Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1873-06-05
Written for the Advertiser.
AN ESSAY ON WOMAN.
By EVIL SPIRIT.

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"ROse of the Desert! thou, whose blush
Lonely q and lovely, fleets unseen away ;
No hand to Gull thee, none t. woo.thy
In vestaI Silence left to hive and die,-
Rose of the Desert! thus should woman
Shining uneonrted, lone and safe, like
thee"
Many have been the efforts Of man
to describe and explain the real, true
nature of Woman; but, as yet, no
one has been found equal to the al
most superhumaa task, nor is it by
any means supposed that thisrfeeble
effort will prove adequate thereto.
/ In the first place, it might be said
that woman's snFaence or poa0er Is
tsuo.to1d. She can, and does do an
immense deal of good; but, at the
same time,- has it in her power to &C
complish much harm-and, unfortun-
ately, this potent power is frequently
exercised.
Bat, before pushing the subject
any further in this point of view, a
brief reference should be made to the
condition of our common Mother,
when she was the ruling mistress of
Eden. He, whose soul is animated
by one solitary spark of imaginative
ness, can well fancy how beautiful
the fair Eve must have appeared
when first made Queen of that most
celestial abode filled with all the
beauties of nature.
1t is said by the sublimest of all
writer's, that when Eve first found
herself a living, moving being in the
Garden of Paradise was alone; and
feeling, or realizing as it We're, that
she was the frail, dependent creature
that God had made her, she became
wearied of the loneliness or solitude
by which she was surrounded; and,
asif prompted by her very nature,
estarted off, for sOAat she'knew not;
but it really was to search for some
thing that she lacked. Perhaps it
was for defender or companion.
Yes, there seemed a vacancy a some-
thing wanting, something to depend,
to lean, to rely upon anti it was with
these promptings of her female ma
.ture that she roamed to and fro in
the beautiful Paradise.
How graphically the great poet has
described her actions and reflections
when she came to the margin Of the
lake. and first discovered her own
ravlshlng beauties There size stoQu,
gazing, perhaps with more wonder
than pride, at the perfect model or
work of nature that her sparkling
eyes discovered in the smooth, watery
mirror; and
"Thus the majestic mother of mankind,
To her own charms most amiably blind,
On the green margin innocently stood,
And gaxed indulgentOn the crystal Hood;
Survey Il dthestranger in the painted wave,
And, smiling, praised the beauties which
she gave"
In the first instance, Woman was
instrumental in bringing the original
sin into the world, for the Bible in
forms as that the arch-fepd Lucifer
appeared unto Eve in the the form Of
a serpent, and induced her to eat Of
the forbidden fruit. Having yielded
to this temptation, she persuaded her
consort to do likewise and as Adam
found it impossible to resist the plain
tive appeals and entreaties Of his fair
and lovely tempter, he also trans.
gressed the Jaw of God. For this sin
were the two hitherto happy ones
driven from Paradise, and thrown
upon the cold mercy of the cherries
world. Hence, if Biblical view of
this sort is taken Of. the matter, Wo-
man really deserves some of the
credit for the miseries with which the
universe is at present cursed. But 1t
must be confessed that Adam himself
should not be exculpated from blame;
for he, being the stronger of the two,
in more than one respect, should have
chided his fair sorceress gently, and
set her g. lasting example Of obedi-
ence to the supreme will of the great
l Am.
However, whilst it may, witlfsome
reason, be argued, that Adam should
bear the chief responsibility, it must
be acknowledged that it must have
been extremely difficult for the gal
liant lover to have resisted the persua-
sive pleadings, the coaxing smiles, the
penetrating glances' from those " lus.
eious eyes, and thefond, agectionate
enbraces,-to all of which powe,Jul
erpcaie,ats lady Eve no doubt resorted,
in her ungodly efforts to induce her
enchanted admirer to pander to her
wishes ST..
After leaving Paradise, the two be-;
came what all mortals now are-frail
creatures. Of but limited existence.
They could no longer rest with per
feet ease and quietness, free from "ll
care. Nor did they now feel that
they were sufficiently clothed and
Eve, as if ashamed of that most beau
tiful paraphernalia, with which she