Nursing as a Profession for Women

The number of women in the United Kingdom who earn their living as attendants on the sick has been estimated as 20,000. Of these, about 15,000 earn only from £20 to £25 a year, and probably not more than 200 earn over £100 a year; so that at first sight nursing does not seem to offer great monetary advantages. The "plums" of the profession are very, very few. What, then, is the attraction which causes some hundreds of women to apply for every vacancy for a probationer which offers at a good nurse-training school? The chief attraction, doubtless, is the universal esteem in which attendance on the sick is held, and has ever been held, by all sorts and conditions of men. George Eliot expresses this very finely when she writes: "Here is a duty about which all creeds and all philosophies are at one; here you may begin to act without settling one preliminary question. As we bend over the sick-bed, all the forces of our nature rush towards the channel of pity, of patience, and of love, and sweep down the miserable, choking drift of our quarrels, our debates, our would-be wisdom, and our clamorous selfish desires. This is one source of the sweet calm which is often felt by the watcher in the sick-room, even when the duties there are of a hard and terrible kind." Then, not only is the work satisfactory in itself, but it is pre-eminently woman's work. There is no competition with men, no thought of lowering the wages of male breadwinners, or facing black looks from students of the other sex. And if the actual pay of nurses is small, it is nearly always a case with them of "everything found," so that save for their annual holiday and their personal clothing they have no expenses. The last advantage of the profession, but by no means the least, is that there is not necessarily any premium required, or any previous training. If a woman will consent to bind herself for three years to serve in a hospital, she is taught her profession for nothing, and is independent from the moment of entering the hospital doors. For instance, at the Middlesex Hospital, Mortimer Street, the probationers are paid £12, £18, and £20 for the first three years; after that, the wages of nurses rise to £25, or of sisters to £30. these payments are typical of those existing in other hospitals. Be it noted in passing that the term "sister" has no religious signification whatever in hospital life; it is merely the name given to distinguish the head nurse who has charge of a ward, from her subordinates.

Of course there are hospitals where paying probationers are taken - ladies who pay a guinea a week for the privilege of learning a little about nursing without having to bind themselves for a lengthy period. If a would-be nurse can afford it, this is an excellent way of gaining an insight into hospital life, and finding out if the work is agreeable and possible. For nursing is very trying and serious labour for both heart and hand. It is impossible to minister constantly wearied in body and distressed in mind. And yet a nurse must be ever cheerful and bright; to be attended when ill by a listless and spiritless person is to sap the little bit of life and hope out of one; therefore no one should attempt to be a nurse who is not naturally strong both physically and mentally. Also young girls should never be allowed to become nurses; twenty-one for a children's hospital, or twenty-five for a general hospital, should be the age limits.
The Young Woman, January, 1893.

Our Summer Gathering in Lucerne

We are making arrangements for a great gathering of the readers of THE YOUNG WOMAN and THE YOUNG MAN, to be held at Lucerne during August next. Parties will leave London every Tuesday and Friday in August, and the tour will last twelve days - seven of which will be spent in Lucerne, and the rest in various trips to other parts of Switzerland. The cost of second-class return tickets (with first class on boat) and full hotel accommodation will be £10, 10s.

The programme will be an exceptionally attractive one. It will include a paper by Miss Annie S. Swan, lectures and sermons by Rev. W. J. Dawson, a lecture by Dr. Conan Doyle, two sermons by the Rev. Hugh Price Hughes, a concert in which Mrs Mary Davies, Madame Antoinette Sterling, and other distinguished artistes will take part, a lecture by the Rev. Silas K. Hocking, who will also read a paper on "Novels and Novel-Writing," and a lecture by the Rev. J. Reid Howatt. Mrs. Crawford, the Paris correspondent of the Daily News, has promised to be present and to read a paper on "Journalism as a Profession for Women"; and social receptions will be held on August 5th and 12th by Mr Frederick A. Atkins and the Rev. W.J. Dawson.

With such a brilliant programme, and such a cheap and attractive holiday trip, we are not surprised to find that there is already a great demand for tickets. As the accommodation is limited, we advise our readers to book as early as they possibly can. Applications (enclosing a guinea, half of which will be returned if the applicant is unable to go) should be addressed to the Editor of The Young Woman, 9 Paternoster Row, London, E.C. The remaining nine guineas need not be paid until a month before leaving England. Further particulars will be found in the circular which we send out with this number.
The Young Woman, January 4th, 1893.

Syrup of Figs

Nature's Pleasant Laxative,

Is the very perfection of laxative and purifying medicine. It is pleasant to the taste, gentle but thorough in action and for CONSTIPATION, BILIOUSNESS, HEADACHE, and all kindred complaints, it may be relied upon as an unfailing and permanent remedy. The original and genuine preparation is made only by the CALIFORNIA FIG SYRUP CO., and unless you see their trade mark on the package you have been served with an imitation that will prove a source of disappointment.

Of all chemists, 1d, 2 1/2d and 2s 5d or post free on receip0t of price from the Depot for Great Britain and Colonies: 32 Snow Hill, London, E.C.

Home Chat magazine May 9, 1896

Care of the Hair, Eyes, Etc.

No girl can be really plain who has good eyes and abundant hair, if she will only refrain from screwing up her locks into a displeasing tightness. With the hair, as with the face, ineffable cleanliness is a wonder - worker. "What lovely hair!" said a girl once, taking up a long, thick tress that lay on the glass counter in a barber's shop. A curious expression came into the man's face, as he replied, "It's your own, miss." She had grown that hair on her own head, but no one would ever have dreamed that what was on her own head at the moment had the smallest affinity with it. The dissevered tress was clean! In it were many shades of glossy brown, some like the rind of a horse chestnut, others with a tint of gold in them. The dull, dead, muddy brown of the hair under her hat needed only a touch from the magic wand of the fairy Cleanliness to be as beautiful.

The loveliest hair I ever saw belonged to a beautiful woman well-known in the highest circles of London society. That lovely hair lies low now, with the sweet grey eyes and the commanding beauty of the graceful figure. "How do you keep your hair so bright in all this horrid London fog?" she was once asked, and replied that her brushes were never used twice without having been washed in the interval. Six of them lay on her toilet-table, and these were used in rotation. The inconvenience of frequently washing and drying such a quantity of hair with the attendant risk of catching cold, was thus avoided. The method is a good one. Hair and brushes both get dusty, but if the latter are kept immaculately clean they do much to make and keep the former so.
How to be Pretty though Plain by Mrs Humphry "Madge" of "Truth" author of "Manners for Men" Publication undated but from illustration on cover dated to the latter part of the 1890's possibly early 1900's.

The Young Woman in Society by Frances E Willard.

It is hard to write upon this subject, especially when one is a stranger in a strange land, but my interest in the young woman as represented by this magazine, and the young woman as an entity in England and America, is such that I will try to jot down a few points that occur to me. To my mind, the general principle that should govern our relations to society is this - we should try to make those around us better and happier in the most wise and tactful ways, and to adapt those ways to the age, circumstances, and outlook of those with whom we mingle.



A young woman of my acquaintance happily expressed her idea of the best way to conduct oneself in society by saying, "Try to make everybody have a good time, and yet at the same time be doing good to somebody."



"The doing of good" is a wide expression, but it would seem to apply with most force to the building up of those around us against what may be their most subtle and dangerous temptations. For a young woman to take on the air of an exhorter, a mentor, a teacher, or a superior, is odious, and may in every instance defeat her aim, if she is thoughtful enough to have one.

Man must be taught as though you taught him not,

And things remembered told as things forgot.

The right angle is by no means as graceful as the parabola. The circle is the line of beauty, the square the line of use; to combine these should be our aim. By way of practical illustration along paths with which I am familiar, may I mention that when first I began my temperance work, the prettiest and most popular young woman in the senior class of the university in which I was a professor came to me and said, "I really did not think much about the temperance movement until you joined it, and began to speak in public. Your pupils wish to help you in every way they can. Then we have ourselves received what you often call 'the arrest of thought.' Until now I certainly had not a thought upon the subject, but it comes to my mind that I am to entertain our class in my home within a week, and I have purchased a pretty little autograph album, which I have brought with me, that you may write in it the temperance pledge, and sign it yourself as an example to the flock. I will put my name under yours, and we will have the book on a table in some convenient corner of the drawing-room, where from time to time I can show it to different members of our class, both the young men and the young women, - for I should not like to single out the young men and ask them to sign it, " she added , with a wise forethought. This we agreed upon, and the evening in question resulted in a charming social entertainment, and the autographs of nearly every member of the class - there were well-nigh a hundred - being written in the book. Nobody was urged; there was just a little pleasantry about how glad Miss _____ would be to secure the names of her class friends, and a playful exhibition of the "prefatory note in the form of the pledge."



Excerpt from The Young Woman Magazine February, 1893.

Feverish Unrest

Our great-grandmothers taught that "repose of manner" was an essential attribute to all true gentlewomen. When a woman talked it must be in a low, soft voice, and without gesticulation, no matter what pretty rings she might be wearing, nor how dainty and white were her hands. In sitting neither the feet nor the knees might be crossed; it was not "nice." But we of to-day seemed to have reversed these edicts. "Whatever you do, don't be stiff," has become our motto. Our girls all seem to stand in such fear of being voted "slow" or "stiff" that they risk running to the opposite extreme, and becoming "loud" or "eccentric." In the craze after "naturalness" the pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme, and we have feverish unrest.
Home Chat Magazine, 1896.

How to Win the Boys

Light bright fires in the home at night. Illuminate your rooms. Hang pictures upon your walls. Put books and magazines and newspapers upon your tables. Have music and entertaining games. Invent occupations for your sons. Simulate their ambitions in worthy directions. While you make home their delight, fill them with higher purposes than mere pleasure. Whether they shall pass boyhood and enter upon manhood with high tastes and noble ambitions depends on you. With exertion and right means, a mother may have more control over the destiny of her boys than any other influence whatever.
Home Words, 1894

Society Small Talk

One of the incidents at a huge charity bazaar, held at the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg, was the winning of a valuable prize in a gigantic raffle. The children of all the schools in the capital were presented with a ticket, and one of the poorest amongst them drew a valuable picture by a French artist, Bertier. The Czar himself bought the little one's possession for 20,000 francs; so that she is now a lucky heiress, and has good reason to remember with pleasure the "Good Czarina's" Bazaar.
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Miss Lillian Hamilton, an Englishwoman, has been appointed chief physician of the Emir of Afghanistan.
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Collectors of Napoleonic relics will soon have a unique opportunity of adding to their treasures, provided their purses be sufficiently long to enable them to bid successfully. Amongst the selection of furniture belonging to the late Cardinal Bonaparte, which is to be put up to auction by his executor, the throne of Napoleon I. will be under the hammer, together with the writing table which he used at St. Helena, and a very beautiful miniature of the Empress Josephine. There will be other pictures also belonging to the Bonaparte family.
Home Chat May 2, 1896.

Royalty on Active Service

Not the first, but certainly the first famous royalty who went out in person at the head of her troops to fight England's battles, is Queen Boadicea. Hence her place of honour at the head of this article.



Today kings and queens have practically ceased from leading their armies into the fray, the last of the fighting sovereigns being the great Napoleon. Of course, the Emperor William I. of Germany, and Napoleon III. accompanied their respective armies in the Franco-Prussian war, but less as commanders than mere spectators; and equally, of course, the present Emperor William may do the same thing, should Germany go to war again, though I very much doubt whether he would be content to remain a mere spectator - a role that scarcely seems to fit his character.



But if the supreme head of the state is no longer a fighting man, the royal families of Europe, and especially the royal family of England, have all through the present century given their countries brave and capable warriors.



It was in the wars directly following on the French Revolution and before the rise of Buonaparte, that the Duke of York, the Queen's uncle, especially distinguished himself. The Republican armies were already superbly successful in all parts of Europe. But at the Troisville Redoubts, near Cambray, on the Belgian frontier, they met one of their severest repulses, the opposing hosts being commanded by the Duke of York, who, during the engagement, showed remarkable personal bravery.



The Duke of Kent, the Queen's father, and brother to the Duke of York, was a famous warrior in his day, courageous to a degree, and noted for the severity with which he maintained military discipline. he saw active service on more than one occasion, but especially distinguished himself in the expedition under Sir Charles Grey, against the French in the West India Islands. The impetuous bravery with which he led the flank division against certain important posts, in Martinique, became a by-word in the army.



The Crimean war saw no less than three members of royal houses at the front - the Duke of Cambridge, the Duke of Saxe Weimar, and Prince Napoleon Buonaparte. The first success of that terrible and misguided war - the Battle of Alma - saw all three actively engaged. The Duke of Cambridge did splendid work in the famous storming of the great redoubt. At a critical stage of the battle he and Sir Colin Campbell received orders to take this difficult position. Success meant victory; failure spelt defeat. The Guards and Highlanders advanced in splendid order, and cheered by their commanders dashed up the slopes reckless of shot and shell. They encountered the Russians, muzzle to muzzle; scaled the redoubt; and, driving all before them, won for England one of the most splendid of her victories.

By Reginald Maingay for The Royal Magazine December 1899

Our Sisters Across the Sea

Miss Jessie Harlan Lincoln, the daughter of Robert T. Lincoln, United States Minister to Great Britain, has entered the Iowa Wesleyan University, and will take the classical course.

The answer to the question why many young women prefer to lead single lives of loneliness, is perhaps to be found in a statistical report from Chicago, where, it is said, 20,000 husbands are supported by their wives.

Permission has been given to Miss Ray Beveridge, of San Francisco, to set up and operate a miniature blacksmith's forge in the California Building at the Chicago World's Fair. Miss Beveridge is a niece of Ex-Governor Beveridge of Illinois, and is said to be an expert at the anvil.

Miss Homans, the accomplished Director of the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics, speaks encouragingly of the progress of dress-reform in Boston: "Two years ago, out of a class of thirty seven, there were but two of the young women at the end of the school year who continued to wear corsets, and no one continued to wear French heels. Last year, out of a class of seventy one, seven eighths gave up wearing corsets." Which shows that Boston girls are made of sensible stuff. It is a reform in the right direction, and one which we hope has come to stay - but, of corsets not a subject which can properly be discussed by
Brother Jonathan, Junior.
Taken from The Young Woman, December 1892.

Tight Lacing

Now, I am far from wishing to encourage tight-lacing, but if girls and women will practise it I should like to point out how it may be done with the least possible injury to the organs of the body. But I must repeat that in doing this it is under protest against tightening the stay-lace at all. However, girls (and women) will tight-lace, no matter what strength of protest is made, and it is better for them to do it in the least injurious way, if possible. Therefore I offer the following advice:-

Instead of one long stay-lace, three shorter ones should be used. The top one should be carried down to a depth of about five eyelet holes, and there should be a bountiful provision of the lace left here, in order to give abundant breathing room to the lungs, permitting the chest to expand to the fullest, and allowing long, deep breaths to be drawn without that peculiar catch which denotes injurious tightness. There need be no exaggerated looseness, but only sufficient to afford perfect freedom from pressure. Instead of spoiling the look of the figure, this actually improves it.

The second lace should fill the eyelet holes below the first one down to the waist line, and should end there. It is sometimes, even, advisable to leave an eyelet hole on either side free from lacing, between the first and second stay-lace. But the object of the whole arrangement is to enable the second one to be drawn tight without squeezing in the upper part of the figure in the least. And the third lace, in the same way, enables the wearer to avoid pressure on the hips, where it is highly injurious to some of the internal organs.

Of course, this is all unnecessary when funds are available to command a well-made corset from a trained physiologist, as are all really good corsetiers, who fit the figure with exactest skill, and, without squeezing or tightening, give it a graceful outline. But with the cheap, ready-made article the above advice will, I believe, be found really useful.

I should like again to repeat that I wholly disapprove - but, no. I have said enough.
from How to be Pretty though Plain by Mrs Humphry "Madge" of "Truth" author of "Manners for Men" (this publication is not dated, though the cover bears an illustration that puts it mid 1890's)

The Queen

On May 24th the Queen will be older than any monarch who has reigned in England, except only her grandfather, King George III. Let us hope that she will be mercifully spared to us in health and strength for many more years, and that the nonsense discussed in some circles as to the possibility of her abdicating in favour of the Prince of Wales will long remain amongst the impossibilities.

Pensions to old retainers are becoming less and less frequent in these days, when noble families have so many calls upon them, and the deterioration of landed property has lowered so many incomes. It is interesting to know that one of the acts of Her Majesty the Queen, after the first grief had passed on hearing of the death of the late Prince Henry of Battenberg was to summon the personal servants of the Prince and assure them herself that his death should make no difference in their emoluments and position. Occupation should be found for them in the Royal Household in some way as if the Prince had lived to return and need their services.
Home Chat magazine, May 2nd 1896.

The Real American Girl

"The truest, best, and sweetest type of the American girl of to-day does not come from the home of wealth; she steps out from a home where exist comforts rather than luxuries," writes Edward W. Bok, the editor of the Ladies' Home Journal. "She belongs to the great middle class - that class which has given us the best American wifehood; which has given helpmates to the foremost American men of our time; which teaches its daughters the true meaning of love; which teaches the manners of the drawing-room, but the practical life of the kitchen as well; which teaches its girls the responsibilities of wifehood and the greatness of motherhood.

These girls may not ride in their carriages, they may not wear the most expensive gowns, they may even help a little to enlarge the family income, but these self-same girls are to-day the great bulwark of American society, not only present, but of the future. They represent the American home and what is best and truest in sweet domestic life, and they make the best wives for our American men. I have no patience with the theories that would seek to place the average American girl in any other position than that which she occupies, ornaments, and rightfully holds: the foremost place in our respect, our admiration, and our love. She is not the society girl of the day, and she is better for it. She believes no woman to be so sweet as her mother; no man so good as her father. She believes that there are good women and true men abroad in the world, and thank God, her belief is right. And that man will ever be happiest who takes such a girl for his wife."
The Young Woman, 1893.

Hints for Housewives

Tablecloths and Serviettes ought to be slightly starched; this will make them last clean and retain their fresh appearance for a much longer time.
Add a little Borax to the water in which sateen or any cotton material is rinsed, it will help to retain the shiny glossy appearance.
When the Bread Trencher is a bad colour, try scouring it with rough salt or sand and water. Leave it until dry. Care should be taken that no butter gets on the trencher, for grease marks are very unsightly; if ordinary cleaning does not remove them, a paste made of fuller's e-earth and cold water should be spread on; this will absorb the grease from the wood.
To Prepare a Floor for a Dance, it should be swept and scrubbed, and then, when dry, well sprinkled with powdered boracic acid, which should be rubbed in thoroughly. The children of the house may with advantage be allowed to dance on it, or to slide up and down, for nothing polishes a floor better than a few pairs of active feet.
The 'Isobel' Handbooks No 12. Things a Woman Wants to Know

Dressmaking at Home

No doubt at many of the seaside towns where my readers are taking their holidays, bathing is the event of the morning. Apart from the hygienic point of view, I look upon bathing as one of the most healthy amusements a girl can have. It is certainly part of her education, so pleasant a part that it may be carried on during the holidays. Let each girl have her own bathing dress, and let it be either of bunting, the delights of which I spoke in these columns a few weeks ago, or else of light coloured cotton material. Avoid white, for it does not look well in the water. Instead, choose any bright colour which suits the wearer. Yellow bathing dresses are exceedingly becoming to brunettes, but no doubt, "Mother Eve" is so fully developed in girls of the present time, that they will not require any advice from me on what suits them.

One word before I close. I would remind you that a pattern of a bathing dress for a girl (no. 785, which appeared in the June number of Fashions for Children) can still be had from this office, price 61/2d, post free.

Home Notes, August 24, 1895.

Proposals

Your letter "Jessie" (Woodlands), is quite right in its tone and sentiments. It is considered very bad form for a woman, generally speaking, to allow a man to propose whom she has no intention or idea of accepting. As you say, she can, in most cases, let him see beforehand that such a proposal would not meet with her approval, and, as a rule, a man will not persist further. To encourage proposals merely to boast of having had so many is, as you justly remark, both heartless and wrong.
Editorial Chit Chat - Home Chat Magazine, May 30, 1896.

The Evils of "Sweating"

In these days when one hears so much of the evils of "sweating", the question naturally occurs to a thoughtful woman: "What am I individually doing as regards this evil?"

No tender-hearted woman can hear without pain of the cruelly insufficient payment that is often given to poor women for the cheap clothing they make. Do they bear this knowledge in mind when they go out shopping and resolve that they will, if possible only deal with those firms which pay a fair wage for honest labour?

Those who buy are to some extent responsible for the sweating of the poor workers, and I think that if people would only realise this, they would not be so keen as many are now for cheap things. Remember, this terrible cheapness sometimes means starvation wages. For myself, I must say that I like the old fashioned way of having things made for me, instead of buying them ready-made, for them, at any rate, I have the satisfaction of knowing that I am not taking anyone's work without giving proper payment for it.
Excerpt from regular feature entitled 'Fireside Talks' in Home Notes - February 16 1895.

How to be Happy though Single

By the author of "How to be Happy though Married", "The Five Talents of Woman," etc.

Two bachelor maids, as they loved to call themselves, shared a flat for nearly three years. Each had a latchkey and did what she liked. Every day they told each other that they would never surrender to the tyranny of man, but one of them being pretty did at last fall into the arms of a husband.

The other abused the deserter, and was thus answered - "Women may grow newer and newer, but they will never be so new as to really despise the old, old story; and no woman sits long among the scorners of men who feels by anticipation little children tugging at her skirts. Now, dear, take my advice: marry whenever you can, for there is not enough of work, or fame, or fortune in this world to fill the void in a woman's heart when she is forty and stands alone.
Home Chat Magazine - 1895