The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-06-06
4 BACHELORS MUSE.
NO LACK OF SENTIMENTALlTY IN A
DULL MANS REVERE.

An Estimate of Women That Appears Luz
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, it is certain that there is nc lack
Of sentimentality on their side. In ga
Bachelors Reverie' the bachelor la
ments the fact that woman's work now
is whatever she chooses to select and
signs 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
s~crictlv of the domestic order.
Her first ambition was to be a wife,
second a mother, third a mother again,
fourth again a mother, fifth once more a
mother, sixth a mother, seventh a moth
er, eighth a mother once more, ninth a
maternal parent, tenth a parent on the
mothers side, eleventh, twelfth and
thirteenth ditto, ditto, ditto. These
numerous but rather monOtonous m
billions were cherished, it is to be sup
posed, in memory of the Emperor Ma
DOleOn, who once informed Nine. de
Stael that "the finest woman is the n
who gives the most children to her coun-
try"
This estimate of women, which may
be called the DOrking hen estimate, is
IudicrOus because it is the limitation of
q 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 loneliness i'll the
guise Of a competitor" 1t does seem I'M
fortunate that lOveliness should occa-
s~ionaIly have to compete, but if her hus-
band does not support her or If she has
no husband she must choose between be-
ing a 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 loneliness in the guise of half a
dozen ~ablebodied feminine dependents.
THE young girl" muses. the bachelor,
with a 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. 1t is
a foregone conclusion that her mind will
not be divided very long.
If she decides on the Office, she may be-
come the embalmed sence of all that
is clear headed and true hearted, the in.
spiration to all high thinking and righs
doing. If she prefers the other alterna
tive, the fact that she one aspired to
office will broaden her interest in affairs,
rescue her from the narrow mindedness
which is too often the accompaniment
of q mOnOtOnOus domestic routine and
keep her thoughts securely above t~atting
and tattle.
We have no grudge against the EN-.
balmed essence of all that is adorable
Accompanied by a large mental grasp
an accurate knowledge of what is being
thought and lone by the worlds best
thinkers and workers and q livelier in
terest in the universe than in one small
person inside of it, the embalmed essence
would be rather taking. Otherwise il
amounts to no more than SO much blanc
mango.
Just before rousing from his reverit
the bachelor points Out that several wo
men in the worlds history have endeav
ored to NEEDLE in its affairs and alway!
9TH deplorable results. 1t would b'
easy to give a larger list of women who
had been political benefactors, but sucl
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 tina
because there are quacks physician
should not be trusted, or that becaus'
there is bad money in circulation on
shor id empty ones pocketbook into tn
fire.
But we are taking the reverie too sc
~riOuslv. Dreams, however fantastic, ar
always laughed at when the sleepe
avakes and by no one so heartily as b.
the dreamer himself and Daugh