"
"Yes, yes, you need not remember all I say--I mean it only in a general
way. If it should come before you, you'll know what I meant. And then
you must notice if she can talk and work at the same time, if she has
something in her hand while she is talking to you, and if she stops
every time she says a word and only pretends to be working. I tell you
that industry is everything in a woman. My mother always used to say: 'A
girl should never go about empty-handed, and should be ready to climb
over three fences to pick up a feather.' And yet she must be calm and
steady in her work, and not rush and rampage about as if she were going
to pull down a piece of the world. And when she speaks and answers you,
notice whether she is either too bashful or too bold. You may not
believe it, but girls are quite different when they see a man's hat
from what they are among themselves. And those who look as if they were
all the time saying, "Don't eat me!" are the worst--but, no--those who
have such sharp tongues, and think that when anybody is in the room
their tongues should never rest, those are worse still."
The lad laughed and said:
"Mother, you ought to go about the world preaching, and give lectures
for girls only."
"Yes, I could do that," replied the mother, also laughing. "But I have
brought out the last part first; you must, of course, notice how she
behaves to her parents and to her brothers and sisters.
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