My Aunt Jenny can do just what she likes , and ask no one 's leave ; but Ma has to consult Pa about everything . Yes , I 'll give you my chance , Sally , and be a `` superfluum '' , as Mr Plock says . ' ` You 'll be one of the first to go into bondage , see if you are n't . Much obliged , all the same . ' ` Well , I 'll get my distaff ready , and take whatever flax the Fates send -- single , or double-twisted , as the powers please . ' ` That is the right spirit , Nelly . Keep it up , and see how happy life will be with a brave heart , a willing hand , and plenty to do . ' ` No one objects to plenty of domestic work or fashionable pleasure , I find ; but the minute we begin to study , people tell us we ca n't bear it , and warn us to be very careful . I 've tried the other things , and got so tired I came to college ; though my people predict nervous exhaustion and an early death . Do you think there is any danger ? ' asked a stately girl , with an anxious glance at the blooming face reflected in the mirror opposite . ` Are you stronger or weaker than when you came two years ago , Miss Winthrop ? ' ` Stronger in body , and much happier in mind . I think I was dying of ennui ; but the doctors called it inherited delicacy of constitution . That is why mamma is so anxious , and I wish not to go too fast . ' ` Do n't worry , my dear ; that active brain of yours was starving for good food ; it has plenty now , and plain living suits you better than luxury and dissipation . It is all nonsense about girls not being able to study as well as boys . Neither can bear cramming ; but with proper care both are better for it ; so enjoy the life your instinct led you to , and we will prove that wise headwork is a better cure for that sort of delicacy than tonics , and novels on the sofa , where far too many of our girls go to wreck nowadays . They burn the candle at both ends ; and when they break down they blame the books , not the balls . ' ` Dr Nan was telling me about a patient of hers who thought she had heart-complaint , till Nan made her take off her corsets , stopped her coffee and dancing all night , and made her eat , sleep , walk , and live regularly for a time ; and now she 's a brilliant cure .
Common sense versus custom , XXXXX said . '
Nan Nelly Plock Winthrop corsets dissipation distaff headwork heart-complaint right