The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1878-03-01
One Woman's Reasons.

One Woman's Reasons.
Longer ago than 1 shall tell, my father
returned one night to the far-of Wis
consin home where ] was reared, and
sitting by my mothers chair, with a
ehildis attentive ear listened to their
woIds. He told US Of the news that
day had brought about Neal Dow, and
the great fight for Prohibition down in
Maine, and then he said: 81 wonder il
poor, rum-cursed Wisconsin will ever
get law like that ?'' And mother
rocked awhile in silence, in the dear
old chair L love, and then she gently
said: ayes, Josiah, there'll be such a
law all over the land some day, when
women vote"
My father had never heard her say as
much before He was a great conserva-
tive; so he looked tremendously aston
ished, and replied, in his keen, sarcastic
voice: "And pray, how will you ar
range il so that women shall vote ?"
Mothers chair went to and fro a little
faster for a minute, and then, looking
not into his face, but into the tiiekering
flames Of the CRATE, she slowly answered:
"Well, say TO you, as the Apostle Paul
said to his jailer: You have put US into
prison, we being Romans, and you must
come and take US OUT"
That was a seed thought in q girls
brain and heart. Years passed on, in
which nothing more was said upon this
dangerous theme. My brother grew to
manhood, and soon after he was twen-
ty-one years old, he went with father to
vote. Standing by the window, girl
of sixteen years, girl of simple, homely
fancies, not at all strong and
altogether ignorant of the world,
looked out as they drove away. my
father and brother, and as / looked
felt strange ache in my heart, and
tears sprang to my eyes. Turning to
my sister, Mary, who stood beside me,
l saw that the dear little innocent
seemed wonderfully sober, too. / said,
Don't you wish that we could go with
them when we are old enough? Don't
we love our country just as well as they
do ?n and her little frightened voice
piped out: "Yes, of course we ought.
Don't know that; but you mustn't tell
a soul-not mother, even; we should be
called strong-minded."
In all the years since then, / have
/ kept those things, and many others like
them, and pondered them in my heart;
but two years Of struggle in this tenn
perance reform have shown me, as they
have ten thousand other women, so
clearly and so impressively, my duty,
/ that l have passed the Rubicon of ST.
lence, and am ready for any battle that
shall be involved in this honest declara-
tion of the faith that is within me.
Eight behind masked batteries little
lOnger,n whisper good friends and true
] II 1.ar haara G~hffnrr hffharf,s htsF
is a style of warfare altogether foreign
TO my temperament and mode of life
Reared on the prairies, / seemed pre-de.
termined to join the cavalry force il
this great spiritual war, and / must till
a free lance henceforth on the splendiC
battlefield of this reform; where tn.
earth shall soon be shaken by the onse
Of contending hosts, where legiOns o
valiant soldiers are deploying; where L
the grand encounter marches to-day
great army, gentle of mien and mild o
utterance, but with hearts for any fate
where there are trumpets and bugle
calling strong souls onward to a victOrl
which heaven might envy, and
Where, behind the dim unknown,
Standeth God within the shadow,
Keeping watch above his own"
/ thought that woman ought to hav
the ballot as l paid the hard-earne'
taxes upon my mothers cottage home
but never said as much-somehow tn
motive did not command my heart
For my own sake, / had not courage
but l have for thy sake, dear nativ
land, for thy necessity is as much create
than mine as thy trauscendant hope
greater than the personal interest O
, thy humble child. For love of you
] l.. - -,
lips have blessed me; for love of you
sweet mothers, who in the cradle
shadow kueel this night, beside you
infant sons, and you, sorrowful littl
, children, who listen at this hour, wit
faces strangely old, for him whose foot
steps frighten you; for love Of you, hav
thus spoken.
: All, il is women who have given th
! cOstliest hostages to fortune. Out int
I the battle OF life they have sent thei
best beloved, with fearful odds agains
> them, with snares that men have lega
? lied and set for them on every hanC
Beyond the arms that held them Ions
q their boys have gone forever. Oh ! b
the danger they have dared: by th
hours OF patient watching over bee
5 where helpless children Law; by the IL
4 cense of ten thousand prayers waite
= from their gentle lips TO heaven, charg
you give them power to protect, alon
life's treacherous highway, those whoI
they have so loved. Let il no longer /
l that they must sit back among q
shadows, hopelessly mourning ovl
their strong staff broken, and the
! beautiful rod; but when the sons the
o love shall go forth to life's battle, sti
Y let their mothers walk beside then
!, sweet and serious, and clad in the ga
u ments of pOwer.-EFdRcis Z. Willard.