The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1873-12-27
MQNEN r~..Inr,

&c g. Andrews Day, on mohus!
pa ~ tho banquet given III f.ce1nsss .ni
Iss1, Mark Twain. who rcsp0haeu IN We
ode" made the speech OF the eSen'us; So W.
can ussrr ,f his u,terances. lie sasu: am
o.o ,,d indeed, Of the distinction Of being
L o 70 rcspossd to this especial toast, 70
a ThnI aides - or to women, ifyon please, tor
>nat 10 the preferable term perhaps; V
sna fine older, and therefore the more
on.;,ieS 10 reverence. ILaughtcr.J nave
,,n.;ccd ,hat the Bible, with that plain, ount
honos,v which is such conspicuous charac-
3er;St;c Of the Scriptures, is always particu'
Sor En- never refer to even the INDUSTRIOUS
,r,ofher Of MI mankind herself as "lady,,
I'M, sIeaks of her as woman. lLaughtef.l
n 10 odd. hut YOU will find it so. am pc
<nl;ar,v nroud Of this honor, because THINK
shat tho toast to women is one winch, by
RIGHT and bv every rule Of gallantry, should
sale precedence of all others-of the army,
Of the navy, of even royalty Itself perhaps,
though the latter is not necessary In t..s
<]av and in this land, for the reason tnat,
facility, you do drink broad, genera! neatta
10 ali good women when you drlns .hc
health Of the Queen of England and the
Princess Of Wales. Loud cheers.] ! nave
in mind poem just now, which IS lami.iai
10 yon all-famliar to everybody. And what
an inspiration that was land how Instantly
fbe Dresent toast recalls the verses 10 our
minds) when the most noble, the most grf
cious, the purest and sweetest OF ali poe's
says:
Wom-"
Tlauch,erl however, you remember Inc
lines; and you remember no" leeI"Ss,
how daintily. how almost imperceptibiy the
verses rise up before you, feature by feature,
the ideal of a true and perfect woman ahu
how. rs YOU contemplate the finished marfei,
your homage grows into worship OF the IN,
fe,lert that could create so fair thing out o,
mere breath, mere words. AND you can
IN mind now, us | speak, how the
noe,. with stern fidelity to the history
of all humanity, delivers this beauti-
ful child Of bis heart and his brain over
to the trials and the sorrows that must come
10 all, sooner or later, that abide IN the
earth and how the pathetic story cul
inmates in that apostrophe-so wlid, so re-
pretful, so full of mournfui retrospectlon.
The lines run thus:
Alas alas .-a-alas.
-Ans!--alas!
and so on. [Laushter] / do not recollect
the rest; but, taken altogether, it seems tc
me that that poem is the noblest tribute tc
woman that human genius has ever brought
forth-Glaughter]- and ] feel that if were
TO talk hours could not do my great theme
competer or more graceful justice than
have now done in simply quoting that poets
matchless words. [Rcnewed laughter.] The
phases Of the womanly nature are infinite
in their variety. Take any type of woman
and YOU shall find in it something TO re-
spect, something to admire, something te
love, And YOU shall find the whole joining
YOU heart and hand. Who was more patri.
otto than Joan of Arc? Who was Drawer
Who has given us 4 grander instance Of self:
sacrificing devotion? All, you remember, you
remember well, what Il throb of pain, what
great tidal wave of grief swept over us n
when Joan of Arc fell ut Waterloo! Much
laughtcrl Who does not sorrow for the
loss of Sappho, the sweet singer of Israel
{Laughter.] Who among us does not miss
the gentle mnistrations, the soitening influ
ences, the humble piety Of Lucrctia Borgia
ILaughter.] Who can join in the heartless
. libel that says woman is extravaganza III
dress when he can look back and call to mind
our simple and lowly mother Eve arrayed
in her modification OF The Highland costume:
IRoars of Iaughter.l Sir, women have been
soldiers, women have been painters, women
have been poets. AS long as language lives
the name of Cleopatra will live. And, not
because she conquered George III-[laugh.
ter]-but because she wrote those divine
lines
LET dogs delight to bark and bite,
For God hath made them So"
More laughter.] The story of the world is
adorned with the names OF illuStrious ones
of our own seX-some Of them sons Of St.
Andrew, too-Scott, Bruce, Burns, the war
rior Wallace, Ben Nevis--[augh 1.-THE
gifted Ben Lomond, ard the great new
Scotchman Ben Disraeli. [Great laughtcr.]
Out Of the great plains Of history tower
whole mountain ranges of sublime women
the Queen OF Sheba, Josephine, Semiramis,
Sairey Camp; the list is endless laugh
teri but | Will not call the mighty roll
the names rise up in your own memories at
the mere suggestion, luminous with the
glory of deeds that cannot die, hallowed
10y the loving worship Of the good and
the true of all epochs and of all climes.
ICheerS.] Suffice it for our pride and our
honor that We in our day have added TO it
such names as those of Grace Darling and
Florence Nightingale. [ChecrS.] Woman is
all that she should be-gentle, patient, long
suffering, trustfuI, unsellisb, full of generous
impulses. 1t is her blessed mission to COM
fort the suffering, plead for the erring, en-
courage the faint of purpose, succor the dis
tressed, uplift the fallen, befriend the friend
leSs-in a word, afford the healing Of her
sympathies, and a home in her heart for all
the bruised and prosecuted children of mis-.
fortune that knock at its hospitable door.
ICheers] And when I say God bless her
there is more among us who has known the
enrolling affection Of O wife or the steadtast
devotion Of q mother but in his heart Will
say, Amen! Loud and prolonged cheer
ing