Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-06-23
THE HENS RIGHTS MEETING.
How it Works in the Feathered
World.

Enquirer if0r tne lOllOWlnp WHY Jike-Oli
on the woman suffrage movement.
Whether the typical agitator portrayed
is meant to be Mrs. Woodruff or some of
her less prominent sisters we leave the
i reader to judge;O hHOh b5AibA
In a farm-yard in Virginia there lived
a family of domestic fowls, consisting of
two cocks and about dozen hens. The
cocks were game and Of the best breed,
andlwere remarkable for their pluck and
gallantry, as well as their devotion and
attention to their wives When food was
thrown to them they never partook of it
before calling up the hens and seeing
that they were served first and when-
ever they CHANGED to find savory bug,
or to scratch up a delicate worm, they
always denied themselves the luxury,
and invited the mems TO enjoy it in pre-
ference, thus showing that their chief
Identification consisted in the comfort and
happiness of their helpmeets. And the
hens we're not slow to avail themselves of
the self-denial and politeness Of their
husbands, but gobbled up grain, worms
and bugs without even saying Thank
Iyou,' ors"Won't you join us2'g They
seemed to look upon these delicate at
tentions Of their lords, and the appropri-
alton of all the best things to themselves,
| as their natural and inherent right.
On the other hand, the hens were low
ing and obedient, and attended to their
domestic duties notabl ly-laying their
eggs with regularity and dispatch, sit
ting on them carefully and patiently and
raising their chickens in the most affec-
tionate and devoted manner. Both men
and women might, if their pride permlts
ted, draw instructive lessons from the
social life Of this family of domestic
fowls. The men might copy after the
cocks in courage, selfdenial, and those
pleasing little attentions which are so
much appreciated by their wives; and
the women might initiate the hens in
their regularity, patience, diligence, and
industry in their devotion to their chill
dren, and in their respect for, and sub
mission to, their husbands.
One day this family of fowls was WIS.,
tied by two strange hens that had just
arrived from Massachusetts. The stran-
gers were tall, raw-boned, long-legged,
long-necked, and big-footed, and had
coarse, harsh voices. Without invita-
ton or introduction, they strided in the
barn-yard, and circulated amongst the
hens and conversed with them in as free
and easy style asif they had known
them all their lives. Indeed, one would
have supposed that the harn-yard be-
longed to them. After u few remarks
upon the late war and the scarcity of
cocks, they requested the hens to sepa-
rate themselves from the roosters, and
10 collect together ina corner OF the
yard as they had matter Of vast impor-
tance to communicates to. them. The
curiosity of the hens being thus excited,
they fled off fnrtively to the appointed
corner, and formed q circle around their
new acquaintances, and in solemn and
respeetiul silence listened 10 one of them
who thus addressed them;
Ladies, l have called you together to
addsess you on n subject of paramount
Importance, not only to our own comfort
and happiness, but to the future success
and progress OF our posterity and of
all civilized poultry. You are aware of
the accepted idea that in the beginning
Of this world the male portion Of crea-
ton was made first, and that the female
was created as sort of afterthought, or
side issue, to relieve the male from the
tedium of being alone, and to contrib
ute to his comfort and pleasure. There
is no doubt that, acting upon this idea,
the male has constituted himself lord
of creation, and has set himselfup as
being the superior of the female, and
taking mean advantage of his greater
size and strength has imposed upon the
female oil the cares and drudgery Of
this life. Especially is this the case
with the feathered tribe, and pre-emin-
emily so with that portion of it that we
represent. Upon the female portion OF
our tribe have been imposed all the in
convenience and labor of laying eggs
and the responsibility and trouble of
raising chickens, while the male has
nothing else to do but TO strut about and
admire himself, and give an occasional
scream when he sees hawk lowering
in the air, but taking good care to get
out of the way when the hawk pounces
down Y on our Unprotected BROOD he
will fly upon the top of the fence and
flap his wings and crow as if the world
belonged to him, and look down with
the utmost complacency upon us hens
while we are toiling to support our fam
lilies. tr, eglrqiuI 80
" Now this sort of thing has been going
on for SO long time without protest,
and seemingly with the. consent and APP
proval of the hens, that it has como to
be regarded as the natural state Of af-
fairs, and suppose it would have gone
on forever il Plymouth Rock had never
been visited by our ancestors. You
have all heard of the maidstone, that
wonderful mineral which, when applied
to the parts bitten by a mad-dog or a
snake, will instantly extract the venom,
and save the life of the sufferer. Well,
Plymoth Rock is the great moral mad
stone, which, when applied to the moral
sores and bites that afilict the world,
will produce an instant cure. My ma
ternal ancestor, Biddy Hardshell, came
over in the MayllOwer, and was the first
of the poultry tribe that ever set foot
upon Plymouth Rock, and the first hen
that ever laid an egg in America. When
Biddy Hardshell gave her first caekle
upon that classic spot, there was uttered
the warning note Of the disenthralment
of the gentler sex. -.
"Since then the female at the North
has been at work, and its activity is inn
mense, far beyound anything that you
luxurious daughters Of the sunny South
could ever imagine. Ideas distilled
through the alembic of our minds are
destined to dazzle the world You will
not therefore be surprised when ! tell
you that We have discovered that the
laws and customs by which our social,
domestic, and political life have hereto
fore been governed, are unnatural, un-
Just and degrading to the female sex.
TO hen of an inquiring mind the