Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1874-01-08
A WITTY WOMAN'S LETTER
What Kate Field Says of Her Sex

What Kate Field Says of Her Sex.
Miss Kate Field, who writes as
well as she lectures, says in letter
to the American Register of Paris:
There were friends who told me
that they had rather see me dead
than lecture l could not but smile
at this, for it is singular how even
the best OF US had rather see our
friends dead than have them do some
particular things that we particular
ly dislike, while there is not one OF
US but would clutch at the fimsiest
straw rather than pay his enevitable
debt moment sooner than nature
claims it as her due.
But the American woman of to-
day is not without reasoning facil-
ties. / knew that the prejudices
against women lectures were tempo.
rary, and would disappear as soon
as women upon the platform ceased
to be novelty. Every step for
ward taken by women has been
over burning ploughshares, and we
can always look back to time when
the occupation most advocated by
our fastidious friends was, of all 9TH
ers, the most compromising to wo-
manhood. Old, though the drama
be, it is within couple of centuries
that women have stood behind the
footlights. Boys in fardingales were
Shakespeare's heroines. Handsome
as Edward Kynaston may have been
"a mans man, for a that"
and to have performance delayed,
as happened III Charles the Seconds
time, because the Queen was not sha-
ven strikes us as absurdly incongu
Gus.
All this has been, and 50 have
male sopranos. The singing voice of
woman is modern invention.
When Harriet Hosmer first went
to Rome she was regarded as lnSus
naturae. Now, sculpture is so FASH
ionabe for women that every silly
girl who pinches clay and makes
tolerable baS-reIief is called genius,
and straig htway begins where Mich
ael Angelo left off.
Ten years ago every female hu-
man being taller than an infant, that
wore a round hat, was considered
unfemeuine. Now, round hats are
poised on the backs of the most un-
fashionable women's heads, at an an
gle that would drive Euclid wild.
Women doctors to-day occupy the
fn~rOaplxy an0nrdnd RI fhn
wearers of round hats. Ten years
hence society will draw the line ''un,
femenine,' say, at women who, have
ing to much honest pride to hang
about the necks of friends and rea>
tives as burdens, take up active bus
mess and dare TO make as much
money as their brothers. Evidently
society would go to pieces did it not
insist upon drawing the line some
where.
Whenever water boils we are posi-
tive of the present fire, whether WIS.,
ible or not. Wherever there is agi-
tation on any gwen subject we are
no less sure of something wrong in
the treatment of that subject. Con-
tentment is the most unObstructiVe
Of guests. SO she goes about the
house as benignantly as sunshine,
warming all hearts by her silent, yet
glorious presence. Discomfort is the
production of injustice, bringing IN
its train avenging angels, who are
sometimes Joans of Arc. sometimes
Charlotte Cordays, sometimes Mar
garet Fullers, and sometimes very
unlovely viragoes
If woman occupied all the space in
the world belonging to her divine
right, there could be no such thing
as a woman question. 1t would be
as absurd as the institution Of man
question. The agitation in England,
as far east as Russia-to say moth
ing Of America-proves that we
stand npon very uncertain ground.
1t has been asserted in California
that women are at the bottom of
those very unpleasant visitations of
disconnected Dature-earthquakes
and the reasoning is as sound as
most reasoning on thissubject' eve
had no earthquakes" say the miners,
"until 1850. In 1850 the first Wo-
mans Rights Convention took place,
ergo, women are the cause of earth
quakes" This may be called the
logic of events. And, | dare say, it
is true. Mother Of earth must be a
woman.
These good miners probably agree
with the censor Metulus Numedius,
who, is one of his orations, declared |
that had king nature allowed man to
exist without the help of woman, he
would have been delivered from a
very troublesome companion. Very
toothsome, to them, also, would be
book written years ago by Gregaire,
Bishop of BIois, of the "Embarrass.
ment of the Deity as to the Necessi- |
ty of Creating Femalel'
But the Deity has created ga fe
male" and men cannot get rid Of her. |
| do not believe they would if they |
could. The world is wide enough |
for both sexes.-PLdce dur DANES.
The proposed appointment of
the Hon Caleb CushinC "a Miniater |