The daughter played a
little, sang a little, sewed a very little and studied as much as she
must to insure the certificate for entrance to college. But she attended
matinees, dancing parties in large numbers, and belonged to a whist
club. A whist club, poor girl, at sixteen! Her parents were blind and
deaf to the fact that in their daughter's life there was nothing, save
now and then a desperate attempt on the part of an earnest high school
teacher, or a word from a teacher who occasionally found her in the
Sunday-school class, which might inspire her soul with high ideals,
pure, noble thoughts expressed in action which makes life sweeter. Of
nature's beauties, of her countless miracles, of the dramatic acts of
current history, of the lives and needs of other girls she knew almost
nothing. In her pitiful little world she lived, her best self dying for
want of pure air with the oxygen of power in it.
Can she find in the social life and amusements of the day the
inspiration needed to fill her soul with life that it may develop as her
normal healthy body develops? No, the girls of our country do not find
our social life a help to the higher expression of self. Only here and
there do wise parents make social life simple, free from show and sham,
from false standards and appeals to the senses.
Pages:
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156