, 1880-08-16
The Political Mrs. Grundy.

IDere are Two FAMILIAR sayings Cuo
source of which is generally unknown.
One is. Appreciation from Sir Hubert
Stanley is praise indeed; and the other
is, What will Mrs. Grundy say ?"
They are from two plays of Thomas
Mortons, the first from IA Cure for
the Heart-Ache, and the other from
"Speed the Plough" The Mrs. Grundy
say ing is one that tersely expresses the
motive by which action is controlled.
There is social Mrs. Gruudy, and a
religious and political Mrs. Grundy,
and it is always the fear of what that
terrible lady may say which makes COW
ards of very estlmable men.
In tie beautiful and stately ESSAY of
Ella, " Biakesmoor in H-shire," Ella
speaks If that haunted room-in
which cid Mrs. Battle died-whereinto
l have crept, but always in the daytime,
with a passion of iear." But 1t is old
Mrs. Grundy living Of whom we are all
i'll such mortal terror, and it is from the
dire shought OF hearing her voice that
we creep about with passion of fear.
Men 90 the most unworthy and unex-
pected acrs, and their only excuses and
explanation is that they could not help
themselves. But if you press them
hone upon SO obscure an assertion 10
learn Why they were unable, they own
with q certain shame that it was fear of
this awful being. ''Who is the wom-
an :" said the Turkish cadl when "a
complaint was laid before him, assum
ing that at the bottom of all trouble
there was woman. His assumption
was justified by the Oldest tradition in
literature, the siege OF Troy, at the
bottom of which lay the beautiful Helen.
and by the last comprehensive po-
htleal or social, or sectarian cowardlce,
at the bottom Of which lies Mrs. Grundy.
The scholar in his study simply and
naturally reaches conclusions that are
not generally accepted. That Is to say,
the Inass Of those who have 10 time To
thlnE or study upon such subjects re-
celve Inc common tradluon about them,
which Is different fum the conclusions
of those who do think and study. The
scholar opinion is sincere, ana found
ed upon apparently incontrovertlble
reasons. Loyalty te truth demanus the
dispersion OF illusions that exhale tronl
ignorance. and he, Is morally bound to
speak. But his mouth is sealed. LII
VAIN he Is chided by his own conscience
aId by conscientious frle.ds. w hat
viii Mis-. Grundy Say ? is his terrified
answ Ell. In 4" "socistY " 1t is the same.
This tyrannIoal woman is omnipotent.
The bI&ve and generous vile proposes
TO Edward, whose salary Is small, to
take cheap and pleasant rooms III "a
pleasant street. Good heavens! what
will Mrs. Grundy say If We hive i'll \
slreel?" Men go down to early graves
or 10 the mad-house because OF the
struggle and despair to maintain a GER
tain style" 10 every remonstrance
Edward has b1t one reply, My dear,
We live IL Mrs. Grasdy's world, and ii
We break Eer laws, what Will Mrs.
Grumpy say?"
The attention OF the Easy Chair has
been attracted to this permanent and
peryaslve question by some recent
events IN the political world. Some
conspicuous persons naturally decided
to say what they thought, ana to do
what they felt that they ought t. do,
and when asked i'll blank dismay,
What viii Mrs. Grumpy say 2" they
replied, pleasantly, that they did not
care a-say, but.on-for what Mrs.
Grundy might say. 1t was a position
SO unprecedented that to take 1t seemed
to the church of Mrs. Grundy to be
equivalent to attempting to saDvert tie
moral laws of the universe. This is
not surprising when 1t Is considered
that the political Mrs. Grundy Is very
important parsonage. the social Mrs
Grundy's s sneer may ban Edward and
his wife as those queer people, which
is form Of the sentence Of exile to
the social Siberia. The religious Mrs.
Grnndy may brand the honest scholar
as an unbeIiever" He may stoutiy
deny Mrs. Grundy's SUPREMACY; Yet 1t
snfices to hurt his influence anu Ca
reer. The political Mrs. Grundy Is
very powerful. The nian who does not
mind her will or word is 9 r-creant,
dishonorable, - sore" SHY" or
"false." He merely follows his own
conscience instead OF her viii; that Is
to say, he dees merely what every non
orabie man ought to 90, and the only
comment is q scream 0t horror, :" W liaG
will MIS-. Grundy say
Many Of those VINO Join tno cry de-
splee II, and very proDaoiy they de-
spise themselves for awvihns Ii, But
it IL tie condltion-or the} tGtuk 1t to
be the c0nditon-of their PERSONA!
and political advantage. b sides, Mrs.
Grundy s Say" has Il tremen.ous
ECHO. Ii is constantly and infinitely
repeated, and it is that leverDefaslJn
which makes it terrible 4 mau nlght
be very willing that one copy Of one
newspaper SHOULD Gail hlm dirty dog,
q thief, and d liar. But when he Is
called by these names IN hunired
thousand copies of 1t very morning
in the week and hundreds of other