The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1877-08-22
rne reu.ouIe woman Of Old.

snip Ills was stmpie moue VI Nv
ing. He knes few of the Iuxuries oi
an Oriental or Roman civiliz ition.
His sluggish nature retaiuei ail its
innate vigor There wssiu bis daily
life nothing TO enervate IL aud reuder
hlm elfeminatc But be entertained
for woman 40 chivalric sense VI del
icscy A creature of Impulses, tie
Was incapable of restraint lie guIr-
ded her virtue simply thr'ush the
motive Vi risnL aud pr1psrty wnicn
Was vested in her Ills sense vi Iu-
dependence could not bro1k eucfoacn-
nents upon mis- p jssessions, whether
OF person or property. Hence he
hedged woman ia with laws that
were as wounding 70 her modesty as
they were derogatory TO her honor.
They iguored her personality. They
guarded her as they would have
guarded pet animal or fruit-b
ing tree. Thus was it enacted that
the freeman who presses the inger
Of u freewoman is liable to a hae Ut
600 pence; of 200 if be touches he
arm; of l 400 if he PLACES his hand
above the elbow, aud 81 Un through
u grade of fines, entering intu details
as disgusting as they must have been
futile. Nor were tae e laws cunfiued
to the old English and their neigh
bors. They were generally used
throughout the TeuIonIc Faces. la
the BaVarlan laws be who disarl l.
ges a womaH's hair or detichvs her
comb is tiaed d eert1in amoun,. Leg
lslatiol on such subject, entering
into such miaute details, taking such
stringent measures, i'm plies great
abuse, and proves cunclasiyrly that
woman was not the object of Respects
TO the ancient Teuton whirh some
would make her, and that she was
simply cared for beeaure she was To
be the mother of the young heroes
and kings who were TO perpetuate
the name and the prowess OF their
fathers. Commenting on the punish
ment inflicted on the woman unfaith.
fal to her husband, as related by
Tacitus, namely, that her hair was
cut, ana she was whipped, igDomini-
ousiy through the village, Balmes re-
marks: Certainly, this punishment
gives Us an idea of the infamy which
was attached to adultery among the
Germans, but it was little calculated
TO Increase the respect entertained
for women publicly. This would
have been greater had they been sto-
ned to death" Be this as il may,
the more We study the condition of
women in those early days, the less
pleasing picture does it represent.
She was the companion OF man in
peace and war; she attended TO all
the indoor and outdoor work; while
he sat DOING in half stupor by the
fire she was up and doing; she accom-
panied him to the battlefield; she
stood by his side and encouraged him
in momeLts of greatest danger. Wo-
men were known to fight after their
husbands and sons had been defeated.
Thus Flavius tells us that, in a bat
tie between Marius and the Cimbri.
the struggle with the enemy's wives
was not less severe than with the en-
emy himself, "for the women being
mounted on the wagons and other
carriages which had been ranged
around as defense, fought from
them as from towers, with spears and
pixies" aud he adds that, when they
were refused the privilege of being
committed to the custody Of the yes
tai virgins, they either fell, after
strangling or braining the whole Of
their children by mutual wounds, or
hanged themselves with ropes made
of their own hair, upon the trees and
the yokes of their wagons" The
reading of such page freezes the
blood 10 ones veins, aid be asks
Could this be told of mothers? The
history and literature OF all the leu
tonic races answer in the affirmative.
So do the Sagas of the North. Their
ideal wcman is one blooathirsty, cru
ell, cold, heariless, and fatally beauti-
full. In the Volsung Saga, Sisni
counsels Sigmund to destroy her
own children because be does not
consider them valiant enough. "The
daughter of the Danish jarl, seeing
Esii taking his seat near her, repels
him with scorn, Representing him with
seldom having provided the wolves
with hot meat, with never having
seen for whole Autumn raven
croaking over the carnage. But Egil
seized her and pacifed her by sing
ing: 81 have marched with nv bloody
sword, and the ravens have followed
me. Furicusly We fought; the fire
passed over :he dwellings Of men; we
slept in the blood of those who kept
the gates" Such is this maiden's
ideal of a hero and Of life. A fancy
so stepped 10 carnage and crime
could be possessed of email share
of tenderness and humanity. Nor
is the ideal of woman of the Nibelun-
gen Lied less fierce. Brunhild forces
hef sultors to contend with be- 10 the
games Of throwing The spear, leaping,
hurting the stone, under the barbar-
Gus penalty If losing their heads 10
case of defeat. She after ward has
slain; in return, bis wife.
Crimhild, after broodiug over her
wrongs tor years, revenges herself by |
staying his murderer. She is DOS
sessed Of as little humanity as her RI |
val She asks Hagen where the ia
.al Hoard is; Hagen replies that be
will never disclose it while any of
her brothers lives. whereupon she or
ters her brothers hes d to be cut OF,
and, holding it up, exclaim 8: IL bring
Z 10 an end.' Thou has; il now ac-
;ording to thy will" said Hagen: "oi
he board knowe,h none bat God aad
|; from thee, she devil-FaLeadinne
shall it forever be bid" Ia her
'sge she kills him with her own
hand. Not in representations like
hese are We to lind the ideal of true
gomsnhood. Such characters bear
10 oth,r traces Of their sex than the
lame, and woman unsexed is a mon
tier No surprise is it, then, to read
'f the English lady ofprimi,ive times