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About Hesperian student / (Lincoln [Neb.]) 1872-1885 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1882)
833ft im-TtmTvjmmmmma! m rr ''- -'m -i m 6 r 1 1 ic h i-: s p k R i a n s t u n rc nt . , ' II i g7r Student's cr;tp-lwoh, fa rnr and diss pa in. II. I. MA It' II, 'HI. A sultry summer's (In) had Juit boon jmtsed; Tlio tireless miii linil hid hi flnmliin face; No moon en tn o mil to cheer tho ulsinal unrth; The stars u ro el led In Ihlok'nlng, thronl'nlng rhitids, And gloom) darkness hid nil I hluyn from slgH. Sovo when tho lightnings, growing Iroqticut. gleamed Tholr clgiml of the far-oil' thunder's roll. A jmseoil the hours away thu gloom lucronscd, Wlilrh soon gn way to terror, as tlio bright And hateful lightning Hashes cleft tho iloltds. And rt'rtrfnl tliumlerH iiiittturci), rolloil nntl rosred In tholr loud, delimit, angry, scorn of All Tlio weak protests ol niun. until thoy shook The very heavens v, Ith tholr din. 'I'lirough nil A (iilot little village Iny and slumbered All save throo rustiest! souls whom Hip iltful glooms Itvtonlctl to sight. lIuiiPRtlui low'rlng tree A wretched womnii sat; against Its trunk There loaned a fairer, younger form. TIip one. As with hor hatiilH upon Inn knees, her fnco In them slw hid, now moniied. now sobbed, mill now Woptblttoily; a brutal voice sal.I "Coino!" And on hor hdad a lough hand hunvj foil. She trembled nt tho touch, thon sudden roo And hhrloked.and with a voice- an harsh nndhoarso Am Irom an Iron throit, sho cursed thu man Who spoko "Ay, come, and wliors! oh man eo IIo That nothing can olluto thee I Monster bom I Thou sin-dyed wretch ! Thoy say thora Is n Ood; Hut II tlioro ho, why dost thou then yet )lo In form or human llosh ami blood! 0 that Almighty power were mine! I ,1 hurl thee down To dcepeM depths of liquid flro and est Upon thy soul ton times ton thousand Inrlcs, To stay with thec and torture thee nnd toll Thoo orthp liumnn pains thou didst dollght In I Hut If there bo n (fod. Ills curse on thoo! And may my hatred cling to thee, bum thoo, Consume ihe vigor from thy blood and from Thy framo the strength; until thy guilty soul popart and. man nor (tod to pity thee, Tho birds and hnaMn shall tnko theo for their prey!" Tho lllaln smiled nor deemed reply worthwhile. Ilut silent stretched again his brutal nrm. When on It quickly fell n slender hand, And she. who ere In stntuo-stlllness stood, MooU with new life, grow uioro ereot. uud Irom Her marble (ircclau fiico twooyes ortlro Shone on tho stricken wretch who stood and quailed, And burned their way Into his coward henrt And with n dreadful calmness, fiee Irom fear, The girl voice spnko-"Mothor, there Is a God, And In that (tod I trust." Then to the man "I Judgo thee not, may mercy yet bo thlno; Hut hero before tho .Judge of all the earth, I call tbco to accouut stir not from henco Till thon hast heard my w.ords. Thou kuow'st me not. or till this day hnvo I my story known. Tc,, dreary years and eight have passed since thou that Infant fruit or union most unholy Jjldst leave for dead and, fleeing, saw no more. ho, fostered by a pauper mother, lives, Her own-riy own wronged mother to protect. There Is a Ood, though but for faith In Illm I lila day had brought me rest In death; for who ould choose a life from parent so unworthy? Hut God Is just and her, myself and you I eavo with mm. Hew are what now you dol" Hllent he stole away. Tho thought or Ood, Tho sense of Justice and unpardoned sin Had conquered him What power through all tho.e year.. Those wonrlsomo. unceitaln, trying years, Ilnd kopt that girlish llto) And Kill sustnliiod Whon the doath blow to every fond, bright hope Came In tho story of hor pnrontngo? And gavo hur now a quiet heart, no froo I'roin hnlrod as from Tear. In prcsoucu of 'Hint pnrent nil so lle and loathsome? Ay, And made the Mrong man woak boforo her! Hent Illm forth from thonco uniiervoil nnd vanquished? 'flic heart that slnya itselfon Ood can daro And can oudiiro all things. And who will doubt That lie, unseen by whom no sparrow falls, Had kept ami given strength unto that soul I Itadheaidhcr, early t night to pray, hecausa Sho trusted Illm? Oh, who would take' aw ay Tho Christian's faith? Tho same destroys tho slay Or many burdened hearts, tho sweetness of Tot. thousand bitter lives. Oo. snatch the babe Asunder from It mother's breast nnd comfort It and hor;toar love from love's embrace, And set tholr hearts nt rest; thon canst thou take This faith In (ted, this slmplo trusting faith, l'rom human lhes nnd lea v them happy still. Ah, THE MENTAL STRENGTH OF WOMAN. Philosophers and buionlists havu lout; discussed tho qucs lion of ihc relative muntiil strength ol man and woman. Il Is hold that two fuels alono proclaim woman's inferlor ty in mind; first, hor brain, ns a ruli weighs less than mnn's, boeoml, sho has produced no masterpicco in lit. orniure or nil. Il is ttuo that Sappho, Mrs. Homnns and Mrs. Browning rival in their song many of our celebrated pools, hut these "pootussos" woto lender of their order and kind and should therefore justly no compared to tho hire. tor poets. When thus comparod with Homer, Virgil Dunte, Milton or Shakespeare, their Inferiority is discov ered and uotifubsod. It is claimed that sho shares not man's advantages, hut it is just as certain that she is ex cusod from hoaring many of his burdens; again, if hor mind equalled man's it would bo idle to maintain that in all the win id's history opportunity never would have per- milted iter to write a Hamlet or paint a Madonna, for cir. cumslances often especially favor hor and, if otherwise wore the case, such genius declares itself In spite ot cir. cumslances. It is true that until very lecently sho has been denied the advantages of a college course, but neither have many of tho world's greatest men shared them. I have somewhere read tho wise mention Hint oven if woman rivalled man in mind, her physical weakness would pro. voir her from passing thtough those prolonged seasons of pr.-i uud and wearisome thought necessary for the succcbi of great monta! achievements; but whilst this is true wc must not rashly conclude from il that therefore to her phys ical weaknphs alono should be attributed her failure to , produco masterpieces in literature and art and that men. , tally sh is man's equal; just '.o the contrary; since her physical weakness must asserl rather than disprove mou. tal inferiority; for though mind and body aro often un. , equally yoked, it would bo to doubt seriously tho wisdom ofpruvidencoto suppose a whole box so unfortunately r constituted ns to have masculine minds joined to forms inflnitoly woakor. "What again, would be tho design of giving to a whole sex mental powers that their physical j weaknesses prevented them from developing or t.u,t)ioy ing? And if, indeed, this unequalled alliance of mind I nnd body did exist in woman we should find ten women to ono man driven to insanity or death through excessive mental work; uhoroas tho opposite fact is quite truo