Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1888-02-11

titles of talk, but only homeopathic infinitcsi-
mails Of scnsc tho terror of dry goods clerks
and railroad conductors, discovcrerS Of sig
nificant meanings il plain conversation,
prodigics of badness and innucndo-l say:
''VasEti has lost her veil"
But do not nisintcrprct what say into
depreciation Of tic work Of those glorious
and divincy called women who will not be
understood till after they arc dead women
like Susan T. Anthony, who arc giving their
lifo for the bctterment Of the condition OF
their sex. Those OF you who think that
women have under tho laws Of this country
all equal chancc With mcn arc Ignorant Of
the laws. "A gentleman writes mo from
Maryland, saying: Take the laws OF this
State. a mnm AID WHO start out in lilo full
ofhopcin every respect; by their joint efforts,
and, rs is frequently tho case, through the
economic ideas of tie wife, succeed III nc
cumulatinS fortune, but they have no
children; they reach old ago together, and
then tho Husband lies What docs the law
of this s.ato do t.:cn9 1t says to the widow:
..IIantls CT yoar late husbands property; do
not to4ch Il, tho statc will find others to
,whcrl It will give that; bus you, the widow,
must not fetch it, oiil much -as viii slteep
life wiullin your aged body, that you may
live to SEQ those others enjoy what riChtfully
should be Your OWL" And Tho state seeks
the relatives of tho deceased husband, whether
they he hear OR fir, whether they wcrc crcr
heard Of before or rot, and transfers to them,
singly or collectively, tic estate Of tho do
ceased husband ulnl living widow
Now, that is specimen OF unjust laws in
Ill 81, n
Stead of dying OF to the discussion as to
whether Or not the giving Of tie right OF
voting to WOMAN Will correct these laws, let
Mo say to men, he gallant enough, aid fair
enough, md honest enough, anu righteous
enough, and God lovin. enough to correct
these wrongs against women by your o%l
masculine vote Do not wait for woman
suffrage to como, il it ever does come, but so
far as you can touch ballot boxes, and lcGis-
latures, and congresses begin tho rcforna-
ton. But until Justice is done to your sex
by tic laws OF all tho states, alll women OF
America take tic platforms and The pul2les,
md 10 honorable man will charge Vashti
with having lost her veil.
Again: I want yol this morning to con-
slider Vashti the sacraiicc. Who is this that
sec coming Cit oil that palace cato of Sau-
stanl 1t scc;ns to mo that have seen her
before She comes homeless, houseleSs,
friendleSs, trudSing along with broken
heart. Who is she! 1t is Vashti the sacln-
fee Oh, what q change it was from regal
position TO n wayfurer's crust. y little while
nGo approved and sought for; nownono so
poor os 10 acknowlcdsc Ecr cquaintanccship.
Vash.i the sacrifice. All, you and l have
seen it many IL time Ilcrc is u home cmpal-
accd with beauty All that refinement
and books, aud wealth can do for
that home has been done; but Aha
suerls, tho husband and tho iathcr, is tax
ing hold Oil paths OF sin. IIc is gradually
going down. After whilc he will founder
and struggle lil:o wild least in the hunters
nct-furthcr away from God, further away
from tho right. Soon tho bright apparel Of
the Children will tur,l To rags: soon the house
hold song will l,ccono tho sobbing of broken
heart. The old story over again. Brutal
Ccntaurs breaking up tie marriage feast Of
Lap:shn. Tho house full of outrage. aid
cruelty, anu G5oin;Dation, while tridging
forth from tho r0.aco quito arc Nashri. 'Gild
her children. There are ZONES represented
in this house this morning TINT arc in danger
Of such breaking up Oh Ahcsucrus,
that YOU SHOULD stand in homo, by
O. dissipatcd lifo destroying tho peace
and c.mrort Of that home. God
forbid that ycur children should
ever havo to ring their Laili5, and have poo
pie point their finger ut them as they pass
down the street, and say, "Therc goes
drunkord's child" God forbid that the lit
tic feet should ever Lave 10 trrdgo the path
of poverty ana wrc.cheGncs'. God forbid
that any evil spirit, born of the vino cup or
the brandy flask, should como forth and up
root that garden, md, with Il blasting, Ills
tering, all consuming curse, shut for ever the
palace gate against Vushti and the children.
Oh the women and the men Of sacrifice arc
going TO take tic brightest coronals Of hcavcnl
This 7roI,an of tic text gave up palatial resi-
idcncc, gave up oil for what she considered
right Sacrifice! Is there anything moro
sublir:lc9 A steamer called the Prairio
Belle, burning ON the Mississippi river,
Bludso the engineer, declared lie would keep
the bow Of the boat to the shore till all were
OF. end 10 kept lis promise. at his post,
scorclicd and ..lac;cncd, he persisted, but he
saved all TIC passengers. Two verse; OF re-
thc;ic poetry describe tho scene, but the
verses are little rough, and SO 1 changed a
word or two:
Through tic hot black breath Of the burning
Jim D:utlsos voice wa; heard,
And they al Lad trust il Lis stubAornncss,
And knew he would kcc? Ills word.
And s;irc's you're born they all got OF
Afore the sinckcstac,ls fell;
And Dludso's Ellost went up above,
In the smoke Of the Prairie Cellc.
Eo weren't no saint, bit at Judgment
I'd run NJ chance with jim,
Loncsidc OF SOME pious gentlemen
That wouldn't shake hands with him.
He'd seen his dirty, u dead sure th3s,
And went for it there and tiicn,
And Christ is not t:oiaf; to be too lard
On q nan that died for men.
Once moro: want You to look at Vashti
the silent. You do not hear any outcry from
this woman rs she goes fort! from the palace
gate From the very dignity of Ger nature
YOU know there will be no vociferation-
Sometimes in life it is necessary to make
retort: sometimes i'll life it is necessary to
resist; but there are crises when the most
t,iumnhau5 thin. to do is to keep silence.
Tho philosopher, confident in his ncwly dis
covered principle, waited for tho coming Of
moro intelligent generations, willing that
men should laugh at tho lightning rod,
and cotton gin and Misunderstanding for
long years through the scofins of philo-
sophical schools, in grand and magnificent
silence Galileo, condemned by mathema-
ticiars, and monks, and cardinals, caricattiied
everywhere, yet waiting and watching with
his telescope to see the coming up of stellar
re-cnforcements, when tho stars in their
courses would fight for the Copelnican SIS
TEN; then sitting down i'll complete blindness
and deafness to wait for the coming on of the
generations who would build his monument
and bow ct his grave. The rcforner, exc
Grated by his contemporaries, fastened in a
pillory, the slow fires of public contempt
burning under him, ground under the cyin-
ders of the printing press, get calmly waiting
Nvbon r,itrit,r nf c,,ul and bn1nSn1