The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1885-11-15

mated by contact Win ner. Nothing, IN
truth, is more unlike the Magdalen of
the desert, the creation of poetic fancy
of to-day who attempts to atone for her
Offenses.
II.
What society has done in efforts to
suppress by force the existence of the
social cutcast has been told thousand
times, and always accompanied by the
assurance that force has been failure.
Little else has been essayed in the way
OF kindness or remedial measures.
When the strong man found that the
Iashlng Of the naked back of the Mag
dalen did not cure her of her wicked
ness; when he found her Obdurate after
he had exhausted the resources of brute
energies, he gave up the attempt. If
she cOuldROt be beaten into goodness;
II the lash, the branding-irOn, the rack,
could not reform her, she was incorri-
gible. How men regarded her, and how
they treated her even centuries ago. is
told N the history Of the Levite, who,
with his concubine, was travelling to
the house of the Lord, and who was
entertained at Gibeah by an old man
and his daughter.
Now as they were making their hearts
merry, behold the men of the city, Ger
tain sons of Belial, beset the house
round about, and beat at the doors, and
spake TO the master of the house, the
old man, saving: Bring forth the man
that came into thy house, that we may
know him"
And the man, the master Of the house,
went out unto them, and said unto
them: Nay, my, brethren, nay, pray
you do not so Wickedly seeing that
this man has come into my house, do
not this folly.
Behold, here is my daughter,
maiden, and his concubine; them I will
bring out now and, humble We them
and do with them what seemeth good to
you; but unto this man do not so vile
thing"
But the men would not harken to
him; so the stranger took his concubine
and brought her forth unto them; and
they knew her and abused her all the
night till morning; and when the day
began TO spring they let her go.
Then came the woman in the dawning
OF the day, and fell down at the door OF
the mans house where her lord was till
At was light
And her lord rose up in the morning.
and opened the doors of the house, and
went out to go his way and, behold, the
woman. his concubme, was fallen down
st the doors OF the house, and her hands
were upon the threshold.
And he said unto her: up and let
Us be going, but none answered.
Dead at the door. with her hands
upon the threshold of the man who
should have given her protet ton.
Thrust out TO plaeate bowling mob by
her protector and 30 save ais cOwardly
life, given her own life to save that of
her lord, and crawling back to die near
his feet-Such Is the history of one I'M
fortunate who suffered and died forty
centuries ago. The world has not much
changed in its treatment of the same
class since the cOncUbine Of the Levite
breathed her last sigh at the door Of the
house that should have sheltered her.
III.
ReIigion has been dominant factor
in the effort to mitigate this evil. Ithas
allied itself with force at some periods.
and operated independently st others.
In this direction, the Catholic
churches have taken the lead. As a
rule. its labors have been confined TO the
erection and support of penitentiarieS or
refugees for the reception Of those unfor-
tunates who may desire to change their
life Several of the popes licensed houses
ds deoQstehe. and taxed them TO support
penltentlaries. Little, however, has
ever been accomplished by these agen- T
c,es. For some reason there IS little :
sympathy between the pale, unpas- /
stoned rsilqeWse, who controls these pen +
ltenual retreats, and the creature JUS T
escaped from the license Of unlimit 81 :
SIN The one has eliminated from her 4
nature all that IS earthly; the other Is
human, still agitated by passion. full OF
bitterness, tainted, wretched. There :
gull between the two which cannot DE
crossed. Religion has its promises for
sile tntilre life. but none for the present
ne ne 81 The unrepentant cosIrtesan. none
iof the woman who longs 10 regain her