Imagine my disgust on a recent occasion, when a young lady, fresh from college, was handing round six elegantly bound books which she had obtained as prizes at a recent examination. A soft young man, who I subsequently heard was a clerk in the city on 120 a year, was paying his addresses to this young lady. The conversation was rather slow and vapid, as it often is under such circumstances. At last something was said about servants; and now the conversation brightened : the young man innocently asked the lady with six prizes how long it took to poach an egg, and putting on a rather stupid expression she replied, “ Really I don’t know, I was never allowed out after dark, and I never poached an egg in my life. Me, dear, how many hours does it take to do an egg?” Whether this ignorance was affected or real it was sufficient to show the tendency The Education of Girls. 3 1 of her mind. The young man would have acted sensibly if he had taken a'speedy farewell. For what hope could there be for a man with an income of E 120 a year united to a woman who did not know how to poach an egg. It is to my mind of the first importance that eveiy woman who is to have the care and direction of a household, whether small or large, and the expenditure of her husband’s money, should understand how best to lay out his money on what is wholesome and nourishing ; she should also know something of the relative value of the materials com- monly used as food, and the principles upon which that food can be most economically cooked. If the in- come is small your knowledge will make your money go as far again in the purchase of food, for after all, feeding a family is not so much a matter of money as it is of knowledge. Poverty is more frequently the result of ignorance and idleness than want of money ; if on the other hand you have abundance, remember your duties and responsibilities are greater and your example more powerful. It is our duty to give our daughters the highest culture and accomplishment which educa- tion can confer ; but in their desire for the last new fashion in bonnets and dogs, remember that no woman is less accomplished, or refined, or beautiful, because she knows something about household duties, and can, if necessary, cook her husband’s dinner better than nine-tenths of the plain cooks. I regard every lady ignorant of these matters as a lady of neglected education. Her future must be doubtful; there is hope for every young lady that can cook, but there is no hope for the lady that despises cooking. We have 3 2 Buckmaster s Cookery.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Imagine my disgust on a recent occasion, when a young lady, fresh from college, was handing round six elegantly bound books which she had obtained as prizes at a recent examination. A soft young man, who I subsequently heard was a clerk in the city on 120 a year, was paying his addresses to this young lady. The conversation was rather slow and vapid, as it often is under such circumstances. At last something was said about servants; and now the conversation brightened : the young man innocently asked the lady with six prizes how long it took to poach an egg, and putting on a rather stupid expression she replied, “ Really I don’t know, I was never allowed out after dark, and I never poached an egg in my life. Me, dear, how many hours does it take to do an egg?” Whether this ignorance was affected or real it was sufficient to show the tendency The Education of Girls. 3 1 of her mind. The young man would have acted sensibly if he had taken a speedy farewell. For what hope could there be for a man with an income of E 120 a year united to a woman who did not know how to poach an egg. It is to my mind of the first importance that eveiy woman who is to have the care and direction of a household, whether small or large, and the expenditure of her husband’s money, should understand how best to lay out his money on what is wholesome and nourishing ; she should also know something of the relative value of the materials commonly used as food, and the principles upon which that food can be most economically cooked. If the income is small your knowledge will make your money go as far again in the purchase of food, for after all, feeding a family is not so much a matter of money as it is of knowledge. Poverty is more frequently the result of ignorance and idleness than want of money ; if on the other hand you have abundance, remember your duties and responsibilities are greater and your example more powerful. It is our duty to give our daughters the highest culture and accomplishment which education can confer ; but in their desire for the last new fashion in bonnets and dogs, remember that no woman is less accomplished, or refined, or beautiful, because she knows something about household duties, and can, if necessary, cook her husband’s dinner better than nine-tenths of the plain cooks. I regard every lady ignorant of these matters as a lady of neglected education. Her future must be doubtful; there is hope for every young lady that can cook, but there is no hope for the lady that despises cooking. We have 3 2 Buckmaster s Cookery.

Buckmaster's cookery