The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1903-06-19
which the vocabulary Of every day inter.


nee, 10 which such matters are intras'ed,
can and viii give YOU definition IN hack
and white, cieaycat al unmistakao.e
lady" by English law. may he the wife OF
a man above the rank ol knight and bs.ow
that OF duke. The title also belongs 20 the
daughters OF noblemeu not below the rank
OF earl aud Is gwen by courtesy 10 the
wives Of knights.
, Let that pass for ngland. but what Of
iadyship IN America, where no sueh sharp
divisional lines ar, drawn 10y the pencs. oi
authority Here, thank God, We have a
much worihser definition of the word and
more satisfactory Interpretation of the
thing. ladyship, under democracy,
means and can mean only one thing,
womanhood az Its best. Not all woman
hood Is womanhood at Its best any more
than all manhood is ma. ood at ITS best
would that II were. And what are the
characteristics OF womanhood at It's bestg
What are the & ':e~r by which II j. au-
thenticateds We cannot greatly differ IN
opinion upon this point. Surely OF these
characteristics dignity is one, geatleness is
another, fortitade Is a third and sym.
pathy completes the cluster, Ii 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 hy inheritance or carefully
matured by training. And yet Il Is beyond
question that some tincture OF each one
must be found present IN woman before,
under democratic conditions. her claim 10
ladyship can be accounted valid.
Rgnity-there are a thousand im't9-
tions OF II. counterielts beront ium'cr.
but how wholly admirable is the gem sc
article. what IAN excellent thing an vom-
am Not by aping dignity do We become
dgnlhed Aiootncss l. not dignity, hau-
teur Is not dignity, stiffness y not dignity,
a pompous manner and a brocaded stN.e
OF speech--these are not dignity. True Dig
nifty Is not OF ice, II Is of flame. \ certain
delicate and fiery nimbus which circles the
sanctuary of personality 10 safeguard II
from intrusion and encroachmcnt Their
dignity eNclaims an old Hebrew pro.
phet, giving Us the whole thing IN a nut
shell, their dignity shall proceed of them.
selves Dignity Is reconcllab.c with all
forms OF occupation. even the most mem
tai. Ii conso.ts with many qualities. .al.
though with vanity 1t is reluctant to walk.
and with immodesty IL will have nothing
to do. lmmodesty is the sin against pro.
portion lts very name so slgnliying. and
as the philosophic emperor remarks IN his
meditations. There Is a proper dignity
and proportion 10 be observed IN the per.
formance OF every act of life Hence 10
do anything out Of measure and in excess
is undgnihed
Then as 10 gcntleness. our second attr-
butte OF womanhood at its BEST. what shall
we say of gentlenessy Can we say any.
thing better or truer than that II is the
child, the direct offspring of dignity. The
truly dgnifed can scarcely he thought of
as the ungentle. for here again iha: aues.
tlOn OF proportion comes IN, aud rough
ways and boisterous talk stand soltcon.
dcmned. Few things indeed can we so III
afford 10 spare out of the daily intercourse
OF life as womans gentleness. And this is
only the more true the noisier the world
becomes. With life punctuatcd for us by
the shrieks of steam whistles. the rattle
OF the chariots OF iron and the strokes OF
all manner OF gongs, how restiul, how
healthiul, how reinvIgorating are the ac-
cents OF gentlenessi All, my dear young
friends, whatever else you forget TO be,
remember 10 be gentle. An anxious fear
IN the hearts of many thoughtful people. n
fear which personally ! do not share. but
OF which II is just as well 10 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 imitab.e, 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 food. There is no peril of any over.
flow. We need 10 treasure every drop
there is.
As TO forttude ] chose the word with
care, wishing 20 mark off from courage in
general that special form Of this virtue
which has found frequent and splendid II.
lustraton in the annals Of womanbood.
Courage Of the sort which qualities one "to
drink delight of battle 10 head storming
parties and 10 volunteer on forlorn hopes
is not expected OF women, and, for that
matter Is not 80 common among men ns
men would like 20 have II thought. but of
that other and more pralseworthy fearless.
ness, which, without the excitement of con-
fict, is able patiently 10 suffer persistent.
ly to endure. in this Christlike virtue, II il
posslble-it has ten thousand times been
shown 10 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 II is not enough 10 be able uncom-
plainlnRly 20 sufier-have we learned to
suffer with! That is what sympathy means
suffering with'-romember that symua.
thy won the last OF the four blossoms we
set out 90 twine into our wreath IL does
not matter how well bred woman may
be in other respects, 10 does not matter
how varied her accomplishments intellect
ual or artistic. II tender heartedness, the
power TO enter quickly and deeply into the
feeling Of others. If this be wholly absent,
it ~ idie 20 talk about charm" u simply
is not there. II is this insistence upon
sympathy as a necessary ingredient Of
true womanhood that renders the Chris
tian type so infinitely superior 10 the old
classic type whether or maid or matron.
That woman can look on composedly at
a bull fight is the opprobrium Of Spanish
civilization, but there was a time when
not in one corner of the Mediterranean
exclusively. but all over the Latin world
women called ladies could both tolerate
and even fiercely delight in the shedding
OF innocent blood.
What has changed all this? Only one
answer 90 that question ~ possible. Jesus
Christ has changed all this. To Him we
owe IL that to-day not only dignity and
fortitude (stoic virtues a. well M Chris
tian) not only dignity and fortitude, but
also gentleness and sympathy are TecOg-
niZed a. necessary features OF all true
ladyshp.
But who il sufficient for these thingsy
With the standard set 80 high, the tests
made 50 severe who shall pass.
An, my young friends, how glad I am
that this j. Whtsunday, the feast day Of
the Holy Ghost. for Whitsunday points Va
90 the secret Of power, and hands over 20
us the taisman Of success. IL ~ by the
strength Of God that womanhood struggles
upward 10 it, perfection. The ages Of
chiyalry gave 70 the Virgin Mary the title
OF "our lady" Judged by some standards
Of ladyship nothing could seem more in.
appropriate, but Judged by the true stand
ard nothing could be more Just.
And Mary said, Behold the handmade
Of the Lord, be u unto me according 10
Thy word Catch that spirit, and u shall
be granted unto each one Of you, young
women. 20 become "a lady forever yes,
forever and ever.
Occupation and Character.
II is not your occupation that deter.
mines character; IL u more likely that your
character viii determine your occupation.