The Sunday Oregonian., July 20, 1902, PART FOUR, Page 32, Image 32

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THE SUNDAY OREGOMAH, PORTLAim JULY 20, 1902.
ETHICAL TALKS By CLEKGy ANT) THE LAITy
&
THE BLESSINGS OF GOOD
BY PROFESSOR CAMILLE MELINAUD
w
1 E all know from our own experi
ence what good humor means, and
we also know, at least from ob
servation of others, what bad humor Is.
Certain mornings we rise, happy, con
tented with life, confident In ourselves. In
the future, with smiling: Hps and sparkling
eyes, full of ideas and energy that Is good
tumor.
Then, other mornings we wake up from
en unpleasant dream, feeling distressed,
unsatisfied with everything and everybody,
contradictory, misanthropic, egotistic,
restless and nervous that is bad humor.
Both are accidental variations of our
character. The character is the river in
Its usual course, the humor is the little
ripples, the rapids, the dark shadows on
the sunlit spots which constantly change
the appearance of the surface.
It would be hard to exaggerate the Im
portance of good humor; it is one of the
greatest blessings of life.
I am not even afraid to say that good
humor brings success, happiness and luck.
Have you never perceived that on the
days when you happen to be in Very good
humor all chances seem, to be in your fa
vor? On these days you succeed in every
thing, everything looks smiling, and every
body is pleasant. You have luck in every
thing, your wishes are fulfilled, and the
moBt complicated affairs run smooth, as If
by magic Every one you meet has only
pleasant things to tell you. letters that
you are looking for arrive, containing Just
what you want.
Another blessing comes from good hu
mor; all sorts of Inspirations come to you
in that condition; there is no stimulant
that Is so powerful to clear up the mind
and produce new ideas as good humor.
Tou will certainly also havo noticed that
when you are in bad humor, or, as we also
call it, out of humor, you will blunder and
make mistakes In everything you under
take. Tour energy and will power is half
paralyzed, your mind dull, and you act
with less precision, speed and accuracy.
Your understanding is slow, you misunder
DO not think that there is a more un
just cry raised in modern society and
modern pontics than the cry for equal
ity, and I do not think thero Is a more
unreasonable or unjust demand than. this.
Continually we hear these empty words
repeated by politicians, that all men aro
created equal, and that no man has a
right to any special privilege, while the
fact Is that you may search all creation,
all the infinite universe, and you will not
find equality anywhere. In all nature
there is no such thing as equality.
Run your eye ovqr the firmament, look
at the thousands of suns and stars whose
rays reach our poor little planet, and
you will not find any two of them exactly
alike.
Stoop down and pick up two blades of
grass, and you will find they are never
alike. Ix)ok over all the mountains In the
world, and again you. will see that It Is
Impossible to find two peaks of tho same
size and shape; you will And nb two
rivers, no two plains any more alike than
the peaks of the mountains or the blades
of grass.
And this ever-changing variety in nature
and In our surroundings produces the
most beautiful and harmonious effects,
while, If we had resemblance and repeti
tion everywhere, the whole world would
be a desert of monotony.
Xiook at the animals. What resemblance
Is there between the splendid, slender,
elegantly formed, spirited horse that'wins
the "Grand Prix" and the clumsy, pa
tient animal that you see in front of a
heavy truck?
Are there any two birds that have the.
same motion, the same flight? Did you
ever And two human beings that were ex
THERE is nothing given to us to en
Joy in this world that is as beau
tiful as music; it is an echo of
Paradise, and if our music is so entranc
ing, so powerful ih. its effect on the hu
man mind, what must be the music of
heaven?
A legend I have read somewhere will
serve to explain this better than any
words of mine can do.
It is related In some ancient chronicle
that a pious monk after the recitation at
the midnight matins remained in the choir
absorbed In meditation over these words
of the Royal Prophet, which he had just
eung: "For a thousand years in Thy
sight, O, Lord! are as yesterday which
is past."
The legend goes on to 6ay that he prayed
to God to give him to understand how
it -was possible fbr one day on earth to
be compared to a thousand years in
heaven.
Presently, as he was absorbed in his
thought, he saw a little bird in the choir
ENVIABLE POSITION OF THE UNITED STATES
NO COUNTRY on. the globe has
achieved so much in a little more
than a century ob has tho United
States. Discouragement, debt and the
covetousness of all other nations charac
terized the conditions under which the
founders of this Republic started out to
establish a free government by the people
and for the people.
Prognostications of failure and the fate
that had attended other attempts at the
establishment of republics were rife all
over the world. In fact, there were fore
bodings among our own people until after
the close of our great Civil War, lest the
question of self-government was destined
to be a failure wherever undertaken. Tho
Issues of that war and the eradication of
the one dangerous element of half slave
and half free that had for half of the ex
istence of the Union threatened dissolu
tion, demonstrates tho indissolubility of
the Union or the States, and the principle
underlying Its free government was a
sure guarantee of its perpetuity.
From the adoption of the Constitution
stand people who speak to you, get irrl-,
tated and lose your temper. If you have
to say something yourself you stammer
and blunder, you are unable to find the
proper words and 'the nroper tone, and If
you unfortunately have to make a speech
you are sure to make a fool of yourself.
This is bad humor, the most unpleasant
and unbearable condition of the mjnd.
Good humor will make you better moral
ly, will make you feel charitable and
friendly to everybody, while bad humor
will have Just the opposite effect. It will
make you stubborn and spiteful and make
you do things even if you feel that you
ought not to do them at alL
Spltefulness is a special form of bad hu
mor that most of us, and certainly all wo
men, know; It Is a peculiar desire to say
Just the opposite of what you mean, do
Just the opposite of what you really want
to do. You wish to turn right, but no
you must necessarily say: "I will turn
left." You are dying to take a walk or to
be good and tender, but with all your
energy you struggle against yourself and
your good feelings; you will not give In.
Spltefulness Is a sickly form of mind; It
Is bad humor In its most acute and un
pleasant form.
When you are In good humor, on the
contrary, you will give up all selfish Ideas,
you will grow better morally, you will be
filled with Intentions to do good, you will
be all love, all charity.
And these are not all the blessings that
flow from good humor.
Good humor is very catching, very con
tagious, you might say, and this, I think.
Is the greatest of all Its blessings.
When we are in good humor we have the
power to make everybody else feel lighter
and happier.
As a' radiator sends out heat, so wo send
out happiness in all directions, and the
good Influence Is especially felt In our own
house, in our own family.
In a family, all faces look sober and mel
ancholy if the father or mother is out of
humor, a weight seems to rest on every
THE CRY OF EQUALITY
BY EMELE OLLIVER, MEMBER OF THE FRENCH ACADEMY
actly alike In height, weight, face, voice
and character?
What resemblance is there, in man him
self, between the eye that reaches objects
far away from him and the brain that re
ceives and classifies the images thrown on
the retina of the eye?
Could 3-ou think of comparing the brain
that is the seat of our Intelligence and
feeling with the heavy and clumsy-foot
that carries the weight of our whole body
as' an humble slave?
Look at our own human Institutions.
Do you find equality anywhere? Look at
our prisons; do you not think that part
of their efficiency rests on tho inequali
ties that they permit? Ym will, for In
stance, see two Individuals that have been
sent to the penitentiary for the same of-fense"-both
have committed theft under
very similar circumstances, but if they
belong to different classes in society do
we give them the same punishment? Far
from it- For an educated and cultured
person whom may be necessity has driven
to commit a crime a few months In
prison Is a much harder punishment than
for a rough tramp to spend several years,
well fed and well sheltered in the same
prison.
For this reason there Is a certain elas
ticity in our penal code; It fixes a maxi
mum and a minimum penalty and allows
the intelligence of the Judge to pronounce
the sentence within these limits, and to
take Into consideration all extenuating
circumstances that may speak in favor of
an accused.
In our own character, national and In
dividual, wo do not "recognize or strive for
equality, and I must smile every time I
hear a sentence like this: "The French
man does not quite understand what is
THE MIGHTY POWER OF MUSIC
BY RIGHT REV. C N. MATZ, BISHOP OF DENVER
on golden -wings beckoning him to come
out into the woods. Instinctively he fol
lowed It a short, distance from the mon
astery. There it perched upon the branch
of a tree and began to warble sweetly
for a short space of time, as he thought,
and disappeared.
The good monk, recovered from his
ecstasy and went back to the monastery,
intending to retire for the balance of the
night. But, lo! everything about the
place had undergone a magic change. New
roads and avenues had been opened in
the woods where he used to take his
meditative walks; he saw buildings, which
he had never seen before, even the trees
under whose shadows he had spent so
many pleasant hours contemplating the
beauties of nature were no longer the
same. He could not believe his own eyes.
Was he dreaming, was he In fairyland?
Yet, there stood the old monastery
with its massive walls Just as he left it
but an hour or so ago. There was
'the old convent church wherein he
BY MRS. JOHN A. LOGAN
to the establishment of the Southern Con
federacy there were, from time to time,
attempts from without and within to de
stroy the Republic In all cases tho wis
dom of our statesmen and the patriotism
of a majority of our citizens succeeded in
defending and preserving our unity and
National Integrity. The progress of our
people on all lines of civilization and
Christianity has astonished tho world, and
as if in fulfilment of the belief of many
that we are the chosen people of the Most
High, discoveries have been made that
prove that on the surface and In, the
depths of the earth of this continent are
resources far surpassing in richness those
of anxbther territory on the globe.
Every enterprise for the development
of these resources has prospered beyond
all expectations.
Before tho Civil War the gold and silver
mines of the West had became a guaran
tee for the expenditure .of the millions
necessary to put down rebellion. Before
the Spanlsn-American War, that necessi
, tated not only the expenditure of millions
HUMOR-
j-
one's chest, the words are few and only
spoken half loud, even the babies are suf
fering under and feel the cloud on the
family happiness. The very "air seems
heavy and stifling.
And us it Is la the family, it is to a
smaller extent outside, the effect is the
same, even if not so clearly felt.
It is, therefore, our simple duty to our
selves and others always to be In good
humor, or at least try to be, and the of
tener you try the easier you will find it.
To those who Imagine that it Is .Impos
sible to be In good spirits all the time, I
shall give a little advice, a few prescrip
tions, that may be of some help to them.
The first prescription, which may not be
easy to follow under all circumstances,
but that Is none the less very Important,
is this: "To be in good humor be in good
health'
It Is really too bad that this prescrip
tion Is not always practical, for It is al
most absolutely necessary.
Think of days when you have felt young
and strong, when every part of your or
ganism worked to perfection, and you
will find that on those days you have al
ways been in excellent humor. You may
have been sad, or you have had sorrow,
but you have never felt bitter.
Think of the effect that a good, hearty
meal, eaten with good appetite, has on
almost all of us. I am sure that you your
self know people with whom you And it
a good plan to do business just after they
have enjoyed a good meal, while you will
alEO know others whoso humor Is a per
fect barometer of their digestion or Indi
gestion. Lack of sleep and rest will
make us cranky and feel out of humor,
because the body and the health crave
their dues.
I therefore think that I am justified In
saying that the first condition, the very
foundation, of good humor. Is good
health, and we owe It to ourselves and
our surroundings to do everything to pre
serve or build up ourselves and take
every precaution not to ruin our health..!
equally irue that we are fanatically
struggling for the principle of equality.''
It .Is certainly true that we do not un
derstand what real liberty means, but it
is equally true that we are frantically
opposed to the principle of equality.
What Is our constant thought? Aro we
not always trying to obtain a privilege,
a favor, an opportunity that others do
not have? Don't we show this in every
thing? Are we not always trying to get
free passes to theaters, to railroads; are
we not always reaching out for a re
served seat; is It not our highest ambition
to get a decoration; a title, an office, not
so much for the intrinsic value of the
thing, as because we want to distinguish
ourselves and flatter our vanity? How
many tears of Joy have not been shed in a
family when one of Its members has been
decorated with the cross of the Legion of
Honor? Are we not always Inventing hew
medals, new diplomas for one thing or an
other? Who would not like to see a
statue of himself raised in a public
square?
How often do we not hear this phrase:
"The highest honor attainable, the high
est decoration in life, is citizenship in
this glorious Republic"?
iHow empty these words are when we
prostrate ourselves at the visit of every
foreign potentate, when we travel hun
dreds of miles and spend thousands of
francs to attend a coronation and catch
a mere glimpse of royalty that we pretend
to ridicule and despise.
There may be people who think that
some day we shall have more equality,
less difference between rich arid poor, but
who are the ones who will bring about this
equality? Certainly not the Socialists.
Look to the bottom of their programme
and you will seo that It Is not proprietor
was wont to sing the praises of God.
It's gothlo tower and gray gables cov
ered with the moss of ages were still as
he left them that very night. But when
ho reached the monasters' gate he found
it walled up and another gate opening
into the enclosure from the opposite side.
He tried the door," It would not open and
& pull at the bell brought the porter to
the gate. He did not know the man. al
though he had spent a. generation within
these walls and felt confident he knew
every man In the house.
He told his name, and while from the
habit he wore It was evident that he
belonged to the order and tnlght have
been an Inmate of this House, no one
knew him nor had anyone ever seen or
heard of him within these precincts. The
abbot was summoned, but he also was a
stranger, unknown to him as all the rest.
He was led Into the community room and
asked to give an account of his life. He
related then to the assembled community
how, in answer to his .prayer the previous
to aid a struggling people in throwing off
the yoke of oppression, additional discov
eries added to our wealth and resources,
enabling us not only to bear the burdens
of war, but at the same time to furnish
a destitute people of the far-away Islands
of the -sea with the necessities and many
of tho luxuries of life, and to transport
not only those required for our Army,
but abundance for the population inhab
iting them.
No such record for humanltarianism has
ever" been made by any nation, and,
though we paid dearly by the sacrifice of
our bravest and best, in our interference
in China to settle the Imbroglio In which
many other nations were Involved power
ful Russia among the number we have
the proud satisfaction of knowing that
wo rescued our own imperiled representa
tives and brought about a peaceful solu
tion for the present, at least, of the Im
minent questions that threatened a bloody
carnage unparalleled in history, and won
for ourselves a wholesome respect that
will make us potent in the future In pre
My second prescription Is based on the
observation that our good humor ue
pends verv much on the sympathy or
antipathy that we Inspire in our sur
roundings. When we live among people whom we
know to love and respect us, we feel
pleased and good-natured. If any pne
tells us that we have made a favorable
Impression on somebody we immediately
feel benevolent and well-di3posed. On
the other side, if we have a quarrel with
a friend, it makes us feel nervous and
out of humor.
All through our life we hear of sym
pathies and antipathies that we awaken
in others, and our humor is continually
Influenced by the reports of these feel
ings, and my, advice Is therefore this:
'.Try to ,be kind, lenient and friendly to
every one, and you will find that you
will less often yourself bo troubled with
bad humor."
Another very Important factor Is order
and regularity in our life and our ideas;
Order in everything brings good humor;
disorder brings dissatisfaction.
I shall take a very simple example.
Have you ever noticed that you felt in
good humor when you had Just put all
your books, your bric-a-brac, your furni
ture in their right places?
On the other side, when you seo dust
and papers piled up on your desk, when
you see one week pass after another
while you are unable to put things Into
shape; have you not felt that this state
of affairs was getting more and more
unbearable every day?
T am sure we all know these feelings,
and my third prescription to you Is this:
"Keep your things in order, your business
in shape; be regular In your habits; do
not leave a thing till tomorrow If you
may do It today." Tomorrow you mayi
have no chance, and If you And that -you
have not your good humor will be gone.
My last advice, which I consider the
most valuable and almost Infallible, Is as
old. as the world itself, but It will never
lose Its value, and no better will ever be
found. It fits all persons, all circum
stances, and If you follow It it will lead
to the goal. It will give you -happiness
and good humor, and It sounds thus: "To
be In good humor you must do your duty
under all circumstances."
ship they want to abolish: they only want
to eliminate the proprietor and take his
place.
How well I remember some .words that
Thiers once said to me:
"Socialism is very easily defined. The
Socialists reason In this manner: In 17E9
the- middle classes took away the prop
erty from the nobility, now the time has
come for the lower classes to take the
property from the bourgeoisie."
"But tell me, now," said Mr. Thiers,
"where does the bourgeoisie begin, and
where does it end? Is not everybody
more or less bourgeois?"
"Mr. Thiers," I replied, "you have writ
ten a very fine history" of the revolution,
but the true history will always be writ
ten by those who are able to read and
explain the only indisputable documents
of history the laws.
We have a small law, written by St
Just, that contains more Socialism than
all tho teachings of Marx arid George.
It says:
" 'Article 2 A committee for the wel
fare of the public shall decide who are
the aristocrats and who are the patriots.'
"If the Socialists should really succeed
in dividing all property equally, how long
would this equality last? The very next
day the lazy and vicious Individuals would
sell thelc'blrthrlght for a mess of pottage
to tho thrifty and energetic."
I therefore come to the conclusion that
all Institutions that are based on equality
are pervert, false and unstable.
But, understand me well, there nre two
kinds of Inequality, that of caste and
rank, which we had before the Revolution,
and which we must destroy and kill wher
ever we meet It; and- that of ambition
and ability, that enables the most humble
citizen to reach the top rung of the so
cial ladder, which enables the tanner to
become President, the private soldier to
become a General, the laborer to become
v captain of industry: which gives us all
u chance -to say with Don Sancho, "Just
as Gdd did. I have created much from
nothing."
night, after the midnight matins, the
little bird had beckoned him into the
woods, where for a short quarter of an
hour he listened to Its rapturous song. He
gave the name of the abbot and the monk3
with whom he had lived.
Reference to the chronicles of the mon
aster' under the abbot named revealed
the fact that 200 years before a mon an
swering the name and description he bore
has disappeared after the chanting jpf
the ofllce, and had never been heard from.
I have given the legend as near as I
recall It to mind. For aught we know.
resting upon the words of the RoyaT
Prophet, It might havo been a fact. As
It Is, it furnishes us a most beautiful Il
lustration of music's entrancing power.
We all know by personal experience how
time does speed imperceptibly by us dur
ing the fleeting hours of pleasure.
If the music of earth in this land of
exile where, like the Children of Israel
sitting b" the rivers of Babylon, our
harps aft; mute with sorrow, and the ac
cents of Joy are but too often drowned
In the flood of despair; If even here in
this valley of tears the music of our exile
can conjure our tears and cast us Into
ecstasies of delight, what must the music
of heaven be! '
venting any avaricious nation from in
flicting injustice and robbery upon an
othera position that could only have
been won by superior skill, Intelligence
and diplomacy, backed by the highest
principles of right and justice.
Wo have evidence continually of Jeal
ousy of great powers for our favor, and
a complete reversal of the financial In
dependence of nations, the United States
being second to none in the quotations.
Wo have established the best standard
of magnanimity and humanity of all .na
tions, all others following the precedents
we Inaugurated in the Rebellion of 1SG1
in dealing with their vanquished foe or
rebellious subjects. To maintain this ex
alted place should be the ambition of
every American citizen, and the constant
care of all in authority A slight mistake
in the wisdom of our gislators, execu
tive and diplomatic representatives, might
dislodge 'us from the 'position of arbitra
tor In national and international affairs
or force us to engage in -a fearful war to
sustain our supremacy. Will we be as
wise In retaining as in achieving this en
viable position?
Berlin's watchful health authorities hare is
sued a warning against Iced drinks In Summer
weather as belnr injurious to health. People
are warned sot to drink beverares that ore
colder than 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
w
HEN man suffers from false legis
lation, he has the remedy In his
own hands, but an humble peti
tion, protest or prayer is all that woman
can claim.
The contract of marriage Is by no means
equal. From Coke down to Kent who can
cite one law under the marriage contract
where woman has the advantage? The
law permits the girl to marry at 12 years
of age, while It requires several years
more of experience on the part of the
boy.
In entering this compact the man gives
up nothing that he before possessed; he Is
a man still, while the legal existence of
woman Is suspended during marriage, and
Is known but In and through the husband.
Bktckstone says: "The husband and wife
are one, and that one Is the husband."
Kent says: "The legal effects of marriage
are generally deduclble f rom the principle
or cemmon law, by which the husband and
wife are regarded as one person, and her
legal existence and authority lost or sus
pended during the continuance of the mat
rimonial union."
The wife Is regarded by all legal author
ities as a "femme covert'1 placed wholly
"sub potestate vlri."
Woman, as woman, has nothing to ask
of our legislators but the right of suffrage.
It Is only In marriage that she must de
mand her rights to person, children, prop
erty, wages, life, liberty and the pursuit
of happiness. All the' special statutes of
which we complain all the barbarities of
tha law fall on her as wife and mother.
We have, not yet outlived theold feudal
Idea, the right of property In woman. The
term marriage expresses the nature of the
relation In which man alone is recognized.
It comes from the Latin "marls," husband,
hence, as you look through the statutes
and old common law you find constant
mention of "marital rights."
Here and there, through the endless lab
yrinth of authorities, you will be refreshed
with a bit of benevolence for the wife in
the form of "protection." You never hear
of "uxorlal rights," but always of the
"widow's dower," the "widow's incum
brance," and the "wife's alimony."
The laws on divorce are quite as unequal
as those on marriage; yes, far more so.
The advantages" seem to be all on one
side, the penalties on the other.
In case of divorce. If the husband be the
Nc
O CUSTOM, thoughtfully carried
out, affords greater pleasure than
sending flowers to the sick, yet Its
possibilities are rarely developed. The
shopper who hurries into a florist's, tosses
out a card and orders a dozen roses or
twice as many carnations sent to a sick
friend, goes on her way rejoicing In the
senso of a duty promptly and well per
formed. In reality her flowers, like a for
mal call, will lack personality, bespeak a
merely perfunctory courtesy and give the
invalid little or no pleasure beyond the
thought of having been remembered.
On the other hand, a llttlo attention to
the time and the season, or deference
to the taste and fancy of the recipient,
will double the value of the gift. Partlcu-.
larly during convalescence will properly
selected flowers afford much entertain
ment. Conventional hothouse flowers, such as
American beauties, and huge corsage bou
quets of violets, represent only a well
fllled purse, and. their heavy scent 13 not
always desirable In the sick room. The
invalid Is heartily tired of lndqor life;
therefore, select flowers that suggest
meadows, cool shadows, woodland dim
ness and purling streams. Pansles, wet
with dew or a simulation thereof from
a fine spray; lilies of the valley swathed
In their own sheathlike leaves; old-fash-lonefi
garden flowers, such as the splpy,
single pinks your grandmother raised;
wall-flowers and their faint, evanescent
perfume; small roses of the various climb
ing varieties; long sprays of honeysuckle
all these are blossoms to conjure with In.
a sick room, and, strangely enough, are
now to be secured from florists In all
large cities.
Invalids with hosts of generous and
well-meaning friends have actually been
heard to rebel against the dally onslaught
of hothouse offerings The daughter of
a millionaire was once roused from
thoughts of the aches and pains Incident,
to typhoid fever by a woman who, in her
very Ignorance of so-called good form,
wrought better than she knew. The pa-
COURTESY THE FLOWER OF CIVILIZATION
BY HARRIET PRESCOTT SPOFFORD
j f he man who, after a rude remark
to a lady, begged her pardon, say-
lng he had thought It was hl wife,
was of the kind very apt to be agreeable
when outdoors and disagreeable when at
home, the man who not only has never
profited by the old fable of the sun and
the north wind, who has failed to per
ceive that courteny Is the flower of civ
ilization and the essence of Christianity,
but who has never learned that In the
long run It Is a good paying Investment.
No man can hope to retain his wife's af
fection, if she is much of a woman, who
constantly offends her sense of propriety
and outrages her feelings by his rudeness.
She looks with envy at the woman whose
husband listens with the appearance of
pleasant interest when she speaks, sees
always that she Is well served, taps on
her bedroom door before he enters, by
his own deference obliges that of others;
and In the absence of courtesy, and its
visible evidence of appreciation, she ends
by dethroning the demigod that, every
woman's husband Is to her in the begin
ning, holding in his place an Ideal with
small resemblance to himself as the thing
she would have liked for the guardian of
her home, always a little saddened by
realization of the impossibility of Its ac
tual existence, and inevitably regarding
her husband from a plane of personal, su
periority. A corresponding disregard for her best
happiness is shown by the woman who
allows herself to treat her husband with
disrespect, who breaks in upon his re
marks, directs upon him her ridicule,
points out his deficiencies, and complains
of him to others, That woman's husband,
after a -while, must feel' a deadening of
sensibility so fax as she la concerned;
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE
BY ELIZABETH CADY STANTON '
guilty party, he still retains a greater part
of the property.
If the wife be the guilty party, she goes
out of the partnership penniless.
In New York and some other states the
wife of the guilty husband can now sue
for a divorce In her own name, and the
costs come out of the husband's estate,
but In a majority of the states she Is still
compelled to sue In the name of another,
a 3he has no means of paying costs, even
though she may have brought thousands
Into the partnership.
The laws are all the opinions of men,
and on these are the hundreds of women
depending who this hour demand In our
courts a release from burdensome con
tracts. Are not young women, from our first
families, dragged into our public courts
Into assemblies of men exclusively? The
judges all men, the Jurors all men?
No true woman Is there to shield them,
by her presence, from gross and imperti
nent questionings, to pity their misfor
tunes, or to protest against their wrongs.
The administration of justice depends far
more on the opinions of eminent Jurists
than on law alone, for law Is powerless
when at variance with public sentiment.
For years there has been before the Leg
islatures of the different states a variety
of bills asking for divorce In cases of
drunkenness, insanity, desertion and cruel
and brutal treatment, endangering life.
My attention was called to this question
very early In life, by the sufferings of a
friend of my girlhood a victim of one of
those unfortunate unions called marriage.
What my great love for that young girl,
and my holy Intuitions then decided to be
right has not been changed by years of
experience, observation and reason.
I have pondered well these things In my
heart, and ever felt the deepest Interest
In all that has been written and said on
this subject .and the most profound respect
for those heroic women, who, in the face
of law and public sentiment, have dared
to sunder the unholy ties of a joyless,
loveless union.
If marriage is a human institution,
about which man may legislate. It seems
but Just that he should treat this branch
of his legislation with the same common
sense that he applies to all others.
If it is a mere legal contract, then t
It should be subject to the restraints
FLOWERS FOR THE
BY AN EXPERIENCED NURSE
tlcnt's younger sister entered the -room
bearing an Immense box from a fashion
able florist. The Invalid glanced languid
ly at the latest accession and closed her
eyes again. She recognized the brand,
apparently. Suddenly she was roused by
a titter from her sister:
"Well, this does look just like Mrs.
Smythe. In her vulgar anxiety to make
a big showing she has flowers from every
plant that grows!"
Tho Invalid opened, her eyes and
reached pettishly for the box.' At sight
of Its contents she smiled. Roses of every
hue, bright crimson carnations, and yel
low tulips, modest marguerites and saucy
cosmos and half a dozen varieties of ferns,
with a bunch of forget-me-nots snuggling
in one corner! These and more!
"I wonder If we have vases enough
In the house. The Japanese are the only
people who understand the arrangement
of flowers. They never mix different
kinds. I want the coarse ferns and cos
mos in Grandmother Mitchell's old soup
tureen. The combination will be so ar
tistic. The high Bohemian vase In the
butler's pantry will hold the narcissus.
And, Jessie, you know- that Tiffany bowl
In the library"
Well, the upshot was that nurse and
sl3ter were sent scurrying from room to
room for correct receptacles, and the box
of flowers condemned by a critical circle
'of relatives, provided delightful enter
tainment for the tired Invalid.
Better, even, than this. Is to lay aside
the florist's box and pack the blossoms
In a moss or leaf-lined basket. In an
historic suburb of Philadelphia lives an
old lady whose tiny greenhouse sends al
most dally messages of cheer to the sick.
She raises single violets, okl-fashloned
Johnhy-Jump-Ups, mignonette, petunias,
phlox and their simple floral relatives,
whose quaint beauty is enhanced by the
manner in which they are sent forth.
Sometimes a low, flat tin is filled with
moss. Into which the flowers .are stuck;
more often an oddly shaped basket Is
employed, the dear little gardener being
she may have a partner, she no longer has
a lover. And. meanwhile, she has lowered
her own standard; for, after all. It Is her
husband; and If It Is not true that as the
husband Is the wife is, nevertheless the
wife takes her rank from and through
him; and If he Is so poor a thing, more
over, it Is supposedly the most In the way
of husbands that she could attain.
Manners, said Aristotle, are the lesser
morals, and to one who searches there Is
a moral and a reason behind every prin
ciple of their code. The offender against
their code Is considered a boor because
he breaks down that which refines and
sweetens life, and nowhere Is this code
so vital as in the intimate relations of
the married, where It stands forever In
tho way of that rough familiarity which
breeds contempt.
There are individuals who have the
singular notion thatattention to the min
ute matters of politeness In 'general is a
confession of inferiority, and that, as be
tween husband and wife, it Is a silly super
fluity. A man is afraid of being thought
uxorious; a wife Is afraid of seeming
afraid; each thinks a certain carelessness,
a certain roughness and brusqueness, ttie
desirable method in public, leaving one
to Infer how much worse the want of
courtesy may be In private.
Why It should discredit a man to show,
so far as a sufficiently gentle and deferen
tial manner does It, that his wife Is of
more importance to him than all the rest
of the world Is, or why a woman should
think her acquaintances would esteem her
j less on seeing that she looks up to her
husband, regards him as the last and
greatest work of creation .should be re
gardedas they, every one of them, either
regard Jhelr own. or wish they did wUl
and privileges of all other contracts.
A contract to be valid In law must bo
formed between parties of mature age,
with an honest Intention In said parties
to do what they agree. The least conceal
ment, fraud or Intention to deceive. If
proved, annuls the contract.
A boy cannot contract for an acre of
land or a -horse until he Is 21, but he
may contract for a wife at 14.
If a man sell a horse, and the purchas
er find In him "great incompatibility of
temper" a disposition to stand still, when
the owner Is In haste togo the sale is
null and void, the man and his horse part
company.
But in marriage, no matter how much
fraud and deception are practiced, nor
how cruelly one or both parties have been
misled; no matter how young or Inexperi
enced or thoughtless the parties; nor how
unequal their position In life, the contract
cannot be annulled.
Think of a husband telling a young and
trusting girl, but one short month his
wife, that he married her for her money,
that those letters, so precious to her that
she had read and re-read and kissed and
cherished, were written by another, that
their splendid home, of which, on their
wedding day, her father gave to him the
deed, la already In tho hands of creditors,
that she must give up the elegance and
luxury that now surround her, unless she
can draw fresh supplies of money to meet
their wants.
When she told the story of her wrongs
to me the abuse to which she was sub
ject, and the dread In which she lived,
I Impulsively urged her to fly from such
a monster and villain, as she vould before
the hot breath of a ferocious beast of the
wilderness, and she did fly, and it wa3
well with her.
Many times since, as I have felt her
throbbing heart against my own, she has
said: "Oh. but for your love and sym
pathy, your words of encouragement, I
should never have escaped from that
bondage; before I could, of myself, havo
found the courage to break those chains
ray heart would have broken in the ef
fort." Years have passed since then, but every
one of them has only added to tho
strength of my conviction, and that my
Impulsive advice was right, and that I. if
asked, should advise any woman in slml
lar circumstances to do thesame.
SICK
always on the watch for bargains in
wicker work. It Is her one hobby, and
a most unselfish one, too.
A more lasting plensure Is afforded by
plants of a size which can be easily
moved and cared for by the nurse.
Feathery ferns in a dish of simple de
sign are refreshing to fever-tired eyes.
Common wood violets bear transplanting
to the sick room, and. if well watereJ.
will live and bloom many day3. A pot of
small English daisies or pansles. with In
telligent faces, make cheerful companions
for the Invalid. A fern dish filled with
woodland plants once helped to save a
young woman's life. She had fallen Into
a dangerous condition, of melancholia,
and woke each morning with a dull, fixed
belief that she would not outlive the day.
Against this a friend, quite accidentally,
but fortuitously, played a mass of grow
ing blood root, hepatlca and anemone.
Both blood root and anemone blossoms
folded their petals at njght and woke
with the sun The latter operation
seemed particularly to divert the Invalid,
whose first waking thought was whether
the flowers had been the earlier risers.
She sternly ordered the nurse that undr
no circumstances were these to be re
moved each night with the other flowers.
This was the first step In drawing her out
of herself.
On the other hand, flowers thoughtless
ly selected, sometimes have a most unex
pected effect. A young woman who was
rallying from a serious operation, and
who was In a highly nervous condition,
received a box of pure white roses anJ
carnations nestling In maiden-hair ferns.
At sight of the well-meant, but IH-adviscd
offering, she became fairly hysterical,
and declared that people need not send
her funeral flowers until she was at lee at
dead.
And last, but not least, with your Hov
ers send a characteristic note, if it is only
scribbled on the back of your card. In
valids prize these messages highly, espe
cially If no visitors are admitted to tho
room.
always be a mystery. For, In point of
fact, the more either asserts the other's
dignity, gracefully and naturally and as
without effort, the greater proportions
that dignity assumes, while really each Is
honored In honoring the other, and each.
Is happier.
For the rest, the home where delicate
manners between the husband and wife
are neglected Is almost always a sceno
of strife and vulgar bickering with parti
san feeling. This child resents the care
less or flippant Indifference on one side;
that child resents the bullying on the
other; and union and harmony become un
known quantities. But the home where a
fine courtesy prevails, where the husband
treats the wife aa he would the first
lady In the land, and compasses her with
sweet, observances and sympathetic care,
where tho wife never fails with the gen
tle word, the answering smile, the fore
seeing thoughtfulness, the compelling re
spect. Is a home where. If love did not
exist beforehand, he would come and
make his nest and abide continually.
Life's Mirror.
There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave.
There are souls that aro pure and true;
Then give to tha world the best you have.
And the best will come back to you.
Give love, and love to your life will flow,
A strength In your uttermost need;
Have faith, and a score of hearts will show
Their faith In your word and deed.
Give truth, and your gift will be paid in kind.
And honor will honor meet;
And a smile that is sweet will surely find
A smile that is just as sweet.
For life Is the mirror of king and slave;
'Tls just what we are and do;
I. Then give to the world the best you have.
And the best will come back to you.
Madeline S. Bridges,