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About The new Northwest. (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 7, 1880)
Written for tho Xcw Northwost. If EH "PKOTKCTORS." BY GKOKGK I". WMBE1BB. "Conie, lend us aid !" the women cry. SHLelp us to stnnd lor liberty ! Ui us, our brothers, in tho light ifbr honesty and truth and right. By your own power declare us free, With equal rights and sovereign ty." The parson draws his pious mouth In crescent shape from north to south, x And shakes his head, and heaves long sighs, And rolls his deep, dejected eyes. " You'd better stay at home and pray Than vote, with us, election day!" KWe have no time," tho lawyer says, "To plaguo our brains with such cheap plays. There's nothing In It nought but talk ! Give us a rest, or take a walk ! We'll help (ourselves) to all you've got, But with our votes we'd rather not." You'll kill my trade!" the dram-shop king Shout from behind his poisoned ring. "Don't give the women power to reign 1 Pill up, boys ! my treat again ! Fill up, my boys ! It's all the rage! Here's death to Woman Suffisrage 1" I am surprised ! Ye gods, beware ! a "Christian without hate" is here, Who words are not his own, but God's Who tattles Thor with iron rods. -Kee$ In the same old ruts," says he; Det mention woman's liberty !" It "Mental Freedom heresies" Hav Mttbty look to his blind eyes, And br'-Invites the wretched few To a brimstone bath in sulphur blue. With Christian love his soul's so tight There' little room for women's right. Ah, ye who light for liberty! Ar. e who straggle to be free! Th .. are the men who tread you down, T . - self-made tyrants, minus crown. 1 he frtttpfil, sordid, selfish knaves Kr-V sJumuMlhg blocks to a nation's praise. fw. September 2S, 1SS0. WILLOW GRANGE. A Story of XiIfb Eastern Ohegox. BY BELLE W. COOKE. ATfHOX OF "TKABS AND VICTORY.' QEattred iii tlie Ofllee of IJbrarian or Congress at Washing- ton.D. C, in the year IS. CHAPTER IV. " she leaves her old familiar place. The hearts Uiat were her own; The love to which site trusts herself I yet a thing unknown. She nasseUi from her father's home Into another's care; Ah! woo shall say what troubled hours, Whtt sorrows wait her there ?" Hie sad parting of the bride from her parents seeds no description. "Words are inadequate for ueh portrayal. "We have ail of us experienced parting enough to know how the heart is wrung, hew dark clouds seem to hang above us and shut out all . the hapry light of day, when we take the last look at a dear face, and press the lips of a darling child or a loved parent, who is to go out and away, "it may be for years and it may be for ever." It is among the hardest trials in all our lives. Sometimes we have wondered why there is no much of it to be borne in this world ; why peo ple will ever voluntarily clioo-- a course that must bring separation; why anythinsr out death, r the inevitable, should be allowed to exile us tram our loved ones. Bertha's day was a sad one, notwithstanding all the uzirth and gaiety that surrounded her. The tttfer was mixed in her cup of joy, perhaps giv-tbg-flavor to the sweet, as the juices of the lemon enhance the relish of the cool, delicious drink of ar Summer days. She sat quietly by the side of her hush: ixl, often silent and thoughtful, as the (earner -wung out of the bright Willamette into the gray waters of the broad Columbia, in the beautiful light of that grand June morning. Bnow-pc.tks to the right of her, snow-jwaks to the left of her, lifted their pure faces, and almost wailed in the cheery sunlight. St. Helens, with its rounded dome, stood in solitary grandeur U'hhi the horizon of the farthest left; the broader, lower peak of Mt. Adams arose to the northward, while grand old Hood, covered with a soft veil of bine friiix lows, lay directly in front, and Mt Jeffer nb put up its pointedjent far to the southeast To tbose who had never before seen the bright panerama, the prospect was an enchanting dream of beauty, which grew grander ami lovelier as they progressed up the river. The filmy veils of Ktrning mist were -lifted from the water, and Mae,, clinging to the rugged mountain sides, in ah reds .and Hecks. Foaming mountain streams rushed down wild gorges in successive leaps, or sprang from the edges of the sheer precipice, and bang and swayed in misty spray wreaths against rich backgrounds of brown and gray rocks, edged with velvet mosses of richest green. Huge rocks vl carious shape rose from the river abruptly, or stood out like buttresses from the escarpment that walls in the great River of the "West for miles in its passage through the Cascade Mountain range. The j'oung people of the wedding suite were scattered In'groups about the steamer, taking in jeawxenl every pore. Opera glasses were pussed Jtonk hand to hand, and exclamations of wonder nd( admiration were continually coming from iHwjmd another of tho dolighted party. Ptprmoo CauiiHjclI, who was one of the coni pafi.fas followed by the admiring eyes of a Iraufclln acquaintance whenever she left his side, THE :NEW NORTHWEST, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1SS0. and who claimed her company at every opportu nity. Anice Merton, too, was sought by her ac quaintances, who listened with gratification to her enthusiastic expressions of pleasure, her witty comparisons and quaint remarks. She was al Avays seeing something that others did not see. No point of beauty or interest escaped her keen vision. She soon became the center of a group of young people, who were attracted by Iter vivacity and the originality of her sayings, while she, en- 9 1 ureiy possessed oy ine noveuy and iascination of uiiir aiuiii; ot.i;iiii,u uiibiij uiiuviiouuuo Ul J1U1 JJUol tion. Among the group that surrounded her was a young gontleman who had but lately returned from traveling in Europe, a Captain Aidcnn, who seemed to listen to her witty sullies with undis guised admiration. "Do you ever write poetry, Miss Merton?" said he. "If you do, now is your time to immortalize yourself." "Ah," said she, "Firz Hugh Ludlow, in his prose description of this scenery of the Columbia, has left nothing to be desired. He exhausted tho supply of adjectives in his memorable eflbrt. Even our new jwet, Joaquin Miller, in his poem, 'By the Sundown Seas,' could find nothing new, unless it were this " The rainbows swim in circles round, and rise A sal tut the hanging granite walls, till lost In drifting, dreamy clouds and dappled skies,'" "Or this perfect description of that wonderful Multnomah Fall " The rivers rush upon the brink and leap From out the clouds, three thousand feet below, And land afoam in tops of firs, that grow Against your river's rim; they plah, they play. In clouds, now loud and now subdued and slow, A thousand thunder tones; they swing anil sway In Idle winds, long, leaning shafts of shining spray. " "We shall soon come to this 'shining shaft,' and you will see the aptness of the description." "But you dodged the question I asked," said the Captain. ""Was it an unfair one ?" "I prefer," said Anice, "to express my admira tion in the well-selected language of acknowledged genius ; but, should I ever try to joetize, I would go to Alaska, or some equally wild and unknown region, and try a new field of description, and tell of new modes of life, and not go over tho hack neyed paths of every-day literature." "Well," said the Captain, "I see I am not going to get a satisfactory answer; but, of course, if you ever write, it is over a nom dc plume- practice which presupposes that the writer may write something which lie or she is ashamed to own." "It is no such thing begging your pardon for differing," said Anice. "The cause of a jierson's assuming a nom de plume is undiluted modesty, that admirable, rare quality which seeketh not its own, which is willing to do good to the world or give pleasure without even putting forth a claim to any return." "Except it may be the shekels," said Earle Russell, who came up at that moment with Bertha at his side. "Now, Earle, you are too bad to spoil my fine panegyric," said Anice. "J believe I could hold my own in an argument with the ( aptujn; but when you come to help him but " "With facts," interrupted the Captain, "there is no use denying; really the fine color in your face is a tell-tale. I begin to sustect that you may be the regular newspaer correspondent who is making such a stir, just now, aiming the literati." Anice was silent. She could say nothing to this sally. But Bertha came to the rescue with alacrity. "You do not suppose, Captain Aidcnn, that Miss Anice could Ik? so saucy as is this special corre spondent. J am sure, if you knew her, you would never accuse her of such a thing." "I think you are right," said the Captain ; "and, upon rellection, I am sure Miss Merton is not so arrogant an advocate of woman's rights as would cause her to take the ground of this new writer." "You had better not be too sure of that," said Anice. "If there is anything that will make a woman aware of her rights in this world, it is to In obliged to earn her own bread, either by teach ing or in any other occupation where she is forced to compete with men. You will hardly find a teacher among women who is not a Woman Suf fragist, if that is what you mean by one who ad vocates woman's rights. But a truce to such a trite subject, when we arc coming to Multnomah Fall, and are near enough to hear its musical mur mur. TJie noise of its finely broken spray, in comparison to the thunder of Niagara, I imagine, is as that of the wind-harp to the deep bass of the drum. The great problems of the world's work, its tumults and its wrongs, are like the roar of Niagara. The sweet influences of Nature and her loveliness are like the melody of this tall white organ-pipe, with its sounding variations, that leans against the windy clifl." "Write that down," said the Captain ; "it will do to keep. You need not tell me you do not poetize, Miss Morton, when you talk such poetry as that." ' J "Who could help talking it when one is sur rounded by it? One often talks on the inspira tion of the moment. much more eloquently than one could write." "I do not perceive that the rest of our company are equally inspired," said Captain Aidcnn. "Do you think they are, Mrs. Russell?" Tho strange, new name caused a blush of pleas ure to mount to Bertha's forehead. But she look no notice of it, as she answered : "I am sure that Anice has but faintly expressed tho thrilling sensations of enchantment that Ifeol whonlam in the presence of the sublime grandeur of Nature's noblest moods. There are those who feel the total inadequacy of words to portray their emotions, and think silence the most eloquent praise." "I stand rebuked," said Anice. "I will subside. There is no speech nor language that can do the subject justice." "Now, Bertha, see what mischief you have done. You have hushed the song of the siren ; you have unstrung Sappho's harp. We shall hear no more the delightful strain," said Earle Russell. "Indeed you are making fun of mo !!' cried Anice, with warmth. "I am sure I gave no cause for so severe a sarcasm." "Now, Anice," said Earle, "take it kindly. Can I not be eloquent, too, without exciting your dis approbation ? I was only saying tho nonsense that came into my head, as I often do, without considering the feelings of others, a thing I should be more careful about." "I am sure your frank acknowledgment makes amends," said Anice. "I am too sensitive, I know. We should not let self come up at all, at such a delectable time and place as this. It is narrow and odious. But see! there is another broader fall, a double cascade, coming down from that woody, tangled ravine. What a mass of white foam it is. It looks like thick buttermilk from a huge churn." "I give it up," said the Captain. "You are not all fanciful. There is a vein of utility about you, after all. I doubt if you would make a true poet." "I have heard that poets are born, not made," said Anice. "And they certainly need a vein of utility in order to make their comparisons com prehensible to the 'common mind.' Dr. Holland says that even the oot must be able to make his brains marketable, if he expects to succeed." "I see 'you know how it is yourself,' if I may be permitted to use a slang phrase, the better to ex press myself. But a truce to badinage. I think I am capable of enjoying this glorious day without the common-place being mixed in at all. The scenery of the Rhine has not tho grandeur of this. All that is wanting to make this river fur more picturesqile than any I have ever seen is the pres ence of beautiful homes. The Hudson and its clifl's are small by the side of it; but that tree-crowned knoll on the side of the crag lacks a ruined castle or a gothic cottage to give life to thescene. Even Castle Rock lacks a touch of life." "I think it is hardly fair of you to rule a truce when you have had the last lling; but you are right about the homes. They put a soul into the landscape, and the ancient castles must awaken the warrior's spirit and the memory of the ro mance of the Middle Ages. The stories of those rivers have all been written ; these are yet to be lived." "That is just it," said the Captain. nt is what this new country lacks. It is the blossom ing out of life, and its experiences that fit into plape, and makes souls for them; that puts pleas ant associations into certain hilltops and valleys; thai peoples them with loving, breathing human nature, and writes them all over with sqjil-stirring histories. Those an- the things that make a coun try a desirable route for travel, that give variety, and bring out its highest possibilities." "I am sure I never would care so much to go to Eure," said A nice, "if it were not for seeing those spots of which I have often read, and which are so full of reminiscences of noble spirits, who have shed their blood for the rocks and mountains of their fatherland, thereby copling it with a great crowd of beautiful memories, that would rise up on every hand to give vu friendly greet ing." "I could .never see," said Bertha, "why jieople care to make the tour of 'the Continent,' who have never read books. I should think they would lose more than half the pleasure." "I am sure you would see that you were right, if you ever take the trip," said the Captain. 'The difference in people is very easily perceived by the l)laces they are most anxious to see. You can tell tho classical students, the novel-readers suid tho scientists as soon as you have seen them a little, and the snobs are so very transparent. They go through with it as the nuns go through a penance, from a sense of duty; and the return they get is very small. One feels sorry to see or how much they are deprived." "I think such icoplc would show their good sense by staying at home. I should not feel sorry for them at all. I should only regret to think how much good was -wasted on those who could not ap preciate it, while those who could have improved tho whole opportunity are denied it," said Anice. "But here we come to the Ribbon Fall, so called from that green stripe in tho water, and tho twist in it, that reminds one of a twisted ribbon." "I have never heard its name before, and I have passed up ami down several times," said the Cap tain. "I think I have heard it called Oneonta Fall," said Earle. "I do not see tho tense in that name," said Anice; "but you can all seo that tho other is ap plicable." "Very," said the Captain, "and I do not see why you should not have tho privilege of naming the fall, as well as another. Ribbon Fall itshall befor mo hereafter." Anice blushed and exclaimed : . "How did you know?" And then, as tho company laughed, she saw she was caught, and was silont. Tho day passed on, a grand exhibition of pic tures. At tho mouth of Hood River, Mt. Hood looked down, as it seemed, out of the mid-sky and across at Mt. Adams, that was looking over the shoulder of the vast cliff opposite, and one could imagine the huge Titans might talk across and be neighborly. As they came out into a broad, lake-like ex panse, Anice asked the Captain if it did not look like Lake Geneva. "Not much," lie replied. "Tho hills are about three times as high, and have not the quiet beauty of either Geneva or Como." "It is as I imagined Geneva, at all events," said Anice, "and I ani'sorry to be disappointed." "You would find yourself very often in the same situation, were you to travel in Europe," said Captain Aidenn. "Imaginative people are doomed to many disappointment of that nature. They form their ideas of a place, and all so completely, that they never find it correspond?." "Then," said Anice, "I am consoled for not be ing able to travel. I aui saved so many disap pointments, and I cannot bear them at all grace fully." As the evening came on, the blufls assumed strange, weird shapes. On one side was what might have been a castle on the Rhine, which the Captain said resembled the ruins of "Eberstein." The ruined, moss-grown towers, and even a loop hole window, were not wanting. Then came the Indian rock, which looks like a woman's figure with some burden on her back, but which the Captain said resembled a figure of Niobe. The grand "Palisades" were passed, and the "Chinese Wall," with its seeming towers at regular dis tances, which Anice said was "the wall the Ore gonians were building to keep the Chinese out of Oregon." On the Washington side, a curious likeness o horses' heads was discovered by Anice. "And there is a huge elephant," said the Cap tain. "Don't you see the great fore-legs, on that steep hillside ?" . "Yes," said Anice, "'tis very plain; and he has boots on, long rubber boots !" The laugh that followed this remark brought up the stragglers of the company, and a promenade was inaugurated, which was kept up until the whistle blew for The Dalles. To be continued. THE CONVERTED PUGILIST. . The Rev. William Thompson, who died hi Eng land a short time ago, sjent nearly a quarter of a century in the prize ring under the name of "Bendtgo," liaving fought twenty-four times be fore he was forty. When he was convertetrhehad three lielts, including one for the championship. He had served twenty-eight terms in jail for drunkenness ami disorderly conduct "Bendigo's" own account of his conversion is very curious While in prison he attended the regular religious service every Sunday, and first had his attention attracted by the minister's account "of the set-to between David mid Goliath." He became so ab sorbed in hearing how "David, the little 'mi, lloored the giant and killed him," that he forgot where he was, and scouted out : "Bravo ! I'm glad the little 'un won !" When he got to his cell he began to think seri ously about what he liad heard, ami could not avoid the conclusion that "somebodv must have helped David to lick the giant." At this point in the narrative, "Bendigo" continues: "Well, it was as singular as though it was done on purpose. The very next Sunday the parson preached another sermon, which seemed hitting at me liarder than the one the week before. It was all about the three men, Shadrach. Meshaeh, and Bendigo, who were cast into the fiery furnace, and who were saved by the Lord from being burnt Oh. yes, I've heard about that since; it wasn't ex actly Bendigo who was the third man, but the name sounded like it to me, and I took it as such, though I didn't say anything toanybodv. 'If one Bendigo can be saved, why not another?' I said to myself, and I thought about it a great deal. Sun day after Sunday I looked out for something about me in the sermon, and there it always was. After the one about the fiery furnace came one about the twelve fishermeu. Now, I'm a fisherman myself. Bless you ! I should rather think I was, one of the best in England. Wei, after that came an other sermon about the 700 lef t-handed men in the Book of Judges; and I am a left-handed man. Of course I am. It was that what beat the knowing ones I have had to stand up against Well, it was this always going on that made me make up my mind to turn as soon as ever I got out." "Bendigo," or William Thompson as he was thenceforth called, made good his purpose to lead abetter life. He began to fit himself for a new work by learning his A R Cs, for his early educa tion had been so neglected that he could not evert read, He announced, and carried out, his willing ness to spend the rest of his days on the platform, persuading men to embrace religion. When ho beimn his minis! rations. nlumt iv i,n attracted great attention, but the novelty soon e was jiermitteu to continue ills labors in a quiet ami efficient wav. His meetings at the start were largely attended, es'iecially by persons of his own class, who listened with rapt attention to his story of his conversion and hi3 evidently sincere exhortation. The meetings were held at Cabman's Mission Hall, the Seven Dials, ami at other places in notorious neighbor hoods in London. A Ci'KK Foit Ixtejii'kkanch. A workimnnan in Glasgow, whose wifei s a confirmed amf vio lent drunkard, has hit upon a novel device for nac ifying her and protecting himself and his family In the morning .he passes a chain around her an kles as she lies in bed, and secures the chain with a .padlock. He then goes forth to his daily work. On returning in the evening, he releases ins cap tive and allows her to remain at liberty until morning, when he chains her up again. The neighbors have seen lit to interfere, and to have him arrested, but, as his wife has acknowledged his persistent kindness to her in the face of Tier own glaring misconduct, the magistrate has dis missed him after admonishing him. A stalwart woman got employment in male attire as a farm-hand at Hutch nson, 111., but tho farmer discharged her on learning 1 or sox Sho contract SUit t0 rCCVCr for tfiVhSta