Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1882-08-10

To mediate on the present social
condition Of woman is one of the great
est pleasures Of nay life. The mind is
lost in amazement when we compare
the cultivated, refined lady Of the
nineteenth century with the serf-
the sLaUe-as she was denominated not
many centuries back, when the sword
seemed to defy Almighty power and
claimeditsjurisdiction over heaven and
earth, denying allegiance tOGod and ex-
ercising its might by floating the plains
Of Africa, Asia and Europe in rivers
Of blood-blood split, not in the cause
of liberty or God, but to satisfy that
Unsuitable thirst that burned the
breast of ambitious warriors and kings,
to conquer, to slay, to plunder. Man
then believed his vocation was war;
ambition was his spur and the sword
his king. But as civilization advan-
ced and the mind Of man became en-
larged and capable of judging for its
welfare, men resorted to calmer, bet
ter and more reasonable means ofset-
tling their difficulties. The mighty hing
the sword-who had maintained his
dignity so long was depOssd;; then la
ter, the cannon that had kept ell Eu-
rope in one continuous uproar Of
thunder and lightning, was siIenced
only to be heard to give token Of its
dying glory. The world began to
settle down in quietness and peace
and the storms of the universe seemed
subduea into calmness for the gener-
al veal of mankind. The sun, moon
and stars, which had been hid almost
from view by the continued cloud Of
smoke that lowered over the habited
parts Of the Eastern world, became
clearer and clearer, until at last they
shone with all the brilliancy designed
by an All-Wise Creator. And as the
clouds were being dissipated and the
heavenly orbs began to reveal their
true beauty and comforts, so the fet-
ters which had bound woman into
servitude and slavery began to be
broken, and we see her as each gener-
%tion passes away gradually with
draw herself from her barbarous and
uncultivated state until at last we
behold her, like the sun after the ex-
pulsion Of the clouds, radiating the
true glory and graatness of her race,
as seen now in the American woman.
| will not attempt to eulogize her, for
she has only inherited the birthright
of her sex as ordained by God. She
evoked not sympathy, for she was un-
conscious Of her real destination. But
the heart of true, gallant gentleman
should be filed with Joy when he can
now look upon her with pleasure full
filling the functions Of her creation,
stimulating every enlightened nation,
adding grace and refinement and vir-
tue to mankind, elevating the thought
and purifying the soul. We do not
look upon her now as the barbaric
slaye-something brighter, something
nobler. Her benign influence is self
evident, self-shS wing, self-snstaining.
1t invites inspection. 1t is no longer
ghostly shadow, but living pow
er, repudiating the unworthy, but
gathering to its 4old and fostering un-
der its protection the good, the noble,
the sublime. Rejecting the sisterhood
of the past, it acknowledges no crite-
rion save that which puriRes and ele-
Yates and ennebles. As nations have
progressed, custom-mere chance as
1t were-seems to have assigned wo-
man to her proper place, for she would
surely lose some Of that mOdesty, that
virtue, that grace which now charac-
terize her Il she were 10 reyel with
the outside world amid the rising top
ics of the day. Her life is spent In
retirement and not in the race for dis
tinct:on or power, though the beauti-
ful lessons which she teaches are as
boundless In effect as the atmosphere
IN extent and are flying to the further
est ends Of the dominion Of man, find
ing joyful repose in the growing in
telligence Of the age. Her very life
is q model for the rising generations.
Fancy her calling the little ones of
the household about her, teaching
them the Lords Prayer and telling
them there is an All-wise Creator
who made them, who made the uni
verse and all things, and that he has
prepared for all good little children
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