Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1895-06-27

l tIIUl-eHe Wdb a HONEl DOTu Vi Il
poisoned tree; who could say that
there might not be a canker-worm
hidden even in her heart, which wait
ed but for the touch of maturity to
commence It's work OF d~estructioni
o men! o that have serpents
coiied round your lives in the shape of
fair false women, IL God has given
you children by them, the curse de-
sends upon you doubly! Hide it as
you will under the society masks we
are forced to wear, you know there is
nothing more keenly torturing than to
see innocent babes look t~rustingly in
the deceitful eyes Of al u~nfaithful
wife, and call her by the sacred name
of "MotherI' Eat ashes and drink
NORWOOD, you shall find them sweet
in comparison to that ~nauseating Bit
terness.
For the rest Of the day l was very
much alone. The captain of the brig
spoke cheerily to me nov and then,
but we were met by light contrary
winds that necessitated his giving
most of his attention to the manage
ment of his vessel, so that he could
not permit himself to yield to the love
of gossip that was inherent in him.
The weather was perfect, and not
w~ithstanding our constant shifting
and lacking about TO catch the erratic
breeze, the gay little brig made merry
and rapid way over the sparkling
Mediterranean, at a rate that prom
ised our arrival at Palermo by the
sunset OF the following day. AS the
evening came on the wind freshened,
and by the time the moO scared like
a large bright bird into the sky we
were scudding along sideways, the
edge OF u vessel leaning over to kiss
the waves that cleaned like silver and
gold. tiecked here and there with phos-
phorescent fame. We skinned al
most under the bow OF a magnificent
yacht,-the English flag fioated from
her mast, her sails glittered purely
white in the moonbeams, and she
sprang owe the waters Ike a sea-gull.
A man, whose tall athletic figure was
shown off to advantage by the yacht
ing costume he wore, stood on deck,
his arm thrown around the waist of a
girl beside him. We were but a minute
or two passing the stately vessel, yet
/ saw plainly this loving group Of two,
and-I pi:ied the man! Why? He
was English undoubtedly-the son of
a country where the very soil is odor-
II of virtue-therefore the woman
beside him must be a perfect pearl Of
purity; an Englishman never makes
n mistake in these things! Never?
Are you sure? All, believe me,
there is not much difference nowadays
between women of opposite nations.
Once there was--I am willing to
admit that possibility. Once, from all
accounts received, the English rose
was the fitting emblem of the English
woman, but now, since the world has
grown so wise and made such pro-
gress In the art of running rapidly
down hill, Is even the aristocratic
British peer quite easy in his mind
regarding his fair peerless? Can he
leave her to her own devices with
safety? Are there not men, boastful
too, Of their blue blood,"who are per-
haps ready to stoop to the thief's trick
Of entering his house during his abb
sence by means Of private keys, and
stealing away his wife's affections?-
and Is not she, though a mother Of
three Of four children, ready to receive
with favor the ear robber Of her
husbands rights and honor? Read
the london newspapers any day and
You will find that once moral Eng
land is running a neck-and-neck race
with other less hypocritical nations in
pursuit Of social vice. The barriers
that nee existed are broken down;
professional beauties are received in
circles where their presence formerly
would have been the signal for all re-
spectacle women instantly to retire;
ladies Of title are satisfied to caper on
the boards Of the theatrical stage, in
costumes that display their shape as
undisguisedly as possible to the eyes
of the grinning public, or they sing in
concert halls for the pleasure of show
ing themselves off, and actually ac-
cept the vulgar applause OF unwashed
crowds with a smile and a bow Of
gratitude! Ye gods! what has become
Of the superb pride of the old regime, |
the pride which disdained all osten-
tation and chung to honor more closely
than life! What a striking sign of
the times, too, Is this:-let a woman
faint her virtue before marriage, she
Is never f~orgiven,-her sin is never
forgotten; but let her do what she
will when she has a husbands name
to screen her, and society winks its
eyes at her crimes. Couple this fact
with the general spirit OF mockery |
that prevails In fashionable circles
mockery Of religion, mockery of senti- |
ment, mockery of all that that is best
and noblest In the human heart,-add
to 1t the general spread Of "free
thought" and therefore Of conflicting
and unstable opinions let all these
things together go on for a few years
longer and England will stare at her
sister nations like a bold woman In a
domino,-her features partly conceal
ed from a pretense ut shame, but her
eyes glittering coldly through the
mask, betraying to all who look at her
how she secretly revels In her new
code Of lawlessness coupled with
greed. For she will always be avari-
cious,-and the worst Of 1t is, that her
nature being prosaic, there will be DO
redeeming grace to cast a glamor
about her. France is unvirtuous
enough, God knows, yet there is a SUM-
shiny smile on her lips that cheers
the heart. Italy is also unvirtuous,
yet her voice is full Of bird like mel
rIu nn1 hAr ronA 10 n l. -