The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-01-11
AN EVENING WITH HYPATIA.
""or contemplation he and valor formed,
For softness she and sweet, attractive grace.

The image OF Hypatia, falr Oh Dooy ana
Of beautiful temples, comes down to us In
the uncertain light of the misty ages with
her dainty form wrapped III the clinging
folds of the Grecian costume, comes with
her studious eyes intent on the pages OF
book, comes per force of a bright mental
ity, in short, comes as a strong minded
woman. Because of this, her superiority,
envious men tore her 1.-the, yielding body
limb from limb. She knew too much to
live, SO they killed her. The tragic end OF
this radiant Alexandrian maiden ought to
be an awfully solemn warning to the clever
women who have banded themselves to-
gether in her name here in Wichita, and
who invited the editor of the EAGLE to be
present on the occasion of the celebration
of their fifth anniversary, Thursday eve
ming.
1t would not be fair TO say that these
ladies were unfair with us, for woman is
the most fair of all created things, yet
| from hardness, or other cause we were
seated so far away from the scintillating
focus of the occasion that many of the bon
mots of the responsive roll call were lost.
| But, we did not fail to be impressed with
the gentleness and the graciOusness Of the
occasion. The displays of intellectual
capacity, the refined aplomb and the solid
depth and profundity Of the wisdom that
rolled back from that platform in our
direction, the keen repartee and nimble
words later on of the banqueting room, no
| less than the sparkling eyes and sweet
faces of prettily posing heads, startled
and led us captive by turns; still
it was the atmosphere of this ''gentleness"
! and 'graciousness" alluded to, that most
! impressed and won. Though she were
gifted with the mental endOwments OF
demi-god woman's influence over man
would be nil in the absence Of that spirit
which so evidt ntly rules and reigns with
Hypatia. And, after all. is not this attri-
butte of gentleness the secret of woman's
| power, before which that of sex, brains and
the proposed ballot sink into utter insight
| fcance? Around these attributes of gen.
themes and gracioUsness circles all the
/ home-life, while around the home circles
the world, be that home the palace of the
ruler, the tepee of the Indian or the hut OF
the Aztec and African.
Were women and men of the same men
! tai spiritual and physical standards, the
songs, the sentiment aud poetry, the art
ideals and higher life conceptions, which
so sped the hours on Thursday night
would not have been SO much as posi-
| bic dream on Ibis earth. The Lord Al
mighty looked down into the most per-
! feet spot that the sun of heaven has ever
! lighted up, to find wandering about
through its Respondent precincts the most
miserably, detected, lonely and unhappy
mortal imaginable. This miserable in
dividual did all the voting, held all the
offices and owned and ruled everything in
sight without the remotest idea of what
allied him. 1t was then that God said:
sit is not good for man to be aloneV The
| Creator, however, did not make a dozen
other men for company, or one, or dozen
female-men. The Mighty Ruler just
placed by that unhappy mans side a
woman who, slipping her gentle arms
around his neck and gratiously cuddling
up to him said: Adam let's try the for
! bidden fruit, anyway" and at once in
quick response to that gentle pressure was
not only paradise sacrificed. but the chances
for heaven itself jeopardized. And this
gentleness of woman has gone on ruling
the world ever since, as it ruled IN Hy-
patia on Thursday night.
So warmly did the conjurated spell touch
the responsive sensibilities of one of the
gentleman guests emotional nature that
| he plead for the sign by which he might en-
ter this inner Arcadia of unities. Swift as
thought the president replied, referring to
another heaven, that one Nicodemus had
asked the same question and he got the
only answer which she dare vouchsafe.
! And so with quick repartee and apt re-
| sponse with bits af rhythm and snatches
of sentimental song, the unfagging hours
ran softly away with the night and until
they had encroached on the precincts of
another day.
A formal report of the proceedings and
the banquet of Hypatia's fifth anniversary,
the program and menu, appeared in these
columns the next morning, but we must
append the following responses to the
toast, "Our Gentlemen Guests" the first
one in rhyme, by Mrs. Georgia Mccoy, as
| follows:
The name and fame Of this young club
! Is known both far.and wide,
| The charter reads, "a woman's club"
! The men must stay outside.
Now poets sing OF her success,
| And euoyies tell how
T.,,r Il obi tara m a n