National Republican., 1880-03-20
MISCELLANEOUS.
A Field view and Retrospect from 1885
BYnL. MAsoN.

Among the many beauties Of the city Of
Washington stand pre-emiucnt the delight
some and numerous parks, aud not least among
these for wildwood lovcliuess aud "basky
shades arc the grounds of the Smithsonian.
Here groups Of little children with their
toys and tidy little lunch baskets, with or
without nurses or older companions, pass the
summer mornings in the presence of beauty,
lessons taught them by the warm-ii iiutcd SMITH
sonian building. or the Byzantine Museum.
Here are groups of ladies convcrsng in the
roposo Of the place thankful for the happy
reign of that family government whose right
e0us laws have rendered these things Of beauty
joys forever and for all.
Here fair students returning from library
and schools, sit in tranquil study, as amid
academic groves, with the chirpiug of the
birds aud tho hum Of insects ochoiug back the
peace, purity and harmony Of these environ
ments.
Here the sweet laugh of protected, blessed
childhood--then now happy laugh of the child.
rcn of the poor-rings up to high Heaven,
pHan of praise calling down responsive music
from their angels who do always behold the
face Of the Father"
Little human iOy.buds arc these, fresh
growths from the new public Kindergartens.
As the long summer day draws to close,
men and women, whose hearts and lives are as
spotless as their brains are free from the
fumes and fogs of liquors aud passion heats,
pass through these grounds with countenanccs
illumined, as they hear about them the glad
tones of healthy children, and within them
the whisper of the still, small voice, well
done, good and faithful servant" These are
hard'working men and women-Our now re-
forming Governments creditable representa-
tives Like the Eternal Creator, who is
cternally evolving newer and better forms Of
life, they have labored to secure that admins
tratiun Of justice, truth and purity which gives
them just cause to rejoice in the work of their
hands as they look on the bliss of these
purified spots.
Aud behold these lawmakers Not red
face nor bloated figure among them. The
eyes of these men, and surely of these women,
are eyes into which one loves to look as into
tho eyes of the tender Redeemer.
Whisper low. Don't let the little children
hear, for these littlo ones have never known
the tales of horror which curdled baby blood
in little viens during the winter of 1850, and
their elders have now signed truce to forgive
las they hope TO be forgivcn) the negligent,
villainous or impotent, who neither themselves
administered judgment and justice, nor gave
place to the longing mother-love and mother
wit which yearned to come to the rescue to
save the children of the Republic! But those
days of the Republics semi-orphanage arc
passed, and already woman.love and woman-
intelligence is doing for the State what il has
done for the family. Our cities, through and
through, are becoming homes now, not hells,
aud our public parks and suburban wilds are
gardens where children blossom aud angels
are the wardens-not the lurking places of that
many-headed hydra which in 1850 neither
mob nor jury were found TO humanze.
And it has como about in this way For
one thing we have women on the pelce
force-who can guess where we found them p
women neither tlmid nor weak, nor Ignorant
of the wiles of the adversary; women every
way capable and fitted for the work of saving
the young from the snares with which WASH
ington society in lSS0 was bespread us with
fowlers' nets Aud we have women ostab-
lished at the police statioHs--Oh, such women
like those found first at the Cross and last at
the grave. The good God above only knows
how full Of divine love their hearts arc; how
they watch and wait-thcir locks dripping
with tho dews of the night-fOr the coming of
the prodgal sons aud daughters Of tho State
family, that they may pluck them like brands
from the passion fires of ignorant, neglected
youth.
Justice and Judgment are beginning to be
done in these days--that justice which saves
children from the old, enforced course of crime
and paupcrsm, and that Judgment which
humbly and in decent honor seeks to rescue
the erring from the paths into which the old
| disorder Of neglect had forced them.
Love Is great interpreter of facts, and
womanly intuition perceives the difference
| between misfortune aud hardened guilt; and
| even hardened guilt is not found proof against
the alkahest love for sinners.
In these days no jury Of men, in the face of
facts to the contrary, pronounce the verdict
mot guilty" because made lenieut bya fellow.
feeling for tho sin Sinners arc tcnderiy helped
but no mercy is shown to tho sin; that is
purged out in unreleutiDg severity, for
women, too, are Jurors now. When this
change was brought in, base men howlCd over
81 iii
| Christ. Then came about naturally, change
| in the manner Of choosing jurors. 1t is said
| that even in 1850 jurymen were gotten to-
| gether, hap.hazzard, by drawing lots lOr them.
| According to certain graphic pictures OF the
brutal ignorant faces of some permitted to
perform this almost divine duty, it would
seem that incOmpetoncy was considered the
creme dc Ia creme of q joke.
! Now, to know that person Is a Juror is TO
| know that that person is of proven integrity,
| Justice aud judgmemt--one who will by no
means clear the guilty nor condemn the inno-
cent. uriudges are enabled to Judge rig ghteOus
Judgments" aud. Oh land OF joy and beauty
wOmen-thinkng wQmcn-whose clear sight
Of the city's sins aud sorrows was but added
torment IN the old distrauehised cOnditio
now rejoice that they have come to the King
dom for such time as this
Thinking mothers cease shedding prescont
tears at the birth of girl.babies. Pure, intel
ligent women no longer bow their heads as
ranked with felons aud idiots; they stand
silent before voters and awmskers, ''the shew
of whose countenauces do witness against
| them, who declare their sin as Sodom, hiding
it not"
In these days women full Of the Inspiration
| of their new, high purpose for humanity,
| looking on each other, question whether it rs
| possible that in 1850 their liberty was ro.
stricted, aud they virtually shut out from tlIe
enjoyment of the parks and suburbs of the
| city, while public grounds were beautiiled and
| those sacred poems, hGayenward springing
| trees, were cherished aud nature aud art in.
| vted to do their best; that the Smithsonian
| and other parks by tho palsied arm Of law
should be deserted to the purposes of human
brutes who turned them into worse than
augean stables. All but those were dark
times in 1850!