The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 17, 1901, Page 3

LIS T was Mrs, Harrington's work 4n the Red Cross Society that brought her before the public. Philanthropy uas e idb i - e -her speclalty, There are some people who have a genius for philanthropy, It does not lie in the purse that holds enough to splll n)u'; it does not lie always in the desire to be generous. The gift of philanthropy is born, not made, just as much as the gift of poetry, or of song, or of painting. You remember the little story by Richard Harding Davis, the heroine of which tried the profession of philanthropy for a while and in the end gave it up, a failure? She had money, which she gave freely, More than that, she gave "her iime and labor, personally visiting the poor and sick, But it didn't work, The poor didn't enjoy her visits, She meant well, but she hadn't the right sort of tact to reach all classes. “You can do more good among people of your own kind the man told her when he bore her off to them, She hadn’'t the gift of philantnropy. It wasn't born in her. It wasn't one of her talents, It is just the other way with Mrs, Har- THE “The Most Famous Club Women on the Pacific Coast!” Do you know who they are? Or, in knowing who they are, have you ever studied their personalities to know why they should be considered the “most famous’’? This sketch of Mrs. W. B. Harrington is the third in an interesting series on just those lines. o rington. She was born with the tact, the talent, that enables her to reach those who suffer, Luckily for her and for those whom she has helped, she has time to give. This 18 the most preclous thing in the world and seldom belongs to the rich, Mrs. Har- rington’s home cares are comparatively light, for she has no children. So beyond keeping her charming little house in smooth running order and making it a delightful place for a husband to come home to, she finds her pleasant cares out- side. She would never be doing this if she had greater demands upon her time at home. For she is essentially domestic and an ideal home maker, Her housé on Stei- ner street is an artistic home, as much as any in town. It.is built with the Eng- lish basement, where the dining-room is. Above are the parlor and the bit of a library, as cozy as can be, where souve- nirs of her work are to be seen. There is no end of photographs connected with the Red Cross work—portraits of nurses and patients in whom she has become interested. She has better uses for her time than to squander it upon fads, but she has a lurking fondness for collecting lamps, and the gems of them in her parlor bear wit- SUNDAY CALL. ness to the fact. All kinds of quaint de. signs are to be seen with the most be- witching little shades. Her work in the Red Cross was so de- voted ‘that she came before the public in spite of herself, for she is the last woman in the world to seek notoriety. Iinally, when the pressure of that was over, she took her place as president of Sorosis, which office stood as a sort of crowning of her works, Sorosis is a fashionable club whose aims are literary and social, Mrs, Har- rington is the woman to guide both thoss aims, She enjoys her club life, although her heart has by no means* left charitable work. She considers club life the true means of broalening woman, giving her a higher culture and wider sympathies. “Contact with. others of the right sort is education,” she says. *“Contact with women of refinement is refining in its influence. We learn and broaden by the comparing of notes, by discussion. “It is absurd to claim that a woman neglects her home for her club, On the contrary, she becomes a better home- maker because of it, by its aid, She dis- cusses points on the rearing of children, on the decoration of rooms, on the pre- paring -and serving of meals, She both learns and teaches, for every one has some ideas worth glving and no ene is so complete as to need no teaching, Women teach other by contact: “We are not intended te work alone, The natural, social system of contact is the ‘one that must bring about the best results, and in the woman's club of the’ present day this is to be found. “Another value of the club life is that it does away with unnecessary conservas- tism. Not with womanliness—never that; but there i8 a certain shrinking in many women which is better overeome, and the meeting with others, the speaking before a number, overcomes this, A woman grows_ in this way to have the courage of her convictions,” Mrs. Harrington is small and dainty, a little white-haired lady of the oid school so far s true value of the word goes, although she is distinctly modern in breadth of thought, A friend says that she never thinks of her without think- ing of her hands, *“‘the tiniest 1 ever saw, always clad in the most Immaculate of shining kid gloves and with a mite of a lace handkerchief tucked into the glove above the button,' These ‘delicate Nttle hands can handie dangerous weapons, however, and with a gteady aim. Mrs, Harrington ig decidedly proud of her prowess in the case of the “Gentleman Burglar'’; she boldly faced him, revolver in hand, and he took to hls heels. She evidently had the expressiom of one having authority and she has, fop ghe is a first-cless shot and her bravery is big ¢novgh for g six-foot man