New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-02-18
ROMBAY SHIRLEY'S CURE.
rNrom Old and New Locket.

INrom Old and New Locketl
81 am called a man. hater," said the pretty
lecturer. with shake Of her short curls in
the face of her audience; but that, my
friends, depends upon the man" 1t seemed
but a small frework, ian inconslderable
ouiddity," to call forth such tempest OF
applause and laughter
it would have fallen dead as door-nall
from the lips of an ancient bloomer. who
had grown old in the pioneer work OF
woman's rights; it was the archness, the
curls. the tout ensemble of prettiness OF
this champion who had come IN at the
eleventh hour, that did it. 1t was possible
to conceive of one Or.two men, at least,
being interested in the question OF her love
or hatred.
.When the crowd poured out OF the hall,
and parted into innumerable little groups
and dots, like drop of quicksilver spllleG
ON the ground, two young men saunteIeo
away, arm in arm, with that air OF inefiaole
superiority to the rest Of the world pecuiiar
to college students in the senior year, tncS
are demi-gods to the freshman Glass; ana
they have yet to learn that the ou''iuo
world is not like unto it..
as that woman out of her sphere, or not!'
said Lenox to Bombay Shirley, his famillar
spirit. CONAN ,-o,,
would put round wOman,s sphere. she Is
at least out Of mischief when she Is lectur
inc from a platform, and her lecture has
tbe virtue of homeopathic pills-if it does
no good it does no harm, either"
II am sure l thought her argument
oood one. I had hopes of your conversion
"Her argument My boy, the possessive
feminine prOuoun can never go before that
word. She stole it bodily from some man
who favors the cause, and trimmed IL SO
deem with fringe of her own fippancles
- ,,,;ctonE IL for hers"
"At least she's pretty; she might reduce
your confounded stOicism through your
eyes" s .,o+ tho
brains which made her take up oratory. IN.
stead of Irritation. When she leans forward
with that arch look which seems to assure
every man in her audience that he is not
the ono she hates, it may be better so, than
in moonlight stroll with half dozen by
Tell me the truth. Bomb. Have you
never known woman whom you thought
YOU could trust"
"Neyer. Who am l that l should pretend
ssWhen you fall in love, may be there to
see!'
THAT will never happen. may possibly
marry late in life, as those old Romans did,
when the Emperor Metellus reminded them
that marriage, however painful, was still a
duty"
know not what possessed Shirley to look
over his shoulder at that precise moment OF
bis high discourse. Close upon them was a
Young girl, in light gray suit, uakerlshly
nIain. whose haste would not abide their
slow eaunter; and as she passed them, she
looked at Shirley with the faintest of qulzzi-
cal smiles lowering about her mouth. 1t
struGk him with a sudden sense OF having
made fool of himself, and he watched the
slight figure till it disappeared IN the one
little dry goods store OF the village
She came out with small package In
her hand, as Shirley was twirling walking
stick of twisted bamboo in his hand and,
having a giraffe-like habit of carrying his
head high in air, as If looking over an IN.
visible wall, he knocked the parcel out OF
her hand. He picked it up and held 1t out
to her without a word. She received 1t with
an infnitesimal nod of thanks, and smile
of amused recognition, which brought a
blush to Shirley's face. These chestnut
haired people always blush SO easily.j
"a tableau for deaf and dumb asylum.
said LenOx. "You must own you have seen
one woman who refrained from speaking
when she had fair chance"
do you know who she is!' asked Shirley
luis curiosity getting the upper hand OF his
wisdom.
II am sorry i don't, as it is the first time
YOU ever asked the question
Shirley caught himself watching the gray
dress out of sight, and came back to his Ole
way Of thinking with mental jerk.
"What right had the girl to smile at mt
in that superior way! he SAID, PROVOKED
by the memory OF it.
1.-The right of the strongest, my man; She
was far more at ease than you were.'
This was as true as it was disagreeable
and Shirley chewed the bitter cud OF 1t IL
silence till he reached his room.
A woman-hater is made, not born. Tht
leaning of the natural heart of man is tt
place the other sex only little lower thar
the angels; and, when this order of things
is reversed, he has either been rnthlessly
Tilted, or the twig was bent early by a firlI
hand.
Bombay Shirley was woman-hatel
of the most aggressive kind. He not
only cherished unreasonable contempt
on his own part, but tried to convert
his friends to the same way
of thinking; and vet, the pity of it, 1ago "
for he had everything pertaining to til,
onter man which would draw and hold il
logical feminine regard He might have
been a Young Viking (if the ordinary notion
of Viking is the true one), with the
"Kpotted column of his throat
The massive square OF his heroic breast
He was like Saul among other men, tale
by a head, and looked taller than he was b,
reason of a great mop OF chessnut mar
which could not have curled tighter II n
had wound it up in papers every night OF III
life Tt actually made one feel warm on
frosty morning to look at Shirley's hair
no vent To " prayers." He had suffered aS
onies with it in trying to take out the curl
II locked so womanish-till there came tina
welcome fashion of crc piping the manly hea'
into the semblance of baboon ) 4; theh III
soul had rest.
phrase is: and vet there was woman a
the bottom of his cynicism, as there is at IN
bottom of most mischief. The blame lay "a
the door of Miss Temperance Strong, III
only woman with whom Shirley had any &C
'ouaintance: vet she was that one good wo
man of a thousand whom Solomon NIGH
have found, counting one by one" II sh
had lived in bis day, and he had not shu
his EYES to all but giddy Egyptians ana tn
fair Moabitish women. Her price was Ia
above rubies. so far, indeed, that no nal
had ever offered anything approaching to it
and she had continued Miss Strong tor NOR
than tbreescore years. She always told he
ooe AT the first interview, so as 10 guar
against the suspicion of wishing to mae IL.
Rnt to begin at the beginning. Bompa,
Shirley was born at sea, and cost has inothe
her life. hut. being lusty, hard listed pap,
from the first, bound TO thrive on mar
bread and water if nothing else served d
came to the turning point OF jacket ant
trousers on shipboatd.
Captain Shirley protested to scora ,; a.
learning that could not be at once apphe'
TO practical use: and the most contemptuou
thing he could say of botched piece
work was that it looked as ii 1T had peel
done by "collegian:" No one fam Mia,
with sailOr-nature (which does not entrell
come under the head of human nature, but
Suffers sea-change,
Into something rich ard strange,D