Samantha on the Woman Question

o' brought me down onto my feet agin as it were

ill you do Ser

u will pardon me for saying that it is my belief that the soft gentle brains of females are unfitted for the

dn't ort to disfranchise the hull race of men and wimmen. And as to soft brains, Maria Mitchell discovered planets hid from masculine eyes from

hat is on the other side, see a remedy for 'em. Florence Nightingale could mother and help cure an army, and why hain't men willin' to let wimmen help cure a sick legislation, kin

e importance you claim for them, why is it that so few women are made immortal by bein' represented in the Hall of Fame? And why are the four or five femal

give wimmen an equally desirable place amongst the Immortals. Do you spoze that if women formed half the committee of selection--which they should since it wuz a woman'

owe's immortal story that thrilled the world and helped free a race?--yes, two races--for the curse of slavery held the white race in bondage, too. Yet she and her th

enerosity and chivalry. Here wuz a place where that chivalry would have shone, but it didn't s

. Men take wimmen's money, as they did here, and use it to uplift themselves, and lower her, like taxin' her heavily and often unjustly and usin'

a new light. I never looked a

ustomary that men do 'em without thinkin', from habit and custom,

natural human instinct is aginst the change. In savage races that

where wimmen always rule, though I don't think

aginst it

d and should not encourage it. In my opinion the male bee has just as good a right to be monarch as his female pardner has, if he is as good and knows as much. I never believed in the femal

heme--" But his axent wuz as weak as a cat and his boughte

Was the rain of Victoria the Good less peaceful and prosperous than that of the male rulers who preceded her? And you can then throw your other eye ov

d he wuz beat on every side, and almost to the end of his chain of rusty, broken old arguments.

e. The Bible is aginst the idee. The Bible teaches man's

how man wuz turned right round by a woman, tells how she not only turne

n honorable manner as things should be done. No, Eve ruled by indirect influence, the gently influencing

Israel openly and honestly, like Miriam, Deborah and other likely old four moth

chair. And sez he, "I thought wimmen wuz taug

me happiness and delight, and my best happiness is found in servin

strength and power. But in the New Testament in every great undert

w you talk! Have you

apologizin' way. He had always meant to read it, but he had entered political life at an early age where the Bib

there hain't no Gulliver in

he knew, and he had always heard and believed t

edemption for fallen humanity. God Himself called woman into that work, the divine work of saving a world, and why shouldn't she continue in it? God called her. Mary had no dream of publicity, no desire of

ivine work of helpin' redeem a world from sin. And did not this woman's love and willin' obedience

t for nineteen hundred years been blessin' the world? The God in Christ would awe us too much; we would shield our eyes from the too blindin' glory of the pure God-like. But the tender Christ who wept over a sinful city, an

redemption; since He called her from the quiet obscurity of womanly rest and peace into the blessed martyrdom of

cause too, and God will take care of His own. Herods full of greed and frightened selfishness may try to break her heart by efforts to kill the child she loves, but she will hold it

he name sounds familiar to me. Was not Mr

o Herod wuz, and as it all seems a new story to you, I will tell you. When the Saviour of the world wuz born in Bethlehem, and

as not righ

child the mother carries on her heart. Surroundin' him with temptations so murderous, yet so enticin' to youthful spirits, that the mother feels that as the laws are now, the gr

"Do you allude to our vene

Bible--I'm talkin' about J

so engrossed in politics, and political literature, I do

as I wuz sayin', Joseph wuz a likely man. He had the strength to lead the way, overcome obstacl

n the future. The man and the woman walkin' side by side. He a little ahead, mebby, to keep off dangers by his greater strength and courage

er to carry it through. He will protect her from her own weaknesses, and th

er and brighter, and wise men are even now comin'

or some time; and finally I spo

ill you give her her rights? And

ht to do 'em, but the Constitution of the United States stood up firm aginst 'em. As the l

't the laws

? Tamper with the glorious Constitution that our

lin' with horrow. He did it to skair me, I knew, but I knowed I meant well towards the Constitution and our old forefath

u speak of changin' the unalterable laws of the

I said. Hain't they

one. He see that he could not skair me to death; an' sez

il war it wuz changed to make Norther

emed to be a case of n

r breed of bloodhounds the slave-holders could emp

"it wuz a case o

ave been changed to be

anged to enable whiskey dealers to ut

ged. And then," sez he, growin' still more candid in his excitement, "we are makin' a powerful effort to change the laws now so as to take the tax off of whiskey, so it can be sold cheaper, and obtained in greater quantities by the masses. Any such great laws would

est said I had convinced you that Serepta's errents wuz e

lige you, I have not the time to devote to the cause of Right and Justice. I don't think you r

st constantly to see that the liquor dealers s

common people, and help 'em secretly to please ourselves, or our richest perkisits are lost. The Canal Ring, the Indian Agency, the Land Grabbers, the politica

e uplifted to its extremest heigh

e I and the rest of our loyal henchmen have been worn out in our labors in tariff revision. You know

coldly, "I've

tting the duty off champagne, green turtle, olives, etc., and put on to suga

abor!" sez I

not show any gratitude; we statesmen labor oft with achin

e of a barn. And I stopped his complaints and his

's errents? Errents full of trut

r to me. "Mebby you have heard," sez he, "that we are now engaged in making most important laws concerning moth-millers, and minny fish, and hog cholera. And take it with these important bills and the constant strain on our minds in tryin' to pass laws

d started for the door. But jest as my hand wuz on the nub he jumped up and opened

Senator B. will do

nd he said I would find him at

ace for a Emperor or a Zar is the Capitol of our great nation where I