THE GIRL WITH THE BOOK

Levin Daily Chronicle, 17 October 1918, Page 1

THE GIRL WITH THE BOOK

! A LONDbSr WARTIME, HABIT., EDUCATION OP THE GIRLS! The following skit written' fey Hugh Fraser, of New Plymouth,, appeared in a recent issue of ..the London'"Daily Mail": Because of the war thousands of girls of the middle class are going to be much better educated than they would otherwise have been. You will notice it in their improved speech. They will have a more intimate knowledge of the English language and will brighten their talk with fresh words and new. phrases, and they will have new ideas to follow and novel thoughts to ponder. War work has called these girls in their hundreds from their homes. That was the start of this scheme of things which is educating the London girl war worker.; Hor office assisted the plan by placing a tube or tramway ride of half an hour or more between itself and the girl's home.: Uhe girl helped things along by finding the tube journey twice a day very wearisome.

Tho some girl say that some other girl always carried a book with her, which sho read in the . tube and in her luncheon hour. She saw that the girl with the book never had to worry about passing'the'time. So she, too, bought a book, and now her troubles are over and she has no dull hours in the tubes. Nowadays when I come in from" Ham'pstead in .the morning, nearly all these girls who work 'in' the city are reading books. "I never read so muck in my life," one of them "t6ld me. "When I vvaa at home I used' to read." a*'.bit at night sometimes, but not' much: ' Now I always have my book fpr'"the tube, and when the I like to-got hbme and linTsli'ifP ' Another girl told me that, she never, knew reading was " so. nice V, until she came to work, in the city. and '.'.'had to find something to read." She started reading "to pass the time"/ now books are her real friends.

It is not all about improbable heroes and still more unlikely heroines v. that ■these girls read. One morning the 'girl seated next to me in the tube was reading Barrie's "The Little Minister." Another day it was E. V. Lucas who was entertaining another girl with "London Lavender."

Dickens has appeared in that Hampstead tube morethat r once, and only the other morning I wondered about the girl opposite to me who was reading a translation of "Les Miserables." And I have positive evidence against one girl that she has read three of "K. L. S.'s" delightful tales in the last ten days, because we have travelled together nearly eveTy day lately.