Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1859-01-22
WHOLE NUMBER 474.

nave long since cast Dehind me lly ln-
ward eye has become clearer, my own feel
ings and thouglits have become too power
ful for me, aud can no longer, MS formerly,
Judge myself by others. There was time
when, above ell things, thrsted after an
artists life aud freedom but that even
that, is a selfish, circumscrihcd aim, Il IL be
not sanctifed by something higher Mar
riagc is to me a secondary thing nay.
wretched thing, if it do not tend to a high
er human development in the service Of
light and freedom That which seek for
and which desire is, life, a sphere Of Ia
Dor, which makes me feal that ! live fully,
not merely for myself, but for the whole
community, for my country, my people, for
humanity, for God, yes, for God If he be
the God Of justice aud goodness-the faith
er of ALL Perhaps may never attain 10
that which / wish for; perhaps may sink
down. buried in the inner life, which is mine
and SO many other women's portion in this
world: but never never will say that il IS
woman's proper Inheritance and lot, never
will I submit, never will cease to maiu-
tain that she has been created for some.
thing better, something more yes, if she
we're able fairly and fully to develop all the
noble powers which the Creator has given
her. then she would make the world hap
pier. Oh that / eonld live and labor for
the emancipation Of these captive, strug-
Cling souls, these sonls which are yearning
after life and light; with what JOY should
/ live, with what gladness should | then
die, yes, even if to die were to cease for
ever / should then nevertheless. have
lived Immortality =
How handsomAyou are, after all, Her
tina 7 exclaimed Alma as she looked up
with rapture to her sister, who looked RAJ
diant in her longings after freedom and
love.
Handsome repeated Hertha, blushing
and smiling sorrowfully 'Ah, there wasa
time when / know / might have become,
might have been good-looking, if--but that
time is gone by. Now 1 grow palmer
every day, because my soul and mind are
embittered more and more against both
God and man have sometimes had the
most extravagant thoughts Of how might
deliver us from this misery have thought
of going to Stockholm and speaking to the
Kingr
TO the King Alb, Hertba r
Yes to the King They say that King
Oscar is noble and just; that he does not
refuse their rights to any of his subjects. ]
should speak to him in this manner (now
you are the King and 1 am your subject)
, "Your Majesty, / come on behalf of my
self and mauy of my sisters. We have
been kept as children, in ignorance of our
human rights and duties, and held as mi
nors, in order that we may not become ma
ture human beings. Both our souls and
| our hands are in bonds, although God has
bade US to be free, and although we de-
mand nothing but that which is good and
: right To other Christian Countries and
, even in our own sister-land, your Majesty;s
kingdom of Norway, her rights have been
determined by law to woman at certain
age, and this the age of her best powers;
but in our country, in Sweden, the law or
dains, that the daughters of the country
shall for all time be under bondage, and
declared to be under age, unless they hap
pen to be widows, whatever their age may
: be; or they must appeal to the seat of JUS
tice TO demand that freedom, which still
) their guardians can prevent their obtain
ing."' ..sf
But now, if the King should say, "My
dear child, you and your many sisters need
: support and guidance. You could not
manage or keep things in order for your
, Selves"
Then would / reply, "Your Majesty, let
us be tried, and your Majesty viii then see
that it is quite the reverse. Many noble-
: minded and libcralminded women have
shown it to be so, aud these might become
more, might become many, If the laws, Of
onr country allowed it. Children could not
} learn to walk alone, if they We're not re-
J leased from the leading strings; they could
not use their eyes unless light were allowed
to enter their rooms.
'"Let us only know that we may be,
that we are permitted to be our own sup
porters, and we shall learn TO support our
selves and others. Your Majestyl grant
, us freedom, grant us the right over our own
souls, our lives, our property, onr futlre.
I and we win serve you, and our country, and
all that is good, with all our heart and all
our sonl, aud with all our powers, as only
they who are free can do !"'
, We'll said, my beautiful, noble Hertha ?
! exclaimed Alma i wish that the King
and the estates of the realm could both see
, aud hear you, they would then repent of
5 having done an injustice to the Swedish wo-
t maa-having been willing to depreeate her
/; north and limit her future
+ And that of the community at the same
t time, added Hertha, warmly, because q
e great deal of that which is so wretched IA
+ morals and in disposition proceeds from the
e want of esteem which women have Cot
themselves, the want of fully comprshend-
r ing their high vocation as human belpgs
, Oar poor Amalia, for example, and maaY
besides her had assuredly never fallen and
t become despised creatures Ii they had ear
ly been able to look onward to some noble
|, and available destination in which they
} could live and labor every day. How dark
aud narrow is the space which man allots
to woman in this world and when she
feels it, when the hearth,becomes too narrow
tor her, bow lonely and unprotected is sho
in the great world outside. Besides which.
how few are the women and how happy
! the circumstances must be for them,
} who become all that they might and ought
. to be, in comparison with The mass wholive
$ aud die imperfect human beings. not one
N..I|