The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1894-11-24

A prayer was said. And then, as if in dreams
| Is neard the pulsings OF some tuneful chime,
Fell on our ears the widest, sweetest notes
Ihat ever carried captive words in song
speaking and warbling forth brave words and
| Converting to the new philosophy
mat unnamed man ana made of woman
kind
| The chosen of the Lord to save the world
FROM growing Over-populous as now;
Tor Which the State must grant emoluments
Ana yield itself up TO the clearer head,
ne Hfmer, yet more tender, hand and heart
| In which could Justice fifty blend with its
| sweet sister, Mercy, for the common good.
! Q keen the logic for the saving change!
. shrewd the gliding of trail platitudes!
! . tender, trite profusion of stale thoughts
/ y miracle OF artful, winning lieS!-
! Untll sweet disaster spoiled it all
And broke the spell with this rank heresy:
Scarce one who has to love- feels Loves warm
glow;
Scarce one who loves, can find a love to
And yet scarce one who can no token show,
Or of some precious, heavenly moment speak,
When close unto the beating OF heart,
Or meath the spell OF Worship's trembling
Or in the blissful quiet prayers impart,
An angel wing has softly touched the cheek.
81 speak of Love which makes life divine
When hallowed by a soul that looks TO God;
Life is the fire, the love the full, deep mine
That feeds it with a clear, eXhaustless flame.
yield that there is work that must be done;
But am content to tread the old PATH trod
Since from the Virgin Mother came the son,
Born OF Gods love, who, loving, took our
shame
What noble work can there be yet to mold
To blight the dearest legends we have
known?
AS we as women noblest when most bold p
| Great deeds the only pledge of womanhood?
Is there no work Tor womans love to do,
That she must be some wondrous mission
shown?
How lost are we when to ourselves untrue!
How far we DRIFT from God and Grace and
Good!
True, there are cruelties and bitter wrongs
Marriig the web LIES mystic shuttle
weaves!
And souls that SIN not, praying deaths re-
lease:
But true that countless blessings greet the
That, duty-sent, dare toll among the
sheaves,
Forgetting Self, a life's divinest art,
70 gain not praise, but love and trust and
peace.
ITO her whose hand joins mans, in faith, there
The purest of this dear earth's ministries,
Crown ing that only type OF Heaven. zone,
With by helplngs for the human race;
Or yet not ali fulfilled, such true hear deeds
Shall bless the world with tenGer memories,
That Love shall prove the Chrismon OF ali
creedS,
And common duties bear more heavenly
trace
But ON, tire you with my girlish voice;
pain with whom l toiled ana dearly love;
Belle my alma mater, whose free choice
Hath given me welcome to its stores of lore
But had inspiration, as of old,
When prophets words rang from the now
above,
I'd burn into your hearts that woman-gold
! Is love; and Pain must mine the precious
orer'
The place was silent as sepulcher.
| \ thousand eyes like daggers glittered forth
/ To pierce the traitreSs that betrayed them so;
/ Till voices murmured at the foolish thing:
so bold! so shameless so ungrateful, too!
AND homeiy awkward, INDECENT! \ waif
! Brought here out OF pure charity! Oh lie!
Her head should promptly be for simples
bored ~
/ Until my friend sprang to his feet. and with
! His dark eyes flashing back their insolence
! Ills white lips trembling like q stays at bay
he flung them this defiance: "Oh, for shame!
Is this the Vaunted freedom, you who deem
The world all wrong and women helpless
slaves
Mete out to one who rather wait within
! Tbs valley, giving rest and cheer to those
! Who fall before your glitterIrg nights are
reached,
Than step upon their necks for one mean
OF vantage ground2 say, for shame! for
shame!'
And then 1 forced him down. Soon all the
Shrugged at each other, whispering: "Ah,
know!
Poor girl /! But then it's always So You can't
! Quite blame them! lime will cure An me
All me ~
While she that called the thirsty bloodhounds
Like frightened hare swept from the chase,
and sought
The quiet of her room and wept and prayed.
Then came the queen-queen of my friends
poor heart,
Until this moment all supreme and apso-
And, sweeping grandly down, hushed the
pTeluGe
Which bruited of some tranquiliziug song.
/ And hurting down her riDboned manuscript
She reached ner long, lair arms out unto us
Her jeweIed fingers cleaning like he stars,
And spoke with thrilling yehenIence these
words:
81 was to give the yaledictory
And say, as is the custom, parting words;
But we have been like things betrayed be-
trayed,
And worse than all by one who took our
vows!
Oh, can it be that all this earnest toll
In our true cause brings forth no nobler fruit l.?
Must we still feel this curse of helplessness;
This sting OF mean, humilating rant?
/ Where are our women, where their woman
hood,
That babyiish simperings still can draw
| Forth lachrymose response from even man
TO COW you into silence like dumb brutes?
"The time has come to act! And he whose
hand
| Dare press the yoke until its weight shall gall:
Shall nd the servant master: slave the king
And perish meath a juggernaut of scorn.
Love? Love, forsooIn! The silver linked
veil,
That wins unto the falsest prophets face.
And with its glare and splendid glittering
| But lifts to horrible realities
The dog may lick It's masters cruel hand:
The slave bow, nod and cringe, because he
must;
The lion tricks it to the spangled whip
1 And dallies with his 1ee per's empty head:
But make them free-then what swift re-
venge!
So we fling off this baby-master, Love!
"Oh, we have walled and agoniZed In vain
And been the menials of inferior things,
Until the name OF woman is n jest
And down the record of ten thousand wears
Hath stood the prototype of towards shame |.
Then, be We women, adjure you, risei
Rise rom the bondage of such vaSsalage!
Rise from the servitude which custom binds
Upon you. Claiming every act and thought
And crushing out ambition as a weed
Ot noX1ous GROWTH! oh sisters are we not
| vi man s proud mods divine in semblance of
| DIVINITY? Why is our half of Gods
| Abundant earth bemeaned and brutaliZed
! by bragsarts in superiority?
II Love and Pain must win kill love with
| pain;