The New York herald., 1874-08-06
his gas bills has been taken from the peoples
pockets. But the legal opinion is needed
any way. Where is the Corporation Bunsby2
The Loves OF tho Angels.

pockets. But the legal opinion is needed
any way. Where is the Corporation Bunsbya
The Loves OF tho Angels.
In the early halcyon days of 'reform,"
when the fancy Of emotional people painted o
rosy existence as the consummation and hope
of years Of agitation. we were told that the
future generations would live in harmony,
peace and love- The beauty of all the
movements" that at different times have
excited humanity was in contemplating the
bliss that was to rest upon society when the
movement was completed There was the
Fourier Phalanx at Brook Farm, which was
to be the germ of q new system Of association
and universal happiness. But as some of the
brethren felt that it was their mission to look
out Of the window while other brethren
worked in the fields embarrassments arose
and the dream vanished. We had an "elec-
tive affinity arrangement in New York under
the benignant influence of Stephen Pearl
Andrews; but the effort to attain perfect
love had the result Of spontaneous combus-
tion. Somehow the dreamers never passed
beyond the land of dreams. Ideal life on
paper, or in the journals, or under the roses,
is enchanting; but ideal life with work to do,
and bills to pay, and quarrels to compose, and
hundred unavoidable duties of society to
meet, is quite another affair.
Worldly, doubling people, who have stub
born faith in the Commandments and the
Scriptures, never looked upon this dream life
with enthusiasm Current events we regret
to say, only help to confirm the doubts. Ger
tainly if any movement was ever bathed, as
1t were, in love and harmonious concord of
soul, it was woman's suffrage. Those of us
who have been blessed with the sight of Eliza
beth Cady Stanton moving up the platform to
take the chair at a womans congress, her fine,
full, merry face frosted with feecy locks and
beaming with affection and courage, must
have rejoiced in her as an apparition of amia-
bility and charity. There were those public
and eloquent love taps between Elizabeth and
her Puritan Mrs. Harris, the stern-eyed Susan
B. Anthony. Down the list of earnest, strong
minded souls, the Woodruff, Mrs. Davis, Mrs.
Blake, Lucy Stone and the nebulous crowd
that made up the tail of Elizabeth's cometary
movement beautiful their public ap-
pearance, their angelic sweetness of temper,
cooling like the cooling dove Even the most
cynical of us said, ''What angels these women
are Did Damon ever love his Pythias, or
Mrs. Harris her own Camp, with the love
poured upon Elizabeth by Susan? What in
nocent winning ways! What sweetness, and
grace, and tact, and exquisite modulation Of
tone, and infinite soaring of soul ! What wives,
what mothers, what sisters-nay, more, what
mothers-in-law they would maker In time some
of us came to the reluctant conclusion that
woman was never seen to perfection in the full
blooming of her noblest qualities except in the
movement" And we said also-"Suppose
trouble came, sorrow, embarrassment mis-
representation suppose that black scandal
or foul faced reproach should creep into the
movement how these sisters would love
and cling to each other, how they would buoy
up the weary and help the heavy laden, and
bring rest and peacep'
Is there not fairy tale somewhere about q
cat who was transformed into O beautiful
princess, and who sat in majesty in the centre
u RIuClOub, SPloAOlO IuIOuS uutI u uOuS6
came from its hole and ran before her, and
how her royal hlghness could not resist the
innernost instinct, but must needs pursue the
mouse and kill it in full sight of the court,
while the adoring circle fed in astonishment
seeing that she was only cat after all, and
that some fairy had played prank upon
them? We have had similar transformation
in the angels of the movement" A sudden
grief came upon no less man than Henry
Ward Beecher, and it seemed as if he had
fallen by the way, covered with shame as Of
death. Well, we remembered that in his day Mr.
Beecher had been demigod among these
angels; that even Elizabeth Cady Stanton sat
at his feet, while Susan B. Anthony kissed the
hem of his garment, and We said, "What a
blessed sight we shall now see What love,
what patience, what sustaining sympathy will
be shown to this man in his sorrows by those
angels with whom he has labored for so many
years!" But the temptation was too great.
True enough, there was brother to be COM
forted in his sorrow; but there was also a
great human heart to be rent and torn; SLAM
der was to be rolled like sweet morsels under
the tongue; women were to be wounded in their
honor and their good name; al the sacred ira
ditions which bind society in holy relation
were to be criticised; marriage was to be
demonstrated lie, religion comedy, ma
ternity o burden and crime, and home only
the gilded den of slavery. In an instant the
angelic nature was gone, and, instead of the
angels in loving communion and sweet SYM
pathy we had flock Of screaming, croaking,
chattering, ravenous carrion birds, tearing to
pieces the body of Henry Ward Beecher.
Nor should the transformation surprise us,
for among the compensations arising out OF
this loathsome and atrocious affair is the reve-
lation of the true character of the woman 8
r,aouaraant Wa ,arx COO orraaci Ill "