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A New England Girlhood, Outlined from Memory (Beverly, MA)
·
Lucy Larcom
156
My
sister
had
no
domestic
help
besides
mine,
so
I
learned
a
good
deal
about
general
housework.
A
girl's
preparation
for
life
was,
in
those
days,
considered
quite
imperfect,
who
had
no
practical
knowledge
of
that
kind.
We
were
taught,
indeed,
how
to
do
everything
that
a
woman
might
be
called
upon
to
do
under
any
circumstances,
for
herself
or
for
the
household
she
lived
in.
It
was
one
of
the
advantages
of
the
old
simple
way
of
living,
that
the
young
daughters
of
the
house
were,
as
a
matter
of
course,
instructed
in
all
these
things.
They
acquired
the
habit
of
being
ready
for
emergencies,
and
the
family
that
required
no
outside
assistance
was
delightfully
independent.
A
young
woman
would
have
been
considered
a
very
inefficient
being
who
could
not
make
and
mend
and
wash
and
iron
her
own
clothing,
and
get
three
regular
meals
and
clear
them
away
every
day,
besides
keeping
the
house
tidy,
and
doing
any
other
needed
neighborly
service,
such
as
sitting
all
night
by
a
sick-bed.
To
be
"a
good
watcher"
was
considered
one
of
the
most
important
of
womanly
attainments.
People
who
lived
side
by
side
exchanged
such
services
without
waiting
to
be
asked,
and
they
seemed
to
be
happiest
of
whom
such
kindnesses
were
most
expected.
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