The Washington herald., 1913-02-20
COURT GOSSIP ON SUBJECTS
OF GREAT GENERAL INTEREST

Copnsht. l9l3, by Court Gossip Syndicnte.)
Queen Victoria had neither sympathy
with nor tolerance for any women s
movement. and on one occasion she ex-
pressed herself in very plain terms on
the subject In 1870 a young matron,
who bore name highly honored in
English history. suddenly became con-
spicuous on political platforms. and the
spectacle of her performances produced
this remarkable protest: The Queen Is
anxious to enlist every one who can
speak or write to join in checking this
mad. wicked folly of 'Women's Rights
with all its attendant horrors, on which
her poor feeble sex is bent, forgetting
every sense of womanly feeling and pro-
priety. Lady - ought to get whip
ping. 1t is a subject that makes the
Queen SO furious that she cannot contain
herself
At least two of the greatest poets
have foreshadowed the day when Eng
lish women shall not only vote, but sit
in Parliament. Mistress Page, In The
Merry Wives Of Windsor" says Til
exhibit a bill in the Parliament for the
putting down of men, Dryden makes
the actress. who speaks the epilogue to
Secret Love" exclaim:
For though We cannot boast Of equal force
Yet at some weapons men have still the worsc.
Why should not the women act alone!
Oh. would the higher powers be kind to us,
And giant Ills to set up higher house.
Possibly, however. the ''house" in the
last line is intended for a playhouse, not
the House of Commons.
Robert Browning at one period of his
life was an enthusiastic advocate of
votes for women. He approved of every
thing that had been done for the higher
instruction of women and not long be-
fore his death would have supported
their admission to the franchise. But
he WAS so much displeased by the more
recent action of some of the lady advo-
Gates of women's rights. that during the
last year Of his life. after various modi-
fcationas of opinion. he pledged himself
to the opposite view. AT one time, it
appears. Browning contemplated writing
a play in support of the movement. Had
this design been carried into effect,
Elizabeth Robins would have been an
ticipated by twenty years.
Grey's "Elegy." OF which Gen. VOLTS
famous copy has just been found in
Paris, was not much esteemed by Its
author. who in one Of his letters said
that the public would have received II
as well had it been written prose. The
the third line of the first stanza he
achieved the supremacy of rhyme. There
is another to equal II in English
literature: THE plowman homeward
plods his weary way
That line is such A perfect verse that
you may recite it in this way and that.
and it is still as good as ever:
The weary ploWman homeward plods HIS weary way.
Homewari the weary Tlovman plods his way.
Weary. the rloNman homeTvard pods his way.
The rlnwman weary plo.ls his hnmeward way
Homeward the powman pIods his weary way.
The rlowman plods his weary hOnewarc way.
And so on. II this is not all poetry, |
i is the supremacy OF verse-making. |
The recovery Of VOLTS copy of the |
'Elegy'' reminds correspondent that |
the famous poem owes little of its !
melody to a typesetter's error. When |
Grey sent his manuscript to the printer |
the first line read: 1.-THE curfew tolls. |
he knell of parting day" But the !
rarely pays strict attention |
% a writer's punctuation. and in this |
'ase he could see no reason why tolls |
should be a transitive verb. So the line !
was set up without the comma: The |
.urfew tolls the knell of parting day" |
In the authors proof Grey at once de-
eCted the omissiOn-and the undoubted |
Thomas Hood put the final classical |
ouch on the transltive verb ito tolr'