The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-11-28


wether Hannah ane is girl of seventeen
summers, endowed with all those personal
charms which romancers are wont to bestow
upon their heroines, of a deep, generous, unset
hsh nature, but devoid of culture and polish;
woman to follow whom man would not on
ly forsake his father and mother, but even his
grandfather, and his cousins male and female.
All the young men adored her, and all the
young women hated her with hatred that was
terrible to contemplate. She was public ben
efactor, inasmuch as she lighted the flames of
love in the heart of every young man in the
neighborhood, and the flames of love once
lighted never go out. If the young men are
disappointed in their first choice they let the
tender tendrils of their affections Irvine about
the nearest object at hand.
Hannah Jane had a quick, active mind, a
will which blooked no obstacles, and a broad
generous nature. An uncultivaaed woman, but
of immense possibilities. In accordance with
the pernicious system in vogue, her brothers
were educated with what slender means the
family had, while she was kept at home The
works of the great masters of literature were
sealed books to her, while as for newspapers
well she preferred the New York Independent,
because it only took six copies of that blanket
sheet to fill out her paner.
Abel Merriwether, young lawyer just start
ing in business, with creditors in place of eli
ents, won her love at last Merriwether was
youth of some talent, of inordinate vanity, of
Lucifer-like ambition. with that admirable
forethought which characterizes young men,
not heinz ahla to CIT hin, aa1f ba cd
after wife to support. and SO married, acting
in the spirit of the maxim which teaches that
it doesn't cost any more to support one than it
does to support two. Horrible fallacy! 1t
would be as sensible to say that two pounds of
beefsteak cost no more than one. tits not in
tended by this illustration to discourage mar
rage, for it is an estimable institution; but it
does seem as though some restraint might be
placed on system that is capable of produc-
ing George Francis Train.
The young couple, in spite of all obstacles,
determined upon marriage, Abel loftily over
looking all objections, and Hannah Jane meet
ing them with that feminine formula of logic,
because" The wedding took place, and as is
usual upon such occasions the couple were pre-
scented with silver ice-pitcher and cake baskets,
and wine-coolers, and such other articles as
they had no use for. Hannah Jane with COM
mendable prudence bartered them all for a
cooking stove and sewing machine
The lecturer then went on to describe the
first days of their welded life Abel was in
the hair-oil period in which young man
comes out strong in pantaloons and devotes
much weighty thought to his shirt-bosom.
Abel was never lovely, for he had always HIM
self to contemplate, and it was lofty object in.
deed. The fond idolatry of the wife was
described How she looked up to him as god !;
how she determined to devote her best energies
to his advancement; how she worked and
shaved that he might have leisure to develop
that god-lke mind. He, with the usual mas
culine selfshness, accepted the sacrifice without
thought, and even encouraged it. We must
be economical" he would say to her, as he
lighted his gar,-meaning, of course, that she
must be economical. He accepted all her devo-
ton as tribute due to his excellence Being
man of quick parts and capable of applica-
ton to study, he gradually developed into intel
lectual strength, while she, immersed in house
hold cares, remained at stand-still' Abe
would often wonder why she didn't devote
some of her time to mental discipline! Well,
by-and-by, the long looked-for business came.
The mistress of man who had forsaken her
for the love of his wife, laid for him with a
romantic silver-plated little pistol, one night,
and shot him through the heart" Merriwether
cleared her On the plea of emotional insanity
He thereby laid the foundation of his reputa-
ton He was elected to the Legislature, and
then to Congress. His local reputation became
national one Surrounded by the brilliant So
ciety of the capital, his intellect enlarged and
widened and broadened every day. His wife
was confined to household duties and to the care
Of a little Merriwether, just born. Naturally
time and hard labor wrought havoc with her
beauty. But she never gave it regret.
have given it all for him; he will pay me for
the sacrifice" she said. Little she knew of the
man He began to contrast her with the bril-
liant and beautiful women by whom he was
surrounded. He grew cold to her; the GOODNESS
deepened into dislike, and the dislike into dis
gust. This woman, who had made herself
washerwoman, cook, seamstress and chamber
maid for him, who had become broken and
faded in his service, who had cast herself down
as stepping-stone for him to mount upon, he
grew to detest as an incumbrance. He vir-
tually deserted her, for he sent her home. Then
the woman, realizing that the greatest pleasure
she could give him would be to remove herself
from him altogether, made all the sacrifice that
was left to her, and died. The funeral was .
decorous one, and the trimmings of the cofi Il
| like the love that furnished them, were plated
Then he returned to Washington, and in the
| course of time married brilliant widow 9
| woman of culture" who had her finger on
the pulse of the Cosmos and who understood
the 'divine NATURAL" who had cravings after
the infinite and divings after the unfathomable
but who also had longings after Partisan mil
linery, and desires after much pin-money
Abel is defeated for Congress and loses his
| wealth. Then the woman leaves him for some
man who is better suited to her intellectual ca
pacities,- that is, better able to supply her ma
terial wants. After this Abel finds the road tt
ruin macadamized. He sinks down, down
| down, until he becomes life-insurance agent
Such is the story of Hannah Jane.
| The lecturer concluded by saying that what
he intended for comedy, chad, he feared, be
come q tragedy. God knows, that with such a
man and such woman land there are millions
of them in the world it could not be other
! WISE He pleaded for the broader education O
women, the giving her better acquaintance
with affairs. He rejected alike the Turkish
and the American idea of woman. She should
be neither slave or pet Her mind SHOULD
not be cramped, but she should be allowed al
opportunity to grow in intellectual statue. Sh
| should be made self-reliant. The mind of thu
wife should expand with the mind of the hus
band. Thus she will be fitted to become th,
mother of the Coming American whom we
| all hope to see.
| 1t is impossible to give more than mer
outline of the lecture. The pleasant jests, som,
old some new, with which it is generally inter
| spersed, were highly relished by the audience
but would utterly lose their flavor in print
His satire is vitriolic, and the smile he wears is
sometimes the hooking grin of deaths head
Behind the mask of the jester are to be caught
gimpses of great preachers features Tht
great difficulty is that the lecture is too true
Men are ashamed to admit its charges They
will turn away from the mirror, shocked at
| their own deformity; or they will pretend {,
admire the brilliant hue of the scourge, stoutl,
swearing all the time that it IA ises no wales OF
| their shoulders.
CHANGE OF TRAINS ON THE MAINE CENTRAL
The Kennebec Journal says the passengel