Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-06-30
AMI MY SISTERS KEEPER.
Texas Christian Advocate.


Texas is justly outraged by the
tragedy recently enacted at Deni-
son. A young girl has been basely
betrayed by the man in whom she
trusted. She was lured to an adj
joining city and piled with beer I'M
til stuperfied. The next morning,
realizing her shame, in an agony of
renlorse she wrote Il brief note TO
her mother giving the name of her
destroyer, and then with her own
hand she ended her unhappy life.
There is but one sentiment res
speeding the man who betrayed TO
ruin and suicide the woman whose
confidence he had won. Every ia
ther, husband and brother is out
ragged by this wrong against theSanc-
tity and safety of the family cir
Gle. The demand that stern retri-
button shall be visited by the au-
thOrity of law on the treacherOuS
despoiler of female innocence finds
voice'in every paper in the State.
When the guilty wretch was ar
ranged for his crime, Il crowd of
men, led on by the wrOnged and
Infatuated father, were restrained
from inilicting swift vengeance
upon HIM only by the tirmness of
the officers of the law. While all
good men must deprecate lawless
violence, yet they demand that
some punishment shall be meted
out to these foes of domestic peace,
which will shield other firesides
against their insidiOus assaults.
With our Indignation warm
against the villainy that can revel
in the ruin of Il trusting and mex
pcrienced girl, we may pause and
question how far society is reSpOn-
siDle for the enactment of such a
tragedy as that which ended in the
suicide of this unhappy child? So
long us it cOG..,enanceS debauches
and parents admit them to their par
,urs, we may expect that victims
will be found by these ill-omened
birds Of prey. Female virtue is held
by society, as it should he, at a high
premium; but masculine virtue
rates at a fearful discount. The
woman who diVests herself of the
highest crown of womanhOOd is Os-
tracised by society, while men
whose lives are saturated in licen-
tiousness, if possessed of wealth and
cOurtly manners, are often admitted
into good society, and often win the
hands of women whose names are as
spOtless as the "beautiful snow"
No woman of unsullied character is
allowed 10 associate with another
who bears tarnIShed name but
men who have been the companions
of cOurteZanS not only move in
"lirSt circles" but are elevated to
positions of trust, and rank rs peers
among the lawmakers OF the ma
ton. We dare not lower the stand
ard of virtue which declares WON.
an OutcaSt whose life is unclean
yet so long as this stern rule is not
applied to the opposite sex society
will be at the mercy of men who
will not hesitate to crafty their I'M
hallOwed lusts at the expense of
honor and the ruin of hap
Ply homes. Until theacknOwledged
debauchCe is socially Ostracised, and
a disSOlute life is a barrier to politi- |
cal advancement, society may hold |
itself in readiness to be shocked by |
such tragic scenes us have SO recent |
ly cOnvulSed the society of one of |
our leading inland towns.
1t is also question whether par !
antS are not often culpable in the |
freedom with which they allow
their inexperienced daughters 10 as
SOciate with men of questionable |
character. They are often permitted |
10 wander for hours, and may be for |
lays and and nights, away from the /
of home, under the |
'harge of comparative strangers,
while the parents are ignorant of
he society In which they mingle,
Dr the amusements or follies in
which they share. In the ballroom
md masquerade, girls with no
knowledge of the wileS of evil men
ire allowed the most questionable
contact with men whose every
ouch is instinct with base and I'M
holy passions. Under the charge of
men whose lives are sOiled with
in, they are permitted to sit for
hours in the play house, looking on
in which there are
of the partially yelled
human form, assuming attitudes we
lare not describe, and often throw
ng out suggestions which should
Iring the blush of shame to every
modest cheek. From the ball and
he playhouse, with thoughts and
PASSIONS in bewildering whirl,
hey are permitted to visit, i'm the
company of men fresh from the
launts of sin, the beer-garden,
where not only ices and lemonade,
'ut fOaming beer and sparkling Ii
vine, are the efficient auxiliaries
f that hellish design which the
nan to whom that uRsophisticateti-
laughter has been entrusted is de-
iberately planning to accomplish.
Fathers and mothers and brothers,
Who know that men, ready for the ,
uin of every unhappy girl they r,
nav encounter, are proWIino