Part 9

=28. Teachers of Bookkeeping.= In the catalogue of Comer's Commercial College, Boston, we find the following statement: "As an inducement to ladies to prepare themselves for mercantile employments, a discount of twenty per cent. from the terms for gentlemen is made, although the course of instruction is precisely the same." Twelve free scholarships have been founded in the institution for deserving cases of either sex. With all large commercial schools is now connected a separate department for ladies; and efforts are made by the principals to obtain situations for their pupils as they leave school. A letter from Misses McIntire and Kidder, Boston, states: "We have been engaged in preparing ladies for bookkeepers, saleswomen, &c., for the past ten years. It was at first difficult for ladies to obtain such situations; but as those who did succeed gave entire satisfaction, others were induced to give them a trial; and now they are very generally employed in our retail stores, at prices varying from four to eight dollars per week, and a few at a still higher salary. The time required for a person who has received a common English education, is from six weeks to three months. The terms for the complete course in bookkeeping, which embraces improvement in writing, with rapid methods of calculating interest and averaging accounts, are $14; and for bookkeeping only, $12; and three months' time is allowed. The chances for obtaining employment are very favorable, as more situations are opened to them every year. Each student is instructed separately and assistance rendered in obtaining employment. Bookkeepers are usually employed ten hours a day. The employment is not so unhealthy as needlework. Women are superior to men in faithfulness in the performance of duties." The principal of a mercantile college in Brooklyn says he thinks "many ladies might obtain employment as bookkeepers, if they would only properly qualify themselves for the duties. He had six or seven lady pupils that are now employed as bookkeepers in New York. Their compensation depends on their abilities and the amount of labor they have to perform. They are not so well paid as male bookkeepers. Much depends on the kind of friends a lady has to secure her a place. It is the same case with a young man. If he acquires a reputation for integrity and faithfulness, he may get even as much as $2,500; while one more obscure and unknown may be as competent, but not able to command more than one third as much. So, one may have to work but a few hours; another, from eight in the morning until twelve at night. Some have a great deal to do in some seasons, and but little in others; while some are kept nearly equally busy all the year." This gentleman charges $10 for instruction. Mr. D., who teaches writing, bookkeeping, and arithmetic, in New York, gives private instruction to ladies at his rooms. They are comfortably fitted up. He charges for bookkeeping, practical course of twenty lessons, $15; unlimited course, $25;--arithmetic, commercial course of twenty lessons, $10; of sixty lessons, $20. His charges for all branches required to prepare pupils practically for business are, for one month, two or three hours per day, $15; three months, $30; for twenty lessons in writing, public room, $10; private room, $15. Mr. B., of the firm of B. S. & Co., says a person of good abilities could learn bookkeeping in one month, by spending most of the day at it. His price for ladies is $25. It entitles them to an attendance at one of their branch schools, of which there are eight in the Northern and Western cities. They endeavor to secure places for those who learn bookkeeping with them. They also assist their pupils to open books when they have obtained situations. Millinery establishments, trimming and fancy stores, &c., are the kind that mostly employ women as bookkeepers. Many wives of business men learn bookkeeping, that they may keep their husbands' books.

=29. Teachers of Gymnastics and Dancing.= Dancing, calisthenics, and gymnastics furnish excellent exercise for young people, and in many boarding and day schools for young ladies gymnastics are now taught. A lady teacher of calisthenics and gymnastics told me that in winter a fire is kept in the dressing room, and in very cold weather the practising room is warmed a little. Gymnastics are performed with apparatus. Calisthenics are arm exercises. The terms of this teacher are $6 for one month, $15 for three months, and $20 for six months' tuition. In New York and Philadelphia there are schools where instruction is given to girls as well as boys in gymnastic exercises. At one gymnasium in New York the terms are $16 a year for tuition, $10 for six months, and $7 for three months. At a ladies' gymnasium in Brooklyn, I was told by the instructress that her prices for tuition are $4 a quarter in summer, giving three lessons a week. A physician prescribes the kind and amount of exercise necessary.

=30. Teachers of Drawing and Painting.= There is scarcely any branch of mechanical labor in which a knowledge of drawing is not an advantage. Correct drawing is essential to the success of an artist; but coloring is something very difficult and desirable, particularly the coloring of the flesh. It is indispensable to the portrait painter. A lady artist of some note told me that artists do not ground themselves in drawing as they should; that drawing tells almost the whole story of a picture: coloring only gives beauty and adds strength. She thinks there are many openings in the South and West for first-class teachers of drawing and painting. Miss G. received a salary of $800, as teacher of painting in the School of Arts in Baltimore. It is folly for any one to devote herself to art as a career, unless she has some genius and a fondness for it. Mrs. H., of Boston, the wife of the sculptor, has supported her family by painting and giving instruction in the art. Teachers in oil painting are well compensated, if they have pupils enough to occupy all their time. Prices vary in cities from fifty cents a lesson of one hour to two dollars. Art classes have been formed, both in New York and Philadelphia. Some artists receive pupils, but the time required for instruction renders it objectionable to most. Miss G. charges $15 a quarter of twenty-four lessons, two hours each. In ordinary times, she gives but one hour's instruction at a lesson. Miss J. charges $10 dollars for instruction in oriental painting. Mrs. C. was profitably engaged, in Providence, in teaching drawing and taking crayon portraits. One lady, who taught for several years with success, charged fifty cents a lesson, the pupils attending at her room. Those working in crayon in the New York school draw almost entirely from casts; those in the Philadelphia school, from plates. There is now a life school in New York, where instruction is given at $20 per quarter of eleven weeks--two lessons a week. For instruction in drawing from plates, $12 per quarter of eleven weeks. In some of our public schools, drawing is taught free of expense to the scholars.

=31. Teachers of Fancy Work.= The accomplishments of women are useful in their times and places. Music and drawing are elegant accomplishments, the earliest as well as the most universal pastimes known. Those teachers of accomplishments that have acquired a reputation can command in a city a high price. At Madame D.'s, crochet work and embroidery are taught at 25 cents a lesson of one hour. Misses H., Philadelphia, give five lessons in leather work for $6, and charge, for giving instruction in wax fruit and flowers, paper and rice paper flowers, &c., $1 a lesson; in embroidery in silk, gold bullion, &c., $15 for twenty lessons--the same for hair flowers and bead work; for the arrangement of shells with mosses and grasses, $1 a lesson. Madame N., who teaches crochet work and fancy knitting, charges 50 cents an hour. One stitch can be learned by a quick person in an hour. She thinks there is plenty of that kind of work to supply all and even more hands than are so occupied. She employs a number, and pays by the piece. They work at home, and can earn from $3 to $4 a week.

=32. Teachers of Horsemanship.= The prices of the riding school, New York, attended by the most aristocratic classes, are: 16 lessons, $20; 10 lessons, $15; 5 lessons, $8; single lessons, $2; road lesson, one pupil, $5; two or more pupils, each $3. For exercise riding, single ride, one hour, $1.50; single ride, half hour, $1. After taking 16 or more lessons, the prices are somewhat reduced. At another riding school in New York, the terms are: 20 lessons for gentlemen, $25; 20 lessons for ladies, $20; 10 lessons for gentlemen, $15; 10 lessons for ladies, $12; single lessons, $2. The rules are very good, and laid down in the circulars. At another riding school in New York the prices are: $20 for 20 lessons, $12 for 10 lessons, $7 for 5 lessons; single lessons, $1.50; road lessons, one person, $5; road lessons, three or more, each $3; 20 exercise rides for $15; evening rides for $1; road rides, 10 for $8; single, $1; road ride to a lady, $2.50. The regulations are very good. The expenses for keeping up a riding school are considerable; so it may not prove as profitable as the prices would seem to indicate.

=33. Teachers of Infant Schools.= Teaching is interesting to those that love children. But I would say, let not those without patience and tenderness, or those whose feelings can in an hour change from the boiling to the freezing point, attempt to teach young children. In ordinary schools, young children are liable to be either cramped or stunted. If children must be placed at school early, let it be where they can exercise their little bodies frequently, and not be confined in school long at a time. To accomplish this, we think the infant school the most efficient. Lord Brougham gives it as his opinion that a child learns more the first eighteen months of its life than at any other period; and that it settles, in fact, at this early age, its mental capacity and future well-being. Mr. Babbington fixes the period of the first nine years as the seedtime of life. Some object to infant schools, on the ground that they divert the mind, and unfit it for continued and concentrated thought in after life. But we cannot think so, unless the course is pursued an unreasonable length of time. The first two years of a child's schooling may be passed profitably in an infant school; at any rate, if the child enters as early as six years of age. Indeed, we think the variety embodied in the infant-school system is one of its most pleasing and useful features. The minds of children cannot rest long on any one subject, any more than their bodies can retain the same posture long at a time. It stagnates thought, prevents boldness of spirit, and stunts the growth of a young child to sit quiet hour after hour. Some mothers send their children early to school to have them out of their way. Such children could be more pleasantly and more efficiently taught in an infant school than in any other. Yet, we are rather inclined to the opinion that a child should be taught the alphabet at home. Gentle but firm treatment is necessary for children, who need much sympathy and affection; and it therefore requires the greatest patience on the part of a teacher, in order to conduct an infant school successfully. Infant schools are scarce in the United States; but still they exist in some parts of New England. There was an infant school in Troy, some time ago (and perhaps it is still in existence), in connection with one of the public schools. The infant-school system has been partially adopted in some of the public schools of our Western cities; and the same system applied to Sabbath schools has been extensively and happily carried into effect, both in the South and West. There are several infant Sabbath schools, of which we know, numbering considerably over one hundred children. These schools are usually conducted by ladies. The exercises are varied, as in day schools, and consist generally of chanting responses, catechism, memorizing from cards, telling Bible stories, lecturing, explaining pictures, singing, &c. This order of exercises, sustained in a lively manner, cannot fail to interest children, and make the school room for them a happy and longed-for place. Nature itself points out the course to be pursued in the education of a child: first, physical training; second, moral training; and third, mental training. Mind and body are so closely united that an injury to one is resented by the other. One is placed as a protector to the other, and will not permit injury to its companion with impunity.

=34. Teachers of Languages.= A knowledge of Latin is desirable for ladies that expect to devote much time to books. The study of it is fine discipline for the mind. The German and French are studied by many ladies: the French more for the purposes of light literature and conversation; the German by those that wish to dive into metaphysics. These languages are, both, useful to ladies engaged in stores: the French mostly in New York city and in the South; the German more at the North and West. In Italy, at different times from the fifteenth to the nineteenth century, learned women occupied chairs in the universities, as professors of music, drawing, philosophy, mathematics, and the languages, both ancient and modern. The author of "Women and Work" says: "Women should teach languages and oratory. Aspasia taught rhetoric to Socrates. The voice of woman is more penetrating, distinct, delicate, and correct in delivering sounds than that of man, fitting her to teach both languages and oratory better." The prices paid for private instruction in the languages are higher than when received in a class, and run from 25 cents an hour to $1. A language is best taught by a native of the country in which said language is spoken.

=35. Teachers of Music.= Vocal music is taught in most of our schools, and is required to be taught in the public schools of Germany and Prussia. In Germany, instrumental music is also taught free of charge. It is not uncommon to see a German mechanic performing on the piano. Instrumental music is probably the most expensive accomplishment attending the education of a young lady. Music is more generally cultivated in the United States than any other accomplishment. It is better appreciated by the mass, and, consequently, becomes more ingrafted in the national element. In a few years our musicians will probably equal the most celebrated of Europe. A skilful musician need never suffer in America. If competent to give instruction in music, there will be opportunities to do so in our cities. Most seminaries require one teacher of music, and often two or more.

=36. Teachers of Navigation.= "One of the best and most popular teachers of navigation and nautical mathematics and astronomy in England is a lady, Mrs. Janet Taylor. Her classes are celebrated, and numerously attended by men who have been at sea as well as by youths preparing for the merchant service." Not long since, she received a gold medal and a premium of £50 annually from the British Government.

=37. Teachers of Swimming.= There is a swimming school in Paris, containing as pupils ladies of all stations in life. Swimming schools for both sexes have been established in New York. In the one for ladies and girls instruction is given by one of their own sex, and a charge made of 25 cents a lesson. From the New York _Observer_ we copy an article: "A few years ago, a gentleman well known in the philanthropic world established a school in New Jersey, not far from New York, with the intention of making physical training a prominent part of his educational system. He began with his own children and a few others. The school has gradually grown until it numbers eighty pupils, both boys and girls. Every pupil at this school is a gymnast; every one can row a boat; and every one, down to the smallest girl, can swim. The boys and girls are formed into separate boat clubs, seven to each club, rowing six oars, with the seventh for coxswain. So they row races whenever the weather permits, and they do not mind a little rough weather. Every day, too, during the warm season, they all have a swim. The boys swim by themselves; and the girls, in suitable bathing dresses, go elsewhere, with a teacher. One year of such training and exercises will lay up stamina for a lifetime." A school has been commenced in New York for teaching swimming out of the water, by machinery. The prices are 25 cents a lesson in a class, and $1 a lesson for private instruction.

=38. Translators.= Translations published in the United States are mostly made in England. Some languages are susceptible of a much more correct and graceful translation than others. It requires study to get the exact meaning of some authors, and taste and genius to convey that meaning. A literal interpretation will not always convey the meaning of an author as well as a looser translation getting more the spirit of the original. A person should have general information on the subject to be treated. A translator of history must be a good historian. It requires time to establish a reputation as a translator, but even a translator's career must have a beginning. Dr. G., who has charge of the editorial department of one of the most extensively circulated magazines in the United States, says translations from French and German are not so well liked in magazines as original matter, and anything to be translated for his magazine he does as a recreation from more serious duties. Owing to the international copyright law of England and France, a French author will send his manuscript over to England and have it rendered, securing the right to the translation. The translation often makes its appearance very nearly as soon as the original. Most of the valuable works in French have been translated. Mr. W. told me, however, that there are some scientific French works that might be rendered into English, and some on mechanics; but it would require some one acquainted with the subject, on account of the technical terms. Dr. G. thinks the chances a thousand against one that an individual could find constant employment translating. He has frequent applications from translators for work in that line. So we have reason to think translating is a very precarious occupation. The best way is to find some French book that will be popular in America, and translate it, and offer it to a publisher. Some translators look over catalogues of foreign books and examine such as they think will be likely to please. They take it to the publisher, who, if he thinks it will be available, gives the individual the task, if they can settle on satisfactory terms. A lady, who translates considerably, told me that she receives $5 a page for a finished translation from the French for magazines. Books are generally done for so much, according to the contract of the parties. The price charged for verbal translation would doubtless depend on the amount of time consumed; but for a written translation, the charge would be made by the page or volume. In most of the Government departments translators are employed, and their salaries are no doubt good. Interpreters are also employed in some of the courts, but they usually unite their occupation with that of copyist. In some private establishments interpreters are employed. Where there is sufficient business to occupy all the time of a lady, she would doubtless find her services as an interpreter lucrative.

ARTISTIC PURSUITS, AND EMPLOYMENTS CONNECTED WITH THE FINE ARTS.