We women need to be thankful that we live today instead of in 1776. True we have our troubles now but the small things in life hold little danger for us. Our cosmetics are compounded healthfully and we have no fear of dying of lead poisoning as was common in the eighteenth century. If We wear stays at all they are not laced tightly—there is no hanging on to bed-posts while some Abigail pulls our poor ribs in; we are unhampered, by petticoats and our First Lady's School Days 'The present chatelaine of the White House was for three years a pupil at a school in London much favoured by those' sometimes termed "the nobility and gentry." This. was "Allenswood," in Wimbledon and the founder was a Mile. Marie Souvestre, a most remarkable woman who has left a fine impression upon English education. She was the daughter of Emile Souvestre, the well-known writer, and in the sixties established a school at Fontainebleau which was attended by daughters of many well-known American and English families.
It is said that she was a born teacher, and it was at the suggestion of Lord Morley of Blackburn, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain and Lady Stra-choy, whose daughters she educated, that she came to England and founded a school at Wimbledon. This is still in existence and carrying on the traditions of its famous foundress.
The school was always small, and aimed more at culture and character training than mere accumulation of knowledge; most of the lessons were given in French by French teachers, but it was so modern even in 1899, when Mrs, Roosevelt attended it, as to possess a cricket team for girls. Several "extra" subjects could be taken if so desired, and we learn that those taken by Mrs Roosevelt were Italian, Latin, riding, skating, dancing and leather-work. She was greatly interested in literature and history.
It is pleasant to learn that the First Lady of America looks back with happy recollections on her school days, and that she regards the days spent at Wimbledon as being among her very happy ones. We can only hope that she has found her brilliant days at the White House happier stil. It is certain that they have Proved much more eventful.
America's First Lady:
The wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt has, in addition to her bbc and family duties, found time to achieve fame in the literary world and her autobiography has been widely read. For three years, from 1899- 1901, she was a pupil at Allenswood, a well-known and much famed school for girls at Wimbledon, near London, and her contemporaries remember her as a girl with much force of character. o At school she was greatly interested is in literature and history.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.