The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1896-05-17
"a - sneak a, she wished. and speak

ed 10 speak an she wished. and SPEAK
until she said all that she wished.
you wonder. you women who SIT AT
home and are dainty, and feminine, and
loving. why women such as am. or such
as l was, attract your husbands, your
brothers and your sons. i Will tell you
how IL ia. We never cease trying TO
please them. IL looks like unsclfsbness,
but Il is the very extreme OF real selfish
ness. for 1t ia all acting. Then. with Us,
men are not always on their guard, and
you demand from them always what you
call respect. They grow tired OF wear
INK the straight Jacket OF propriety. III
you want TO keep any man you love, you
have got TO consider him, and l think
that the woman who doesn't love a man,
can always make him love her better
than ~ she were fool enough 10 care Tor
him. When she cares for him she Is
Jealous OF him That annoys hin. Iheh
she wants TO control him, and that makes
him long to get away from her. Ihen
she contradicts him. And that causes
him to fly from her. 1t Is true our empire
Is not a very long one. 1t Is true. we
cater 10 men, and they give us OF the
money that they earn so hardly, but
they seldom fight for US. and they are
never loyal TO us. Now, as am. / begin
10 wonder whether It wouldn't have been
better policy TO have been a good wo-
man, and yet, / know, tomorrow, II i
had my beauty and my youth back, /
should return TO the old life. / once
heard a clever man say that women, ike
butterflies. have 10 souls.
II wonder If IL is true. I almost be-
neve II is. l certainly hope IL is. for /
seem 10 know the sort Of punishment that
will be given 10 me # / am to endure
q hereafter The hair skirt, the lack of
all but coarse food. a having 10 work and
work until my body aches and aches.
That would be my purgat6ry.
THE OLD. OLD STORY.
I, even !, who am seldom startled. look
ed at this woman with amazement. She
had talked on as IL she were addressing
something or somebody standing beside
me. and l had no answer for her. l
knew she had said a great deal that was
true. but that II was true made IL none
the less dreadful 10 hear. / knew that
she was to-day's representative Of the
woman In the Bible but unlike that one
Of the olden days, she seemed hard Of
heart and strong Of intellect She realized
her kind and she did not forgive them.
She rose, aud with a grace that seemed
odd. as / looked at her rags, bhe bowed
goodbye refusing TO listen TO any offers
Of help. refusing TO see the money that
was held out TO her, and going her own
way. For she had always chosen her
own way. Where did It lead her?
The morning paper told. She was de-
scrbed as having been picked up by a
policeman, No. 555. from the river. and
he wasn't certain whether she fell or
threw herself in.
The newspapers had column about 1t.
They told OF her short day Of glory; they
s.l
they ended with a very poetical quota
ton. semi-religious and altogether untrue.
And i? ! didn't think of anything poeti-
cal concerning her life-story. / thought
only this: II l had a girl-child who
ionged for luxury. who lOnged for Won
derful Jewels, who lOnged TO have moth
ing to do i would show her something OF
life. l would take her far over on the
East Side and let her see what the wO-
men, she thought beautiful. came to be;
how dirty, and ragged, and miserable
and sick they were; how the hospital and
a charity funeral were as certainly the
end Of each story as that beauty and
discomfort was the beginning. l would
take her 10 the morgue and let her look
on some dead woman whose story was
told In her face, and then. II that girl
child were still disconnected. l would push
her out into the world which she longed
for and let her find out exactly what II
meant. To me, there seems nothing so
horrible as the life of the wicked Magda-
len, Faustina, or Jenny, call her what
ever you viii, according 10 her century
and her country, for it is a life absolute
ly without love.
LIFE FULL OF GREED AND ENVY.
Possibly, as this woman said, life that
satisfies some women, but only Tor a
a.. l.. L.
/ think that this womans words Were
true-that IL is from Gods own land, the
country, that the recruits TO the army OF
vice are drawn. There Is no conscriptiOn
needed, they come only too gladly. Who
is going TO straighten all this? You and
! may possibly feed them when they are
hungry, offer the helping hapd when
they are sick, but those are the days
when. unconsciously, they say: TOO
la,e"
Who is going to stop all this I'm the very
beginning? Vice reigns in a republic rs
well as in a monarchy. The socialists
may down kings. but they cannot kill
wickedness. especially this wickedness
that comes from women. and which
means the death of faith and hope in
the hearts of so many men. ] said a few
moments ago what I would do If l had
a girl-child who was disconnected. My
friend. 1 said that. Now, / know I did
not tell the truth. I would protect her
from every vice as long as ! could, and
/ would teach her what real love meant
when ] found that the love for the good
things Of life. so-called, was drawing her
away from me- Who IS 10 solve the
questionable question OF Magdalen, Of
Faustina, of Jennie? Perhaps we will
have 10 wait until the second coming of
Christ. But during that time this ought
10 he said-"God help every woman who
nurses in her heart the demon Of dis
oCntent"-said by you and your neghbor
and Bah.