The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1893-06-01
= THURSDAY, JUNE l, 1898.
THE DREAM OF FAIR
WOMEN.
Third Essay Written by the Stu
dents of the Literary Glass Of
Henderson College.

dreamer cometh!''
But who, like our lamented Tennyson,
can, upon the silken web of fancy weave
with silver thread and pearls, and give
to airy nothings a local habitatiOn and
a name.''
While, with the Laureate, | may, not
tread Parnassus, vet, | may, with Clio
as my guide, touch lightly upon the Fair
Women whose history will thrill the
world till time shall be no more.
Mary, Romish, Partisan, Scottish
Mary! who can doubt that her tragical
end was the result OF her environment,
with Knox for n pastor, Francis and
Darnley her husbands, Elizabeth her
klnswoman and queen; and RizZio, Leices-
ter and Boutwell, her lovers.
In true poet-fashion Tennyson sees her
at the very crisis OF her life, when hav-
ing trampled upon the laws of State,
family and church, she shamelessly gives
herself up to the rapacious passion of
that brigrand baron, Boutwell,.
ThencefOIth, having sown to the wind
she reaps the whirlwind, and we see
beauty and anguish walk, hand in hand,
the downward slope to death
From beautiful, passionate, headless
Mary, | pass to that daughter of the
gods, divinely tall, and most divineIy
fair, to Helen, the wife, at once, OF Meme
laus and of Paris, tickle always and faith
less alike to each
beauty with national duplicity. BY
nature a hirt, by chance the victim OF
the envy of the gOddesses, in religion a
fatalist, this one-talented woman
wrought wrongs she dreamed not Of
Tho run of hnnlnC nd "a vr.acl of
pires sat lightly upon her callOus soul
Troy fell that far to the westward, upon
the banks of Tiber Rome might rise
From Enone's violent death, Hecuba' S
loud lament. Cassandra's weird words,
AndrOmache's vOiceless woe, we turn
and, 10, Iphigenia, the niece, sits in judg-
ment upon fair Helen. Only III Boeotia
could the blood of Il virgin be required
for the blood of a stag. The anger of
the gods is appeased by sacrifice, and the
promised bride of Achilles becomes the
bride of Death. Fain would we believe
the maiden a priestess in the Temple OF
Diana, but the bitter reproaches of Il
restless spirit again proclaim Beauty
and anguish walk, hand i'll hand, the
downward slope to DEATH
But bark. q voice sublimated by faith
breaks upon the ear as the Gileadite' S
daughter hurries to welcome her father
upon his return from the overthrow of
Israel's enemies! Dominated by her
stern creed she realized how sweet it is
to die for father, God and country
Though her sun set while it was yet
day, Jephthah's daughter will forever
remain beautiful memOry-a type Of
religious fcrvor, ardent patriotism, and
filial devotion.
Butsee, "upon yon crimson scarf I'M
rolled, a queen, brow-bound with burning
gold.'
The cOnquerOr of cOnquerOrs, before
whom even great Caesar bowed, we find
Cleopatra the effete ruler of an effete
civilization revelling in the affections of
Un-Roman Antony. For Egypt, the
fulIness of time had come; the learned
in all the learning of the Egyptians had
passed with all his learning away; the
refuge of the Herod-threatened Babe was
like her own sun-kissed pyramids, a king
dom OF corruptions, q whited sepulchre,
filled with dead mems bones. Her check
REDEEMED by tropical suns, her pulse
quickened by midnight revels, Cleopatra
reigned, her mastery OF men the one
passion of her soul. The power-loving
Augustus gave her pause, and rather
llltlll dCt UHlS COiu VI
she courted death in the asp's sting.
Let us draw the veil and leave her in the
thickness of Egyptian darkness. Another
labyrinthine darkness and by the silllen
clew of q poets inspiration beholds the
effulgence of the upper light.
ROsamOnd, whom the world calls fair,
leave thy labyrinthine walks and "get
thee to nunnery;;' there, thou mayest
escape the poisoned cup and the aveng-
ing dagger of offended royalty, but even
there, the narrowing memories of a sin
blurred conscience will pursue thee still!
The darkness lifts, and the rosy tints of
morn dispel the gorgeous colors of the
poets dream, as Margaret More Roper,
Joan of Are and Queen Eleanor, those
resurrection types of light and love claim
the passing tribute of a line. In her
dead embrace, Margaret Roper clasped
more than the embalmcd head OF her
long lost father. Until the stroke OF the
cxecutioner's axe mind held court there
and revelled in happy anticipations OF
Utopia where laws and institutions were
materialized manifestations of beauty
and perfection. Margaret's significant
and unique expression of filial devotion
marks both the parting OF ways in
the Christian church and the swift, on
ward march to Utopia.
Now the Laureate recalls Joan of Arc,
the peasant maid, the mailed warrior,
the burning witch, and baptizes her, by
the out-pouring of a poets inspiration
The Light of Ancient France. Tried,
even as silver is tried, purified OF all
pardonable human vanity, loyal to her
convictions of duty unto the cannon $
mouth, even unto death at the stake,
this cannonized saint becomes for all
time the beacon star of history, a star
that pales not in the royal presence, when
with love stronger than the assassin s
blade, and lips sweeter than the breath
of spring, good Queen Eleanor sucks the
poison from her husbands wound and
restored brave Edward to grateful
country and to the holy cause his gener-
Gus heart eSpOuSed.
Eleanor secured to herself, all unsOught,
a sacred niche in the Temple of Fame.
And many are the loyal wives, whose
names are unwrit in history, who right
royalty vie with Queen Eleanor in true
wifely DEVOTION.
Thus, the poet descends to the beauti-
full amenities of life a love lit home, death
cOnquering devotion, meetest visions for
poets waking dream and awakens
amidst the smile of verdure, the song OF
birds and the perfume of roses.
In surveying the art gallery OF poet 5
Dream, we are moved to question the
selections and the groupings. All in
SEPARATION is what we make it: to some
it is husk; to Others, grain.
Briefly, we see in this Dream a beauti-
full exempIification OF the evolution OF
the principal types of women.
Passing lightly over the "toy and
decoy'' women, the "wOe and show
wives, we see the survival of the tittest
in Eleanor. Joan and Margaret, typical
women as factors in the world s progress
| Eleanor, the home preserver, Joan.
| the political savior, and Margaret the
| idea dissemination or refOrmer, women
whose followers WELD so potent an in.
fuence in shaping nineteenth century
| civilization.
Sisters, we did not write Utopia, but
our father, our brother did, and We are
steadfastly purposed to clasp the idea
| hn o~fh &c