The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-03-14

ipyhs a Apiir. a SCSluIt, u MIIus uiAl AN
Is at her feet again.
Perhaps. on the other. hand, the wom-
an is attracted 10 the man who has
hardly noticed her. She is not delayed
in her approaches by any sense Of doubt
or mystery; she does not in the least
look upon the object of her regard as a
sphinx or mystery: she is not at all
afraid of him of what he may do or
say; she understands his nature so far
at least as she needs to for her present
purposes. and she feels instinctivey that
she has the battle in her own hand; she
goes into the fray-that is to say, into
the sweet combat of lOVe-With calm
and assured courage while he as We
have said, is tremulOus with that fear
of the unknown which is the most de-
moraliZing of all fears. We will suppose
that she really desires this man a
husband and does not. as in the former
case, wish merely 10 amuse herself with
conquering him. Her tactics are now al
together different, and the theory held
by man of what a woman is and should
be is based upon the course pursued by
woman in love who intends u perma-
nent result from her passion.
She now shows herself gentle docilC.
thirsting for information upon any sub
ject the man fancieS himself learned in.
let il be boots or horses, Aristotle or
Bismarck, pork or grain or sOlyd or
theOsOphy or finance. No matter which
OF THESE OF a nuIlQTel more uOeS ne els
course upon, IT is the one subject on
which she has always lOnged TO be in
formed, and she combines with the innO-
cent ignorance of the dove so much Of
the wise intelligence and quickneSs Of
the serpent that the man, fooled TO the
top of his bent, is presently ready to de-
clare that such sweet and suggestive
sympathy is precisely what he has al
ways needed to enable him TO carry out
his life'S work, and if he can only secure
il as his own, etc.
Or. if the declaration is not so easily
reached. if the mans inherent cowardice
holds him back even while his love urges
him forward, how the woman's calm
courage and self-cOmmand enable her to
general the SituatiOnl How quietly she
gives him the opportunity which he
never could have found for himself,
How easily and gently she guides the
conversation into the channel conduct
ing by easy if siuuous reaches to the
desired haven! With what tact she in
terprets his awkward. StammerinS
phrases and puts into his mouth turns
of speech which he dimly desired. yet
never could have originated, And all
the time like the acting commander i'm
q battle. she leaves the baton i'm the
hands of the marshal, who sits in the
shade and looks on
The page killed the boar;
The knight had the gloire
and the man goes away from the scene
of his bethrothal with the step and mien
of a condueror and thinks 10 himself
what a dear. sweet, gentle. docile little
wife he is to have, and what clever
fellow he is to have drawn that timid
confession of love from her reluctant
lips
Life goes on. and the courage Of wom-
anhood develops in grander ways and
more useful forms. Riches take wings,
and the man. finding himself embar-
IA ssed. shrinks with masculine timidity
from facing the fact himself or from
cnnfessing IT To the world. Perhaps ne
even tries TO hide it from the wife of mis-
BOSOM but she smiles at the attempt Il
evasion. plucks out the secret. and hold
ing il ND in calm. courageous hands,
shows it for the poor thing II is and tells
SO braVeIv how IL is 10 be conquered and
out aside that the man plucks uD heart
Of grace to meet the foe before whom he
had been ready to fall down in abject
submission.
And If poverty-deep. dire poverty
comes it is woman's courage that meets
il and makes the best of it; il is she who
dares to show herself to the world, 10
their own world. i'm the garb and equip
age and occupations of poverty; it is she
who says, virtually, if not i'm words,
My mind to me kingdom is,
and reigns a queen within that kingdom
nn0fStllIOe0
poor souls who cannot comprehend her
or her royalty.
Perhaps the man breaks down utterly.
for men are far more prone TO break
than bend, and then nine times out of ten
the wife finds courage and ability TO take
up the laboring oar that he has dropped
and becomes the brcadwinuer of the
family And with what brave and strong
resolution is that labor accomplished.
even when the frail physique seems
crumbling beneath the strain.
The mother of one of our governors
sat up in bed when he was but a few
days old and sewed upon boys trousers
for a clothing store that she might pay
the woman who nursed her for one week
more Another woman, crippled from
the waist down, rolled herself around
the house in a chair and did her own
Homework because her husband could
not afford to hire it done.
And how many more have done as
much and never were heard Of?
In other ways. too-is there disa gree
able truth to be told. or d caution given.
or warning conveyed in social or moral
matters. who has the courage to do these
things? Is il woman or a man?
MRS. FRANK LESLIE