August, 1879.
TI1K WEST SHORE.
q35
patient womMi Yet yti are mjnircd by society
in keep up thia delusion.
I, i t inc inquire again, who in "society," that
we are trying to influence it ? Not other women,
for I Bay it with abasement, we women cure
nothing about each other. Men ri.ti-titutr
society. Men hare physical strength, political
power, money, education, rank. Tlu-v own tin
homes we preside; in by courteay. They bring
into thoio homoa whom they choom', w it li onn
exception. They have by common emiient
voted it an outrage to introduce a lad woman
to their wivea and daughters . but a I - id man
Why, that ia different Men have money, ami
rank, and " influence," therefore men mtiat be
courted, and we muat help do th agreeahle,
affecting a polite ignorance of the characters of
these influential fractions of aociety. If the
wife or the daughter falls under the lialeful fas
1 1 nations of the combinel attractions of rank,
power, money and pretended devotion, and is
whirled away into ruin by them, is it her in
lluence over aociety, or society's influence over
har that haa prevailed? Talk about the ower
of women over thia miilstrom of the world
The wondor to me is, that any of us are left
without blemish. How do we contrive to stand
up against all the combined inllnencea of eooiety
to pull us down?
Wo hear a great deal about the temptations
of men. What haa a great, strong, rich and
Kwerful man to tempt him, except nia own de
Hires? If he could change places with eomc
weak, dependent, poverty atricken, yet elrug
gling woman, he would Hnil, in place nf the one
temptation in his own heart, a host of tempt
tious in the guise of neceaaitiea urging him to
forget hit fidelity to principle ami to virtue.
And are we to protect not only, ourselvea from
men, but men from themselves? Assuming that
we were npon an equality, should you not aay,
"let every one atand or fall for himself?" Hat,
lining an it ia, ahonld we not rather say, "help
us!" than "we will help yon?"
Consider thia thing society, ami who con
titute it? There ia the powerful rich man;
what doea ho do to promote virtue? There is
the aucceaaful politician; what does he for the
1 nut of society? or the men In civil or military
ollicea? What dooa the great lawyer do? or the
legislator? What doea the physician, who most
of all ootnpreheuda the full amount of injur)
done society by it vioea? What does the priest
of (iod, who feels that ha must build up a great
and influential congregation? None of these are
going to me.ldlc with the waya of aociety, lest
society ihould turn and rend them. Hut we,
w4io are not of the leaat consequence in the
world'a affairs, are asked to influence society.
Am I too doubtful; too terribly diaoouraging
to my aiatera who yet have faith in their in
llumoe? I am sorry to take away one prop,
however insecure, of woman's lielisfin her moral
lower. Nor shall I, if 1 aay, as 1 feel, that in
spit of our weakness we are strong, if ws
choose, in on way. Not to influence men by
amiably condoning their orieiioee against us;
but by firmly requiring of them the same purity
of charaeUr that they exeat from us, or that we
maintain in ourselves. It ia the most ilignilled,
the moat rational, the moat just, awl certain
war. It ia better for us, for them and for
tenty. I anpposs if the woman of tins country,
whose husbands ars m. ths downward road,
war, with one 000 sent, to Has up and aay,
"either ws will do as yon do, or you must . n
sent to lira at ws lira," that there would l s
great commotion. Hut the tempest would dear
ths air considerably. Those who ars worth
saving would be saved, and those who ars worth
lass would simply declare themselves, and all
further trouble about saving them by "inlla
encs" fas dispensed with.
Hot then ths wivss of ths real society men
would fail to corns up bravely to ths issue, and
the others, disparaged, would falUr and fail,
and ths mischief won Id go on. The roots of the
evil lis too far back in lbs past to yield to any
sudden pressure. The oalv wsy to a trns
power over man, lis ia ourselves, nevertheless.
Kach individual woman for herself may erect a
ptlribf, tfl .....WO, WSIUUg- IIW4S4M1,
sne can require those who aeek Iter favor to
reach. In this way ws may, by lung effort, in
fluence aociety ; for men, though they may oars
nothing for ths personal influence of any indi
vidual woman, do reoogutrc the might of the
right 111 a general way, and do respect a consist
ent ami reiterated demand for it at last, how
ever much they may try to ignore it at lirst
I presume that I have but ball answered my
corrosixmdeut in the foregoing remarks, (or she
meant to in. hide the home influence,, from the
cradle upward, no doubt. Some other lime we
may consider woman's influence in the relation
of mother, as we cannot do to-day, having ex
hausted the space that lias been graciously ac
corded to its in this journal. Mmfu iVmivs,
in Ihr I'atjit Itwrtil rrtu.
KITTY'S UTNOB AT MII'NIUIIT.
I weut to tell you how Miltiade I'eterkin
I'aul, that's our kitty, called Tides for short,
earned his midnight lunch.
The door bell wire of our house ran through
the cellar, and at a certain poiut it crossed a
beam. Now 'Titles was often punished for
some naughtiness by being shut in the darkness
below stairs, ami as he waa a great lover of
society, this waa decidedly againat his taate.
and in a vury Intl. time hn luarued to scratch
ami pull at this wire so aa to nog U10 bell m
the hall above, when some one who chanced to
pasa would open the door and let him out.
lunch.
And now I will tell you almut the midnight
It was a stormy night 111 late Not end r, and
Tides waa sleeping on the laiaui in the cellar
with his noes warmly wrapped m hia own fur.
he di. -aiiicd happily of the summer tune, ami
ths foolish birds that he hot d to chase in the
fields.
In this fairy land of dreams Tides was wan
dering, when a sudden crash dispelled the beau
tiful viaiou, ami with a start, every hair erect
and his ears quivering, he awoke to llud himaelf
still in the winter limn and darkness. What
was that terrible noise?
I In in lung low noon the beam ha upeiiml both
eyes very wide, ami walled, roi a moment all
wsa still, and then from the further cellar where
the coal bin was, and the great uulslde doors,
there camu a low sound, a whisr, a soft fool
fall, ami an iualaut later a little ray of light
darted along the floor, and two ugly looking
men, one of them carrying a dark lantern, ap
I snared !
Titles' eyea followed litem, but he hardly
breathed in his excitement ; what were they
going to do? With careful steps they passed
the levant where hs lay, slosly asuemhd the
cellar stairs, ocned the door into the kitchen
and disappeared. 'I idea waited. What passe. I
through his lurry head cannot be known 1 per
haps aa he heard them a moment later rattling the
silver spoons in the panln, the idea of some
thing to eat fleshed Into his litlls brain, and
with nimble fret hn ran to the hell wire end
pulled it sharply. If it waa breakfast time hs
wantr. I his breakfast, ton.
I ingle, Jingle, jingle, jingle ; 'the bell never
slopped, and 'Tides heard sudden angry voices
(lei cries, and ths Bound of mam fast r Ing
across ths floor over his head. I "oars wert
npesjan and shut with a slam, and a great whs
wss made, but still ths Ml rang, (ingle, tingle
"suddenly the cellar door opened, and a bright
light flashed In upon him.
"Why. Tides, Tldee" You splendid old
kitty, mine here''' end his mistress etrelrhsd
ber anus toward him; "yon shall hava s whole
Isrefstrsk and a cap of cream right off now, for
you hsve frightened the robbers sway, ami saved
all my sileer ! Yon ars s pi - 1 id fellow ! "
And so kitty enjoyed bis midnight land).
I iit yon think that hs earned it ? ItVr A sell.
Tutsi m aa dstgraes la bewg pons the
thing 1 to keep It quiet, and not 1st year
neighlors know anything ahnal It
... btUKUt AC- vvi.Kia.
The writer of "Home Interests, In ths Nsw
York Tritmxr discourses aa follows There la
one law fur all, one rule, one duty, ons rwwnrd;
hut there are all aorta of husbsiula, ami lows
are all aorta of wives. There are huabanda who
without holding themselves to any high stand
ard iu the marital relalniu, huld their wives to
the highest standard, and are aggrieve.) If they
do not come up to it There ars wivss who
do precisely the earns thing, There ars saltish
husbands who regard their wives aa mere instil
ments of convenience, created solely for their
service, and there an wivea who regard their
husbands precisely m the sains manner Tbsrs
are Jealous huahauds who caniinl endure altar
ug with another sven a pleasant word or look,
who think that they should have a total monop
oly ot their wives, and mat whatever Uiey can
not us- and euluy ahould be kspt under glass or
under lock and key frum everybody elss tad
there are wivee o( precisely ths same psltaro
There are husbands who married for nuwisy, for
position, for oonvsnisnos, and there ars wivss
who married (or s home, for s support, sad to
ap. the otlium of being old mania There
are huabsuds who honestly try to be good hus
bands snd faithful and kind ami trus, but who
meet with no corresponding return from their
wivssi ami there are just inch wives wh meet
with no response from Uieir Inn ban-Is Tbsrs
srs big souled men marnstl tu but not mated
with small souled women, and tiler are noble,
generous women married to, but not mated with
narrow -minded men. There are perverse, un
reasonable, impracticable husbands, anil there
are perversa, nnreasiinshle, Impracticable Wives,
Ami tio-n ars trns. nobis, intelligent, warm
hsarled, pure lived huahso.la msrried to ami
in i.. 1 with true, pohl. intelligent, warm
in ..rt. -I iiurs llvsit wn.s these r. equslly
yoked and movs along ths highway of (rte as
two well matched horses, pulling svsttly anal
keeping st.-p sml mutually a Undying ami an'
ooursgmg sauh other.
Iu Ihtaw Mates iimsl enlightened with regard
to marriage ths Isw eontsmplslss lb wife as
every wsy the equsl sml the partner of the hue
hsiul. It proceeds upon the ground that In that
Ultimata slid enured relation the aid end shew
ing niftiienoo of ths wife conduces In ths neon
msry success of ths hoahsad as effealnefty as
hit own more direct ami elrenuoue esertlnns.
therefore It eresUs s commercial partnership
Iwtwesn the two epouees, snbjsul to the same
rules that govern ordinary partnerships In ths
usual course of laueluene between u.sn sml man.
When 1 hose contracting parlies hsve no money
osptlsl In Invest tit. may yet Invent snub vein
able and elhutettt v irtuea aa industry . eaonotny,
frugality, cheerfulness, poltonoo, heps, not rag,
and ths law, based as It la prufonnn views of
human nature ami borrowing all ths wlaalum of
solan! Ills, prssua.aa thsl ess-b party lav save the
saute am.. toil id lh.es ins. is or or Ih.sae vlrtnsS
sliiih .in. ..sis won It further iiresnnaes
si so hisd ami syniuslbstti are the fsslinata nf
Ui wife luwsrd her aula that she will ih el!
in Iter jeiwer for the - ummon gtajd of both, sad
if her hushsnd hss I seen endowed with greater
strength sml toerssys eo tliat hia axertiooe sr
ssure esseieel anal hia labors more dire lly sue
cssnfnl la muney-rennlts, yet lbs law rswards
ber for thsl not Use aflesttve en uperslion shwh
euntribules ts hat pwwnr as ths rasa All ths
rivers, snd makes bis I steles) eqssl with hers
ia ths resells of his esJsrMtss and Uhors, ati
v ding lbs net peur.es aqeaily bet sen Ihee.
Hrastn ua Pisson. The straie sn 74 awatsi
larg eaanaart grand rttotntvny A Ham's paaa hi
M.lsjU poand. I'srkir pause nf the earn mah
sversaw . ponaats strata sash 1 ami upright
piamat, hsvmg also three airings to sees) nana,
I roan -JO.isu to 1ft, UOO ponsats, seaaartussj to sjss,
the tssre grsaat Banana, 7i octave, Mag
Ihr. alrhxejsst to snsh
oetave soars ptanos, la atrtags to
I'..'bsj pnntla eev.h.
.