 Die 14 glücklichen Tage, Teil 2, bei Friedrich de la Motte Fouquet. This is a LibriVox recording, read in honor of the 14th anniversary of LibriVox. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Tu es nicht, liebe Crystaline, Bart Leonardo, sehr erweicht. Wir wollen von heute an recht glücklich sein. Jetzt folge du mir nur und sei unbesorgt. Der Rückweg zum Palastet muss sich uns sogleich zeigen und Douten denkt niemand an unseren Bund. Seine Zuversicht ermunterte die bewente Fürstin. Sie lehnte sich hingebend, innig vertrauend auf seinen Arm und nach wenigen Schritten zeigte eine Durchsicht des Waldes der Schloss in nicht gar weiter Entfernung. Crystaline entwarf einen Plan, wie sie unbemerkt in ihr Gemach gelangen könne und wie Leonardo von einer ganz anderen Seite kommen oder lieber heute gar nicht zurückkehren solle, als sei er ganz entfernt gewesen, durch eine dichte Grille weit über Land getrieben. Keinen Augenblick verliere ich fortan, sagte Leonardo entschlossen. Ich bleibe bei dir. Ach, seufste Crystaline, gilt dir meine Angst so wenig? Willst du meinen Bitten keinen halben Tag opfern? Was ist denn halber Tag? Für mich, was ein Jahr für andere, entgegnete Leonardo, und für deinen Ruf, sorge nicht. Er ist gerettet, dafür muss ein anderer sorgen. Werden, fragte Crystaline, zusammenfahrend und scheu umblickend. Du sprichst schon wieder so seltsame Worte. Ich meine, die Liebe, die uns verbündet, sagte Leonardo beruhigend, traue doch ihr und mir die Kraft, dich zu schützen zu. Sie traten in den Schlossgarten und standen plötzlich mitten unter des Hofstaates glänzenden Gewimmel, ohne dass jemand zu bemerken schien, wie sie beiden eben erst hereinkamen. Vielmehr glaubten die meisten, Crystalinen vor Kurzen an jenem Springquelle Leonardo vor jener Blumentarasse gesprochen zu haben. Dem Herzog war es gegen Abend in den Sinn gekommen, im Freien das Nachtmal einzunehmen, und alle Damen der Prinzessin sprachen davon, wie ihre Herrin vor einer Viertelstunde aus den Zimmern herabgekommen sei. Da fürst wünschte sich Glück, dass er die schöne Tochter so gut durch sein Gartenfest überrascht habe und lachte über Crystalinens Verlegenheit, aus der sie sich auch gar nicht zu finden wisse. Hab ich's nicht gut gemacht, hab ich's nicht gut gemacht, schrillte es in Leonardo's Ohr. Still, mummelte dieser, hilf mir künftig ohne zu schwarzen. Der Laut schwieg augenblicklich und Leonardo genoss an Crystalinens Seite die Lust der Heiternfestlichkeit in vollen erschöpfenden Zügen. So günstig ihm heute die Sterne emporgestiegen waren, so freudig gingen ihm die nächste und die nächste folgenden Sonnen auf. Ein erwünschter Zufall folgte dem anderen, seine und Crystalinens Liebe unverraten, von allen unabsichtlich begünstigt, Blüte in aller Bracht der Innigkeit und Gewährung. In den Augen seiner Geliebten stand er als ein Priester der heiligen Poesie da, vor dessen siegreichen Blickchen sich jedes dunkle Gewölk zerteile. Der Herzog ernte ihn wie einen Gesandten einer höheren Macht. Alaneo freute sich in seines Jüngers hellstrahlenden Glanze und sprach manches begeisternde Wort der Weier in sein Herz. Das Ende der glücklichen 14 Tage stand wohl anmanend und dunkel vor Leonados Gemüt. Aber es trieb ihn nur an, der Gegenwart noch freudiger zu genießen. Ja, er blickte mit Stolz auf eine so auserlesene Wonne, die er sich durch absichtliches Hinwerfen eines ganzes Lebens kühn erobert hatte. Wie auf Leonados Gebot zerstreute sich auch einst an einem Sonnenhellnachmittage der ganze Hofstadt. Den Herzog befiel ein bleierner Schlaf. Einige mussten ihn nach seinem Gemacher führen, andere wurden durch unvorhergesehene Besucher abgerufen, noch andere bildeten sich ein, Feuer in der Stadt wahrzunehmen und randen eilig hinaus. Christeline blieb neben Leonado allein am geöffneten Fenster stehen, doch welches allerduchtige Zauber des Frühlings kursend zu ihnen hereinwehte. Sie umfasste schmeichelnd ihren Liebling, in süßer Bewunderung zu ihm in Vorblick hind. Es geht alles nach deinem Willen, du heiliger Dichter, sagte sie, du gebietest, nein, du gebietest nicht einmal. Es fällt dir nur ein, dass du die fremden Gesichter los sein möchtest und nach allen Weltgegenden stäuben sie hinaus. Nein, mein Geliebter, ich zweifle nicht länger, wir dürfen uns göttlicher Hult erfreuen. Göttlicher, göttlicher Hult, wiederholte Leonado, und senkte schwermütig, dass von Zweifeln gewiegte Haut. Christeline startte ihn erschreckt an, und Gottes Willen nicht wieder so rätselhafte Worte als vorige Woche im Walde, schrie sie auf, und künftige Woche, wie da, fragte Leonado. Doch plötzlich, nach der Zitter greifend, sang er folgendes Liedchen in den blühenden Garten hinaus. Leicht zieht den lustgen Ring der bunte Schmetterling, sein Leben lieben, ein süßer Hauch. Mag schnell vorbei es ziehen, was kümmert, heut es ihn. Viel muss zerstieben, zerstieb er auch, lebend geblüten lust, umschwebt er leicht die Brust, lockt mich zum lieben, mich flüchtgen Hauch. Ob Morgen Nacht, ob Licht, mich froh'n kümmert's nicht. Viel muss zerstieben, dies Leben auch. Unter Küssen, Gesängen und Festen gingen die glücklichen 14 Tage dahin. Der letzte von ihnen stieg endlich herauf, ernst, furchtbar, den verfehmten Leonado aus seinem letzten ruhigen Schlaf erweckend. Erblickte er schüttern Tempor als die Strahlen der Morgensonne wie schon feindliche Geschosse in seine Augenwimpern hineindrangen. Dennoch ermahnte er sich wieder dem Tage zurufend. Du ja gehörst noch mein, du auch sollst den Genuss angehören. Zwölf reicher Stunden erwarten das fröhlichen Wink. Auf ihr farbigen, labungspenden Horan, auf zum letzten Rhein und schmückt in mir scheidend mit euren allerliebstlichen Blumen. Es geschah nach seinem Willen. Tristelline vom süßen Träumen aus ihrem Schlummer aufgeküsst schwebte dem Geliebten wie eine junge Göttin, ebenerst aus dem zartesten Morgenrot abblüht über die taugigen Terrassen entgegen. Beider gemüht jubelte mit den lachen Himmel an. In süßer Liebesglut, in heitern Spielen, im vorlockenden Wechselgesang stieg ihnen das Sonnenlicht höher herauf. Eher nicht, als ihr selbst wollten, fand sich das bunte Hofgesinne auf ihren Wegen, um ihnen mit sinnreichen Spielereien die Zeit in wechselnder Lust zu verdreiben. Man setzte sich in der weiten festlichen Marmorhalle zur Tafel. Fremde Musiker hatten sich eingefunden, die mit herrlichen Harmonien durch das Gespräch hinbliesen, ohne es zu unterbrechen, nur als ein begleitender Chor, liebessehender Wohllauter. Auch den Herzog ergriff der fröhliche Rausch, er gebot, die edelsten Weine zu schenken, Leonardo glüte in Liebe stolz und freule. Das sagt der Fürst gegen das Ende des Mars. Unser heiterer Tag ist gleich zu Ende. Lasst uns den kühlen Abend unter den Gartenlauben genießen. Kaltes Entsetzen, rieselte plötzlich durch Leonardo's Gebein. Es sind die letzten Tropfen, sagte er zu sich selbst, aber sie gehören mir noch, und ich will sie ohne Zagen genießen. Viele, viele Minuten hat eine Stunde. Man trat in den Garten. Aus dem Saal herüber schalte der Hörner und Flöten getönt den Wandelnden nach durch die hochgewölbten Laubengänge. Crystaline, neben ihrem Liebling hin, mehr schwebend als gehend, so groß und hob sie die Freude des Tages im Boar, pries in den zierlichsten Worten, ihr und Leonardo's Glück. Tausend fröhliche Stunden sah sie in der Zukunft sich aufblühen, vor allem entwarf sie für morgen die Anordnung eines herrlichen Festes. Das Schnitt in Leonardo's Herz. Er sah die letzten Abendlichter unter Crystalines reizende Gestalt hinziehen. Ein tiefer Seufzer drängte sich ihm aus der gepressten Brust. Crystaline merkte in ihrer Freude auf nichts Unfrohes. Sie fuhr in ihrem lieblichen Geplauder fort und stand mit Leonardo plötzlich vor einer großen Pomeranzenlaube, in welcher ihr Vater mit den schönsten Frauen und artigsten Rittern des Hofhalters saß. Seht da, sagte der Herzog, wie hier ein günstiger Geist alles heule zusammenführt. Setzt euch hier zu und ihr beiden und Edelknaben schenkt uns Zypria in den glänzenden Bechern. Zündet auch farbige Lampen an, denn der Tag ist nun ganz hinunter. Leonardo wangte schaudend der glühenden Crystaline nach in die Laube. Sie zog ihn auf eine Rasenbank neben sich, ihre zarte warme Hand in der Seinigen lassend. Belebtes Gespräch wandelte geistreich durch die elen Paare mit dem funkelnden Becher, neigte sich ein Paarche vor Leonardo, Crystalinens Füßchen Rute vom hohen Grase umhüllt auf der Rose seine Schuhe. Er wusste von dem allen nur dunkel, fühlte nur in unendlicher Bängigkeit den rettungslosen Verlust als einer Freude sah nichts als die immer tiefer, tiefer sinkende Dämmerung. Die Edelknaben zündeten die Lampen an. Ein grässlicher, durchdringender Schrei brach plötzlich aus des Herzogsmunde. Der Satan, rief er, ist wieder hier, der Satan jener schrecklichen Nächte. Dabei verzarrte der Wahnsinn, alle seine Züge, gewaltsamer als je. – Oh, schnell nach Leonardo's hilfreicher Zitter, rief die beibende Crystaline. Singen den bösen Fort, Leonardo, Leonardo, was wirst du so gleich? – Nennt mir den Teufelsbanner nicht mehr, schrieder Rasende Herzog. Der er steht mit dem grausen Gespenst im Bund, hat das an meine Fersen gehäxt, dass es hier herein käme. Das Satan spricht mir die ganze Geschichte ins Ohr, so hell, so schrillend, dass es mich toll macht. Alle Augen wandten sich, entsetzt auf Leonardo, der toten Bleich, holen Auges vor sich hinstarre. – Rechtfertige dich, rief Crystaline. Er wollte reden, da rauschte es wie mit gewaltigen Fittichen durch die Laube, und die schrillende Stimme fragte allen vernehmbar. – Sprich, Leonardo, kluger Sänger, sprich, leugne es, wenn du darfst. – Was? – Wäre nicht mit dir im Bunde? – Was? – Leugne! – Das kann ich nicht, sagte Leonardo, dumm vor sich hin. Crystaline flow, ein Gräutschlagend, von seiner Seite. Der Herzog begann abermais laut zu rufen, denn Teufelsbanner fort, den Leonardo fort. Erst dann nur, lässt der Satan von mir, er hat mir eben gras ins Ohr geraunt, den Leonardo fort. Die Hofleute strunnten voll Wut und entsetzen auf den Unbewaffneten ein. Im unbewussten Grimm riss er einem von ihnen den Degen von der Hüfte und machte sich durch das Getümmelbahn. Dann rannte er zerrissenen Herzens verstörten Gemüts in die dunkle Nacht hinein, lief durch den dicksten Wald, bis er gegen einen Baumstamm anschmetternd, in ohnmächtiger Erschöpfung liegen blieb. Bald aber führte er sich wachgeschüttelt, wie durch einen gewaltigen Sturmwind. Es war noch finstere Nacht, die Sterne standen hoch am Firmament, hart neben ihm saß der Teufel in seiner nebligen Riesengestalt. – Möchtest schlafen, Menline, berüllte er ihm ins Ohr. – Das wird nun selten mehr geschehen, mein Knecht. Merk auf, merk auf, ich will dir was erzählen. Der Herzog ist geheilt, ab, ließ ich meine Hand von ihm, sobald du aus der Laube flost. Dir flucht der ganze Hof und Christallinchen glaubt, dein Herzblatt glaubt. Es schüttelt sie, wie Fieberfrost, wenn man dich nennt, sie hat's auch schon verboten, dein Liebchen, dass man deinen Namen spricht in ihrer Gegenwart. – Du bist ein Lügner, von Anfang an, sagte Leonardo. – Willst hören, sehen, so scholl es zurück, ich stell dich auf die Zinnen des Palastes. – Damit streckte er die gewaltige Faust nach ihm. – Zerschmettre mich von da, wenn du willst, rief Leonardo, aber sehen und hören mag ich nicht. – Ich glaube dir, ach, muss sie nicht irlwerden vor deinem abscheulichen Gewebe. – Hör zu, raunter der Teufel, mit weniger harten Lauten. Hör zu, mein Bürschlein, alles wird noch gut, denn Körper gabst du mir, gib mir das Lumpenseelchen auch dazu, so liegst du heute noch in Kristallinchens Arm und bleibst in Freuden dreißig Jahre lang. – Nachher wirst unter mir ein Wacker, kam Rat. – Ich will nicht, rief Leonardo, in dessen Bußen Mut und Stolz bei diesen Worten wieder erwachten. – Ich will nicht, nimm hin, dies zerbrechliche Leben, das dir verfallen ist, die Seele bleibt mein, zum Trost in allem Elend mein, die Erinnerung der 14 glücklichen Tage. Raub mir das, wenn du kannst. – Wirst doch noch mein, wirst doch noch mein, hon lachte der Teufel, hab in der Hölle des Übels viel und häuf die Kohlen dir so lang aushaubt, bis zischend hinausschurt die Geduld. – Das wird sie nicht, sagt die Leonardo, seine innere, unverlierbare Kraft fühlend erhober sich und schritt weiter durch den Wald. Der Teufel, als ein minder kennbarer Schatten neben ihm, der mehr und mehr in der Morgendämmerung verblick und gänzlich fort war, als die Sonne vor des Wanderers Aug an der Waldgrenze eine weite, erquicklich blühende Landschaft bestrahlte, erblickte wehmütig hinaus. – So viele, viele glückliche Menschen, sagte er zu sich selbst, sie kennen sich untereinander und lieben sich und die erlabende Frühluft weckt sie zu dem gewohnten, friedlichen Lebenslauf. Es muss so schön sein, unter den heimatlichen Bäumen zu bleiben, zu wissen, mit welchen guten Hausgenossen man zum Mittag und zu Abend beisammensitzen wird und, dass morgen und übermorgen und noch Tage und Monate und Jahre in derselben freundlich stillen Gestaltung uns empfangen werden. Nicht bloß vermutlich, man fühlt die Sicherheit in den Frommen genügsamen Herzen, ach und ich, er legte sein Haupt ins Gras. Ein dumpfes Getönen fern Herr Donnans traf an sein Ohr. In die Höhe blickend sah er von den Waldigen Gebirgen jenseits der Ebene blauen Dampf aufsteigen. Wie konnte ich denn auch des besten, des Tröstlichsten sogar vergessen, schollt er sich selbst. Krieg, wußte ich er früher, gibt's an jener Grenze und ich will zwischen die Kugeln, welche dir Satan vielleicht ein Entwurf meiner langwierigen Plage verrücken können, hohen Lache nicht. Viele Kriegsboten stehen nicht unter deiner Gewalt. Ihre ele Bestimmung erhebt sie weit über dich hinaus. Ihre Zuschriften sind von höherer Hand geschrieben. Ihnen trau ich mich an. Es vergingen wenige Tage, so stand Leonardo bereits unter den Fahnen eine Sieg gewohnten Kondortiere. Diesen hatte des Jünglings trotzig Finstrablick die ernste männliche Verzweiflung auf seinen Zügen gefallen. Er dachte, aus ihm einen rühmlichen Genossen zu ziehen. Was er ihm aber auch anvertrauen mochte, war es Patroll, Überfall, Feldwacht, offene Angriff, alles misslang. Bald brach ein panischer Schreckchen unter die Kriegsleute, welcher er erführte, bald verrieht sie ein unsichtbares Tongelechter, der fast schon beschlichtenen Feinde. Bald drückte seine Vorposten ein bleierner, verdablicher Schlaf. Bald zeigte sich ein Trub in seinem Rücken mit Feindespanieren, von dem man nachher nicht erfahren konnte, woher oder wohin. Es gelang ihm eben nichts. Und nur seine totsuchende Verwegenheit schützte ihn vor der Schmach, sich gegen den Verdacht einer kopflosen Feigheit verteidigen zu müssen. Gegen das Ende des Feldzuges ließ ihn der Konditiere zu sich berufen. Leonardo sagte er, ich habe jetzt eine entscheidende Tat im Sinn. Du bist brav, gescheit, aber du bringst Unglück unter meine Schaden. Ich weiß nicht, welchen Teufel dir entgegen ist. Nimm diesen Beutel Goldes und lass uns. Leonardo war auf das Gold unter seine Gefährten aus, die ihn auch bereits Scheunen gelernt hatten und das kaum Anzufassen wagten. Dann ging er schweigend aus dem Lager. Von der nächsten Höhe sah er, wie seine ehemaligen Kameraden unter lustiger Kriegsmusik gegen den Feind anrückten, sah, wie sie ihn aus allen seinen Verschanzungen schlugen und jubelndes Victoria durch die Lüfte klang, der erste glückliche Erfolg dieser Schah, seitdem sie ihn gekannt hatten. Er knuschte ingrümig mit den Zähnen des Teufels hohen Gelächter umschalte ihn. Ein blinkender Dolch lag vor ihm in Grase. Den mit dem Fuse den Berg hinunterstoßen, trief er, nein, ich will dich nicht, ich bin ja doch glücklich gewesen und Kristallinens Liebe hat mir gehört. Was kann die Verzweiflung mit mir? Entschlossen, keinen anderen mehr in das Walten seines feindlichen Demons mit zu verflächten, trat Leonardo den Heimweg nach seinen kleinen Gärtchen an. Er musste, um dorthin zu gelangen, durch die Residenz von Kristallinens Vater. So wenig er auch seit jenes unglücklichen Abend schreck'n, noch weniger seit seinem verfehlten Feldzuge auf das Gehen und Kommen des Menschen im Betreff seiner gab, musste ihn das absichtliche, verächtliche Wegwänden aller Stadtbewohner, deren er ansichtig war, befremden. Es sprach daraus nicht allein die Scheu vor dem Teufelsbanner, nein, vielmehr der Wiederwille und Abscheu beim Anblick eines ganz gemein Verwaufnen. Indem er noch darüber sah, kam ihm in einer engen, wenig besuchten Gasse Alaneo entgegen. Er wollte es machen wie die anderen. Leonardo vertrat im zurnensten Weg und rief, den sich umwändenden, krampfhaft, bemanntelfassend Steh, ich will es wissen, was ihr verrückten Satans bedeuten gegen mich habt. Steh, sprich, die Verzweiflung eines ganz verschmeten, könnte gefährlich werden. Alaneo trat mit sichtlichen Entsetzen, so weit er konnte, von ihm ab. Über schreckensbleiche Lippen brachte er endlich die Worte. Frag deine Kriegsgefährten, böse Wicht, unwurdiger Heuchler. Frage den Marquese Malaspina. Was soll mir der entgegenete Leonardo? Ich kenne keinen solchen. Aber sprich nur dreist, wer er ist und was er dir gesagt hat. Ein Führer in eurem Herzuge war er, sagte Alaneo, der deine schmählichen Plündrungen mit anzah, welchen dein Messer mäuschlings in den Rücken traf. Bei Gott, ich weiß nicht von ihm, schrie Leonardo. Ich fordere den Verleumder auf, sich mir zu stellen. kaum hatte er dies gesprochen, so klang das bekannte satanische hohen Gelächter, ihm allein vernehmbar durch seinen schmerzenden Kopf. Ich weiß schon, sagte er nun resigniert, der Marquese Malaspina. Freilich steht es nicht in meiner Gewalt, euch mit dem schlimmen Dorn bekannt zu machen, euch zu überzeugen, dass ihr zu einer teufes Larve gesprochen habt, während ihr mit einem Menschen zu verhandeln meintet, geht nur ihr Bedrohenden. Er ließ Alaneo los, welcher sich kaum frei fühlte, als er schon wie ein gejagtes Wild die Gasse hinunterlief. Leonardo ging schweigend, tief gekränkt nach seinem Gärtchen hinaus. Auf der Pfortenschwelle desselben lag ein Dolch und eine gläserne Flasche, die eine gährend rote Flüssigkeit, man sah ihr die giftige Kraft an, enthielt. Er stieß beides in den vorüberströmenden Bach ausrufend, ich kenne dich wohl Teufel, aber du hast meine Seele noch nicht und gewinst sie auch nicht. Wer nicht glücklich mehr ist, war es doch viel maß, und der frohen Erinnerung Tempelgebäu leuchtet in mir, unzugänglich deiner zerstörenden Faust. Er trat in den Garten, die Pinien sahen hell und hoch in die blaue Luft hinaus, dem Mürten schwankten freundlich beschattend um seine Wege, und indem er diesen ehemaligen Vertrauten seiner heißen Sehnsucht, das seit dem genossene Glück erzählte, wart ihm immer freudiger und stolzer zu Mut. Er legte sich als ein müder, aber unbezogener Kämpfer in den wohlbekannten Gartenhause zur Ruhe. Um Mitternacht weckte ihn das leuchten blau-gelber Flammen, sein Gärtchen stand in Feuer. Die trockene Steebe knisterten die Pinien aus der Glut in die Höhe. Die Mürten neigten ihre versenkten Zweige, gegrümmt auf den glimmenden Rasen des teufels hohen Gelächter, schaltet rein. Ich konnte es ja denken, sagte Leonardo, und ging seine Zitter im Arm über die Kohlen hinaus, welche von einigen Tränen aus seinen Augen befeuchtet, wieder heller aufzischten und noch seine Mantel leckten. Nimmt nicht nur hin, sprach er sie an, aber das teufel Stimme schrillte laut. Noch nicht, mein Hirsch, noch nicht, die Jagd ist mir ein garer Götzlichspiel. Leonardo lagerte sich unter einen Korkbaum, dem Brande seiner kleinen Besitzung fast gleichgültig zusehnt. Liebe, Ehre, Vermögen, sprach er zuletzt, was habe ich denn nun noch, was er mir nehmen kann. Er griff in die Seiten der Zitter, aber ihr Resonanzbogen sprang mit hässlichen Misslaut in viele Stücke. Ja, so, sagte er, du gehörst ja auch zu den Äußerlichkeiten, aber nun biet ich dem Feinde trotz. Von der jungen Sonne heiterten Lichtern umspielt, draht er seinen Weg nach den herzoglichen Gärten an. Er wollte sich an den Gestreuchen, Rasenplätzen, Bäumen und Springbrunnen ergötzen und an der Vergangenheit, welcher aus ihnen hervorwähnte, sicher, dass der böse Geistern ihnen, die nicht seien, gehörten, keine Macht habe. Sich unter eines Gestreuchers duftiges Dunkel niederlassend vernahme er leichte Tritte über die Terrasse her. Was ihm sein Klopfen des Herz verkündet, war nur allzu wahr. Crystaline kam, wie am letzten Frührot seiner glücklichen 14 Tage, morgenfrisch, libreitzend, ihr goldenes Haar in den duftigen Lüften wehnt zu der Pflanzung dunklen Schatten herab. Aber sie war diesmal nicht allein. Leonardo sah ein Frauenzimmer neben ihr, ihm aus der Zeit seiner glücklichen Liebe als schlaue Botin wohlbekannt. Die beiden lieblichen Gestalten ließen sich, ohne seiner zu gewahren, dicht neben ihm auf eine Rasenbank nieder. Und noch immer fragte die Artige Vertraute, wollt ihr mit diesen Zähren den Taubitaun, las sich die Perlen nicht zum Preis eines schmählichen Sonnes der Dunkelheit ergießen? Es ist ja auch nicht für ihn, sagt die Crystaline, nur für die Gestalt, in der er mir erschien. Ich habe dir noch nie gesagt, was mir eigentlich begegnet ist, und empfind es auch selbst erst in diesem Tagen recht verzerrend. Du warst ja schon um mich, liebe Rosalda, fuß sie fort, als mein Vetter Ascanio hier am Hofe lebte und musste den schlanken, goldlockigen Güngling noch in Angedenken tragen, ob er gleich schon seit Jahren unter Don Juan de Austria bei Lepanto blieb. So einer Holdenerscheinung vergisst man nicht leicht. Ich liebte ihn sehr und wusste, dass mein Vater uns füreinander bestimmt hatte. Diesem Glicht Leonardo in meinen Augen, als er das erste Mal vor uns erschien. Diesem Leonardo unterbrach sie Rosalda voller Erstaunen. Ich weiß nicht, entgegnete Crystaline, war es meine eigene Betörung oder war es Leonardo's magische Kunst, aber es geschah so. Mich selbst schelten, dass ich einen solchen Güngling so lange übersehen konnte, gab ich ihm gleichsam als einen billigen Ersatz mein ganzes Sein und Leben zum unbegrenzten Eigentum. Erst in dem grässlichen Augenblick, wo seine Rechtfertigung vor das bösen Geist des Anklage verstummte, ließ auch der Zauber von mir ab. Fremd in freudloser, durftiger Gestalt stand er nun plötzlich an meiner Seite. Gestern, dünft mich, schlichert durch die Stadt, ich erschrak von meiner ehemaligen Betörung. Wie konntest auch du, Rosalda, die du mit freien Augen saßt, nicht früher dergleichen ahnen? Diesem bleichen, kranken, grämler, sollte Crystaline lieben, das widerlegte sich ja von selbst. So sehr war ich eben nicht darüber erstaunt, sagte Rosalda. Wie oft haben schon die reizendsten und vornehmsten Damen, kunstreichen Meistern ihre Liebe geschenkt, deren äußere Missgestalt vor der Innenherlichkeit übersehend von wundersüßer Liebesgewalt befangen. Das mag geschehen sein, gegente Crystaline. Aber mit mir war es nicht also. Leonardo's Lieder gelten bei vielen Leuten für kunstreich, selbst noch in dieser Zeit lobt Alarnio manches daran. Mir sind sie niemals in das Gemüt gedrungen. Nur einmal, noch eh ich ihn kannte, weiß ich, dass ich eine Kanzone von ihm sehr gern hatte. Seine anderen Lieder lobte ich, weil sie von dem kamen, der mir liebenswert erschien. Mit den Zauber seiner Mine starb auch die Täuschung über seine Poesie. Die ist nun ab und tot für mich wie der ganze Mensch. Der lebt ja leider noch, sagt der Leonardo, sich in dumm Verwut aus dem Gebüsch in die Höhe richtend. Die Damen blickten zitternd nach ihm hin, lautlos vor Entsetzen. Also niemals, niemals glücklich gewesen, niemals dein Liebling, Crystaline, sprach er, immer nur das Spielwerk der Hölle. Hör, hör, wie der Teufel durch den Wald lacht, nun hatte mich Crystaline. Oh, Crystaline! Unfähig, länger in seiner ehemaligen Himmel zu blicken, er, der Verstoßene, Betrogene, senkten sich seine Augen. Ein Helfunkelnder Dolch leuchtete aus dem Grase herauf. Jetzt will ich dich, schrie der Verzweifelnde, mit heftiger Begier die Waffe ergreifend. Crystaline sank zu seinen Füßen und flehte ihn in abgebrochenen Lauten um Erbarmen. Es gilt nicht dir, schöne Riefer, es gilt mir, der ich nie etwas in der Welt gewesen bin, mir, dem bleichen Kremler, dem ewig Ungeliebten. Ha, so nimm ich denn hin, du Feind aller Liebe und alles Licht. Der Dolch fuhr blitzschnell durch seine Brust. Um den Fallenden, kreiste schreiend der bunte Vogel, die Damen floh'n entsetzt nach dem Palastre. Diener, welcher sie hinaussanden, fanden den Leichnam nicht mehr, nur dunkles und schwarz geronnenes Blut auf der angegebenen Stelle, von welcher sie ein geheimes Ergrauen bald wieder hinwegtrieb. Nachher war Crystaline sehr betrübt und ließ täglich Messen für Leonardo-Seelenrettung lesen, aber dem Ungeachtet hat man seinen Klagelaud noch in vielen Nächten aus dem Gartengebüsch heraufgehört. End of die 14 glücklichen Tage, Teil 2 bei Friedrich de la Motte Fouquet. 14. Day from Journal of a 14 Days Ride Through the Bush from Quebec to Lake St. John by Mrs. Davenport. This is a LibriVox recording, read in honor of the 14th anniversary of LibriVox. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. 14. Day, Monday, September 4. Terrific bushfires, Indians make a cash for the return. Horses prostrated, arrived at Mr. Tremblay's, astonishment of the Lake St. John people, gales, forests on fire, tried to cross the river Mede-Betchouan. Awoke this morning and found that the horses had started on in front to find some fresh grass. We did not follow for a little time. Found I must take off honore's moccasins. My feet were too sore to bear them, so wearing only stockings, the men carried me along till we reached a lake so lovely as well to deserve its name, Loc de la Belle Rivière. Alongside this lake ran the road where for some distance the bush had been set on fire, evidently for the purpose of clearing the land for farming and was still burning. It was a grand sight to see the flames starting hither and thither, leaping from tree to tree, leaving nothing but blackened trunks. At the end of the lake we crossed a river, over which was a bridge in a tolerable state of preservation. Here we left the government road and turned into one made by Mr. Price, and which with few exceptions, though narrow, was not so difficult nor dangerous to traverse. Here the Indians deposited all the provisions, thinking we were close to Lake St. John, hiding them to be ready to take back with them to Quebec on their return from the lake. And soon after the pole on which my carriage was fixed broke, and I was thrown to the ground. Charles soon cut a new one and we proceeded till we came to a swamp with some nice grass. Here Johnson let the horses rest and tried to persuade them to eat. But they were unable to do anything but sink down on the grass till we continued our journey, when whilst the men raised one horse the other two fell down, so that it was some time before they could get them all on their feet. Poor Jerry fell through one piece of bog, and all the men had to dig him out with their hands. There were numerous bridges to make and swamps to cross, so we traveled but slowly. In some places tall grass flourished high above our heads, and raspberries of immense size and delicious flavor abounded everywhere. We also saw some very fine trees, far different from the miserable specimens we had previously encountered. Toward 6 p.m. we saw corn, et cetera, growing, so knew we must soon arrive at our destination, and presently we left the bush and saw houses, log huts, and fields before us. Arrived at Mr. Tremblay's, his wife welcomed us most hospitably, and after enjoying the luxury of plenty of hot water and putting on a fresh habit, fortunately I had brought two with me, we had some supper. By this time the house was crowded with people, asking questions and expressing amazement at the journey we had made. Madam Tremblay requested information as to the fashions, wished to know if Crinolin was worn, and if my riding habit was the costume now adopted by ladies. The conversation being all carried on in French, it would be nonsense by attempting to describe her expressions of astonishment. She had been educated in a convent at Bayer St. Paul, and seemed to think she had lowered herself greatly in coming to live at Lake St. John. Mr. Tremblay told us that we were the third party he had rescued from starvation in trying to reach the lake by that road. He said that last winter he came from Quebec with eight horses and eight men, and that for two days and two nights they had been obliged to travel without stopping, having no food for either man or beast. They barely reached the lake alive. Our horses were now comfortably housed, but poor Jenny looked very bad and would eat nothing. About eight p.m. Malcolm and I made Mr. Tremblay take out his horse and buckboard to drive us across the river Medebetuan to Mr. Charlton's, where we hoped to find letters from England awaiting us. A regular gale was blowing, and the log hut trembled with the violence of the storm. The whole country seemed on fire, and the wind but fan to the flames. However, I determined to set out, but we could get only about two miles. The wind blowing the fire across the road and the dense smoke almost suffocating us. Several people on the road warned us back, saying it was not safe to proceed. Most thankful would I have been to have found myself out of this frightful place. I could not help remarking to Malcolm that it was very like what one would imagine the infernal regions to be, the groaning creaking trees and sighing moaning wind sounding like the lamentations which would proceed from that abode of tortured and evil spirits. It was too dark to see anything but the glare of the flames, and I was glad to return to Mr. Tremblay's, where we passed the night. Malcolm tried to get some boots for me and stockings for himself, but I was glad to remain quietly in the house. He returned about midnight bringing a pair of boots for me and thus ended our first evening at Lake St. John. End of fourteenth day from Journal of a Fourteen Days' Ride Through the Bush from Quebec to Lake St. John by Mrs. Davenport, read by Anita Slamma-Martinez. Letter 14 from Fourteen Months in Canton by Mrs. John Henry Gray. This is a LibriVox recording, read in honor of the fourteenth anniversary of LibriVox. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Letter 14, Canton, July 8th, 1877. My dear mother, I am sure you will be much amused with the description I am about to give you of a visit we have lately received from several Chinese ladies and gentlemen. Punctually at the hour we had invited them, three o'clock p.m., they arrived. The party consisted of my friend Mrs. Haukwa, her two daughters, a friend of theirs, the wife of a high Mandarin who brought her two little boys, three grandchildren of Mrs. Haukwa, a little boy aged eight and two girls of four and six years. They were accompanied by a great number of Amazes and also by male attendants. Eight gentlemen arrived independently of the ladies and about a quarter of an hour after them. Two of them were the brothers Haukwa, the others their friends and young Haukwa's tutor. Some youths whose relationship to the gentleman I never found out were also with them. Many male attendants accompanied the gentleman and you can imagine what a large party they looked when they were all assembled. Just before the ladies came a present arrived for me from Mrs. Haukwa in true Eastern style. Eight consisted of four cages with their feathery occupants. These were two canaries, a parrot, a pair of lovebirds and three very small Chinese birds. Accompanying them were two live Chinese pheasants tied up in a basket. Some koolies brought these cages, etc., into the veranda. They scarcely had set them down and I had not had time to look at them when there was a ring at the bell and the ladies were carried into the hall in their covered chairs. Out they stepped in their blue embroidered costumes, their hair immensely decorated with flowers, rouge on their cheeks and by the side of their eyebrows, their lips painted for a million and in some cases the palms of their hands also rouged. I felt overwhelmed and could only smile a welcome. The ladies took seats in the drawing room. The gentleman moved about the rooms, examined our blue porcelain of which we now have a large collection and pronounced it good. They then took a turn in the veranda and in the compound and asked to see the church. We had had dinner prepared for all the party, intending the ladies to sit at one table in the dining room, the gentleman at another. But this did not satisfy the rigid rules of Chinese etiquette. The ladies on hearing of the arrangement shook their heads and begged Mini to tell me that they required nothing to eat. They had come only to see me. The actual fact was that they had expressed a wish to be present at a dinner served up in European fashion. On our pressing the matter, the gentleman spoke for the ladies and said they could only eat if they might have their dinner first, before the gentleman entered the dining room. It still wanted three quarters of an hour to the time at which we had ordered the rapast for the whole party, but on the waiting boys being consulted they said that the cook could give the ladies dinner by themselves in ten minutes. With the marvellous facility that Chinese show in preparing a dinner at the shortest notice possible, the meal was prepared in that time, the half of what had been ordered for the whole party being served up. The ladies, two while away the ten minutes, went upstairs examining everything with childlike curiosity. Mini told me that one and all were struck with the cleanliness of the European house. The young ladies were delighted with the contents of my work box and begged for some needles and some pearl buttons. The Amaz received a needle each from me, which they stuck into their coiff yours. We now sat down to dinner, the Amaz taking up their places behind their respective mistresses, upon whom they waited as if they were little children. They become very confidential companions of the ladies and are treated well as a rule by them. In fact these ladies seemed to cling to their Amaz as English children cling to their nurses, asking them their advice and their opinion in all matters. We had by request no chopsticks on the table, using only knives and forks. My poor friends looked sorely puzzles to the manner in which they should be held and tried to copy me. The European food appeared to be most distasteful to them. And I saw one of the young ladies' wretch and put out of her mouth into her Amaz hand when she thought I did not see her, some meat she had tasted. They persisted all the time in saying that it was all very good, very good. They struggled valiantly on and just tasted each dish, repeatedly saying that they liked it. Poor things were a little relieved, I fancy, when the sweets made their appearance. I was quietly watching all the movements around me, and I saw an Amaz take a little sponge-cup pudding into her hand, break it into pieces, and feed her mistress with it. The same thing also happened with the fruit. A Chinese lady is most dependent upon her Amaz. She does nothing for herself, and they say that her garments are taken off by the Amaz at night, and that she is lifted up and put into bed like an infant. Chinese ladies cannot understand us European ladies. They say, you all the same as men. They certainly do not admire us, neither our manners, nor our dress, nor our independence. They ask me why I do not dress like them, why I do not rouge, etc. The ladies were very ebstemious, only tasting the champagne and sherry. The tea was evidently a great comfort to them as it was served in their own fashion. When our dinner was over, the ladies proposed that I should take them to the Shameen Gardens, which are a ten minutes distance from the chaplaincy. You would have been diverted if you could have seen our party start from the house. The ladies wore beautifully embroidered robes. The underskirt was dark blue silk with raised embroidery of shaded light blue flowers. The skirt sits extremely close and is in fact very narrow. The front piece of it is laid on and is stiff with embroidery. At the sides and back it is folded into tiny plates, and the embroidery is worked on the outside of each plate. There was a border of pale blue shaded flowers round the edge of the ladies' skirts. The trousers were made in plain dark blue silk, and the tunic in the same color and material made with wide flowing sleeves. The throat and sleeves were edged with the shaded pale blue embroidery. The ladies, out arriving, apologized that they had not on their best red costumes, saying that they could not wear them on account of their mourning. The two Miss Hao Kua's dresses were plainer in style than the dresses of the elder ladies. Their shining long hair was worn in one long plate, tied at the end with blue ribbon. All my visitors, I mean the ladies, were small-footed, accepting Mrs. Hao Kua. On leaving our house, I gave my hand to the latter in true Chinese style, and we started on our walk. I felt a little shy of stepping on to the public promenade with my Chinese friends. The young ladies hobbled on a few steps, but they soon became tired and mounted the backs of their amaz. The young married lady was carried in this manner all the way. I must say that it is a most inelegant style of being carried. The lady passes her arms round the amaz's neck and places her knees in the hands of the servant which are held up behind her. Our progress was very slow, and I believe the distance seemed immense to the ladies, who were wholly unaccustomed to walk outside their gardens. Mrs. Hao Kua rested on each bench by the way, and we took half an hour or more to walk the short distance. We'd returned home in the same style, and when we reached the chaplaincy, the amaz handed the ladies long pipes, from which they took a whiff or two. The attendant stands behind on one side and prepares the pipe. When it is ready, she puts the end of the long tube to the lady's lips, who takes one or two whiffs only. The ladies now enjoyed a quiet gossip with each other. I have not yet told you that the three young children belonging to the widower were dressed in strict mourning. The little girls wore plain cotton tunics and trousers, and had no flowers in their hair. Their shoes were plain white bound with blue. The little boy wore pale blue silk trousers, tied round the ankle with blue ribbon. He also wore white shoes, and his tail was tied with blue. The gentleman expressed much satisfaction with the dinner, and also with the wines, to which I heard they had done ample justice. Mr. Hao Kua came up to me and said, thank you, number one good dinner. All were now in the veranda, and tea was again handed. The ladies sat apart from the gentleman, not addressing them, only speaking to each other. They at last rose to take leave, and we ordered their chairs to be brought into the hall. With many bendings, nods, and ching-chins, they now entered their chairs, taking the children with them, and were carried off. The gentleman left soon after about seven o'clock. They sent their visiting cards, which are made of broad strips of red paper having the names written on the right hand side, to us immediately unreaching their house. This is an Eastern custom signifying that the guests have arrived home in safety. This entertainment took place on Tuesday, and on Wednesday an invitation arrived for us to dine at the Hao Kua's house, and to take some friends with us. And I must reserve the account of this dinner for another letter. End of Letter 14 from 14 Months in Canton by Mrs. John Henry Gray. Reading by Anita Slamo Martinez. The number 14 by Anonymous from the New York Times, January 29th, 1871. This is a LibriVox recording, read in honor of the 14th anniversary of LibriVox. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The number 14. The number 14 has been discovered to be of great historical import. The First King of France, named Henry, was consecrated on the 14th of May, 1029. On the 14th of May, 1588, the Parisians rose against Henry III, and the last Henry was assassinated upon the 14th of May, 1610. Henri de Bourbon was the 14th King who bore the titles of France and Navarre, and in his name we find just 14 letters. Henry IV was born in December 1553, the figures of which date added together make 14, exactly 14 Centuries, 14 Decades and 14 Years after the birth of Christ. His first wife, Margaret of Valois, was born on the 14th of May, 1552. The Battle of Ivory was fought and won on the 14th of March, 1590. On the 14th of May in the same year, the white-plumed hero was beaten in the Föbergs of Paris, and on the 14th of November the 16th swore to die rather than obey his rule. On the same day, six years later, was registered the Papel Bull, empowering the Legate of Rome to nominate an occupant of the French throne to Henry's exclusion. On the 14th of December, 1599, he was reconciled to the Ducas Savoy. And on the 14th of May, 1610, he was stabbed by Ravillac in the Rue de la Ferronnerie, the assassin's opportunity being supplied him by the stoppage of the royal carriage, owing to the narrowness of the street, which 56 years before Henry II had ordered to be widened, his unfulfilled order bearing the date of the 14th of May. It will be noticed that one date, that of the 14th of May, plays a prominent part in this catalogue of coincidences, and upon that same date in 1643 Louis XIII died. The figures 1643 went at it, again producing the magical number of 14. Louis XIV ascended the throne in 1643, died in 1715, equal to 14 again, and lived to the age of 77, 7 in 7 making 14. Louis XV died in 1774, a date supplying the same number, both in its extremes and the sum of its central figures. Louis XVI had reigned just 14 years when he summoned the state's general, destined to bring about the revolution. On the 14th of July 1789 the Bastille was destroyed, and in 1814 the Bourbons were restored, a year bearing the all-important number not only in its figures, but likewise in their sum. On the 14th of July 1815 Napoleon informed Captain Maitland that he threw himself upon England's protection. On the 14th of July 1870 diplomatic relations were broken off between France and Prussia, und lastly on the 14th of August Marshal Bazin's army retreated over the Mosel before the advancing legions of Germany. End of the number 14 by Anonymous, read by Colleen McMahon. Survey of occupations opened to the girl of 14 to 16 years by Harriet Hazen Dodge. This is a LibriVox recording, read in honor of the 14th anniversary of LibriVox. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Survey of occupations opened to the girl of 14 to 16 years by Harriet Hazen Dodge. Girls Trade Education League, Boston, Massachusetts, 1912. Preface. This survey is designed especially to meet the numerous inquiries of teachers, vocational counselors and social workers, as to what the girl can do, who seeks wage earning in the earliest years in which the law allows her to engage in it. It gives briefly therefore such information as it has been possible for the girls trade education league to secure thus far, concerning the occupational field in greater Boston for a girl of 14 to 16 years. It makes no claim to intensive or exhaustive research, and it is to be expected that modifications will result through further and more scientific studies. It is based, however, upon extensive inquiry made of employers of woman and girl labor in Boston, and upon visits to the workrooms of industrial establishments, upon inquiries made of girls in wage earning, and of others who in special ways are acquainted with occupational opportunities and conditions for young girl workers. In its effort to discover the entire field of work in Boston open to these girls, the league received assistance through the courtesy of the chief of the district police, in being given access to the complete list of industries in Boston in which the girl of 14 to 16 years is employed, and the number of girls in each industry as returned by the factory inspectors from time to time during a two-year period. It received assistance also through the courtesy of the superintendent of schools in being permitted to make use of the records of employment tickets required by law to be signed by intending employers of such girls with a statement of the capacity in which they are to be employed. Percentages given for the numbers of girls in different occupations are based upon these returns. Obviously they can make claim only to approximate accuracy. In careful comparison of the data afforded by the two sources, however, with consideration also of figures gathered directly from employers, it is believed that these percentages do not seriously err in giving an idea of the proportion engaged in the various kinds of work. Occupations in Boston for these young girl workers in which the greatest number are found and in which there are several establishments are given in outline form. Outlook in respect to wages has been stated with reference to a living wage for women workers estimated at nine to eleven dollars. The facts, as given, have been critically reviewed by numbers of employers and others who are acquainted in various ways with one or more occupations which the fourteen to sixteen year old girl enters. To all these, as well as to those who were of assistance in assembling information, both the girls trade education league and the writer make grateful acknowledgement. 1. The Field of Work and Its Conditions Three thousand to four thousand girls in Boston, possibly more, certainly no fewer, of the age of fourteen to sixteen years, are working for wages. Opportunity is afforded them chiefly by the department stores, the candy factories and the shoe factories, which secure about sixty percent of the total number, the department stores leading with about one third of all employed. Outside this group, the number of young girls in any individual industry is small. Those industries which take the next greatest numbers being knitting mills, paperbox factories, bookbinderies, laundries, and shops producing machine made clothing, along with those where the cheaper tailoring is done. The number entering millinery and dressmaking appears to be constantly decreasing, and the kind of work offered to be chiefly that of errand girl. A remainder of twenty to twenty-four percent are distributed among miscellaneous industries, in which with the exception of some cases where the girls are engaged in packing and labelling, the number in each industry is small, the range being something like two to thirty. These industries include, among others, so great a variety as addressing and mailing, featherwork, engraving, electric work, leatherwork, braid and ornament, brush, buffing wheel, carpet, cigar, cork, druggest supplies, elastic and rubber goods, extract, hardware, nail, novelty, preserved fruit, and tin can manufacturing. In this group young girls are found in the cigar industry, employed in stripping the mid-rib from the tobacco leaves, branding or stamping the name of the cigars by a machine operated by a foot lever, and labelling the boxes after they have been packed. In the manufacture of carpets they set the colors for the printer, who calls these out by numbers, to which the color-setters must quickly respond by rolling along the track the right box of dye to the spot where it is needed in coloring the design. In buffing wheel manufacture they unfold bolts of flannel and refold them again in layers, then when circular pieces have been cut from these they place them one on top of the other, preparatory to their being stitched many times around on a machine to form the buffing wheel. In brush making they insert handles in ferules, fasten ferules to handles, weigh and insert bristles, and when the brush is finished wrap the bristles with paper before packing. In novelty manufacture they fold, inspect, erase soiled spots from and count Christmas and Easter cards and valentines and do simple pasting on these and on calendars and collate the calendar leaves. In engraving they lay the cards one at a time on a copper plate for the engraver whose hands covered with ink are too soiled to touch them. In featherwork they tie ends of ostrich feathers to fashion willow plumes and assemble pieces of marabout on a series of iron teeth or prongs preparatory to the making of boas. In electric work they wind wire and assemble pieces of apparatus. In leatherwork such as the making of pocket books, bags and belts they assemble parts, do simple pasting and turn the edges of the leather. In thread and twine factories they doff, that is remove the bobbins from the spindles when they are filled with the spun yarn and replace them with empty ones. In addressing and mailing they insert circulars in envelopes and address them in longhand. With the exception of cigar making, carpet manufacture and leatherwork, the usual wage in these occupations even after consecutive years of employment is five to six dollars and there is almost no opportunity for advancement either in wage or manual skill. While in the novelty card manufacture and addressing and mailing the work is nearly always temporary with a wage of five to seven dollars. In cigar manufacture which is strongly unionized the beginner in stripping tobacco leaves serves an apprenticeship of two weeks at three dollars and fifty cents. At the end of which time she receives the regular wage of seven dollars. After gaining experience and skill she may advance on piecework to a maximum of ten to eleven dollars. Labeling and stamping are paid by the week from five to seven dollars. In the carpet industry young girls start on a low wage and in work which is very disagreeable because of the chemical action of the dye on clothing, nails and skin. But there is the possibility of advancement to filling or winding the drums of yarn and to printing the design in colors by a set pattern with practically steady employment and a comparatively fair wage. The leatherwork offers the possibility of increase in wages above the five to six dollar wage and for a small number of older workers the opportunity of operating power sewing machines. In the remainder of these miscellaneous industries girls are for the most part packing, bottling and labeling. For example in biscuits preserved fruit, druggest supplies, extract and nail manufacturing. Or finishing that is trimming or cutting threads on a machine stitched product as in the case of elastic and rubber goods or doing rude sewing as that of tags on garments and braid ornaments on cards. In all these cases the usual wage is four to five dollars and very rarely exceed six dollars. The limited range of choice. Such then is the occupational field open to the fourteen to sixteen year old girl. Seldom because of her immaturity can she secure general office work even though she be an accurate Speller and bright an arithmetic. Naturally she is considered by her parents as too young to go away from home to the responsibilities of domestic service even if she would. And for like reason personal service such as that of the trained nursery maid is all but barred. While the minimum age requirement of the infant's hospitals which train girls for this work is seventeen years, to become a telephone operator she must also be at least seventeen years of age and the telephone company gives preference always to those girls who have had high school education, almost never taking a girl who has had only the grammar school course. The highly skilled trades of millinery and dressmaking have practically closed their doors on the fourteen to sixteen year old Apprentice although there is constant demand for older girls who have real ability or who have had training before entering the shops. Range of choice for the untrained fourteen to sixteen year old girl therefore lies almost absolutely between the factory and the department store and even within these restricted boundaries possibilities are lessening. One of the largest department stores has recently set the minimum age of all female employees at seventeen including the stock and bundle girls. Many individual establishments in the factory industries offering work which she can perform will not employ the fourteen to sixteen year old girl because she is too immature, thoughtless, childish, undersized and slow to grasp details, careless, frivolous, irresponsible, full of kinks and as one farsighted employer said the firm is looking for dividends and it cannot afford the economic waste. In the minds of many employers just the two years more maturity is a decided asset while some in the same industry in which others are employing the fourteen to sixteen year old girl will not take girls under eighteen. Employers who express approval of the child worker do so because her fingers are nimble because she is more easily taught their ways or because when there is a lack of supply of experienced and mature workers they resort to taking her on and training her. It may be said here that in establishments where the standard is higher in regard to age requirements it is nearly always above the average in other respects. In the group of occupations employing the greatest number of fourteen to sixteen year old girls, the candy factory, the department store and the shoe factory, the last two hold opportunities for advancement to a high wage. In the stitching room of the shoe factory are workers excellently paid who started at the age of fourteen and in the department stores there are assistant buyers and buyers who have risen to their present position from that of cash girl and are receiving salaries well into the thousands. Bookbinding, paper box making, clothing machine operating, the knitting mills and the laundries include work which is semi-skilled and which affords to some a living wage. That opportunity for advancement is wholly lacking in many of the occupations which the fourteen to sixteen year old girl enters has already been pointed out. But where opportunity does exist for advancement to more desirable positions, even in the first possible steps, whether it be from bundling to selling on the bargain table in the basement store or from the totally unskilled task of the factory to the task which is slightly skilled, the sifting process for the mass of young girl workers is a merciless one and it is based upon perseverance and capability noticeably above the average, upon a tactful aggressiveness and upon the existence of a vacancy above. Dropped into the monotonous unskilled though manually active tasks of the factory or the more attractive but continuously low paid tasks of the department store, the average young girl worker lacks the control, the perseverance, the far sightedness and the patience to stick to and perform her present task with an eye to a position beyond. One of two things often happens therefore. She shifts from one place to another looking vainly for something more satisfactory or her sensitiveness gives way to dull resignation and small flames of initiative and ambition easily die out. In the factory she frequently remains year after year at the same low paid work which develops neither manual skill nor intelligence. In the department store studies of the situation thus far make it apparent that the great majority of cash and bundle girls do not reach selling but discouraged by the low wage and the keenness of the competition in getting ahead, they drift instead into other occupations, obviously those of the factory, with the hope, sometimes realized, sometimes not, of doing better elsewhere in wages at least. The girl's handicap in schooling. Often when the fourteen year old girl enters an industry, the amount of intellectual training which she has gained from school is but the minimum which the law allows. The department store lays more emphasis upon schooling than the factory where the requirement in this respect is usually the legal one only, but in the former a full grammar school education is not necessary, only one store in Boston requiring it. The mass of our fourteen to sixteen year old wage earners have received far less than the full grammar schooling and very many whose associations in their home life are constantly with those of foreign birth and foreign language enter upon their vocational careers able merely to pass the letter of the law to read at sight and write legibly simple sentences in the English language and yet almost every employer in the factories describing the type of girl he desires specifies a bright girl. This means the girl who is naturally bright, who understands the directions of her forewoman easily and who uses judgment even in doing unskilled work. But it is easy to imagine the handicap in meeting this qualification for the foreign born girl whose school life ends with the third grade, the maximum educational requirement by law in massachusetts for the girl who would seek work at fourteen. The girls handicap in health. In early wage earning not only does the girls mentality tend to become warped, but frequently her health becomes impaired also. Her work usually requires constant sitting or constant standing. It takes her suddenly from some sunshine, some out of doors and some play at least, confining her for an eight or nine hour day at a set task indoors. Too often under workroom conditions which in matters of ventilation, spacing and light, are directly opposed to her physical welfare. When range of choice for the girl is limited to store or factory, other things being equal, it is preferable for her to find a place near enough to her own home so that she can secure out of door air in walking to and from her work, go home for a warm lunch, and save car fares. The problem for the educator. The wage earning world affords the untrained fourteen to sixteen year old girl meager opportunities, and it necessarily places a low valuation on her earning capacity. Because of the unskilled work which it gives her to perform, it has an influence upon her efficiency as a future worker, and upon her future worth as a human being, which is nearly always a destructive one. Added to this stands the now well established fact that the majority of girls do not leave school early for work because of financial conditions of the home. Instead they leave because other girls are leaving, because they are too big for their class, because they don't get on well in their studies, or because they are tired of school and would rather go to work. The situation therefore presents a serious problem to educators, for the solution of which they have begun earnestly to strive. This is particularly true in Boston. Here the public trade school appeals to many girls who would otherwise have left school at the earliest possible moment, but who now obtain further schooling and special training in the trades of millinery, dressmaking and clothing machine operating. At the North Bennett Street industrial school, experimental work is being done under private enterprise, but subject to the supervision and approval of the board of superintendents of the Boston public schools, looking towards a possible modification of the upper grammar school, which shall be especially adapted to pupils who leave school early to enter industrial pursuits. The girls are taught sewing, cooking and housekeeping, learn something of textiles, and receive instruction in subjects particularly helpful in wage earning such as arithmetic and English. The public continuation classes in preparatory salesmanship enable girls employed in such positions as cash, bundle and stock girls to become better prepared for advancement in their work and more intelligent generally. They are allowed by their employers to attend these classes without loss of pay for the time taken. Through a public continuation school recently established in the North End for the girls working in the candy factories, an experiment is being made in furnishing educational opportunities to those who have left school wofally unfitted for successful and happy lives. A certain number of these girls are allowed by their employers to attend the school for a specified number of hours a week without a decrease in wages. They are given a course in household arts which aims to give them greater efficiency and healthier ideals in their service in industry or the home. The whole problem raised by the young girl in industry is the development and conservation of worthy womanhood in spite of conditions which tend to suppress and destroy it. Its solution can be affected only through the cooperation of educators and employers, of teachers and parents, through a more intimate knowledge of individual girls in the schoolroom and of the experience of girl wage earners and through an adaptation of schools and classes to the real needs of individual girls as future wage earners and homemakers. Outlines of Principal Occupations. Employment of the 14- to 16-year-old girl in department store work. Approximate percentage of all employed, 33% more than in any other occupation. Kinds of work, cash girl, bundle girl, beginning wage, $2.50 to $4 in the majority of stores. First steps in advancement. Cash girl to bundle girl. Bundle girl may advance to cashiering and office work or to stock girl and selling. Qualifications, brightness, alertness, ability in spelling, penmanship, arithmetic, and good conversational English. Practical knowledge of fractions in making out sales slips is especially important. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Doubtful in the majority of stores. Advancement to selling depends upon the adaptability, alertness and stature of the girl, upon initiative and capability above the average. If a girl starts at 14, it is usually from three to five years before she can become a Sales Girl. Cashiers receive $4-6, General Office Girls $4-7. The wage of stock girls is $4-6, and the average wage of Sales Girls is about $7. The maximum in selling, after long service and in a very few cases, is $10-12. In the room at the very top, however, buyers receive $1,000-5,000 and in rare cases much more. Manual Skill, none. Mental Development. Poor for a young girl lacking in healthy ideals, her mind tends to become stunted because of false standards based upon the artificialities of life which are chiefly and constantly before her view. Good for an older girl with strong character and a power of Discrimination, even the work of cash and bundle girls affords mental exercise and selling calls for keen observation and tact. Constant contact with people tends toward breadth of view. Disadvantages or dangers. Constant running to and fro of the cash girls, constant standing of the Sales Girls, poor ventilation especially in bargain basements and exposure to Drafts, for the young girl unsteadiness of employment and extravagant desire for dress induced by her surroundings, seasons, rush months previous to Christmas, dull January, February and the summer months, hours usual, eight o'clock to five thirty or six o'clock, with a half hour to an hour for lunch, during summer months closing at one o'clock on Saturdays and at five o'clock on other days, location of establishments, center of the city, Roxbury, South Boston, opportunities for training, classes held in stores, continuation classes of public schools and of women's educational and industrial union, employment of the fourteen to sixteen-year-old girl in Kandy manufacturer. Approximate percentage of all employed, sixteen percent only the department stores employ more. Kinds of work, floor girls carrying trays from one department to another, wrapping, packing, beginning wage, three dollars to four dollars and fifty cents. First steps of advancement, floor girl to wrapping pieces of candy in tin or gilt foil and packing candy in boxes or to dipping, that is immersing the cream candy molds usually with the hand in melted chocolate. Qualifications, cleanliness, manual dexterity. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Very poor. Average wage five to six dollars, maximum for wrappers and packers seven dollars, for dippers eight dollars, payment usually on a time basis. Manual skill, poor, dipping requires skill of a low grade and all the other kinds of work are unskilled. Mental development, none. Disadvantages or dangers. Temperature of the dipping rooms above or below normal. Tendency of new workers to overindulging candy eating. Seasons, busiest September to Christmas, busy before Easter and until early summer. Dull, January and July. Hours, usual, fifty-four hours a week in a few establishments, in others usually the largest factories, forty-eight to fifty hours a week with a half holiday Saturday, seven thirty or eight o'clock to five thirty or six o'clock with a half hour to an hour for lunch. Location of establishments, north end chiefly, south Boston. Opportunities for training, none outside the factory. Employment of the fourteen-year-old girl in boot and shoe manufacture. Approximate percentage of all employed, fourteen percent. Kinds of work, floor girls doing miscellaneous work, especially running errands between different departments. Tagging, blacking, lacing, sorting and assembling parts of shoe, trimming threads, cementing bows and ornaments onto shoes, applying cement to edges of leather, pressing these edges by hand. The small young girl is most often placed as floor girl and at sorting and assembling. Beginning wage, three to five dollars. First steps of advancement. From the miscellaneous process is given above to stitching, in which the first process is stitching linings. Qualifications, manual dexterity, speed, good eyesight. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Good, because of the opportunities in the stitching room. The kinds of work here are, one, stitching on linings, range of wage, six dollars to fifteen dollars, usual wage, seven to nine dollars, two, top stitching, range of wage, eight dollars to eighteen dollars, usual wage, ten to twelve dollars, three, top stitching and vamping, range of wage, eight dollars to twenty-five dollars, usual wage, twelve to fifteen dollars. Stitchers are paid by the piece. Seasonal fluctuation lowers the average wage for the year, which remains, however, above that in the clothing machine operating, see clothing industry. Manual skill, fair. The work in the stitching room calls for skill of much the same order as that in clothing machine operating. Mental development, poor. Disadvantages or dangers. On the work in the stitching room, eye strain, tense application and over speeding on account of piecework, noise and jar of machines, in some processes dirtiness of the work. Seasons, busy summer and winter months, dull late spring and late fall. Hours usual, seven thirty to five thirty with an hour or a half hour for lunch and a half day on Saturday in the summer. Location of establishments, Jamaica Plain, South Boston, East Boston. Opportunities for training, none outside the factory. Employment of the fourteen to sixteen year old girl in dressmaking. Approximate percentage of all employed, one and a half to two percent. Almost none as apprentices, chiefly as erined girls. Kinds of work, when doing apprentice work, sewing on hooks and eyes, overcasting, seam binding. Beginning wage, one dollar fifty cents to three dollars. First steps of advancement, assisting in waist and skirt finishing. Qualifications, a real liking to sew, a desire to fashion things from materials, ability to use the hands readily, good eyesight, ability to apply oneself steadily, quickness of movement, good general education. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Poor for the untrained fourteen to sixteen year old girl, as she is nearly always used for errands rather than in apprenticeship. Good for the older girl with marked ability or with trade training. The average dressmaker's assistant gets six to nine dollars. Wages range from the apprentice's fee to the thirty to forty dollar a week wage of head waste drapers in dressmaking shops. A person who becomes head of her own establishment may secure one thousand to five thousand dollars or more income. The dressmaker who goes out by the day receives one dollar fifty cents to three dollars fifty cents according to her ability. Manual skill, good. Mental development, good. The work demands intelligence. It offers a stimulus to the imaginative and creative sense and enables the girl to apply what she learns to the making of her own clothes. Disadvantages or dangers. Eye strain, constant sitting, overtime in rush seasons, hurried lunchhours, danger in the large dressmaking shops that a girl remain on a subdivision of the work and so fail to master the trade. In some establishments irregularity in the receipt of wages due to the delay of customers in paying bills. Seasons. Work is steady for nine to ten months of the year with two dull months in summer and sometimes one in winter. Hours, usual, eight thirty to five thirty or six o'clock with a half hour to an hour for lunch, the entire six days in the week. Location of establishments, large shops, chiefly Boylston and Tremont streets, others scattered over the city. Opportunities for training, Boston trade school for girls, high school of practical arts. Employment of the 14 to 16 year old girl in millinery. Approximate percentage of all employed, one percent to one and a half percent. Kinds of work in apprenticeship doing simple work in the making of hats. This includes making Bandos, making and sewing in linings, making frames and putting on facings. Beginning wage. Apprenticeship is usually without pay, both spring and fall seasons, then three to four dollars. First steps of advancement. From apprenticeship to assistant maker receiving three to four dollars at first and five to six dollars within a year or two. Qualifications, liking to sew, artistic sense, originality, resourcefulness, not only in the trade but in the ability to tide over the dull season with other work. Dry hands, ability to use one's fingers quickly, good eyesight, good general education. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Same as dressmaking. Steps of advance from assistant maker are one maker at eight to twelve dollars, who covers as well as makes frames and is responsible for seeing that the hats are prepared for the trimmer. Two, trimmer, 15 to 25 dollars or more demanding originality and artistic ability. Three, possibility of owning one's own establishment with an income varying according to one's business ability. Manual skill, good, same as dressmaking. Mental development, good, same as dressmaking. Disadvantages or dangers. Tensity and unsteadiness of work and overtime resulting from the short rush season. Eye strain, constant sitting, hurried lunch hours. Seasons. 12 to 14 weeks in the spring and again in the fall. This short season, added to the low wage of the first two or three years, should be looked squarely in the face by a girl who must earn her own living. Hours, usual, long in the busy season as long as the law permits. Location of establishments, same as dressmaking. Opportunities for training. Boston Trade School for Girls, High School of Practical Arts. Employment of the 14-16-year-old girl as erined girl. Approximate percentage of all employed. Percentages given for dressmaking, millinery and the clothing industry include erined girls. From one to several employed in different dressmaking, millinery and tailoring establishments. Kinds of work. Delivering hats and gowns to customers. Going to the stores for trimmings and Materials to match samples. Beginning wage, three to five dollars when erined girl only. First steps of advancement, none. Qualifications, brightness and carefulness and responsibility in receiving and executing directions. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage, none. Unless a girl does errands incidentally to an apprentice ship, which but very seldom happens. In such a case she may gradually be taught the trade and her wage range from car fares to two dollars and fifty cents the first year. It should be carefully noted that if an untrained girl receives the higher wage in a millinery or dressmaking establishment the first year, the chances are that she is not being taught the trade. This is particularly true of millinery. Manual Skill, none unless accompanied by apprentice ship. Mental Development, none except that in connection with apprentice ship the errand work is of value in familiarising the girl with the various materials used in the trade and their relative prices. Disadvantages or dangers, lack of outlook, weariness engendered by running hither and thither at beck and call, often times carrying large parcels. Exposure to temptations which may present themselves to a young girl going about in a large city alone and unprotected. Seasons, demand for her employment comes chiefly in the spring and fall. Hours usual, from eight to ten hours a day, uncertain and varying with the need for the girl's services. Opportunities for training, the occupation requires none. Employment of the fourteen to sixteen year old girl in clothing industry, products ready made and cheaper tailored garments. Approximate percentage of all employed, four to six percent. Kinds of work for the untrained girl, unskilled handwork or hand finishing, sewing on hooks and eyes and buttons, cutting threads, pinning, folding, packing. Beginning wage, three to five dollars. First steps of advancement. The untrained fourteen to sixteen year old girl is only in rare instances transferred to sewing on the power machines. Ordinarily she remains on hand finishing. Qualifications, good eyesight, carefulness, application, speed. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Poor in hand finishing. Maximum wage six to seven dollars paid by the week. Fair in machine work. A girl advances to more difficult processes and higher wage as her skill and speed increase. Usual wage, seven to nine dollars, maximum ten to eleven dollars, paid by the piece. Figures given are the estimated averages for the year allowing for unsteadiness of employment. Manual skill, fair. The machine work calls for intelligent control of hand and finger movements, fine, quick and accurate. Mental development, doubtful. It is possible when a girl has the opportunity to handle an entire garment to gain suggestions for the making of her own clothes. Disadvantages or dangers, eye strain, tense application and over speeding on account of piecework, constant sitting, noise and jar of machinery. Seasons. Seasons fluctuating according to public demand for product. In general busy September to December, March to June. Slack, January, February, July, August. Hours, usual. Eight o'clock to six o'clock with a half hour to an hour for lunch. In some cases, shortened day Saturday. Location of establishments. Factories producing machine-made clothing, chiefly Bedford Street District. Tailoring shops, chiefly north and west ends. Opportunities for training. Boston Trade School for Girls, Hebrew Industrial School. These schools train girls in clothing machine operating. Employment of the 14 to 16 year old girl in knit goods making. Approximate percentage of all employed, three to four percent. Kinds of work. Tagging, packing, putting on buttons and fasteners. And in the hosiery mill, looping, operating a machine which knits the stocking toe, and topping with fingers placing the stitches which topped the foot of the stocking carefully on metallic points arranged on a ring, preparatory to the knitting of the foot. Beginning wage, three to five dollars. First steps of advancement. From the small jobs such as tagging to hand finishing where sweaters are made, or to the knitting machines and from time work to piece work. Qualifications, good health, especially strong lungs and good eyesight, keen observation, quick motions, carefulness. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Fair. The wage for the work on the knitting machines ranges from six to fourteen dollars. Usual wage, seven to nine dollars. Manual skill, doubtful. Mental development, none. Disadvantages or dangers. Constant sitting or constant standing during long hours. Eyestrain, lint in the atmosphere, noise of machinery. Seasons comparatively steady, what fluctuations there are varying in different years. Hours, usual, seven thirty to twelve o'clock, and from one o'clock to six o'clock. Establishments giving Saturday afternoons usually have a shorter lunch hour. Location of establishments, south Boston, Bedford and Albany street districts and West Roxbury. Opportunities for training, none outside the factory. Employment of the fourteen to sixteen year old girl in laundry work. Approximate percentage of all employed, two to two and a half percent. Kinds of work. Shaking, which consists of vigorously shaking the damp and crumpled pieces into a smoother state and piling them one on top of another ready for the mangles. Wrapping laundry for delivery. Beginning wage, three dollars and fifty cents to four dollars. First steps of advancement. From shaking to receiving from or feeding the mangle. Feeding the mangle means placing the pieces smoothly and accurately on moving metal aprons, which carry them under heated rollers by which they are dried and pressed. Receiving means folding the clothes rapidly and neatly as they come out smooth and dry. Wage, four dollars and fifty cents to five dollars. Qualifications, physical strength, endurance, quickness of movement. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Poor for the fourteen to sixteen year old girl. It is only in a very exceptional case that she is possessed of the necessary strength and perseverance to remain in the work long enough to reach the startching and ironing room. The processes of startching and ironing are paid by the piece, with a wage in the one case of six to twelve dollars in the other eight to twelve dollars, but these processes are performed only by the older girls and by women. Manual skill, poor in most of the processes, fair in fancy ironing. Mental development, none. Disadvantages or dangers. Constant standing. In the shaking, strain on the shoulders and back. Oftentimes dampness and poor ventilation. Danger in spite of the guard required by law of an injured hand on the mangling machine if a worker is careless. Seasons, busiest summer, slack winter. Hours usual, fifty-two to fifty-four hours per week. Daily hours vary with the different days of the week. Location of establishments, chiefly in the south end, some in Dorchester and north end. Opportunities for training, none outside the laundries. Employment of the fourteen to sixteen year old girl in paper box making. Approximate percentage of all employed, two to two and a half percent. Kinds of work, as helpers or strikers, moistening paper with glue, turning up the sides and ends of boxes ready to be stayed or fastened at the corners, slipping the covers on to completed boxes, piling, carrying, packing. Beginning wage, three dollars and fifty cents to four dollars. First steps of advancement, from striking to machine work, which includes the operating of covering, banding, staying and lacing machines. Qualifications, accuracy of hand and eye, deafness, neatness, speed. The occupation, outlook for the girl in respect to wage, doubtful in the factories making plain boxes, wages range from seven dollars to twelve dollars. Usual wage, seven to eight dollars, paid by the piece. Fair in factories making fancy candy boxes, where in Benchwork the box is made by hand. Wages in this work range from eight dollars to fourteen dollars. Usual wage, ten to twelve dollars, paid by the piece. Manual skill, none in striking and little on the machine work. Fair on the Benchwork, which requires the exercise of a skillful hand, and while it does not demand originality, does give the opportunity for fashioning a thing in its wholeness. Mental development, none. Disadvantages or dangers. Odor and handling of glue, disagreeable to some girls, especially at first. Danger of serious injury to the hands in operating the staying machine if a girl fails to make use of the guards which are provided by law. Seasons vary according to the product. In nearly every factory, however, dull through January, after Easter and in mid-summer. Hours, usual. Somewhat less than fifty-four a week in most of the factories. Eight o'clock to five thirty with a half hour for lunch, or seven thirty to five thirty with an hour for lunch. Location of establishments, north station district. Opportunities for training, none outside the factory. Employment of the fourteen to fifteen year old girl in bookbinding. Approximate percentage of all employed, one to two percent. Kinds of work. The less difficult folding by hand of printed sheets for book forms, feeding folding machines, inserting pamphlets in envelopes for mailing. Beginning wage, three to four dollars. First steps of advancement. Transfer from the simpler to the more difficult processes, such as more difficult handfolding, pasting, laying of gold leaf on book covers, machine sewing, qualifications, neatness, accuracy, speed. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Poor for the fourteen to sixteen year old girl because of the temporary and unskilled work which is so often given her when she is employed. Doubtful for others because of the increasing number of machines which are gradually displacing handwork in almost every process. Usual wage of experienced workers, seven to eight dollars. Most of the work is paid by the piece. Figures given are the estimated average wages for the year allowing for unsteadiness of employment. Maximum ten to twelve dollars. Manual skill, doubtful. The handwork which is done by girls and women today is for the most part mechanical. Mental development, doubtful. In some of the binderies a variety of interesting printed and illustrative matter passes through the workers hands, which in spite of the required speed may give to an intelligent person some play of imagination. Disadvantages or dangers. In gold laying there is a very serious lack of ventilation due to the fact that the slightest stir of air interferes with the proper laying of the thin gold leaf. Seasons, very greatly with the different binderies. For example those which handle school books are busiest during the weeks of summer vacation, those putting out fiction are the busiest in the months preceding Christmas. Hours usual, eight thirty to twelve o'clock, one thirty to five thirty, Saturday afternoons free throughout the year. Location of establishments, chiefly summer federal and purchase streets. Opportunities for training. None outside the bindery except the U.S. Grant School in East Boston, a public pre vocational center. Employment of the fourteen to sixteen year old girl in packing and labeling. Approximate percentage of all employed. Impossible to determine. A great many engaged in this occupation in connection with various industries. Kinds of work. Packing in boxes of all sorts of goods according to the industry, from nails to bonbons, pasting labels on boxes. Beginning wages four to five dollars. Qualifications, speed and in the labeling a certain degree of neatness and accuracy. Outlook for the girl in respect to wage. Very poor, maximum five to six dollars. Manual skill, poor, mental development, none. Disadvantages or dangers, lack of outlook. Seasons vary according to the industry. Hours usual vary according to the industry. Location of establishments all over the city. Opportunities for training. The occupation requires none. End of Survey of occupations open to the girl of fourteen to sixteen years by Harriet Hazen Dodge. Recording by Maria Casper. Section 14 of Song of Myself by Walt Whitman. This is a LibriVox recording read in honor of the 14th anniversary of LibriVox. Recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Wild Gander leads his flock through the cool night. Yahonky says and sounds it down to me like an invitation. The Pert may suppose it meaningless. But I, listening close, find its purpose and place up there toward the windry sky. The Sharpoof Moose of the North, the cat on the house sill, the chickadee, the prairie dog, the litter of the grunting sow as they tug at her teats. The brood of the turkey hen and she with her half spread wings. I see in them and myself the same old law. The press of my foot to the earth springs a hundred affections. They scorn the best I can do to relate them. I am enamored of growing outdoors of men that live among cattle or taste of the ocean or woods, of the builders and steers of ships and the wielders of axes and malls and the drivers of horses. I can sleep and eat with them week in and week out. What is commonest, cheapest, nearest, easiest is me. Me going in for my chances, spending for vast returns, adorning myself to bestow myself on the first that will take me, not asking the sky to come down to my good will, scattering it freely forever. End of section 14 of Song of Myself by Walt Whitman. Red by Chris Pyle.