The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-17

mas always UeGH Dy L06 very IdlulE ~
things on a higher moral plane. and unless
we can bring man up to that, she had bet
ter suffer a little injustice rather than low
er herself one hairs breadth. She has ever
been the conservor of morals, and the in
slant she lowers her standard the moral
tone Of the whole community Is degradea,
closet to-day, and she will nave 1t to. race
in the market place tomorrow. Is she
tellectual capabilities? If SO. It seems to
me she is fighting a dead issue: There is
not much life left in the old Idea Of the
longer considered a namby-pamby.. wishy..
washy, brainless plaything. The simile or
the clinging vine Is now lit little sb more e snan a
camel, she has her nose in the tent. and is
determined to push all the way in, no mat
She is going to dissolve partnership alto
gether, take down the old sign from over
the door, and put up a new one Teadl1g;;
George Meredith says of one Of his heroines
that she could read men with one culver
of her half-closed eyelids; she could catch
the coming mood of a man and fit herself
to it. What does a woman want with
ideas who can do this?' Probably there Is
sage would not make mad. She does not
wish to fit herself to some mans mood.
not wish to read a man with a culver of
her eyelids. She wants to lead him-and
she generally does it. 49,
green and all the skies were blue, when
love was really blind and not the poor lit
tie blear-eyed limping god he now Is, there Gae
there came into that silly, sentimental
world a strange creature, and she was
influence with her. When she saw these
two pretty little sentiments she realized at
once that they would not fit in with the
sphere she was going to Introduce; so she
sent her influence out to destroy them. The
little sentiments struggled for awhile, but
the influence Just laughed at them, and
made finn of them and flnAlIV rldtCuIeQ
them out of the world. And the new woman
put in the place these little sentiments had
monplace, and it seemed to fit the sphere
she introduced very well. And this is what
it is all about.
Young men once took great joy in think
ing women angels. Now, alas, they are
but good fellows. And that time-honored
where is the after-dinner orator with the
courage to propose it? Why, the new wom-
an would call a National Council, and re,
solve to Danish forever the man who would
attempt to rescue "the ladies' from the
Index -Expurgatorious. If ever you meet
the new woman and feel inclined to see her
rise up in her might, majesty and dominion,
say to her that women should be keepers
at home. Her eyes will flash and she will
reply, That's what they once said to Joan
of Are and, having thus closed the argu-
ment. she will put on her rainy-day- cos
tune and set forth on a little crusade OF
her own.
NEW WORLDS TO CONQUER.
Woman has ever been the power behind
the throne, but she does not seem to be
satisfied any longer with this p~uissant but
inconspicuous position. She feels that it is
her turn to play king. She wan to see If
the crown will fit, and if the ermine works
up well into divided skirts; but when she
gets a firm grasp on the scepter what has
she gained? Little, it seems to me, but
the public gaze, and in exchange for it she
has sacrificed half her power and strained
her influence almost to the point of break
ing. 1t is doubtless natural enough that
she should have the desire to come from
behind the shadow of the throne and try
herself to do what she has hitherto but
influenced others to attempt. We are all
of us ambitious to see some direct result
of our immediate efforts But, alas, what
a mistake she makes when she leaves her
mystery, her dignity, her potency in the
shadow to chase rainbows in the sunshine!
She ought not to jeopardize her tremendous
influence. She needs his strength and sym
pathy. She should realize that she cannot
win Single-handed all the reforms SO dear
to her heart. She lacks the time, If moth
ing else, for she must remember that the
nand that tia u itc ch fb 50 to m,s move roct 1n the wo orsd, Is
No matter how free she may be In the
future. no matter how independent or self
reliant, she will still have hamefu mo-
ments of weakness when, with tears in her
eyes, she will tell some youth that she will
always be a sister to him.
However greatly we may differ on these
subjects (and i wish to be understood as
speaking only in the. broadcast and most
catholic sense), / think we all agree that
there is a realm in which she can reign
supreme-a throne she can occupy and be
the power behind at the same time. That
1.-THE center table" Round it she may draw
the circle of her loving household, and
from it send forth a heavenly influence that
lifting of all mankind
But has not the new roman brought with
- A-- 49, nv oor,oDffronS annZ
strained to think she has. She has GER
tainly set a new mark, and the old-fash-
pace. Mr.. Charles Dudley Warner, in one
af his delightful essays, speaking of the
family losing its center when the New Eng
land hearth disappeared, says: "Of course
the family is gone, as an institution, al
though there are still attempts to bring up
a family around a register. But you might
as without the rallying point of a hearth
stone.' To me, of course, the andirons and
the blazing DacklogS and the rows of roast
ing apples are but fairy tales, but I can
fancy what a center of attraction the wide
chimney place must have been-what a TO-
Gus for the family gatherings. But when
the fire went out on the hearth, and the
chimney place gave way TO the register
and the baseburner, the center table came
in to take its place as the center of the
family-the soul of the household great,
broad, generous table, firm and substantial,
stood four square to every boy that ran.
But alas, it. too, is going-going as the
chimney place went D6IOTe IC-dnQ what mas
the new woman brought into the new home
in it's place? Why, a poor, trembling, eIna-
ciated mahogany stand, and she boasts OF
the hectic flush on it's cheek, and is proud
of its three little bow legs reflected in the
polished floor beneath-a Ihree-legged stand
on a ardwo floor. May it not have been
when long years ago it was written 1.-The
wicked stand in slippery places?"
A MISGUIDED MAN.
/ once heard of a man who tried to bring
up his children under the light of a chan
delier-a poor, Pickering flame flung out
half way 'twixt heaven and earth. Just
think of the enormity of it! And he did
bring them up. They all lived. and the
boys all went to the penitentiary except the
one who was hanged, and the girl died of
spotted fever, and all the children in the
neighborhood wanted to see her because
they heard she had turned black. 1t is but
to lead a forlorn hope If you try to rally
the family around this wabbly tripod. 1t
has a disintegrating influence, and presently
you will find the father shutting himself
up in his den to smoke and read the news
paper. The mother goes upstairs to seek
solace in a rocking chair and the Dolly
Dialogues The daughter is in the draw
ing room talking to the blonde young man
who has just read 'Ben-Hur'' and is en-
thusiastic over the chariot race. and the
boys may be anywhere from the corner
drug store to the dime museum. And all