St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1891-07-02
ONE STANDARD FOR BOTH.

Josiah Aliens children have been
q brought up to think that sin of any
4 kind is Just as bad in a man as in a
woman; and any place of amuse-
ment that was bad for woman
! to go to was bad for man.
Now when Thomas Jefferson was
little teller, he was bewitched to
go to circuses, and Josiah said:
Better let him go, Samantha, it
z hahn no place for wi1nmen or girls,
but it won't hurt boy"
8 Says l, Josiah Allen, the Lord
made Thomas Jefferson with jest as
pure a heart as Tirzah Ann, and no
q bigger ears and eyes, and if Thomas
1T. goes to the circus, Tirzah Ann
4 goes too"
That stopped that. And then he
was bewitchcd to get with other
boys that smoked and chewed tobac-
co, and Josiah was just that easy
turn that he would have let him go
with 'em, but says L:
Josiah Allen, if Thomas Jefferson
goes with those boys and gets to
chewin' and smokin' tobacco, shall
buy Tirzah Ann pipe"
And that stopped that.
And about drink, y says l "Thom
as Jefferson, if it should be the will of
Providence to change you into wild
bear, l will chain you up, and do the
best l can by you. But if you ever
do it yourself, turn yourself into a
wild beast by drinkin', l will run
never And" l continued, eff ever
see you hangin' round bar rooms
and tavern doors, Tirzah Ann shall
Il hang, too"
Josiah argued with me. Says he:
1T doesn't look so bad for boy as
; it does for girl"
Says l, Custom makes the differ
ence; we are more used to seeing
& men. But" says I, when liquor
goes to work to make a fool and
brute out of anybody, it doesn't
stop to ask about sex, it makes
! wild beast and idiot of a man or a
4 woman, and to look down from
] heaven, | guess man looks as bad
layin' dead drunk as woman
does"
Says I, Things look differently
from up there than what they do to
us-it is a more slightly place. And
you talk about looks, Josiah Allen.
l don't go on clear looks, l go on
principle. Will the Lord say to me
in the last day, Josiah Aliens wife,
how is it with the soul of Tirzah
Ann, as for Thomas Jefferson's
soul, he bein' a boy, it hain't of no
account No. l shall have to give
an account of him for my dealin's
with both of these souls, male and
female. And 1 should feel guilty if
brought him up to think that what
was impure for a woman was pure
I for a man. If a man has a greater
desire to do wrong-which l won't
dispute" says l. lookin' keenly onto
Josiah-"he has greater strength to
resist temptation. And So" says l.
in mild accents, but firm as old Ply
mouth Rock, IF Thomas Jefferson
hangs, Tirzah Ann shall hang, too"
have brought Thomas Jefferson
up to think that 1T was just as bad
for him to listen to a bad story or
song as for a girl, or worse, for he
had more strength to run away, and
it was disgrace for him to talk or
listen to any stuff that he would be
ashamed to have Tirzah Ann or me
to hear. l have brought him up to
think that manliness didn't consist
4 in having a cigar in his mouth, and
his hat on one side, and swearin' and
slang phrases, and knowledge of
questionable amusementS, but in lay
I in holt of every duty that comes to
him, with brave heart and a cheer
full face; and helpin' to right the
wrong, and protect the weak, and
maxim the most and the best of the
mind and the soul God had given
him. In short, l have brought him
up to think that purity and virtue
are both feminine and masculine, and
/. and that Gods angels are not
necessarily all feminine.