300 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



for home. Often, indeed, is the domestic comfort, so prized in Eng- 

 land, absent from the abodes even of the wealthy in our land. May 

 not this undeniable fact and the roving propensity of young people 

 in this country, be attributable to the circumstance that girls whose 

 conditions exempts them from servitude, are brought up wholly 

 without reference to home duties? Even those who may depend 

 on their own labor for a subsistence, are taught some trade, or 

 superficially qualified as teachers, or instructed in various branches 

 or needle work, while they know little or nothing of household mat- 

 ters; though such knowledge would enable them to command inde- 

 I)endence. 



It is not alone the wife and mother who should be skilled in 

 domestic affairs; every girl who has emerged from childhood, is 

 liable to be called on to take charge of a house. If the mother is 

 ill, or deceased, '^hy should the father of daughters sixteen and 

 eighteen years old be compelled to look elsewhere for a housekeeper, 

 and intrust the management to the hands of a stranger? The gen- 

 eral cultivation of this valuable knowledge, too, would make the 

 occupation of a ''help," or servant, more acceptable to thousands 

 who now prefer starvation in a garret, or the ruin of health in 

 sedentary employments. The more attention is turned to this 

 branch of learning, the more will its importance be recognized, and 

 the higher place will it assume in the list of useful arts; and a 

 degree of respect being accorded to those who excel, more will be 

 found ready to engage in it as a profession. 



What an improvement would be made by such a result, in our 

 social and domestic life! I would not be understood to say that wo 

 would have a woman merely an upper servant in the house it is her 

 province to guide, or that I undervalue intellectual attainments and 

 elegant occupations. But it will not detract from the charm of 

 these, nor from the dignity of the well-bred lady to be familiar with 

 the routine of domestic duties, well acquainted with the minutia of 

 household economy, and competent to direct, or if need be, teach 

 her servants; aye, even, to do things hersielf in cases of necessity. 

 On the other hand, will it not enhance admiration and strengthen 

 regard, to see that she possesses these acquirements and is willing 

 to exercise them to promote the comfort of others? Who can tell 

 that she may not, at some period of life, be thrown into circum- 

 stances where the mere fine lady would be utterly helpless, or where 

 intellectual refinement and distinguished position may prove less 

 available than industry, ingenuity, and practical common sense? 



What is a kingdom, a merchant's counting-house, or a mechanic's 

 work shop without a head? I do not mean a mere master, but a 

 presiding intellect to plan, contrive, direct, and guide. Not less 

 absolute or important is the rule of a sensible woman in her own 

 home. She has full scope for the exercise of good taste, prudence 

 and refinement. She is invested with an amount of responsibility 

 she perhaps never dreamed of, for her influence over the temper, 

 habits, actions, and disposition of those about her is very great, and 

 great in proportion should be her self-government, for with self 

 the command must begin, if it is to be worth having. 



There is much talk, nowadays, about the "rights" and "mission" 

 of woman. Without entering into the merits of the subject, I would 



