The Penn's Grove record., 1903-06-19
which the vocabulary of every day inter.

which the vocabulary Of every day inter.
course has no synonyms.
Lady" be it observed, is a title, not a
generic word, necessarily covering all the
members of one sex; and as a title it be-
longs only to those who have a right to
claim IT.. Now, WHO are they who, in
point OF tact, have a right to claim It? In
monarchIal countries there is no difficulty
IN finding an answer to this question. In
England, for example, the Heralds' Of
nee, to which such matters are intrusted,
can and will give you a definition in hlaA
and white, clear-cut ~Id unmistakab.e. A
lady" by English law, may be the wife of
a man above the rank of knight and below
that of duke. The title also belongs to the
daughters of noblemen not below the rank
OF carl and is given by courtesy to the
wives of knights.
ladyship in America, where no such sharp
divisional lines arr drawn by the pencil of
authority: Here, thank God, we have a
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 all manhood is ma. God at its best
would that 1t were. And what are the
characteristics of womanhood at its best?
What are the. tc'Sers by which it is au-
thenticated? We cannot greatly differ in
opinion upon this point. Surely of these
characteristics dignity is one, gentleness is
another, fortitude is a third and SYM
pathy completes the cluster. 1t were I'M
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 vet it is beyond
question that some t~incture OF each one
must be found present in a woman before,
under democratic conditions, her claim to
ladyship can be accounted valid.
Dignity-there are a thousand imita-
tons of it, counterfeits beyond number,
but how wholly admirable is the genuine
article, what IAN excellent thing in wom-
an" Not by aping dignity do we become
dignified. Aloofness is not dignity, hau-
teur is not dignity, stiffness Is not dignity,
a pompous manner and a brocaded style
OF speech-these are not dignity. True dig
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 encroaehment. Their
dignity" exclaims an old Hebrew pro-
phet, giving us the whole thing in a nut
shell, their dignity shall proceed of them
selves" Dignity is reconcilable with all
forms OF occupation. even the most men,
tai. 1t consorts with many qualities, al
though with vanity it is reluctant to walk,
and with immodesty it viii have nothing
to do. Immodesty is the sin against pro-
portion, its very name so signifying, and
as the philosophic emperor remarks in his
meditations, There is a 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 undigniied.
Then as to gentleness, our second attri-
butte of w~omanhood at its Best, what shall
we say of ge~ntleness? 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 tina. ques-
ton, of proportion comes in, and rough
ways and boisterous talk stand self-con-
demned. Few things indeed can we so III
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 punctuated 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
healthful, how reinvigorating are the ac-
cents of gentleness! All, my dear young
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 l 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 mitable, 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 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
lustratlon in the annals OF womanhood.
Courage of the sort which qualities one ito
drink delight Of battle" to head storming
parties and to volunteer on forlorn hopes
is not expected of women, and, fer that
matter, is not so common among men as
men would like to have it thought. but 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
possible-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 approximate perfection.
But it is not enough to be able uncom-
plainingly to suffer-have we learned to
suffer with? That is what sympathy means
-"suffering 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 h~eartedness, the
power to enter quickly and deeply into the
feeling of others, if this be wholly absent,
it is idle to talk about Charm it simply
is not there. 1t is this insistence upon
sympathy, as a necessary ingredient or
true womanhood that renders the Chris
tian type SO infinitely superior to the old
-1---s- -. -rl44IN- A- ~aar1 m rnatrnr
That a woman can look on composediy 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 fercely delight in the shedding
of innocent blood.
What has changed all this2 Only one
answer to that question is possible. Jesus
Christ has changed all this. To Him we
owe it that to-day not only dignity and
fortitude (stoie virtues as well as chris
tian) not only dignity and fortitude, but
also gentleness and sympathy are recog-
nized as necessary features OF all true
ladyship.
But who is sufficient for these things!
With the standard set so high, the tests
made so severe, who shall pass!
All, my young friends, how glad l 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
appropriate, but judged by the true stand
ard nothing could be more just.
"And Mary said, Behold the handmade
of the Lord. he it unto me according to
Thy word" Catch that spirit, and it shall
be granted unit each one of you, young
women, to become "a lady forever" yes,
forever and ever.
=
Occupation and Character.
1t is not your occupation that deter
mines character; it is more likely that your