St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1859-04-28


my voice may never reach you but
if by any chance your eyes should
fall upon these words, know that my
soul does willing homage to yours,
and forgive these few sentences, for
the love and reverence that prompted
them.
None but thou and shall know"
l remember another, a stranger in
a strange land an exile from the
home of her fathers fair-haired and
blue-eycd girl, warm-hcartcd and
whole-souled woman of exquisite
sensibility, refined taste, and elegant
culture lover of song and grace,
and beauty, in any guise u man in
strength, a martyr in endurance per-
forming fathers duty to children
not her own; fighting the battle sim
gle handed, and no holiday contest,
but life-and-death struggle with the
wolf at the door welcoming the cold
embrace of Duty as smilingly as if it
were the warm clasp of Love eager
eyes and ears wide open to the green
fields, the upspringing daisies, the
note of bee and bird, yet swerving
not hairs breadth from the rocky
path which her aching feet most rcso-
lutely tread-and where l see her
footprints, know it is holy ground.
And yet another face shines on me
through the night-a face over which
the Angel of Sorrow has swept his
wings in passing, and saddened into
a beauty that is not of the earth. You,
looking, see only dark eyes that flash
laughter, love, or tears delicate
cheek, that pales and flashes at your
words red lips, whence drop rare
gems Of wit and wisdom. These are
there, and l see them but beyond
these, and deeper than these, see
soul that has been weighed in the bal
ance, and not found wanting heart
that has been wrung by sorest anguish,
and only grown more plying and ten
der a hand that has touched every
note from highest to lowest, and learned
to strike from earthly chords most
heavenly harlnonies ; a woman who
has said to wealth, and station and
case, uCi lIcC bculHu NE anu
mailed in her own integrity, has dared
opposing fate 1t is these, and such
as these that
Show lis how divine thing
A woman may be made
They redeem their sex from the
frivolity, inanity and feebleness, re-
vcaling to us the capacities that lie
hidden in her heart of hearts and it
is because have witnessed such no.
BILE living, such Extraordinary, gener-
GUS seeking" that | believe in woman
and when / see life going to waste
when see a woman's soul bent on ig-
noble ends, frittered away on trilling
toys, finding content and happiness in
things that perish with the using, l
feel not contempt, not anger, but sad
ness and sore regret.
The pity of it, Iago, the pity of it,
mourn for gold grown dim, and
fine gold changed-for fields white to
harvest, and the repears disporting
among fowers-for a world lying in
ignorance and wickedncss, and the
power that should raise and redeem
it, and fit it once more for the footsteps
of its Lord, spending its strength for
nanght.
Oh! if this latent power could be
aroused If womanhood would shake
off this slumber, and put on her
strength, her beautiful garments, how
would she go forth conquering and to
conquer-how would the mountains
break forth into singing, and the trees
of the field clap their hands-how
would our sin-stained Earth arise and
shine, her light being come, and the
glory Of the Lord being risen upon
her !!
One cannot do the worlds work
but one can do ones work. You may
not be able to turn the world from
iniquity, but you can at least keep the
dust and rust from gathering on your
own soul. If you cannot be directly
and actively engaged in fighting the
battle, you can at least polish your
armor and sharpen your weapons, to
strike an effective blow when the hour
comes. You can stanch the blood of
him who has been wounded in the |
fray-bear a cup of cold water to the
thirsty and fainting-givc help to the
conquered and SMILES to the victor |,
You can gather from the'past and the |
present stores of wisdom, so that |
when the future demands it, you may
bring from your treasures things new
,,l Il S,fl lac
vinity that shapes our ends may see
fit to withhold from you, you are but
very little lower than the angels SO
long as you have the
"God like power to ao-the God-like aim to know"
You can be forming habits of self
reliance, sound judgment, persever-
ancc, and endurance, which may one
day stand you in good stead. You
Can SO train yourself to right thinking
and right acting, that uprightness
shall be your nature, truth, your i'm
pulse. His head is seldom far wrong
whose heart is always right We
bow down to mental greatness, intel
lectual strength, and they are Divine
gifts, but morality is stronger than they. |
1t is irresistible-always in the end |
triumphant. There is in goodness a
penetrative power that nothing can
withstand. Cunning and malice melt
away before its mild, open, steady
glance. Not alone on the fields, where
chivalry charged for laurels, with he'll
met and breastplate, and lance in rest,
could the true knight exultantly ex-
claim,
My strength is as the strength of ten,
Because my heart is pure
but, wherever man meets man, wher-
ever there is prize to be won, goal
to be reached. Wealth, and rank,
and beauty, may form a brilliant set
ting to the diamond, but they only ex-
pose more markedly the false glare of |
the past. Only when the kings daugh-
ter is all glorious within, is it fitting
and proper that her clothing should
be of wrought gold.