The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-07-01
which the vocabulary Of every day inter.

course mas no synonyms.
Lady" be it observed, is title, not =
generic word, necessarily covering al the
members. of one sex; and as title it be-
| longs only to those who have right to
claim it. Now, w!o are they ho, IN
point of fact, have .igh: to Calm It. An
monarchial countries there is no difficulty
in finding an answer to this question. IN
England, for example, the Heralds' "
| flee, to which such matters are lntruste1,
can and will give you definition IN eiaeS
and white, ciear-cut ID unmistakabe: 4
lady" by English law, may be the wlfe OF
man above the rank of knight and bs.ow
that of duke. The title also belongs to the
daughters of noblemen not below the rank
of earl and is given by courtesy 70 Tue
wives of knights.
Let that pass for ngland, but what OF
iadyship in America. where no such sharp
divisional lines ar: drawn by the pencil OF
authority? Here, thank God, We have =
much worthier definition of the word and
more satisfactory Interpretation OF the
thing. Ladyship, under a democracy
means and can mean only one thing,
womanhood at its best. Not all woman.
hood is womanhood at its best any more
than Ill manhood is ma. ood at its best
would that it were. And what are the
characteristics of womanhood at its best!
What are the te'se-~ by which it is au-
|
opinion upon this point. Surely of these
characteristics dignity is one, geltleness ls
another, fortitude is a third and SYM
pathy completes the cluster. 1t were un-
reasonable, of course, to expect the full
ness of each one of these four traits in
any single personality, no matter how rich
ly endowed by inheritance or carefully
matured by training. And yet it is beyond
question that some tincture OF each one
Il
under democratic conditions. her claim to
| ladyship can be accounted valid.
| Dignity-tbere are a thousand imlta-
tions of it, counterfeits beyond hummer,
but how wholly admirable is tie genuine
article, what "an excellent thing IN wom-
AMI" Not by aping dignity do we become
dignifed. Aloofness is not dignity, hau-
teur is not dignity, stiffness is not dignity,
a pompous manner and brocaded style
nifty is not of ice, it is of flame. A certain
delicate and fiery nimbus which circles the
sanctuary of personality to safeguard it
from intrusion and encroachment. Their
dignity" exclaims an old Hebrew pro-.
phet, giving US the whole thing in nut.
shell, their dignity shall proceed of them:
selves" Dignity is reconcilable with all
forms of occupation. even the most men
tai. It consorts with many qualities, al
though with vanity it is reluctant to walk,
and with immodesty it will have nothing
to do. Immodesty is the sin against pro,
portion, its very name so signlfyng, and
as the philosophic emperor remarks in his
medtations, There is proper dignity
and proportion to be observed in the per-
formance of every act of life" Hence to
do anything out of measure and in excess
is undignifed.
Then as to gentleness, our second attri.
butte of womanhood at its BEST, what shall
we say of gentleness? Can we say any.
thing better or truer than that it is the
child, the direct offspring of dignity. The
| truly dignifed can scarcely be thought of
as the ungentle, for here again tha. ques.
ton of proportion comes in, and rough
ways and boisterous talk stand self-con-
demned. Few things indeed can we so i'll
afford to spare out of the daily intercourse
of life as woman's gentleness. And this is
only the more true the noisier the world
becomes. With life punetuated for us by
the shrieks of steam whistles, the rattle
Of the chariots of iron and the strokes Of
all manner of gongs, how restful; how
heaithful, how reinvigorating are the &C.
friends, Whatever else you forget to be-,
remember to be gentle. An anxious fear
in the hearts of many thoughtful people, a
fear which personally do not share, but
of which it is just as well to take note. is
that out of all this contemporary struggle
of woman for a complete independence,
this duplication on her part of as much Of
mans work as is imitable, there may come
eventually an impairment of the worlds
total stock of gentleness. Let us be misers
here. The tide of this sweet grace is never
at the flood. There is no peril of any over
flow. We need TO treasure every drop
there is. !.
As to fortitude, I chose the word with
care, wishing to mark off from courage in
general that special form of this virtue
which has found frequent and splendid IL
lustration in the annals Of womanhood.
Courage of the sort which qualities one "to
drink delight of battle" to head storming
parties and to volunteer on forlorn hopes
is not expected of women, and, for that
matter, is not so common among men as
men would like to have it thought. hut of
that other and more praiseworthy fearless
ness, which, without the excitement OF con-
! hict, is able patiently to suffer, persistent
ly to endure. in this Christlike virtue, it is
possble-it has ten thousand times been
shown to be possible that women should
excel. With the aroma of this virtue
wholly absent no woman's character even
so much as approximates perfection.
But it is not enough to be able uncom-
| pldlnlnRIy 70 SuueT-ndVe we leaiHeu W
suffer with? That is what sympathy means
-"sufering with"-remember that sympa-
thy won the last of the four blossoms we
set out to twine into our wreath 1t does
not matter how well bred a woman may
be in other respects, it does not matter
how varied her accomplishments intellect
ual or artistic, if tender heartedness, the
power to enter quickly and deeply into the
feeling of others, if this be wholly absent,
| u =. H., Hoho c,r "
is not there. It is this insistence upon
sympathy, as a necessary ingredient Of
true womanhood that renders the Chris.
| tan type so infinitely superior to the old
classic type whether or maid or matron.
| That woman can look on composedly at
q bull fight is the. opprobrium OF Spanish
civilization, but there was a time when
not in one corner of the Mediterranean
exclusively, hut all over the Latin world
and even iercely delight in the shedding
of innocent blood.
What has changed all this? Only one
answer to thSt question is possible. Jesus
Christ has changed all this. To Him we
owe it that to-day net only dignity and
forttude (stoic virtues as well as Chris
tian) not only dignity and iortitude, but
also gentleness and sympathy are recog-
nized as necessary features OF all true
ladyship. i.
But who is sufficient for these things?
With the standard set so high, the tests
made so severe, who shall pass?
All, my youn friends, how glad I am
that this is Whitsunday, the feast day of
the Holy Ghost. for Whitsunday points us
to the secret of power, and hands over to
us the talisman OF success. 1t is by the
strength of God that womanhood struggles
upward to its perfection. The ages Of
chivalry gave to the Virgin Mary the title
of "our lady" Judged by some standards
OF ladyship nothing could seem more in
| annronriate. but Judged by the true stand.