The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1877-12-21
did its work in few hours. My papa

did its work in few hours. Ny papa
cried out loud.
ran 90 my mamas room she was
in a chair all stiA like q picture. Her
eyes were big and her hair was all ov-
er her beautiful dress.
said mama and she threw up her
arms and said o so loud o my baby
my baby. Then some people sent me
a way but Robby was asleep on mamas
bed but they would not let me kiss
him or go near him. RObby was all
| white. 49,
Papas eyes were all red j showed
him the letter / wrote yesterday to
make him laugh, he dOesn't laugh. He
says write my little girl, write all you
/ can think OF then you shall kiss your
little brother.
Papa SAYS to the strange man are
there no mothers nowadays doctor and
papa cries more. Hush the doctor says
this blow has, almost killed her,
Papa says write my darling write
doctor this child shall write all this as
a lesson to some other gay mother. Z
Ny hair is all wet papa criessO. Ex-
cuse my bad writing 1 never wrote
such a long letter before. papa will
take me to Robby now He says for the
little boy o my little boy. feel
bad too but i dent see what gpa-
pa means because RObby is asleep oil
mamas bed. Good by Your affecshun-
ate friend Mable.
THE MORAL.
There is certainly great power in
this story. There is something abso-
lutely fearful in making q child of
t. 81 nf O
domestic tragedy so thrilling. The
childish phrases, the missspellings, the
innocent misunderstanding of what
goes on before her eyes-these give al
most too much psthOs 10 an old, old
story. The immaginary child seems
almost wronged in being made thus
uncOnsciously the TDerciless witness
against the sins of those around her.
This unconsciousness,-th innocent
hand Of little girl unwilling the agony
and despair of household-has flaw
or Of Greek tragedy about it, and
makes the tale so powerful that 1t
haunts you. 1t Is of course stretch
of probability to suppose q child of
nine writing thus; but there is no alb
solute impossibility about 1t, and The
events described are only too possible,
especially at q place like Long Branch.
At one point, and one only, wish to
interpose caution, and to remind the
reader that the narrative az it stands,
does not tell quite the whole of the
tale. N Es iitS tgtg
when the affitcted father comes up
on the scene and asks: care there no
mothers nowadays p" all hearts must
bleed for him. But is it so sure that
all the blame rests upon the mother
There Is a touching Orphanage implied
on the other side when the little girl
earlier says: "Papa loves the baby
too, and he loves me. He comes here
sometimes on Sunday" Elsewhere
we are told that he has gray NOUS
tache; but the little girl likes it better
than the black moustache of the strang-
er who takes the pretty woman out to
drive. This father is a man much old
er than the beautiful mother; he is
man wholly absorbed in his business
he only comes to Long Branch "some-
times" even on Sunday. That is, he
sends his lovely young wife alone to
one of the most fashionable watering
places in the country and leaves her
there practically alone. Is she to
blame for all that follows?
Nor can l forget the possibility of
still deeper shadows. If anything is
forced upon us by common justice it is
this, that, after all, the social offences
of women of the world END where the
sins of men of the same class begin
so different is the standard between
the two People read with a sense of
horror the description true or fictitious,
of ladies' gambling house in San
Francisco, yet any man of wealth may
habituaIiy gamble for, thousands at
cards as well as in stocks, and lose no
ar In n
could tolerate the thought that his
wife or sister should be seen visibly ex-
cited by champagne at an entertain
ment; yet the palate of the critic
might demand stimulants of more po-
tent quality, and excess might be to
him but = joke. The culnination of
all recognized crime in q woman Is q
breach of the marriage vow but there
are whole circles of Well-bred society
in which fidelity In this respect is
scarcely even expected of the husband.
In such circles, the man who would
be readiest to shoot the seducer of
his wife, will be heard of at his club
house proclaiming that "married wo-
men are fair game" and that it is every
husbands business to look out for him
self. Make the sins of the women OF
fashionable lie as great as you please,
they only copy in a timid and faltering
way the bolder vices of their husbands
and iblOthers.s AZ the worst, they end
where their husbands Begin In order
to throw blame exclusively on the
wives, it is necessary to assume for
them q standard which applies to no
Others. Men condemn women by a
code of morals which they set up for
women only. They ask, when the ruin
OF the household comes: Are there
no mothers nowf' But they do not
ask: "Whers are the husbands and the
fathers ?"