LEADING ARTICLES. 



fii.- 



. . .^ The Suffragists .seem to tliiuk that 

 the "Vote'" Avill ensure consich-ration for 

 women from men on a broadei- and more in- 

 telligent basis, but I venture to' doubt this. 

 Certainly it will do no good if it has to be 

 obtained by such methods of depredation and 

 violence as place women on a much h)wer 

 level of shame than any of the wrongs and 

 injuries of which they complain. And in any 

 case, it is to be feared that it can only end 

 in estranging man altogether from every 

 cherished ideal lie has formed of womanhood, 

 and cjuenching within him every spark of ten- 

 derness and chivalry. To gain the Suffrage 

 and to lose Love? Is it wort!) while? Love 

 begets faith, and faith begets love — they are 

 the equal swing of the pendulum, and without 

 either faith or love a woman's nature is de- 

 formed and becomes a mere abortion of .sex. 



THE SERVANT QUESTION. 



In the Atlantic Monthly Annie Wuisor 

 Allan gives a resume of the problem 

 affecting every housewife. 



The fact is that both mistress and 

 maid occup)' a sphere where honour anci 

 trust and disinterested hard work must 

 be present, or discontent will abound. 

 But honour and trust do not rule m most 

 people, and overcoming difficulties is not 

 now in fashion. This is the season of 

 our discontent. Our shield of discussion 

 is not golden on one side and silver on 

 the other, but dull lead here and rust)- 

 iron there ; on both sides dissatisfaction. 



Mistresses say : Housekeeping is 

 wearisome and disheartening. There 

 are many maids read}- to draw good 

 pay, and few ready to do good work. 

 Many do not know how to work well, 

 and most do not want to work well. 

 They all want to get much and give 

 little. 



Maids say : Housework is tiresome 

 and discouraging. There are lots of 

 mistresses ready to ask for good work, 

 and very few ready to give good condi- 

 tions. Lots of them do not know how 

 to manage well, and most of them do 

 not want to deal fairly. They all want 

 to get much and give little. 



REMOVE THE STIGMA. 

 To-day many steady, refined, sensible 

 girls appreciate the advantage of work- 

 ing in other people's homes, but they 

 make four definite objections to the oc- 

 cupation as it is now arranged. These 

 are: (i) The difficulty of securing a 

 pleasant, quiet place in which to enjo\- 



leisure and to receive their callers ; that 

 is, its discomforts. (2} The difficult)' of 

 fi.nding out beforehand how the mistress 

 of any particular house is going to treat 

 you ; that is, its uncertainty. (3) The 

 difficulty of being sure of pleasant fel- 

 low-workers ; that is, its intimac)'. (4) 

 A dislike of helping without sharing in 

 a private home life ; that is, its aloof- 

 ness. Of course, also, the social 

 "stigma" is urged as the chief reason 

 why it is hard to secure good help in the 

 household. This is the reason which 

 many girls believe they ha\e for not 

 entering domestic service. But a general 

 sentiment of this kind follows the con- 

 ditions which create it. A feeling is 

 always a consequence before it is a cause. 

 If the conditions were altered, the senti- 

 ment would disappear. We cannot work 

 to efface sentiment, but onl)- to efface 

 what causes the sentiment. 



SOCIETY BORROWERS. 



Lad)- Angela Forbes, in an article 

 entitled " How the Well-to-do-Poor 

 Live " in the Lady's Realm, gives a 

 startling account of the wa\- in which 

 to enjoy life on nothing a )-ear. This is 

 achieved comfortabl)- and pleasantl)- by 

 the simple method of borrowing all one 

 requires, from a furnished house to a 

 box at the opera. The only thing, it 

 appears, that the societ)- borrower does 

 not borrow is money, but of this the 

 really scientific borrower has no need. 

 A story is told of a very charming bor- 

 rower who last season succeeded in bor- 

 rowing the whole London establishment, 

 lock, stock and barrel, including a 

 couple of motor cars and a well-trained 

 staff of servants, of a wealth)- merchant 

 But occasionall)- the biter is bit. At a 

 dinner part)- another of th-jse ch.u-nung 

 borrowers asked point blank for the loan 

 of a yacht for Cowes week. There was 

 a jKiinful silence for a couple of minutes, 

 and then the owner spoke: — 



'■ \\'ell.'" he sai<l, .speaking very cit'arly and 

 deliberately. " my yacht is only built to cany 

 four lumdriKl persons, and I have already 

 promised to lend her for Oowes week to let 

 me siH> — " and he took a little roll of papers 

 out of Ills pockt>t ui)on which was writtiu a 

 long .string of names — " four liumlred and 

 eight^■-three ptMsons," lie continued. " Will 

 you let me add your name to this list?" he 

 said to his liostess; " I Jon*^t reallv think she" 

 willsiidv." 



