator.
Indeed, these blind girls are so phenomenally quick of ear and touch that they
can follow the most rapid dictation when once they have learned their instrument.
They use the needle with dexterity, and it is the boast of many a blind girl that
she makes every article of clothing that she wears. In their studies there seems
nothing too advanced for them. The}^ take the sciences with avidity, and their
mathematical work is wonderful. Nothing could be more interesting than to
listen to a class of children reciting geography. They have raised maps and
globes, and with their fingers will find localities much more quickly than the
average child with its eyes. Their geography examinations are wonderful displays
of perception and memor}-. Dissected maps of different countries are placed in a
basket, the teacher mixing the parts with her hands, until Europe, Asia, Africa
and America are in a hopeless jumble. She then calls the children one by one to
take a piece from the basket and tell her what it is. Almost as quickly as the
piece can be drawn the little intelligent fingers have answered the question, and
the repl}^ comes almost before the hand is raised to the level of the shoulder to
show the teacher what it holds. In no case is the name of the country on the
piece; the child tells entirely bj^ the shape. Dr. Howe himself would be surprised,
could he li.sten, for instance, at a recitation in physics, chemistr)', botany or physi-
ology, where the most complex tests and analyses are given by the means of models
in the two latter studies, and of the special apparatus in physics and chemistry.
In music many of them attain a remarkable degree of efficiency and become
teachers and composers. The late Miss Cornelia Roeske, who was during its
first 3'ears a teacher of music in the Kindergarten for the Blind, published several
quite ambitious pieces of music and many settings for children's songs and simple
orchestral pieces which were used in the Institution. Miss Roeske was a fearless,
independent little body, with shrewd business sense, and she made all her
arrangements for the publication of her music personally with the house of
Ditson & Co. , Boston.
Blind people have attained eminent positions in the world of literature.
Probably there are few of you who are not familiar with the beautiful hymns and
religious poems of Fanny Crosby, the sweet blind singer.
312 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Another woman who attained to a fine position in hterature was Mrs. Helen
Aldrich De Kroyft. She was born in Rochester, N. Y., October 29, 1818.
Early in her life her father lost a fortune by endorsing for a friend, and when only
fifteen she conceived the idea of achieving a higher education by teaching winters
and attending what has since become the Syracuse University summers, and
finally graduated, as may be imagined, with no small degree of honor.
Shortly after leaving school she was married to a young physician to whom
she had been long engaged ; but owing to a carriage accident, four hours
after her marriage, she was a widow. As if the fates had not left her life
sufficiently desolate, not quite a month had elapsed when she awoke to find that the
darkest of all earth's misfortunes — blindness — had also fallen to her lot. Con-
fronted now with the necessity of doing something to maintain herself, she entered
the New York Institution for the Blind to become an organist. In a few months,
however, a card invented in Paris for keeping the lines straight was placed in
her hands, and in less than three years her first work was written, entitled: "A
Place in Thy Memory."
Having no name as an author, no publisher would undertake to bring out
her work without being secured for half of the first edition; and with a courage
that has been compared to that of Napoleon crossing the Alps, she wrote a
prospectus and personally solicited subscribers enough in New York to bring out
her work with two engravings, all paid. Delivering the book to her subscribers, she
saw that she had in her hand the means of travel by everywhere introducing her
own work; and engaging a young lady companion, she went first to Washington,
D. C. Several of the New York papers announced her there, and one of the
directors of the Institution gave her letters to his friends, Mr. Henry Clay, Mr.
Samuel Houston, Mrs. Commodore Aulic, the Chaplain of the Senate, and so
forth. During her sta^- in Washington, her charming personality, her brilliant
conversation, and her consummate address, to which her misfortune only added
interest, won her so much favor that on leaving for Charleston she was o\er-
whelmed with letters of introduction, among them one from President Zachary
Taylor, in the name of his family presenting her to all his friends in the vSouth.
So, under the auspices that she had won for herself, through forty-eight
years she has been almost constantly traveling, exploring the world that in the
morning of her life was veiled from her eyes. Meantime, though, her pen has
not been idle, and there are seven volumes in the world that call her their author.
One has been quoted from in five elocutionary collections, the second has been
abridged in Johnson's "Clas.sics," a third was pronounced by Dr. J. G. Holland
"an immortality," and four others are yet in manuscript.
One always a.ssociates with the name ot Dr. Howe the thought of Laura
Bridgnian. Her story of achievement in spite ot the fact that three avenues of
WHAT THK BLIND CAN DO.
313
intercourse with the world were closed to her — those of sij^ht, hearing and speech
— has been told all over the world in nearly every spoken language. And yet,
wonderful as it was, it is far surpassed by the records of achievement of Helen
Keller, Kdith Thomas and Willie Elizabeth Robin, all three deaf, blind and
dumb. Helen Kellar is almost a miracle of attainment. Told in the old days, her
story would read like a
fairy tale. As it is, it is
regarded with wonder and
almost awe b\' those who
have watched the growth
and development of this
brilliant girl of seventeen,
to whom until she was
eight years old, the world
was a sealed book of whose
pages she had not the
faintest comprehension.
Her story has been so
often told that it seems
almost superfluous to give
it here, but lest there are
those among you who
liave not heard it, just
the merest detail will be
given. Helen Kellar was
a little Southern girl, born
in Alabama, and until she
was nearl}^ two 3'ears of
age, was in pos.session of
all her faculties. A severe
attack of cerebral menin-
gitis, from which she
barely recovered, left her
without the senses of sight
or hearing, and naturally
she never exercised that of speech. But with all this deprivation of sense, her
brain was as active as ever, even more active than that of the average children
by whom she was surrounded. When she was eight 3^ears old her father sent to
Mr. Anagnos, having heard the story of Laura Bridgmau and what had been
done for her — to know if a teacher could be sent to his little girl.
AVII,IJE ELIZABETH ROBIN.
314
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Mr. Anagnos at once decided upon Miss Annie Sullivan, a former pupil and a
graduate of the school, who had by a successful operation upon her eyes regained
her sight. Miss Sulli\an was an exceptionally brilliant scholar with a rarely sym-
pathetic nature and affectionate, sunny disposition, just the .sort of young woman
that one would choose to be a companion to .such a child as Helen Kellar. It took
but few months of special
•Study to prepare Miss Sul-
livan fully for the position,
and as soon as she was
ready she went to Alal^ama
and began her teaching.
The little girl proved
amenable and learned
with a quickness that was
surpri.sing. When once
she found that intercourse
with the world was pos-
sible for her, there was
literally no end to her
eagerness for attainment.
Now, at the age of seven-
teen, she is a regular
student at Radclifife Col-
lege and is doing the mo.st
brilliant mental work.
She has a positi\-e genius
for learning languages,
and Latin and Greek pos-
sess no terrors for her,
while .she is already pro-
ficient in French and Ger-
nian. vS h e has even
learned to play the piano,
and since she has learned
to speak in the mechanical
manner by which the dumb are taught, she expresses herself as anxious to
study singing.
Her letters .show a wonderful power of composition and an understanding of
.social and moral questions far beyond that of the average young woman of her age.
Her belief in the goodness of humanity is positively touching. She has the
HKI.KN KKIJ..\R.
WHAT THE BUND CAN DO.
315
sulilimcsl fa i til in llic ])()ssi hi lilies ol ineii and ucinen thai can he imagined. It would
he a pui'u and loi'ty soul that could live uj) to Helen Kellar's ideals, and it is not
too much to .say that she fuuls the inspiration lor them and the embodiment of them
in her teacher, Mi.ss vSuUivan, who is as marvelous in her way as Helen is in hers.
In lact, whatever Helen attains will be through the instrumentalit>' of her teaclier,
who learns everything
that Helen learns and is a
constant source of encour-
agement and helpfulness.
One cannot think of these
two apart, who has ever
seen them together.
The .sensitiveness of
Helen's touch is almost
incredible. With the tips
of her fingers resting
lightly on a speaker's lips
and throat, she under-
stands all that is said to
her, and she enjoys the
music in the same wa}^,
always detecting the
slightest discord. She can
tell the color of the
flowers which she holds;
but more wonderful than
this, .she can detect a mis-
take in her t^^pewriting
by passing her hand over
the paper, not even a mis-
placed punctuation mark
escaping her.
Dancing is another of
her accomplishments.
Though she cannot hear a
note of the mu.sic, she keeps perfect time and moves gracefully, wnth no guide but
her partner's motions. It has been said that she cannot hear the music, and yet,
by some .sense, she knows what is being played and feels the rhythm, probably,
through the vibrations in the floor. When Miss Sullivan first went to her and
she had begun to speak in sounds, she used to frequently ask to be taken to
EDITH THOMAS.
3i6
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
church; on being questioned as to why she wished to go, she invariably said,
'• Because I so love to hear the organ." Experiment after experiment was tried,
proving conclusive!)' that she could not hear, and yet, by some subtle sense, she
could feel and enjoy the music.
Similar experiences have been noted with Edith Thomas, another girl a year
or two younger than Helen, who has also lost the senses of seeing and hearing.
On opening a door into a room which contains a piano, she can tell at once if it is
being played upon, and will ask quickly, "Who's at the piano?" Edith
Thomas, like Helen Kellar, was born with all her faculties, but lost them by
scarlet fever when she was between two and three years of age, just as she was
learning to talk. After her recovery she was blind and deaf, but retained the
habit of speech for some weeks, until, failing to hear the sound of her own voice,
she gradually dropped the habit and soon forgot all the words that she had
learned. And yet, strange as it may seem, the very first word which she spoke
when she began to learn mechanical articulation was the last word that .she ever
spoke when she finally, as a child, gave up .speaking. The word was "kitty."
Edith Thomas, although not possessing the mental brilliance of Helen Kellar. has
a remarkable mechanical genius, and her work in wood-carving is very beautiful.
It is already so finished and .so original in design that there is ever}- prospect that
she may be able to earn a good income by the practice of this art.
Willie Robin is the youngest of the three, and as yet has not indicated her
.special bent. She is exceedingly bright, learns quickly, both in her mental
studies and in the industrial branches. If the need ever comes for her to be a
bread-winner, she will find some waj' out from among her list of attainments.
vSurely no girl in full possession of her .sen.ses should ever allow herself one
moment of despair, nor yield for an instant to discouragement, when she thinks
of how much more she ought to get out of life than these other girls who are so
heavily handicapped, and yet are .so bright, .so brave, and so courageous.
^rn :^
'-Vi'^-i^j^Z
WOMEN IN SCIENCE.
f^HAT would have become of me if I'd dela^^ed a bit?" asked
the Irishman, who was born on the last day of the year, and
Josh Billings declared that it " would have been money in
his pocket if he had never been born."
Had the girl with a predilection for science who was born
fifty years ago ' ' delayed a bit, ' ' it surely would have been
"money in her pocket."
No road which leads to success is an easy road, but the
woman scientist, in whatever line, finds far fewer obstructions in her path to-day
than she did during the years when her mother or grandmother or aunt was
striving to make a way in the sterner pursuits which had hitherto been monopo-
lized b}' men. It is wath awe and admiration that one thinks of those women
who hewed a wa}' through the blocked highway's of half a century ago.
The story of Maria Mitchell, the child of the Quaker school teacher of
Nantucket, is too well known to need lengthy recapitulation. She began the
study of astronomy with her father, devoting her attention especially to nebulae
and comets. In 1847 the woman of twent\'-five published an account of the
discovery of a new telescope comet, for which she received from the King of
Denmark a gold medal. During the next ten years she was employed by the
coast survey, and assisted in compiling the nautical almanac. In 1S57 she visited
the principal astronomers and observatories in Europe. In 1865 she became
professor of astronom}^ in Vassar College. She was a member of the Association
for the Advancement of Science, and also of the American Academy ot Arts and
Sciences, to which she was the first woman to be admitted.
{317)
3i8 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Probably no woman since Maria Mitchell has made more remarkable progress
in astronomical directions than Mrs. Elizabeth Preston Davis, of Washington, who
married her classmate, Arthur Powell Davis, of the Geological Survey.
From a mere child, Miss Preston showed a remarkable fondness for mathe-
matical calculations and a marvelous ability to work them out. She graduated
from Park Seminary and the Normal School. In 1888 she took the degree of Bachelor
of Science at the Corcoran School of Columbian University, and afterward secured
the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy at the Johns Hopkins University, making
mathematics her specialty, being afterward admitted to the universit}- as a graduate
student.
It fell to Miss Preston to read the proof sheets of an important work by
Professor Gore and of Professor Xewcomb's Calculus. Both men acknowledge
their indebtedness to her in the prefaces of their books.
While on her bridal tour in New Mexico, ]\Irs. Davis accomplished intricate
work on a volume for the Navy Department. While in California she visited the
Lick Observatory for the purpose of establishing methods of computing the orbits
of new comets. A few years ago she published a mathematical table entitled,
"The Washington- Greenwich Reduction Table." Her most important work has
been the calculation of the sun's ephemeris for the Nautical Abnanac.
Mrs. Davis, with all her care and studies, is a devoted wife and tender
mother, and her family " rise up and call her ble.ssed." She is a member of the
Woman's Literary Club, of Baltimore, and of the Anthropological Club, of
Washington. She has made time, with all that crowds her daj^s, to fit two cadets
for Annapolis and two young men for Stanford Universit^^
Miss Dorothea Klumpke is one of the youngest of American women who have
won distinction as scientists. She wears the tiny purple ribbon with which the
French government decorates the officers of its academy. Her honors were won
in the Paris Observaton,^ where .she was given an important position over the
heads of fift}' French male competitors.
Miss Klumpke is a Califomian b\- birth. vShe was educated in the jniblic
schools of Valentia, and afterward went to Germany to study.
The New York Journal speaks thus of women scientists employed by the
government:
" Uncle Sam employs a great many .scientists, and among them are several
women who are regarded as experts in their .several departments.
" Mi.ss Adelaide Hasse enjoj's the distinction of ranking higher officially than
any other woman in the government employ. She stands next to the chief in her
department, and acts for him during his absence. While she was still a child .she
moved to Los Angeles, Cal. On being graduated from the high .school there she
obtained the position of assistant librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library, and
WOMEN IN SCIENCE. 319
so distinguished herself there as an organi/cr and manager that in March, 1895,
when it was first decided to establish a library of public documents in Washington,
she was sent for to take the place of librarian. ' ' Up to that time nobody knew how
many public documents there were, excepting that there was a great accumulation
of them piled up pell-mell somewhere in the depths of the Interior Department.
" ' There was nothing for me to do,' said the pretty librarian, ' but to put on a
big brown gingham apron and get down on the floor and go to work.' She had
no help except simply a couple of laborers who moved about the heavy volumes
under her directions. There are now 1500 volumes in the library, and there is
room for 200,000. They are all arranged with wonderful method and exactness,
and the catalogue is most complete. By its aid the smallest pamphlet can be
found in a minute.
" In a large bright room in the annex of the Agricultural Building Miss
Lillie Sullivan sits. She has two desks — one where she keeps her paints and
pencils, and the other bearing a microscope of the latest pattern. Here are also
such entomological treasures as the left hind leg of a flea, part of a wasp, a baby
mite and a spider's head.
" Miss Sullivan is a particularly sweet looking little woman, with shy brown
eyes and a charming smile. Her business in life is painting bugs. In order to
paint them well she has to dissect and study them. It is said that there is no one
in this country who can depict insects so accurately and so beautifully.
" Miss Sullivan, who is a Washington girl, studied art and painted portraits
until one day she saw a friend painting insects. She became at once infatuated
with the study, and began devoting herself to it. She has been in the government
service for nearh' fourteen 3'ears.
" Miss Alice Fletcher's life study has been ethnology. She took part in the
opening of many Indian mounds from Florida to Maine. Then she took a daring
resolve. She made up her mind that the real way to study Indians was to go and
live among them. So she took up her abode among the Dakotas. This was
nearly twenty years ago.
' ' After being among the Dakotas and Omahas for some time, Miss Fletcher
went to Washington to beg certain favors for them from Congress. She was
successful, but was asked to see the reforms she asked for carried out personally.
This she did, living among them altogether for fourteen years. She administered
for them at one time a million and a half of acres. She has helped to have
educated a great many of the children. One of her former proteges is :Mr. Da
Fleche, one of the cleverest employes in the Indian Bureau. He is now preparing
a work about his people.
" Miss Thora Steininger makes mammals her study. She is authority on the
names by which these animals are known.
320 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
" Two of the best known of the govenunent scientific women are Miss
Rathburn, of the Fish Commission, who is considered the greatest living expert
on crabs, and Miss Caroline Stevenson, of the Ethnological Bureau, who is a
profound student of American ethnology."
' ' Although, ' ' says the author of ' ' Women in the Business World, " " fashions,
rather than fluxions, are popularly supposed to be the peculiar province of women,
nevertheless women have furnished a ver^- respectable list of mathematical
celebrities, even wnthin the last century. Two women astronomers — one of
Hamburg and one of Boston — discovered the comet known as Gibers', almost at
the same moment, though studying the heavens independently. In our own days,
for a long time a woman was director of the astronomical observatory of Rome,
which was always famous for the brilliancy of its staff. She was one of the ablest
mathematicians of the century, and a member of nearly every European learned
society, but so modest and unobtrusive that only a few of her own countrymen
knew that the work of the great observatory of the capitol was conducted under
the supervision of a woman. A woman filled the mathematical chair in the
University of Stockholm many years, much to the surprise of that part of the
world, who imagined the feminine mind incapable of mastering so abstract and
logical a branch of knowledge as the science of numbers in its higher development
and application.
' ' Xo greater example of penseverance against difficulties can be cited than
the life of Mary Somerville, ' w^hose name stands at the top of the scant}- roll of
women eminent in .science.' At the age of fourteen a friend taught her some
fancy work from a fashion magazine. On one of the pages she saw some strange
x's and y's, and was told that they belonged to a kind of arithmetic called algebra,
but nobody could explain it to her. It was even next to impossible to procure
books to study from. At last her brother's tutor brought her Euclid's geometry
and Bonnycastle's algebra, and .she set to work to master the contents without an
instructor. It was nece.ssary to first brush up her knowledge of arithmetic, which
had never been very exact. Indeed, at this time, she frankly said .she could not
add up a column of figures correctly. She studied at night till there was complaint
that she used up the candles too fast, and .she was deprived of them altogether.
Then she began reviewing her geometry from memory at night. The intellectual
rank assigned women by public opinion at that time was very low; and any
attempt on their part to rise higher was met by prompt and .severe di.sapproval.
"Not until she was thirty-three years old, a widow with two children, did
she possess a library of mathematical books. This treasure was the reward of a
long course of years in which she had persevered almost without hope. She was
considered eccentric and fooli.sh even by her own family, and much of her .studying
had to be done in .secret. One of her male admirers accompanied his oflfer of
WOMEN IN SCIENCE. 321
marriage by a pamphlet on the ' Duties of a Wife,' with the pages turned down
at the narrowest precepts. After her second marriage her life flowed smoothly,
success followed success; the leading scientific men of England did her honor, and
she lived to the age of ninety-one, working till the day of her death upon her
difiicult calculations.
"The first woman doctor of note in this country was Harriet K. Hunt, of
Boston. She was educated in her profession by private instruction, and began
practice in 1835. Twelve years afterward she applied to Harvard University for
admission but was not admitted. Three j-ears later the faculty were willing to
receive her, but as the students objected she declined to attend, and continued a
successful practice in Boston for more than a quarter of a century.
' ' Now nearly three thousand women practice medicine in the United States,
and most of them are more than ordinarily successful. One woman in England has
been appointed house surgeon in a children's hospital, the first of her sex to hold
such a position in London. Nine male candidates for the place were vanquished
by her superior qualifications. She is both Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor
of Surgery of the London Universit}-. Paris, for a time, had a medical examiner
of girls in its municipal schools. The examiner's dut})- is to see that the girls are
not overworked, and that they get through their studies under sanitary conditions.
' ' The woman doctor goes through severe discipline to qualify herself for
future usefulness; but if she is possessed of genius for her work, and applies
herself to it zealoush?-, she will achieve enviable financial independence.
' ' To begin with, she should have strong predilections for the profession —
should be a born doctor, not a made one. This is the only kind that ever
succeeds in the true sense of the word. A genius for healing and helping
underlies all the training of the greatest lights of medicine. Next to that, good
health and a stout, though sympathetic, heart are most essential, granting, as a
matter of course, that the head is supplied with brains. In this calling more than
any other, perhaps, the higher or subjective senses need to be developed, though
of this the schools have nothing to say.
' ' Formerly the woman who chose to become a physician experienced great
difficulty in getting a medical education, and had the sentiment of the public
against her, besides. Now the doors of the schools are open to her and the
public accepts her without an antagonistic word. ' '
LI.
stance;
know.
WOMEN IN UNUSUAL PATHS.
OMEN as archaeologists?" says Rev. William C. Winslow, Ph.D.,
L. H.D., LL. D., vice-president of the Egypt Exploration
Fund. "Yes, a good number of women have done splendid
work in this field, but in many cases their work has not been
accredited to them, but to the men whose best helpers they
have been. There is Madame Edouard Naville, for in-
her husband, Henri Edouard Naville, is king of Egyptologists, you
Madame Naville is a splendid draughtsman, and illustrates all her
husband's books, copying hieroglyphics from tombs, and everywhere where
they occur, in a most masterly manner, besides assisting him in a thousand other
ways. I am not sure but she is about as good an Egyptologist as he is.
"Then there are Mrs. H. M. Tirard, who edited Erman's 'Life in Egypt,'
Mrs. McClure, who edited Ma.spero's ' Dawn of Civilization,' and Mary Broder-
ick, Ph. D., who edited 'Outlines of Ancient Egyptian History,' 'Egypt under
the Pharaohs,' and who edits all of ' Murray's Hand Books for Egypt.' These
are all good Egyptologists. But, of cour.se, the stars, however brilliant, pale
before tlie sun, and all women and mo.st men Egyptologists look small beside
Amelia B. Edwards. She was the queen of this realm, and it is not likely that
we shall look upon her like again.
" Miss Edwards was, as j'ou know, the honorary secretary for Great Britain
of the Egypt Exploration Fund, and did her best work as an Egyptologist. And
yet she was marvelously gifted in other directions. At nine years of age she
won a prize for a temperance .story, and had a tale accepted by the Omnibus at
fourteen. Hers was a voice of such wonderful flexibility and compass that it was
thought at twenty that the opera would be her profession. She was well known
(322)
WOMEN IN UNUSUAL PATHvS. 323
at twenty-two as a contributor to periodical literature and as a full-fledged
no\'Llist. lyiiter on she became a reviewer on the staff of the London v7/^r«z«^
J\)st, Saiuniay Rcviciv, Graphic, Illustrated Nctvs and other journals. And so on
and on in a splendidly brilliant career, till late in the afternoon of life she took
up the study of Egypt, preparing, as a result, the best work, in its scope, on
ancient Egypt that I know of, giving the world a most captivating, inspiring,
instructive book that has become almost another ' Baedeker ' to the Nile tourist.
' ' She was many-sided as an Egyptologist. When she vividly painted the
many pre-requisites of the successful explorer in situ, in one of her lectures, I
inwardly said, ' What a queeu among explorers you would make!' As an
incipient Egyptologist, in 1874, she ' wriggled in ' through ' an aperture about a
foot and a half square ' in ' Discoveries at Abou Simbel,' so graphically told by
her in Chapter XVIII of ' A Thousand Miles up the Nile. '
" By nature and by grace, and otherwise, it came about that Miss Edwards was
the best delineator that Old Egypt has ever had. The Saturday Review Wxxvl^s ' no
other writer did so much to render Egypt popular. ' Her advent christening as an
enthusiastic amateur in Egyptology may date from 1877, when ' A Thousand
Miles up the Nile ' appeared, and her confirmation in that science from 1881, when
she had critically mastered all the details of the unprecedented discovery of the
royal mummies at Thebes, and substantially assisted Sir E. Wilson in preparing
his book, ' The Egypt of the Past,' which she was revising the last year of her
life. Harper's Magazine, of July, 1882, under the title, 'Lying in State in
Cairo, ' gives her clear, picturesque delightful story anent those regal mummies.
''Harper's, October, 1886, contained ' The Story of Tanis ' (Zoan), which,
as an archaeological paper in a popular magazine, is, as a whole, without its peer.
Its background of study and research, its grouping of historical data and explora-
tion details, its dignity and classic finish, its imaginative play (resting on
ascertained conditions and established topography) in the portrayal of Zoan in
all its glory, when Rameses oppressed Israel — particularly in the description of
the scene, which a stranger approaching that great northern capital of the
Pharaohs would have witnessed, when the king of all colossi in Egypt and in the
world towered in majesty above the vast temple — these and more stamp this
article as a masterpiece of archaeological and historical verbal painting.
' ' One of Miss Edwards' pamphlets is in substance her paper read at the Con-
gress of Orientalists, held at Leyden, in 1884, entitled 'On a Fragment of
Mummy-Case,' illustrated by herself. Here I may exemplify the clearness and
grace with w^hich she transcribed hieroglyphs. On page 212 of the New E^ig land
Magazine, for April, 1890, I introduced a fac-simile of her manuscript that she
had intended solely for my own eye. The characters are models of elegant
drawing; yet I am sure that Miss Edwards executed them with a running hand.
324 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Some of my readers will pleasantly recall her electric manual touches upon the
blackboard in her lecture upon the evolution of Egyptian letters and text.
' ' Had Miss Edwards' life been spared another decade the world would hav^e
been the richer by at least two or three more new books of a calibre and merit
equal to her ' Pharaohs, Fellahs and Explorers;' and her revision of Wilson's
' Egypt ' is the work on the histor>' of the dynasties and marked epochs of
Egypt for the general reader, and singularly useful for reference. Her
translation of Maspero's ' Egyptian Archseolog}' ' gives to the English reader a
most authoritative text-book on the architecture and art of the ancient Egyptians.
' ' The Egypt Exploration Fund owed an unpayable debt to Miss Edwards; that
debt is now due, will be ever due, to her memory. ' Miss Edwards,' as the
obituary in the Annual Report of the Fund says, ' has followed Erasmus Wilson
and James Russell Lowell. In honor of their memory, we, who .survive, have a
sacred duty to the great enterprise consecrated b}- their names. ' It may be truly
added that the archaeological bread she cast upon the waters returned to her not
after many days.
" Intellectual culture, education, may everywhere regard Miss Edwards as a
generous creditor in the great exchange of knowledge. For out of Egypt has
chiefl}' come our knowledge of the evolution of man during a period of five
thousand years B. C, and among the delightful surprises of our day is the enthu-
siasm, intelligence, .skill, magnetism and poetry with which her pen and voice
have inve.sted the old, old subject, now regenerated to notice — public notice — by
di-scover}-, and by portrayal like hers. May other imaginative and scholarly souls
take up the burden of her song in the promotion of exploration to reveal and to
record monumental hi.story by the sweet waters of the Nile."
The most famous woman arcliseologist now in the world is Madame
Dieulafoy.
" When people go to the opera or theatre or the salon in Paris, ' ' says the Sketch,
■"they sometimes .see a small, well-dressed man, with a clean-shaven face and
small feet and hands, and they .sometimes think what a nice-looking man, but
never in the world do they suspect that this same fine-looking man is a woman,
and one of the most famous in Paris. Mme. Dieulafoy is one of the most cele-
brated of the world's archaeologists, and has been of great service to the scientific
world. She discovered the ruins of the Temple of Darius, which are now in the
Louvre, in Paris. For this great achievement the French Government decorated
her with the Order of the Legion of Honor and gave her the right to wear men's
attire at all times. She is married, and .she and her hu.sband both patronize the
same tailor. Their home is one of great luxury, and the}^ gather about them the
savants of France, who are anxious to pay homage to so learned and remarkable
a woman."
I
WOMEN IN UNUSUAL PATHS. 325
A most noted traveler in unusual paths was Florence van Sass, better known
as Lady Baker. In 1S61 she started, a mere girl, with her husband, vSir vSamuel
Baker, on his memorable journey to di.scover the source of the Nile. She shared
all his liardships, and her courage and tact w^ere equal to every draught upon
them. On one occasion Sir Samuel w^as obliged to .struggle through fire and
water to get through the Kllyrian pa.ss in advance of his deadly enemy, the Turk
Ibrahim. When he believed that the task was accomplished, and imagined he
heard his men talking behind him, his implacable foe, Ibrahim, confronted him.
That this encounter meant the entire failure of his expedition he did not doubt,
but, as he him.self declares, ' ' its fate was retrieved by Mrs. Baker. vShe implored
me to call him, to insist upon a personal explanation, and to offer him some
present in the event of establishing amicable relations. I could not condescend
to address the .sullen .scoundrel. He was in the act of passing, and success
depended on that instant. Mrs. Baker herself called him. For the moment he
made no reply; but upon my repeating the call in a loud key he turned his
donkey toward us and dismounted."
Baker rea.soned with the Turk, and b}' "clinching his argument with a
promise of a double-barreled gun and a bag of gold, Ibrahim was won."
At a time when a number of the men had mutinied, Mrs. Baker quelled the
riot, and caused the little army to go quietly forward.
She accompanied her husband in all his African travels. In 1861 she went
with him to Abyssinia; in 1863-65, while investigating the course of the Nile;
and in 1869-73 -'^^e labored with him during the Ismailian expedition to suppress
the slave trade. In the midst of actual engagements, while the air about her was
thick with spears, she remained cool and collected. Her kindness to her
husband's men filled them with love for her, and by her skill and devotion as a
nurse she saved many of their lives.
The story of /Alexandrine Trine as a wanderer in strange paths reads like a
romance. Miss Trine w^as a born traveler. In her earl}^ teens she had visited
Norway and Sweden, and at eighteen had journeyed through Asia Minor,
Palestine, and Egj'pt. The Pyramids captivated her; the Nile enchanted her;
and there was kindled in her heart a vehement desire to explore a part of the
unknown regions of Africa, and to investigate the source of the Nile.
In July, 1861, Miss Trine and her aunt and a friend were domesticated for a
while in Cairo. After a time, and with a suitable retinue, they journeyed as far
as Khartoum, and from thence to Gondokoro, the place where preparations had
been made for Captain Speke and Captain Grant in the unlikel}^ event of their
returning from their expedition into Zanzibar in search of the source of the Nile.
When they did return, after discovering Victoria Nyanza, Samuel Baker and his
wife met them at Gondokoro, but never had a meeting with Miss Trine.
326 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Miss Trine' s expedition to search for the Nile's source was fitted out on so
grand a scale that the natives averred that she was the daughter of the Sultan.
Terrible disasters overtook this expedition: sickness, famine, obstructions of all
kinds. These things and the death of her aunt drove the adventuresome lady
back to Cairo, where for a time .she lived in Oriental magnificence. She finally
started on another expedition, still with the purpose of tracing the Nile to its
source. She was murdered between Mourzouk and Ghat by the savages, whose
rapacity her apparent wealth had excited.
An entire volume could be interestingly written about the travels of Isabelle
Bird, afterward Mrs. Bishop.
Miss Bird, a frail, delicate, refined woman, pushed her way along many tracks
which had been trodden by no woman and by few men. In her \-outh she visited
America, about which she wrote with justice and intelligence. She traveled in
Japan, the Malay Peninsula, Persia, Kurdistan and adjoining countries. About
1893 she went to Corea and China. Her books are full of interesting information.
Wherever she travels Mrs. Bishop takes a w^arm personal interest in the people,
and does all she can to make their lives brighter, their outlook more hopeful.
Miss Gordon Cummings is too well known and too widely loved to need
extended comment here. Like Mrs. Bishop she is a wanderer in man}' far fields,
and, also like Mrs. Bishop, she everywhere " goes about doing good."
Nellie Bh-'s exploits as a traveler have been too widely and too recently
exploited for our readers to have forgotten them.
Miss Annie S. Peck, a j'oung American woman, is one of the comparatively'
few people who have ascended the Matterhorn. Miss Peck says:
' ' It was early in the eighties that my attention was first called to the Matter-
horn by hearing Dr. David Jordan, now president of Leland Stanford University,
describe his ascent of that mountain. He told a tale so terrible that while my
spirit was fired with a determination to see "fhis wonderful rock pyramid if I ever
went to Europe, I concluded that I should be satisfied with beholding it from
below. When, in 1885, I first saw this magnificent rock towering above me I was
seized with an irresi.stible longing to attain its summit. But alas! fifty dollars is a
large sum to .spend on a single day's pleasure ... so I reluctantly turned
my steps onward, cheri.shing the determination that .some da}' I would come again
and fulfill my heart's desire."
Miss Peck did "come again," and this time she was prepared for the
stupendous climb. She goes on:
"Though nearly all the snows of winter slide from the mountain's steep
.slopes, it is nevertheless true that the irregular ragged rocks allow of the lodgment
of a few inches of snow here and there, enough to make the footing in.secure and
the handholds uncomfortable, thus increasing the danger both of freezing and of
WOMEN IN UNUSUAL PATHS. 327
unexpectedly j^^lidiiiq; down tlic nioiinlain side. One is so situated during a large
part of the time that if he should slip, and was not held by the rope, he would
slide two or three or four thousand feet down to one of the glaciers three thousand
feet below.' '
The narrator speaks of parts of the route where " the incline was from forty
to eighty degrees, mostly eighty, the rocks smooth," and where "there were no
secure handholds." " The distance covered by ropes," she goes on, " is probably
one or two hundred yards. It was here that young Hardow fell, dragging three
of his companions to death four thousand feet below."
Miss Peck's story, as told in McCliire' s Magazine for July, 1896, relates a
feat of splendid endurance and persistence.
One of the most remarkable trips ever taken by a woman, however, was that
of Mrs. May French-Sheldon in east Africa, when she traversed 990 miles of
interior, never before explored by white person. There have been white women
in Africa before — Lady Burton, Mile. Tinne and. others even — who have gone at
the head of expeditions. But Mrs. M. French-Sheldon — an American woman by
birth, training and loyalty — was the first, and so far the only one, to enter the
African wilds at the head of a large caravan of natives, and entirely unaided or
unaccompanied by any white person.
Mrs. Sheldon is a native of Philadelphia, and has lived in several American
cities, although for some years she has been a resident of London. In making this
journey into savage wilds Mrs. Sheldon did not laj^ aside the social graces for
which she is noted, nor discard the amenities of a refined civilization. On the
contrary, she observed and maintained the same dainty habits which belong to a
lady's boudoir in London.
In.stead of adopting a rough dress and lowering her personality to the
level of wild and uncivilized surroundings, she provided herself with one
magnificent court dress of white satin, and was carefully costumed in becoming,
clean and suitable clothing at all times. Only a woman versed in the wa^-s of
the world would have acted on the truism that "clothes make the man,"
and recognized in advance that the way to maintain her social prestige, even
among savages, was to live up to it. Throughout her journey she had her
private bathing tent, which was sacredly guarded by bo3's detailed for the
purpose; and every day she performed in it the sacred mysteries of a refined
woman's toilet, securely screened from observation, and was regarded in conse-
quence as a being of better than ordinary clay, a creature of finer mold — in
short, as the "white queen" — {"Bebc Bwaiia"^.
The Sultan of Zanzibar, although not an uncultivated savage, recognized the
divine ro3-alty of a pure and true woman, and threw around her the protecting
influence of his despotic favor. He not only assisted her materially in the
328
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
selection of men for her caravan, bnt he sent before her a proclamation threatening
instant death to any who should molest her.
And so this woman at the head of two hundred men was regarded as a superior
MRS. MAY I^RKNCn-SHia.nON.
being, and was paid involuntary trilnile like a priuccss with greater ])owL-r.s than
their own chiefs. The native potentates met lier with gifts, invited her to visit
them, and allowed her to talk with their women and to witness rites and ceremonies
WOMEN IN UNUSUAIv PATHS.
329
wliich are usually carefully kept from wliite men. Their homage at times
threatened to become tedious, as when they brought tribal differences to the
" white queen " for adjustment. Domestic trials were also laid before her, in the
hope that she possessed some occult authority to right all family wrongs. vShew^as
taken to their lurking places, too, giving her an insight into their character and
PALANOUIN IN WHICH MRS. FRENCH-SHELDON TRAVELED 900 MILES IN EAST AFRICA
UN.^TTENDED BY ANY WHITE PERSON.
customs far beyond what she had dared hope. They had no doubt of her motives,
and she carefully kept up the appearance of ro3'alt3^ which had so impressed
them .
Every night she slept in her palanc|uin with the curtains closely drawn, and
a faithful native guarding it on each side.
330
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Mrs. Sheldon's object was not simply to gratify her love of adventure. There
was a humanitarian reason for her journey. She succeeded in penetrating the
wilds of Central Africa, unattended by other assistance than her own woman's
wit and marvelous firmness and magnetism of character. She has proved to a
thoughtful people that the natives of those countries are intelligent human beings.
If she shall convince the
world that the problem of
educating and Christian-
izing them can be solved
by industrial education she
will have more than suc-
ceeded. Mrs. Sheldon was
recently made a member
of the Royal Geographical
Society of London, an
honor seldom accorded
any woman. Her lectures
before .scientific societies
in London have been
heard with extraordinary
interest. Her work sup-
plements that of Mr.
Stanley, which was purely
geographical, by giving a
side no male traveler could
have ever reached — the
customs, habits and home
life of the women and chil-
dren . Mrs. Sheldon
brought back with her an
immense variety of objects
which .she uses to illustrate
her lectures, and which
give graphic interest to
her picturesque narrative.
Along the same line of effort is the work of Marie Robinson Wright, of
Georgia and New York. She was reared in luxury with slaves at her command
to gratify every wi-sh, until .she was almost a young lady. At the age of sixteen
she married, and by the time she was twenty she was the mother of two children,
and the ravages of war had devastated the fair Georgia country so that neither
MARIE ROHINSON WRIGHT.
WOMEN IN UNUSUAL PATHS. • 331
husband nor father had any property left. She had to go to doing her own work
and taking care of her own babies — a rather dismal prospect for a high-bred, high-
spirited Southern girl of twenty, was it not ? She did not dream then that some
day she would be a distinguished traveler, nor that she would be received by
foreign potentates with every mark of respect and distinction.
When she was left a widow a few years after, she found that she must do
something for the support of herself and her young children. And so it
happened that she struck out into a new path. Not all at once, however. She
went to the office of the little magazine called the Sininy South — not with poor
poems and worse stories in her pocket, but with a proposition that met the
wants of the publishers. She asked for the privileges of traveling and soliciting
subscriptions. Doubtless she would have liked to be a famous author as well as
anybody else, but she had good common sense, and she knew that the business end
of the magazine offered her a much quicker opportunity.
She was engaged at once, and for two or three years made a good living for
herself and babies, and very materially increased the circulation of the periodical.
So successful was she that a chance came from t his work to go on to the New York
World, not as a sensational reporter, nor even as editorial writer, but to travel through
the Southern cities and v/rite them up for the big city daily. This work was even
more successful, and her great feat of writing an article descriptive of the resources
and development of Mexico, for which the Mexican government paid the paper
the sum of twenty thousand dollars, is one of the most remarkable in the
annals of modern journalism. At the World's Fair in Chicago, she was again
given an opportunity to distinguish herself by getting the illustrated edition of the
Fair, again making several thousand dollars.
' ' But why should I go on making enormous sums of money for other
people?" she asked herself. "Have I not now sufficient ability and experience
to stand alone ?' '
She decided to trs', and in 1895 with her daughter, Miss Ida Dent Wright, for
her sole companion, she went again to Mexico. Secretarj^ of State Mariscal and
President Diaz were already her warm admirers, for splendid courage and
womanly independence were never more strongly combined with all femmme
graces— and to them she went with her plans. Both these executives furnished
her with letters to every governor in ^Mexico, and the President ordered, not only
a military escort wherever needed, but that special trains and steamboat facilities
should be given her throughout the country. Then she spent a year in thoroughly
inspecting and studying the country. Besides thousands of miles of railway and
steamboat traveling, Mrs. Wright and her daughter went nearly nine hundred
miles in mountain regions, on mules, attended by military escort, and penetrating
regions where none but native women have ever been seen. The result of her
332
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
experiences has been put in a large illustrated book on Mexico, which is the most
comprehensive and altogether the most beautiful book on Mexico ever written in
any language, and which was ordered in advance by Mexican officials to the
number of Sooo.
In addition to this, or as a result of her success, Mrs. Wright has been
invited to Costa Rica to prepare a similar book for the government, and later she
will make a thorough tour of South America for the same purpose.
And so tired, weary young woman, do not get discouraged no matter how
dark the outlook. The clouds may hang low at times, but they are sure to clear
away and perhaps your sun may be mounting toward a zenith of whose brightness
you little dream. Only keep up courage and determine to do your best to
develop the highest qualities of which you are capable, and you cannot fail.
ui.
JUST WHAT WOMEN ARE DOING.
HERE is one cheer)' little woman in a large city who has
started out to earn her living in a most original way — as
an entertainer of invalids and convalescents. So far as is
known, she is the only person who makes it a profession to
bring even laughter into the house. The little woman is a
brave soul who was left a widow with a son to educate, a
boy in his early teens. At the death of her husband she found herself possessed
of little else than a mortgaged home. Something had to be done, but what it
was to be was a most perplexing query.
" I tried everything I could think of," she said, "but I did not succeed in
doing anything to speak of. At last I was companion for three months to a
woman who was suffering from a severe case of nervous prostration. I kept her
mind from her troubles. It came near killing me, but she lived and the physician
said it was I who saved her. Then I happened to think it would not be a bad
plan to go into the cheering up business for a living. I made the attempt, and
have been quite successful. Most of my — what shall I call them — clients? —
simply want to talk, and they are happ3' to get a good listener. I go regularly to
see one woman who talks the entire hour on religion. Doubtless she has tired out
every one in the family, and they have little patience in hearing the same thing
over and over again. All that I find it necessary to do is to listen interestedly and
just take the opposite side once in a while to give her a bit of excitement, and
she enjoys it immensely. Sometimes I succeed in interesting her in other things,
and I consider that quite an achievement, something to be proud of.
' ' There is an elderly man whom I visit who is perfectly happy if I will only
listen while he talks politics. Now I cannot argue on politics, although I am not
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334 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
absolutely ignorant on the subject, but I can listen, and I understand enough to
object occasionally to some of his views, and so keep him interested. There is
nothing like a little well-timed objection to keep a political enthusiast entertained.
" It is surprising how grateful an invalid is for any attention; they are the
easiest people in the world to entertain, anything which diverts them, and takes
their mind off themselves and their own condition makes them happ3% and it is
a delight to do this. I am happ}^ myself in the accomplishment of my endeavors.
I think one reason why I have been so successful is that I have never bothered
any of my clients b}' asking them w^hat they wanted. If there has been no one
to tell me, I have found out for m5'-self. Some want music, and for them I play
the piano and sing; others like to be read to, and to others I just talk, telling
them what is going on in the world. Of course, I have to read the papers and
keep up in current events, and that is good for me, as well as for those for whose
sake I do it. Some want me to plaj- games, others want to learn some new stitch
in embroider}', knitting or crochet, and these I have to learn in order to teach
them. So a'OU see, it is no small task to get ready to play. But the best part is
the eagerness with which my arrival is awaited. There is no familiar friend who
receives a more cordial welcome than I do. It is worth every bit of bother and
thought which you have given to getting prepared for a visit to see the glad smile
break over a listless, wearied face as the door opens to admit you to the invalid's
room. I wonder more women do not take up this plan of earning mone3^ there
is such genuine satisfaction in it."
The unexpected ways are oftenest the successful waj's, and many a woman —
yes, and man, too — owes her good fortune to an accident. Not, m}^ dear girls,
that I would have you sit around in Micawber fashion waiting for the accident to
happen, for it is only when one is active that accidents of this kind occur, but
when you are looking for one thing you ma}^ chance to stumble over another. If
you do, please regard the circumstance as of value, and do not pass it over
without taking advantage of it, for this very thing may be your opportunity which
presents itself in this unceremonious manner. Just, indeed, as it did to Mrs.
Sarah D. Kelly, of Chicago, who is making a living as a scientific packer.
" I have made a good living at this work for more than six years," said Mrs.
Kelly when asked about it. "I have managed to support and send to school
three children, besides laying up a few hundred dollars in the bank against a
rainy day. My .story does not differ much, in the main, from that of many
another woman left a widow with children to support and no money to do it
with. I looked about for work, and approached a man, whom I had known, in
the hope of getting into his office. There was no opening, and he frankly told
me there was no chance for me in the office, but he said that his wife had been
suddenly taken ill and they were to move the next week. If I would not be
JUvST WHAT WOMEN ARE DOING. 335
insulted by the proposition, he would lie glad to have nie go to his house, take
charge of the things and see to the packing and moving. I can assure you that I
was not insulted, but glad enough of any opportunity to earn money for my
children, and I undertook the work readily. When I had finished I was pretty
sure that I had found my vocation.
' ' I had cards printed and distributed them among firms who made a specialty
of moving furniture. Then I went to some of the best real estate offices and fur-
niture houses, explained my business and asked them to speak a good word for
me when an opportunity offered. But I did not then sit down and wait for my
customers; I looked out for myself, and when I heard of a family who expected
to move I called and offered my services. Naturally, I met with rebuffs at first,
for people had never heard of such a thing, and told me so. But, fortunately for
me, there are delicate and busy women, who find it impossible to superintend the
packing and moving of their furniture and valuables. These women recognized
the convenience of my proposition and gave me work.
' ' You avsk me to tell you how I go about the packing for the average well-
to-do family. Pretty much as I do for their richer neighbors. They are expected
to find all the boxes and barrels necessary, but when I go through the house if I
find there are not enough I order what are needed. I have an index book, and
after numbering each end and all four sides of every box and barrel, I enter the
numbers in my index book, and under their respective numbers I give a complete
list of their contents. Suppose I read you the contents of a box or barrel from
this book made out for a family for whom I have just finished storing and packing
furniture. They have gone abroad for several years. Box No. 5 is on page 13,
and contains four etchings, one pair of rowlocks, a pair of skates, three games, a
box with wedgewood candlesticks, six copies of Harpef s Magazine for 1896, two
bundles of letters (H. P.), the Pathfinder , Oliver Optic series, and so on, dozens
more of miscellaneous articles. This seems a motley collection, but they fitted in,
and in that way saved space. When possible, I pack the contents of a room
together, but where they do not fit in they must go elsewhere.
" Frail objects should be packed in cotton, excelsior or wrapped in several
thicknesses of paper or cloth, then, when possible, put into pasteboard boxes and
securely tied up before packing with other articles. Pictures and engravings
should be carefully wrapped, first in soft paper, then in several folds of newspapers,
tied securely with twine and placed around the four sides of the box. The box
should then be packed as firmly as possible with miscellaneous articles, so keeping
the pictures in position, and thus insuring their safety. I omitted to say that in
placing the pictures in the boxes the glass must face the sides of the box. Books,
magazines, pamphlets, and all those things which every housekeeper has stored
away, seldom used, yet valued for various reasons and kept from year to year,
336 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
may be used as filling. By this plan everything can be securely packed, and
nothing need be left behind."
Mrs. Kelly not only gave her own story, but she kindly gave so much of her
methods that any woman who is moved by her example to undertake the work
will see the way to do it successfully. There should certainly be an opening in
every city and large town for at least one scientific packer.
Another young woman makes a good income as a teacher of athletics. During
the winters she has large classes in the various cities, confining herself chiefly to
physical culture, pure and simple. She teaches the proper use of the muscles, the
correct way of breathing, walking, running, standing, sitting, sleeping, and, in
fact, she treats every point of that important study which is so essential to the
health and development of every girl. She makes a special point of posturing,
as it applies to holding one's self well and walking correctly. There are too
many women nowadays who walk badly and sit ungracefully, and the most
sensible of them realize the importance of improving in this respect, and they
are willing to pay well to be taught.
In the summer she teaches other branches of athletics. Swimming, diving,
floating, all the fancy strokes, and turns out graceful swimmers. She takes
parties for horseback exercise, teaches cross country riding, and directs the
dressing for this exercise. She teaches tennis and golf, in short she is up on all
points of athletics which interest w^omen, and is an expert in them. She is well
bred, dresses in perfect taste, talks interestingly, and has no end of tact. All
these are necessarj' for the successful teacher in these special branches. This
special girl saj^s that there is plentj' of room for more teachers along the line which
she has chosen, and she says, still farther, that the prices obtained are preci.sely
the same as those paid to a man for the same kind of instruction.
There is a young woman in Buffalo N. Y., who has made a reputation as a
window dresser. It would seem as though the decorative taste of women might
stand many of them in stead in a vocation like this. Why have not more tried
it ? It must be a pleasant and attractiv.e mode of gaining a livelihood, and surely
the average woman has as much taste as the average man. Why not employ it
in this fa.shion ? Here is a suggestion for some girl to act upon.
An English woman has taken up the business of cleaning bicycles. She
goes from house to house, so that no one need to take the cycle to a shop for
repairs. She carries an a.ssortment of cheese-cloth cleaners of various sizes, well
permeated with oil, and bits of flannel to use in polishing. She adju.sts handle
bars, saddles, tightens nuts, pumps up and fills tires, trims and fills the lamp
and puts it securely in place, and tests everything to .see that it is firm. She is
familiar, not only with all the tools used about awheel, but with every piece which
goes into it, and its proper relation and position with regard to every other piece,
I
JUST WHAT WOMIvN ARK DOING.
337
aiul iiiiderstands tin.- myslcries of gearing. She finds herself a very welcome
visitor at the houses wliicli she visits at stated intervals, for the new duty of
attending to llie wheel of her mistress does not belong to the liouseniaid, nor, in
fact, to any member of the household staff as yet.
Trimming and cleaning lamps and keeping them in order, and cleaning silver
are two branches of labor that some girls might find remunerative. Very few
servants know how to take care of the beautiful, decorative lamps which are such
an important part of furnishing now, even in houses which have gas or electric
lighting. The lamp is an ornament, and, for many purposes, its light is prefer-
able, but it is such hard work to keep it in order, complain the mistresses. Get a
dozen or more of these mistresses to let you come daily, for a small consideration,
and take care of these lamps. If 3'ou have time, you might undertake the silver
also, receiving an additional sum, of course, for the service. You need only work
during the morning hours, and you would not only solve a vexed question for the
house-mistresses, whom you assist out of a difficult}-, but you gain a nice little
income for yourself.
You may call this a chapter of hints, if 3-ou like, only some of 3'OU must find
one that is worth the taking, or all the work of dropping them will have been in
vain, and one does not like to work with no return, it is disheartening.
UII.
s
&/i.s:;/i.\t^/is!~/i\;~/l.NyiCv;:i~/i.s
COOKING SCHOOL TEACHERS.
/}\;^;^^INCE the establishment of school kitchens in connection with
the public schools, a new field has been opened up to young
women, and it is a field that is constantly broadening and
that will continue to develop for some time to come.
And not only are public schools requiring teachers of
cooking but communities everywhere are asking for teachers
and lecturers on this subject, and ever}^ helpful, philanthropic institution into
which girls are received, are establishing classes in cooking, and naturally they
must have trained teachers.
This movement is a comparatively new one and that is the reason why there
are more openings in it than there are in many of the occupations. It is but a
few years since the first cooking schools were regularly established and it is only
about ten years since they were tried as an experiment in the public schools of
Boston, which was the first city to introduce cooking as a regular branch of public
school instruction.
And its establishment and its carrying on to success was due to one woman.
And to this woman all the women in the United States owe a debt of gratitude.
For, although Mrs. Mary Hemenway began her work in Boston, it did not end
there. Mrs. Hemenway was a New Yorker by birth, her father being one of the
.staunch busine.ss men of a half century ago. In her young womanhood Miss
Tibston was wooed and won by Mr. Augustus Hemenway, of Boston, and after her
marriage she was closely identified with the city of her adoption. Mr. Hemenway
was one of tlie famous New lingland merchants and his fortune was splendid,
ranking him among the many time millionaires, and when he died, leaving the
use of the larger part of the fortune which he accumulated to his widow, he
(33«)
COOKING vSCHOOIv TEACHERvS.
339
cautioned her against so using her means as to make two persons miserable in
the endeavor to give happiness to one. He knew the generous heart she
possessed, and he knew also the evils which attended misap])lied benevolence,
and knowing both these things he gave the word of caution which proved the
wise word of direction.
During the Civil War she was an active member of the Sanitary Commission,
and her large means made it possible for her to advance the State work most
materially. Then she turned her energies to the Freedmen.
It was about this time that she became impressed with the need and value of
industrial training in connection with the public schools. She realized, with
many others who were engaged in relief work among the poor, that what was most
A MODEL SCHOOL KITCHEN.
needed among them was a practical knowledge of the best and most economical
manner of managing with what they had to do with, and the first step to meet
this need was the attempt to establish classes of sewing in the schools.
This attempt was met with the most determined opposition on the part of
teachers and committee. One of the principals said, when he heard of the new
movement: "Sewing in school! Well, the next we know thej- will be wanting
to set up cook stoves and teach the children to broil a beefsteak."
This remark has been recalled man}^ times since it turned out to be a
prophecy. And the fulfillment was brought about by the very woman who was,
340 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
more than any other, instrumental in introducing the sewing. To prove to the
school committee that the cooking classes were quite feasible and would prove
beneficial, she equipped and carried on the first one for two years at her own
expense, and, when finally the school kitchens became a part of the school
system, she continued for a while to support the first one, so that the committee
might have the more means for establishing others, and she also opened and
sustained a Normal Cooking School to prepare the teachers for the work which
by this time was adopted by other cities.
In precisely the same way she introduced the "Ling' ' sj'stem of gymnastics into
the public schools, giving the pupils a thorough physical training under competent
teachers prepared for the purpose at the Normal School of Gymnastics, which she
instituted and maintained, and which is still supported b}- a fund which she left for
the purpose, and where hundreds of young women have been trained for teachers.
She was one of the foremost in the work of savhig the Old South Church
from its threatened destruction, using both her means and her influence for the
successful attainment of this end. It was her thought that made this historic
building the centre of practical education in our national history-, and the
inculcation of public .spirit in the young people who were to be the future citizens
of the commonwealth. This she did by the impressive celebration of national
festival days, by lectures on American histor}-, by offering prizes for essay's on
historical subjects to graduates of high schools, and by the various methods,
which as " the Old vSouth work " has not only been plainly felt in the community
already, but has been followed in other cities of the country.
And yet it must not be suppo.sed that all of Mrs. Hemenway's work has been
local: this is by no means the case. Her .sympathies were as broad as the land,
and her field of endeavor was bounded by the oceans on either .side, with a limit the
other way of the lakes and the Gulf She was American to her fingers' ends, and
had in her nature no room for mere partisanship. Whatever was for the nation's
credit and interest appealed to her. She believed that the future well being of the
nation la}- in tlie proper education of the young of all classes and conditions.
Education was the key which was to unlock many of the present national difficul-
ties, education in the right directicm, which to her meant love of country', loj'alty
to principle, the divorcing of all personal, private interest from all public questions,
and the inculcation of a spirit and habit of industry. She did not believe in a
leisure cla.ss, but maintained that all should labor for the good of the whole. vShe
set the example herself, not by labor in its lower sense, the toil merely for pay,
but in the broadest meaning, the con.stant thought and work for the uplifting of all
humanity, and the amelioration of much useless bitterness and suffering.
She \N-as the firm supporter of General Armstrong in his work at Ham])ton
for the education of the Negro and Indirui. Indeed, but for her hclj) the scliool
COOKING SCHOOL TEACHERS.
341
could not have attained the position which it holds. She was an ardent member
of the Indian Association, and it was through her interest in the cause of Indian
rights that she was first attracted to the work of Mr. Frank Cushing, who was a
student of the Zuni Indians, and so enthusiastic a one that he took up his abode
among them, and won their confidence and respect while studying their history.
In consequence of her friendship for him, she established the Hemenway South-
western Archceological Expedition, and Mr. Cushing' s important contributions to-
science, founded upon his explorations among ancient ruins in New Mexico and
Arizona, were the result. Through Mr. Cushing Mrs. Hemenway secured the
A GTRLS' COOKING CLASS.
preservation of the pre-hi.storic ruin of Casa Grande, in Arizona, and its pro-
tection in charge of the United States Bureau of Ethnology.
Nor, in her interest for the oppressed of the Indian and Negro nations, was
her own forgotten. Recognizing the disadvantage under w^hich the white children
of the South suffered for educational privileges after the war, she established, at
Wilmington, N. C, a school for white children, placing it under the charge
of Miss Amy Bradle}', who had been a nurse of the Sanitary Commission
during the war, and previous to that a most successful teacher in the North. A
beautiful building was erected at a cost of $75,000, and was named by Mrs.
Hemenway, the Tibston School, in honor of her father. Competent teachers were
supplied, and the school was opened in the midst of the most bitter opposition and
34^ OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
prejudice. But as people grew to understaiul the motive of Mrs. Hemenwa}- in
placing the school in their midst, the opposition died away, the success of the school
was assured, and has continued from that time. Southern girls were educated there,
and took the places of the retiring Northern teachers, Miss Bradlej- still remaining
at the head. It is one of the mo.st highly prized of the institutions of Wilmington
now, and in that city Mrs. Hemenway's memory is held sacred.
One of the most marked features of Mrs. Hemenway's character was her
aversion to anything like publicity. She was personally unknown to the thousands
of persons whom .she benefited. She had always about her a corps of .sympathetic,
competent men and women, who carried out her plans and did the work she laid
down for them. Of course a woman of her social standing and her means, could
not avoid a certain degree of prominence, but as far as .she possibl}^ could, .she
kept her own personality in the background, content to know that she was doing
a work which was helping and ennobling all mankind.
She has left behind her a memory whose fragrance .shall never be lo.st, and
the country still mourns a citizen who, in the quietest and simplest way, laid the
foundation for future loyalty and good citizen.ship in the hearts and minds of
thousands of young men and women. Could any work of achievement be nobler
than this?
She also sought by her influence to elevate the idea of domestic labor and
bring it up to the plane where it belongs, and her most successful work in this
line was the establishment of the school kitchens in the public school work.
The Boston Normal Training School for cooking teachers provides that the
teaching shall be uniform, and the cour.se studied is to be adopted in every school.
This school has graduated a large number of pupils, and, .so far, every one has
found a place waiting for her wdien .she graduated. You can see by this that the
work is being carried forward as rapidly as teachers can be got ready. The great
danger is in beginning the work before you are altogether prepared. There is as
much danger in undue ha.ste, as there is in delay. I am not altogether certain
that there isn't more. In any important matter like this, it is safe to make haste
slowly. No matter how anxious you are to begin this work in your own town,
wait until you are trained, and do not fall into the mistaken notion that anybody
can teach cooking who can cook. A mistake at the beginning woidd be fatal, and
you could never again awaken interest in the subject if you once fail.
In regard to the training .school, its demands, and its accomplishments :
In the first place every applicant for admission must be acquainted with the
theory of teaching, and it is considered a great point in her favor if .she is the
graduate of some normal school. She should possess that particular tiualification for
the work — a genuine liking for it; and .she should determine to devote herself to
it to the exclusion of all other branches and be a power in her line of teaching.
COOKING SCHOOL TKACHERvS.
343
There is no use in taking up any work in a half-hearted way; and if a pupil
does not show herself disposed to do her best in the school, her continuance in the
class is not encouraged. The teachers very soon discover if a student is lacking
in the ability to do the work, and if there is any doubt of her ultimate success
as a teacher of cooking she is kindly advised to turn her efforts in some other
direction.
That is fair treatment certainly, and kindly too. For the whole future
of a girl may be spoiled by allowing her to make a failure when good advice,
honestly given, might have turned her in the direction of success. And that is
PUBLIC COOKING SCHOOL.
why we should be so glad of the interest and care that the managers of this
particular school give to the pupils.
When a student has taken the course, passed the examination, and received
her certificate, then she may feel that she is well equipped for the work, for no
certificate would be given her had she not won it, you may be sure. The course
of study includes, beside cooking, lessons in chemistry by the most competent
teachers, and with the practice lessons in both branches, there are frequent lectures
by well-known specialists.
The salary of the teacher is the same as that of any grammar school teacher,
and the hours of work are the regular school hours. Sometimes, when a town is
not large enough to take a teacher's entire time, it will combine with an adjoining
town, and the two will employ the same teacher.
344
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Besides the teaching in the public schools, there is the teaching of independent
classes, and of private schools. The Lasell Seminar}-, in Aiiburndale, Mass.,
which is one of the most progressive schools for girls in the country, has a regular
course in cooking, ranging from the simplest to the most intricate. It has a prize
for bread- making, and there is a spirited contest for this prize every year.
Miss Maria Parloa, who is, without doubt, the best known and most capable
of all the lecturers and instructors of cooking in this country, is one of the pioneers
as well. She has amassed a snug little property by her work, and she is still in
greater demand than any other lecturer. Mrs. Sarah Rorer, of Philadelphia, and
Miss Maria Daniell, of Boston, are also successful and well-known teachers.
These teachers form classes, and also give demonstration lectures, for which
they get well paid. If a girl is fond of cooking, can impart her knowledge and
has patience for detail, she may make a successful teacher, and earn a good income;
but she must work for it.
isMr
IvIV.
THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER.
^S OUR ideas in education are advanced and become incorpo-
rated in the school sj'Stem, new opportunities for those desiring
to teach arise, and so a fresh avenue for endeavor is opened.
The development and growth of the kindergarten is a
case in point. Where, twenty \'ears ago, there were not a
score of kindergarten teachers in the whole countrj^ there
are now hundreds, and the demand for them still continues as the different com-
munities make the kindergarten a part of the public school work.
When the kindergarten was first introduced into this country it was as a
private school, aiid the experiment was tried only in the large cities and among
people of wealth. The mass of people regarded it as absurd to send such tiny
children to school as those this new school took under its special care, and even
physicians inveighed against it, and talked about crowding the brains of the little
ones, and predicted dire results — which predictions, by the way, have never been
fulfilled.
The idea of bringing the kindergarten to this country belonged to a Boston
woman — Miss Elizabeth Peabody. Miss Peabody was the sister-in-law of Horace
Mann, who was so prominent in educational matters during the early portion and
the middle of this century, and who was specially identified with the education
of the deaf and dumb. So Miss Peabody was always living in the atmosphere
of progress, in educational affairs. She was also the sister-in-law of Nathaniel
Hawthorne, the American novelist, the writer of the most remarkable stories that
any American author has given to the world; and she was the chosen friend of
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346 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Emerson. You can easily see that she must have been a remarkable woman to
win and hold a friendship like that.
During a visit to Germany, Miss Peabody became deeply imbued with the
spirit of Frederic Froebel, and she saw in his methods of teaching, or rather of
directing and leading the minds of the little children, the best basis for all educa-
tion. On her return she talked and wrote on the subject, until the time became
ripe for the introduction of a teacher. First one came from Germany to establish
a training school to prepare teachers for this new work, then another came, when
there were training schools both in Boston and New York.
The wealthy people, and the more cultivated classes took the idea very
readily, and for a number of years these were the only patrons, because to send a
child to a private kindergarten was a somewhat expensive matter.
But Miss Peabody was not satisfied with this state of affairs. She wanted
the children of all the people to have the same opportunity that a portion of them
already had. She labored earnestly to have the school committees take favorable
action on the kindergarten, and make places where the smaller children could be
kept from the pitiful surroundings, which so many of them knew as home, and
given some brightness and cheer to lighten their little lives.
But school boards are slow to become convinced, they are the reflection of
the public whom they represent, and Miss Peabody had times of almost discour-
agement, but she would rally and work with new determination.
When it became apparent that nothing could be done, for the present at least,
through the public schools, Miss Peabody then turned her attention to the estab-
lishment, through private means, of free kindergartens in the poorer parts of the
city of Boston. In this effort she was met generously and heartily by Mrs.
Quincy Shaw, of Boston, who did at once what Miss Peabody desired, and
established several free kindergartens in Boston, Brookline, Jamaica Plain and
Roxbury, paying all expenses out of her own private income. Mrs. Shaw was
the daughter of Professor Louis Agassiz, of Harvard, and her mother was from
the Carey famil}', of Cambridge, who have always been identified with every
progressive movement in education and sociology.
Mrs. Shaw .supported these schools for many years, until the city, recognizing
their worth, and the strong influence for good which the}- exerted, decided to
incorporate them into the public school .system, and now the city .supports them as
it does all the other public schools. The movement has gone outside of Boston,
and many of the towns and cities of New England support the kindergartens.
New York has taken tlie same .step, and in many of her cities the kindergarten
flourishes as a part of the .school system.
The women of San Francisco, headed by Mrs. Leland Stanford and Mrs.
Phoebe Hearst, have established the Golden Gate Kindergarten A.ssociation, and
THE KINDERGARTEN TEACHER. 347
are supporting;- free kindergartens all over the city. From the inception of
the order, until her sad death, Mrs. Sarah B. Cooper was the head of the Associa-
tion, and she gave her most devoted care to it. She, a newspaper woman, beloved
of every one, was the chosen almoner of the charities of the richest women of San
Francisco, and she made the very best use of the means that were placed at her
CDniinand. One of the early San Francisco kindergartners was Kate Douglas
Wiggin, whose fascinating books, especially " The Bird's Christmas Carol," and
"Timothy's Quest," have made her name a household word wherever sweet,
choice literature is appreciated. The work done by the kindergartens of San
Francisco is a marvelous work, and full of interest, and the teachers are among the
most charming and refined young women of that city.
St. Louis stands well to the front in the kindergarten work, and the other
Western cities are following closely.
So you see, here is a work that is growing, and will grow with the future
growth of the communities of the country. Teachers will always be needed, and
the renumeration is fairly good.
But not every one can be a successful kindergartner. Simply because some
girl may think it an easy and a pleasant way of gaining a livelihood, it is no
reason wh}' she may expect success in it.
In the first place, much depends upon the personality of the girl. She must
be attractive. By that I do not mean merely pretty, for I have known — and, no
doubt, you have known also — pretty girls who have not been attractive when you
came to know them. I mean girls with refined natures, good manners, high
moral sense; cultivated girls, who win admiration and compel respect. There must
be character to the girl who wishes to be succesful in this line of work, and this
strength must be allied to gentleness. She must really love children, attract them
and hold them, after she has won them. She must be patient, tactful, cheerful
and firm.
She needs to have a pleasant voice, both for speaking and singing for so
much of the kindergarten work is done in song, that this is an absolute necessity.
And she must also have a good education.
It is not so easy to gain entrance to a kindergarten training school as it was
in the earlier days. The supply of teachers has been so much increased that
now it is possible to choose who shall become teachers. A girl must be able
to pass a certain examination, which is rather rigid, or she must bring a cer-
tificate from a high or normal school. In some training schools the latter is
demanded, and no pupil will be received unless she has graduated from a regular
normal school.
The course of stud)' is by no means eas)^ and in the best and most thorough
training schools it covers a period of two years. Until quite recently one year
348
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
only was given, but with the additional requirements has come the need of
additional time.
Not only are the methods thoroughly taught, but the science of pedagogy- is
considered, and the pupils have to write abstracts, essays and stories, as well as do
practical work in some of the schools. The girl who studies kindergarten ing may
make up her mind that she will not have time for anything else during her two
3'ears, but that it will mean constant application. But when she gets through she
has a profession that is one of the most beautiful in the world, and that will be,
not only an assured income to her, but a constant .source of pleasure: that is
assuming, of course, that she has a natural aptitude and love for it. In any other
case she would better not attempt it, for she will, if she does not fail altogether,
become onh' a common-place teacher, and so find herself frequently out of position
as well as always out of place.
LV.
WOMEN AS IXVEXTORS.
OMEX have in^•ented nothing but flat-iron holders and stove lifters
and fruit strainers, or other things similar in size and importance,"
was the remark which recently fell upon my ears.
" So ?" I said. "I think you will be willing to withdraw that
statement when we have looked a little while at the facts of the
case. There are several industries, each of which has added
millions to the wealth of nations, and immeasurabl}' to the
comfort and well being of individuals, which were made possible by women
inventors. ' '
Every large cotton mill owes its existence to the invention of the cotton gin,
and the cotton gin was evolved and primarily produced by Catherine Littlefield
Greene, wife of the Revolutionar\- officer, General Greene.
The Greenes moved from Rhode Island to Mulbern.- Grove, on the Savan-
nah River. The General died soon after the removal, leaving live children and
a much embarrassed estate.
It was during the winter of 1792-93 that there was gathered in Mrs.
Greene's parlor a little group, whose conversation turned upon the subject
which was then largely engrossing the attention of nearly ever>- planter in
the South: the toilsome and profit-destroying process of separating cotton and
its seeds, and the fortune which would come to him who should invent a
machine for the accomplishment of this work. To clear the seeds from a pound
of cotton kept one person busy for an entire day. Every evening found the
entire family of most planters busy with the uncongenial task of separating
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350 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
seeds from cotton. It was onl}- thus that the staple production of manj- a plan-
tation could be made to yield maintenance for those who w^ere dependent upon
it for support.
Mrs. Greene had taken into her home as boarder, Eli Whitney, a young
man who had gone South to teach in a private family, but who, on reaching
his destination, had found his place supplied, and had thereupon decided to
study law. She proposed to Mr. Whitney that the}^ should construct the much-
needed machine. He agreed, and the work was begun, Mr. Whitney proceeding
according to Mrs. Greene's idea, and under her immediate and constant super-
vision.
The first model, which was supplied with w^ooden teeth, did not perform
the work satisfactorily, and Mr. Whitney was about to give up the experiment
in despair, when Mrs. Greene suggested the substitution of wire teeth. With
this change the machine wrought wonderful results. So perfect was it that
all .subsequent cotton gins have been, in all es.sentials, modeled after it. Instead
of one pound, three hundred pounds of cotton could now be cleaned in a day,
and the South, which had been languishing in poverty and discouragement,
or emigrating to more hopeful fields in search of work, took heart of grace,
and found employment at home, w^hile all over the world manufactories sprang
up, the price of cotton cloth went down, and a complete commercial revolution
was inaugurated. Cotton became king because of a w^oman's thought.
When Mrs. Greene became Mrs. Miller, she took, through her husband,
a partnership with Mr. Whitney in the manufactory of gins.
One who realizes how a woman known to be an inventor w^ould have been
looked upon in the year of our Lord 1792, and for ^-ears aftervvard, will not mar^-el
that Mrs. Greene did not proclaim herself maker of one of the most wonderful
machines of her own or any other age. Had .she done so, the ridicule and scorn
of ever>' man and woman who knew her name would have been heaped upon her.
She would have been looked upon as a monstrosit}- of unwomanliness and presump-
tion. A Lucy Stone, or a Mary Somerville, or a Mary A. Livermore might have
braved all this. That Catherine Greene did not, has deprived her .sex of an honor
and an example which were lo.st to it by her age's manner of thought, or lack of
thought.
China, a country which supports such an overwhelming number of people,
must long ago have been blotted out of existence but for two things — rice and .silk.
vSilk fabrics were first invented by the Empress Si-lung-chi, between three
and four thousand years ago. Cotton was unknown to China till about eight
hundred years ago, and the inhabitants of that country were almost universally
clothed in silk. Even now more than half the garments of the empire are made
from this material.
^
WOMEN AS INVENTORS. 351
Silk was introduced to the notice of Ivuropeuns during the reign of Alexander
the Great, and has since formed a most important article of trade between China
and the European nations. Soon after its introduction into Europe a woman of
tlie island of Cos, called Pamphila, invented the art of unweaving it and remanu-
facturing it into a fabric so fine that it was spoken of as " woven wind," and yet
sufficiently firm to allow of its adornment with embroidery and threads of gold,
and to retain beautiful colors. Thus we came to have silk gauze.
More than forty years ago it was estimated that France received from silk an
annual profit of over seven million dollars, and the value of the raw material each
year is over twenty- five million dollars.
The education, the arts, the entire prosperity of the nation hinges on its
revenues. This being true, the importance of that which a woman inventor did
primarily for China, and through China for all the world, can scarcely be over-
estimated.
Whenever we see one of the mammoth straw shops which give employment to
thousands, and place befitting head-gear within the reach of all, we should, if we
knew the history of the straw bonnet's evolution, think that here, and in the
myriads of other manufactories scattered throughout the country, we have the
concrete results of a woman's invention.
In 1798 Miss Betse}^ Metcalf, of Providence, R. I., sat herself down to form
from straw a bonnet which should resemble the costly imported Dunstable concoc-
tion which she had seen displayed in a shop window, the latter species of hat
being much too expensive for the usual New England purse. The maiden suc-
ceeded well in her task, and at once straw hats begun to be manufactured.
Twelve 5^ears after the making of that trial bonnet it was estimated that the
value of straw bonnets manufactured annually in Massachusetts alone was over
half a million dollars. Massachusetts now produces over six hundred thousand
straw" hats and bonnets annually, and the city of Philadelphia manufactures over
five hundred thousand dollars' worth of straw headgear each year.
The Rhode Island Society for the Encouragement of Domestic Industry still
preserves a fac-simile of this initial straw bonnet originated by Miss Metcalf.
The invention of engraving is claimed by several different nations, but the
weight of testimony is in favor of the twins, sixteen years old, Alexander and
Isabella Cunio, who lived in Ravenna, Italj^, in the thirteenth century. This
brother and sister made a series of pictures representing scenes in the life of
Alexander the Great, which were executed in relief on blocks of wood, and pol-
ished by the sister. It is supposed that the engraving was printed by placing the
paper on the block and pressing the hands upon it.
One has only to fancy the riches which the want of engraving would have
withheld; the copies of great paintings, the illustrations of books and periodicals,
352 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
the reproductions of geological and ethnological discoveries, the temples and shrines
and obelisks and nioniinients too far afield for poverty to compass a sight of them,
but witli which the man of humblest means may become acquainted through their
many likenesses — one has onlj- to fancy this to realize something of the world's
debt of gratitude to Isabella Cunio.
Many countries derive an immense revenue from the manufactory of lace.
Lace making is the bread-winning trade of over two hundred thousand women.
\'alenciennes, Chantilly, Lisle, Alencon blond and Alencon point are all pillow
laces — and the art of pillow lace making was invented b}' Barbara Uttman, of
Annaberry, Saxony.
About the time this art was invented the mines were less productive than
usual, and the embroidered veils which were made by the peasant women were in
less demand. Multitudes were out of employment, and great want prevailed.
Lace making provided work for thousands, and brought back comfort and happi-
ness to a whole community. The industr}- spread rapidly, country after countr>-
taking it up. Many cities are famous for the variety of lace which they make.
Caen and Ba\'eux are noted for their silk mantles, veils, scarfs and laces. Who
does not know Alencon by its point lace ? or Mirecourt for its elegant designs in
thread lace ? In Devonshire, England, seven or eight thousand girls are employed
in making Honiton lace.
Lace is the universal ornament. It beautifies the infant's frock and droops
over the bosom of the mother. Priests and popes, kings and courtiers, generals
and statesmen have found it fitting to embellish their attire. It adds richness to
the apparel of the bride, and is handed down from mother to daughter, from
friend to friend as dower most precious.
In our own day and country women have been busy inventing many small
articles without which life would be harder and labor more wearisome. From
October i, 1892, to March i, 1895, over seven hundred patents were granted to
women. To Lucretia Lester, Cuba, N. Y., a patent for fire escape; to Margaret
Knight for a sole cutting machine; to Mary E. Cook for a railway car stove; to
Mary F. Blaisdell for a combined trunk and couch.
Miss Cora L. Turner has invented and patented a boiler especially adapted
for securing great economy in storage of fuel, and for this reason likely to be of
immense .service in vessels, rendering it possible to make longer voyages without
renewal of fuel.
Miss Turner's father had during his life endeavored in vain to render this
idea practical. It was after his death that the daughter took it up and carried it
through to a successful i.ssue.
' ' How to Obtain Letters Patent ' ' is the title of a book which gives many
valuable hints to would-be inventors. This book declares that although great
WOMEN AvS INVENTORS.
353
inventions hrini; nu)rc fauK', liUlc ones are nuMe iJiofilable. It states that the
invention of a certain kind of ink brought its inventor sixty thonsand dollars, and
a chimney spring was worth hfty thousand dollars annually to its originator. We
hear of millions being made by the invention of a shoe clasp, an envelope fastener,
and many another equally small and seemingly insignificant things; and these are
the kind of articles that women are constantly evolving.
In a paper entitled ' ' How to Invent, ' ' in the book referred to, the author
says:
" The readiest way to invent is to keep thinking. Inventors should cultivate
habits of observation. Examine things about and see how they are made, and
how improved."
If " genius is eternal patience " as has been declared, then women should be
successful as inventors, for nothing requires more patience than invention. The
dreaming tendencies of woman, also, should be a factor in her success as an
inventor. Nothing is ever mentally discovered in the noise; everything photo-
graphs itself on the imagination "in the silence." Edison says that "women
have more fine sense about machinery in one minute than most men have in their
whole existence. ' ' If one has ' ' fine sense ' ' about one delicate thing why not
about others?
The day is probably not far distant when we shall see as many important
inventions by women as by men. While it is true of all important callings that
" there is always room at the top," it is particularly true of invention, for even
our male Morses and Edisons and Wattses do not by any means jostle each other.
23
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Mk>. \A.\ I.ij-.R KIKKMAN,
Pnsidcnl Woman's Dcparlmetit, NasAvi//e Expositioii.
I.VI.
WOMEN AS BUSINESS MANAGERS.
^^HE number of women who are successfulh' managing large
business houses or manufacturing concerns in the United
States is not large, but it is annually growing. Those
women who have taken such positions have usually been
forced into them, in a way, butthe}^ have almost invariabl}"
proved successful.
Miss Helen A. Whittier, for instance, who is president
of two of the largest cotton manufactories in America, did not go into the work
from any desire to work, nor did she climb the ladder of success, step by step, as-
so many women have to do. Her father was the principal owner and manager of
the Whittier cotton mills of Lowell, Mass. Just as age came stealing upon him,
his only son was taken from him by death, and Miss Whittier, realizing how
much he needed such assistance as only one could give who shared his interest,
then went daily from a luxurious home into his office, taking man}- burdens from
his shoulders, and gradually learning the details of his immense business. At his
death she was left the principal heir, and with no near male relative who could
take her father's place in the business office. Consequenth' she kept her hold on
the position, and was soon elected by the stockholders as president. For several
years now she has attended to the details of this cotton mill, and in 1895, built
and set in operation the second one in Atlanta, Ga. She is said to be the only
woman president of a big cotton factory in this country. She is a finely educated
and highly refined woman, mistress of all the so-called " accomplishments," and
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356
OCCUPATIONvS FOR WOMEN.
president of one of the largest woman's clubs in the country. Miss Whittier, with
her gentle, quiet ways and wonderful business ability, is a fine example of what
the true American business woman may become.
In a .similar way Miss Amanda M. I^ougee became the head of a large rubber
"gossamer" manufactory at Hyde Park, Ma.ss. She was " silent" partner with
her brother for some years.
At his death she decided
to look after the business
herself, rather than to en-
trust it to strangers, or
sacrifice what she had put
into the business. She be-
gan in 1879 with the rub-
ber-gossamer works, and
has since developed the
manufacture of double tex-
ture clothing, mould
work, electrical tape, etc.
She employs two hundred
and sevent3'-five men and
•women, and occupies be-
sides a factory at Claren-
don Hills, three floors of
a large block in Boston,
w\tl\ offices in New York
and Chicago. Probably
most men who deal with
"A. M. Lougee, Treas-
urer," do so in utter ignor-
ance that they are dealing
with a quiet little elderly
woman.
Mrs. Harriet G. Minot
is another woman who suc-
cessfully runs a factory,
hers being a large woolen factory in Vermont, which came to her from her father
as a losing venture. She left her pleasant home in vSomerville, Mass., and went to
the little country village among the Green Momilains, remaining for .several years,
.studying the best ways of improving her machinery. Tlie result is, that .she
makes the finest blankets in the world to-day, although they are .sold under the
.MISS lli.l,l-..S
\\ ill 1 I li'. K.
WOMEN AS BUSINESS MANAGERS. 357
private label of a large New York concern — who pay handsomely for the
privilege ! Almost nobody in the world knows that Mrs. Minot's blankets are her
own mannfacture.
But she does more than that. She owns four of the principal bakeries in
Boston, and she personally sees that they are properly managed. She is up at
four every morning, and sometimes gets in town before her employes open the
shops at six o'clock. She hires all her own help and attends personally to the
pay-roll and its duties. She is one of the busiest women in the world; but if
you were to see her at her club, at home, or in society, with her sweet face and
ladylike charm of manner, you would never dream you were beholding an up-to-
date business woman of the period!
Miss Charlotte Bates, of whom mention has been made before in these pages,
has built up a very large business in the manufacture of reform underwear. In
fact she has made a comfortable fortune; and, best of all, she has used it to
establish and maintain a home for little destitute children. Her "Ella Reed
Home," at Sharon, Mass., was opened by no less important a personage than the
late Phillips Brooks, bishop of Massachusetts; and he called this one of the most
beautiful of all charities. Just think what a pleasure it must be to make a
pleasant home for motherless little children, and to feel that you are doing it with
your " very own " money.
Mrs. Nellie Russell Kimball, of Dunkirk, N. Y., has demonstrated the good
results of industry and business calculation. Six years ago, in the beginning of
her widowhood, she decided to continue the business left by her husband, this
being a coal and wood yard situated near the shore of Lake Erie, entirely away
from the active portion of the town. She was a young woman, had just recovered
from a long illness, and did not feel equal, in any way, to the work before her,
but she went bravely on. Under her excellent management the business has
grown and is now large and thriving. In addition to a good local trade, she has
the contract for supplying all the coal used by five dredges employed by the
government for cleaning the harbor. This contract calls for about three thousand
tons. She has to " coal up " two of these dredges everj' evening. She is her
own and only bookkeeper, weighs every ton of coal sent out from her yard, hires
and discharges the men and gives personal attention to the care of her horses.
She is kind and pleasant to all who work for her, whether man or beast.
Her days are filled with work, which begins at 7.30 a. m. and ends at
irregular hours in the evening. She is bright and cheerful and seems to be as
happy as she is busy. Quite recently she has added a farm of eighty acres to her
business cares.
Mrs. Emma Colman Hamilton is the owner of a large coal and wood yard in
the same city. She also sells drain pipe, fire brick, tiles, cement, etc., has a
358 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
trusty man in her office, but oversees her books and the business generally herself.
Besides this she was president of the Woman's Educational and Industrial Union
for three years, when she resigned on account of business and familj- cares. She
was one of the principal workers in organizing the Dunkirk Library, which has
been a decided success. She is interested in everything that benefits humanity, a
broadminded, progressive woman, loved and respected by all who know her.
Mrs. Ella H. Edd}- is founder, owner and manager of one of the most
successful manufacturing plants in Worcester, Mass. She manufactures fine
overgaiters and leggings, lamb-wool soles and machine buttonholes in shoes and
clothing, and has a trade in these several productions as far west as Minnesota,
and south to Alabama and Florida. She employs her own salesmen, who cover
every- important trade centre in the country. Bicycle, riding and hunting leggings
and overgaiters for men and women are made in especiall}^ large quantities. She
has a large machinery equipment and some twenty employes.
Another capable woman has made great success as manager of a New York
wood-carpet establishment, and is in receipt of a five-thousand-dollar-a-year
salary.
Many instances in New York could be cited where women have succeeded as
business managers. A notable one is that of a young gentlewoman who is not
only the working manager, but the real owner, of a large and successful photo-
graph establi-shment, although her name does not appear. This is on Fifth
avenue. The young woman commenced at the bottom round of the ladder, and
step by step rose to the top. She first was paid ten dollars per week, then twenty,
and so on until .she received fifty dollars per week. Subsequently she was offered
a share of the business, in order to retain her valuable services. When the
proprietor had " made his pile " and wished to retire, the young woman had saved
enough money from her salary to purchase the business, which she still runs
successfully. As an outside investment, this woman photographer has recently
built a splendid apartment house. It is original in design, and one of the novelties
on the facade, introduced by the architect, is a portrait bu.st of this same clever
and charming young woman.
Some people attribute such a career as this to luck — " blind luck, I tell you."
I think there is another name for such a career. The result is gained, I know,
by simple, but sure, winning methods — industry, frugality, fidelity to employer,
tact, good judgment, and downright cleverness. Let us " give credit where credit
is due," and " render unto Cccsar." — you know the rest.
LVII.
IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE.
ANY young women, particular! 3' those who have been
brought up in a poHtical atmosphere, turn naturally to
government service when the question of bread-winning
is put before them. This, perhaps, is natural, for cer-
tainly the government does offer manj' desirable positions
which women can fill and fill well, and which are paid at
a fair price for the labor performed and the hours
observed. Within a few years, owdng to the development
of the civil service, it has not been so easy a matter to
obtain these positions, and onl\' women of education who were able to pass the
severe examinations have been considered as candidates. Although a political
pull is not without value, and, indeed, may be said to be almost necessary, ^-et it
by no means possesses the power which it did in the days preceding the civil
ser\dce examinations. After one has passed the examinations successfull}', she
who brings to her support some Congressman or other officials, is likely to be the
first chosen, but a creditable passing of the examination is the first point to be
gained.
It is surprising to note the number of positions, civil and governmental,
which women are filling. Not only are they clerks in the departments at Wash-
ington, and in like capacity in the capitols of the States, but they are also post-
mistresses, notaries public, deputy constables, legislative engrossing clerks,
supervisors and superintendents of schools, overseers of the poor, count}- clerks,
examiners in chancer}-, and members of boards of education and charit}'. The
latest position of public trust to which a woman has been appointed is that of
inspector of streets. Mrs. A. E. Paul, of Chicago, has just been appointed to
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36o
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
attend to the work of cleaning the down-town business streets of Chicago. It was
through her efforts that women were first employed by the authorities of that
city to look after its house- cleaning. Mrs. Paul has given up all social attach-
ments and other pursuits, and devotes all her energy to the work of cleaning
and keeping the down-town streets. There is sentiment in Mrs. Paul's devotion
to this most trying
work. She is a widow,
and when her only
child died of diph-
theria several years
ago, she resolved that
the deadly and disease-
laden atmosphere of
the city must be puri-
fied. So earnest and
determined has she
been in this work that
the cit}^ authorities,
.seeing her fitness for
the task and her devo-
tion to it, put the work
into her hands. It is
to her the work of sal-
\' a t i o n for other
mother's little chil-
dren, and it will be
done in no perfunctor}^
manner, but in such a
way as to prove to
every one who sees it
that a woman can do
for the public thor-
oughfare what .she ac-
compli.shes for her
own home, if the op-
portunity is but given her. To one who stops to think of the matter there is
nothing surprising about this. Women have been the most devoted members of
the village improvement societies which have wrought such changes in the rural
districts, giving of their time, their substance and their thought to bring about
the desired results. They care for the physical cleanliness of their town almost
MRS. A. RMM.\CENE PAUL.
IN GOVERNMENT vSERVICE. 361
as much as they do for its moral purity; indeed, to the average woman, the old
saying that cleanliness is next to godliness is an important article in her civic as
well as her personal creed.
Rumors have gone abroad of late to the effect that women are being
crowded out of government service. If one may judge by figures, that rumor is
entirely erroneous. It probably sprung up from the fact that during the last
Cleveland administration Secretaries Carlisle and Smith openh' announced that no
woman's work could possibly be worth more than $1200 a j'ear, and then
proceeded to follow their announcement bj^ the wholesale cutting-off of the heads
of the higher salaried women. Fortunately, this sadh' prejudiced opinion did not
obtain in other departments and the women w^ere left in their positions, although
there were much quaking and terror lest the example of the Secretaries of the
Treasur}' and the Interior should be followed by some of the others.
Recent appointments seem to show that the confidence in the ability of
women has been more firmly than ever established, some of the most arduous and
important positions having been filled by them. A gentleman resident in Wash-
ington, Mr. Rene Bache, has gathered some valuable statistics and facts which
will show just w^hat positions are possible to women in the government at Wash-
ington. The Indian Bureau is offering just at present the best chances. The
available places reserved for w^omen under the Department of the Interior are
numerous and well paid. Cooks at the schools and agencies, for example, get
$500 a year, and are obliged to do no menial work. Their business is simply
to teach the young Indian women how to cook in civilized fashion. It is the
same way with the laundresses and seamstresses in that service, who receive from
$400 to $500 a year, with the prospect of promotion to the ofl&ce of matron.
Such appointments are well worth having, notwithstanding the fact that the
Indian schools and agencies are mostl}' scattered over the far West. For these
institutions matrons were appointed during one year, one each from North
Carolina, Ohio and Oregon, and the positions in question are worth from $500 to
$600 a 3^ear. They are the onh^ offices under government which are accessible to
the married. For it is a fact, that the wife of any superintendent of an Indian
school or agency is always a preferred candidate for the place of matron there.
The Indian service calls also for a great mau}^ teachers; of these forty -three were
appointed during the year which ended on the first of October, 1897. They get
from $550 to $660 a year; two of them stationed at Fort Belknap, Montana, and
Fort Louis, Colorado, are obliged to give instruction in vocal and instrumental
music, besides the regular school branches.
The war which opened so many branches to women, as well as made bread-
winning a necessity for hundreds, opened also the government offices. General
Spinner, of the Treasur}' Department, was the first to employ them. A few were
362 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
taken as an experiment. To-day the personnel of the Treasur}- Department is
half made up of women who do practically all of the money counting and ever
so much more of the responsible work. There are, in all, about 15,000 women in
the employ of the government in national offices, and of this number 6100 are in
Washington. Of the rest 7500 are postmi.stre.sses and post-office clerks scattered
over the countr}-. The number of women in .state and city positions equals, if
not exceeds, the number in the national government, and this makes a large army
employed in public positions and paid out of the public funds.
Only a few }-ears ago all the women in government employ were on a level
of mediocrity so far as status is concerned; they were all in subordinate positions.
At present it is otherwise. There are women in places of authority in govern-
ment service. One of them is chief librarian in the Bureau of Public Documents.
Two mere girls were appointed only the other day to very responsible offices, as
translators of French and Portuguese in the Bureau of American Republics at
$1600 a \'ear each. The women experts engaged in reading illegible addresses at
the Post Office Department could not be replaced by equally competent men, and
the same is true of the women who di.ssect and identify the paper money damaged
h)y all sorts of accidents, which comes to the treasury for redemption.
Women are even invading the domain of .science. One of the appointments
during 1897 ^^'^^ ^^^^^ of a female " agro.stologist " from Tennessee at $900 a
year. This term, being translated, signifies an expert in grasses, the .study of
which has been taken up by the Department of Agriculture. Already in govern-
ment service there are women botanists, women ethnologists, while the most
accurate living artist in the representation of insect life is a woman attached to
the Bureau of Entomology.
Women, no more than men, .shrink from hard.ships in their search for employ-
ment. The government Bureau of Education recently applied to the Civil Service
Commission for four women teachers to go to Alaska. The Commi.ssion, doubting
whether candidates would be easily forthcoming, .sent a circular query to the ten
highest names on its list. To its great surprise, nine out of the ten replied, they
would be glad to go, and of these the ranking four were selected.
The numljer of women typewriters and .stenographers is .slowly increasing,
ten having been admitted during the year 1897. The.se get from $600 to $900 a
year. The Patent Office has a woman linguist at a salary of $720, whose busine.ss
it is to tran.slate French and German patents, in order that the patent examiners
may know about foreign inventions. Another translator is employed in the
Department of State, where she draws $1200 a year. In her examination she
stfxxl at the head, with a much larger percentage than any of her rivals. The
requirements included half a dozen languages as well as a knowledge of other
things which might have troubled a Cambridge senior wrangler. vShe answered
IN GOVERNMENT vSERVICE. 363
ev'ery thing correctl}-, and although failing to get the position in the Department
of War for which she was trying, she stepped at once into a superior position in
the Department of State.
Vanceburg, Ky., and Allegheny, Pa., have each of them a woman deputy
sheriff. Miss Florence Klotz, of Allegheny, is a young girl only eighteen years
of age, but she serves warrants, summonses and subpoenas with all the authoritj^
of a male constable. Miss Klotz's father is an alderman whose regular constable
was an old man who had an inconvenient way of being sick or invisible when he
was wanted for duty. On one of these occasions the despairing alderman pressed
his daughter into service. That settled the matter. The girl constable proved to
be the pluckiest, quickest and most reliable one in town. Her first mission was to
serve a subpoena on a farmer living four miles out of town. Miss Florence put
on her bicycle dress, mounted her wheel, and went after her man. When she
came back tired, muddy, but triumphant, she found a crowd in front of her
father's office to w'elcome her. " I served them, papa," she exclaimed, and then,
girl-like, she cried, even though she was constable. Before shewxnt into the con-
stabulary, she wheeled through Allegheny' County, taking orders for her father's
candy manufactory. In one case Miss Klotz acted as counsel as well as constable.
A butcher had kicked in the door when he found his hallway locked up by the
baker, who, with his family, occupied the rest of the house. The locking was by
the order of the landlord who demanded that it be done at 10 p. m. Miss Klotz
brought her man to court, also served a score of subpoenas for witnesses, arranged
the details of the hearing, cross-examined the witnesses, and finalh* had the case
dismissed on her own recommendation that each of the parties be furnished with
keys. The costs were divided, and the young lawyer-constable smiled with
delight as she counted over her share. vShe saj^s she doesn't know^ what she would
do if she ran against an ugly customer, but she declares, with a snap of her black
eyes, that she would get him. She is the pet of the municipal court, and if she
ever sent word for help the entire retinue of clerks, heads of departments, and
underlings, would turn out to the rescue of Constable Florence.
Miss Lillie Fountain, the deput}- sheriff of Lewis County-, K}-., is a young
woman whose first experience as bread-winner was as school teacher. She then
became an attendant and teacher in the State School for Feeble-minded, and left
that to undertake the duties of her present oflSce. She is especially successful in
dealing with the insane, and her first work in her new position was to take a trip
of ninety miles, carrying a woman to the Insane Hospital of the State. She has
the respect and confidence of all with whom she is associated, and is already much
relied i:pon b}- the superior officers.
The women lighthouse-keepers are the modern heroines of real life romance.
Grace Darling and Ida Lewis were the pioneers of their calling; and the latter,
3^4
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
who is now known as Mrs. Wilson, is still in charge of Lime Rock light in
Narragansett Bay. But there are others of efficiency and courage, whose lights
shine for them while their names rest in the obscurity of government records.
There are no less than thirty women lighthouse-keepers in the employ of the
United States. Some of them have been in the service forty years, or almost
since the present organiza-
tion, which dates back
from 1852. Mrs. A. C.
Murdock, the keeper of
the light at Rondout on
the Hudson River, and
Mrs. Nancy Rose, keeper
of the light at Stony Point,
were appointed in 1861;
Julia F. Williams, at
Santa Barbara, Cal., in
1865; Mrs. Maria Young-
haus, at Biloxi, Miss., in
1867; and Mary J.
Succow, at Pass Manchac,
La ., in 1873. These
female slaves of the lamp
are notably careful and
conscientious in the dis-
charge of their duties, and
it is remarked that they'
endure the lonesome,
monotonous life of the
light-keeper better than
men. The salaries range
from $400 to $1400, and
the kce]K'rs have comfort-
able lionses, with fuel,
liglits and provisions fur-
nished l)y the government.
In state anrl nuinicii)al ofllces many of the elerical positions are held by
women, and in one case at least, a woman has been ajipointed vState Lil)rarian.
For .some years Miss Harriet P. Dickerman was at the head of the Corporation
Bureau in the Department of vStale in Massachusetts, taking the position on the
death of its previous incumbent wliose cliief clerk she had been. By tlie civil
.MISS hai<kii;t p. dickkrman.
IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE.
365
service rules she was next in the order of promotion, and the fact of her being a
woman did not influence her appointment. She continued in that position, filHng
it most creditably, for a number of years, when she was transferred to the Archives
Department.
In Michigan a woman has been appointed Game Warden for Grand Traver.se
County. During May of 1897 ^^^^ State, Game and Fish Warden's Department
prosecuted 109 alleged violators of the law, and convicted 96, growing out of
149 complaints. All but three of the convictions were obtained for violation of
the fish laws, and the majority of these cases were established by Mrs. Neal.
The duties of Game Warden are to keep a sharp lookout for violators of the game
and fish laws. As Grand Traverse County is densely wooded and has many lakes,
Mrs. Neal will be kept busy in seeking out and bringing to justice violators of the
law. She handles a gun like an expert, rows a boat, and is a skillful woodsman
and knows every inch of the country she has to patrol. She usually makes a trip
over the entire county once a week. When out after the violators of the game
law, she rides over the country- on horseback, and when she comes to a lake,
secures a boat and with a steady, swift oar, she rapidly covers her territory made
up of water.
LVin.
ARCHITECTS, CIVIIv ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS.
^iiB^^^HE professions of architect and civil engineer are two in which,
^ \ until recentl}', it would probably have been impossible to find suc-
M 1 cessful women workers. Even now the number is not great, but
^^^^^ the success of those- who are now at work in those lines shows
^^^^ that this work for women is perfectly feasible.
When one speaks of women as architects, the name of Miss
Sophia B. Hayden, of Boston, comes into mind as the designer of the superb
Woman's Building at the World's Fair at Chicago, in 1893. Even if the
beautiful building, looking out on the lagoon where Venetian gondolas floated,
is only a dream novv, its memory will always remain as a proof of what women
architects can do. The artistic designs of the interiors of several of the separate
rooms in the .same building also showed what women designers could do.
Two young women who have won success as architects are Miss Mary N.
Gannon and Miss Alice J. Hand, of New York. Both came to that city as
students at the School of Applied Design, and graduated in the Class of 1S94. In
the same year they entered the competition for the plans of a hospital in San
Franci.sco, and received the award. This hospital is now completed and in running
order, and is pronounced by physicians a model of sanitation, convenience and
architectural beauty.
Miss Gannon, when a.sked about her work, and liow other young women
could learn it, said: ' ' One can never master the intricacies of architectural drawing
except under the instruction of practical architects. Theoretical training amounts
to but little; but practical knowledge, the mo.st important thing, we acquired at
the school. Of course, one must have a thoroughly good mathematical knowledge,
and a love for art is neces.sary.
(366)
ARCHITECTS, CIVIL KNGINEERvS AND DESIGNERS.
367
" We make our own measurements, and having made an exhaustive study of
the different building materials in the market, we know just how much every-
thing" should cost, and can give a correct estimate of expense with every plan.
We not only draw our designs but superintend the building in person, except in
New York, where an engineer is always chosen for that purpose. Among other
buildings which we have put up was one of those at the Atlanta Exposition, and
a pretty little Dutch cottage at Asbury Park, called Gretchen Cottage, in honor of
Margaret Bottome, of the King's Daughters. We have also built a number of
suburban cottages and several in the Catskills and at the seashore.
' ' A point upon which we are determined is that we will not cut rates. The
cheapening in all the departments of w^ork undertaken by women is deplorable, and
/^S3:;ss;;
..H
iiiiiiiiinMPf^
WOMAN'S BUILDING, NASHVILLE EXPOSITION
causes men in the same professions to discourage women, whom they correctly
hold responsible for the lowering of wages. This is why men as a rule are
opposed to women usurping the professions usuall)^ considered as the preroga-
tive of men. From the beginning we decided that if our work was equally meri-
torious with that of men in the same line, we should demand equal recognition,
although we were women. The best architects encourage and praise our efforts.
It is from the insignificant and unsuccessful ones that the opposition comes; those
who are not sure of themselves criticise us and are afraid of us as competitors."
Miss Gannon and Miss Hand have made a special study of the tenement
house problem. Having finally decided that they could not properly understand
368 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
the conditions which confront people who live in tenement houses unless they
lived in one themselves, they hired two small rooms in a moderate class tenement
house, had their laundry done there, bought their provisions at the same shops
their neighbors did, and in fact lived just like them. Of what they learned, Miss
Gannon, writing not long afterward in Godey's magazine said:
' ' We discovered that the rental paid for these miserable rooms was greater
in proportion than that for rooms in the better quarters of the city; that enormous
prices were charged for gas and fuel. The conditions were unsanitary, the
ventilation poor, and there were no bathing privileges. The poor overworked
women were obliged to bring buckets of coal up four and five pairs of stairs, do
their laundry work and cooking in a kitchen without light and ventilation, and
inhabit with their families an apartment where privacy was impossible.
" After gaining a thorough insight into the habits of these unfortunates, Miss
Hand and myself set to work to improve the sanitary conditions of the tenement
houses. Our plans have been approved not onl}- by philanthropists, but b}- prac-
tical business men. We believe it is possible to erect buildings for the poor, which
shall be healthful, beautiful, and homelike, and where light, ventilation, and
every convenience shall be provided at no greater cost than in the miserable
tumbledown tenements that families are now obliged to occupy, and that, more-
over, they will be profitable to those who invest their money in them. This is in
no wise a purely philanthropic scheme, but is intended to provide healthful homes
for working men's families who must live in the crowded di.stricts of New York.
The tenement house as it .stands to-day is a reproach to the humanitarianism of
this enlightened century. It is a crying evil, and one which .should be redressed
without delay."
Mi.ss Marian S. Parker enjoys the di.stinction of being a practical woman civil
engineer. Mi.ss Parker, when asked to tell how she came to take up this branch
of work, said, "At first I thought I would study architecture, because plans and
designs had always had a great attraction for me. Then as I became more and
more interested in mathematics I came to believe that .some work involving that
branch of .science would be more to my liking. Civil engineering seemed to be
just the thing, and so when I was fifteen years old I began in earnest to study
for that.
"' I had no trouble in getting the education. My father is a graduate of Ann
Arbor, .so I naturally decided to go there, especially as that school is coeduca-
tional. I pre])ared myself, was examined, and was admilled to tlie regular course
in civil engineering, just the .same as if I had l)een a man. I have no doubt .some
of the faculty, and perhai)s .some of the .students, thought it .strange, but no one
expressed an>' imfavorable opinions or di.scouraged me. I could not have been
better treated than by the jjrofessors and the men in my class. I took the regular
ARCHITECTS, CIVIL ENGINEERS AND DESIGNERS. 369
course, except that in the senior year I took architectural work instead of survey-
ing, because I thought that would do me the most good.
"I was fortunate in getting a position ea.sily. I had expected to have to
encounter a great deal of prejudice, but this was not the ca.se. I was offered a
position with the same salary that is given to men doing the same work, and the
same chances of advancement. Two weeks after I had graduated I was at
work."
As in the case of Mi.ss Gannon and Miss Hand, Miss Parker has had her
attention attracted to the subject of model tenement houses, and she has done a
great deal of work in designing and building these. The sufferings which the
women in the poor houses in the slums of the cities have to encounter seem to
appeal especially to other women, and it is only natural that women who have
learned how to do things should desire to plan some way to help these unfortunate
people.
Asked what she thought would be the necessary qualifications for a woman
wishing to take up the same work, Miss Parker replied, " First of all to make a
success of such a career, a woman must be thoroughly and naturally fond of
mathematics. Not merely algebra, and the like, but applied mathematics. Civil
engineering is really the application of pure mathematics to construction. Then,
too, a woman must be willing to work with all the little intricate and complex
details that are part of mathematical service. She must be careful, accurate and
patient.
"The whole system is made up of trifles, to be sure, but if every trifling
detail is not exact and perfect, serious accidents may occur. ' '
In the office where Miss Parker is engaged she has her desk, table, and high
stool, just the same as the other assistants do. For a year and a half she was
employed upon the construction of a large hotel, then in process of building. She
worked on all parts of the structure, detailing and designing, and making the
shop drawings. The shop drawings are the plans for the w^orkmen to follow,
and must be absolutely correct, even to the smallest fraction of an inch. The
work is of a difficult nature and involves great responsibility. Estimating
the amount of materials necessary is another detail which she is often called on
to calculate.
The women who are finding congenial and profitable employment as designers
is greater than in either of the two classes just referred to. As designers of
fabrics, carpets and wall papers it is only natural that they should excel. The
usual waj' in which a woman fits herself for such work is by attendance upon some
art school. Whether manufacturers would accept 3'oung women or girls, as some
of them accept boys, and pay them a trifle while the}' are learning to design is a
question. At any rate, without the advantages of being in the midst of such
24
6/'
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
work the processes have been mastered by women, and acceptable designs pro-
duced.
And so scientific education is helping women to "find their places," as
Huxley expresses it. To these pioneers in new fields other women look to see
proved their abilities, and disproved the old-time theories against the limitations
of the sex.
LIX.
WOMEN AT THE BAR.
OR some reason or other not so manj^ women have adopted
the legal profession as have taken up medicine or even the
ministr3^ It seems strange that this should be the case since
law, in certain of its forms, is specially adapted to the atten-
tion of the woman student. This is specialh* true of the
departments of probate and realty, in which the work lies
mostly outside of the court room. The knowledge of law
should be much more general among women than it is, so
that they might be able to protect their own interests and
avoid being drawn into many of the pitfalls which are laid for
their ignorant and unwar}' feet. So important, indeed, is this knowledge
considered that some of the leading girls' schools, notably the Lasell Seminary at
Auburndale, Mass. , has ever}^ year a course of lectures on the common law given
by some leading member of the profession. The president of the school, Mr. C.
C. Bragdon, tried the first course as an experiment about the year 1886. The
course was given by Mr. Alfred Hemenway, the law partner of Governor John D.
Long, now the Secretary of the Navy, and proved so interesting and so helpful
that the students begged for a continuation the next year. It has been a feature
of the school curriculum ever since and during the later 3-ears the lectures have
been given by Miss Mary A. Green, a lawyer of Providence, R. I., who was
admitted to the bar in 1888. She studied law in order to be independent in
transacting the business of a private estate, and she graduated from her class in
the Boston University as second in a large class of men, her diploma being
(370
372 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
enhanced in value by the magna cum laude to which only a student is entitled b}'
a high av^erage standard in the studies of the entire course. An exceedingly-
delicate constitution has prevented Miss Green from engaging in active court
practice, but her work has been of a literary character and in assisting other
lawyers. She has had published in one of. the legal magazines a paper on the
extreme technical points of law, which is one of the most valuable of its kind. She
is a thorough French scholar and has translated for the Chicago Law Ti7nes a work
of Dr. Louis Frank, of Brussels, " La Femme Avocat," a history and criticism of
the course of women in law in ancient and modern times. In addition to her
lecture work at Lasell she gives ever>^ year courses of lectures before Women's
Clubs and Young Women's Christian Associations. She is warml}" regarded b}'
the other members of the bar with whom she is associated, who cannot say too
much in praise of the ability of this serious, phj^sically frail young law^^er.
Mrs. Alice Parker Lesser was admitted to the bar in California the same 3'ear
in which Miss Green was admitted to the bar of Massachusetts. She practiced for
a 3'ear in that State, then came to her Eastern home and sought admittance to the
Suffolk bar. Although Mrs. Lesser, who was then Miss Alice Parker, received
her legal education in California, she was an Eastern girl, born and educated in
Lowell, Mass., the only child of Dr. Hiram Parker, a leading homoeopathic
physician of that city. Being left an orphan, not needy, but with a desire for
more and more practical knowledge, she at first, through the influences with which
she was surrounded, was inclined to become a physician: but her health failed,
she was obliged to give up her studies, and she went to California to recover; but
there .she was given up to die and plans and preparations were made for the final
return and dispo.sition of her body — not a very cheerful prospect. Destiny had a
different road for her. She suddenly took a turn for the better, and in that
wonderful climate her improvement was very rapid, and in a very short time she
was seen riding horseback and became a keen huntswoman. With returning
health and having her own property to care for, .she began the stud}^ of law for
her own convenience, but its infatuation seized her and she determined to make it
a life profession. While Mrs. Lesser is fearle.ss and firm, she has the modesty of
true womanhood and is unobtrusive in all her ways. So accustomed had shebeen
to a sexless deference to lier abilities, and to being the acknowledged comrade in
law, .she was unprepared for the different sentiment which prevailed in Boston
toward the woman with a defined purpose of a life of usefulness on the ba.sis of
value for value received — in other words, toward a woman in a professional and
commercial sense. Mrs. Les.ser has a good practice, and as a counselor-at-law, is
not only grave and judge-like, but her keen wit, dry humor and eminently social
nature make her one of the most entertaining of women. While in California,
Mrs. Lesser, then Mi.ss Parker, was made referee — that is, a lawyer in prominent
WOMEN AT THE BAR.
373
standing appointed to hear cases in place of the judge and submitting testimony to
him — a legal office that does not exist in the New England States, but equi\'alent
there to the Master in Chancery .
The pioneer lawyers of the United States were Mrs. Belva Lockwood and
Mrs. Myra Bradwell. Mrs. Lockwood fairly fought her way through opposition.
State after State refused to
admit her to the bar even
after she was fully quali-
fied and passed the most
rigid examination. Mrs.
Bradwell was the wife of
Judge Bradwell of Illinois,
and studied with her hus-
band from genuine love of
the profession. She was
appointed editor of the
' ' Court Register ' ' of the
State, a position which she
held until her death. Mrs.
Bradwell went abroad as
representative to several
congresses, and was an
expert in international
law. Her only daughter
is also a lawyer, and after
her admittance to the bar
was married to a young
Chicago lawyer, with
whom she is in legal, as
well as domestic, partner-
ship.
Mrs. Carrie Burnham
Kilgore was the first
woman lawyer in Phila-
delphia. She was a
school teacher and began to stud}^ law in 1875, when such narrow preju-
dice existed against woman receiving the benefit of a universit}' course, that
accompanying the refusal of her application for admission to the L,aw School of the
University of Pennsj'lvania, was the courteous observation of the dean, that the
time for him to resig^n would be when negroes and women were admitted. Mrs.
MRS. MVRA BRADWELL.
374 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Kilgore persevered sixteen years before she became a recognized member of the
bar.
A woman of Bucharest, Roumania, has been given the degree of LL. D.
She is held in high esteem in her own countr}-. Her marvelous talents developed
early, and at the age of seventeen years she gained her B. A. degree and went to
Paris where she studied law for five years, passing brilliant examinations through
this period, until in 1SS9 she received the degree of LL. D., taking the first prize
in the final examination. Her treatise entitled ' ' The Legal Po.sition of the
Mother in Roumania " was considered the most comprehensive work of the kind
that had ever been written, and its five hundred pages showed an extraordinary
acquaintance with both ancient and modern law. Soon after the bestowal of her
degree Mile. Bilcesco petitioned the legal authorities of Bucharest to i^ermit her
name to be placed on the roll of advocates, a demand which was agreed to
unanimoush'.
Mrs. Anna C. Fall is another successful Massachusetts lawyer, being a partner
of her husband in his Boston office, and having an office in Maiden of her own.
Miss Amy Acton and Miss Alline Marcy are the two women who have
entered the profession pureh- and simpl)^ to make a living out of it. They are
working as a man works, just for money, while most of the others are doing it
for pure love of the profes.sion. Miss Marcy occupied an important position with
the Massachusetts Title In.surance Company for some time, and is now in the
State House at Boston in the Realt}- Department, her special work being that of
looking up titles. She is one of the best authorities on the .subject in the State.
Miss Acton is at Dayton, Ohio, in the legal department of one of the large
manufacturing concerns. She is practically the head of the department, and
attends personally to all details of contract and other legal work. She draws a
handsome salary.
One of the early lawyers was Mrs. Clara H. Nash, who was admitted to the
bar in Maine in 1872, and Mrs. Marilla M. Ricker, who does not attend .strictly
to law, but devotes much of her time to political writing.
In New York, Miss Nellie Robinson has recently won two cases in the Court
of Special Sessions, and is being talked about as a rising young lawyer. On
being a.sked whether .she would advise girls to become lawyers, she said she would
not, unless they were .seriously in earne.st and felt a special calling for it. ' ' It
is," .said Miss Robin.son, "a hard life. The nervous .strain of court practice is
wearing even to men, and women are nuich less able to endure it. I would
certainly advise girls to study law as part of a valuable ])ractical education, but I
would discourage them from attempting court practice unless it is neces.sary. It
is u.sele.ss to deny that there is a prejudice against woman lawyers. I mean
among the men in the profession. When I first began to practice I had the
WOMEN AT THE BAR. 375
feminine idea of the social courtesy extended by men to women, and I thought
everything was going to be perfectly lovely; but I found out my mistake. If I
wanted to win, I had to fight tooth and nail. I did it, but it isn't every woman
who would be phj'sically able to endure the strain."
A young woman recently graduated at the Union College of Law in Chicago.
She is entirely blind, and during the lecture course her mother was her constant
companion and read from the text-books to her. Miss Lilian Blanche Fearing
was one of four students whose records were so nearly equal that the committee
appointed to award the scholarship prize decided to divide it equally among the
four. The blind girl has alread}- been admitted to the Illinois bar b}- the Supreme
Court, at Springfield, and is said to give great promise in her profession.
Mrs. Ella Knowles Haskell, the assistant attorney -general of Montana,
differs from Miss Robinson regarding the profession of law as a suitable one for
woman. She says: " I think the vocation of law is a good one for women who
are willing to work early and late in the interests of their clients, and who will
give attention to details, no matter how unimportant the\' ma}' seem to be. A
women taking up the profession of law should have a logical and a reasoning
mind, a good education, and should have alread}^ learned the indispensable lesson
of how to concentrate the entire mind force on the work at hand. She should
also possess a good share of sound common sense. With these qualifications, a
woman should succeed in law as well as a man, but when we think of the great
number of men who never attain success, we must not be surprised if women,
bright and clever though they may be, should also fail."
Mrs. Haskell graduated at Bates College, Lewiston, Me., in 1880. She then
began to read law with the view, first, of being able to attend to her own business
affairs; gradually she became more absorbed in the study, and after three j-ears
went to Helena, Montana, where she continued her studies in a law office. She
was soon able to pass an examination for the bar, and then arose an obstacle
which taxed her best efforts to surmount. Women were not allowed to practice,
and she introduced and worked for a bill which, after great opposition, passed
the legislature, and she was permitted to appear in court as a full-fledged attorney.
She is the only w^oman lawyer in Montana and she has earned large fees. One
was for $10,000. In 1893 she was nominated on the Populist ticket for attorney-
general of the State, and the election was so close that for three weeks it was not
known who was the successful candidate. It proved, however, to be General
Haskell. Immediately after his election he appointed Miss Knowles as his
assistant, and in less than two years they were married.
Other women have graduated from the law schools who have studied simply
to be able to manage their own business affairs; in fact, it has become quite the
custom for rich women who have large estates to take a course in law that the3^
37C
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
may better understand the value of their property and its wise administration.
Among the women who have studied for this purpose are Mrs. Theodore Sutro
and Miss Helen Gould, of New York. So far as she possibly can, every woman
should know the points of law which will be of service to her should she be left
either to settle an estate or to manage a business.
LX.
CHANCES FOR COLORED GIRLS.
URING the past few years colored girls have been coming rapidly
to the front and making their way in the professional and business
world. Opportunities "are opening for them that once were firmly
closed, and they are making the most of these opportunities, like
the sensible women that they are. Race prejudice, although still
existing to a certain degree, is much softened, and the girl of
ability belonging to the colored race finds entrance, if not welcome, in almost any
vocation which she attempts. This is true more largely' of the professions than of
the trades, because with broader education comes a broader view, and the men
and the women who are met in professional life are more courteous than are those
in the lower strata to these new invaders of the field of endeavor.
A great deal of comment has been made on the fact that a colored girl was
given a degree at Vassar College with the Class of "97, her classmates and the
facult}^ not knowing that she was of African descent until her college career was
near its close. She was called the most beautiful girl in the college, and her
mental attainments ranked with her beauty. It is no matter of comment because
a colored girl entered the Freshman Class of '97 of Boston University, although
she was the first colored woman who ever entered the college of liberal arts as a
regular candidate for the degree of A. B. The color line has never been drawn
at this coeducational institution either in theory or practice, so when Miss Ida
Hill, of Millerton, N. Y., applied for admission as a regular student, she was
cordially received. She prepared for college at the Gilbert Academy, Winstead,
Conn., from which school she was graduated with honor the June previous to her
entering Boston Universit5^ Dr. Clark, the principal of Gilbert, is a Boston
University graduate, and it was through his recommendation that she applied to
the college on Beacon Hill. Miss Hill is exceedingly attractive. She has a
(377)
378 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
pleasant manner and a face that bears the traces of refinement. She dresses in
excellent taste, is pretty and graceful, and altogether a decided acquisition to the
college. It is said that the several secret societies, to be a member of which is a
badge of social prestige, are all anxious to claim Miss Hill as a member.
Just after the war Miss Charlotte Fortin attracted much attention in Boston
by her brilliant translations of the Erckmann-Chartrain novels. Miss Fortin was
a young quadroon who had been educated abroad, and was a girl with rare quali-
ties of mind. She w^as quite a protege of Colonel T. W. Higginson, Dr. Samuel
G. Howe, and other members of the Boston literary guild. She was the first
colored woman to attain distinction.
Cambridge has among its most valued teachers a colored woman, Miss Maria
Baldwin, who is principal of the Agassiz Grammar School, situated in the most
aristocratic and exclusive part of the University city. Miss Baldwin was educated
in the Cambridge public schools, finishing her education at one of the State
Normal Schools. On her graduation she applied for the position of teacher in
the Cambridge public schools. Her claims to consideration were upheld by man^'
of the leading Cambridge people, and the committee determined to give her a
trial. They knew it would not do to attach her to a school in the poorer parts of
the city, because the ignorant foreign element, of which these schools were largely
composed, would resent the idea of being taught by a colored woman, so she was
given a position in the Agassiz school, which is largely attended by the children
of the University professors and that choice coterie which makes up Cambridge's
most delightful social element. Not only was no opposition offered to Miss
Baldwin, but she has been liked and revered as a teacher by the children who were
under her training, and her work has been respected and honestly valued by the
school committee. She not only kept the position upon which .she entered, l)ut by
degrees was advanced, until now she is the principal of the school, and Cambridge
people would resent the idea of supplementing her by any other teacher.
Miss Baldwin has also been successful as a lecturer, and during the sunnner
of '97 gave one of the lectures in the famous Old South course, her subject being
" Harriet Beecher Stowe and Her Work for Anti-slavery through the Medium of
the Story. ' ' No lecture in the course, which had among its other speakers such men
as Secretary Long, Mr. John Fiske, and others of the same .stamp, was .so warmly
commended or .so enthusiastically reported as the one given by Miss Baldwin. She
closed her lecture with some comments on the fiue.stion of how far the efforts to
educate the negro had been successful. She said, the answer could not yet be
given, but there were indications to mark what it would be. The hardest thing
of all to bear was the contempt of the white race. The white man kept telling
the black that he had not the capacity for the highest development. Something,
however, had kept the negro from believing that himself. In the little attempt
MISS LUTIE A. lA'TtE.
(379)
38o OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
here, the little struggle there, there was evident at least an aspiration. Perhaps no
more striking addition to this comment of Miss Baldwin on the question of the
capacity of the negro for development could be made than to quote one of her own
final sentences. What shall be said of a race one of whose women can say this:
" It is not eas}' to tell what genius is, but there are certain things by which we
recognize it — intense personal impressions of life; fresh, strong and direct speech;
swift, irresistible rushes of power; newness, unexpectedness, exuberance, and
nearh- every page of. Uncle Tom's Cabin, bears this roA-al mark."
Topeka, Kansas, has a colored woman lawyer, Miss Lutie Lytle. She says
of herself:
'■ I am not the first colored woman in America who has studied law, but I am
the first to practice it. Miss Piatt, of Chicago, was the pioneer of my race in the
study of law, but she intended to acquire legal knowledge only as an assistance to
her in stenographic work. I will practice and make it my life work. I may open
an office in Topeka, but my ambition prompts me to begin practice either in New
York or in Washington. Those who have taken an interest in me recommend
New York.
"I graduated from the Law Department of the Central Tennessee College on
September 8, and was admitted to the bar by Judge Cooper, of Nashville, who,
although a t\^pical Southern gentleman, was kind enough to me to bid me God-
speed in my profession, and professed a hope and prophecy of my success.
" My favorite is constitutional law, but I shall have no specialty. I like con-
stitutional law because the anchor of my race is grounded on the Constitution, and
whenever our privileges are taken away from us or curtailed, we must point to the
Constitution as the Christian does to his Bible. It is the great source and Magna
Charta of our rights, and we mu.st know it in order to defend the boon that has
been given to us by its amendments. It is the certificate of our liberty and our
equality before the law. Our citizen hip is based on it, and hence I love it.
" In the North the letter of the Constitution is better observed than in the
South, but in the South the spirit of the Constitution is not dead. In the North
the colored people are given all the privileges of spending money, but not of
earning it. In the South the negroes are given the privilege of earning money,
but not of spending it.
" What I mean is this : In theSoutli tlie white people give our people employ-
ment side by side with themselves in a most generous spirit, but they are not allowed
to spend money side by .side with them in the opera house, in the restaurant, in
the street car, nor even in the .saloon. In llie North the people are niggardly in
giving the colored people a chance to earn a dollar, and they are generous in
allowing them to .spend it elbow to elbow with them at the theatre or any-
where else.
CHANCES FOR COLORED GIRLb.
381
" The South discriminates in punishment for violations of the law as between
the Caucasian and the negro. If a poor negro is suspected of a capital crime he
is immediately lynched; if a white man is convicted of a capital offence he is
given a slight jail sentence. That is not right; both should be justly dealt with
and punished with equal severity.
" In connection with my law practice, I intend to give occasional lectures,
but not in any sense for per-
sonal profit. I shall talk to
my own people and make a
sincere and earnest effort to
improve their condition as citi-
zens. I shall also talk to the
white people and appeal to
them for fair plaj' to my race.
I am not a radical in anything,
nor do I intend to be. I be-
lieve in efficacy of reason to
bring about the best results.
' ' I conceived the idea of
studying law in a printing
office where I worked for
years as a compositor. I read
the newspaper exchanges a
great deal and became im-
pressed with the knowledge of
the fact that my own people
especially were the victims of
legal ignorance. I resolved to
fathom its depths and pene-
trate its mysteries and intri-
cacies in hopes of being a bene-
fit to m^^ people. I very soon
ascertained that it was more
deep and intricate than I first
supposed it to be. It requires
hard work to master it, if such a thing is possible at all. It is a great study and
I am infatuated with it. I have devoted some time to the study and cultivation
of elocution and oratory, and I intend to improve myself in them."
The Boston Herald has on its editorial staff a young colored woman, Miss
Lilian Lewis. Miss Lewns is a graduate of the Girls' High and Normal School
MISS LILIAN LEWIS.
382 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
of Boston and began her newspaper career verj- early after her graduation. Her
first position was that of private secretary and assistant to the then society editor,
Mrs. Anna M. B. Ellis, now of London. Upon Mrs. Ellis' retirement from the
position, it was taken b\' Miss Lewis, and she filled it very creditably for a period
of years. Then feeling that she was capable of stronger and more original work,
she gave up the position, still continuing with the Herald, however, and became
one of its corps of special writers. When it is understood that the Herald writers
are considered among the most brilliant of the newspaper men and women of the
citj', it will be easily seen that Miss Lewis must have been possessed of genuine
ability to attain a position among them. Besides her newspaper w^ork Miss Lewis
has written several exceedingh' clever stories, and has been so successful in that
line that .she sometimes threatens to abandon newspaper work for the field of
fiction.
Mrs. Josephine St. Pierre Rufiin, widow of the late colored Judge Ruffin, of
the Massachusetts bench, has edited for some time a weekl}' paper devoted to the
interests of her race, particularly to the women. Mrs. Ruffin is a handsome,
stately woman, with the airs of a grande dame, highly- intelligent and refined.
She makes her paper exceedingly bright and full of interest. She is interested in
charitable and philanthropic movements and is a member of the Woman's Press
Club of New England, as is Miss Lewis also.
Miss Dora Gould, of Dedham, Mass., is a graduate of the State Normal Art
School, and has been a .successful teacher in one of the race schools in the South.
Miss Gould, who also possesses fine literary ability, is a frequent contributor to
Mrs. Ruffin's paper, writing many of the book criticisms and articles treating on
purely literary topics.
Many girls who have been educated in the schools of the North have gone
South and found a fine field of labor among their own people as teachers. The
list of colored women of attainment would not be complete without the name of
Mrs. Booker T. Washington, the wife of the principal of Tuskegee University, in
Alabama. Mrs. Washington is an inspiration, not only to the girls who come
under her immediate influence, but to all colored girls with ambition and ability.
It is to women like lier and Miss Baldwin that the women of the negro race may
look for the gradual beating down of the race prejudice whicli still exists to a marked
degree, although it has lessened materially during the last quarter of a century.
Willi examples like these and that of the other women who have been quoted,
the young colored woman of the present and of the future maj- feel that no ])ath
in the professions is barred to her, but that there is work for her hand to do if
.she has courage and perseverance to attempt it.
k
LXI.
TRAINED NURSES.
HE task of caring for those who are ill is one for which, by
verj^ common consent, women have always been allowed to
be particularly fitted.
Many years ago Sir Walter Scott wrote of woman:
" When pain and anguish wring the brow,
A ministering angel thou."
Mothers, sisters, wives, cared for their relatives who
' were ill, until through many generations of exercise, what
may have been at first only the natural maternal instinct
!<=/ came to be developed in some women until they had what
was called "a gift for taking care of the sick."
Because they could do the work of nursing better than other women, and
because people must be ill who had no mother, sister or wife to care for them, the
work of these self-taught nurses came to have a distinct market value. Partly
because there grew to be a demand for a greater number of nurses than then
existed, and partly because, in these later years, people have come to see that
very often, in the absence of the physician, the life of the patient depended on the
nurse knowing, in some sudden emergency, just what should be done and how to
do it, there began to be a demand for women who should have this knowledge.
The trained nurse has been the result.
Compared numerically the number of women at work as trained nurses will
always be very much greater than the number of men in the same profession.
The writer has asked a successful woman physician, who has been practicing for
the last fifteen years in a large city, to write out the results of her observations
during this time on trained nursing as an occupation for women.
(3S3)
384 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
"So nearly as I remember now," she says, "the first training-school for
nurses in this country was established early in the "jo's, by an English woman,
at Bellevue Hospital, in New York. Since then similar institutions have sprung
up all over the country, and the demand for the work of the graduates has been
so crreat that women have flocked to this new field of labor until it is safe to say
tliat the number at work to-day is at least a hundred times what it was five
years ago. As a result, if I was asked what I think about the desirability of
women entering upon this line of work now, I should say that I think the field is
probably about full. In saying that, however, I should wish to add another
statement which I beheve to be equally true.
'■ The women who first became trained nurses took up the work as many men
and women study medicine; because they had a special fitness for it which led
them to look conscientiously upon this as their ordained life work. Since then
the commercial advantages of the field have led man)- other women to enter it,
regardless of the question whether or not they have any liking or fitness for it.
The result has been that there are now many trained nurses who will always be
of only indifferent ability in the work, and so, while the field may seem to be full.
I am convinced that any woman who has tact and a liking for the work, who will
thoroughly fit herself, and then is willing to work hard, will find profitable
employment.
" Many young women seek this field because they have an idea that the
work is easy. A greater mistake was never made. There are rare cases which a
fortunate nurse may sometimes obtain, where the nurse's work is little more than
that of a companion, but they are indeed rare. In general it is hard, confining
work, with long hours, day or night, sometimes both. It is true that very often
a young woman who has no organic disease, but who may not have been well.
finds herself grow stronger and better after she has been for some time a pupil in
a nurse's training-school. When this is the case her friends are very apt to think,
and say, that this is because the work of a nurse is easy. The real reason is very
much more likely to be that the change from the irregular hours of home life to
the regular routine of a ho.spital, and the increased knowledge of the laws of
hygiene and physiology, are what has caused the improvement.
"The first thing a young woman should do. if .she thinks of becoming a
trained nurse, is to go to her physician and be thoroughly examined to see if
she is physically well enough to take up the work. If she has any organic
di.sea.se whatever, .she should at once dismiss the idea of becoming a trained
nurse.
"Thorough training can be had only at a training-school connected with
some hospital. As a general thing the larger the hospital tlic better the school,
for the reason that the experience is .so much wider. The pupil must expect to
TRAINED NURSES.
385
stay at least two years, while the best schools are now extending that time to
three years, and recommending four.
" Tlie work will not be easy. The hours in most schools are from 7 a. m. to
8 p. m. for day duty, and from 8 p. m. to 7 a. m. for night duty. Of course
there are stated periods for rest and recreation. The young woman who knows
nothing of what the drill may be, and goes to her duties expecting to a.ssist at a
delicate operation the first day, may be surprised to know that her first ta.sk will
probabh' be the scrubbing of floors, and the second, the scrubbing of newly
A. MINISTERING .\NGEL THOU.
an-ived patients, quite likelv to be a good deal more dirt>- than the floors. In
time, the other duties come, though, a steady development from one thing to
another.
" Apropos of the need of training, even in these first duties, there came not
so ver^^ long ago to one of the great New York training schools, seeking to become
a nurse, the daughter of one of the most famous poets America has produced.
The second day she was there she was set to work to bathe an old woman patient
just brought in. In this case ' scrub ' would have been the better word, for there
seemed to be good reason to beHeve the patient's assertion that she had not taken
386 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
a bath for fifteen years. The new pupil had energy and determination, though,
and she did the task set her so thoroughly that the patient died the next day,
from the direct ejffects, so the doctors .said, of her bath.
" One advantage about this work has been that the expen.se of learning has
been small, and from the very first there has been some income. The onh'
expense is that of the uniform which the nurses are required to wear, and since
these must be of cotton, and must be worn all the time, the cost is apt to be less
than ordinary clothing for the same length of time. From the very first, too, the
pupil receives not onW board and lodging, but a certain sum, even if small, for
wages. I think there are .some of the Canadian hospitals where the pay is only
seven dollars a month, for the first year, but I do not know of any in the States
where the wages are less than ten dollars for the first >ear, and from that up to
sixteen dollars for the last year.
"Girls wishing to enter a training school must make application, and then
wait until there is an opening for them. The number which can be taken at
almost any school is limited, and of late there have l)een .so many would-be pupils
that it is often necessary to wait .some time.
"So far as wages after leaving the school are concerned, the be.st nunses in
large cities, except in some ver}- special cases, can command twenty-one dollars a
week for ordinary di.sea.ses, and twenty -five dollars for contagious di.sea.ses. From
that the price comes down to ten dollars a week in smaller places. The woman
who is willing to go out into the country towns and smaller cities will not be able
to command quite so high prices as her city sister, but on account of the lack of
competition her employment will be so much more con.stant that I am inclined to
think her income will equal that of the city woman. It .should be remembered
that even if she is to be employed a good portion of the time, the nurse must have
a home to which she can come when not at work. The expense of keeping a
room, or a suite of rooms, in the town is very much less than in the city.
" If I was to add a word of advice to young women who are trained nurses,
or hope to become such, it is to emphasize the need of tact. The difference between
hospital nursing and private nursing is very great. \'ery many trained nurses
fail, or at least fall far short of success because they have not the tact to adjust
themselves to the changed conditions into which they come to work. It is no
less neces-sary that they be exact, and insist on being allowed to strictly carry out
the doctor's orders, but it is possible to do this and .still 'get along' with the
patient and the family. Tlie nurse who does not do this runs the risk of serious
injury to her patient from tlie uncomfortable atmosphere with wliich she surrounds
herself
" Try and put some heart into your work. Don't look ujm)!! it simply as a
means of earning money. Ihm'i feel that the giving of powders at the appointed
IHh XKAINl.Ii NlKSl
388 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
time, and the shaking up of pillows, are all the duties which you owe your
patient."
It was in this special tact and thoughtfulness that "Mother" Bickerdyke,
perhaps the most famous nurse this country has ever seen, excelled. It was on
the battlefield and in the hospitals of the Civil War that Mrs. Bickerdyke gained
her reputation, but she had been an experienced nurse for a long time previous,
and had supported her two little sons b}' her work.
Mother Bickerdyke's eightieth birthday was celebrated in 1897. ^^^^s. Mary
A. Livermore, who knew her and her work very intimately, and loved the woman
as much as .she admired the work, in speaking of Mother Bickerdyke on that
occasion, said: " She was the best nurse I ever knew. She had the instinct which
led her to know what was the best thing to do for every case. With it .she had a
heart so big and kind that she would go to no end of trouble to do things to make
her patients happy, believing this did quite as much as medicine to recover them.
"I remember once a poor young fellow in a hcspital had .set his heart on
having a baked potato to eat. She had told him that just as soon as it was pru-
dent for him to eat a potato he should have it, but his mind still dwelt upon the
coveted delicacy so persistently that finall\- she went and got four nice new potatoes,
washed them clean, dried them, and then warmed them. Then she brought them
to the sick boy, for he wasn't very much more, and said, ' There, my boy, here
are four nice potatoes. You shall have them in bed with you, where you can touch
them, and look at them, and just as soon as it is safe for you to have a baked
potato to eat, you .shall have one just like the best of these cooked for you. ' The
man was as happy as a child. He hoarded up his treasures, and crooned over
them, and was quiet and contented.
" The next day along came the ward .surgeon on his rounds. He discovered
the potatoes, asked how they came there, and when he knew, tossed them out onto
the floor. He was a young man, and did not know Mother Bickerdyke. She
happened to be out of the room, but came in before the round was completed.
The potatoes were on the floor, and the man, weak with pain and long illness was
crying. It took only a glance for her to comprehend what was the matter.
" ' Who threw tho.se potatoes down there?' she asked.
" ' I did,' said the surgeon.
" ' What did you do it for?'
"'Because it was fooli.sh and unnecessary to have them where they were.
I'm not going to have the beds in this hospital made into potato hills.'
" Mother Bickerdyke swooped down on the potatoes, and gathering llieni up
in her apron brought them back to the bed.
*' ' Do yon think anylliing is foolish which makes a sick man comfortable?'
.she exclaimed. ' It can't i)ossibly hurl him to have those potatoes there. I even
TRAINED NURvSKS.
jS9
warmed them, myself, so they should not be cold to touch.' Then to the patient,
putting the vegetables back into the bed, 'There, there, my poor boy,' said she,
' don't you feel bad. You shall have them back, and you shall keep them in bed
until they sprout if n'OU want to.' And he did kcej) them until he was able to eat
his potato baked."
The young woman who has Mother Bickerdyke's tact and kindness of heart,
and who has fitted herself to be a nurse, need not fear but what she will be suc-
cessful, and have all the work she wishes to do.
Y
:-/i.N
LXII.
WOMEN IX MILLINERY.
f^or
\^1^.5."''f!Sfii!P|ff!ff"". xij^'j^'i
f'hS; V'^i ^/'^u ^/'^ii V'^ii 'i''^\i'''!'^\i
i5/i>!;/i\;7/i\ir/i\i-;/J.N^.i/J,\i;/iN
see," said a Boston milliner, "my sister and I at first
made the great mistake of locating where there were no
other milliner}' establishments, thinking to thus secure a
clear field; and, indeed, the field was so clear that we got
no customers at all. A friend with whom we took counsel
said: ' Move at once into the very midst of bonnet shops.
People looking for head gear never come into this district, and the people who
live near here, even if they patronized you, which they won't, for every one likes
to go to a fashionable place to look at things even if she is going to buy a
twenty-five cent hat, even if they patronized you, their custom would never
support you and pay your rent. When places of one kind are near together, if
one doesn't find what she wants at one store she will go to another. You are apt,
even from the beginning, to catch a good deal of this floating custom.'
" We acted on the advice of our counselor, and here we are in a thicket of
milliners. We have done well; better than I expected we should.
" We have these two rooms, and make trimming a .specialty. We used to
make hats, but we find it pays better and is le.ss trouble to have our customers
Vjring their hats. We, of course, buy individual hats and bonnets when requested
to do so. Our .second .specialty is making over old hats. Our cu.stomers some-
times declare the remodeled affair is as pretty ^s any new creation could be, and
go away wearing a half-price headgear which looks like brand new. Many people
patronize us who cannot often afford a new hat or bonnet, but can comparatively
often spend a dollar on what they already have.
(390)
WOMEN IN MILLINERY.
391
" We take great pains to give our customers just what they want, letting
them see that we appreciate and desire to cater to their taste as well as put forward
our own.''
These two sisters had tried man\- kinds of work before recognizing, or
jaelding to, their vocation of millinerw Tlieir motto is that the proper study of
the milliner is woman —
not merely the shape of
her head and face, but her
whole nature. Does she
choose shapes and colors
wisely ? Does she need a
little less or a little more
color than she naturally
chooses to wear? Must
one furnish her with a
taste, or be guided by her
taste ? By this habit with
their regular customers
these 3^oung women have
come to be depended upon
for decisions or appealed
to for advice in scores of
cases. By their compre-
hension and tact, their
ladylike and attentive
manner, their ability to
converse on many sub-
jects, and their interest in
the affairs of the day, they
have, with very small cap-
ital, built up a bu.siness
which has evident!}' come
to stay.
Moving through the
large millinery department
of K. H. White & Co., Boston, is a little blonde woman with a vivacious manner
and far-seeing and pleasant glances, whose comprehension seems capable of
taking in a dozen things at once. This woman, Mrs. Georgia Krafts, buj-er and
designer, makes two trips to Europe each year, designs every special bonnet and
hat in the establishment, has entire oversight and direction of the workroom and
MR. AND MRS. GEORGE H. KR.\FTS.
392 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
salesroom, taking orders from no one. " Is the milliner born or made?" says
Mrs. Krafts. "Both, if she is really to be a success. I was certainly born a
milliner. My mother at one time kept two houses in London, employing some
of the time as many as fift}- girls. She made and trimmed hats and bonnets for
all the e/i/e of the city. My uncle declares that I 'was always in a bandbox.'
My mother says that I never wanted a doll, but used to toddle over the counters,
peeping into ever>' box and drawer I came to, and my favorite and always-
continued amusement was to make tiny hats and to manufacture wee boxes into
which to put them.
" My parents lost their property and came to New York, where I was born.
I entered the store of Madame Galleapeau, the famous New York milliner, when
I was fifteen. Madame had for customers the Astors and Vanderbilts, the
Steinwa)-s and Heinrichs — in short, all the rich families of the place. I have
known her to receive as high as a hundred and eight dollars for one hat.
" I came from New York to Providence, R. I., to take charge of the milliner}'-
department in Shepard's; or, rather, to make a milliner}' department, for there
was very little to begin with. We built up a large and splendid business there.
From there I came here, being offered a much larger salary than I received in
Providence.
" I have never sought places; they have sought me. I have never left a
place where I had been employed without sincere regrets, and carrying with me
pictures of my late employer and the members of his family. From this close
sympathy and good will between my employers and myself I believe much of my
success to have resulted. To be in happy and hanuonious relations with every
one, especially those near to you in space or in interests, facilitates business by
helping to keep one well, and enabling her to keep her mind on affairs in hand,
rather than dissipating her force by worries.
' ' Another tiling to which I attribute my success is my ability to dispense with
memoranda. When a customer orders a bonnet or a hat I make a mental picture
of it; photograph it, as it were, on my brain, dwelling intently upon it till its image
is so indelibly stamped on my memory that I cainiot forget it, and can exactly
reproduce it. I require my forewomen to acquire this ability, and thus much time
is saved, and nnicli more .satisfactory results are produced.
" I take care to have saleswomen who are alert and courteous in manner, deft-
fingered, and w^ith an intelligent, interested air. It adds much to a saleswoman's
value, as- well as makes her happier personally, if she is informed upon many
subjects besides those ]Krtaining to her immediate business. For this rea.son I
make it a point, when I am with my girls in the workroom, to talk with them,
or to them, ujjon varif)us important and interesting .subjects, which not only affords
them information, but sets us all to thinking, and renders us eager to learn more.
WOMEN IN MILLINERY. 393
" A motto which I have found most useful is, that if a thing has a right to
be at all, it has a right to be complete in all its details. I insist that all trimmed
bonnets and hats shall go out in neat boxes, delicately papered, and that nothing
about them shall suggest cheapness or carelessness. A badly done-up parcel is a
poor advertisement for any house.
"Where do I get my designs? Literally everywhere. I go to the theatre
as much to see the women's headgear as to watch the play. In architecture, in
groupings of statuary or single chiseled figures, in pictures, on placards and
posters, in the way fences are built, in everything my eyes fall upon I look for a
suggestion for shapes. Color and shadings, also, I gather from every conceivable
source. The mosses on stone walls, smoke from chimneys, autumn leaves and
berries, old gardens where many kinds of flowers are growing, vines, sunset hues,
moonlight on different objects, the rings on the necks of pigeons, the colors on the
wings of birds, insects, cattle, shrubs, hues in druggists' windows — all these and
a thousand more objects give me hints which are carried out again and again in
my business.
" While I believe that every one who is to be eminently successful will have
one dominating idea, I do not for a moment believe that a one-ideaed woman will
succeed as well as a many-ideaed one. Whatever things one ma}' know besides
those things pertaining directh" to her business are like frosting to cake — not
actually essential to the cake, but making it more valuable and attractive. Everj^
class of women should read and think and converse, and certainly milliners are no
exception to the rule. Talent for the work, open eyes, quick and deft fingers
and a happy heart are the ingredients which go to make the artist-milliner. ' '
The author of ' ' Women in the Business World ' ' quotes a woman who has
become wealthy as a milliner, as sa5'ing:
" I know of no better business than milliner}- for a woman who has any
talent for it at all. Even if she have but little skill at first, more will come to her
if she tries to acquire it, and is in earnest about her profession. I am a classical
scholar. I graduated with honors from one of the best colleges, but I have never
been sorry that I devoted myself to making bonnets rather than pursuing some of
the phantoms women think they must give chase to, if they are educated. My
education has been quite as much benefit and as great a pleasure to me in this
calling as it could have been had I written books or chiseled statues.
" As for ' societ}',' I have the best, and have never heard of any lines being
drawn upon me because I make and sell bonnets. The cowardice of women who
are afraid to do this or afraid to do that lest they lose caste, is laughable to me.
It is those who have no assured position w^ho are most afraid. They are always
indifferently educated, too, you will find. Thorough education rids the mind of
all such foolishness.
394 OCCUPATIONvS FOR WOMEN.
" Years ago, when the milliner was a poverty-stricken being, bleaching old
straw bonnets in a barrel with sulphur, she was not much sought after as an
ornament to society, I dare saj'. Now, when she holds her own in the business
world, and is useful in a large way, society — all she cares for — is read}' enough to
be nice to her. Besides, a woman in business is really ' in societj^ ' all the time.
That is, she constantly comes in contact with others, and so has less need of that
which calls itself 'societ}-.' In fact, she could not give much time to it — if it
begged on its knees. That sort of thing is for those who have time to kill. The
business woman has none.
" No; I have never regretted becoming a milliner. I pay $2000 a year rent
for my shop, and I own a twenty-thousand-dollar home up-town. My account at
the bank is good. I have little investments here and there, and I go to Paris
every summer. Perhaps if I had turned my attention to what ill-informed persons
call a higher vocation, I might now be a newspaper reporter, running around
armed with a shabby umbrella, and other accessories to match, anxious to ' write
up' some idle woman's wedding trosseau, or describe some actress home-toilet.
I am very satisfied to be what I am."
The author of the book from which the above quotation is made adds:
" Old as this occupation is, it is one of the best paid in which women engage,
because a milliner, of neces.sity, is one who understands her business, who has
been trained in what she is expected to do. When employed by others, her salary
varies according to her ability. If an expert in concocting confections for the
head, she can command almost incredible wages as an employe, or make an envi-
able fortune as a proprietor. It is said that the Princess of Wales is a very clever
milliner, and usually gives the finishing touches to her boiniets, sometimes making
them outright. It is well known that she is a skillful dressmaker. Before her
marriage .she and her sister, now wife of the Czar of Russia, made all their own
dre.se.ss. The sensible princess has taught her daughters the .same art."
Two New York girls started a millinery business by .sending out circulars
and personally soliciting trials of their .skill. At their opening, which consisted
of " six ready-made bonnets and a cup of tea for all who were good enough to
come," they a.sked their guests to advertise them, which they did in a very
generous manner.
They made it a rule to study the individual tastes of their cu.stomers, and to
" never let a hat or bonnet box go home without a civil note of thanks."
One of fheir specialties is making .second-best hats for their customers, utiliz-
ing material which has already been used, and which they reburni.sh and freshen.
This, they declare, is the part of the business which pays them best of all.
I,XIII.
MANICURING AND HAIRDRESSING.
HAT capital did I begin with?" sa3^s Madame Juliette Pinault,
manicurer and dealer in high grade toilet goods, a Parisian
born but now fulh- Americanized. " Well, I began with my
mother's wrinkles and freckles, or rather they began my
business for me, though I never realized that this was so.
My mother, poor woman! was more wrinkled at twentj'-five
than I am at sixtj^-two, and her freckles were something
terrible. We lived in a little house in Paris. My father
was a physician, and from morning sunlight to evening moonlight there was
something brewing or stewing or combining that possibly might remove freckles or
dispose of wrinkles. After my father died my mother married an analytical
chemist, and then the brewing and stewing and combining waxed hotter than
ever. All the mixtures were first tried on me, for I, too, was more spotted than
a leopard. In the meantime I had been reading, always reading, books heavy as
to weight and matter, for I was eager for all kinds of knowledge, and most eager
of all for a knowledge of chemistry. Of course, I entered into all the experiments
with peculiar interest, and many I made on my own responsibility.
" In delving for a wrinkle remover and freckle effacer we evolved, instead,
a number of other things which were valuable as aids to beauty.
' ' When I had become a young woman I married a handsome officer in the
French navy, and was more anxious than ever to be rid of all face blemishes, for
I longed to be fair in my husband's eyes. Therefore I worked with added zeal at
m.y experiments.
" In 1875 my husband died, leaving no property, and I was forced to face the
problem of how I could earn a living. Naturally it occurred to me to tn,^ and turn
(395)
396
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
my knowledge of cheinislry to account. For several years I remained in Paris,
making and selling a few articles. In 1S84 I landed in America.
" I was always deeply interested in occult and metaphysical works, and a year
after coming to Boston I began studying with Joseph Rodes Buchanan. ' I am
going to make a good living,' I said to my teacher. ' What capital have you?'
he questioned. ' No capital
at all otciside.' I replied.
' It's all inside, but I shall
do well, depend upon it.'
' Good!' he exclaimed. 'I
believe you will. I knew
a mariner who built a ship
with only a bushel of
beans to .start with.'
' ' Well, my large hope
was my bu.shel of beans,
and with that I .set to work.
I had only a few dollars.
I went to the Young
Women's Christian Asso-
ciation on W a r r e n t o n
.street, to board. I got a
small number of pupils
to whom I gave French
lessons, and with the
money thus earned I
bought materials for a few
articles, which I manufac-
tured and sold to the
friends or acquaintances I
had, and they, in turn,
told me of other ladies who
might use my prepara-
tions, and to them I went,
using the names of those
who sent me as passports. I learned to do manicuring, and went to people's
hou.ses t(j attend to their hands. I really created a demand for my goods. People
.seemed to think it was wicked to want to look better than they naturally did,
but wiih my philosophy, and my preparations and manipulations as temptations,
I convinced them that the wickedness lay in being uglier than one needed.
MADAMK JL'LIUTTH I'lNAII/r.
MANICURINC^x AND HAIRDRESSING. 397
" At last I opened parlors, and ni)- old customers and many new ones came to
nie. My business has been built up b}^ always acting honorably, selling nothing
which was not all that it was represented to be and able to do all that I claimed
it would do. I had four articles when I began. I now have eighteen, I make
every one of them, and warrant every one as harmless. You see my face. Can
you .see a freckle on it? I found the effective freckle lotion at la.st as I and
thousands of others can testify, also the wrinkle eraser. Ah! the millions of
wrinkles my lotion has done away with! If my once poor tormented mother
knows about it she must almost want to come back for a time just to feel how it
seems to be where wrinkles cease from troubling and freckles are ?wn esi.
"I have now introduced manicuring into the business, and keep two
assistants. I am not rich, but I consider that I am successful because I am
always well, and have b}^ honorable means built up an honorable business which
is still growing, has few fluctuations, and which gives me all the necessities and
some of the luxuries of life."
Madame Pinault is a handsome woman, ' ' sixtj'-two years young, ' ' who laughs
and enjoys, and forges along with a vitality and eagerness few girls are capable of
Her brain keeps evolving some new article for the toilet, and her dreams seem to
be pregnant with meaning, for the recipe for her " creme mystique," which is the
long-sought wrinkle and freckle destroyer, came, she declares, wdaile .she was asleep.
Her parlors are unique and pleasant places to visit. Madame is finely educated,
widely read in the best literature, a chemist of undoubted ability, with the
American's capability for business and the Frenchwoman's charm. Although she
does not lecture (publicly), she may rightfidly come under the head of " beauti-
fiers," of which a recent writer speaks thus:
"The professional beautifier is usually a woman. She undertakes to remove
all facial blemishes, wrinkles included. She gives practical lectures on how to be
beautiful, and furnishes the example of beauty herself Her pupils are numbered
by hundreds, her dollars by thousands. The realm of the toilet is her kingdom,
and royally she reigns. Of all lecturers on practical subjects, .she has the largest
constituency— one that continually increases."
"It is one of the best businesses in the world for women who will keep
dignified and true to their best selves and their best interests," declares Madame
Alary, of Winter street, Boston, speaking of manicuring and hairdressing. " It
has many temptations to vice, but none of them need be yielded to, and when one's
reputation is established these temptations are few and far between. I took up the
work becau.se I felt that I should love it, and because I .so much like to experiment
with chemicals. I live at home wdth my mother, and there I make all mv own
washes and creams that I may be able to say to my customers, ' This is this, and
that is that.' There is capital as well as comfort in the confidence of one's patrons.
398 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
" I put $500 into the business to begin with. Many start with much less, but
of course it is far easier to make a good beginning if one has some money. I keep
four a.ssistants. ' '
Madame Alary is a fine, frank looking woman, bland, serene, gracious,
and businesslike.
I recently read the following anecdote concerning two men who were talking
about the marvelous success of a friend :
" Everything seems to come to him without trouble," said one. "While
others are frantically tearing ahead, exerting themselves to the point of madness,
he quietly moves on, and money rolls in upon him, as though each dollar was
bent upon reaching him and nobody else."
" I believe I know" the secret of it," said the other. " He rides an even sea.
That is, he keeps his mind calm, and that attitude attracts what he desires. You
call it luck; but it is science, in its way. Look about and you will .see that the
people who accomplish most are not those who go tearing ahead like madmen.
I always try to keep out of the way of people who bang through life, just as I try
to keep out of the way of cannon balls, or other things too strongly charged with
energ>', and too unswerving in their cour.se. The atmosphere of hurry is fatal to
achievement. In the silent pool everybody is moved to cast a stone; but the
torrent that tears its way through walls and over precipices drives everything
away from it. Its turbulence makes it impossible for it to retain anything.
" Our friend rides an even sea. In his mind are no troubled waters. He
understands the art of saying ' Peace, be still,' to his thoughts and they obey. The
quiet of his mind is reflected in his manner, and that makes him agreeable to
those who come in contact with him. He is not lacking in energy because he
does not thresh about like a wounded serpent. The most irresistible form of
energy is noiseless. Then, greatest of all accomplishments, he never speaks
hastily, angrily, impatiently, or offensively,— not even in the shadings of tones,
and that means that he is already in the kingdom, of which it is said that w'hen
we have gained it, all other things shall be added unto us. I do not hesitate to
say that the full control of the voice and speech, which rids them of all that can
hurt or offend, will be followed by wonderful pro.sperity. I have never seen it
fail. Our words and even tones are fraught with power to make or mar our for-
tune. We can't be too careful how we use them."
I was strongly reminded of this anecdote by a visit I paid to Mi.ss Rosilla
Butler in her beautiful rooms on Tremont street, Boston. Miss Butler is sweetly
genuine and genuinely sweet, and .serene as the march of the planets. To a
remark of mine similar to the above the young girl who was manicuring my
hands, enthusiastically replied: " Oh yes, and she is always .so. I have been here
three years, and I never saw her different. I shall never want a place of my own.
MANICURING AND HAIRDRKSSING. 399
She makes it so pleasant we all enjoy being here. She takes an interest in all
that concerns us. If one of us is ill she is so kind, and she enjoys our fun as
much as we do."
Miss Butler, pretty, petite, frank and cordial, moves among the ten members
of "her family " as she calls the girls in her employ, speaking kindly to one,
smiling at another, careful that thoughtfulness, and justice, and sweetness shall make
a magnetic atmosphere about them all. Work goes on like magic, without jar,
break or fret, every one constantly and joyously busy. To me all this evoked
harmony and happiness seemed this young woman's most valuable success, but
she has, largely, I doubt not, in consequence of these, great success in that which
would generally be considered a more practical way.
Miss Butler came to Boston at a very early age, having decided that she
wished to do something to earn her own living. She was the youngest of eleven
children, and naturally no great amount of money was hers. But she had the
New England girl's usual heritage, good health, excellent morals, a good
common school education, and plenty of energy. She always had possessed a
taste and a talent for dressing hair, and doing deft little services about the person.
When an opportunity presented itself for her to learn the art of hair weaving and
hair dressing she gladly accepted it. She was master of the craft in three months.
It occurred to her that she might as well have a shop of her own as to serve
another, so she took a small room in the top of the building where her elaborate
parlors now are, and began dressing the hair of her old customers on her own
account. Business increased, and before long she needed an assistant. She also
ere long needed more room. " I came down as my business came up," says Miss
Butler, laughingly. She now occupies the w^hole second floor of a building near
the corner of Winter street. Her large plate glass windows command a view of
nearly the entire common, and the sun is always with her. An ecru and gold
Axminster carpet covers the parlor floor, chairs and couches and cushions, each in
excellent taste and perfect harmony wnth all else, are ranged about, while large
plate mirrows magnify the apartment and its belongings. In this parlor the
manicuring is done, while the hair dressing has a room to itself. In the back
room, which Miss Butler calls "the kitchen," the hair weaving and shampooing
are carried on. Miss Butler has invented an electrical apparatus by which drying
is accomplished in seven minutes.
All the many washes and creams and other combinations exhibited in the
oak showcases are manufactured by Miss Butler, who with all her other gettings
has absorbed a considerable understanding of chemistry.
An inexperienced person would scarcely believe that so much happiness and
refreshment could be extracted from an hour in a manicuring and hairdressing
establishment, as is enjoyed during sixty minutes in Miss Butler's domains.
LXIV.
DENTISTS AND PHARMACISTS.
Jt ITH the advent of women into the medical profession has
come also her entrance into its remoter branches. In
dentistry, for instance, she is already a conspicnons factor
and the number of women practicing this profession is
increasing yearh'. The latest data show that there are one
hundred and fifty women dentists practicing in the United
States. Statistics, however, are difficult to collect; for as
one clever and successful representative of the profession said:
" You see there are women everywhere, especially in parts of tlie
West, who will practice without a full course or a (li|)loina in
vStates where the regulations regarding such things are not .strict.
Such women are not, of course, officially registered; but if they
were counted in, the total would be greatly increased."
Philadeliihia, which has cradled a .surprising number of the
woman movements of the century, was the first city to graduate
women in this ])rofession and naturally the greatest innnber of
them flocked thither, only one dental school — that of the Uni-
versity of Pennsylvania — being closed to them. The Poston Dental College has
let down its bars; and though Harvard has not yet surrendered, one of its i)ro-
fes.sors lately said to a woman: " You are knocking at the doors so loudly that we
shall have to admit you." Maryland does not admit women to any of its dental
schools, and New York State is equally inho.spitable, as is also the city of vSt.
Louis.
(400)
DENTISTS AND PHARMACLSTS. 401
The suininer of 1897 witnessed the graduation from the Pennsylvania College
of Dental Surgery of an interesting woman from Japan, Miss Yasa Nakamura.
Miss Nakamura's object is not merely to practice the most painful of the
healing arts among Japanese women, but to establish a school of dentistry of
her own.
Although not such a steep and thorny way as the entrance into medicine, the
story of woman's introduction into the untried field of dentistry is a storj- of
struggle. As has often happened in such cases, the entering wedge was first
inserted by a man, Dr. James Truman, of the Pennsylvania College of Dental
Surgery, who, in 1866, in an address to the graduating class of that institution,
launched a bomb in the form of a suggestion that women and dentistry were
peculiarly fitted to one another. At a date when a female physician was a thing
to be shuddered at, the idea of a woman dentist was simply a combination of the
outrageous and impossible. Within two years, however, the "eternal feminine "
made her appearance in the form of Fraulein Henriette Herschfeld, who, when
refused admission by the dean of the Pennsylvania College, appealed to the
faculty. She was finally admitted to matriculation, when it was discovered that
she had come to America from Germany fully persuaded that in that woman's
country she would have no difficulty in obtaining the education she desired; and
more than that, she had been promised by the Minister of Public Instruction in
Germany that she would be allowed to practice there if she secured her diploma in
America. The dangerous precedent, however, was not followed in a hurr^^ bj' the
college, wdiich rejected all subsequent applications from women, until one of the
disappointed candidates w^as admitted to the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery;
the first and last woman ever received there. This spurred the rival college in
Pennsylvania into formally opening its doors to women, in which it was followed
by those of other States.
The National Woman's Dental Association was organized in Philadelphia
about the year 1892, and in 1897 had about fift}^ members all over the country.
Now no one worries about the woman dentist. The tender solicitude over
her health, always shown when woman enters a paying profession, has subsided;
the discourtesies first offered her bj^ masculine rivals have been exchanged for
the hand of fellowship — and she is making monej'. One of these successful
practitioners said recently: "It is because there are so few of us that women
seem more prosperous in this profession, comparatively speaking, than men. It
is not such a choked-up ' opening' as most of those we hear about for our sex.
Woman's tact and dexterity peculiarl}^ fit her for such work. People have asked
nie how women can bear constantl}' to inflict pain. We don't inflict pain, we
relieve it; the pain is inflicted b}' nature." Someone, describing a call on a
woman dentist, ends the story as follows:
26
402 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
"My last glimpse of her through the half-open office door showed hef
hovering over a small boy with a rubber dam in his mouth, who was so occupied
in round-eyed amazement, listening to her storj' of the wicked microbe family,
and how they tried to take up their abode in good children's teeth and spoil them,
that he occasionally forgot to howl in the right place — thus scoring the greatest
of triumphs for the woman dentist."
Another of medicine's appended professions, into whose mysteries women
have penetrated, is pharmacy. At the New York College of Pharmacy a feature
of the fall term of '97 was an unusual number of women students. In the .spring
of the same year six young women passed into the senior class, and in anticipa-
tion of the largely increased attendance, the accommodations for women were
enlarged and the woman's room changed from a contracted space on the ground
floor to handsome and commodious quarters joining the lecture hall. In speaking
of the marked increa.se in the number of woman .students of pharmacy, a trustee
of the college says: " Eventually the retail drug trade will pass into the control
of women. It is a business suited to intelligent, wide-awake women, and they
seem to be developing a taste for it." One of t'ne professors .says:
" Women are particularly fitted for work in pharmac\'. They are naturally
neat and delicate in their handiwork. The average .standing of women is better
than that of men, so far as can be judged by the small number who have entered.
The women are hard students, perhaps because they realize that, being few in
number, they have a record to make. It is very possible that if there were more
of them, they would not do so well. The best women are not up to the standard
of the best men. They have not the ability of the men, for they have not had
the years of training, which undoubtedly makes a great difference. It is the stor>'
of the tortoise and the hare. Industrj- will acccmplish more than genius alone.
' ' There is one obstacle in the way of women securing good positions as
pharmaci.sts. There is always a chance of their marrying after a few years of
service. A man who wants a clerk will be apt to say, ' A .student is of no very
great .service, anyway, at first. A woman will do no better work than a man. and
then, ju-st as I get her well trained, she is going to l^e married and leave me. If I
take a man, he will stay and become a great value.'
"So he puts the woman behind the counter or at the cashier's desk, where
she will Ix: attractive, and takes a man for his more serious work. Pharmacy i.'^
not now so attractive to men as formerly, becau.se of the reduction in pay. That
does not affect a woman .so .seriously. If she takes it up to make a livelihood, she
is well satisfied to receive from $40 to $60 a month."
A woman who has made a notable success as a pharmacist is Mrs. Cora Dow
Goode. a young woman not yet thirty, who owns and controls four pro.sperous
drug stores in Cincinnati. The la.st one of the four to be opened is said to be one
DENTISTS AND PHARMACISTS.
403
of the most magnificent establishments of its kind in the w orld. Mrs. Goode owes
her success entirely to her own efforts, as she began her business career without
capital. She inherited neither .stores nor wealth, and all her property and all her
professional success were won by her own industry, alertness, and attention to
business. How many young men of the same age are there in the United States
who have achieved so much in so short a time ?
Mrs. Goode is not only a thoroughly equipped pharmacist from the scientific
standpoint, but is, besides, a practical business woman of extraordinary- foresight
and sagacity. Her father. Mr. E. B. Dow, was for many years a well-known
wholesale druggist in Cincinnati, but a stroke of paralysis at the very prime of his
life incapacitated him for business, and his
successful career came to an untimely end.
This was when his daughter was yet a child.
Nevertheless, although but sixteen years of
age, and knowing nothing of the business, she
determined to do something, and accordingly
opened a drug store in the city. A hired
clerk who possessed the necessary- technical
knowledge supplemented her own labors and
everything moved along as it should in a well-
conducted pharmacy. Ever\- spare moment
was spent by the young proprietor in studying
the rudiments of her profession and in acquir-
ing the art of making the receipts exceed ex-
penditures. Her capital was limited and she
found herself again and again handicapped on this side and on that; but in her
bright lexicon that well known and too familiar word ' " fail " ' was wanting, and
she passed successfully through this critical period of her pharmaceutical exis-
tence. At seventeen the State Board of Examination was wrestled with and
triumphantly overcome. Encouraged b^* this, she immediately entered the
department of pharmac\- of the Cincinnati Universitv- and had the distinction
of being the only woman in a class of seventeen. She graduated at nine-
teen, although at first there was some trouble about her diploma being con-
ferred, since it was never given to young men until they were twenty-one. This
obstacle, like all others, was overcome and .she found herself a fully-fledged
pharmacist with a business so increased that .she was compelled to open a second
establishment. This was followed b^- a third, which was for a long time the only
all-night drug store in Cincinnati: and. finally, by the fourth and largest.
Mrs. Goode attends personally to the details of the business, does all her own
buying, writes her advertisements, and arranges her displays. She is a firm
MRS. CORA DOW GOODE.
404
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
believer in advertising, and has prepared several articles of her own which she
sells through a mail order department, already grown to be a most important
feature of her business. With all this, she is intensely feminine — the strongest
proof of which is, that .she always adds postscripts to her letters. She is very fond
of music and intended to make it her career, but she has become so much absorbed
in the details of business and finds it so remunerative that she is satisfied to depend
now on music for amusement and recreation alone. One chief article of her creed
is, that a woman's work, like a man's work, is gauged by ability.
Other girls and women are finding good livelihoods in this profession, but
none of them, so far, have attained the position of this clever, keen, shrewd Ohio
woman.
Miss Sophia B. Cowles, of Johnson, Vt., entered the drug store of her
brother-in-law more than a quarter of a century ago, and learned the business so
thoroughly that when reverses came to him she was able not only to bu)- the drug
store, but to carry it on alone, doing a thriving business for several years. When,
after a trial of other kinds of business, her brother-in-law wanted to go into the
drug business again, Miss Cowles hired him as head clerk for a while, and later
took him into partnership. To-day the firm stands as "Holmes & Cowles,"
and she is the active head, doing the buying, putting up prescriptions, etc., while
everybody in the town feels perfect confidence in her skill and honesty.
LXV.
PRINTING AND PUBLISHING.
PPORTUNITIES for women to work as printers, editors
and publishers, have been possible for a longer time than
in many other occupations, and yet here the field is
rapidly widening. In years past, when all t^-pesetting
was done b}- hand, women were very frequenth' employed,
their deftness of touch and quickness of motion making
them particularly skillful. Nor has the introduction of
typesetting machines driven them from the field. Manj- women now become
expert in operating these machines, and when they have done so, are able to earn
excellent wages. The supplementary branches of the printers' work are being
constantly made more available for women.
Of women publishers, the name of Kate Field suggests itself first. Her
"Washington" was original with her, and she made it eminently successful.
Mrs. Nicholson, of New Orleans, took charge of the Picayune of that city upon
the death of her husband. Mrs. Anna M. Grogan, of Hartford, Conn., upon her
husband's death succeeded him as editor and publisher of the Telegram, and for
several 5'ears has conducted the paper in an exceedingly able manner. Miss
Jeannette Gilder is as.sociated with her brother as editor of the Critic. Mrs.
Annie L. Y. Orrf, of St. Louis, edits and publishes the Chaperon Magazine. The
Household Realm of Cleveland is published by a woman. Miss IMarilla Andrews,
of Evansville, Wis., assisted by her sister, edits and publishes the Evansville
(405)
4o6 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Badger, and Miss Helen M. Winslow is publisher as well as editor of the brilliant
new magazine, the Club Woman.
One of the most conspicuous successes in this line of work is that of Miss
Kate E. Grisvvold, of Boston, who publishes "Profitable Advertising." Her
success is the more gratifying to women from the fact that such a publication as
hers calls particularly for that executive business ability which women are .some-
times said to lack.
Miss Rena Challender, of Manistee, Mich., enjoys the distinction of being, so
far as the writer has been able to learn, the onh- woman at work as foreman of a
daily newspaper office. Miss Challender' s position, and her ver}- notable success
in it, have been honestly earned, for she has worked herself up from being simply
a " printer's devil " to where she is now. She has fed the press, done job work,
run the engine, and, when necessary, sat down and written cop}-. As a result, she
has gained a thoroughly practical knowledge of all the details of a printer's work.
Miss Challender" s home was in a village in Michigan. When she was fourteen
years old she was apprenticed to a printing office where a paper with " patent
outsides " was published. From a brief story of her experience which Miss
Challender wrote for the N'en's, certain paragraphs have been quoted because they
seem to have such a practical bearing on just the points which this book is
intended to emphasize.
"From this office," Miss Challender says, "I went to a daily newspaper
office in the city, where I came into competition with men. Many difficulties
were encountered, but they were surmounted by careful attention to business.
Without wishing to set myself up as a superior to the women who were my
fellow- workers, I could not help noticing that I easily gained the goodwill of the
men-workers by attending strictly to my duties, and not asking assistance for
every move I made. The others seemed to require .so much attention, and
' I can't ' was often upon their lips, while my conduct was governed by the
instructions of my first employer, who taught me not to care what the ' other
fellow ' says, does or thinks; never to grumble; to pay no attention to the work
of others; to have a pleasant word for all; and to do my work so that the foreman
would not Ix; comj^elled to do it over.
"Early in my experience I found that men were jirejudiced against women
becau.st: the majority are willing to work for lower wages, and to do a man's
\si)x\i -iiX attem])t to do it — on half the salary given to men. If a woman can do
as much as a man she should be paid accordingly, and if there is a trade union in
her vicinity she shf)nl(l join it and demand equal rights. Mo.st unions are now
open to wf)men wf)rkers.
" By following this plan I recei\ed my just clues and wages, and was made
' foreman ' of the composing-room of the afternoon daily after serving one year at
WOMEN OPERATING TYPESETTING MACHINES.
y 40 / 1
4o8
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
the case, and was also entrusted with the mechanical department. There were in
the office four presses: a large cylinder, a pony cylinder, and two small jobbing
presses. I held this position for two years, and was then sought out to assume
charge of an illustrated eight-page morning newspaper where none but women
were employed. I attended to the making up of the paper and acted as foreman
of the office.
' ' In my opinion there are few^ professions or trades that a woman cannot
enter, but to maintain her position she must closely follow the independent line.
I am aware that emploj'ers usually
insist upon paying a woman or a
girl small wages, taking advantage
of her generally too helpless con-
dition.
" I do not think there is any
other business from which a woman
can derive more satisfaction tlian
that of printing. It is like music
to me to hear the click of the type
as it falls into the stick, and the
buzzing sound of the old press as .she
turns her papers out on the 'fly.'
Girls who are .starting out as I did
will do well to note some of the rules
I adopted. Never say ' I can't,' but
go ahead and do the l)est you can
and you will succeed. Leani the
printing trade, learn to operate the
machine, for our typesetting davs
are over. There is alwa}s work for
a good competent woman compos-
itor. I have never been without a position. Whatever you undertake, go at it
with the idea that yon cannot fail and must succeed, and you will surely win."
lioston enjoys the distinction of having a successful woman jol) printer. Miss
A. Florence Grant has now conducted a printing business in that city for eight
years, competing successfully with the men in the business, doing almost all kinds
of work, and giving the best of satisfaction.
Miss Grant was born in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, in 1S70. vShe says that she
always thought .she wauled to go into business for herself, but that as a child, she
thouglit she would like to be a grocer. Tlie printing liusiness she says she grew
into, influenced jierhaps b\' the fact that when at the Wakefield High vSclu^ol she
MISS A. HI.ORKNCK GRANT.
PRINTING AND PUBLISHING. 409
helped edit tlie school paper. Her knowledge of her busines.s has been thorough
and practical. Before it had grown to its present proportions, where all the
proprietor's time is required in the office to attend to the executive department,
she was able to take a hand at any of the mechanical details.
There is no evidence of femininity about this printing establishment except
in the personality of its fair but business-like proprietor. The sign on the door
which indicates the character of the business tells nothing of the sex of the person
whose name is given, and so "Grant, Printer," frequently receives visitors who
are greatly astonished at being met by a slender, refined appearing girl as rep-
resenting the head of the establishment.
Seated at her desk in her private office she figures upon ' ' contracts ' ' with as
much ease as the society girl reckons up the dances on her card, and with specula-
tions that are doubtless more surely realized.
Miss Grant's experience, like msLuy another business woman's, testifies not
only to the genuine respect and substantial patronage which men accord a capable,
business-like w^oman, but also illustrates the fact that woman is woman's friend,
and that no feelings of petty jealousy ever prevent a woman from extending the
hand of sisterly fellowship to a brave woman comrade, and while doing all
possible to encourage and assist her, experiencing a true sense of pride in the
success which means not only personal benefit, but reflects credit v:pon the entire
sex.
Of this matter Miss Grant herself saj's, in a paper which she read before a
business league:
"When a woman enters the business world the first question is, ' Is she a
business woman?' If so it will quickly be seen, and then she will receive the
most courteous treatment from both men and women. The meeting in business
is on a more equal basis than any other, and it is in this realm that the true nature
of our fellow creatures is seen. A business woman of to-day has received her
business education in a much shorter time than a man. He is trained from earl)'
youth to his career, while the girl is usually overtaken by circumstances and has
to learn through experience many things which the boy has been taught.
' ' We so often hear it said b}' parents that they would like to have their
daughters do something, but they do not wish them to work hard. They talk
thus instead of finding for wdiat the girl's capabilities fit her, and then training
her for some definite purpose. Work, and hard work, are but synonyms for what
one di.slikes to do. Given a congenial occupation, and the energies of the worker
may be pushed to their greatest and highest capability for endurance without
making the work anything but pleasure, and the individual, the communit}- — in
fact, all the world, are the gainers thereby. To the mother who knows little or
nothing of the business world it maj' seem hard to think of her daughter spending
4IO
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
so main' hours daily in an office. She may think it much easier for her to remain
at home doing the sweeping, the cooking, or the fancy work. But to many, very
many girls, housework is the dullest monotony, and it would be much more agree-
able to be engaged in some occupation adapted to their talent. Office work may be
the same routine each daj-, but the different characters one meets, the interchange .
of thought, the knowledge of the happenings in the world keeps one's brain active
and gives one a great calmness in times of necessity-, developing and strengthing
one as nothing else can.
" For about three years my business was mostly with men, and I found them
always courteous and kind. Since then I have met many women, and that has
increased the pleasure I have felt in my work. There is true happiness in the
business life if one enters into it for the sake of business itself, but if one does it
' because it is the fashion,' or ' for the good of the cause,' the results are dire in the
extreme, both to one's self and to every one coming in contact with the business
conducted on such principles. What is needed for success is a polite independence,
and good-will to all."
LXVI.
BOOKKEEPERS AND CASHIERS.
ACK in the dark ages for women — and they were not so
very far away, either, when one comes to think of it —
the question was asked why need girls be taught
arithmetic, because even if they had the brains to
comprehend the science of numbers, the}^ would never
in later life have any opportunity to use it.
Those days passed; but it is onlj- since we have
been going down the last half of this century that
business men began to realize that women not only
could learn arithmetic, but practice it. Now, the
number of women doing satisfactory work as bookkeepers and cashiers is legion ;
and while the opportunities for very great advancement may not be possible in
this work, as in the professions and in business, the number of women who earn
a comfortable living salary is probably as great as in any other line of work.
That they are efficient is shown by this very fact.
William Ellery Curtis, writing of life in Washington in the Chaiitauquan for
September, 1897, says: " Nearly- one-fourth of the employes in the executive
departments are women, and it is the universal testimony of all unprejudiced
officials of experience that they maintain a higher standard of efficiency than men
in this clerical work. This is even more noticeable in those branches of the
(411)
412 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
treasury where bonds and money are to be handled. A treasury 'countess' in
the redemption division, where worn-out mone}^ is exchanged for new, or in the
division of issue, from which all bank bills and greenbacks originall}' proceed, is
unsurpassed for accuracy' and acuteness in all the banking world. There are
women in those offices whose instincts enable them to detect a counterfeit note
almost by the touch. There is one woman who has testified as an expert in nearly
all important lawsuits involving the genuineness of money, and she is regarded as
the highest authority on that subject. There has seldom been a woman thief in
any of the executive departments or in the post offices throughout the country,
although the agents of the secret service are constantly making arrests.
" As clerks and correspondents women are e quail y efficient, and they often
accomplish more than the men, although they are not promoted as rapidly and do
not receive the same salaries. The highest compensation paid to a woman in the
government employ is $1800, and there are only two or three who receive that
amount. Married women are not allowed to hold positions if they have husbands
or sons to support them, and the majority of women clerks have obtained
their positions through competitive examinations. The old S3'stem of political
patronage did not offer them as many opportunities as are afforded by the new
system."
The great number of business colleges which have sprung up all over the
country furnish instruction in the theory and practice of bookkeeping which
undoubtedly gives a pupil in such a school a very great advantage both about
getting a position and taking up the work after the position is secured. At the
same time the details of the different enterprises, and the individual methods of
different employers vary .so much that experience must be the last and best
teacher.
In connection with this question of experience the writer has asked two^-oung
women, each of several years' experience, and .successfull}- holding positions as
bookkeeper and cashier, to an.swer certain questions, and give briefly an account of
their own experience, as a help to other young women who may be wishing to take
up the same work.
The que.stions a.sked were these:
" How did you first happen to take up the work; by cliance or design ?
" What were .some of the principal difficulties you encountered at first ?
" Does experience enable you to guard against these, or are new difficulties
liable to arise at any time ?
" Do you find the work pleasant ? Tiresome ? Hard ?
" Do you think the pay is in general .satisfactory?
" Do you think the field is full, or is there room for really competent women ?
" General suggestions.'
BOOKKEEPERS AND CASHIERS. 413
To these the bookkeeper made the following replies:
' ' A successful bookkeeper asked me to study with her. After a course of
private lessons there came an opportunity for me to open a set of books for a new
business. From then on circumstances were such as to lead the way for me.
Possibly the counting-room would not have been my choice had some other field
been open and promising of' remuneration. The instruction I had received was
invaluable in my work.
" There have been no difficulties except such as have been easily overcome by
conforming to the main principles. The double entry theory being clearly in
mind, details will vary to suit the business in hand.
' ' New emergencies are likely to arise at any time, but experience as to the
best methods is of value, and there are principles which are invariable.
' ' All three. The occupation may be said to be in some degree menacing to
health because of the close application for so many consecutive hours. Longer
periods for rest are needed than the ordinary vacation limit. The need for rest
equals that of a teacher.
' ' There are instances in which the pay is very satisfactory. In general it is
less than the value of the work. It is a field w-here many a woman does better
work than a man would do in the same place, and as a whole she receives a
smaller compensation. The qualifications of patience, accuracy and close atten-
tion to detail mark her work.
" It is best to be as well prepared as possible. At the same time, the novice
must continue to be teachable, and to learn new lessons constantly in^practical work.
" There will always be room for the really competent, but the field is full of
applicants, and it takes opportunity for ability to make itself evident.
' ' There is a field of effort in the counting room wider than would be supposed.
A study to effect the best economy of time, to employ the best and simplest
methods, to make the clearest and most intelligent showing of values accrued, and
of expenditures, to present helpful analyses and ratios of expense— these suggest
that the arithmetic of the counting room goes further than the ' rule of
three. ' ' '
The cashier, whose duties also include some portion of the bookkeeping of the
establishment where she is employed, says: " Mere chance put me in the position
I now hold. I entered the office as billing clerk. One day I was told I must help
the bookkeeper, and take charge of the cash draw^er, for a few days. This I did
with fear and trembling. I had not had any experience whatever. In school I
had studied bookkeeping, but of practical knowledge I had none.
"I shall never forget my first day, or rather night, for the night before I
began my new duties I went through the whole day's work. After a few days I
was told that I was to remain in the position of cashier; and here I am still.
414 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
" Experience I do not think is really necessary, provided one learns quickly,
as each person has his own way in which he wants his books kept. It is well, of
course, to have a good idea of the general principle of bookkeeping. It is
necessary- to understand banking, discount and interest, notes payable, and notes
receivable. One will gain more from one week of practical work than from two
months in a school or college.
" I find my work very pleasant, and enjoy it greatly. It is really fascinating,
and after a holidaj- I am always eager to get back to the ofl&ce. The work of
cashiering is not an easy task, becau.se there is so much responsibility attached to
it. Unless a girl's whole heart and soul are in it she .should not attempt it, for she
will not succeed. The work is verj- w^earing, and if a girl is of a nervous tempera-
ment she had much better try something else."
The writer has also asked the president of one of the oldest and mo.st success-
ful business colleges in the country' for a brief summary of his observations of the
work of women in this field. He says: " There is an arm)' of women employed
now as bookkeepers and cashiers. It may be said, then, that the field is full. In
a certain sen.se it is full, but the trouble is, both for the women who are at work,
for those who want to go to work, and for too many of the employers, that a large
proportion of the young women who take up this work do so simply as a stop-gap
between school and marriage. The woman who is willing to realh- fit herself for
a position, and then do her work carefully and con.scientioush-, not all the time
keeping one eye on the clock and the other on the boys, will never need look far
for a place, and a good one, too.
" Of course, I believe that the best way for any one to fit for the work is to take
a thorough course of instruction at a good bu.siness college. The time which should
be required for this varies, in different pupils, with their previous training and their
ability to learn. Many pupils learn all that is necessary in six months; others
require a longer time. In addition to bookkeeping, arithmetic, and penman.ship,
the pupil should study banking, and commercial law. Rates of tuition vary from
about S40 a quarter of ten weeks, to $120 a year of forty-two weeks. Tliere need
be few extra expenses, except board. Thoroughly trained and competent women
bookkeepers earn from $15 to $25 a week. Less able women, employed by smaller
establishments, cannot command as high wages. Cashiers, as a general thing,
require less training, and get less pay.
"So far as the comparative ability of women to do commercial work is con-
cerned, I should say that the average woman is quite competent to take charge of
the lx)oks of the great majority of business enterpri.ses. Moreover, there will be. in
every city, a few women who have developed so much talent for this work that
they are the equals of any men. and perfectly competent to take the entire charge
BOOKKEEPERS AND CASHIERS.
415
Such
of the books of any business, no matter how complicated or extensive
women as these easily command from $1500 to $1800 a year."
These three records of the observations of the work of women as bookkeepers
and cashiers may be summed up briefly, then, as follows: " Eearn how to do your
work; do it just as well as you are able, and there will be work for you to do."
LXVII.
^
e-:lv
^:
y^
UP-TO-DATE RICH GIRLS.
HAT may be a sig:!! of the times is disclosed bv an analvsis of the
/^^ e^ plans of a class of fifteen girls who have recently completed
^":^ the three years' course in one of the best of Boston's private
'^.^^^SOt ?^^-^//* schools," said the Transcript of that city recently. The word
^-iU^:^ "best" is u.sed advisedly, and in its broadest and deejiest
sen.se; it is meant to .stand not only for the kind of people from whom this school
draws its patronage, but al.so for the high character of instruction which
coniV)ines with the culture of modern Athens the enlightened Christianity of the
best thinkers of this city.
Though not one of the.se fifteen daughters of wealth}- parents has any idea
of earning her own living, all have more or less definitely mapped out a life of
u.seful activity and w(jrk. A few years ago for such young women to be simjily
"society girls" would have been enough. We have said that no girl in the
fifteen has any idea of earning her own living; all have been taught to realize that
ever)' place filled and every salary drawn by women upon whom neither .stern
neces.sity has laid her imjx;rative hand, nor special talent tailed with a constraining
urgency impossible- to misunderstand, de])rives some other woman of her rightful
work and wage.
Quite different from womtn who clamor for well-salaried positions which they
do not ticed will these fifteen be. Three will, in college, go on with their studies;
three will, while traveling abroad, strenuously strive after deeper knowledge and
(416)
UP-TO-DATIv RICH CilRLS. 417
further cultivation; two, who are motherless, will immediately assume the duties,
social and domestic, appertaining to them as heads of their fathers' households;
one. with a decided talent for music, will this winter continue her violin studies
in Dresden. Thus it will be seen that nine, or more than sixty per cent of the
class of fifteen, have distinctly before them working futures.
Six girls remain. vSuperficially, this half dozen might be said to come in the
category of " society girls. " They will be introduced by their mothers to the
fashionable world, and, being bright, healthy girls, they will probably get a fair
share of fun out of the frivolity about them. Yet, though they will be " in the
world," the}^ will not be "of it." One has already begun to .stir up interest in
a working girls' club, and another has gone in for sociological study with a fervent
desire to " come over and help." The four who remain have not j-et expressed
them.selves as to their intentions, but it is fair to assume that they, too, will be
more than mere self-indulgent seekers after amusement.
A deep sense of their responsibility as privileged 3'oung women to those less
rich in opportunity animates the girls in the school in question, and shows itself
in desire to help other girls. Certainly this bodes very well for Am.erican women
of the twentieth century. College settlements and working girls' clubs are break-
ing down the barriers between classes, and, whilcithe wage-earner is being taught
English composition, French, German, and music, her privileged sister is coming
to realize that only by setting herself a purpose in life, — and that, too, an un.selfish
one, — can she do her duty in the world, and, incidentally, find the truest and
most lasting happiness there is in it. With the tailore.ss, the educated daughter
of to-day is crying for " more life, and fuller," and, while the one refuses to let her
soul be bound by the four walls of the workshop, the other discovers that the
narrow line of conventional "society" does not of necessity define her life's
pathway.
The following faults of commission and omission in women's colleges in
America were recently suggested in conversation to a prominent American woman
hy a college-bred new.spaper man. They were stated in a spirit so fair and
friendly that I thought them worthy of transmission to the columns of the Cri/zc,
and submit the memorandum again to you as a contribution to one of the most
important studies now before our people. Under none of these heads do I mean
to indicate that there is an utter lack of these things.
Faults of Commission.
I . Too Great Emphasis of Literary and Scientific Life as the Life Really Worthy
of a Woman. — This seems to be the only life for which some of the teachers care,
.and the only ideal of life which they, by precept or example, hold up to women.
27
4i8 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
■ 2. Imitation of Man. — In their effort to prove their capacity and the
quality of their college work equal to man's, manj- women strive to make
their capacity and quality identical with man's. This is unworthy of woman-
hood. Men's colleges have many faults which women, starting at this late
day, could avoid. At the Annex it is possible and desirable to
correct faults and make advances impossible in University. But a
professor (also professor in the Annex) says that the women will not
have any improvement; they wish just the same education as the college man,
not a better one.
3. Women's Education a Fad. — College education is held up before all women
as desirable. Many women who lack strength of mind or body weaken what they
have in the attempt to do what a few can or should do. Women sacrifice vigor
which would otherwise tell to the advantage of men and women, in the attempt
to re-create their nature and capacities, and they utterly fail to develop already
created capacities and ambitions. While women of too widely varying natures
enter college, the college seems to be planned for a too limited class, often
apparently for teachers. This makes the contrast all the more dangerous between
the too wide range of women and the too narrow curriculum.
Faults of Omission.
r. Lack of Physical Training, for (a) purpo.ses of recreation and proper
balance of bodily and mental work in college, (h) future health, and (c) the
duties of wifehood and motherhood. Women's colleges are not responsible for
all the ill health of their .students in and out of college, but it is one of the special
functions of women's colleges — through their more experienced trustees and
teachers and alumnse — to look this question more squarely in the face in the
attempt to solve it for all American women.
2. Lack of Social Training. — Many of the teachers themsehes have no .social
capacity. They do not care for humanity as much as for books, or they are sadly
lacking in ability to express their interest in mankind. The over-emphasis of the
literary life prevents recognition of the claims of the .sc^cial life among tho.se teachers
who have .social capacity and trained social tact. The woman's college seems to
fail to show the iK)ssibility of the dcvelojiment and exjjrcssion of the intellectual
in the Sfxrial life. Women have the power and opportunity to do this in America.
They should wA i)Ut tliought intf) social relations during Ihcir four years in
college. Throughout I use " social " in a wide sense, including sf)cial events,
conversation, friendsliips, mingling with men and women, social heli^fulness. and
the problems of mankind as lx)und together into a stx'iety with i)hysical, artistic,
ethical and religious needs.
UP-T()-I).\TI-: RICH C.IRLS. 419
3. Lack of Rcfniino Iiijluciias and 'foidoicics. — Women themselves recognize
this in their college life. It is painfully apparent in some cases to men. Women
can point out the way, if anybo(l>- can, to a "fine art of conduct " in dress,
l)earini;, thinking, .speech, and in a delicate synijiathN- that has real helpfulness and
real tact. It is hard enough for men to attain and retain a wholesome and per-
\ading refinement; and we look to women to set us the example, to hold up before
us the ideal, and so in both these ways to make this refinement a pervading force.
A member of one of the oldest and best Eastern women's colleges, a girl who is apt
to be over-loyal, told me that she did not think one would find much refining
influence in this college. Under this head I find Ijoth an absence of helpful and a
presence of hindering influences.
4. Failure to Hold Up the Ideal of Wifehood and Motherhood. — I do not for-
get that some women do not care to marry, and that some are not fitted to do their
best work as married women. But a woman's college should present and rightly
prepare for the duties of womanhood. In College every teacher is, I think, I
unmarried, except a very few, who are widows. Is it not rare in other colleges to \ "^
find women teachers who are, or have been, married? Does not the almcst exclu-
sive presence of unmarried teachers unconsciou.sly tend toward an ideal which
is not that of womankind? Of course, I am not issuing a diatribe against
unmarried women as teachers, for they find a noble aim there; but I am question-
ing the effect of the overwhelming proportion in women's colleges. College
is more normal than in that it has both men and women on its faculty. So
far as I can learn from courses of study, and from the experience of ni}- sister, my
cousins, and my friends, almost nothing is done in the leading colleges and co-
education schools either by personal or public effort to train women intelligently in
this line, or even to suggest the po.ssibilities of the ideal. Is it reasonable for my
sister now to feel it unworthy either to have, or to express to friends, this ideal
of wifehood or motherhood as her highest ideal, when she frankly expressed
it as a little girl ?
5. Laek of Preparation for Continuity of Intellectual Life After Leaving
College. — A woman's college training fails to connect with her later life. The
similar failure in men's colleges is somewhat remedied by the continuity of intel-
lectual life in professional or university study and then in professional work. The
failure of women's colleges seems to me partly in (a) selection of subjects, and
partly in (b) method of work.
(a) Women seem to be working on the same old schedule, instead of taking
for scientific study subjects which generally enter into women's later life. In
order to let women develop their inborn interest, provide a good range of electives
in pedagogy, psNxhology, hygiene, nursing, physiological chemistry, chemistry of
good, economics of the household, physiology, certain branches of medicine
420 OCCUPATIOXS FOR WOMEN.
(elementary), physical culture, social science, social ethics, history of culture,
scientific English composition (e. g., daily themes), and the special interests
which women can discover for themselves and which they will be likely to have
after college. Of ctmrse, the standard branches nuist also be offered. But there is
a whole range of subjects which enter into women's lives for which they have had no
college training. How effective women could be in charities, in churches, villages,
liomes, if some of the time put into things dropped at graduation had been used
to give them a sj-stematic knowledge of social questions! Wh}- should not upper-
class girls and graduate students make a regular part of their work the personal
investigation and criticism of associated charity work in cities, or of selected
families in villages? Women seem to me to be particularly fitted for satisfactory
study of the much misunderstood and abused histor\' of culture. They could have
almost to themselves — with the exception of Edward Atkinson — the scientific study
of domestic economy.
So, they have an open field in certain branches of economic history, the
history of household economy, the effect of costume on trade, and vice versa, the
history of social reforms.
Dr. Dyke, of Auburndale, Mass., published an interesting article in the
Atlantic, about a year ago, on " Sociology in the Education of Women," in which
he spoke well of this matter of continuity, and of the astonishing lack of courses
in .social .science in women's colleges. Women could make pedagogy more
practical and serviceable than it is nf)\v, and could put college training to innnense
advantage in the nur.sery. President G. .Stanley Hall .says women can make
quicker and finer investigations in psychology than men. I think it was Mrs.
Sidgwick, of Newnham College, Cambridge, who exposed .some of the cleverest
spiritualistic frauds in London. All of these things ought to be offered as electives
of equal value with literature and mathematics, and not as added burdens to over-
worked students.
(b) A majority of subjects nuist be studied in college generally rather than
fundamentally, but every woman in the la.st two years ought to go near enough the
bottom of something to find out what original research by the laboratory method
is. She ought to have ctmrses f(;r method more than for matter. The college
to-day fails to give lier such .scientific and indejiendent work that she can hardly
lose afterward her craving for and ])ower to do her later work — at least .some of
it — scientifically. To-day she fails to get such a clear habit of thinking, writing
and acting that it shall always be a pleasure to her to do things clearly. This
process of natural selection and of research would develop the average college
woman, and would give a free range to real genius.
These faults of women's colkges, I think, are very fundamental and .serious.
One can excuse slow development, but one cannot excuse serious damage to a
UP-TO-DAT1-: RICH GIRLS.
421
generation because college authorities and alumnte are unwilling to acknowledge
mistakes. Tlie errors can be remedied when the alunnue will forget false lovalty,
acknowledge mistakes, and determine to correct them. The wonderful develop-
ment of woman's higher education shows that it is possible for women's colleges to
achieve this when thev determine to do so.
(422'
A SKA VIKW.
LXVIII.
WOMEN IN ART.
yEJL and over again has it been proved that real, soul-
born art depends upon no favors and accepts no
defeat from circumstances.
When Anne Whitney, the noted Boston sculptor,
began her career there were no teachers, no interest in
sculpture which represented anj'thing later t?ian some
heathen god or storied nymph, no intelligent criticism of
the little sculpture which was produced. It was the fore-
sight and insight of genius which showed the young
woman visions of something which might be closer and
dearer to the present life. "I hold," she wrote in a
letter to a friend, "that art, at its best, is only an expres-
sion of the life of the people — in infinite adaption — and
that its scope is correspondingly broad and varied. I
hate the pedantry of prescriptions. Whoever prescribes limits to this expression,
and labels his articles, ' Art for art's sake only,' or, ' Beauty is the sole end of
art,' or, ' No art without a moral purpose,' I hold to be a weak brother, deserving
commiseration. ' '
Miss Whitne}' began her modeling by using snow, wet sand, clay or any
malleable substance, and without any definite purpose in mind save the immediate
expression of her mood, which often led her to indulge her love for shaping
likenesses.
(423^
424 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
One clay she overturned a pot of wet earth in the greenhouse, and i^egan to
model with the damp material, which retained any shape which her deft fingers
gave it. She worked for hours, returning to the taslc the next day with unabated
zest.
From that time she recognized and accepted her vocation. That slie has
taken a foremost place among America's sculptors needs not to be reaffirmed. She
has been declared "not merel>' high among female artists, but high in art itself.
that knows no sex."
When, after working alone for a number of years in America, Miss Whitney
went to Paris, and made known her wish to familiarize herself with the superior
skill of the French artists, one of these artists said to her, " Why do you want to
study with French artists? You have nothing to learn from them."
This to a woman who had never had a teacher!
' ' Fra Angelico painted on his knees. With all sincere workers the spiritual
attitude must be the same, ' '
Thus declares Harriet Thayer Durgin, in who.se studio, on Copley vSquare,
Boston, one feels like removing his shoes, knowing that ground consecrated by
high thoughts, constantly su.stained, and .soul endeavors continually maintained.
must needs be holy ground.
In this studio are the two artist sisters, Harriet Thayer and Lyle Durgin.
who have lived and wrought in a manner which ma}- well be an inspiration and
an incentive to any girl .starting out in life with her brush for a weapon wherewith
to carve her way.
The old refrain running like a central chord through all the variations of the
most complicated musical theme, the un])roken thread of the poem about which,
minor fancies play, the pattern which obtains through all the intricate weavings
of the many-fibred web, — this old refrain, sounding from every country and
myriad tongues, " I did this or this, or performed that or that, because it claimed
and held me," this old refrain is that (jf the Durgin sisters.
"When did we begin?" they say.
" We never consciously began. We always drew and painted. We should
not have known how to kee]) from it."
The two were daughters of a clergyman richer in honor and intellectuality
than in gold. They attended the New Hampton .school, but education has come
to them more through their own wide reading, observation and thoughtful deduc-
tions than by the teachings of others.
Hefore going abroad in IS79 they may be said never to have had any in.struc-
tions in painting. They felt and i)ainte(l, trusting to the inbred accuracy of their
perceptions for just atmospheres ami true values; and trusting wi.sely, for almost
from the first they prcxluced pictures which were noticed and .sold.
\voml:n in art. 425
Harriet, the elder sister, fomid her most pleasing and snccessfnl accomplisli-
nicnt in water colors and sketches, while Lyle painted mostly in oil. While still
what niiL;ht be called an aniatenr, the latter had paintings exhibited at the
Mechanics' Fair, in Boston, and after five years of study and work in Paris, her
portraits were seen in the Salon of that city.
In the Rue de Verneuil, near the I^uxembourg Gallery, the sisters made a
little home, inexpensive, but adequate and restful, and supporting themselves by
the sale of their pictures, all the while growing in grace of character and grace of
touch, and into the fullness of the true life, — which is the life that works toward
an ideal of holiness, and has found and accepted its true work.
After some 3'ears the two returned to America and established themselves in
the studio which they have ever since occupied, and which was planned especially
for them.
The}' are not rich in money; they probably never will be; I do not think
they desire to be ; but theirs is the beautiful and beautifying, the uplifting and
unwanting life which is its own surpassing reward.
" How did you succeed?' ' I asked. " Why, we just kept on. We couldn't
be anything bid artists, you see."
"Ah! there lies the open secret. They "just kept on" and obe3^ed the
" soul's emphasis."
" If," says Miss Harriet — and in her statements she was, I am sure, uttering
also the belief of her sister — " if we read the lives of those who have left their
record on the world of art, we find that they had no need of considering money.
They were artists because the}^ were born with the love of art in their very
natures, and kings were their patrons, and fortunes were placed at their
disposal.
Our Western w^orld is different. An artist on being asked why, with a history
like ours, full of glorious subjects, our painters almost never avail themselves of
its resources, while other nations have their museums, galleries and churches filled
with great historical pictures, the reph^ was: ' We can't afford to do so — nobody
wants them.' It is too true. It is not from the inability of our artists, but from
a lack of public appreciation of such things, that so few great works are painted
in America.
"The awakening is coming, no doubt. A love of art is inherent in
humanity, and must develop itself, and if we consider the wonderful difference
betw^een the artistic conditions of to-daj- and those of so short a period as twenty
3' ears ago, we can comprehend the rapidity of the development.
" Truly, all may love art, but not all may be artists, and the student who is
choosing his life work must consider carefull^^ There is a whole history behind
the expression, ' a struggling artist.' It expresses a phase of humanity and a
4^6 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
condition of society as well. All artists do not struggle, and the ill success
implied by the expression proves nothing discreditable. Even exceptionable
merit may be unrecognized bj^ the wisest critics.
" There is always room for good artists. In affairs of the world's need the
laws of supply and demand regulate each other.
' ' Art does more, for while widening her own influence, she increases in the
heart of the world all those qualities which tend to its elevation, not only making
beautiful things, but increasing the general capacity for enjoying them. She has
creative force, like the Great Ma.ster,
" ' Who sendeth and giveth both mouth and the meat,
And blesseth us all." "
"No one," .says Miss Anna E. Klumpke, who shows as an artist a talent
equal to that of her sister Dorothea in science, " no one can promise success in
art to any student, even when a considerable amount of talent and natural dispo-
sition is manifested. But patience, self-.sacrifice and determination will make an
artist of any one who feels strongly drawn toward this invisible power, who has a
real love of the beautiful and an intense desire to express it.
" I would like to emphasize the value of ptrpamiory study in the best schools
in America before going to Europe. Going abroad will naturally broaden one's
ideas, and especially help one feel how little one knows. But, first, the American
student must realize how much he caii learn here.
' ' What I have seen of the schools in Bo.ston and New York impresses me
very favorably; here are fine, airy rooms, good casts, good models, and the
in.struction is such as would plea.se any of the French masters. Bouguereau once
said to me: ' Most of the American students have very little to unlearn, and few
bad habits about their work, and it takes them but a \cry .short time to drift into
the strongest current that moves to right results.'
' ' I may safely .say that this is the opinion of .several of the French artists,
Init this only applies to the students who have studied at the art schools of New
York, Boston and Philadelphia. Before going to Europe let the aspirant have a
good kiujwledge of drawing, composition, anatomy, perspective, and very Utile
painting, and then his visit abroad, if it can only be a year, will be more bene-
ficial than he can realize.
"While the financial side of this (jue.stion is never the first one to present
itself to the thought of any true artist, it is nevertheless something which mu.st
be considered in choosing one's life-work, and what his success will be it is not
easy to i)redict. It must depend very much upon the artistic development and
culture of the people who look at i)ictures and buy them. From what I have
WOMEN IN ART. 427
known during my experience in America, there is no lack of either artistic appre-
ciation or liberal patronage among its people.
" As American age increases the wealth of its citizens, they are naturally
awakened to the life .struggles of the masses from whence the\- came, and feel a
sincere desire to help them, but who will open the way of each to the other,
and save to the world some genius, whose .sensitiveness might otherwise bury
liim ? "
Miss Nettie Johnson, of Columbus, Ohio, is a young .sculptor who.se name has
frequently been heard of later. Miss John.son is a farmer's daughter, brought up
in the country home of her father. She graduated from the Columbus Art School,
and from thence went, about four years ago, to New York to avail herself of the
privileges of the Art Students' League.
One day a person who was speaking with St. Gaudens asked his opinion of
Miss John.son.
" Out of dozens of students that flock yearly to the modeling cla.ss," was the
reply, " there are perhaps one or two who evidence decided ability. Miss Johnson
had not been there long when she arrested my attention. Ker work stood out.
She gives promi.se."
Miss Johnson not long after this convensation took place, a.ssisted St. Gaudens
in the mechanical part of preparing the statue of General Logan and collected
material for models of the saddle, the spurs, and other paraphernalia. By her work
on this statue she overtaxed her always delicate strength, and was obliged to retire
to her country home. Her father erected for her a rough studio, and here she
labored, almost discouraged, and utterly homesick for the atmo.sphere from which
physical limitations had debarred her. One day she received a letter from the
Ohio State University offering her five hundred dollars for a bust of Dr. Edward
Orton, for the librarj' of the college. Feeling henself unequal to .so important a
task, she appealed for advice to her old teacher. " Of course you can do it. Go
ahead," wrote St. Gaudens.
The work was begun a little over a year ago. Last June the plaster ca.st was
complete, the arti.st having spent many hours at the college studying the doctor's
head while he delivered his lectures. St. Gaudens pronounced the bust a strong
piece of work, and commended it enthusiastically. It has now been put into
marble.
" Ever .since .she was old enough to crawl under the kitchen table and catch
the drippings from the bread pan, Nettie Johnson has modeled," says Lida Rose
McCabe in the Col in)i bits Pi-ess.
Again the central chord in the music, the unbroken chain of the poem, the
staying pattern in the web, the ' ' keeping right on ! "
428
OCCl'PATIOXvS FOR WOMEN.
It is seldom that a painter or an author — au)- one whose sole capital is devo-
tion to an ideal, a soul-alliance with the work which has chosen her, and a conse-
crated heart, becomes even moderately wealthy. Therefore let no one dream that
by entering one of these professions she will be at all likely to gain thereby aught
beyond the work which, if it was boj'yi hers, will uplift and ennoble her, come nearer
to satisfying her heart than any other employment could do, and if intelligently
and persistently followed, afford her, in due time, an adequate livelihood.
IvXIX.
MY BRAVE HELPER.
HE stor}' of many a girl's achievement is but half told,
when it onl}^ repeats what she has done for herself. The
full}- rounded recital is the one which tells what she does
for others as well. And as an example of the harmo-
nious, fully developed life of endeavor and fulfillment, it
is pleasant to point to the work of Anna Adams Gordon.
She was a very fragile baby, the fourth girl bom
into the home of the Gordon family in Boston. Her
father had hoped greatly for a son, but being a man rich in
sympathy, he took her warmly to his heart and said, " Father
likes his little girl just as weU." She was so delicate that the
most faithful of mothers carried her on a pillow^ much of the first year.
When she was three years old the family removed to Auburndale. Anna was
now quite strong, and a most ' ' noticing ' ' little thing. As the family walked to
their new home, they missed her at the open gateway of a fine old mansion, but
the mother caught the gleam of her dress and entered, and there was the fair-
haired little one kneeling beside a bed of violets, with her small arms stretched out
over them, and saying in sweet, earnest tones, " I didn't know that." Her love
of nature has always been so great that, with her gift of versification, I have felt
that among literary surroundings she might have become a charming writer.
(429)
430
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMICN.
Akin to this quality is her love of animals, which prepared her for a leader in our
Mercy Bands.
Three little brothers came to the home, and doubtless her share in bringing
them up gave Anna much of that bright, attractive " way " with children that has
been one of her greatest
charms in our white-
ribbon work.
She went to the New-
ton High School, and
afterward to Mt. Holyoke,
where her sister Alice,
after graduating with high
honors, had become a
teacher, and where her
sister Bessie, since so
warmly cherished b\- all
of us, was also a student.
But little Anna was a
home-lover. She used to
cry herself to sleep think-
ing of that happy hearth-
stone in Auburndale, and,
after enduring the separa-
tion for a year or two, she
' ' begged off," and lived at
home, taking studies and
attending lectures at
La.sell vSeminary, and
studying music, to which
she and her whole family
had always been devoted.
I never heard so many fine
voices at family prayers as
those of the father and
mother and their six children (for when I came to know them the youngest and
faire.st had passed away J.
On my going to conduct the women's meetings for Mr. Moody, in Boston, in
1.H77, there was no one to play the cabinet organ that was be.side my desk on the
platform. An earnest appeal was made, and after a painful pause and waiting, a
slight figure in black, with a little nuisic roll in her hand, came shyly along the
MISS .ANNA ADAMS CORDON.
MY BRAVE HKLPIiR. 431
aisle of Berkeley Street Church, and Anna Gordon whispered, " As no one
volunteers, I will do the best I can." That very day she had taken her first
lesson on the organ, meaning to become mistress of that instrument. Her teacher
was the famous organist, Professor J. K. Paine. But sometliing greater had come
into her life a fortnight earlier. Her brother Arthur, eighteen years of age, and
nearer to her by years and temperament than any of the others, had suddenly
died. This was Anna's first sorrow. She had been a Christian and church
member since she was twelve years old, but a deeper current God ward now flowed
through her soul. This was her first visit to Boston after her brother's death,
and she had just attended Mr. Moody's noon meeting, at which the text was,
" Whatsoever He .saith to you, do it," and had promised in her inmost heart that
by God's grace she would try to do helpful things as the opportunity offered;
and behold ! the very first ' ' opportunity ' ' was to come forward before twelve or
fifteen hundred waiting women, and "start the tune."
I wish I could picture her as she looked then in her sweet youth, with eyes
that were the mirror of an absolute truthfulness, no less than of the utmost
kindness and goodwill; with soft, fair hair, a pretty brown complexion, and a
smile full of humor and benignity. She was hardly up to medium height, and
had a slight figure, with a remarkabl}^ alert bearing and quick gliding step.
She had that noiseless way of getting about and doing things without one's
knowing that she did them, which I have found to be a most uncommon
characteristic.
For three months I led those great meetings, being obliged to have a fresh
gospel talk of twenty minutes each day at noon, and I often went out into the
suburbs to .speak for our temperance women at night. We had a long inquiry
meeting at the clo.se of the noonday service, and yet I kept up in good condition
from first to last, which I attribute largely to the fact that when I asked Anna
Gordon if she could come and play for us every day, she said she would try, and
I soon turned over my letters, messages, etc., into her faithful care. In prompt
and accurate execution of commissions, tactful meeting of people, skillful style in
correspondence, I have not known her equal. As soon as the meetings w^ere
over, she had a lecture trip ready for me extending all through New England. I
remember she brought her plan to me in a little book ruled in red and black ink.
showing the town, the hostess, the place of meeting, the time and place of trains,
indeed, every item that one need wish. I u.sed to say that if I should only pin
Anna's directions on my back, I could go the country over in the capacity of an
express package. From that day to this she has been doing these things, only
they have multiplied until sometimes we .say, "Let us make out the duties of
the private secretary." The last time we did so, they numbered anywhere
between fort}- and sixty distinct lines of occupation !
43-^ OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
For fourteen years she was with us at Rest Cottage. As my mother grew
older slie resigned into Anna's hands more and more of the care, so that, although
mother presided at her own table until a few weeks before .she left us, Anna had
the supervision of every detail of the housekeeping. Of course we had excellent
" help," but the planning mind was hers. The house became a charming place
as years passed by, and I was able to do more to make it the home I wanted it to
be, chiefly for my mother's sake. Later, Mrs. Thorp and Mrs. Ole Bull, of Cam-
bridge, added that beautiful room, the " Den." Lady Henry Somerset told me
that nothing more complete and delicate than the housekeeping had she
ever seen.
I wish I could tell of my mother's birthday, when there were twenty-five
hundred invitations sent out, all but five hundred of them to women at a distance,
and when well-nigh five hundred guests were entertained. Anna planned it all,
besides writing one of the sweetest commemorative songs that I have ever heard.
When my mother passed away, she who loved Anna so well and had said to
me, "More than any one I have ever known, she reminds me of our Mary
who died," what a solace and sure refuge was Anna, when my heart was over-
whelmed I
She was brought up in a conservative Congregational church where it would
never have occurred to anybody to a.sk her to speak, although her experiences in
traveling through every State and Territory of the Republic were far more varied
and helpful than those of any other member. Anna could not be persuaded to
think that she could ever put two sentences together in anybody's hearing, but I
begged her to speak at least once in my Bo.ston meetings, and she came forward in
Park Street Church and gave her testimony in the most natural and tender manner
on the la.st day. From that time on she would " twitter a little," as I was wont
to call it, in my afternoon meetings for women all about the country. Later she
begged to be allowed to have children's meetings by herself. Then she began to
write " Marching vSongs" for those meetings; and, finally, .she prepared a little
book of " Questions Answered," taking all the queries about the Juvenile work
that had come in our meetings and letters, and answering them in her clear,
concise way. Then, with a great deal of urging from Mrs. Frances J. Barnes and
me, she prepared her charming " Song Book for the Y's," and finally, under the
ceaseless monition of our leaders, she gave us her " White Ribbon Hymnal," so
that her books of .song have gone wherever the W. C. T. U. has a group of
workers the world over.
It was Anna Gordon who made the first flag of the W. C. T. U. We were
"up in Connecticut" with a friend of olden-time, when I .said to her one day,
" Go to, now, it is a shame that we have no standard to carry at the head of the
regiment in our peaceful war." " I will st-e that there is one at the next
MY BRAVK Hia.PI'R. 433
National," said Anua, and calling in the advice of our hostess, and the services
of the skillful lady who could design on satin, the dear old first flag, that is now
given into the custody each >ear of tlie State having most members, was manu-
factured, with a water lil\- and the motto, " For God and Home and Native
T.and." I doubt if we ha\-e ever had a prettier flag, in all the rich variety that
has developed since.
It is now more than twenty years since Anna has stood by me in temperance
wt)rk. In 1891, at our first World's W. C. T. U. Convention in Faneuil Hall,
she was elected secretary of the World's W. C. T. U., Mar}- A. Woodbridge
making the nomination. After her unanimous election there was a call for Anna
to come forward. She absolutely declined, saying she " would not dream of tak-
ing new- cares that would make it less likely that she should faithfully discharge
those she had already assumed " — with an arch glance in my direction. Then
our good women insisted on her taking the leadership of the. Juvenile w^ork.
Nothing would have induced her to consent had she not felt that Mrs. Helen G.
Rice would be her strong right arm.
Her first effort were to unify the w^ork of the children in all countries, and
how admirably she succeeded is shown by the " Little Cold Water Girl " fountain,
that beautiful statue standing in front of Willard Hall, also in a London park, and
soon to be erected in Bombay.
It would be a pleasure to write of our life in England, which went on very
much as it does here, onl}^ that through the kindness of our dear Lady Henry
Somerset we were fitted out with any number of stenographers besides our own,
and we never invested more earnest years of effort for the W. C. T. U. than
while we were at Eastnor Castle, Reigate Priory and the dear old Cottage. Anna
several times addressed groups of those devoted ' ' British women ' ' concerning
the L. T. L.
Great changes have come in these j^ears; Anna's home is broken up, even as
mine is. Her mother and her sister Bessie (who worked so long and faithfull}^ as
corresponding secretar}- of the W. C. T. U. of Massachusetts, but who is not
strong these later 3'ears) are in a plea.sant cottage at Castile, N. Y., not a stone's
throw from the Sanitarium of our faithful friend and helper, Dr. Greene. When
Anna lost her father, James M. Gordon, for manj' years treasurer of the American
Board of Foreign Missions, one of the purest and most devoted spirits that ever
blessed the earth, the keystone fell from the arch of a home as hallowed as a home
could be. It was a dear place to me, w^here I have hidden awaj' man)- a time to
write some special address or article, and I alwa^-s felt in going from West to East
that I went from one home to another.
Ther^ is " history " yet to be made by Anna Gordon. She is in her happy
prime, in better health than ever, and with a rich experience and ever-widening
28
434
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
outlook. Best of all, she grows steadily in the sweet grace of humility and the
crowning beatitude of loyalty to our Heavenly Father and that earthly brother-
hood and sisterhood which are the crowaiing proof of the presence of Christ in
personal character, and prophesy the setting up of that Heavenly Kingdom for
which white-ribbon women work and pray.
I.XX.
FOR STUDY AT HOME.
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EilllpHE simple announcement in the Boston daily papers, of the
death of Anna Elliot Ticknor, brought a sense of personal
loss to hundreds of women all over the country. Women
who had never looked into her kindly eyes, nor felt the
cordial clasp of her hand, yet knew her for a genuine friend
and helper, who had made life broader and more satisfying,
where before the outlook was circumscribed and brought
dwellers in isolated homes into quick, responsive touch with all that was best in
the world of action and endeavor, in the wide realms of literature, art and science.
Without doubt many of the readers know something of Miss Ticknor' s work,
some of them may have come under its influence, yet probably few know how
widely diffused that influence was, nor how many women there are in America who
owe to her a sweet debt of gratitude. She was the founder of the society to
encourage home study, a society which has done most efficient work and has
reached most admirable results. It would be more correct to say that she was
the founder of the American .society, for the idea was an English one which Miss
Ticknor adopted, altering the methods so completely, however, that it might
almost be claimed that she was really the originator of the plan. She has also
carried it to a much higher plane and a greater degree of usefulness than the
English societj' has attained.
Miss Ticknor was the daughter of the eminent diplomatist and literateur, Mr.
George Ticknor, the author of " The History of Spanish Literature," a work that
has been most valuable to .students, and is ranked among the American Classics.
Mr. Ticknor was the foremost man of letters of his time, his reputation being
(435)
436 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
international. He was more widel}- known in Europe than any other citizen of
New England, certainly if not of the country. The Ticknors owned and occupied
a stately and elegant mansion on the very crest of Beacon Hill, diagonally opposite
the State House, and here. they dispensed the most courtly hcspitality, entertaining
most royally every foreigner of distinction who visited the country-, and ever}-
noted American of their time. Indeed, the hospitality of the Ticknor man.sion
was famous, in the days which just preceded the Civil War, and one can hardh-
take up a diary or letter of that time without finding some mention of a gathering
of noted folk under its roof. For some years after the death of Mr. Ticknor his
wife and daughter still occupied the mansion, but its social glory had departed, as
they lived very quietly, drawing about them onh' their most cherished friends.
This was due to the enfeebled health of Mrs. Ticknor rather than any desire to
shun social intercourse and destroy- old traditions. At the death of her mother
Miss Ticknor consented to the sale of the home, and she removed to a newer
portion of the city, her residence during the later years of her life being in Marl-
borough street on the Back Bay.
It was in the old home, filled with the atmosphere of literature and art, and
also of .social distinction, that, after the death of her father Miss Ticknor first
planned the work which from the smallest beginning has grown to such large pro-
portions. The reason for the existence of the .society was told in its name. It
was intended to encourage home study, especially by women, and to so direct this
study that it .should prove of genuine benefit to the student. It was to be carried
on .steadily and systematicall_\-, and not allowed to degenerate into the desultory
aimless mode of work that is so often the result when one attempts, with the best
intention in the world, to study without guidance. Almo.st ever}- woman wdio has
been denied the early opportunity for education has .sometime felt the need of the
missing knowledge, and been eager to find .some way to obtain it. It has been
the province of this home study society to point out a way, and to a.ssist the
student to pursue it properly, and without mistake, and during the years in
which it has existed, now over tweiit\-. linndreds of women have availed them-
selves of the opportunities wliich it afforded, and enrolled themselves on its li.st
of students.
Plans of study were arranged with as nuich care as would be given to the
curriculum of a sch<x)l or college, and the .students cho.se the subjects they preferred.
All the teaching was done by correspondence. Miss Ticknor .surrounded herself
with a number of men and women, all specially qualified for the line of work in
which they were to engage, many of them teachers and profe.s.sors, while others
were finely educated persons of leisure, who were glad to place themselves and
their services at her command, and these enthusiasticall}' undertook the labor
of instruction.
FOR STUDY AT HOME. 437
A system of monthly correspondence was established, with frequent tests oF
progress, the object being to produce intellectual results that should be apparent at
once to student and instructor, without any of the evil of competition. Tlie.se
tests of results were found nuicli more satisfactory than the system of annual
examinations.
Po.s.sibly as clear a way of showing what tlie practical work of the society has
been will be to give the story of one of the years of its work. In this year, one
of the latest in the society's existence, over eight hundred women entered as
students. These represented thirty-four vStates, three territories, Canada and
Hawaii. Xinety-eight of the.se students were teachers, thirty-three represented
clubs and among the rest were women who had been shut-in invalids, whose only
relation with the outside world came through the society; and women who had
been making the bravest struggles with adverse surroundings, fighting with closed
lips, as only women do fight, and giving no sign of distress when circumstances
were bearing most hardly upon them. Xow and again a woman has entered as a
student who imagined the work might be done superficially, but she has been
speedily disillusionised and has dropped out of the list, but the number of such has
been very .small. On the whole, those who became students were earnest in their
desire and untiring in their endeavors.
Following the correspondence came examinations and the writing of abstracts
which were to test the quality of the work accomplished. These abstracts were
sent from time to time, as the study of a special book or .some portion of a subject
was completed. The examinations were riot intended to trip students up, nor to
take the place of continuous work, but to show to the .student herself, as well as
to her teacher and the society whether or not she had nia.stered the subject in hand.
The records, when fully completed, showed the names of twenty-five students
who. in different courses and under different teachers, took 100 per cent in exam-
ination, four, five, six, in some cases up to nine times.
The fee was three dollars yearl}- for each student, to cover the expen.ses of
stationery, postage and necessary printing. This was merely a nominal sum, when
one considered what was the outcome of the work which rested essentially on the
basis of individuality, the presonal relation between one woman and another in
correspondence — not dealing with private circumstances, but depending greatl}^
on moral and intellectual sympathy.
Still, personal experiences would find their wa}' into the letters, and some of
them were interesting to a remarkable degree. One of the students lived in a log-
cabin in the extreme Northwest, six miles from any neighbor. Natural!}', much
of the loneliness of her isolated life crept into her letters, and as a slight allevia-
tion of her forlorn condition her instructors gave to her their ver\' best endeavors,
often supplementing their letters with copies of magazines, reviews and interesting
43S OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
books. A student in tlie art course liad been an inxalid for years, suffering
.severely from heart disease. She found great .solace in the society, first in studying
herself, then in helping others to study. It was she who first suggested the
"imaginary journeys," and .she took great delight in piloting people through
countries she had never vi.sited. Lying on her sofa or on her bed, with all sorts of
appliances of head-re.sts, ar ni- rests, back- re.sts and pillows, by which, as she said,
she reduced illness to a science, she mapped out trips for stay-at-homes, and once
dictated to a friend what to see when .she actualh- went to France and Germany.
Still other students have been daughters of old members, joining the .society when
they have been old enough to be received, having grown up in its atmosphere,
and looking fonvard to the time when the>- might share its benefits.
The course of study includes history, ancient and modern, political economy,
.sociology, science, mathematics, home-sanitation, musical history, theory and
composition, art, Engli.sh, German and French literature and a special Shakes-
peare course. A library was established composed of several thousand volumes,
covering every branch of study and including several important and valuable
illustrated works on art. Most of the books were gifts from friends. These books
have been lent to the students, being sent and returned by post. Ver\' few ha\-e
been lost, the entire number in twenty years being twenty-one volumes in a circu-
lation of over twenty-five thousand. That .surely speaks well for the hone.sty of
the students and the safety of the postal .service.
With the death of Miss Ticknor it was feared the society must be given up,
but a few notalile women who had worked with Miss Ticknor determined to carry
on the work, and they formed the Anna Ticknor Library As.sociation. They took
rooms in Trinity Court, Boston, and they are already deep in work. All the teachers
have been retained, and correspondence has been e.stabli.shed with the Mycological
Club of Ma.ssachusetts, the University of the State of New York, and the Univer-
sity of Chicago.
The chairman of the Executive Board is Miss Katherine P. Loring, Pride's
Cro.ssing, Ma.s.sachu.setts, and .she has the welfare of "The Silent University," as
some one has happily called it, very much at heart. She will welcome students as
heartily as did Miss Ticknor; and no girl in the United States, but may find the
opportunity of obtaining the education she craves in this Association for Home
Study. She will meet all the encouragement in the world. It rests with herself
what use she will make of the opening offered her.
^^^■i^^^^KTr^^^^ ^HhId^^sa.
^;;^^^
1^"^
I.XXI.
WOMEN'S EXCHANGES.
N IMPORTANT factor in the wage earning of women,
especially' those 'who work in the seclusion of their own
homes, has been the opening, in many of the cities, of
Women's Industrial Unions and Exchanges, which have
proven a market to which workers may bring the results of
their home work and place it on sale, giving to the Union, or
Exchange, a commission on all the sales, made. As a Boston
woman wittily expressed it when asked what was the object
of the Woman's Educational and Industrial Union:
" Oh, it is a clearing house for feminine industries."
And in a way that is what all of them are. To this exchange women bring
the work which they have done, and which they think may meet some need,
and so find a ready sale. The work has to pass a committee, whose business is
to examine every thing brought, and see that it comes up to the standard of
requirement, which is usually set rather high, because if the exchange is to stand
for anything, it must be for excellence of its work, else it would not attract pur-
chasers, for no one is going to buy poorly made useful articles, or inartistic " art "
work simply because they represent the labor of a woman who happens to need
money. There would be no business in any such transactions as that, it would be
the bestowal of charity, and that is not what the Unions and Exchanges exist for.
(439)
440 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
They are conducted purely on a business basis, just as any business is, and they
require the best that their workers can give.
When a woman wishes to become a " consigner " to the exchange, she takes,
or .sends a sample of her work, and the committee examines it to see if it meets
the requirement. If it does a number is given to her, and she is known by that
number, instead of her name, to the managers of the exchange. The committee,
following the .suggestion of the consigner, sets the prices on the articles, and once
in .so often a settlement is made, the manager paying to the con.signer the amount
of the sales after deducting the commission, which helps to pay the expenses
incurred by keeping the rooms open, and hiring attendants.
Some women make a good income through the work the\- send in to the
exchanges. If they chance to hit a popular idea it pays almost at once. If you
ask what it is that catches this fancy, it would be almost impo.ssible to tell you.
A few sea.sons ago, a woman in Brookline, Massachusetts, made a great success
with some rag dolls that she sent to the Woman's Union of Boston. The>- were
very well made, their faces prettil}' painted, and they were dressed like babies,
with the cunningest little caps, and really they were the most fascinating bits of
doll specimens that had been seen. The children took to tiieni at once. They
were such comfortable dollies. They could be hugged and kissed and made love
to, and they weren't hard and unyielding like the French bisque dolls, which can
only be handled very carefully. The first half-dozen dolls were sold the very first
morning they were on exhibition, and the managers sent for more. It was just
before Christmas, and I would not venture to say how many Bo.ston children had
one of those dolls for her Christmas present. The maker had all .she could do,
and she could not meet the supply. So .she kept right on through the year
making and dressing the dolls, to give the Union its needed supply for the next
holiday .season. The dolls brought a good price and the maker found herself in
possession of a good income which promises to hold good just as long as there are
little girls who love dolls, and that will be as long as there are any little girls in
the world, for the mother insinct is in every woman child's heart, and .she loves
her dolly as the representative of the real child.
The woman who is a fine needlewoman finds a ready market at the exchanges
for the dainty products of her needle. Pretty hand-made underclothing, fini.shed
with exquisitely hennned or hemstitched frills, are always .salable. One must,
in cutting them, follow the latest idea in shapes, for there is as much fashion in
the modeling of underclothing as in the cutting of a go*vn.
Then there arc all sorts of infants' garments that may be made by the .same
needlewoman. Sets of sheets and pillow ca.ses. hem.stitched, and then neatly
folded and tied with ribbon. In preparing your work for the exchanges you must
take care that they are attractively put u]). The class of women who patronize
WOMEN'S EXCHANGES.
441
the exchange are, as a rule, a superior class, women, not merely of means, but
refined women, who are attracted by any special daintiness. So be careful in the
preparation, and remember that the nicest work may be unattractively arranged
and thus lose half its beautv and effect. As much for your own sake, as for the
"A FIXE NEEDtEWOMAX FIXDS A KEADY MARKET AT THE EXCHANGES."
sake of the prospective purchaser, you want your consignments to be attractive.
In plenty of time before the holiday season opens you want to anticipate the
wants, and make j-our consignments. You wnll need to keep quite up to date in
your ideas, and if 3'ou are ingenious and contrive to think out something quite
novel and takinsr, vou can be sure of a good return from it. Then there are
442 OCCl'PATIONS FOR WOMEN.
always plenty of useful things for which there is always a good market. The
ready knitter can find a quick sale for golf and bicycle stockings. The home
knitted ones are much preferred to tho.se which are woven by machine, and there
is a chance for all sorts of quaint and pretty devices in the fancy tops. Knitted
silk mittens for ladies and children, and knitted silk stockings for little girls are
all good things to offer to the exchange.
Embroidery and china painting are so much a matter of cour.se among the
articles found in the exchange that I have said nothing about them. There is
only this to say. If you embroider or paint only indifferently do not send any of
your work, for it will only be rejected. There are so many now who do both
these things in a superior manner, that only the very best will pass the inspection
of the committee.
Mo.st of the exchanges have a food department in which cake, preserves,
jellies, mince-pie meat, and other articles of food are received and sold. This is
•one of the most popular departments, especially in the city exchanges, and there
are women who do nothing else besides cook special dishes for this department
and deliver daily. At one Union a kind of Graham bread is sold which one
woman makes, and does nothing else. As it is she cannot supply enough, and
■every day there is a call for more loaves than the Union can furnish. And the
funniest part is, no one else can make it. She has given the rule to others, but
some way it is not the .same thing.
Once become a successful consigner to an exchange, and there is an assured
income. It may not be always a large one, but as the consigner usually has the
advantage of living at her own home, .she is not at .so much expen.se as the one
who has to go out. There is not the wear and tear of clothing, of nerve or of
body, and, consequently, she does better in every way, and the smaller income
does more, so that, if any, the thing is rather l)roader than it is long when
measured by the woman wlu^ lias to go out of the home.
The consigners are not always resident in the city in which is the exchange,
they may live at a distance and .send their articles in. If a woman, within reason-
able distance of the town and has anything which the ])ublic wants, tlie Union will
be glad to be the medimn by which she may reach the ]nil)lic.
It is the quality of work which tells in this as in everything else.
LXXII.
i lil ill lil
llMill?
1
WHAT WE OWE TO PIONEER WOMEN.
I coula have chosen when to live," said an enthusiastic girl
not long ago, " it would be at this verj' time. Everything is
so easy for girls now; I don't wonder that they call it, as I
have heard them do, ' the woman's age.' "
It is indeed a good time for girls to live, and I often
wonder if they realize by whose efforts it became the ' ' good
time. ' ' Do they ever think what other women and girls had
to contend with before this time dawned upon the world, or
how much they owe to those same women ? Not many of
them, or they would never make the remarks which some of
them do, and which to one who knows how all the good has come about, all the
ridicule and suffering that was inflicted upon the pioneers of the .so-called woman
movement— though I insist that it should be called the human movement— sounds
heartless and cruel.
Think of the lack of opportunity for girls even half a century ago, and
contrast it with that of the present. What were the possibilities of education ?
Unless she happened to be the daughter of a family who belived in advance of the
age that a girl had the ability to learn, and that education would not spoil her or
make less of a woman of her, and who could afford to give her private masters,
she had to be content with the merest common school education less, even, than
children get now in the grammar grades of the public schools. And even that
(443)
444 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
was grudgingly bestowed. The spirit of the average man of the early century is
shown in a stor>' which Miss Mary Eastman tells. In the town of Hatfield,
Mass., in the early part of the present century, the question of establishing public
schools was being discus.sed in town meeting. It had finally decided that the
.schools should be opened, when the question came up regarding the propriety of
allowing the girls of the town to attend. Some of the voters were in favor of
admitting them to at least a portion of the privileges, and others opposed.
Finally one of the prominent men, whose word was almost law in the town, arose
to his feet, looked around impressively, and .seeing that he had the attention of the
assembly, raised his arm and uttered .solemnly, "but vehemently: " Hatfield school
shes ! Never !" So it was decided, and for .some years all the girls who wanted
to read and spell had to pay some one to teach them. And yet, in Hatfield, the
town that wouldn't " school .shes " was born a woman who on her death left the
fortune which endowed Smith College.
" Whv cannot I go to college as well as my brother," asked gentle Lucy
Stone of the father who believed in his girl as well as his boy. but who could not
open the doors of Har\'ard or Yale or Dartmouth for her. She did go to college;
she sought out the stirring young college at Oberlin, Ohio, where the people had
caught the true spirit of Liberty, Fraternity and Equality, and shut no doors in
the face of the two classes denied admittance everywhere else, woman and the
negro.
Other girls joined her there, and in the face of hard.ships borne with the
bravest hearts, and far from home and all that had been familiar to their young
lives, they worked for what they most coveted, an education. What the world
owes to the Oberlin girls can never be measured or computed.
To her great surprise, when she graduated from the Boston public .schools,
Mary Livermore found the college doors closed against her. She had kept
abreast of her brothers and his friends in the .school, and she could go no farther
with them. vShe might go to a " female seminary," but there was nothing
beyond.
Lucy Stone's daughter graduated from the Boston University taking her
degree of B. A. in a large class of whom at least one-fourth were girls, and .she
might do what she choose. The world of the profes.sions was open to her to
chofise from. But Alice Blackwell, the daughter of the pioneer woman in
education an<l reform, the niece of the first woman doctor in the country and of
the first woman minister, Antoinette Brown Blackwell, choose to take up her
mother's work, and siie carries it on as a sacred legacy, left her by the one whom
she loved and revered beyond all others in the world.
Mary Livermore's granddaughter graduated from the same college a short
time ago, and is preparing to take u]) some form of helpful work.
WHAT WK OWIC TO PIOXIilvR WOMEN.
445
In the years between the time when two girls longed so eagerly for an
^-dncation, and the graduation of daughter and granddaughter, what had the older
women's eyes beheld? The establishment of four splendidly equipped colleges
fi.r girls, X'assar, Wellesley, Smith and Bryn Mawr; the opening to women of
Michigan University, the endowment of Boston University, where from the begin-
ning, girls were received
as well as young men; the
opening of Cornell to the
girls who flocked to its
doors, the establishment
■of Harvard Annex, which
is now Radcliffe College
and a part of the Univer-
sity system, the establish-
ment of Barnard College
as part of the Universit}'
system of Columbia, the
introduction of girl stud-
ents into the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology,
and springing up all over
the country, hundreds of
co-educational colleges,
3" o u n g e s t and best
equipped of all, the Le-
land-Stanford University
of California, the most
magnificent memorial
which ever bereaved par-
ents raised to the memory
of a beloved child.
They have seen, these
pioneer women, the open-
ing of the schools of medi-
cine, of theology, of law,
of laboratories, of all technical schools, until the entire field of education is thrown
wide open to the young girl as well as to the boy, and her professional chances
are equal to his.
The}- have seen avenue after avenue of labor open to admit the advancing
feet of the army of girl workers, they have seen women occupying positions of
SUSAN B. ANTHONV.
446
OCCUPATIONS I'OR WOMEN.
importance in offices and banks, they have been interviewed by them for the
newspapers, they have found them in positions of public trusts, they have known
that they have penetrated ever3^where. It has been given to these pioneer
women to see the results of their sacrifices and labors, something which is not
always vouchsafed to the
worker for reform.
Little does the girl of
to-day coming to meet life,
with all its changed con-
ditions, know what it has
cost in real heart break to
bring this condition
about. She cannot realize
the social ostracism, the
coarse ridicule, the scorn
and contempt which was
heaped on the heads of
the first women who ven-
tured to ask for a broader
outlook, a better chance
for women. Yet the}'
knew there was justice in
their demands, and
neither scorn, ridicule or
threats could stay them in
their work. It was not
for themselves alone for
which the brave, and
sometimes it seemed al-
most hopeless, fight was
being waged. It was for
all the women who are to
come in the history of the
world. All the daughters
who want the same educaticju which is given lo brothers; the wives who need
])rotection from the husl^ands who should themselves be the protectors; the
widows who arc left with little children to bring up and educate; the whole army
of women wlio have to face the world and make their own fight with it. The.se
are they for whom these other brax'c women liorc llic burden and heat of a terrible
(lav, and come out victorious.
JUIJA WARD HOWK.
WHAT W'K OWK TO PIONKER WOMEN.
447
What do we owe to those women ? Everything. Honor, reverence, affection,
all that we are capable of giving, and then the debt will not be half paid.
I feel always as though some one had struck me a blow in the face when I hear
these women spoken slightingly of, or when any one belittles their work. Lucy
Smith, Susan B. Anthony, Julia Ward Howe, Mary Livermore, no woman,
especially one who has to enroll herself among the world's workers, should ever
hear these names spoken without a thrill of thankfulness. The open door would
still be closed, the clear path full of rough places and stumbling stones had it not
been that the bruised fingers of these women opened the one, and the bleeding feet
.smoothed the way of the other. My dear girls, you can at least pay a part of the
debt which you owe to them, by gratitude and regard, and by trying to do for
other women, something of the good they have done for you. For their sakes,
who were tnie to you, be loyal to their memories, when they are no longer here to
receive your personal gratitude. "We have only the memory of dear Lucy Stone,
but the others are still with us to hear our spoken thanks, do not let us be
niggardly with them or give them grudgingly. As the years go on the world will
know better than it does now how beneficient was their work, not for women
alone, but for all the human race; for what elevates the women, and gives them
wider opportunity, makes the whole world better. The development of the mother
i.'-- the development of the race, and what is higher education and broader oppor-
tunity 1)ut development on the most beneficient lines.
ill!
ill
LXXIII.
IN NEW FIELDS.
Tjljlj HERE is hardly a field of labor into which woman has not
I [| i^enetrated, and every day l^rings some new story of
I IJ discover}- and achievement. It is usually a story of
success, else it never would have been told. Failures are
liidden away, the pathetic details locked in the heart and
memory of one who has tried only to be baffled. The
world is not interested in the story of defeat — it only opens
its ears to listen to the plaudits which j^reet victory.
Among the new dejjartures is one which is .specially uuicjue — that of Mi.ss
Minnie Alleyne, of Chicago, who paints anatomical charts. She is a .slight,
retiring, twenty-year-old girl with a ])i(iuant face and expressive eyes. If one
were told that she painted one would tliink that it was sonic jnvlty arangemcnts of
violets for Easter instead (jf a chart showing the malformation of a club-foot, or an
up-to-date girl in chiffon instead of an X-ray view of that beauty's interior. Miss
Alleyne began her work about five years ago. A German liad come to Chicago,
seeing the field was unoccupied, to paint the charts constantly needed by ]>hysicians
lecturing before clas.ses. Hut the man sjioke no iMiglish and became discouraged.
He had met Miss Alleyne, loM her the i)aints he used, and gave lier a few liints.
Soon after he left Chicago and .she began her work. All the charts are i)ainled
upon ])archment and the paints are brought to Chicago only for her. Her grand-
father was a famous physicirui, her mother a skillful, though untrained, nurse, and
her aunt, a rich New York woni;ni, look a course at Helle\-ue just for the loxeof it,
IN NEW FIELDS. 449
with the additional idea of being of use to the poor. vSo j'ou see Miss Alleyne comes
naturally by her taste for anatomical study. vSometimes she has her pictures given
her by the doctors, small illustrations in books, from which she makes her charts,
enlarging the parts mathematically in proportion. The colors the physicians
describe and she experiments until she gets them of the correct tint. Miss
Alleyne keeps a copy of every chart she paints, for reference and help. She has
many hundreds of them, many in sets. They cost from $3.00 upward. There is
scarcely a prominent physician or surgeon in Chicago for whom she has not
painted, and the specialists say that she is wonderfully successful in catching quick
directions, and exceedingly correct in drawing.
One of the most unique occupations for a woman to pursue is that followed
l)y ]Miss Elizabeth Marbury, of New York. It is really a triple business, for she
is a theatrical manager, an advance agent, and the American representative of
Sardou, the French dramatist. Needless to say, she is a very remarkable woman.
Miss Marbury is intensely interesting, for the strong masculinity of her mentality
is combined with absolute femininity of temperament. She is shrewd and clever,
yet modest and dainty withal, a by no means common combination. In each of
the three branches of her profession she has been eminently successful, and has
demonstrated her peculiar aptitude therefor.
The \"eterinary School at Alford, France, graduated one woman this year,
and she is one of the very few women who can write herself D. V. S. Germany
and France have a number of woman veterinarians, but the United States claims
only one. Miss Jennie Revert, who attended the New York Veterinary College
during two terms. Women have applied at the different veterinary schools in this
country, most of them wishing to make a special study of cats and dogs, but none
have ever done more than take a preparatory course at the various schools, espe-
cially at the one connected with Cornell University. Miss Revert, the only woman
veterinarian in America, is the owner of Robindale Farm, Glen Head, Long
Island, where she raises blooded horses and fine bull-dogs. It was mainly on
account of these pets of hers — for they are pets — that Miss Revert took up active
work as a veterinarian. She has not yet finished her course, but it is her intention
to complete it.
A^eterinary surgery is a profession from which a woman might derive a good
income, for she would, no doubt, be patronized by the numerous female owners of
cats and dogs that are always having some ailment which feline and canine flesh
is heir to. Dr. Levy, of the Lexington (Ky.) Veterinary Hospital, sa3's that a
woman assistant would be so valuable to him in his practice that he would
willingly pay her a good salary in return for her services during the college course.
A woman would be likely to have an extensive practice among the smaller pets
of societ}-. The expensive pets of fashionable women would probably be taken
29
450 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
to a woman in preference to a man, and by becoming a successful veterinarian she
would make even more than the average doctor, the fees of a veterinar}- surgeon
being double those of the ordinary- M. D.
Another new vocation for woman is that of demonstrating or introducing.
Nowadays a great many advertisements appear for demonstrators and introducers,
sometimes specifying the line to be introduced or demonstrated. This method of
advertising new goods was begun at the World's Fair, and since then it has
become a permanent business. Manufacturers and wholesalers who wish to intro-
duce anything new depend largely upon this means of doing it. There are the
city demonstrators, who are stationed for months in the larger stores, introducing
to whoever ma}- come their wa}" the excellencies of their wares. There are
traveling demonstrators who stay from three days to a week in a place. Previous
to their visit cards are sent out by the proprietor of the store to all his customers,
saying that for so many days such and such a firm will have his new wares repre-
sented at his store by a demonstrator. Curiosity leads housekeepers to attend and
be entertained and fed free of charge. Of course then the least they can do,
having accepted the hospitality, is to invest. The desired effect has been produced,
and the demonstrator moves on to the next town, feeling success is hers. If it be
anything in the culinary line, j'ou find the young woman in charge in neat, dainty
white apron and cap, and she serves the drink, pudding, pie, biscuit, cake, or
whatev^er it may be, in an appetizing way, telling meanwhile of the superiority of
this particular brand over others.
It is not alone the housewives who respond to this invitation — often men
may be seen lurking around. Soon they become deeply interested in the deft way
in which the fair demonstrator manipulates her materials, and are soon devouring
the mince pie or plum pudding with hard sauce with placid looks of contentment.
It is the largest size of package that the men bear awaj' with them.
If it be an exhibit of embroidery, to introduce a new brand of silks or the
like, the men are barred out. You inve.st in the stamped linen and silks, the
lesson being free. Morning and afternoon classes are always crowded, for who
could re.si.st free embroidery lessons ? Or it may be introducing artists' materials,
ribbon bows for neck and sleeves — in fact, a great variety of things are introduced
and brought to the notice of the public in this attractive way.
The latest opportunity for those who have improved their time in music is
introducitig new music at the music .stores and musical departments of the
department stores, especially the latter, as these departments are u.sually run by
one musical jniblishing company which de.sires especially to introduce its own
publications. So they advertise for a bright young girl who can read music at
sight, place a piano in the department, and keep her playing the brightest popular
m<isic, and music is attractive to everybody, even "soothes the .savage breast,'"
WOMAN VETERINARY HOSPITAL WARD.
(451)
452 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
as you will remember, and there is always an immense crowd attracted wherever
the piano is heard, and the brighter the music the faster it sells.
The salaries of the demonstrators are good, their duties not arduous, and,
lastly, what is often a great deal to the woman worker, it does not take a lifetime
and a small fortune to prepare one's self for this work. The accomplishments of
a society girl suddenly' and unexpectedly thrown on her own resources can thus
be utilized with profit.
The women in New York inaugurated a new business as visiting household
managers a few months since. They were very successful, but recently have dis-
solved their partnership, each one conducting business on her own account, thus
making two concerns in.stead of one, with plenty of work for both. The business
of visiting household managers consists chiefly in the relieving of wealthy women
burdened with manifold .social duties and many hou.sehold cares. The managers
take entire charge of a limited number of houses, and see to it that all the domes-
tic wheels run smoothl}' both in the presence and absence of the owners. Both
brought to the work a thorough experience gained in the management of their
own households, and as they had been society women, they found a large clientele
among their personal friends. The rich women handed over to their care the
household affairs found to be beyond their physical resources. The manager
engaged servants, first looking carefully into their references. All cleaning was
done under the supervision of the manager, floors were polished, plumbing
examined and, if necessary, put in repair by competent men; curtains, blankets,
rugs and carpets were cleaned and put downi in their proper order, and bric-a-brac
dusted and replaced uninjured.
Another feature of the business was the house-hunting department. If any
patrons living in distant cities wished to come to New York to live and did not
care for the terribly taxing work of hunting for a suitable residence, the manager
would send full descriptions of houses, and meet the vi.sitor when she arrived to
inspect them, helping her to make a choice without the necessity of ransacking
the real estate offices for likely homes. When a choice was made, the manager
would see that the house was put in proper .shape for the reception of the new
family, and receive the baggage when it arrived.
If the wealthy woman was contemplating a trip to Kurope or to her country
residence, she could leave the closing of her house in the hands of the manager
with perfect confidence. If it were required, all articles of value would be packed
carefully and .sent to a storage warehouse or to the .safe-deposit company's vaults,
the manager keeping a careful record of everything stored away, so that it could
Ix; replaced in thehou.se when a notification was received that the owner was about
to return and wished the house to be reopened ready for occupancy. When such
notification was received, the manager undertook to have the house in .such .shape
IN NEW FIELDS. 453
that the mistress could step out of the carriage that brought her from the steamer or
from the railroad station, to find that the servants had beer^ engaged and awaited her
arrival, the house cleaned and put in thorough shape from cellar to roof, the dinner
waiting at the agreed time to be served, and the whole establishment in working
order, as though it had never been vacated.
Miss Margaret McDonald, of Washington, who is called the cleverest designer
of paper dolls, is in her early teens, and displayed her ability in this line of work
when she was yet a child. Some of her very artistic designs came to the notice of
a very large art publishing firm when she was about thirteen years old, and
produced such an impression by their grace and originality that the house sent
her an offer for them. Since then the work begun as child's play has proved
extremely profitable, although all the instruction the young girl has had is what
she received in an ordinary public school. Her ambition goes beyond her present
accomplishment, and she is using this means to fit herself to become an artist in
the fuller sense, although it is a question whether she will ever do anything more
perfect in its way than these dolls are in theirs.
Miss Edith J. Griswold, of New York City, is a solicitor of patents, and she
carries on her business in a room on the fifteenth floor of one of the big down-town
office buildings. Although Miss Griswold is youthful in appearance, she has been
in her present business for about twelve years. After being graduated from the
New York Normal College in 1883, she took a special course in mathematics and
patent office drawings, taught mathematics for a year, and studied patent soliciting.
Since she started out in business for herself she has been very successful. She not
only obtains patents for people all over the United States and in foreign countries,
but gives opinions on patents and trademarks, and in her leisure studies law with
the intention of passing the New York bar examination.
Miss Lilian Small is probably the only woman in this country engaged in the
maritime signal service. Miss Small's father has been signal master at North
Truro, Cape Cod, for thirty-seven years, and he now finds an able assistant in his
daughter. Miss Small is a little past twenty years of age, and completed her
education in Dean Academy, Franklin, Mass. On returning home she resumed
her interest in marine matters, and soon developed into a valuable assistant for her
father, fully competent to attend to his duties. The work is not arduous, but
calls for close attention, as new-comers are constantly arriving, and the observer
must note them. Miss Small has clear blue eyes, that readily catch the points of
identification on a vessel, but she does not rely on these entirely. She has a tele-
scope nearly six feet long, through which she can distinguish a vessel's class and
rig thirty miles away, as well as read names on most of those that pass at the
average distance. Foreign craft almost invariably show their signals as they
make the light, and Miss Small is an expert at reading and answering them. After
454
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
securing information from the vessel she steps into her office and wires her news
to Boston. She is an expert telegrapher, having studied with her father.
In the appointment of a woman as sexton of a church, a new field of labor is
suggested. The Clarendon Street Baptist Society of Boston recently' held a
meeting at which Mrs. William S. Stoddard received an official appointment to
have the entire charge of the business usually assumed by men.
None of these fields are crowded; in most of them there is ample room for
workers. Surely some of the clever girls who read this will find a suggestion that
shall prove the practical words for which they have been waiting.
%f !■# \
LXXIV.
WHAT TWO GIRLS DID.
T is probable that to 3-oiing women no other young woman was ever
more of a "living epistle" than is Lida A. Churchill. " I cannot
say what I feel about her," said one who knows her well. " I just
stand by and marvel. Her example stimulates us slow-paced girls,
but it half appals us, too. She has done so much! Better still, she
ts so much! Her handshake is a benediction, her commendation a
tonic. I thank Heaven for allowing her to be. And one feels all the while that
her deepest living and best doing are yet to be. ' '
Of her writers of books Maine is particularl}' proud; one of these, a Harri-
son girl, Lida A. Churchill, whose stories, " M}'^ Girls" and "Interweaving,"
liave given her standing as a remarkably vivacious and individual writer of fiction,
is the daughter of the late Josiah and Catharine Hilton Churchill, and is a
descendant of the historic house of Marlborough, England. In babyhood she
was moved to New Gloucester, where she spent her childhood and early girlhood.
She early fell into the habit of composing sentences, and at twelve had written
several stories. The second of these to be printed appeared in the Portland
Trajiscript. She was self-reliant as she developed, and at sixteen she left home,
and finalh' settled in Providence, R. I., where she learned telegraphy. While
working at telegraph}- Miss Churchill continued writing for the press, and after
going to Northbridge, Mass. , where she spent several 3'ears in charge of the local
telegraph station, she wrote " My Girls," a simple, natural and vi\-acious account
of a company of telegraph girls' experience when thrown upon their own resources.
If it were not in purpose and in execution the helpful tale that it is, I should
(455)
456
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
expect to see it read for its truthfulness, its merry humor, its iudividuahty of
style, and the freshness of the field which it cultivates. The girls are flesh-and-
blood, and the " tickers" are actual railroad " tickers."
The "Carmen" of "My Girls," whom thousands will remember, and who
now sleeps in Gracelands Cemetery, near Chicago, wrote some three 3-ears ago in
The Tcleg7'aph Age:
"Uda A. Churchill,
author of ' Interweaving '
and also distinguished as
essayist, novelist, writer
of short stories, and of
' sparkling press letters,'
was for a time a telegraph
operator, and though now
for some time withdrawn
from the fraternity as a
member, is still in sym-
path\^ and touch with it
through numerous friends
w^ho still count her one of
them .
" One of her pictures
was seen at the Maine
World's Fair Building
among the celebrities of
that State.
' ' There is a better
pen-picture of her to be
found in her own book,
' My Girls,' than in all
that others have written
of her.
"In the ' literary '
character, one of the four
of the book, all taken from
life, she represents her.self perfectly. The other three are now well-known
operators. She began her telegraphic career as operator in her cousin's office, in
Providence, R. I. He was at that time superintendent of the P. & W. R. R.
" We, along the line, soon became interested in the operator there who called
herself ' Billy,' and whose sending always convulsed us with thoughts of the
1,1 DA A. CHURCHILL.
WHAT TWO GIRLS DID. 457
hymn — then popular — ' Pull for the Shore ' — she always 'bent to the oar' and
to her abnormal application and staying power she owes much of her success.
" Later she took charge of an office at Northbridge, Mass., and choose for
particular friends a favored few young ladies along the line, who were beginniners,
like herself, and of whom she tells in ' My Girls.'
" In those happy days none of us had much work, and we used to chat over
the wire, send letters to each other by the obliging train men, and exchange
presents; and when we learned that we had ' a chiel among us taking notes ' her
Mss. had to pass through our critical but appreciative hands.
' ' How we watched for ' Lightning Flashes ' containing her story that we had
already seen in her very own handwri ting. How proud we were of it, and the
numerous newspaper and magazine stories with which she often treated us. But
more than her literary ability, more than her wit, which is beyond compare, we
valued the great, loving heart, generous to a fault, and faithful not only unto but
beyond death.
" Her remarkable quality of perseverance and constancy — without which
genius is a laggard — has enabled Miss Churchill to stand where she now does.
' ' By her own unaided efforts she mastered the arts of shorthand and typewrit-
ing, which accomplishments placed her in a position as private secretary to Rev.
Charles A. Dickinson, of Berkeley Temple, Boston, and opened to her other
opportunities for furthering her higher purposes. ' '
Five years ago Miss Lihan Whiting, author of "The World Beautiful,"
"From Dreamland Sent," etc., said of Miss Churchill in one of her press letters:
"No one of the young writers is more ready in asserting a certain standard of
dignity and nobility of thought; no one more keen in thrusting a lance into
nonsense and sham and pretension; no one more earnest and true and tender in
high thought and beautiful feeling. The most sensitive and impressionable
nature; swift in assimilating new ideas and taking on that finer polish for which
there is perhaps no better name than culture; responsive as a current of electricity ;
full of delicate divination and tender sympathy, and combining with all this
range of the sympathetic, the imaginative and the spiritual, a fund of the common
sense and flawless integrity of her New England heritage, Miss Churchill has
certain signal advantages of temperament and capability to make her way in
literature."
But Miss Churchill's highest literary attainment is reached in the book
entitled " A Grain of Madness," which is about to be issued from the press of
Lee & Shephard, Boston. Around a most unique plot the author has woven a
marvelously enthralling story. The tale, sometimes fairly throbbing with earn-
estness, sometimes melting into the most yearning pathos, again gliding into the
sweetest tenderness, everywhere pulsates with warmth and color. The language
458 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
nowhere loses its loveliness and charm. While reading the chapter of the Christ-
vision and of the crown of melting, many-hued stars, one finds his breath
suspended before the rich creation of the author's fanc}-, and wonders if she
herself saw not the vision how she could thus wonderfully portray it. In reading
the story of the Roman plague the reader actualh* feels with shuddering acuteness
the weird awfulness, the dread fatalit}- of it all. Telepathy plays an important
part in the story, and sufficient occultism is introduced to show that the author
has dipped somewhat deeply into hidden lore. The volume is affectionately and
gracefully dedicated to Lilian Whiting who is the author's dearly loved friend,
" in grateful remembrance of days which kindled inspiration, and hours which
colored life."
"How did it all come about that you are what j-ou are? that you have
accompli-shed what you have accomplished ? " the writer asked Miss Churchill.
" I wnll tell you a stor5^" was the thoughtful reply. " One day, with the
snow flying before the fierce wind around their lonely little black house, which
stood a mile from the main road, and to which the ' breaking-out ' teams had not
found their way, two children sat with a song-book held between them. Thej''
were so lonely, poor mites! All the elder children, except one brother, who
was in a distant city, had married and gone to homes of their own, and the
mother, who was obliged to accept nursing when it was to be had, for the money
it would bring, was away for a week.
" ' We will sing every song in the book,' the children agreed. ' It will be
night before we have finished, and we can go to bed, and then it won't seem so
long till mother comes home.'
" They knew the air to only now and then one of the .songs, but to the rest
they made tunes. They .sang and sang. They grew terribly weary, but having
undertaken to .sing the song-book through it never occurred to them to give up
the task. When the last .song had been sung, overpowered by the feeling of
desolation which a .sense of the descending darkness, the drifting snow, the fireless
grate, forced upon their sensitive hearts, the children, with one accord, fell down
before a gown which was hanging in the room, and hiding their faces in its
familiar folds, wept woefully, calling on their mother to return. ' Let us a.sk God
to send her sooner than she intended to come,' said Maria, the elder girl. Then
the childish voices mingled in a request that the dear one who took away the
loneliness might come before her a])pointed time, and when she did come a day
before the one set for her return, the wee petitioners never doubted that their
prayers had been heard.
" I was the youtiger of tho.se children, and ever .since I have been singing the
song-book through, and though many, yes, mo.st of the tunes have had to be
made, and weariness and heartache, and such comforting as only a mother can
^1 '
L
■\vn WILL SING EVERY SONG IN THE BOOK," . . • "THEN IT WON'T SEEM
SO LONG 'TIL MOTHER COMES." (459)
46o OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
give — the dear mother went away a dozen years ago — have come and come again,
and though comprehension and sympathy, and often even the necessary money,
have been wanting, it has never occurred to me to give up my task. To write; to
live so that I could adequately wiite — these have been my song-book. Please
God I shall sing them through.
" My first tale was written when I was almost an infant, with a wooden-bot-
tomed chair for a desk, in my mother's kitchen. It w^as scrawled on both sides
of some huge yellow paper which I had managed to lay hold of, and when
finished was tightly rolled. I had never seen any one prepare a manuscript, or
read how it should be done. That I did not know a rule of grammar or one law
of composition did not at that time so much trouble me as did the idea that
some one might find out what I was doing. I walked three miles to the nearest
post-ofl5ce to mail my story. I don't remember what it was about, only that it
was, to my mind, high tragedy. That it came back ' respectfully ' declined leaves
no room to doubt that some editors, at least, are perfect gentlemen.
' ' There were probably not twenty-five books, outside of the school books, for
ten leagues around. I walked miles to borrow the scant}' volumes of all our
scattering neighbors. They were generally on ' What I Know About Farming,'
or some similar subject, but I devoured them all.
" In the evenings, after her hard day's toil, my mother used to tell us stories,
and sing us songs, .since she could not buy us books. My father had gone West
when I was a mere baby, hoping to found a home there. One of my chief delights
was to listen to his letters, which were so rich in thought and so beautiful in
phrasing that the neighbors came long distances to hear them read. Too soon
the letters ceased. My father never came back to us.
" I early realized that if I was to be educated I must educate myself. I
managed to get the nece.ssary books, and began alone the study of higher arithmetic,
algebra, grammar and philosophy, depending upon any one who could give me a
moment, to hear me recite. I had many chores to do, but every day I kept my
attic tryst with my books. When going on errands, or on book-borrowing
expeditions, I used to beguile the way by 'playing' I was reading a story;
coin]X)sing it as I went along. I have often moved myself to tears l)y these
imj)rovised tales.
"One summer when I was casting about trying to tliink how I could get
where I could learn to do the tiling whereunto I felt my.self called, I met Rev.
Anson Titus, the well-known genealogist, who had come into our neighborhood
to woo the lady he afterwards married. Learning of my de.sire, he advised my
learning telegraphy. Hut how was I to do this? The nearest telegraph office was
five miles away, with no trains or conveyances between it and me. I had then
never .seen a telegraph instrument. I wrote to the operator, who kindly sent me
WHAT TWO GIRLS DID. 461
the Morse alphabet. I was then just recovering from a fever. Sitting bolstered
up in bed, I thoroughly committed the characters to memor}'. And still I saw no
wa}' to learn telegraphy. Then there came from my brother in Saundersville,
Mass. , a letter saying that my cousin who was then superintendent of the Providence
& Worcester Railroad, had said if I would learn telegraphy he would secure me a
position. I had never written m)'- brother that I wished to learn telegraphy, and
this occurrence seemed like a miracle. I have since come to know something of
the power and possibilities of thought.
" While in the first office which was given me I wrote ' My Girls,' the large
and constant sale of which has astonished me.
" I had been assured that if one understood shorthand he stood a better chance
of obtaining good positions, and, without a teacher, I set about learning it. When
I was competent I was invited to act as literar}^ secretary to Rev. C. A. Dickinson,
who had hitherto tried in vain to secure .a helper adequate to his needs. I
remained with Dr. Dickinson nearly five years, all the time writing stories, essays,
and sketches for numerous publications. Since leaving him I have done purely
literar}- work."
With another young woman Miss Churchill occupies a beautiful, sunny
apartment near Copley Square, Boston, where at a handsome desk, the gift of
several of her girl friends, she does the greater part of her literarj- work.
Another girl who has achieved success against tremendous odds is Miss
Martha A. Thompson, who is a native of Hyde Park, Vt. She was the oldest of
seven children, and the father lost all his property- when she w^as small. She was
eager for an education, and earl 5' felt the stirring of the impulse to be something
which has been the guiding principle of ber life. Five miles aw'aj- was a State
Normal School. She got a scholarship in this and got there an}- waj- she could,
walking the distance in good weather, and even riding on loads of wood when no
better chance oflfered. She seldom had a second dress to her back, but she worked
day and night, and finall}^ graduated with honors. Then she taught school a few
terms and in 1881 went to North Dakota to take up a claim. This proved
unprofitable and she again took up teaching, afterwards taking charge of a grammar
school in Sac City, Iowa. Tiring of this, she entered upon the sale of books,
with the understanding if successful she should be advanced to the traveling
position. She realized her expectations and now owns the largest and most
prosperous subscription book house west of Chicago.
For the first four years while acting as manager of The Occidental Publishing
Company her identity' was unknown b}- the business world — all letters came
addressed "Gentlemen, Sirs," etc., and not until the purchase of the business
she had so successfulh' established and controlled, and the notices \vere sent out
from the main office did the business world learn it had been dealing with only a
462
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN,
woman. She was iuslructed by her employes never to sign her name so agents
would know she was a woman. "It would hurt the business if she did."
She says she is tired of posing as a man, and wants the world to recognize that
ability is not alone confined to the stronger .sex.
While Miss Thompson is proprietor of the business at Oakland, California,
and does all contracting with general agents, and makes all selections and pur-
chases all books, etc., she has a competent office force of men and women who
thoroughly understand ever\- detail of the business.
Miss Thomp.son's name is now familiar to Prohibitionists, W. C. T. U., and
suffrage workers throughout the East as well as the Pacific coast, and all will feel
like according to her a full meed of appreciation over the successful culmination
that has attended her plucky struggles with the diver.se fortunes and opposing
forces, that in the past have so often exerted a baleful influence over the hazard-
ous woman, however able, who has dared to invade any realm popularly supposed
to be especially set apart for the use of the sterner sex. Her career is only one
more illustration of the old truth \X\2l\. perseverance wins success.
I^f '^-••;>;. :^^^'^.. W
LXXV.
AN OLD GIRL'S TALK TO GIRLS.
^■5/K
i;-/i.Nill»
D
> i<f \ ^ i/^\"- 1<;-\> i/i^\> i<5-\> i^siKC-j
i^:^ON"T be frightened, girls, I'm not going to sermonize: if yon
knew how I hated it, just as much as I used to in the old
days at the ' ' Sem ' ' when we were brought in for Friday
night lectures on our shortcomings during the week. Plenty
of cause I had to hate, 5'es, and dread them too, for usualh-
at the head of the list of offenders stood ni}- unluck}- name,
followed by those of half a dozen kindred spirits, who, preferring fun to French
translation, liberty to Latin, and mischief to mathematics, kept ourselves in hot
water and the faculty in a continual state of nervous excitement. Fann}', sweet
and winsome still; Min, bright, sparkling brunette, the most petted of society's
darlings ; Hester, ringleader in all the frolics, staid matron now — girls all, who
stood together in the librar}' on those unlucky' nights, do you remember? Have
you forgotten how meekly we stood, with downcast ej^es and repentant faces,
listening — apparently — to an exaggerated account of our depravities, and a horrible
warning of the awful consequences that would ensue unless we mended our ways,
but in realit}' revolving some new plan for mischief in our fertile brains, and
only waiting to be dismissed the awful presence, and find our room door closed
behind us, to break out into fresh anathemas against our persecutors, and to
concoct some grand escapade more startling than any we had indulged in before ?'
Ah! girls, we have changed since then; added years have brought new-
experiences; let us hope we have grown wiser and better. To all of us life has
assumed new phases; to some new happiness has come, and down their life path.
(463)
464 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
shines onh- rosy brightness; to others (and God help them), sorrow and care,
with only the corpse of a dead hope at their feet, and the tear-moistened grave of
a dead past in their hearts.
But in spite of all these changes, in one thing I am still unchanged — my
horror of sermonizing; and so, girls, I'll spare 3'OU, but if you can only fancy that
we are sitting together as we used to do in those bright school-days — bright in
spite of the little clouds that used to sometimes cross our sky — with hand clasped
in hand, and looking kindly into each other's ej^es, I would like to talk to you a
little about this life of ours, the grandly earnest thing it seems to me, and if I can
make one among you see her duties and responsibilities as a woman, rouse any one
to truer and more earnest endeavor, broaden and deepen her aims and interests,
then indeed I shall not have striven in vain.
Do you know, I've been thinking lately that the majority- of us have fallen
into a decidedly aimless, desultor}^ way of living, just going on from day to day
with no fixed, definite purpose in our lives, but simply drifting along on the wave
of circumstance, caring little where it was taking us, so we could be at our ease
and indulge ourselves in our own selfish pleasures.
By most of us I fancy this life of ours is regarded as one grand play-day,
and so we go on getting as much out of it as we can, and giving nothing in return.
This is, I dare say, less selfishness than thoughtlessness, though the one does lead
to the other after a while; for it is true that in proportion as we let our thoughts
of others and our care for them be displaced b}^ thoughts of and care for self
alone, so our desire to benefit them will decrease, and our love of self will grow.
It is pleasant to have our own way, to have all our whims gratified, and to
deny ourselves of no pleasures — that is, it is pleasant for a little while in a
•certain way, but I question if there is any real feeling of satisfaction that will
arise from such a course of life. There might be, if there were nothing beyond,
but it does seem to me that we are called into existence for something nobler and
better than to pander to our own selfish appetites, and simply be content to live
on from day to day with no effort for improvement.
I believe that no one is sent into this world without a work to do; there is
nothing without its mission in the whole catalogue of created things, and it is not
likely that we, "made in the image of God" and "only a little lower than the
angels," will be exempt from our share of usefulness. What the special life-
work of each one of us may be I cannot tell; it depends entirely on our sur-
roundings and opportunities. Each one must decide for herself what her duties
are, and in what manner she can work to the best advantage.
Golden opportunities present themselves every day to every one of us, if we
only would use them; but either we don't .see them, or in our careless indolence
we pass them by unthinkingly, not attaching the proper importance to them.
AN OLD GIRL'S TALK TO GIRLS.
465
The trouble generally is, girls, we are all inclined to " despise the day of
small things," and we want, if we are to work, to do something grand and startling,
quite out of the common course, that will astonish the world; and in our look-
out for the grand opportunities that so seldom come, we lose many ways of doing
real good. We cannot all be "representative women," and do grand, heroic
DEEDS OF KINDNESS.
deeds, but we can work quietly and unostentatiously, carrying our deeds of kind-
ness into every-day life, and making ourselves better, and every one around us
happier by the influence of a consistent, lovely manner of living.
But because we have a work to do and life is earnest and we are to be in
earnest with it, I do not mean that we are to go through it with knit brows, as
30
466
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN
though we were puzzling over some perplexed question in mathematics; no,
indeed ! I believe in carrying so much sunshine in our hearts that it will shine
through our eyes and brighten our faces. We need all the sunshine we can get in
this world, you may be sure, and you and I have got to help make it. Clouds
will come sometimes, of course, but the\' needn't come as often as thej' do if we
wouldn't let them; we make them oftentimes, I think; let trifles annoy us, grow
impatient and fretful at little things, and render ourselves and everybody else
uncomfortable. This can be helped b}- a little patient endeavor and forethought.
Less for self and more for others, girls, and our work is well begun; after
that, once fairly started on the upward way, our progress will be easier, we will
find our field of labor extending before we are aware that we have commenced our
task, and with every daj-'s duties will come new love and interest in our work.
First of all, let us each one try to make our own life so sweet and sunny that
our influence will be felt on all around, and after that the other opportunities will
come as fast as we can use them. The result can be uo other than satisfactory,
I am sure.
Did my talk become a sermon after all? Well, I didn't mean to preach. I
only wanted to tell you my thoughts and set you thinking for yourselves.
\
LXXVI.
BEAUTY AND DRESS.
O I like prett}' girls ? Indeed I do. I've always had a perfect
adoration for beauty, and for no sort so much as the human.
Don't you remember in school, when any new arrival was her-
alded, the eagerness with which we used to watch for the appear-
ance of the new-comer, and how anxiously the first question was
asked: "Well, is she pretty?" If the verdict was favorable
how w^e used to flock around her, and try by every means in our power to render
the first dismal days pleasant and cheerful. I think that I must have been a
monomaniac on the subject; a sweet face w^as sure to win me, and I was a devoted
friend and admirer of all the prettj^ girls. What did I care that mj- dark skin
looked still more Indian-like beside the mar\^elous fairness of Fann}^ or the bright
brilliancy of Bess; what did it matter to me that mj^ nez retroiissi grew to a decided
pug beside Julie's regular Grecian features, and I'm sure I never thought that my
roly-poly looked, if possible, more than ever like a dumpling in contrast to Min's
st}-lish grace. No; it never entered my head that my want of beauty was height-
ened b}' contrasting wdtli my prett}" friends, and if it had I doubt whether it would
have made one bit of difference. Although I am no longer a school-girl the same
characteristic remains with me still, and I never see a pretty face without involun-
tarily sending a " God bless you " after it. It comes like a glad, bright ray of
sunshine across my path, and all the day is better and brighter for it.
" That girl is verj^ pretty," I've heard people say; then add in such a depre-
cating tone, as though it was the greatest crime in the world, " but she knows it."
Why, of course she does; her mirror tells her that every time she looks at it. She
can't help but know it, and as it is a gift God has given her, she has a right to be
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468 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
glad and thnnkful for it. It is as much a gift to thank God for as ain- other that
He bestows, and He meant it to do good when He gave it. Something is wrong
alxnit these people who don't like beauty; either they are envious on account of
their own lack of it, or there is something wanting in their .soul-culture, a want
of appreciation of the beautiful.
But. oh! " my queen of the rose-bud garden of girls," it isn't, after all, the
mere regularity of feature, and grace and roundness of figure, that constitutes
true beauty. There's .something deeper and better, an inward loveliness of soul,
that adds new fairness to the fairest face, and invests even plainer faces with a rare
sweetne.ss and grace.
We all admire in a certain way the showy tulip and bright-colored dahlia —
they hold our eye for a moment, and we wonder at their marvelous brilliancy, but
we do not love them ; we soon weary of them ; they do not appeal to our hearts.
Anything to retain admiration or affection must attract us in more than one way;
this our flaunting flow^ers never do. No sweet perfume exhales from them, lin-
gering with us long after the bright coloring has faded from their petals, and so
we leave them standing on their stalks, nodding boldly in the breeze, and
demanding admiration from every passer-by. No one plucks them for the button-
hole to wear, to make all day fragrant with rich perfume; no one .sends them as
love messengers, speaking through them the heart's dearest secret, that lips dare
not — though eyes may — reveal; they never go as sweet comforters to the sick
ro<-)ni, making glad the weary, .suffering hearts, nor are they ever laid as the last,
lx*st gift, on the graves of our dearly-loved dead.
But who ever passes by the .sweet blush-rose, with its wonderful delicacy of
coloring and its exquisite perfume, — a mute appeal to our love for the beautiful?
Who iK-stows only a casual glance on the purple pan.sy, with its subtle fragrance
and ro!x?s of velvet, or resists the dear little mignonette, quiet and unobstrusive,
but filling every sense with its sweet shyness? Are these not the flowers that
wc love? Are they not the ones that we send with their sweet-breathed frag-
rance to tell of love and cheer and remembrance ?
And, girls, it's ju.st the same with us; a face may attract the eye, but unless
there is something else to win the heart, it grows wearisome after a while. Only
a<l(l to a lovely face the aroma of a pure, exalted life, and surely God can give no
U-tter gift U) the worhl than ojie of these same pretty girls; for they brighten
every liome. and gladden every heart that is blessed by their sweet presence.
While sjK-aking on the subject of beauty, let us not forget that beauty of the
soul may show itself in outward adornment. Some people .seem to be born into
this world without an idea as to "the fitne.ss of things;" they .seem so utterly
wanting in that sort of artistic taste that shows them what to wear and how to
wear it. Arbitrary followers of that most capricious Dame P'a.shion, — wearing,
BEAUTY AND DRESS. 469
without the slightest regard to their own style of face or figure, whatever her fiat
pronounces shall be worn, and fluttering their gay plumage in the face of outraged
taste.
Such women our streets are thronged with every day, and whom I am
heartily tired of seeing, they are so like one another; and I dare say, girls, you
and I resemble the rest. I'll tell you what 'the trouble is; we don't put enough
of our own identity into our dress. Our dressmaker puts hers in instead, and the
result is, she turns out a batch of walking advertisements of her establishment.
When you see two people, in the making of whose dresses there is a shade of
difference, ^-ou ma}^ be sure they only employ different modistes.
Going down Washington street a few days since, my friend suddenly
exclaimed, " Look quick! There goes one of Madame 's suits. I can tell
anything that comes from her at once, it has such style; " and so on, ad infinitum.
No doubt the fair wearer would have been charmed had she heard the ecstatic
praises that were lavished on her apparel, but I must confess I couldn't feel flat-
tered at being knowm b}- my dressmaker. I think it would be a little humiliating.
Now, girls, it isn't " sour grapes," I assure 3-0U, but I wouldn't wear one of
Madame 's dresses, unless she'd let me dictate a little as to the making of
it, so that it might not be quite the twin of somebod}' else's attire. However,
there's no danger of my being required to do so, as at present there is an obvious
difficulty in the waj' — namely, w^ant of funds; but, if I could afford to patronize
the person in question, I should pa}' a little more to have something different from
the rest.
I wonder, girls, if j'ou remember the unpacking days at school; how we used
to flock into one another's rooms to see what, that was new and pretty, each one
had had during the vacation; how we used to compare notes, and when anything
particularly new and striking was brought forth from its hiding-place in the
depths of some trunk, what notes of admiration were heard on everv side, and
before a week was over, ever}'' girl was possesser of an article, like — or as nearly
like — the object of our fancy as it was possible to get. Was there any new style
of hair-dressing, all adopted it, no matter whether dark or fair, stout or thin;
what did it matter to us whether it was becoming or suitable ? It was the fashion,
and that was reason enough for us wh}' we should make ourselves frights —
martyrs in a good cause — we could endure anything, knowing that.
And, girls, I fear we have not changed much in that respect in these years
that have drifted us so surely and swiftly apart. We are slaves to that greatest
tyrant, Fashion; and, for fear of being called " odd," we dare not rid ourselves of
our bonds, but rivet them tighter ever}- day.
I know one fresh-faced girl, who, in her simple work-a-day dress, with its
neat little finish of spotless linen at neck and throat, and knot of bright ribbon
470 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
C'Jtifining the dainty little collar, is as charming a picture as one would ever wish
to see, and a hundred times more attractive than those showy, dashing, inartistic
girls with all their richness and vanity of unmeaning adornment.
That girl has the true artistic eye and touch. She cannot lay her hand on
an article of dress but it assumes new grace and positiveness, and there is such a
swcft simplicity about it all, and a real unconsciousness of the effect, that makes
it twice as lovely and graceful. She follows the prevailing style enough not to
l(x»k old-fashioned, but she modifies it to suit herself, and doesn't lose her identity
in her dress as you and I sometimes do, I fear.
Hut this lack of originality is not the 7L'orst that this blind following of Fashion
is leading us to. Were this all, although I should quarrel with it as much as I
do now, yet I should not fear it. At best, it is but a want of taste which concerns
ourselves chiefly, but the other is a crime — a wrong done to ourselves and others.
It is generating habits of extravagance among us, there's no question of that.
In republican America, where, according to the Constitution, "all men " — and I
suppose, women too — " are born free and equal," where every one is as good as
her neighbor, and where the poor girl of to-day may be the rich woman of
to-morrow, too many have a foolish idea that the way to assert their equality is in
the matter of dress. This is such a sad mistake — there is such a lack of inde-
pendence, that is after all the best assertion — the assertion of a true womanliness
that doesn't hesitate to say, " I will not because I cannot;" and so for that very
want, the possession of which would give her self-respect and the respect of others,
many a girl tries to rival .some one, who, as an every-day affair, can wear what to
her would be a most extravagant luxury; and .she takes from father or brother the
means which can illy be spared, careless, in her overweening selfi.shness, of what
sacrifices they make to humor her in her foolish, and more than foolish, fancies.
Oh, girls! don't you .see what wrong, what harm you are doing in your
thoughtles.sness ? Do you not see that every fre.sh demand of yours brings a new
care to those who gratify them? They love you, girls, those fathers and brothers
of yours, .so dearly, that, rather than disappoint you, or refu.se your most unreason-
able wishes, they put by plans of their own, plans in which a life's happiness may
lie. make sacrifices such as you never dream of, and that they will never let you
know. I know this, girls, for I have seen it done, and I wish 3'ou could .see for
yourselves, and know the care you bring to those whom I know you really love.
I think thoughtlessness is at the bottom of it, but we've no business to be thought-
less. We have brains, every one of us, and rea.soning powers, though in some
ca,ses they may l)e limited — and it's a .sin not to u.se them.
Tlie idea of going through life constantly doing acts of downright selfishness
and injustice, then trying to excuse fuirselves by saying, "We didn't think."
The time may come when we shall think, and bitterly, too, of the suffering and
BEAUTY AND DRESS. 471
care we brought, when we should have brought blessing and happiness. We ca7i
do that now, it is not too late yet. We have only to think before we act; to give
up these silly, extravagant ways; become women instead of dressmakers' models,
and faces will lighten with new happiness that now are careworn and anxious, and
3-ou will be the cause of the one as you are of the other now.
But you mustn't think, because I have said all this, that I don't like pretty
things, — for indeed I do; nobody better — or that I don't like to see you well
dressed; but well dressed, and "extravagantly rigged," are two different affairs.
The one I like; the other I detest.
I think we should like these same pretty things to a certain extent, just as
we like everything bright and plea.sant. One higher than we has implanted this
love in us, and given proof of His love for them in His own works. He did not
disdain to clothe the earth with verdure, green and velvet}^ .starred with flowers
of ever}' hue. The bare brown earth would have little to make it lovely, were it
not for the clothing which God has given it. The trees, ungraceful and stiff in
outline, with their denuded branches stretching and pointing like skeleton fingers,
become ma.sses of beauty with their wealth of foliage. The harsh cold rocks He
pities for their grim desolation, and clothes them with delicate mosses, wonderful
in their variety and exquisiteness, and the silver}^ lichens, that shine starlike
from their dintless surfaces.
And when these beauties are laid aside, each lived out its appointed time,
still there is beaut}'. Mark the changing of the foliage from the cool greenness of
summer to the warm hues of autumn. For the maples hang out their scarlet
flags in the face of Nature, the sumach burns like crimson flame in every wood,
and the elms glow with golden light till every hill seems aflame with glory.
Then, when this magnificence burns itself out, and the leaves, sere and brown,
lie rustling mournfull}^ in the cold winds of approaching wanter, comes the snow,
covering all decay with its mantle of pure wdiiteness, until, b}- and b}', Nature
bursts forth again into fresh newness of beaut}'.
So I think from His very care of inanimate things, and the beauty He
bestows upon them, together with the innate love for these beauties, that there is
a sort of religion in the care for self-adornment. That is. He gives us so much
to begin with in the way of personal appearance, and we do the best with what
we have, thankful for it, and make our best as attractive as possible, not for our
own gratification merely, but in a spirit of gratitude that so much has been given
us, and a wash to make others see and feel our gladness.
I have a distrust of people who look upon all these things as folly, who them-
selves go clad in sombre garments, with no vestige of anything bright or
cheerful. It seems to me as though the}' must have put all the freshness and
brightness out of their own lives, and see nothing but the hard, dark side of
472
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
living. I have often wondered if Nature held anythin^ for them in her various
forms of loveline.s.s; if the blooming of the flowers, the shining of stars, or singing
of birds, suggested anything glad to them.
I know its on the plea of serving God better, putting away worldly things
and caring only for spiritual, and people are really conscientious about it; but it
seems to me such a strange sort of religion, the sackcloth and ashes kind, I think it
must be, always bewailing one's lowliness, eyes cast so low they see only the
debris and filth of earth's slums, instead of looking up in thankful gladness, and
catching the glory and shining of the vast beyond. Why to me there's more real
religion in a knot of bright ribbon or a bunch of flowers worn by a glad-faced,
happy-hearted girl, than in a score of the melanchol}- draperies, with there more
melancholy wearers.
Vou may be .sure something in the joyous world has gone wrong with them;
for them there is .some discord in the grand symphony of life; but how they are
going to right the one, or restore harmonj^ to the other b\- wearing ungraceful
black dresses and unbecoming poke bonnets, I confess I don't see. I don't
believe that God cares any more for them, or considers them more entitled to his
special care than He does j^ou and me, who love and reverence Him, but not with
long faces and whining complaints. Irreverent? No, no; I am not that; but I
cannot believe that He who gave us all this beauty and the capacity for loving it,
would care less for us that we did worship Him through His own works.
vSo, girls, don your bright draperies gracefully and joyously. Deck your hair
with rosebuds whose hues shall rival the bloom of your cheeks; wear ribbons
who.se sheen shall match the color of your eyes; make yourselves as sweet and
attractive as you can; be living pictures if it please you, but in the outward
adornment don't forget the more important robing. Wreathe your faces with
loving happy smiles, clothe your hearts with charity and gentle thoughts, your
souls with the robes of purity and heavenly love, and you shall indeed be clothed
with garments that never will wear out, but grow .stronger and brighter by each
days wearing.
<W «C6
LXXVII.
OUR AIMS.
WENT out of town with a friend for the day, just to get
a little beyond the sight of city walls, and out of the reach
of confused city sounds, and to get the first kiss of the
bright, fresh spring, as she came over the sunny southern
slopes to meet us. I was full of gladness; every nerve
thrilled and quivered with delight. The bird-notes woke
responsive chords in my heart, and it was filled with
voiceless melody. Kvery budding leaf and flower spoke
to me in the clearest, sweetest tones of the long, golden
days that were coming to make us glad after the
cold, dreary reign of winter.
It was with unwilling feet that I retraced my steps, and turned from field and
flower back to bricks and mortar again; but it was then I saw this little thing I
will now tell you, the memory of which lingers with me, still sweeter and rarer
than the perfume of flower, fresher and clearer than song of bird.
The cars were very full — electric cars usually are, I believe — when we stopped
to take in an Irish woman. She was evidently coming from a day's work some-
w^here, for her dress indicated it, and she looked very tired. A child was with
her, scarcely more than a baby, tired and fretful too, and teasing incessantly to be
taken up, clinging helplessly to its mother's skirts. There were plentj^ of gentle-
men in the car, but they were suddenly too much engrossed in their papers or
(473)
474 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
conversation to have eyes or ears for the tired woman before them; but there was
some one there who put them all to shame.
In a corner of the car near the door sat a girl, fair-haired and fresh-lipped; a
dainty little body, win.some and sweet. I had been looking at her for some time,
admiring the bright exterior, and wondering what kind of a soul la}- hidden
underneath. She answered my mental questioning quite unwittingly, for, seeing
the woman still standing, and no one offering her a seat, she sprang impulsively
to her feet, and, with the bright color rippling over her sunny face, made her take
her own place. The newspapers and conversations were not so engrossing now,
and the men who had not manliness enough to offer a seat to a poor, weary work-
ing woman, were quick enough to offer a seat to the girl who had so quietly yet
effectually rebuked their selfishness. But she would not accept it from them, and
remained standing until we reached the city.
Sweet as the face had looked to me before, it was sweeter then, for there was
a warm, generous, womanly heart pulsing underneath; and through the mists
which gathered before my eyes I saw^ an aureole round her head, that was not the
gleaming of her golden hair. She stood before me, glorified by her one little act,
and I was touched and thrilled by this loving, throbbing humanity, as I had not
been by all the sights and sounds of waking Nature. It was the merest trifle,
yet it gave me a key to a character. There was nothing grand in the act, as you
and I count grandness; but it .showed a heart full of love and kindness, ready to
make a .sacrifice for any one who needed, not impelled by any hope or thought of
a thought, but because of her simple acts of thoughtfulness she could make some
one haj)])ier. She had .sanctified a commonplace kindness until it shone with
brightness almost divine, and I know every one in the car felt the .softening
influence.
I have never .seen her since, though I have watched eagerly the faces in our
crowded city streets for the one face that I shall always love and honor, though I
do nf)t even know the owner's name, and may never see it again.
I have Ixren thinking since then, girls, how easy it is for us to .show .some
little kindness like this to our equals, but how rarely we considered what was due
from us to those whom we con.sider our inferiors. Personal comfort, and a care-
less indifference as to the wants and needs of others, keep us from doing things
that would make us really hapjiier when they are done, becau.se we .should feel,
that in proportion as we denied ourselves or made a personal sacrifice, we added to
the c«»mf(jrt and hapi)ine.ss of some one else.
We read, with thrilling hearts and fla.shing eyes, the .stories of martyrs and
heroes of old. and think how grand it would be to do something like them, to
suflFcr death even for the sake of a principle, to have our names handed down to
future generations, with the reverence that their names have been handed down to
OUR AIMS.
475
us. And, while we are dreaming these impossible dreams, we let many opportu-
nities for doing good slip by us unnoticed, and in our anxiety to gain a lasting
remembrance in future generations, we forget to gain love and blessing in this.
After all, it is the trifles that make up the sum of existence, and every act of
ours, however slight, has an influence, direct or indirect, over all our lives. We
make ourselves by our
deeds. Either we may
blossom into the warmth
and richness of a generous,
loving nature, or we may
become hard, cold and
selfish, and the commonest
acts of our every-da}- life
do so much toward devel-
oping or crushing the
sweet gentleness of our
natures.
I have seen people
who were kind and pleas-
ant to those whom they
met but seldom, anticipat-
ing their wishes and deferr-
ing to their opinions with
the sweetest gracefulness,
yet who, among their dear-
est friends, or in their im-
mediate home-circle, were
unutterably selfish, and
who seemed to regard
friendship as an excuse for
venting ill temper, that
must not be shown to out-
siders, because — what
w^ould the}' think ? Thus,
those who are the most in-
different to them are treated to the smiles, while those to whom they should
endear themselves by words and acts of love get the frowns.
All this seems to me unjust and ungenerous. All the brightness, all the
sympath}- we have, should not be lavished on strangers, but on those nearest and
dearest to us. Our smiles ought not to be kept, like our best dresses, to be put
JIISS CORKELIA T. CROSBY (^ " FLY ROD"
476 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
on for state occasions, but should be worn like our work-a-day garments, seen by
those whom wc most truly should love.
I don't believe my girl of the street ever came down stairs to breakfast with
scowling brow and unkind words. She never refused the good morning that
"made all day good " with its sunshiny brightness. I have a fancy some one
called her " sunbeam," and though I may never be called that by word of mouth,
I know, if we choose, we may be the sunshine of our homes, if we only let our
hearts speak their love and sympathy in every action of our every-day lives. We
may give every one kind words and pleasant smiles, but we should keep our best
for our homes, and those who love us; nor should we permit our friendships to be
an excuse for a rudeness which we dare not show- to strangers.
I don't believe that the girl of a century- or a half century ago was one bit
plea.santer to meet or to live with than the girl of to-day. I don't believe her
smile was more sunshiny, her heart larger or warmer, or her life broader or better
than that of any true-hearted girl of to-day. The same faults of girlhood that we
p:)ssess belonged at some time to our grandmothers and mothers; they outgrew
them, perhaps, and I believe we may. We may not have the same educators, yet
ours may not lie the less valuable.
We may not as yet have had to learn the grand, heroic endurance which they
learned; we may have less of the Spartan element aroused in us, but we are their
daughters and their qualities must be ours; latent, perhaps, but only because they
have not yet been needed. We .showed a little what we could endure during the
War of the Rebellion. There was not a girl in the land who had not an interest
there. Wc felt what it cost to see the best and dearest going away to fight for a
principle; not a mere chimera, as some would have us think, but a living, throbbing
principle. Did we hold them back ? Would we have held them if we could ?
Was not their honor and the honor of our country dearer than aught else ? Ah,
Kirls, there was a heroism there, and our mothers need not blush for the degeneracy
of their daughters.
That is iKist now, but the work is uot done yet, and we shall have opportu-
nities without number to show the " stuff we are made of." Could I havecho.sen
any time in which to live, I know of none that would have been my choice so
quickly as the i)resent. It is s^) full of promises for the future, a future which
you and I are to help to make, in whi( h our .sex will play a prominent part, and
the "Girl <if the Period " is to be the great motive power toward accomplishing
the inevitable end. What that will l>e I cannot tell, and if I told what I really do
think and iK-lieve. perhaps you would not all agree with me, so I will leave the
future to write its own history more elofjuently than pen of mine can prophecy it.
But while with the girl of that jK-riod I have nothing to do now, the girl of
OUR AIMS.
477
to-day I cannot patiently endure to see maligned. In pure self-defence I have
taken up my slight weapon, and I wish it might be to some avail.
Arthur Helps, in his introduction to " The Friends in Council," says: "Our
conversation is not a part of our lives, it is life itself." If this be true, in what
a foolish way the majority of us must be living. Our whole lives must be made
up of absurdities. Childhood must be the most free from them, for then we only
repeat what we hear said, with but a half comprehension, if indeed we are at all
aware what we are saying; so, really, we are not then accountable for language
and opinions. But later the responsibilitj^ does come, and we are not always pre-
pared to assume it.
To an uninterested listener I fancy the talk of school-girls must be the most
unintelligible jargon. I have caught myself smiling in amused wonderment as I
have heard a bev}' of them discoursing much like a flock of animated magpies,
but when I thought of the time when I used to "go on " in the same gushing
st^^le, my wonderment subsided, and I became a very sympathetic listener.
Their good-natured absurdity is free from all taint of malice, and, conse-
quently, far less harmful in its results than the equally careless, but less important
conversations of their elder, and should-be- wiser sisters.
There is a tolerance given to school-girls b}^ ever\- one, except a few persons
of either sex, who have been so soured b}^ the world's usage of them, or their
usage of it — quite as likely to be one as the other, I imagine — that they have for-
gotten their own 3'outh, and see everj^thing, especially the shortcomings of the
young, through their own distorted glasses. With these few exceptions, the
school-girl pranks and weaknesses are more easily forgotten than the indiscretions
and weaknesses of those beyond the pale of the protecting school-room.
And, in truth, you've no right to expect so much from them. Their expe-
rience has been ver\' limited; of actual life the}' know comparative! 3' nothing; the
whole world seems to them one glad spot of sunshine, and they see only brightness
shining down the vista of their lives.
A deprivation of some long-cherished pleasure, a harder task than usual, is
their only idea of suffering, except what the^^ get from books, and that is onh- a
vague idea after all, and usually a very incorrect one. They worship their pet
heroes, weep over their pet heroines, and follow both through seas of suffering,
and leave them at last happily " settled." Possibl}' the}' sometimes fanc}' that in
due course of time thej- may go through the same terribl}' fascinating experiences;
and, in the meantime, they content themselves with rhapsodizing over the woes
and blisses of the personages with whom their ideal realm is peopled, and building
most gorgeous castles in Spain, which serial structures are usuall}- as correct
prophecies of their future lives as their ideal people are truthful representatives
of the every-day men and women of whom the world is made up.
478 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
" Silly ?" Of course it is; no one pretends to deny that; but we've all been
'• sillv " to a greater or less extent. I'm willino: to own to my shortcomings, only
I don't want to stop just at the point of confession, seeing I want to keep clear of
the follies in future. I don't want to fall into any worse evils, and really it is a
question with rae whether there is an improvement since those days. Almost the
only difference I can perceive is that, instead of being spiritedly silly, we are
inanely so, and consequently the only virtue we could boast is lost.
No; I'm not upholding school-girl folly. I wish, as much as any one, that
their tone could be changed, without checking the enthusiasm or crushing the
joyousness of their natures; but if it cannot be done, I prefer them to remain as
they are. innocent of all knowledge of future blight, for it is this very innocence
that makes them the enthusiasts they are, and only actual grief or rough contact
with the world suppresses their joyousness. This comes altogether too quickly;
it gives no warning, but overtakes them one day, a swift, cruel surprise.
We wake one morning, and all the world has changed for us; the most
familiar scenes look strange, the golden light that yesterday lay in its richness
over all the hills, to-day hangs heavy like a pall, and the sun that shone so
brightly and gladly, burns through us with its mocking glare, while from all glad
Nature's sounds, the only one we hear is the melancholy, almost maddening,
sighing and wailing of the wind through the tree tops. A sorrow has fallen on
us, the cloud has overspread our sun, and now we learn what living may mean.
Our actual life has commenced, and we must assume its responsibilities. Now
our lives should broaden and deepen, our thoughts expand, and our tongues
iK-conie their interpreters.
I do not mean we are never to jest. It would be the most stupid world
imaginable if we were always to talk sober sense. But there is a kind of personal
jesting that should always be avoided, and that, I fear, is the kind most indulged
in. Thoughtles.snes.s — the foundation of nearly all our faults — and a lack of
delicate sensitiveness that intuitively tells the po.ssessor what is right, are at the
Iwttoni of this. Do not l)e so culpably cruel for lack of thought, but hesitate not
to employ your brains on small as well as great affairs. Be as merry as you will,
let your wit Ix: sharj) as steel and sparkling as a diamond, but never let it hurt.
H.ivc your sarcasm like a weapon ready to defend, but never use it to offend.
Then there is another particular in which we err, another difficult}- into
which our unlucky tongues are likely to lead us— a love of go.ssip. which, I fear,
is almost universal; a fancy for letting our minds dwell on our neighbors' affairs,
and our tongues discuss them a little more than is positively necessary. We all
deny it. yet we all do it. Now, when I .say that we all fall into this habit, I don't
mean that we do it maliciously, or that we make mischief intentionally, but it is a
had habit to form, atid one that, like all bad habits, never grows less, and we
OUR AIMS.
479
cannot tell where it may lead us. " My child," my mother used to say to me
when I went home from school with some long stor}' of a schoolmate, " talk of
things, not people; it is always safer and more satisfactory." That was the text
she preached from, and she was always true to her precepts.
There is no reason why acquaintances and friends should form the chief topic
of our conversation when the world is so full of other matters of deeper interest.
Literature and science open their wide fields for us; the great questions of the day,
political, social and moral, invite our attention. The coming age, unpiecedented
in all the pages of history for interest and reform, is to be our age, and how are
we preparing ourselves for our positions as teachers and guiding powers? Not by
sitting down and making a business of the business of others, but by striving by
every means in our power to bring ourselves up to the standard by which we are
to be measured; and whether we have in any degree approximated to it, our con-
versation will tell, for " out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."
^
^V^ ' si A,
W--"^
Lxxvin.
WORKING GIRI.S' CLUBS.
|HE Working Girls' Club has come to be a feature in almost
ever}' large city. They were started ten years ago in Octo-
ber, 1887. Miss Grace Dodge, of New York, and Miss
Mabel Henshaw Ward, of Boston, were the first workers in
this movement, and these clubs have developed into great
factors for good. When Miss Ward first heard of the idea,
she had but *just come from a far western city and had
settled in Boston, when she read in a newspaper an article
referring to the lack of social life among working girls, and
the wide scope for usefulness in that direction.
Here was a work for .somebody to do. Why should she
not .start it and let other girls take a hand in carrying it out ? How be.st to do
it was the most perplexing que.stion to decide. It mast be delicately done lest
sensitive girls should take alarm and find a charity hidden away somewhere; it
must be simple, because formality and detail are such wet 1)lankets. It must be
for working girls, and yet the labor side mu.st not be unduly emphasized. It
seemed an easy thing to do, and yet it was one of the mo.st difficult, as working
girls are proverbially independent and do not wish to pose as an object of charity.
The first step was to ignore all cla.ss di.stinction, and to work for lonely women
wlio were strangers in the city. ICxpcrience had taught Mi.ss Ward something of
what their needs were, as .she had in her old home been instrumental in .starting
several girls' clubs. Her first step was to go to the Educational and Industrial
(480)
WORKING GIRLS' CLUBS. 481
Union and ask not only advice, but a room for meeting. Both were given, and
she sent out invitations to all the young women she knew with in.structions that
they were to tell others. A few came the first night, more the second, and at
every subsequent meeting new members were added. From this small beginning
twenty-five active working girls' clubs in and near Boston have grown, and in
New York the number is even larger. These clubs have brought the girls of all
classes who are bread winners together, and have developed something far better
than a spirit of sociability. In her club the working girl finds help and inspira-
tion, sympathy and friendliness. As Mrs. Jennie C. Croly says in her admirable
book "Thrown on Her Own Resources: "
The "Song of the Shirt" is a song of the past. The pity it evoked the
working girl of to-day does not want. Her need is justice. When justice is
done, we shall all have pity to spare for those who need it.
In the meantime, the social need of the working girl has been better met by
the evolution of the club idea for women, than by any other influence which has
come into her life. It makes no claims, it presents no obstacles. It brings the
members together on the broad basis of their womanhood and humanity. It
teaches them method, it develops a many-sided interest. It widens their outlook,
and promotes loving friendships, which are the solace of many heretofore lonely'
lives.
The club idea is the product of the last twenty-five years. It means the
unity and fellowship of women, irrespective of class, opinion or race. The true
club idea does not recognize the "working girls' club," or the "working women's
club;" it knows only the "club," which brings women together on purely
human grounds for purposes of improvement and helpfulness to themselves and
others.
In the club all stand socially on a precisely equal footing. Out of it one may
live surrounded by luxur}- on Fifth Avenue, another in a room of a tenement, but
you will not know it. The woman from Madison Avenue brings her refinement
(not alwaj's), but alwaj's something worth having. The woman of business, her
knowledge of affairs; the professional woman, her specialized attainments and
skill, and the working woman, if nothing else, appreciation.
This social unit\- in club life is asj-et in embryo; but the enlargement, the
satisfaction, which the working girl obtains from her club is a very real and
important factor in her present condition and chances for future development. It
was a wise thought of the States Charities Aid Association to use the club as a
means to benefit the working girl, and Miss Grace H. Dodge was most happih'
chosen to carry out the plan. It was undoubtedly^ better that the first step should
be taken under direction; but the second .step has been already taken, and that is
the formation of clubs and societies bv working: eirls themselves.
VV AND DUINC. IN TlIK IIAKI.V MOKNINC.
(4«a)
WORKING GIRLvS' CLUBvS. 483
The third step of which there are indications, and which indeed formed the
basis of the first women's clubs in this comitry, constituting the "club idea," is
the obliteration, as far and as fast as possible, of class lines and prejudices, and
unity in organization without reference to material conditions.
The woes of the working girl have been traded upon in the past to the great
detriment of the worker. Real needs have been lost sight of in the demands of
agitators and professional philanthropists for that which the working girl is
capable of obtaining for herself. Working girls who can work are not paupers.
They not only take care of themselves, but often spare something for others.
The ' ' Head, Heart, and Hand Club ' ' of working girls provided the entire
means for one of the Fresh Air Fund excursions during the past summer, and
several working girls' clubs have beneficiary societies to which they contribute,
and small charities which they support.
The intelligence of working girls and the drift of their thought are well
exhibited in the following list of topics announced by the Shawmut Avenue
(Boston) Working Girls' Club, to be discussed:
How can one promote general culture when free hours are few ?
What is the best way to show outsiders what the club does for us ?
Do riches bring happiness ?
What are some of the advantages offered to working people in this country
not obtained in others ?
Is there any difference between an untruth and a lie ?
How can a girl be charitable without money ?
Do working girls' clubs reach those for whom they are intended ?
Does a club tend to break up home life ?
What is the best way to develop sociability in a club ?
What should working girls' clubs do for the cause of temperance ?
This shows how thought is stimulated by the club life, and how advantageous
it is that girls should have clubs of their own in which to practice, and develop
methods, acquire experience, and exercise intellectual faculty before being put to
the test of competition with more experienced minds.
In addition to these exercises the girls' club usually has classes in embroidery,
dressmaking and other useful arts. In Philadelphia a real practical training
school has grown out of the classes of the Working Girls' Guild, connected with
and founded by the New Century Woman's Club. This Guild had a " thinking "
class, presided over b}' the Rev. Charles G. Ames, when he lived in Philadelphia,
and a " history" class, attended regularly by upward of a hundred girls. The
teacher of this class was a New York lad}^, a graduate of two universities, but
married to a Philadelphian. It was with her a labor of real love, and the girls
adored her.
484
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
This preparation, this refined association, are exactly what the girls need, and
what they most appreciate and enjo}-. They do not wish to be precipitated into a
perfunctory paradise of somebody else's making; Vnit they are willing to be helped
in the creation of one of their own. The club life is a guard and a protection as
well as a stimulus. It develops the within of a working girl, arouses a worthy
ambition, and gives her new interests and ideas. Her mind no longer dwells upon
her little attempts at finery, or the small jealousies and complexities of her daily
life. She is, in a measure, removed from them, and rises superior to them.
In her club the working girl has an opportunity to try her own wings. She
finds co-operation in her efforts toward an. independent life, and an entire absence
of that pity which is so nearly allied to contempt.
Daily idleness is more to be dreaded than daily work. Reasonable hours,
prompt pay, considerate treatment, sanitary surroundings secured to the working
girl, and she can take care of the rest, with the aid of her club, and the friends
it makes for her. ' '
LXXIX.
MARRIAGE AS A CAREER.
RE you not afraid, that in educating girls to the idea of
personal independence, 3-ou will lessen their regard for
marriage, and cause them to look lightly, if not slightingly,
upon the thought of a family life, that life, which, after all, is
Vl^^?^^"^ the best for a woman and the one in which she finds her
•MifcJ#ilr truest happiness ? "
This is the attitude which many well-intentioned persons take
towards any effort to train girls to become bread-winners, seem-
ingly ignoring the fact, that the family life being the natural one,
the girl will not find nature perverted simply because she becomes a working
factor in the world, but will come to her kingdom the more royally, for the very
reason that she comes voluntarily, and does not assume its duties as a means of
support.
It will always remain true, that no matter how many women become self-
supporting, the majority will marr^^ It is the most natural thing in the world
for them to do, and it is the life for which both men and women are intended.
But the bread-winning girl, the independent one, has it in her power to be sure
that she is taking the right step, and can give more careful thought to the matter,
than the one who is hurried into it from motives of convenience.
(4S5)
^86 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
And. in>- dear girls, marriage is worthy of more thought than is often given
it. It is the most solemn of all the sacraments which the chnrch has ordained,
and it holds within itself the possibilities for the greatest happiness, or the most
abject misery. It should never be entered upon lightly or carelessly, but rever-
entially. It should not be based, as it so often is, upon mere physical attraction,
but upon the higher plane of mind and character.
Marriage is a partnership, in which each partner has equal duties and equal
rights. When in the beginning God made man, and saw that His work was
good, He made woman as a help-meet for him — not as a subordinate, but as a
fellow-worker, a sharer of the blessings and the burdens, whose task in life was to
supplement iiis; and together they were to work out the salvation of this new
world into which they had been placed. They were to travel through the world
hand in hand, not in a single file, the one striding on ahead, while the other
pants and struggles in the effort to keep up in the forced march.
There has teen so nmch non.sen.se talked and written about marriage that the
common sense and the sacredness of it has been in danger of being overlooked
entirely. \'ery young persons invest it with a halo of romance, that is as unreal
as it is unhealthy, and if they marry before they have given sen.se time to
moderate romance, they are apt to find the realit}^ a painfully different affair.
The hero of the girl's dream is no hero, after all, but a very human sort of a
fellow. He may be a nice enough fellow, too, just one of the every-day .sort, who
make up the world of average men, but she had worshiped an ideal to whom she
had given his face and figure, and he simply could not live up to her ideals.
It was not his fault. He had done the best he could, and no one would have been
more surpri.sed than he could he have known what it was that .she had wor-
shiped and called by his name.
Girls are more to blame than they imagine for the attitude which young men
hold towards them. When a young girl awakes one day to the knowledge that
there is one face in the world which makes all the sunshine for her, one person
whose presence makes her happiness complete, her first impulse is towards .self-
effacement. vShe desires only to echo his opinions, to model herself !)>' his ideals.
This may Ix.* all very touching and pretty in theory, Init it is the greatest mistake
in practice. It is putting a direct bid upon selfi.shness and conceit, and a man
must have a remarkable degree of common .sense that does not become a real
tyrant.
He certainly has every temptation set in his way, and if he has not head
enough to stand this degree of .servile worship he can not be blamed if he develops
a proiwisity for having his own way, and for insisting upon it. Certainly she,
who has trained him in the habit, should be the la.st one to complain. She is
rcapiug the Uan'esl of her own .sewing.
MARRIAGE AS A CAREER.
487
In making up your mind regarding the man whom 5'ou will marr}-, the one
whom 5'ou will honor by trusting in his hands your life's happiness, look, first of
all, my dear girls, at the character of him who asks the gracious gift from you.
If there is anj^thing which you fear maj' develop into some unpleasant trait which
shall sadden your life and shadow your home, be firm and steadfast in your
THE SUNSHINE OF A HAPPY HOME.
refusal. There is no more dangerous thing in the world than marrying a man
who has the slightest indication of a depraved taste or the hint of a quality that
may degenerate into unloveliness. You may think that 3-ou can hold him and
keep him, but not once in a thousand times is such an experiment a successful
one. You may think that it will be a hardship greater than you can endure to
give him up, but w^hat you wull suffer in doing what is right and wnse will be
488 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
ntUhiiiR: to the intensity of suffering that will come later, if 3-011 act against judg-
ment and advice, following inclination rather than reason. If girls would listen
to the pleadings of their better sense, instead of blindly following their feelings,
there would be fewer appeals for relief to the divorce courts.
Then when >'OU have made up your mind, have a direct business understand-
ing with the man whom you elected to accompany in the journey of life. Insist
that he shall tell you all about his prospects for the future and his present position.
As I have already .said, marriage is a partnership in which both parties have an
equal interest and take equal risks. It is hallowed beyond anj^ other partner-
ship, and is a .sacred and a holy trust, not to be lightly regarded or easily relin-
quished, but to be jealously guarded and made a source of nuitual happiness and
beneficence. Hitches in household affairs arise oftener from misunderstanding
than because there is any real reason. That is why all marriages should be
founded upon a ba.sis of absolute understanding, just as any other partnership is
founded. It is a ver}' serious business this, where tine happiness of each lies in
the hands of the other, and where it is a life-long partnership, and not a limited-
one that may be di.s.solved at the whim of either part}-, which has been formed,
with obligations on both sides which are sacred.
In nothing does a jar so easily come as in the failure to understand the
business details that underlie the home sy.stem. If a man is perfectly frank with
his wife, these difficulties will not ari.se. It is a mistaken notion on his part to
keep her in ignorance of the true .state of his financial affairs. Many a woman
has had to bear the odium of ruining her husband becau.se of her extravagance,
when the fault lay entirely with him for not being frank and truthful and letting
her know just how he was situated. The girl trained in business methods will
insist upon knowing just what she has to depend on, and the girl who has been
brought up in the .shelter of home .should have been so educated by a wi.se mother
that slie will also think it right to know, and each will have an idea of how to
manage on the income at her disposal. Pecuniary troubles comes the mo.st often
to families were the hu.sband treats his wife like a child, and does not confide in
her and trust to her judgment to help. Winning an income is by no means the
easiest or most imiM)rtant part of family providing: making the income do the
neccAKary buying for the family is quite as much of a brain problem, requiring
thoughtful cire and wi.se prudence. As a rule, women are good managers let —
any one who.doubts .see the way the girls who work, and whose .salaries are small,
contrive to live and dress— they know how to make the mo.st out of the least;
and. with very few excei)tif)ns, when they marry they will enter fully into sym-
pathy with their husbands' financial positions, and help royally in the work on
keeping within the income, or, to use an old-country expression, "make the
buckle meet the strap."
MARRIAGE AS A CAREER.
489
In the natural division of labor in this divine partnership, the man is the
bread-winner, the woman the care-taker. Each duty is sacred, and it is through
this mutual interdependence that true happiness is gained for both. Any idea of
family life which does not recognize this is a false one, and will, if followed, bring
discord where there should be perfect harmony.
And for the guiding principle of your married life take this: " Each for the
other, both for God."
LXXX.
THE DEVASTATION OF LOOP-HOLES.
V ■ 1 .,.'\ J TER N A L vigilance is the price of safety." A3% veril}' ! always
and everywhere the price not that may, but that must, be
fc>%N /l^ 1 'i.' paid.
fM ('^X*j'^V'^ It seems to be the prevailing belief that safety means
fci.^ L liNiJ.r. ^ only protection from great and evident danger; from
invasion, from drowning, from different forms of acci-
dent, from sudden death, or serious maiming of the
body. Surely a book like this, for women, about women,
dealing as it does with her physical, moral and spiritual
needs, has not fulfilled its whole mission until it has pointed out and re-emphasized
the fact in business life, professional life, social life, love, and friendship, one
small thing may nullify and stultify many large ones, safety be compromi.sed or
destroyed by that which seems as naught.
A woman who had opened a fruit store, and who was generally extremely
honest and upright in all her dealings, was a.sked one day for a dozen of really
fine peaches. Unwilling to acknowledge that she did not have the required fruit
m stock, she added to the eight fine peaches whicli .she had, four which looked
perfect, but which were in reality .spongy, and dry and tough. The customer was
one whose family used a great deal of fruit, but from that time .she never entered
this woman's .store.
(490)
THE DEVASTATION OF LOOP-HOLES. 491
A young woman just beginning to make her way in literature received from
a friend a letter of introduction to a prominent woman, the latter a reformer and
philanthropist. The letter asked that the 3-oung writer be received, and some
advice given her on a certain subject pertaining to her work. The letter was for-
warded to the philanthropist, together with a polite note from the author, in
which were enclosed a few newspaper clippings, which the philanthropist was
requested to return with her answer. The reply to this letter began by chiding
the author for using the wrong middle name on the envelope addressed to the
philanthropist, who " always felt like throwing a letter not properly addressed
into the waste basket unread," then went on to declare " one should never enclose
anything which he wished returned in a letter, as it was sure to cause his corre-
spondent much trouble, and ended with a not too courteous permission to call at a
•certain hour on a certain day.
It is hardly necessary to say that the author did not call.
Since the occurrence of this incident, which w^as probably long ago forgotten
by the philanthropist, the unknown writer has become a well-known one. Many
times has she heard the philanthropist speak, many of her written words have
found their wa}- within reach of her hands, many times have the two met in social
•circles. But the spoken or written words of the former either have no effect on the
latter, or the effect of bringing a cynical smile to her face, and if in company the
hand of the one is extended the latter apparently never sees it. All the influence
this woman might have gained over a 3-oung and extremelj^ malleable soul, all the
respect, perhaps affection, for the waiter was one quick to love loveable qualities,
were made impossible forever by that one rude note, written in what was a most
unusual mood with her who penned it.
This same 3'oung writer gave one day as a reason for the radiant shining in
her face that she "had been refused a request by Louise Imogen Guiney," but
' ' the refusal ^vas made with so much graciousness and kindness that it was worth
more than the granting of a favor b}' most people.
"Mamma," said a little girl, "where do good disagreeable folks go when
they die?" We know where they go while they live. Unless they have
already made a fortune, or are otherwise rendered independent, they go to partial
or total ruin.
It is a strange and widespread opinion that seems to have fastened itself to
the minds of most people, that the possession of certain virtues excuses the
absence of certain other virtues.
" I confess I am verj' blunt, sometimes even rude," declares one, " but, thank
heaven, I am always sincere ! "
"Yes I have an exceedingly fiery temper," asserts a second, "but I never
sulk, and I hope my friends know^ that my heart is in the right place."
492 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN. i
I
" I never caress any one," avows a third, " but I take care that those'
dei>endcnt upon me are comfortable in all ways."
'■ To be sure. So-and-so drinks hard," is declared of some one, "but there
never was a kinder or more liberal man than he when he is sober."
I wonder if any of you girls were ever in a place which was burglarized ? If
so, where did the burglar enter ? By the bolted door, the safe-guarded entrance ?
or by some unfastened, or carelessly -fastened window, some unlocked cellar door,
some neglected .scuttle hole? And, being in, did he not do just as much dam-
age, seize just as much plunder, as though there had been no bolts on certain
doors, no safeguards on those entrances other than the one he utilized ?
I know a young woman whose tongue is a veritable scourge, but who is
always boasting of her truthfulness and sincerity. The two latter qualities are
her well-guarded doors, her speech the open window. She is shunned and disliked
by most people, and finds it hard to retain a position more than a .short time.
The deva.station wrought by the absence of self-restraint is just as great as
though she did not possess that of sincerity.
A certain girl of my acquaintance reall}- has the warm, true heart of which
.she boasts, but every one who knows her is in such constant dread of arousing
her terrible temper that she is let for the nio.st part alone b}- tho.se whose interest
and friendship would be of financial and social benefit to her. Her one unguarded
UK)phole is as di.sastrous with her generous heart as it would be without it.
I once lived in a home where there was food in abundance, and where furni.sh-
ing and clothing were plentiful, whole, and tidy, but where caresses, cuddling,
and confidences were talxjoed. I have seen immates of other homes where meals
were scanty, furniture dilapidated, raiment limited, hut which boa.sted outspoken
love in abundance, whose inmates were far happier than in the former household.
So-and-sf)'s family is not less neglected and .shamed and tortured when he is
intoxicated Ix-cause he is a good man when he is sober.
What would you think of the merchant who urged as an excu.se for his
damaged table linen that lie had .some very good silk? People \vill shop where
lliey can obtain both good table linen and silk.
There is no use in talking about the right and proper things or qualities which
one has. These will take care of themselves. It is the poorly-fastened window,
the unguarded scuttle hole which needs attention, wliicli must have attention if
you arc to Inr more than i)artially .successful in life. The whole world is,
conjfcioii.sly or unconsciously, demanding holiness which is wholeness, and only
jK-rfect wlioleness ensures perfect .success. A defence is never complete till every
IK)int is guarded. All the gates of a besieged city may as well be open as one.
One had thought, one dishonest practice, one disagreeable trick of manner, one
hateful habit, has ruined a man and woman.
THE DEVASTATION OF LOOP-HOLES. 493
To those who have been reared in New England, and probably to many who
have not, the words "growing in grace" are doubtless more or less familiar —
so familiar in many cases as to have lost all significance, and became a mere cant
phrase. But these words really hold a beautiful meaning, one that is far too
superficially understood, or hurriedly dismissed.
What is grace ? When we speak of a thing as graceful we mean that it is
perfectly proportioned, entirely symmetrical; that every part bears its legitimate
relation to every other part; that it has wholeness, perfection. Growing in grace
is simply growing towards wdioleness, perfection. The demand for wholeness,
symmetr}-, grace, is a good thing for nations and individuals. Perfection is far
more likely to be attained when it is demanded. And since it is a command from
God and the dictate of common-sense that every one shall be his best and do his
best, we have a right to expect that ever}^ individual shall grow in grace, towards
symmetry, right relations of parts, wholeness.
Does some one say that material success is not especially to be coveted ? If,
ni}- dear girls, you declare that success in spiritual things, in one's efforts to be
white-hearted, nobled-souled, is far more to be desired than success in material
things, we shall surely agree; but it is to the white-hearted, clean-handed, noble-
souled that ' ' all things ' ' are to be " added. ' ' And wiiat is more natural and right
than that one with strong heart and clean brain, and a mind open to all the.
leadings of life, should be successful ? There is nothing praiseworthy-, nay, I
believe there is something blameworthy, in being poor w^hen one can worthil}' be
rich, or have a comfortable income. The atmosphere in which we live is a great
formative factor in our characters; and whatever ennobles and refines should be
highly prized and duly appreciated. Good surroundings help to make good souls,
and beautiful things give rise to beautiful thoughts. There is a gospel of things,
and it is a most potent gospel. " Whatever makes us happier makes us better,"
says George Eliot; and wdiatever keeps the mind at ease, whatever helps one to
make sad faces and gloomy places glad, must make him happier, and con-
sequently better. A competence helps towards the symmetry, the gracefulness,
the wholeness of life.
The point I want my girls to grasp is that nothing is rvell enotigh tintil it is
as icell as it can possibly be made; that one has not sufficiently grown in grace
until all the parts of life and character, the habits of mind and bod}', the princi-
ples and purposes, the language and the dress, have attained perfect relation to
each other, have grown into full sj^mmetry, entire gracefulness, perfect wholeness;
till everything which can contribute to the highest success of the spirit and the
body is theirs.
Right here I ^vant to say that a very little thing, so-called, will do away with
perfect S3mimetr3-, entire wholeness.
494 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
Some time ago a lady visited two other ladies. The visitor was amiable,
intelligent, kind-hearted, and good-natured. Her well-fitting garments were of
good material. Her gown, a glossy black silk, was well fitted to the age, position,
and style of the wearer; but alas for the fitness of things! the white basting-
threads had not been taken out of the sleeves. Somehow her friends could not
avoid a mental protest against that which marred the symmetrj^ the right
relations, the artistic wholeness of the attire. This protest was the outlook
towards, the yearning for, grace, perfection.
I have in mind a 3'oung woman possessessed of habits of industry and a
heart of gold, but whose gowns are habituall}' unmended, her boot buttons
missing or hanging by single threads, her hose undarned.
I am acquainted with another young woman who is upright, honest, faithful
in all transactions, neat in dress, but who uses ungrammatical and improper
language, thereby destroying the symmetr}-, the grace, the wholeness of her
make-up.
I am sure that you girls wull agree with me that the lady in the black silk
should have made her gown symmetrical, graceful, whole, b}^ pulling out the
basting threads, that the first girl should have grown in grace by pulling out the
basting threads of untidiness, the second bj^ removing the basting threads of
ungrammatical language.
Does some dear, charitable girl declare that these are little things and should
be overlooked, since no essential of character is wanting? I should love the
kindness of this sweet soul, but I should ask her to consider with me two things.
First, are there any little things ? If we may not sa}^ every, we may say that
nearly every, small thing has a potential greatness. The telegrapher manipulates
the key with .short, deft touches, and the message which is to make millionaires
paupers and paupers millionaires, which is to carry grief too heavy to be borne, or
joy too great to be believed, speeds out into the world. A tiny button is pressed
with one finger, and the hitherto dark room becomes light as noonday. The
engineer draws back a small lever, and the train is put in rapid motion. A thing
is great or small according to the effect which it has in the world.
Secondly, I think my friend of the tender heart will agree with me that when
one lacks anytliing, be it great or small, which contributes to his success in life he
has not all the essentials. Unremoved basting threads, dangling .shoe buttons,
and untidy hose, mangled and barbarous language, may keep a girl from obtaining
a jxjsition, or deprive her of one which she holds; may di.sgust a good but
fa.stidious friend; and, lastly, and by far the most important, may have a deterio-
rating effect upon her own character.
Pull out your ba.sting threads, girls, grow in grace, and with all your getting
get wholene.ss.
LXXXI.
A CLOSING WORD.
N summing up the achievements of women in this
latter part of the nineteenth century, we find that the
work covers almost every kind of work that there is
to be done in the world. To-day, thanks to the work
of our noble advance agents, the " pioneer women,"
there is no field that may not be entered and occupied
by the earnest, determined woman: but we should
also remember that every year demands that women
who enter into competition with men must be properh'
equipped. The girls of America are strong and fearless, brainy and healthy.
Only let them lay to heart the truth that the da}^ is fast passing when
the world will put up with poor work because it is work done by the
"weaker sex." Girls, don't give any ground for your brothers to quote
that miserable phrase; show them that women are in many respects the stronger
sex — strong in purpose, strong in endurance, strong to resist temptations of all
kinds, strong in serving the Lord by heart and deed.
How many young girls there are to-da}^ who are for the first time feeling
themselves a burden or a superfluous expense in their own homes, who are wearing
shabby clothes or perhaps neglecting ailing teeth rather than ask for the money to
remedy the evils. Most of these girls — j^es, all of them — are asking themselves
what they can do to earn their own money and relieve the family of their support.
(495)
496 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
What happy fancies the young girl has of being able to help pay the rent, to gel
■'a girl" for her tired mother, to pay for little sister's music lessons ! What
countless magnificent visions of benevolence inspire her !
But what is she going to work at ? some particular friend asks. She has had
no particular training for any one pursuit, and like ho.sts of other girls thinks thai
because she is willing and bright she will " get something " without much trouble.
She knows well enough that .she has no one great talent or gift that singles her out •
from thousands of others, and she also knows that she has no money to spend on
the acquirement of short-hand, a course in bookkeeping or on cooking lessons.
She must do something by which she can earn money from the start. An older
girl friend has been working a year or so with a dressmaker and is doing very
well, and advises her to tr}" it. She is perhaps a fairly good sewer, but still has
no enthusiasm for dressmaking. She is moreover sure, after thinking the situation
over hastily, that she would like to be a cashier, to handle money even though it
be not her own. In the course of time she gets a position as cashier, and is as
happy as can be for awhile, but her hours of work are long and her pay is small,
and in three months of it her enthusiasm is all gone; but still she goes on, for it
is all she can do.
Another girl is .sure that it is beautiful and noble to be a nur.se; .she feels that
she can be nothing el.se, and perhaps before the first year of her training is over
she wishes that she had been something, anything, else. Yet she, too, goes on,
realizing the value of " experience. "
It does not follow that because one feels curiosity in regard to a certain pursuit
and a fanc>- to follow it that one was therefore born for that and will find one's
true and destined place in it. To be guided .solely by one's fancies is the greatest
folly. If you really have an idea that you would like to enter a certain calling i
and make it your life work, fir.st find out all you can about it, the preparation and >
the time required to attain proficiency, the average and the highest pay to be won i'
in it, the effect of such work upon the health, the hours of con.stant work involved.
All these and many more details should be ascertained and considered, and then it
is your duty to consider yourself in the light of your adaptability to the calling
you incline to. Are you willing to give months to the acquirement of a trade on
little or no wages, or years of mental drudgery in preparation for a profession ?
Are you strong enough bodily to .sit and .sew all day, week in and week out,
or to stand behind a counter through weary years, or to bang a typewriter a(/
fiucm witli never an aching back or a swimming head? Are you suffi-
ciently well educated and disciplined to make a creditable record in clerical
or journalistic lines? Are you endued with the phy.sical con.stitution, the
nervous energy, the patience, the capacity for unremitting toil, necessary for a
professional career ?
A CLOSING WORD.
497
Take the profession of medicine and the huv. Many might follow almost any
oilier calling with better success. Remember that ability is not the only require-
iiiLiit for a good doctor; a peculiar and rare organization is demanded; scientific
luilliancy will not always take the place of tact and sincere and unfailing sym-
l>alhy. How about our lawyers? Unquestionably there is not more than a bare
existence for thousands of them, and many are forced to seek a living in other
lines. What of the mechanic ? Undoubtedly man}- a man would raise far better
crops than he does joists; probably a quarter of those who are laying poor brick-
work or bungling with carpenter's tools would make enviable records if they had
only found their proper places, Has every teacher, bookkeeper, clerk, found her
32
498 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
true place ? How few can be found to answer yes ! Yet all these thought in the!
beginning that they were choosing aright. They had to select some calling and
these api^eared to them the most attractive their imagination could picture.
The reason why so many young people feel discontented and out of place aftei^
a short period of work, is that in the begiiming they do not select the work that!
they are mentally and physically fitted for, but hastily conclude that because:
.some one they know or have heard of has succeeded in a certain line, that that
line is the very one for them. No mistake could be more disastrous.
In giving the advice to a young person ' ' follow your bent " we do not therefore
mean choose that calling which appears most attractive to you at a first considera-
tion, but that to which your best mental abilities, manual aptness and educational
attainments in conjunction lead. Probably we all know some who have been for-
tunate enough to fall into the niche they were made to fit. How happy they are
in it I The)' never have to conjecture if the}- might be doing something better for
a living. Occa.sional seasons of protracted hours of work do not seem irksome to
them; in fact every day seems too short in which to work out the ideas the>^
conceive.
But in truth the majority of girls find it very difl&cult to decide what work
they can do best. There are hosts, for instance, who have been through a high
school and no further. That does not fit them for teaching or anything dis-
tinctively intellectual or professional, yet they are intelligent, well read, and do a
numl>er of things equally well. But they have never shown any one particular
ability, they did not Ix-long among those exceptional, abnormal creatures who from
the cradle evince a preference for large books, clas.sical music or curious insects,
rather than the ordinary delights of doU-dom, mud pastry, or running away.
Another stumbling block in the pernicious idea prevailing among our girls — girls
who have their livings to earn — that it is much more desirable to be a clerk, book-
keeper, saleswoman, dressmaker or milliner than to engage in any sort of domestic
work. Many young peojile hold a false and snobbish notion that manual work will
injure their s«)cial standing and lower them in the eyes of their neighbors. It is
.shameful and pitiful to see a girl who is alxirn cook or housekeeper wrestling with
phonographic characters or debits and credits. You remember what good old
George Herlxrrt said away back in the sixteenth century, wasn't it?
" Who .sweeps a room as by God's law,
Makes that and the action fine. ' '
There is only one way, after all. Find out what you are best fitted to do,
and then Ik-iuI all your energies to doing that thing. If you are .so situated that
you can not follow what you believe is your true career, do good-naturedly what-
ex'CT your hand finds, and study how best to get where you feel is your place. For
A CLOSING WORD.
499
instance, if you feel that you must l)e a lawyer — that- in the law only ean you find
your best development — and are so situated that you cannot go to a law school, after
a college course, do just as so many noted men have done. Do what you must,
and study law by yourself, bearing all j-our energies toward that one point.
Remember how Abraham Lincoln began, how he worked against fearful odds
through fearful hardships and against almost impossible barriers. And what man
has done, girl can do.
Just so with other professions. If art beckons to you and you are obliged to
wait on customers in a shop, for instance, study art in your room evenings, go to
an evening school for drawing, read books on art, practice with your own pencil
and brush. Somehow and sometime you will make a career, if you but persevere.
In an old nursery rhyme-book, which man}- of us women of to-day well
remember, " Songs for the Little Ones at Home," were the following lines. When
I was a little girl I scarcel}' saw the force of them; but the}- were easy reading
and easy to remember, and I used to repeat them so much that the\- have stayed
with me ever since. And in times of discouragement they still have a faculty of
" staying by." I can do no better than to leave them as a last word w-ith you,
first saj'ing, " Find your bent and then follow it.'' The lines are these:
" Go on, go on, go on, go on,
Go on, go on, go on.
Go on, go on, go on, go on.
Go on, go on, GO on."
►
INDCX---^ i»
PAGE
Ackertiiann, Miss Jessie E., round-the-world missionary, W. C. T. U., i8r
Albani, organist and pianist, 2i6
Aldrich, Miss Mildred, Boston Home Journal, 293
Alexander, Miss Grace J., assistant cashier of bank, ■ 160
Alleyne, Miss Minnie, painter of anatomical charts, 448
Anderson, Mary, actress, . 39, 302
Anthony, Susan B., advocate of woman's rights, 201, 447
Baldwin, Miss Maria (colored), principal of Agassiz Grammar School, Boston 378
Baker, Lady, a noted traveler, 325
Barker, IMrs. E. A., care-taker of city pets, and cat kennels 116
Barton, Clara, president of the Red Cross Society, 87, 201
Bates, Cynthia, inventor of healthful corset-waist, 81
Bates, Miss Charlotte, manufacturer of underwear, 357
Beach, Mrs. H. H. A., musical writer, 229
Beecher, Catherine, a pioneer in the education of women 189
Bickerdyke, ^Mother, a famous nurse during the Civil War, 388
Blackwell, Alice Stone, editor IVoinati's Journal, 152, 298
Blackell, Dr. Elizabeth, first graduate from medical college 189
Blackwell, Dr. Emily, second graduate from medical college, 189
Booth, ^lary, first editor of Harper's Bazaar, 294
Bradwell, Mrs. Myra, editor of the Court Register, . 373
Brackett, Anna C, principal of the St. Louis Normal School, 276
Bridgman, Laura, a noted blind woman, 313
Burnett, I\Irs. Frances Hodgson, author and dramatist, 307
Cameron, Mrs. Julia, portrait painter, 243
Carey, Annie Louise, vocalist, - . • . . 216
Chaliender, Miss Rena, in charge of a daily newspaper, 406
Chaminade, Mile., writer of songs and piano music, 229
Churchill, Lida A., writer of books 455
Churchill, Miss, owner and manager of a large dairy farm, 106
Cole, Catharine, a New Orleans newspaper woman, 291
Conway, Miss Katherine E. , associate editor of the PZ/o/, 298
Costa, INIrs. Mary, bank cashier, 161
Crane, Rev. Caroline Bartlett, pastor of a church in Kalamazoo 206
Croly, Mrs. J. C. (Jennie June), a pioneer newspaper woman, 126, 290
Crosby Fanny, a sweet blind singer, 311
Cushman, Charlotte, a celebrated actress, . 301
Dascomb, Mrs. Marianna, principal of the ladies' department, Oberlin College, 271
Da\-is, Mrs. Elizabeth Preston, mathematician, 318
Davis, Grace Weiser, a Methodist preacher, 205
DeKroyft, Mrs. Helen Aldrich, blind organist and author, 312
Diaz, Mrs. Abby INIorton, author and lecturer, 91
Dick, Mrs. Sarah Frances, bank cashier, 161
(501)
502 OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
• • PAGE
Dickcnuaii. Miss Harriet, Corporation Department of Massachusetts, 364
nickinson. Miss Anna, dramatist, 306
DickinMMi, Mrs. Mary Ivowf, president of the National Council of Women 168
Dodj^e, Miss (irace, founder of working girls' clubs, 480
Ddgc. Mrs. Mary Mapes, editor of SL Nicholas, 296
Durgin, Harriet Thayer, artist, 424
Durgin, Lyle, artist, '. . 424
E<ldy. Mrs. Ella H., manufacturer of overgaiters and leggings, 358
Kthvard.s, Amelia B., Egyptologist 322
Field, Kate, special writer, correspondent, paragraphist and editor, 297
Fletcher, Miss .•Mice, ethnologist 319
Foster, Mrs. J. I-Ulen, Woman's National Republican Association of America, 196
Fountain, Mi.ss Lillie, deputy sheriff 363
Franklin, C.ertrude, church and concert singer, 221
French-Sheldon, Mrs. May, African traveler and explorer, 327
Gannon, Mary N., successful architect 366
Gifford. Mrs. Hattie M., insurance agent 166
Go<Kle, Mrs Cora Dow, a prosperous druggist, 402
Gordon, Miss .•\nna \., assi.stant secretary W. C. T. U., 181, 429
Grant, Miss .\. I'lorence, successful job printer, 408
Green, Miss Mary .A., member of bar of Massachusetts, . . 371
Greene, Catherine Littlefield, assisted in the invention of the cotton gin, 350
Grcenaway, Kale, painter of children's portraits, 83
Oriswold, Mi.ss HdilhJ., solicitor of patents, 453
Hamilton, Mrs. P'mma Colman, drain pipe, firebrick, tile, etc., 357
Hand, Miss .Mice J., a prosperous architect, 366
Hartt, Miss Irene, talks to girls, 131
Haskell, Mrs I-Ula Knowles, .Assistant Attorney-General of Montana, 375
HaHSc, Miss A<lelaide, librarian of the Interior Department, 319
Henienway, Mrs. Mary, founder of first public cooking .school, 340
Henrotin, Mrs. Ivllen Si., jjresidcnt (k-neral Federation of Women's Clubs, 16S
Hcrschfeld. I'raulein HeiiriettL-, the fir.sl female dentist, 401
HofTinan, Mrs., famous for lier doughnuts, 38
Howe, Julia Ward, one of the nioneers of the W. C. T. U., .447
HughcH, Miss Alice, celebratea photographer, 2.44
Jrnkins. Miss Josephine, a clever Boston newspaperwoman, 55
Johnvjii. Miss Niltir, a young sculptor, 427
Johnston, Miss, photographer, 244
Jones, Mis.s Catherine Humes, collector for an illuminaling company, 52
Kelly, Sarah I)., scientific packer of hou.si-hold goods 334
Kilgori-, Mrs. Carrie I'.urnham, first woman lawyer in Philadelphia, 373
Kv- ' -ii ^^trs. Nellie Russell, dealer in coal ;ind wood 357
K Carrie, manager of insur.ince comj)any, 165
K^ I'lorence, an .Mlegiieny County, I'a., constable 363
Klumpke, Mi<*H Dorothea, scienlist, 318
Knnjip, Adeline H. a S.UI I'rancisco newspaper woman, 291
KrnltH, Mrs. (ieorgia, successful milliner, 391
I.^chinund. Mrs. Ida Mfxire. ojK-ralor of .steamljoats and .saw-mills, 50
I>iCi>ste, Mrs, Carrie, real estate agent, . . 157
I.,anK, Margaret Kuthven, writer of music 230
lulls'-. Mary HIiuilK-tli, an elo«|uent speaker, . 2~l
1.^-a-. ill, Mrs. Mary Clement, round-the-world mis.sionary, W. C. T. U., ... . . . . i8r
Ix^M-r. MfH, Alice I'arker, member of the bar of California, 281, 372
\^n^!^, Mi.HH Lilian (colored ), journali.sl, 381
INDEX. 503
PAGE
IJiid, Jenny, a famous singer, 216
Ijvermore, Mary, an organizer of the American Woman Suffrage Association, , . 199, 444, 447
Lockwood, Mrs. Belva A., attorney and solicitor, ... 168, 373
Ivougee, Miss Amanda M., head of large rub1)er " gossamer " manufactory 356
IvOzier, Mrs. Clemence S., one of the first women to study medicine 194
Lytle, Miss L,utie, colored lawyer, . 380
McDonald, Miss Margaret, designer of paper dolls, 453
McGregor, Mrs. Edith, insurance agent, 166
McLean, Miss IMary, of the faculty of Standard University, 274
Marbury, Miss Elizabeth, theatrical manager, 449
Meade, Miss Jane, lecturer on American history and literature, 281
Merrill, Estelle M. H., a Boston newspaperwoman, 291
Metcalf, Miss Betsey, first manufacturer of straw bonnets, . . . , 351
Millard, Miss Clara, book hunter, ... . . . • • 33
Miller, Mrs. Annie Jenness, on life insurance, etc., 8r, 169
Miller, Mrs. Emily Huntington, dean of Woman's College, 169
Minot, Mrs. Harriet G., manufacturer of blankets, 356
Mitchell, Professor Maria, Vassar College faculty, 272, 317
Morton, Mrs. Martha, dramatist, 307
Mulligan, Mrs. Agnes Murphy, land appraiser and real estate agent, 156
Murray Maud, harpist, 233
Nichols, Carolines., leader of Fadette Orchestra, 234
Nightingale, Florence, 87
Osgood, Marion, leader of the Marion Osgood Orchestra, 234
Palmer, Alice Freeman, professor of history, Wellesley College, 274
Parker, Miss Marian S. , practical civil engineer, 368
Patti, Adelina, a famous cantatrice, 39, 216
Paul, Mrs. A. Emmagene, Chicago street-cleaning department, 360
Peabody, Miss Elizabeth, introduced the kindergarten into America, 346
Peavy, Mrs. A. J., Superintendent of Public Institutions for Colorado, 200
Pinault, Juliette, manicuring and hairdressing, 395
Pollock, Mrs., cobbler 51
Pratt, Mrs. Ella Farman, editor of Wide Awake, • .... 294
Randall, Dr. Lilian Craig, surgical hospital for women, 195
Ransom, Miss Emily A,, editor of insurance paper, 167
Reel, Miss Estelle M., Superintendent of Public Instruction, Wyoming, 200
Revert, Miss Jennie, veterinarian, ... 449
Ristori, Madame, a famous actress, 21
Rorer, Mrs. Sara, lecturer and instructor in cooking 344
Rose, Annie M., manager of advertising bureau 150
SaflFord, Rev. Miss, president of Iowa Unitarian Association, 204
Sanborn, Kate, farmer, .... :o5
Sanderson, Mrs. Mary E., treasurer W. C. T. U., 181
Sangster, Mrs. Margaret, editor Harper's Bazaar, 294
Shanivan, Mrs. Annie, engineer 51
Shaw, Rev. Anna Howard, M. D., 169
Shaw, Miss Harriet A., harpist, 233
Shaw, Mrs. Quinc}% established free kindergartens, 346
Shepard, Mrs. Martha Dana, music festival pianist, 225
Sherman, Marietta (Mrs. Raymond), musical director, 235
Slack, Miss Agnes E., secretary W. C. T. U., .... 181
Small, Miss Lilian, maritime signal service, 453
Smith, Mother, restaurant, 123
Smith, Sophia, founder of Smith College. 272
Somerset, Lady Henry, vice-president-at-large, W. C. T. U., 181
>^M
OCCUPATIONS FOR WOMEN.
PAGE
Spoffortl. Mrs. Harriet Prescott, on insurance, 168
Slarkwe.'ithcr, Mrs. Louisa, superintendent of women's insurance agencies, 166
Stein iiiv;cr, Miss Tliora, aulhorily on mammals 3ig
Slimscn, Miss Clara M., manufacturer of lumber and shingles, 47
Stokes, Mrs. Kmily, photographer, 244
Stone, Mrs. Lucy, advocate of. women's rights 142, 196
Stuart. Mrs. Ruth McKuery, on life insurance, 169
Sutlierland, Mrs. Kvelyn Greenleaf, dramatist, 307
Synionds, Miss lulilh, on telegraph and telephone girls, 132
TalxT, Mrs. Julia Marlowe, actress, 303
Tafl, Sarah A., farming and poultry culture, 106
Temple, Mrs. Grace Lincoln, decorator 252
Tick nor, Anna Klliot, literature, art and science, 435
Thompson, Martha A., publisher, 461
Thurber, Mrs. Jeanuette M., National Conservatory of Music of America . 228
Trine, .Me.xandrine, explorer of the Nile and Africa, 325
Turner, Miss Cora L., invented and patented a boiler, 352
Vannah, Kate, successful song writer, . 229
V'ogI, Mrs. Susan, advertising agent, 152
Wait. Dr. Phebe J. B., A. M., dean of New York Medical College, 169
Ward. Malxd Ilen.shaw, working girls' clubs, 480
Wat.stm, Miss Laura S., ])rincipal Abbot Academy 169
Wertheimer, Miss Jennie, inventor of safety paper for commercial uses, 163
West, Mrs. Percy, cat larni 117
Whiting, Lilian, correspondent of Tunes- Demoa'at 296
Whitney, Anne, Boston sculptor, 423
Whitney, Rev. Mary P., pastor of Unity Church, Soutli Boston 205
Wliiltiir, Mi.ss Helen A., president of cotton manufactories, 355
Wi;.;;.,'in, Kate Douglas, early San Francisco kindergartner, 347
\Vill:ir<l, ICmma, j)rinci))al of the Academv for I'emale Education, 270
Will.ird, Miss 1-ranccs I-:., i)re.sident W. C. T. U., 181
Willilt, Mrs Taber, farmer 107
Winslow, Mi.ss Helen M., editor of the i^^rafo//, Boston, 298
WocliK-r. Mrs. V.. ('.., real estate agent, .... 157
WtKMi, Mrs Louis.1, insurance agent 166
Wright, Marie Robinson, journalist and traveler 331
Wyatt, Mi.ss Julia, teacher of vocal music, . 222
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