Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1893-04-19


dicrous TO the Student of Changing Con-
ditions-A Few Criticisms and Remind
ers For the Single Man.
However little may be the logic dis
played by those who argue against equal
rights, il is certain that there is no lack
of sentimentality on their side. In "A
Bachelors Reverie" the bachelor la
ments the fact that woman's work now
is whatever she chooses to select and
sighs for the old fashioned woman who
had no ambitions Judging from an
other part of the reverie the old time
woman had ambitions. but they were
scrictly of the domestic order.
Her first ambition was to be a wife,
second mother, third mother again,
fourth again mother, fifth once more a
mother, sixth a mother, seventh a moth
er, eighth mother once more, ninth
maternal parent, tenth parent on the
mothers side, eleventh, twelfth and
thirteenth ditto, ditto, ditto. These
numerous but rather monotonous am
bitions were cherished, it is to be sup
posed, in memory of the Emperor Ma
Stael that the finest woman is the one
who gives the most children to her coun-
try"
This estimate of women, which may
be called the Dorking hen estimate, is
ludicrous because ii is the limitation of
limitation. 1t Is safe to assert that
the emperor's famous saying is in great
er favor with bachelors of dreamy tend
encies than with parents of practical
minds. The most enthusiastic mother
builds up her hopes on the quality, not
the number of her offspring, and the
best mothers train their girls for moth
erhood no more carefully than they train
their boys for fatherhood.
Life approaches its sere and barren
stage" continues the dreamer, ''when
man is forced to meet loveliness in the
guise of competitor" 1t does seem I'M
fortunate that loveliness should occa-
sionally have to compete, but if her hus-
band does not support her or if she has
no husband she must choose between be-
ing competitor with a man or a fnan-
cial dependent on him. Sere and bar
rem as it may be for man to meet lowell
ness in the guise of a competitor, it is
even more sere to be forced to meet the
same loveliness in the guise of half a
dozen ablebodied feminine dependents.
'The young girl" muses. the bachelor,
"with mind divided between Office and
love could never be the embalmed es-
sence of all that is adorable, the inspi-
ration to all that is worth living for. ;"
That depends entirely on the girl. Ii is
foregone conclusion that her mind VIII
not be divided very long.
If she decides on the Office, she may be
come the embalmed essence of all tina
is clear headed and true hearted. the i,
spiration to all high thinking and right
doing. If she prefers the other alterna-
tive, the fact that she once aspired to
Office will broaden her interest in affairs.
rescue her from the narrow mindedness
which is too often the accompaniment
of monotonous domestic routine and
keep her thoughts securely above tatting
and tattle
We have no grudge against the en-
balmed essence of all that is adorable.
Accompanied by large mental grasp,
an accurate knowledge of what is being
thought and done by the worlds best
thinkers and workers and livelier in
terest in the universe than in one small
person inside of it, the embalmed essence
would be rather taking. Otherwise it
amounts to no more than so much blanc
mango.
just before rousing from his reverie
the bachelor points out that several wo-
men in the worlds history have endeav-
ored to meddle in its affairs and always
with deplorable results. 1t would be
easy to give larger list of women who
had been political benefactors, but such
an argument is no more worthy of con-
sideration than the argument that be-
cause there are hypocrites in the church
therefore the church is rotten, or that
because there are quacks physicians
should not be trusted, or that because
there is bad money in circulation one
should empty ones pocketbook into the
fire.
But we are taking the reverie too Sc
riously. Dreams, however fantastic, are
always laughed at when the sleeper
awal1es and by no one SO heartily as by
the dreamer rhimself-Wives and Daugh-
ters.