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What Is a True Lady?

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jan 15, 1875

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 45, No. 3.

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What Is a True Lady?

By A Woman's Rights Girl of Thirteen

BY A WOMAN'S RIGHTS GIRL OF THIRTEEN.
The basis of a true lady’s character is principle, and the key note to it will be—Be natural. She will act herself, and be independent of her male relatives, and earn her own living, if need be. She will not color her hair or face—neither will she paint, pad, nor powder. For she will know that the Lord knew how to finish his work; and for that reason, neither will she lace herself to death.
She will not wear a breast-pin that costs a hundred dollars, and then snarl at her seamstress for asking “fifty cents too much” for making that “Irish poplin or French silk.” Nor upon any consideration will she meddle with another woman’s business, but strictly attend to her own. A true lady will dispense with dead people’s hair, and content herself with her own.
She is not one of those exaggerating women who say, “My shoes are a mile too long,” or, if anything unusual occurs, exclaims: “Oh, horrors!” “Ain’t it awful!” “That’s dreadful!” She will not be a woman that will run between two other women, telling what they have said about each other; nor will she repeat anything bad she may hear about another, for it may be false, and hurt her reputation and feelings, and cause the teller to have an enemy.
Nor will she put her whole mind to trying to dress better than another. She will not pet poodle dogs, with little children in the nursery needing her attention. Neither will she turn the poor and needy from her door; but will do all in her power to relieve their necessities. A true lady will not spend half her time reading “Dime Novels,” “The Chimney Corner,” or any such trash; but will use that time, visiting or tending the poor, sick and needy, and use the “dimes” that would go for such reading to help mitigate their sufferings. A true lady keeps herself neat, and does what she can to make her home neat and comfortable.—Sel.