SOS 
WAY 5 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
United States,” “School and Municipal Suf¬ 
frage,” “Political Parties and Woman Suf¬ 
frage,” “Sex in Brain,” “Women in the Early 
Christian Church,” “Moral Power of the 
Ballot etc.” 
Then there was one session covering four 
hours, devoted wholly to “Social Purity,” and 
another given entirely to “Temperance,” and 
the work of the W. C. T. U. The sessions 
were held in the largest Opera House in Wash¬ 
ington, and admission was the same as at a 
theatre, hut the prices were low, as reserved 
seats could be had for half-a-dollar. Affairs 
were so conducted as to make it evident that 
foresight, method, and executive ability were 
prominent among the gifts of women. Al¬ 
though there was many a sharp thrust at the 
legislation and antics of men, still there was 
not manifest a spirit of animosity, or antag 
onism between the sexes. There was 
a notable richness and high fashion in 
the Women’s apparel, and I even saw 
bunches of glass beads dangling in the 
folds of Susan B. Anthony’s handsome gown 
of brown satin. Whatever fun may have been 
poked at dress reformers in the past, or at the 
dress of the “strong-minded” at any time, I 
am sure that the most enormous “guy” that 
has ever been seen in the way of a woman is 
the female being in distended petticoats, 
bulged out behind or stuck out all around, as 
if with a round tire like the moon. Why so 
many women are desirous of making them¬ 
selves look malformed and unlike human 
beings in shape, is a question for the conun- 
drum-making people. One of the Council 
women said that in the Greek language 
“idiot” was the name given to a person who 
had no voice in the government, which, per¬ 
haps may explain why some women have so 
little common sente in some things—they are 
“idiots.” 
The sessions were opened with an “invoca¬ 
tion to the Supreme Being,” and a number of 
women preachers were in attendance to per¬ 
form this office; music followed, and al-o 
closed the sessions. Upon one occasion I was 
gratified to see what a large proportion of the 
women were able to sing two stanzas of “My 
country ’tis of thee” without the words before 
them, and it should be a matter of patriotic 
pride with every singer to know by heart her 
national songs. A different woman presided 
each day, but Miss Anthony was usually her 
lieutenant and ally in conducting the busim ss 
Susan has an incisive manner, a sense of just¬ 
ice and a penetrating voice, that make her 
presence invaluable. Although she has en¬ 
dured unmeasured odium, still, I fancy, few 
women are more thoroughly respected. She 
set her face nearly half a century ago toward 
securing equal rights for her sex, and she has 
kept id there ever since, notwithstanding the 
mental.and moral blizzards that have pelted 
her continually. Like all persons long 
accustomed to management, she probably 
taxes herself unnecessarily. When the 
women went in a body of many hundreds 
to “pay their respects” to the President at the 
White House, I heard the man at the left of 
the President, whose business it was to intro¬ 
duce each woman, say to Susan who stood op¬ 
posite, “Now, if you will just be quiet and 
leave this matter to me it will be all right.” 
But Susan, who looked ready to sink with fa¬ 
tigue, continued to say to each woman, “Give 
your name and State (meaning the State she 
hailed from) to the President.” I was so 
much amused that I was in a broad giggle 
when I reached him, so that I was barely able 
to inform him that 1 was from the great pro¬ 
tective State of Pennsylvania. I believe he 
said, as he does to everybody, ‘ I am glad to 
see you,” and a faint smile was actually to be 
seen .on his usually immovable face, as he 
saw the great sea of women who surged 
about him in every direction and who con¬ 
cealed the considerable proportions of his body 
from view. His wife stood in line with him, 
but a little removed, and wore her accustomed 
smile. She is quite a pretty brunette— 
neither beautiful, nor handsome—and has a 
dainty and winsome manner. She was be¬ 
comingly attired in a gown of gray velvet, 
with a plastron in white, braided with tinsel. 
I have been at several receptions at the 
White House, and nothing could well be more 
tiresome and beyond looking at people, chiefly 
their clothes, absolutely inane. There is not, 
as a rule, even the relief of music, aud never 
of refreshment. The crowding is frightful; 
anythiug fine in toilette is crushed. Women 
often become so alarmed and nervous in the 
jam as to give up shaking hands with the Presi¬ 
dent, aud make their escape as best they may. 
The apartments are far inferior to many in 
private houses, and exhale a hotel-like atmos 
phere, although some newsmongers indulge in 
the pleasant fiction of calling them “home-like 
and cozy.” Even the attendants are obliged 
at times to speak discourteously to force the 
crowd to move on, in order to make room for 
the on-comers. The whole proceeding is, in 
fact, absurd and ridiculous, but it is “demo¬ 
cratic.” The hand-shaking alone, that the oc¬ 
cupants of the White House are by courtesy 
forced to undergo would, it might be supposed, 
be enough to deter all persons with aristo¬ 
cratic tastes from coveting the position. In 
the best Washington society, the choicest po¬ 
sitions are held to be those filled by the judges 
of the Supreme Court, and these dignitaries, 
with their families, can indulge in the comfort 
of being, at least in a degree, exclusive, and 
every truly great soul is, by nature, exclu¬ 
sive. 
Probably the most important of all the ses¬ 
sions of the Council was the one named “So¬ 
cial Purity.” Women alone were admitted, 
although it would have been better if the 
great audience of three thousand women had 
been augmented by as many men. The “So¬ 
cial Purity” organization had its origin I be¬ 
lieve in England, where there is an amazing 
lack of it in what goes by the name of the 
higher classes of society—the Ig-nobility. 
The badge of this order is a narrow white 
ribbon tied in the button hole, as the purple 
ribbon is that of the “King’s Daughters.’ 
The aim and work of this society is to estab¬ 
lish an equal code of morality for men and 
women, to save girls from the wiles of the 
wicked, to encourage and force upon all men 
(women are men also) the unmeasured gain 
aud advantage of living chaste lives. I was 
particularly gratified at hearing one of the 
speakers make it her chief business to impress 
upon parents the importance of teaching their 
children—as much as can be known—the ori¬ 
gin of their own existence and the condition 
of their prenatal life. I verily believe that 
three fourths of all the moral villainy in the 
world would be done away with if children 
were dealt with honestly and frankly from the 
date of the first question they ask concerning 
their own existence, and thoroughly imbued 
with the sacred and important character of 
every part of their bodiis, and every feature 
of their physical life. I sometimes hear Chris¬ 
tian parents, even of high intelligence aud in¬ 
tegrity,tell their children abominable lies in or¬ 
der to evade the truth, which they leave them 
to liarn from the most dissolute sources. 
Never, never, will a man’s strength “be as 
the strength of teu,” nor will chastity be the 
rule as it is now the exception, until parents 
themselves beget aud rear children in the 
fear of God, in holiness of heart and of body, 
and regard motherhood and its state as the 
most sacred and holy thing in human life. It 
is as true now as when the words were spoken 
that a tree is known by its fruits, and in the 
line of one’s ancestry, can usually be found 
all the characteristics that individualize any 
one member of it. It is just as imperative 
for young men to be chaste in their lives 
as it is for young women, and the tolera¬ 
tion that so often is granted on the ground 
that a young fellow must “sow his wild 
oats,” is absolutely vicious. Every man 
reaps what he sows, and it is a libel on man¬ 
hood to suppose that a mau with right princi¬ 
ples does not value his own purity of life, as 
much as a woman values hers. So long as 
there is one code of morality for men, and 
another for women, the race can never rise 
to the highest moral aud spiritual plane. The 
breeder of cattle knows the immeuse import¬ 
ance of uniting in one strain the best quali¬ 
ties of temperas well as of blood, and if the 
same rule held sway ia the higher domain of 
the reproduction of human kind, what super¬ 
nal beings might we not hope for here 
on earth! It is a well-known fact among peo¬ 
ple of scientific knowledge, that the young 
men in college who win honor for scholarship, 
aud the great intellectual giants of ail times 
and places, are the men of chaste lives, for it 
is impossible for any human being to waste 
his pov ers in sensual indulgence without at 
the same time wasting the nervous force that 
energizes aud vitalizes the brain. To teach 
boys this fact, is just as much the duty of 
parents and guardians as to teach them that 
a good body depends upon certain conditions 
of food, air, exercise and clothing. 
Miss Frances Willard made some very good 
points in her talk directed to women and girls. 
She laid great stress upon the necessity of wo¬ 
men respecting themselves eminently as wo 
men, aud conducting themselves toward men 
in a way to command their highest respect,aud 
that it is the duty of all womankind to abstaiu 
from everything iu dress or manner that will 
teud to tempt men from the path of rectitude. 
She justly euough condemned the fashion in 
dress that some women adopt of exposing in 
part what is distiuctly feminine in their per¬ 
sons. She condemned “round dances” alto¬ 
gether, not that dancing is in itself bad, but 
the physical contact in it is certainly not nice 
—not what a thoughtful mother or father de¬ 
sires for a daughter, or a man for his wife. 
Another thing which she said, and which has 
been often said by others, was iu regard to 
the tolerance young women sometimes accord 
to the use of tobacco. She put the question, 
“What young mau of your' acquaintance 
would walk in the street or in a public place 
with you if you had a cigar m your mouth?” 
And yet girls—certainly it must be said in 
defense of them, only those of thoughtless 
brains, and shamefully lacking in good breed¬ 
ing—sometimes permit men to smoke in their 
very faces, and accompany them in a prome¬ 
nade attended by a pipe or cigar, and even 
say they like the smell of it. Many of us like 
the taste of wine aud other things that are' 
harmful in the long run—and short run, 
too—but we make it no excuse for perpetual 
indulgence in their use. I can’t remember the 
time when, if a man said to me, “Is smoking 
offensive to you?” when I did not say, “Yes, 
very," and I know a number of men to whom 
tobacco smoke is equally offensive. Honesty 
is a good policy, and no woman ever yet lost 
iu respect or true affection by being honest. 
CONDUCTED BY MRS. AGNES E. M. CARMAN. 
THE HIRED GIRL 
For years the hired girl has been a necessity 
in our household. Like everybody else, we 
sometimes find it impossible to get a reliable 
one. Yet I did not wonder at the indignation 
with which my girl told me last week, that a 
certain lady in town had said: “There are no 
longer any honest, faithful girls to be had.” 
How unkind, how unjust is such a statement! 
Is it any wonder that needy girls will work 
harder, at less wages, at some other employ¬ 
ment than house work, if such a stigma is to 
be cast upon domestic help by the employers, 
because some who hire out are unfaithful. 
Unprofitable stewarts are in every walk of 
life. It is just as fair to say ‘ ‘There is no longer 
a trust-worthy person upou earth,” as to make 
the above statement. From §20 to $25 per 
month are the wages we have paid our girls. 
They are treated as members of the family I 
could not say to a neat, intelligent girl, “You 
cannot eat at my table with me, you are not 
quite good enough for that, so you may eat 
alone in the kitchen.” 
This is often told the girl in deeds, if not in 
words A girl who had worked for me three 
years, afterwards had a place in a small fami¬ 
ly in town. I met her on the street one after¬ 
noon : her eyes were flashing, her cheeks were 
ablaze: I knew very well something had 
aroused her deepest indignation. She swept 
past me like a small tempest. What was the 
matter? I learned later that she had worked 
in that family several weeks, doing cooking 
and general housework; she had sat at the 
table with the master and the nurse; now the 
nurse was gone, and madam was able to come 
to the table, and the master informed the girl 
t”at she would not be expected to eat with the 
family. Perhaps her reply surprised the gen¬ 
tleman. 
It was something like this: “I have never 
worked in a family where I was treated so like 
an inferior. I respect myself too much to do 
so now, so I will leave your house at once.” 
Who blames the girl? Are not our youth 
taught that “great oaks from little acorns 
grow?” Isn’t it impressed upon them that 
the humblest persou may fill the presidential 
chair? Isn’t it the most natural'thing in the 
world that a young, intelligent, ambitious, 
American girl should feel just like that, even 
if circumstances compelled her to earn her 
own way ? I confess I liked her spunk. She 
left an easy, desirable place and he lost a jewel 
of a girl. If there had been a number of ser- 
\ ants the case would have been different. 
Another of my good girls told me she did 
uot in the least object to the servants eating 
together when she lived in a large city house, 
but she did dislike very r much to wear the cap 
and apron the girls were required to wear, 
and for that reason she soon left the place. 
What necessity is there for making the em¬ 
ployment so galliDg to those employed? 
Everybody does better to feel that he or she 
is somebody and can be somebody, and very 
likely they will try harder to be somebody 
with suitable encouragement, than they will if 
constantly down-trodden. Another of my 
girls had so little confidence in herself that 
for nearly a week I feared she never would 
“take hold” enough to be the help I must 
have. I worked with her, encouraging and 
teaching her, and she gained rapidly, became 
a valuable help and only left me after a year 
to try' housekeeping for herself aud a husband 
She told me that at a woman’s urgent en¬ 
treaties she went to work for her. As soon as 
the girl arrived the lady went out riding, 
never troubling herself to show the girl where 
anything was to work with, and leaving her 
to get a dinner for several hired men and the 
family. Said the girl: “I did what I could; 
but when she came home I left her. I would 
not work for a woman who would uot take the 
trouble to introduce me to her cooking uten 
sils.” No doubt that woman bewailed her ill- 
fortune in not being able to get help that was 
good for anything. 
Want of tact on the part of employers often 
upsets many a well-laid plan. I knew of a 
case where a girl went, satchel in hand, to a 
house to commence work as had been agreed 
upon. The lady of the mansion, with bird in 
hand, as she thought, began to lay down rules 
and give instructions. Every sentence was 
prefaced by the rather unpleasant and dicta¬ 
torial remark, “I want you to understand.” 
“I want you to understand you will not eat 
with the family,” etc., etc. The girl heard 
her through, took her satchel, and with a 
polite bow, departed, saying, “Aud I want 
you to understand I will not work for you.” 
When people remember that hired help are 
human beings, and treat them accordingly, 
they will have less reason to remember their 
saucy tongues and ungrateful behaviour. No 
person can afford to quarrel—least of all with 
hired help. That would be most unprofitable. 
I find it best to let my girls take hold of their 
work in their own way; uot unfrequently 
their way proves to be equal, if not superior, 
to mine. Good results are what I desire. No¬ 
thing worries a busy person like being con¬ 
stantly reminded, “Be sure and do that my 
way.” 
When there is need of a change, then sug¬ 
gest it pleasantly. I try never to give the 
impression that I am not pleased when I see a 
girl faithfully doing her best. If I baveyouDg 
girls 1 try to exert a motherly influence over 
them. 
I count it as noble and worthy an act to try 
to uplift and encourage to a better life the 
hired help in our houses, as it is to work for 
the numberless charities and societies that 
people give their time to. s E. h. 
AN ASPARAGUS EPISODE. 
* 
“Nell,” said Tom,in that charmingly frank 
manner which even the best of husbands 
sometimes display toward their wives, “1 wish 
you would now and then get up a new dish as 
Mrs. R does. A fellow is always sure to find 
something new at her table. Take asparagusi 
for instance. We always have it boiled —just 
plain boiled. Surely there must be other 
ways of cooking it.” “Lotsof them,” I cheer¬ 
fully assented, making no mention of the time 
wheu I served it en petit pois , because it was 
too young to be nice boiled plain, and when 
Tom had said he didn’t like such Frenchy 
dishes, hi- mother had always served aspara¬ 
gus tied in bunches, with a white sauce. But 
then we don’t expect consistency in our hus¬ 
bands in the matter of their appetites, at 
least. Even Emerson says consistency is the 
bugbear of small minds. Well, Tom’s mind 
isn’t small, that is one comfort, so I swallowed 
a little lump in my throat and brushed away 
a tear that I didu’c allow to fall, and getting 
out my cook-books proceeded to study' up the 
matter. I had had the name of being a good 
cook, and rather a swell caterer, in fact, when 
I married; but Tom had a way of sitting 
dowu on my best efforts that was very dis¬ 
couraging. I gave him asparagus cooked 
differently every day for a week, and as far 
as space will permit will tell the Rural how 
I managed it. 
FLEMISH STYLE. 
Wash and tie in bunches the large aud small 
stalks as much as possible by themselves; 
cook in salted boiling water. Drain on a 
cloth; lay on a dish, the heads all one way, 
aud sprinkle over three tablespconfuls of 
grated cheese and three of very hot melted 
butter. Send to table. 
BAKED. 
Boil as above; drain and lay on a baking- 
dish. Make a cupful of white sauce; stir in 
the yelks of two eggs well beaten, and three 
tablespooufuls of grated cheese. It is better 
to lay it evenly in layers, spreading a little of 
the sauce, and sprinkling on some of the cheese 
for each layer; put fresh bread crumbs on 
top, dot with bits of butter, aud color a light 
brown in the oven. 
SALAD. 
As soon as the asparagus is boiled that you 
iutend to serve as a salad, drain and plunge at 
once in cold water, which will preserve its 
greenness and fullness. When very cold serve 
with the usual salad ingredients. With the 
following sauce it is called tl la Nicoise. Rub 
the yelk of a hard-boiled egg through a sieve, 
and put it in a deep bowl with the beaten 
yelk of one egg, salt, pepper, and a teaspoon¬ 
ful of prepared mustard; stir with a wooden 
When Baoy was sick, we gave her Castoria, 
When she was a Child, she cried for Castoria, 
When she became Miss, she clung to Castoria, 
When she had Children, she gave them Castoria. 
