"That hain"t nothin" I approve of; I don"t speak of it because I like the idee. That wuzn"t done in a open honorable manner as things should be done.
No, Eve ruled by indirect influence, the gently influencing men way, that politicians are so fond of. And she brought ruin and destruction onto the hull world by it.
"A few years later when men and wimmen grew wiser, when we hear of wimmen rulin" Israel openly and honestly, like Miriam, Deborah and other likely old four mothers, things went on better. They didn"t act meachin" and tempt, and act indirect."
He sithed powerful and sot round oneasy in his chair. And sez he, "I thought wimmen wuz taught by the Bible to serve and love their homes."
"So they be. And every true woman loves to serve. Home is my supreme happiness and delight, and my best happiness is found in servin" them I love. But I must tell the truth, in the house or outdoors."
Sez he faintly, "The Old Testament may teach that women have some strength and power. But in the New Testament in every great undertaken" and plan men have been chosen by G.o.d to carry them through."
"Why-ee!" sez I, "how you talk! Have you ever read the Bible?"
He said evasively, his grandmother owned one, and he had seen it in early youth. And then he went on in a sort of apologizin" way. He had always meant to read it, but he had entered political life at an early age where the Bible wuzn"t popular, and he believed that he had never read further than the Epistles of Gulliver to the Liliputians.
Sez I, "That hain"t Bible, there hain"t no Gulliver in it, and you mean Galatians."
Well, he said, that might be it, it wuz some man he knew, and he had always heard and believed that man wuz the only worker that G.o.d had chosen.
"Why," sez I, "the one great theme of the New Testament--the salvation of the world through the birth of Christ--no man had anything to do with. Our divine Lord wuz born of G.o.d and Woman. Heavenly plan of redemption for fallen humanity. G.o.d Himself called woman into that work, the divine work of saving a world, and why shouldn"t she continue in it? G.o.d called her.
Mary had no dream of publicity, no desire of a world"s work of suffering and renunciation. The soft air of Galilee wropped her about in its sweet content, as she dreamed her quiet dreams in maiden peace--dreamed, perhaps, of domestic love and happiness.
"From that sweetest silence, the restful peace of happy innocent girlhood, G.o.d called her to her divine work of helpin" redeem a world from sin. And did not this woman"s love and willin" obedience, and sufferin" set her apart, baptize her for this work of liftin" up the fallen, helpin" the weak?
[Ill.u.s.tration: "He"d entered political life where the Bible wuzn"t popular; he"d never read further than Gulliver"s Epistle to the Liliputians."]
"Is it not a part of woman"s life that she gave at the birth and crucifixion? Her faith, her hope, her sufferin", her glow of divine pity and joyful martyrdom. These, mingled with the divine, the pure heavenly, have they not for nineteen hundred years been blessin" the world? The G.o.d in Christ would awe us too much; we would shield our eyes from the too blindin" glory of the pure G.o.d-like. But the tender Christ who wept over a sinful city, and the grave of His friend, who stopped dyin" on the cross to comfort His mother"s heart, provide for her future--it is this womanly element in our Lord"s nature that makes us dare to approach Him, dare to kneel at His feet?
"And since woman wuz so blessed as to be counted worthy to be co-worker with G.o.d in the beginnin" of the world"s redemption; since He called her from the quiet obscurity of womanly rest and peace into the blessed martyrdom of renunciation and toil and sufferin", all to help a world that cared nothin" for her, that cried out shame upon her.
"He will help her carry on the work of helpin" a sinful world. He will protect her in it, she cannot be harmed or hindered, for the cause she loves of helpin" men and wimmen, is G.o.d"s cause too, and G.o.d 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 so clost to her bosom he can"t destroy it; and the light of the Divine will go before her, showin" the way through the desert and wilderness mebby, but she shall bear it into safety."
"You spoke of Herod," sez he dreamily, "the name sounds familiar to me. Was not Mr. Herod once in the United States Senate?"
"Not that one," sez I. "He died some time ago, but I guess he has relatives there now, judgin" from laws made there. You ask who 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 a woman wuz tryin" to save His life, a man by the name of Herod wuz tryin" his best out of selfishness and greed to murder Him."
"Ah! that was not right in Herod."
"No, it hain"t been called so. And what wuzn"t right in him hain"t right in his relations who are tryin" to do the same thing to-day. Sellin" for money the right to destroy the 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 grave is the only place of safety that G.o.d Himself can find for her boy. But because Herod wuz so mean it hain"t no sign that all men are mean. Joseph wuz as likely as he could be."
"Joseph?" sez he pensively. "Do you allude to our venerable speaker, Joe Cannon?"
"No," sez I. "I"m talkin" Bible--I"m talkin" about Joseph; jest plain Joseph."
"Ah! I see. I am not fully familiar with that work. Being so engrossed in politics, and political literature, I don"t git any time to devote to less important publications."
Sez I candidly, "I knew you hadn"t read it the minute you mentioned the book of Liliputians. But as I wuz sayin", Joseph wuz a likely man. He had the strength to lead the way, overcome obstacles, keep dangers from Mary, protect her tenderer form with the mantilly of his generous devotion.
"_But she carried the Child on her bosom_; ponderin" high things in her heart that Joseph never dreamed of. That is what is wanted now, and in 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. She a-carryin" the infant Christ of Love, bearin" the baby Peace in her bosom, carryin" it into safety from them that seek to destroy it.
"And as I said before, if G.o.d called woman into this work, He will enable her to carry it through. He will protect her from her own weaknesses, and the misapprehensions and hard judgments and injustices of a gain-sayin"
world.
"Yes, the star of hope is risin" in the sky brighter and brighter, and wise men are even now comin" to the mother of the new Redeemer, led by the star."
He sot demute. Silence rained for some time; and finally I spoke out solemnly through the rain:
"Will you do Serepta"s errents? Will you give her her rights? And will you break the Whiskey Ring?"
He said he would love to do the errents, I had convinced him that it would be just and right to do "em, but the Const.i.tution of the United States stood up firm aginst "em. As the laws of the United States wuz, he could not make any move toward doin" either of the errents.
Sez I, "Can"t the laws be changed?"
"Be changed? Change the laws of the United States? Tamper with the glorious Const.i.tution that our fore-fathers left us--an immortal sacred legacy."
He jumped up on his feet and his second-hand smile fell off. He kinder shook as if he wuz skairt most to death and tremblin" with horrow. He did it to skair me, I knew, but I knowed I meant well towards the Const.i.tution and our old forefathers; and my principles stiddied me and held me firm and serene. And when he asked me agin in tones full of awe and horrow:
"Can it be that I heard my ear aright? Or did you speak of changin" the unalterable laws of the United States--tampering with the Const.i.tution?"
"Yes, that is what I said. Hain"t they never been changed?"
He dropped that skairful look and put on a firm judicial one. He see that he could not skair me to death; an" sez he, "Oh, yes, they"ve been changed in cases of necessity."
Sez I, "For instance durin" the Oncivil war it wuz changed to make Northern men cheap bloodhounds and hunters."
"Yes," he said, "it seemed to be a case of necessity and economy."
"I know it," sez I; "men wuz cheaper than any other breed of bloodhounds the slave-holders could employ to hunt men and wimmen with, and more faithful."
"Yes," he said, "it wuz a case of clear economy."
And sez I: "The laws have been changed to benefit liquor dealers."
"Well, yes," he said, "it had been changed to enable whiskey dealers to utilize the surplus liquor they import."
Sez he, gittin" kinder animated, for he wuz on a congenial and familar theme, "n.o.body, the best calculators in drunkards, can exactly calculate how much whiskey will be drunk in a year; and so, ruther than have the whiskey dealers suffer loss, the law had to be changed. 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 quant.i.ties by the ma.s.ses. Any such great laws would justify a change in the Const.i.tution and the laws; but for any frivolous cause, any trivial cause, madam, we male custodians of the sacred Const.i.tution stand as walls of iron before it, guarding it from any shadow of change. Faithful we will be, faithful unto death."
Sez I, "As it has been changed, it can be agin. And you jest said I had convinced you that Serepta"s errents wuz errents of truth and justice, and you would love to do "em."
"Well, yes, yes--I would love to--as it were--. But, my dear madam, much as I would like to oblige you, I have not the time to devote to the cause of Right and Justice. I don"t think you realize the constant pressure of hard work that is ageing us and wearing us out, before our day.
"As I said, we have to watch the liquor interest constantly to see that the liquor dealers suffer no loss--we have to do that, of course."
And he continued dreamily, as if losin" sight of me and talkin" to himself: "The wealthy Corporations and Trusts, we have to condemn them loudly to please the common people, and help "em secretly to please ourselves, or our richest perkisits are lost. The Ca.n.a.l Ring, the Indian Agency, the Land Grabbers, the political bosses. In fact, we are surrounded by a host of bandits that we have to appease and profit by; oh, how these matters wear into the gray matter of our brains!"
"Gray matter!" sez I, with my nose uplifted to its extremest height, "I should call it black matter!"
"Well, the name is immaterial, but these labors, though pocket filling, are brain wearing. And of late I and the rest of our loyal henchmen have been worn out in our labors in tariff revision. You know how we claim to help the common people by the revision; you"ve probable read about it in the papers."