Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-05-26
A Tborouxhly Emaueipn,cd woman.


ment.
"Hal hap she said, "did'nt tell 'em so
You amt half out Of the shell yet; you amt
really Matched. You 90 for the emancipation
of woman, but bless you, boy, you haven't the
least idea what it means-not a bit of it, sonny,
have you, now2 Con(essP she said, stroking
my whiskers coaXingly.
Greatly, MADAME confess" said hesitating-
ly, 81 haven't the honor
''Not the honor of my acquaintance, you was
going to say; well, that's exactly what you're
getting now. read your piece in the Milky
Way, and, said |, that boys in heather dark
ness yet, and Pm going round to enlighten him
You mean well, Hall but this is a great subject.
You haven't seen through it. Lord bless you,
child you amt woman, and am-that's just
the difference"
Now, ask any of my readers, what is mod
estyoung man, in this nineteenth century,-hav-
ing been brought up to adore and reverence
woman as a goddess,-to do, when he finds him
self suddenly vs-a-vis with her, in such embar-
RAISING relations as mine were becoming? had
heard before of Miss Audacia Dangyereyes, as a
somewhat noted character in New York circles,
but did not expect to be brought so unceremon-
iously, and without the least preparation of
mind, into such very intimate relations with
her.
"Now look here, bub," she said, 'Pm just a.
going to prove to you, in five minutes, that
you've been writing about what you don't know
anything about. You've been asserting, in your
blind way, the rights of woman to liberty and
equality; the rights Of women, in short, to do
anything that men can do. Well, here comes a
woman to your room who takes her rights, prac-
tically, and does just what man would do. |
claim my right to smoke, if | please, and to
drink, if / please; and to come up into your
room and make you call, and have good time
with you, if please, and to tell you that like
your looks, as do. Furthermore, to invite you
IN ga nm ot m
card. You may call me 'Dacia, if you LIKE
don't go on ceremony. Come round and take a
smoke with me this evening, won't your I've
got the incest little chamber that ever you saw.
What rent do you pay for yours2 Say, will you
come roundP
"lndeed-thank you, miss
"Call me Dacia for short. l don't stand on
ceremony. Just look on me as another fellow.
And now confess that you've been tied aud fet-
tered by those vapid conventionalites which
bind down women till there is no strength in
'em. You visit in those false, artificial circles,
where women are slaves, kept like canary birds
in gilded cages. And you are afraid of your
own principles when you see them carried out
in real free woman. Now, Pm woman that
not only dares say, but | dare do. Why hasn't
woman as much right to go round and make
herself agreeable to men, as TO sit still at home
and wait for men to come and make themselves
agreeable to herr | know you don't like this
are a slave to old prejudices. But Pm going to
make you like me in spite of yourself. Come,
now, be consistent with your principles; allow
me my equality as a woman, o humanlbeing."
was in such a state of blank amazement by
this time as seemed to depraSe me of all power
of selfpossesSion. AT this moment the door
opened and Jim Fellows appeared. A most
ludicrOuS grimace passed over his face as he saw
the position and he cut silent pirouette in the
air, behind her. She turned her head, and he
advanced
"Fairest of the sex with some slight excep-
tions) what happy accident are we to attri-
butte this meetingP
"Hallo, jim! is this you? she replied.
"Oh, certainly, it's me" said Jim, seating
himself familiarly. GLOW is the brightest star
of womanhood-the northern light; the aurora
borealis the fairest of the fair2 Bless its little
heart, has it got its rights yet? Did it want to
drink and smoke? Come along with Jim, now,
and let's have a social cocktail"
"Keep your distance, 81" said she, giving HIM
a slight box on the ear. 81 prefer to do my own
counting. | have been trying to show your
friend here how little he knows of the true
equality of woman, and of the good time COM
ing, when we shall have our rights, and do just
as we dare please, as you do. I'll bet now there
amt one of those Van Arsde girls that would
dare to do as Pm doing. But we're opening the
way, sir, we're opening the way. The time will
come when all women will be just as free to
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as the
men,"
"Good heavensP said l, under my breath.
"My beloved Audacia," said Jim, "allow me
to remark one little thing, and that is, that men
also must be left free to the pursuit of happi-
ness, and also, as the Scripture says, new wine
must not be put into old bottles. Now my
friend Hal-begging his pardon-is an old bot
tie, and | think you have lalready put as much
new wine into him as his constitution will bear.
h,oIn hno r,I I,o&I hn,ro ,.Nl-a
ing by scratching, and tempus fugit, and we've
got articles to write, and there is always, so to
speak, the devil after us folks that write for the
press, may humbly request that you will with
draw the confusing light of your bright eyes
from us iol the present, and, in short, take your
divine self somewhere elseP
As Jim spoke these words, he passed his arm
| round Miss Audacia's waist, and drew her to the
| door Of the apartment, which he threw open,
and handed her out, bowling with great cerc.
mony.
"Stopp she cried, "I amt going to be put
out that way. haven't done what l came for
You both of you have got to subscribe for my
paper. The Emancipated Woman"
Couldn't do it, divineSt charmer," said Jim
couldn't do it; too poor; mill runs slow; nc
water; modest merit rot rewarded. Wait till
my ship comes in, and I'll subscribe for any
thing you like"
"Well, now, you don't get rid of me that
way. / tell you came in to get subscription,
and am going to stay till get one" said Miss
Audaca. Come, Hal," she said, crossing once
more to me, and sitting down by me and taking
my hand, :" write your name there, that's good
fellow"
wrote my name in desperation, while Jim
stood by, laughing
jim" l said, "come, put yours down quick,
and let's have it over"
"Well, now" said she, fork out the tin
five dollars each"
We both obeyed mechanically.
"Well, well, said she, good-naturedly, "that'll
do for this time; good morning" and she van
ished from the apartment with jaunty toss OF
the head and a nod of the cocks feathers in her
hat.
Jim closed the door and locked it.
Mercy upon us! JIM" said |, who and
what is this creature?
"Oh, one of the harbingers of the new millen-
num-" said Jim Wont il be Jolly when all
girls are like her2 But we shall have to keep our
doors locked then"
"But, said |, sis It possible, Jim, that this is
a respectable womanp
"Shes precisely what you see" said jim,
"whether that's respectable, is matter of opin.
ion. There's woman that's undertaken, in
good faith, to run and joste in all the ways
that men run in. Her principle is, that what
ever young fellow in New York could do,
she'll do"
"Good heavensP said /, "what would the
Van Arsdcls think OF us, if they should know
that she had been in our company"
OTIS lucky that they don't, and can't" said
jim. "But you see what you get for belonging
to the new dispensation."
"Boys, what's all this fuss2" said Bolton,
coming in at this moment.
"Oh, nothing, only Dacia Dangyereyes has
been here" said Jim, "and poor Hal is ready to
faint away and sink through the floor. He
isn't up to snuff yet, for all he writes such mag
nifcent articles about the nineteenth century,
SWELL" said |, at was woman as woman that
| was speaking of, and not this kind of crea-
ture. If believed that granting larger liberty
and wider opportunities was going to change
the women we reverence to things like these,
you would never find me advocating It,"
"Wel, my dear Hail." said Bolton, "be COM
forted; you're not the first reformer that has
had to cry out, Deliver me from my friends,
Always when the waters of any noble generous
enthusiasm rise and overflow their banks, there
must come down the dritt-wood-the wood, hay
and stubble. Luther had more trouble with the
fanatics of his day, who ran his principles into
the ground, as they say, than he had with the
Pope and the emperor, both together. AS to
this Miss Audaeia, she is one Of the phenomenal
creations of our times; this time, when every
kind of practical experiment in life has got TO
be tried, and stand or fall on its own merits
So don't be ashamed of having spoken the
truth, because crazy people and fools oarioature
1t. 1t is true, as you have said, that women
| ho oil rEv and