The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1897-06-08
BY Il. CONAN DOYLE.

.The old cantr' she cried. 1.-THE old
shibboleth! What is this mission which
is reserved for woman? All that is hum
BILE, that is mean, that is STORYTELLING,
that is so contemplate and so 1ll-pa1d
that none other will touch it. All that
is woman's mission. And who imposed
these limitations upon her? Who
cooped her up within this narrow
sphere? Was it Providence? Was 1T
nature? No, it was the arch enemy.
1t was man.
ooh, I say, auntie"' drawled her
nephew.
''It was man, Charles. 1t was you
and your fellows. 1 say that woman
is a colossal monument to the selfish
ness of man. What is all this boosted
chivalry-these fine words and vague
phrases? Where is it when we wish to
put it to IKE ~? Man in the abstract
will GO anything to help woman. or
course. How does it work when his
pocket is touched? Where is his chiv-
airy then? Will the doctors help her to
qualify? will the lawyers help her to
be called to the bar? will the clergy
tolerate her in the church? Oh, it is
close your ranks then and refer poor
woman to her mission! Her mission!
To be thankful for coppers and not to
interfere with the men while they grab
BILE for gold, like swine round trough,
that is mans reading Of the mission OF
women. You may sit there and sheer,
Charles, while you look upon your vic
tim, but you know that it is truth,
every word of it,
Terrified as they were by this sudden
torrent of words, the two genticwomen
could not but smile at the sight of the
fiery, domineering victim and the big
apologize representative of mankind
who sat meekly bearing all the sins of
his sex. The lady struck match,
whipped a cigarette from a case upon
the mantelpiece, and began to draw the
smoke into her lungs.
81 find it very soothing when my
nerves are at all ruff1ed," she ex-
planned. You don't smoke? All, you
miss one of the purest of pleasures
without a reaction"
Miss Williams smoothed out her
silken lap.
cit is pleasure" she said, with
some reproach to self-assertion, (which
Bertha and I are rather too old-fash-
toned to enjoy
you very ill if you attempted it. BY
some of our Guild meetings. I shall
see that tickets are sent YOU
"Your Guild?"
cit is not yet formed, but I shall lose
no time in forming a committee. 1t is
my habit to establish a branch of the
Emancipation Guild wherever I go.
ic, -
who is already one of the emancipated,
so that I have a nucleus. 1t is only by
organized resistance, Miss Williams,
that we can hope to hold our own
against the selfish sex. Must you go,
then?"
eyes, we have one or two other visits
to pay" said the elder sister. you
will, I am sure, excuse us. hope that
you will find Norwood pleasant resi-
dence'
"All places are to me simply battle
field she answered, gripping first one
and then the other with a grip which
crumpled up their little thin fingers.
'"The days for work and healthful exer-
else, the evenings to Browning and
high discourse, eh, Charles? Good
byer' She came to the door with them,
and as they glanced back they saw her
still standing there with the yellow bull
pup cuddled up under one forearm, and
the thin blue reek of her cigarette as
cending from her lips.
oh, what a dreadful, dreadful wom-
am whispered sister Bertha, as they
hurried down the street. THANK good
ness that it is over
But she'll return the visit" an
swered the other. II think that we had
better tell Mary that we are not at
home"
CHAPTER III.