Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 September 1895 — THE LADIES’ CLUBS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE LADIES’ CLUBS.

HOW THE FAIR SEX IMPROVES ITS MIND. (literary Clubs, Their Origin and Purposes—Philosophy and Fiction Regarded as Topics of Conversation —The Literary Woman at Her Beat. “New Woman” in Evidence. The seal of the "new woman” to excel In every line of enterprise in which men have distinguished themselves has, by a most easy and natural process, led her into the walks of literature, says d writer in the Globe-Democrat. It Is no* to be understood that she Is now there for the first time, because, as everybody knows, there were literary women, and that, too, of a high order of merit, before the “new woman” was ever dreamed of, nor is it likely that the “new wbman,” try as she may, will ever succeed in doing better than Mrs. Hemans, or Mrs. Browning, or a dozen others that could be cited, who, In the -most emphatic sense of the word, were “old women,” and would have regarded the movement looking to the “emancipation of woman” as one to be heartily disapproved by the best of the sex. Looked at with strictly unprejudiced eye, the literary bias of the “new woman” Is but one indication of her tendency to societyism. She has become aware that far more can be accomplished by organized than by individual effort, and so, in literary as In other matters, she turns toward organization in order to secure the best results. In other words, societyism is the “fad” of the day, and the literary, social, benevolent and other organizations that have sprung up in such numbers among ladles, young and old, are manifestations of a tendency, rather than efforts toward a definite end in any one direction. But social organizations are of far greater antiquity than the “new woman,” and have their origin In that natural desire for social amusement

which must everywhere find its own gratification. Designed to afford opportunities to the young people to make acquaintances, to form friendship, they are, within certain bounds, highly commendable, nor can the rigid do more than cavil at some forms of the amusements they furnish for a social evening. But dancing and cards and •mall talk, all good in their way, are ®ot sufficient for the intellectual young woman of the present day, so she has gone to work and provided herself with means of sharpening her brains in quite a different direction. Exactly when or by whom the first ladles’ literary club was founded is generally regarded as uncertain, for, like the birthplace of Homer, the honor Is striven for by more than one city, and Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago lay claim to the credit of being the first to establish literary clubs of which ladies were the only members. Without taking the time to balance these rival claims, however, they may all be summarily swept aside with the statement that women’s literary clubs are known to be as old as the year 1400, when a ladies’ society for purposes of culture was formed at Venice, and, for some inscrutable reason, the ladies decided to distinguish themselves from other women by the color of their hosiery, and so came to be known as the “Blue Stockings.” A hundred years later the organization appeared in Paris, where it became a rage, and in 1780 it etjpssed the channel into England, where it was still known as the Bas-Bleu Club. This was the original of all literary organizations of the fair sex, and claims of recent origin may be dismissed as unworthy of consideration.

Certain it is, however, that the BasBleus have received a mighty accession to their numbers during the last few years, and that the results have been . eminently satisfactory. The ladies' society or literary club has many forms and proposes to Itself many objects. There are ladles’ societies that do not hesitate to attack the weightiest problems of the day, and venture into the discussion of social, economic, political and religious questions with a boldness that would appall a member of Congress;'but, it should be added, clubs so pretentious in their aims as these, are not very numerous. In general, the ladles’ literary club proposes to itself no object more serious than that of hearing a series of lectures by a learned professor on some topic that appeals to the sympathies of most of the members, or the discussion of some popular work of fiction, with which most of the membership are familiar. The theory is, that, as the whole thing is done for effect, there is no use in overdoing It, so the membership do not expend any more brain tissue than is absolutely necessary for the comprehension of the lecture, or the elucidation of the plot and incidents in the novel chosen for study. As a general thing, the subjects selected for consideration by the lecturer •re such as he deems suitable to the mental capacity of his audience, for he understands well enough that his business is not to instruct, but to entertain, and If by chance he wanders from a topic they can understand into a dissertation on the cognizability of the incomprehensible, he will shortly find them with their thoughts so far away from the topic that he will never be able to get them back again. He is lucky, indeed, to hold their attention at all, for there is something about a woman’s mind that renders it difficult to fix attention on anything but all sorts, kinds and conditions of finery,

so the lecturer Med not be surprised, if, while elucidating some dark point with all his might, he notices that his fair auditors are equally absorbed in the study of each ether’s raiment. But, after all, in a woman, particularly a young woman, this is to be expected, for, to her, theories of government questions of politics, considerations of philosophy, of ethics, of social science, of hamanitarianlsm, ail dwindle into insignificance when brought into comparison with a matter of clothes, for all these are transitory, while the import-

ance of finery Is conceded by the whole feminine race to be eternal. But in all probability, the learned professor is quite used to this kind of an audience, and Is perfectly satisfied to lecture to the two or three who pay attention, while the rest look at each other's garments and speculate as to their probable cost and how much better they would look If the goods had been made up In some other style. Indeed, he is In great lock to have only a negative attention, for once upon a time it happened that while a distinguished French chef was lecturing on the thrilling subject of sonps, three or four of his audience became so little engrossed in the topic that one took off her hat to show It to the others, who duly crowded round to examine it, while the soup was relegated to the background. Lectures, however, before a feminine club, furnish only a negative enjoyment to the membership thereof, for during a lecture the audience must make at least an attempt to refrain from talking, and everybody knows that nothing on earth so harrows up a woman’s soul as the necessity of keeping still. In order to gratify the feminine love of conversation, therefore, a species of entertainment had to be devised, tn which, at some time during Its progress, everybody should have a chance to talk. If all could talk at once, of course, it would be so much the better, but as this plan, pleasant enough for the participants, had manifest drawbacks, certain restrictions had to be placed on the talking, as far as possible, to keep It within limits; to say, in effect, to the ocean of discourse, Thus far shalt thou come, but no farther. The essay and recitation were excellently well suited to the needs of the literary club, for after one member had held the floor for a season all could Join In and talk to each other or to themselves until time for the next performance, but as even this plan did not prove entirely satisfactory, some genius hit upon the device of studying a literary work, generally a work of fiction, and the end was gained, for not only conld the whole club talk together on the topic, but so wide is the field opened by an ordinary novel, that any subject on the face of the earth could be brought In and discussed from any standpoint, or no standpoint at all, until all concerned were tired out, and happy In their fatigue of jaw, could adjourn to their homes with the pleasing consciousness that the meeting had been a “howling success.” Suppose, for example, that the novel chosen for elucidation were “Julia of Bologna," the discussions could range not only over the scenes of the famous Italian city where the plot of the story was laid, including the notable characters who had flgnred In the history of the same, from Julia’s unde, a respectable citizen, to the grand nobleman who

presided over the destinies of the metropolis, not neglecting the unknown genius to whom the world is indebted for the toothsome dainty, which, even now, Is justly famous under the name of bologna sausage. Historic allusions presuppose historic researches, and

thus an additional end is subserved, for the fair literati can go to the libraries, call for all volumes contained therein, relating, so remotely, to Bologna, its surroundings, flora and fauna, sausage and the animals that reluctant-

ly contributed to the making thereof, eat a package of caramels and depart. In the pleasing consciousness of superiority to all that grovellag herd of humanity that is not literary jgd consequently has no soul. A step above the novel club Is the club that says to Itself, “Go to, let us study Browning,” and when the young lady litterateur has taken this step, she feels at once that her mind has begun to develop, for, be "’it understood, studying Browning is the next thing to studying protoplasms, and icthyosaur-

uses, and biology, and the young woman whose mind can get a correct grip on these mysteries is but one grade below her who has written a book. It Is true that the study of Browning is somewhat mystifying, but woman Is fond of mystery—lt is perfectly lovely, in fact; so the trifling circumstance that even Browning once admitted that ho was at a loss to tell what he meant by some of his poetical profundities is a matter of no consequence. “It’s nice to guess, even if you don’t know,” casually explained one of the sisterhood, and the statement generally receives a hearty assent from the entire quota. It is but just, however, to say that the study of Browning is most popular in Boston, where babies wear spectacles and children know more than men and women who bad not the good fortune to be born on soil sacred to the muses. To Boston and her daughters, therefore, the rest of feminine America generally leaves the study of Browning, and Aristotle, and Kant, and Hegel, and

Fichte, and Schopenhauer, and the whatness of the whichsoever, and contents Itself with Dickens, and George Eliot, and Victor Hugo, and Lew Wallace, and other writers who can, once in a while, descend to the plane of ev-ery-day life, and think thoughts that people can understand. But not all the young ladies of the present day are literary in their tastes, so the tendency toward societyism is by no means limited to literary objects. The percentage is also utilitarian and benevolent, and not a few of those fair ones who care nothing for Browning would not give a fig for all the theories of the universe that were ever devised, and to whom dissertations on the relations of the world objective to the world subjective are mere sound and fury, signifying nothing, find that they can keep in the fashion by turning their attention in other directions. To

these the sewing schools for poor children, the mission schools, the clubs for working girls, and other lines of effort furnish a field at once broad and fertile, and in which they have the consciousness of knowing that their efforts are In the highest degree humanitarian and benevolent But while these last are not regarded by their literary sisters as of their own number, they,are not despised, but are rather looked upon as worthy of commendation, for they are considered to be doing what they can and are not to be blamed if Providence has not endowed them with superior minds, able to grasp the problems presented by the masters of fiction and philosophy. “You say it was a runaway match?” “Partly. He tried to run away, but she brought him to time by threats of a breach of promise suit”—lndianapolis Journal. 1 “Three minutes for dinner!” yelled the railroad porter. “Good!” exclaimed the editor. “The last time it was $3.” —Atlanta Constitution.

A BOSTON CLUB.

PREPARING FOR AN ESSAY.

MILLINERY VS. SOUP.

THOSE WHO PREFER BROWNING.

THE RECITATION.