The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1916-05-13

ing him carefully 20 prepare the lectures he had to
give to the circle she attended.
In addition to all this he noticed that every time he
came to speak about the present sameful state Of
things, how man was being oppressed, his body and
hls soul mutilated-whenev he drew pictures of the
life OF the future when all will be both outwardly and
imwardly free-he noticed that she was quite an.
other being she listened to his speeches, sitting the
anger of a strong and clever woman who knows the
weight of life 5 chains; listened to them with the rapt
eagerness of a child that is told a fairy tale which is
IN harmony with it's own m~agicaly complex soul.
This excited in him the anticipation of victory over
a strong foe-a foe who could be a fine comrade, a
valiant champion in the cause of a better future.
The rivalry between them lasted nearly a year,
without calling forth any desire in them TO Join is
sue and fight their battle out, at length he made the
first advance.
"Signorina is my constant opponent" he said.
does she not think that in the interests of the
cause it would be better if we were to become more
closely acGuaintedf'
She willingly fell in with his suggestion, and al.
most from the first word they entered upon a spirit
ed contest the girl fercely defended the Church as
the only place where the souls of the weary find
rest, where before the face of the Madonna all are
equal and equally pltlable, Notwithstanding the diff
ierences IN worldly seeming. He replied that il was
not rest that people needed, but struggle, that civic
equality IS impossible without equality in material
things. and that behind the cloak of the Madonna
Is concealed a man TO whom it is advantageous that
people should remain miserable and unenlightened.
Thereafter these discussions filed their whole life.
every meeting was a continuation of the one same
endless, passionate theme, and every day the stub.
born strength of their beliefs became more and
more evident
For him life was a struggle for the widening Of
knowledge. for the conquest of the forces of Nature,
p struggle for the subjugation of mysterious energies
. the will of man. II was meet that everybody
should be equally armed for this struggle, which
was 10 issue i'm Freedom and the triumph Of Reason
the most powerful of all forces, and the only force
IN the world which acts consciously. For her life
was a slow and painful sacrifice of man to the Tn.
known, the subjugation of Reason to that will the
laws and aims of which are known to the priest only.
NonplusSed by this, he inquired:
why do you attend my lectures and what do
you expect from Socialism,"
"Yes, I know that | sin and contradict myselfi'
she confessed sorOwfully. But il is pleasant to lis
ten to you and to dream about the possibility of hap
pineSs for alll'
Though not specially pretty she was slim and
graceful. with an intelligent face, and large eyes.
whose glance could be mild or angry. gentle or Sc.
we're. She worked in a silk factory, lived with her
old mother, her one-legged father and a younger
sister who was attending a technical school. Some
times she was happy, not boisterously, but quietly
happy; she was fond of museums and old churches.
grew enthusiastic over pictures and the beauty Of
which they were the token, and looking at them
would say:
How strange it is TO think that these thing,
have been hidden in private houses and that but
one person had the right to enjoy them! Everybody