The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1868-07-10
ORANGE COURT HOUSE. VA FRIDAY MORNING JULY TO- 1863
LITTLE WOMEN.
HOW THEY ExcEL OTHERS OF THEIR SEX.

HOW THEY EXCEL OTHERS OF THEIR SEX.
As rule, the little woman is brave.
When the lymphatic giantess falls into
a faint or goes Off into Mysteries, she
storms, or busties about, or holds on like
Il game terrier, according to the work
on hand. She will fly at any man who
annoys her, and bears herself as equal
to the biggest and strongest fellow of
her acquaintance. general, she does
it all by sheer pluck, and is not notori-
Gus for subtlety or craft. Had Delilah
been Il little woman, she would never
have taken the trouble to shear Sam
sons locks. She would have dcfied him
with all his strength untouched on his
head, and she would have overcome him
too. Judith and Jael were both proba-
bly, large women. The work they went
about demanded II certain strength of
muscle and toughness of sinew; but who
can say that JeZebcl was not II small,
freckled, authenticated Lady Audley
of her time, full of the concentrated fire,
the electric force, the passionate reck-
lessEess of her type? Regain and Con-
eri might have been beautiful demons
of the same pattern; we-have the eXam-
pie of the Marchioness de Brinvilliers as
to what amount ofspirtual deviltry can
exist with the face and manner of an
gel direct from heaven and perhaps
Cordelia was tall dark haired girl,
with a pair of brown eyes, and a long
nose, sloping downwards. Look at
modern Jewesses, with their flashing
Oriental orbs, their night-black tresses,
and the dusky shadows of their olive
colorcd complexion. AS catalOgled
properties according to the ideal. they
would be placed in the list of the natu-
raj criminals and law breakers, while in
reality they are about as meek and do
Gle set of womeh as are to be found
within the four seas. Pit fiery little
Welsh woman or a petulent Parisienne
against the most regal Julionic amongst
them, and let them try conclusions in
courage. in energy. or in atldacity; the
Israeltish Juno will go down before
either of the Philistines, and the fallacy
of weight and color in the generation of
power will be shown without the posi-
bility of denial Even in those old days
of long ago. when human characteristics
were embodied and deified, we do not
find that white-armed, large-limbed
Hebe, though queen by right of mar
riage, lorded it over her sister-god-
desses by any superior energy or force
of nature. On the contrary, she was
rather heavy-going person, and, un-
less moved to anger by her husbands
numerous infdelities, took her Olym-
pian life placidly enough, and once or
twice got cheated in way that did no
great credit to her sagacity. A little
woman would have sailed round her
easily; and as it was, shrewish though
she was in her speech when provoked,
her husband not only deceived but chas-
tised her, and reduced her to penitence
and obedience as no little woman would
have suffered herself to'be reduced.
There is one celebrated race of women
who where probably the powerfully
built, large-limbed creatures they are
assumed TO have been, ,..and as brave and
energetic as they We're strong and big
the Morse woman of the sagas, who, for
good or evil. seem to have been a very
influential element in the old Northern
life. Prophetesses, physicians, dream
ers of dreams and the accredited inter.
prefers as well, endowed with magic
powers, admitted to share in the coun-
ellis of men, brave in war, active lin
peace, these fair-halred Scandinavian
women were the fit comrades of their
men, the fit wives and mothers of the
Berserkers and the Vigings. They had
no time or easy life of it. if all we hear
of them Is true. To defend the farm
and the homestead during their hus-
bands absence, and to keep themselves
intact against all bold rovers to whom
the Tenth Commandment was an un-
known law; to dazzle and bewllder by
magic arts when they could not conquer
by open strength; TO unite craft and
courage. deception and daring, loyalty
and independence, demanded no smill
amount of opposing qualities. But the
Stpingerdas and Gudrunas were gen.
orally equal to any emergency of fate
or fortune, and s,ashed their way
through the history of their time more
after the manner of men than of women;
supplementing their downright blows
by side thrusts of crattier cleverness
when they had to meet power with skill,
and were fain to overthrow brutality
by fraud. The Morse women were eer-
tainlv as largely framed as they were
mentally energetic, and as crafty as
either; but we know of no other womel
who unite the same characteristics, and
are at once cunning, strong, brave and
true.
On the whole, then. the little women
have the best of it. More petted than
their bigger sisters, and infinitely more
powerful, they have their own way in
part because it really does not seem
worth while to contest point with such
little creatures. There S nothing that
wounds mans self-respect in any vic
tory they may get or claim. While
there is absolutely inequality of strength
there can be no humiliation IN the self
i'm posed defeat of the stronger; and as
it is always more pleasant to have peace
than war, and as big men for the most
part rather like than not to put their
necks under the tread of tiny feet, the
little woman goes on her way triumph
ant to the end. breaking all the laws
she does not like, and throwing down
all the barriers that impede her pro-
gress, perfectly irresistible and ire
Il ;,, all air or ,N1