Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1872-06-04
SUPERSTITION ABROAD.
SUPERSTITION ABKUAD.
Women and Observation-Disclosures Dog Saints
and Man-W Orship-R and super
stitiOn-Protestant and Catholic
neutrality-suspicious.
vs. RepubllcahIsm
In France.

III women have ono weakness moro
than another, says Mrs. Stowe, in an-
eloquent passage of the ministers
Woolug," 'it is toward generation. -
They are born worshippers, makers
OF silver shrines for some divinity or
other which Of course they think
fell down straight from Heaven. =
And N illustration Of this quite Just
remark, she refers TO instances wb ere
celebrated preachers and divines
have stood like Che image king Neb-
uchudnezzar set up, "and all woman
kind, coquettes and firts not except
ed, have been ready TO fall down and
worship" She adds, 1.-THE most gift
cd and accomplished Of the sex have
ever turned away from tho fattery
OF admirers, 70 PROSTATE themselves
at the feet Of genuine hero who
mover moved them except by heroic
| deeds and the rhetoric Of noble life
- q most striking aud beautiful trait
in woman's character t. which all
homage should be paid She cling
eth unto man even as the ivy cling
eth unto the oak. Aud well it were
that the objects Of her generation
We're only true heroes, above all the
living God, and Ieast--noble man Z"
But such arc not always the favor
ed recipients Of woman's devotion
not always, for man is it that women
are burthened with this load Of ieal-
ty, faith AID reverence, moro than
thoy know what to do with Not
always" say ) Mrs, Stowe, "for man
does womankind stand like q hedge
of sweet peas, throwing out futter-
ing tendrils every where for some-
thing high and noble to climb by
Alas man Is bat cipher among the
! objects Of women's heroic devotion"
Mrs. Stowe wrote from impressions
taken in America, but the writer of
these sketches on peculiarities of
character has observed scenes Of
combinations in Europe, where the
ladies appear with objects Of devo-
ton even below American style. He
has seen poll.parrots, canaries and
especially poodle dogs the highly ia
vored objects of mature woman's at
lection.
Poodle dog alteration is and long
has been a feminine religion and
nothing else in Europe Young La
dies, OF refinement and beauty, and
Of good manners, arc every where
seen, hopelessIy and irrcvocably
gone in love with-what do you
think d? Not man, strong and noble !;
not the horse, paragon OF beautiful
and intelligent animals mot even the
OK or lion; but with miserable, dirty,
nasty little poodle dogs snappieh,
inodorous, sneaking little brutes.
which oil the decent cats hold in con-
tempt 1t is enough TO make the
angels weep, to see this woman ad
Grafton Of dogs And to hear them
lavshing, in emotional English, their
words of love, veneration aud tender
ness upon bits of animated flesh
wrapt up in matted dog hair And
to SEQ the horrid little wretches
caught up 10 those tender white
arms, and Rugged TO those virtuous
bosoms, and kissed by those pouting
and honeycd lips
The writer has been mad dozen
times with these womanly devotions
upon lap dog saints-devotions just
as sincere and earnest, just as pious
aud intelligent, as the worship OF
Catholic saints and images by the
women masses Of every well regulat-
ed Catholic community. And the
madden he grows-thinking Of the
waste of so much sweetness when
there are in Wisconsin thousands OF
good honest fellows suffering for
want of supplies OF just such woman
~ afeution Brave sons Of toll;
great, stout farmers and mechanics,
young and spirited, all half dead or
crazy for the very places which
these cursed dogs fill in the affec.
tions OF woman
The vcnerati0n OF woman for saints
and saint protenders is remarkable
every where. Any ugly got up,
blear-eycd, measel.faced hypocrite-
whom any man Of common peIcep-
tions would mark as vilIaiuous im~
poster, can, by protesting q little ex-
traordinary saintliness, and magnet
ic prayers, call about him a doz-
en- or score of sworn admirers
among the women the spiritualists
had out for years their ordained and
and well disciplined apostles, and
they never failed 10 capture the
senses and services OF half dozen
mothers and daughters in every
community. First capture the moth
ers and daughters, then their men, T"
was said TO be mayim OF tho spir-
itualists. and one that worked as
unerringly as the rules for capturing
wild horses with the lasso. The Lat
ter Day Adcentists were equally sue
ccssful with their dragon maps and
ascension robes-thus diverting the
eve as well us the ear and emotional
senses. The quack doctor never fails
by means of his boosted cures and
we'll put on earnestness TO capture
his more than half dozen women,
with their men.
In Europe the horde of pretenders
long way excel the American
} charlatans. TIE people have more
largely inherited superstitious be-
liefs, as both the Catholic aud Prot
estant parties have ever encouraged
belief in the supernatural in every
thing-thus TO intelligent persons
acknowledging their respective faiths
10 be impostures. In America the