The San Francisco call., 1904-09-04

tCop,rizhted 1900 ~ Central News and
Press ENchange.)
" MONG the numerous fascinating
and delightful members Of the
male sex whom have the honor
L 20 count as friends there is one
very handsome and devotedly attentive
gentleman of four years old. who is
particularly fond OF reciting to me in
private the following striking poem on
the "FaH Of Man:
when Mister sarpint did deceive
Poor little silly Missis Eve,
The Lcrd be spied an apple gone
From of the branch il hanged upon;
That apple was heavy loss.
And 50 the Lord got very cross,
md called Hi Adam. Where you 20
But Mister Adam, he
Clum Up tree.
There is something in this graphic
narrative which appears TO tickle my
young cavaliers fancy immensely, for
whenever he says Mister Adam, he
clum up = tree he opens his big blue
eyes very widely, claps his tiny hands
very loudly. and gives vent To ecstatic
shTieks of laughter. 1t is quite evident
that he entirely understands and ap-
preciotes Adams position. Young as
he is, he has the instructive knowledge
within him that when the time comes
he viii likewise adopt the "Clum up d
tree" policy. For Adam is the same
Adam still, and nothing Will ever
change him. And when things are get
ting rather mixed" in his career. and
the forbidden fruit he has so readily
devoured turns out to be rather more
sour and tasteless than he had antici-
pated-when his garden of Eden is be-
the causes Of the folly and disobedlence
which have devastated its original fair
ness. the same old story may be said
of Mister Adam. he clum up a
tree" Perhaps If he only climbed d
tree cne might excuse him-but unfor-
tunately he talked while climbing
talks as though he were an old bab-
bling grandam instead of a lord of
creation-and- grandam-like, puts the
blame on somebody else. He says
The woman whom thou SaVeSt to be
with me, she gave me of the tree and
] did eat" Coward Adam, Observe
how he at once transfers the fault of
his own lack of Will and purpose to the
weaker. more credulous. more loving
and trusting partner-hOw he leaves
her defenseless to brave the wrath
which he himself dreads-and how he
never for one-half second dreams of
admitting himself 10 be the least in the
wrong But there is always one great
satisfaction to be derived from the
perusal Of the strange old Eden story.
and that is that Mister Sarpint" was
Of the male gender. Scripture leaves
no room for doubt on this point. 1t
says: Now the serpent was more sub
til than any beast of the field which
the Lord God had made. And he said
unto the woman" SO that "A The"
tempted 2 woman before she" ever
tempted a he" Women should be
duly thankful for the sex of Mister
Sarpint." and should also bear in mind
that this particular he was more
subtil than any beast OF the field
which the Lord God had made" On
many 2n occasion il will be found a
salutory and useful fact to remember.
Once upon a time, SO we are told,
there was an age of chivalry. The word
''chiValry is stated in the dictionary
10 be derived from the French "cheval" f"
. horse. and "chivalrous" men were in
the literal meaning of the term merely
mon who rode about on horseback. But
chiValry has somehow come to imply
respect, devotion and reverence for
women. The "chivalrous' knight is
supposed to have gone all over the
world, wearing the glove or the ribbon
Of his ''ladye faire" in his helmet, and
challenging 10 single combat every
other knight that dared to question the
supremacy Of her beauty and virtue.
1 confess at once that | do not be-
lieve in him. IL he ever existed he
must have been Il most unnatural and
abnormal product of humanity. as un-
like his first pnoGenitOr. Adam. as he
could Well be. For even in the Round
Table" romanCes one finds an entire
lack OF clliVslry in the so-called chiVal-
roUs knights of King Arthur. Their
moral principles left much TO be de-
sired, and the conduct Of Sir Melia-
graunce VINO betrayed the loves OF
Lancelot and the Queen was merely
that of a common sneak Coward
Adam spoke in him. as in many of the
Arthurian heroes-and that they were
mere .cniVSlrous' than the modern
male gossips who jeer away a woman's
name and honor in their smoking and
gaming rooms is legend which like
that of the Tree of Good and EviT'
itself requires stronger confirmation
than history as yet witnesseth
Coward Adam, taking him as he ap-
pears in the present day, has lately
shown himself off in various odd phases
and lamentable positions. During the
South African war he came out strong
in some OF our generals who put the
blame Of certain military mishaps on
one another like quarelsome children,
thereby losing dignity, and offered
most humiliating spectacle to the
amazed British public. Coward Adams
policy, after making a blunder. is to
adopt any lie, rather than say frankly
and BOLDLY did it," He will eat
dirt by the bushel in preference to the
noblsr starvation act of singly facing
his foes He is just now exhibiting
himself TO his usual advantage in the
British Parliament. while the nation