The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-02-16


teaching to tighten his load. But tell
you the history of the majority OF the fe-
male teachers in the public schools when
say: "Fathsr Is dead" After the estate
was settled the family, that were COM
Portable before, are thrown on their own
resources.
It is hard for men to earn living in this
day. but it is harder for women-their
nealth not so rugged, their arms not SO
strong, their opportunities fewer. These
persons, after tremblingly going
through the ordeal of an exami-
nation as to their qualifications
to teach, half bewildered step over the
sill of the public school to do two things
instruct the young and earn their own
bread. Her work is wearing to the last
degree. The management a forty or fifty
lgety and intractable children, the sup
preston of their vices, and the develon-
ment of their excellencies, the manage
ment of rewards and punishments, the
sending of so many bars of soap and fine
tooth combs on benignAnt ministry, the
breaking Of so many wild colts for the
harness Of life, sends her home at night
weary, neuralgia, unstrung; so that of all
the weary people in your cities for five
nights of the week there are none more
weary than the public school teachers.
Now, for Gods sake, give them a fair
chance. Throw no obstacles in the way.
If they come out ahead in the race, cheer
them. If you want to smite any, smite
the male teachers; they can take up the
cudqels for themselves. But keep your
hands Off of defenseless women. Father
may be dead, but there are enough brothers
left to demand and see that they get JUS
tice.
Within stones throw of this building
there died years ago one of the principals
o. our public schools. She had been
twenty-i five years at that post. She had
left the touch of refinement on a multitude
OF the young. She had, out of her slender
purse, given literally thousands of dollars
for the destitute who came under her
observation as o school teacher. A de-
ceased sisters children were thrown upon
r,,r hands and she took care of them. She
was kind mother to them, while she
bothered a whole school. Worn out with
nursing in the sick and dying room of one
of the household, she heisel. came to die,
She closed the school book ami at the same
time the volume of her Christian fidelity;
nd when she went through The gates they
cried: "These are they who came out of
great tribulation, and had their robes
washed and made white in the blood Of the
lamb."
Queens are all such, and whether the
world acknowledges them or not Heaven
acknowledges them. When Scarron, the
wit and ecclesiaslic, as poor as he was
brilliant. was about to marry Nine. de
Maintenon, ne was asked by the notary
what he proposed to settle upon made
moiselle. The reply was: Immortality!
The names of the wives of kings die with
them; the name of the wifs of Scarron will
live always" In higher and better sense,
upon all women who do their duty, God
will settle immortality. Not the immor-
tality of earthly fame, which is mortal, but
the immortalit celestial And they shall
reign forever and ever. Oh, the oppor-
unity which every woman has of being
queen! The longer live the moro 7 ad-
mre good womnnhood And l have come
to form my opinion of the character Of a
man By his a9preciafion or non -approoia-
ton of woman. Ii a man have depressed
idea of womauly character he is bad man,
and there is no exception to the rue. The
writings of Goethe can never have any such
attractions for me as Shakespeare, because
nearly all the womanly characters of the
great German have some kind of turpi-
tude. There is his Marianu, with her
clandestine scheming, and his Mignon,
of evil parentage, vet worse than her an
cestors, and his Theresa, the brazen, and
his Aurelia of many intrigues, and his
Philina, the termagant, and his Melina,
the tarnshed, and his Baroness. and his
'ountess, and there is seldom q womanly
character in all his volumiuous writings
that would be worthy of residence in a
respectable coal cellar, yet pictured and
dramatized and emblazoned till all the
literary world is compelled to see. No!
no, Give me William Shakespeare's idea
of woman and ! see it in Desdemona,
and Cordelia, and Rosalind, and Imogen,
and Helena, aul Hermione, and Viola,
and Isabella, and Sylvia, and Petdita, all
of them with enough faults to prove them
human, but enough kindly characteristics
to give us the authors idea OF womanhood,
his Lady Macbeth only dark background
to bring out the supreme loveliness of his
other female characters.
Oh, women of America! rise to your OPP
portunity. Be no slave to pride, or
worldliness, or sin. Why ever crawl in
the dust when you can mount throne?
BE queens Unto Col forever. Hail
Nashti
Again: Iwant you TO consider Vashti
the yelled. Had she appeared before
Ahasuerus and his court on that day, with
her face uncovered, she would have
shocked all the delicacies of Oriental So
ciety and the very men who in their intoX-
ication demanded mat she come, in their
sober moments would have despised her.
As some flowers seem to thrive best in the
dark lane and in the shadow, and where
the sun does not seem to reach them, so
God appoints TO most womanly natures
retiring and unobtiuSive spirit. God once
in while does call an Isabella to the
throne, or Miriam to strike the timbrel at
the front of host, or q Marie Antoinette
to quell French moo, or a Deborah to
stand at the front OF an armed battalion,
crying out "Up! up This is the day in
which the Lord will deliver Sisera into thy
hands" And when women are called to
such outdoor work and to such heroic
positions, God prepares them for it; and
they have iron in their SOUL and light
nings in their eye, and whirlwinds in
their breath, and the borrowed strength
of the Lord omnipotent in their right arm.
They walk through furnaces as though
they were hedges Of wild flowers, and
cross seas as though they were shimmering
sapphire, and all the harpies of hell sink
downto their dungeon at the stamp of
their womanly indignation. But these are
exceptions. Generally, Dorcas would
rather make garment for the poor boy;
Rebecca would rather fiji the trough for
the camels; Hannah would rather make a
coat for Samuel; the Hebrew maid would
rather give a prescription for Naaman's
leprosy; the woman of sarepta would
rather gather few sticks TO cook meal
for famished Elijah Phebe would rather
carry letter for the inspired apostle;
Mother Lois would rather educate Timothy
in the Scriptures. When | see woman
sain0 ahort her daily duty-with cheerful
dignity presiding at the raDIe; WIN KIND
and gentle, but firm, discipline presiding
in the nursery, going out into the world
without any blast of trumpets, follow
ing in the footsteps of Him who went
about doing good say; This is
when | see woman Of unblushing