Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-10-12
THOUGHTS.
BY q. aRosyENoR DAVE.
copyrighted by Dave 4 Tabor. |


Some words with women: There are peo-
pie who will buy book because of its
cover, but they are no judges OF literature.
The soul-thoughts OF the great are nothing
to such superficial ones, unless decked out
in colors that catch the eye; as IL one
should tie shot-silk petticoat around the
ample waist of the Venus de Milo in order
to make her work OF art.
As with books so with women, until
your sex is growing weary of being meas
ured by externals. Your pearly teeth,
cherry lips, ravishing eyes, fairy form have
been held up as desirable until you must
be tired OF such comments. At any rate If
you are not, you ought to be; for the man
who proposes to marry because OF your
form or your eyelashes is only exceeded
in foolishness by one individual, and that
one-the woman who relies upon physical
beauty to hold mans fancy forever.
Trashy novelists with gift for adjec-
tives and following of callow youths or
hardened sybarites are the chief offenders.
They seem to be in league to blind them
selves tothe highest excellences of woman
slip OF girl. With most chilling cruelty
will they describe crows feet and burrows
and marks, II they happen to sketch
woman OF twenty-five or thirty.
But let us be thankful. Not all men are
novelists; and there yet remain residue
who can bear with much less "pearly" and
"fairy'' and ''cherry" and good deal
more good sense; of which woman has a
greater share at twenty-five than man, but
even then none too much.
AS the rough rock contains the garnet,
so there is divinity and dignity about
womanhood that is absolutely independ-
ent OF good looks. And it can show forth
whether the feet are summoned to path
that only one traverses, to broader
way wherein two walk in accord. But
some of you yet lull your higher senses to
sleep by seeking admiration and challeng
ing flattery. You have your reward, and
it is a selfish one; for he men who praise
you to your face are apt to judge the whole
sex by your Stiffness, and vanity and shall
lowness.
Let me answer Few questions as to
what you are and what you are not as a
sex. First, you are not men, and for that
you may be thankful; as most OF us have
erred from the way, while only few of
you turn aside. Even your fatal wander
ings are often prompted by the unseItish
ness OF your love; and this is never, abso
lutely never, true of man. He viii fioun-
der in the ditch Of passion and ii perchance
he drags there, too, the one who could and
would save him. he often climbs out and
she too often remains. Yes. you are not
men, and it is well; for we boast of our
superior strength and we are weak in
directions where we expect YOU to be
strong. Imagine what a wild orgy-like
world this would be il women were slaves
to impulse like the men.
Again, you are not men; for we can for
give both men and women, but women as
class refuse forgiveness to women. This
extends to other things beside moral
lapses. | have known many men DELHI
erately try year after year to help another
man overcome drink; but the woman who
will go down to the gutter for anot her
woman are fewer than would seem pos
sible Yet, perhaps the whole OF his ten
dency should not be regarded as an evil;
since it seems with you to arise more from
impulse than deliberate thought; as
though you were all conscious within of