The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-04-16
THE 00NUHDRUM OF THE NINE.
TENTH CENTURY,

. cthiuIN- hes mt we III never, never
! give her upn Men laugh or philoso-
: Phlze over the immense surplus of wo-
D men that our civil war left minated
i aud impeeunious, and apparently not
/ needed, in New England and the Middle
States. but they do not seem to have
| done much to kel pus. To me- the ssSu-
pertluous Woman has been foryea,s q
| haunting horror, hideous reality. a
| hydra-headed, .Bf.iarean-handed. cent?.
pedian monster with million hearts.
ali aching, longing, stalving-yet hop
lag five hundred thousand of them
breaking in the struggle; for as Miss
Proctor tells us, Hearts oft die bitter
deaths before the breath has passed
away, supply. so far beyond all pos
sible demand. Let widows be ever so
active and stirring as torender priceless
Jewels so common and yalueleSS, that
the yeriest swine of humanity turn up
their SHOUTS and grunt at us in dcrfsion.
/ remember little cousin of mine.
| with hair SO bright it would ripen Gu
| cumbers,. who at II dinner table where
red hair was discussed, suddenly piped
up with. Il hate it,
And why, OEver?'' some one asked.
Goa I've got it," 49,
! | hate the bitter fact that women are
| drug in the market, because realize
the tragic sidesof what is generally con-
| sidered n roaring. farce
| Even the minstrel end man after
| exi1austinr his threadbare Jokes and
stale gags, says, Well Brudder Sam
| bo. dercs one more thing we might talk
about-we might inquire What shall
| we do with our ge-yurls?''
| Many of us have felt that It would
| have been seventy-five cents in our
| pockets if we bad never been born, and
| sympathize with the shrewd little fellow
| in Sunday school. who when asked if
| he did not want to be born again, re-
piled with decision and promptness,
mo anar31a. for | might be born girl
merit time - Or feel inclined to initiate
the Chinese women, who spend their
leisure moments PRAY ing that they may
be men ant blessed with souls in the
next existence Yes. there are a weary
host of us who have no special griey
ances or hobbies, who do not want to
vote, who have no property, no hus-
band. not even Il COW to fight about, but
who NonEd ike to know what to do that
We n1..y neither be burdens nor laugh
inc Ks. SAKE wrote SOME capital
yerses on the -SuPeriidous Man, but
that was years ago, and it was only the
twenty-first man in every score who
was considered the odd one, he being
really a conceited bachelor, fancying
that he had the pick of the lot.
/ recollect an article in an old -Atiata-
tic Monthly which excited great atten-
ton. Have VEGA Bourbon among us?'
In many a New England town to-day
the question might be raised, *HaVe we
q manageable man among us? and
shrill negative would go up to prove the
absolute dearth.
because ii every woman was happily
married. there would be no problem to
be solved
Only an S. w can accurately des-
cribe the dreary condition of things.
1t has seemed TO me that if tfiplets were
announced they were all girls; if heard
of twins. the boy soon demises possibly
a proof of the survival Of the 1ittest-
but lust now we want that female infants
be few. See the paterfamilias at Wash
ington or Newport with small army
under his wing. See the brilliant beau
ties that are forced to waste their sweet
ness in a waltz or tennis on a beardless
bov-or play and dance alone-see q
commonplace masculine changed to an
eligible hero, by the scarcity of the art
Gle, and rich nobodies looking around
critically To see who they IL ''take. II
heard one Young man say at an evening
party in the capital OF New Hampshire,
to a pllalanx of pretty maidens. Il Ii
take nine or ten of you home II you re
going my way
So we must find another way out Of
the difficulty. Many of the young wo-
men OF my generation We're LETT unGX-
pectedlv to go alone through life to per
haps destitute old age, landing at last
in an old ladies home. If lucky enough
to get into that haven. burden to
fathers with small salaries who, when
asked for a few dollars, stated plainly
that they had not expected to support
them forever; laughed at, pitied, or en-
dured in homes where they are not
really wanted, but opposed and blamed
if they are so unwomaniy as to leave
their s.sheItered homes to fight their
own battles Many were told that they
were q disgrace to their families, be-
cause it was not lady-like or conven-
tional to work for ones bread and
clothes if you happened TO be woman
1t has been tussle for some, as the
teacher who is literally expected to
teach all known branches for three hun
bred dollars year and board herseif;
the Juvenile Antique who does not know
enough to teach. or considers It beneath |
her dignity to earn money, ana VIII NOT |
understand Inab she - AassSa' t'p0tii "a, |
helpless in her fiutter of cheap finery-
the noble ..old girls, whose fathers or
brothers forbid their working for
living and so are kept at home to take
the place of a servant, with no variety, |
no hope. no outlook-the style who fall |
back on fancy work and pets, whose
conversation IS the most wearying, form
of minute detailing of petty nothlngs, /
or criticisms on the lack of style IN
others.
These usually belong to the visiting
variety. who are asked for fortnight |
and 1inger three months, presenting
nine wards of rick-rack, or badly
painted plush panel as they reluctantly |
depart.
The most piteous of all is the human
blane-mange type, the mature woman nan
who does nothing, says little, and Just
sits about wherever Providence happens
to dnmn her, i met one the other day