M9,. .'.i. '.-. -T-i.X-a.
THE HESPERIAN STUDENT
6
he gtnthnt'x cray-booh.
FAITH AND DESPAIR.
11. J,. MAltSII, "81.
A sultry summer's day had Just been patsod;
Tho tireless huh hnd hid his flaming faco;
No moon camo out to cheer the uistnal enrth;
Tho stnrt wrro veiled In thlck'niiiR, tlircat'iiliig clouds,
And gloomy darkness hid nil tliluga from sight,
Savo when tho lightnings, growing Ircqucnt, gleamed
Their signal of tho far-oil thunder's roll.
As pasted tho hours nwny the gloom Increased,
Which soon gave way to terror. (IB tho bright
And hateful lightning Hashes cleft tho clouds,
And fearful thunders muttered, rolled and roared
In tholr loud, delimit, angry, scorn of all
Tho weak protests ol men. until thoy shook
Tho very heavens with their din. Through nil
A quiet little vlllago lay and slumbered
All savo throo restless souls whom the tUful gleams
Kcvcnlcd to sight. Beneath a tow'rlng treo
A wretched woniun sat; against Its trunk
There leaned a fairer, younger form. Tho one,
A 8 with hor hands upon luu knees, her faco
In thorn she hid, now moaned, now sobbed, and now
Woptblttoily; a brutal voice sal.l "Come!"
And on her hdad a lough hand heavy foil.
She trembled at tho touch, than sudden rose
And shrieked, nud with a volco as harsh and hoarse
As from an Iron throat, sho cursed the man
Who epoko "Ay, come, and where! ohman so vllo
That nothing can pollute thcel Monster born I
Thou sin-dyed wretch I Thoy say thoro is a Qod;
Hut II there bo, why dost thou then yet llvo
In form of human llcsh and blood I O that
Almighty power were mine! I'd hurl thee down
To deepest depths of liquid flro and set
' Upon thy soul ten times ten thousand furlrs,
To stay with thoo and torture thee and tell
Tlioo of the human paliiB thou didst delight lot
lint if there bo a God, Ills curse on thcel
And may my hatred cling to thee, burn thoo,
Consume tho vigor from thy blood ond from
Thy frame tho strength; until thy guilty soul
Dopart and. man nor God to pity thee,
Tho birds and boasts hIiiiII take thoo for their prey I"
The villain smiled nor deemed reply worthwhile,
Hut silent stretched again his brutal arm,
When on it quickly fell a slender hund,
And she, who cro in statue-stillness stood,
Moved with new life, grew moro erect, aud from
Her marblo Grecian faco two eyes offlro
Shono on the strlckon wretch wno stood and quailed,
And burned their way Into his coward heart
And with a dreadful calmness, free Irorn fear,
Tho girl voice spake "Mother, thero Is a God,
And In that God I trust." Thon to tho man
"IJudgo thco not, may mercy yot bo thine;
nut hero beforo tho Jndgo of all the earth,
I call thoo to account stir not from honco
Till thou hast heard my words. Thou know'st mo not,
Nor till this day havo I my atory known.
Ten dreary years and eight havo passed since thou
That Infant fruit of union most unholy
Didst leavo for dead and, fleeing, saw no more.
Sho, fostered by a pauper mother, lives,
Her own my own wronged mother to protect.
Thoro la a God, though but for faith In Him
This day had brought mo rest In death; for who
Wonld chooso a Hfo from parent so unworthy?
Hut God 1b Just and her, myself and you
I leavo with Him. Boworo what now you do I"
Tho cownrd't gazo had full'n, his orm dropped nerveless,
Silent ho stole away. Tho thought of God,
Tho Bonseofjustico and unpardoned sin
Had conquered him What power through all thoo ycare,
Those wearisome uncertain, trying years,
Hod kept that girlish Hfo? And still sustained
When tho death blow to every fond, bright hope
Came In tho story ofher parontago?
And gavo her now a qulot heart, as free
From hatred as from fear, In presence of
That parent all ho vllo and Umthsomo? Ay,
And made tho strong man weak beforo her? Sont
Him forth from thonco unnerved and vanquished?
Tholmart thot stays Itself on God can daro
And can onduro all things. And who will doubt
That He, unscon by whom no sparrow falls,
Had kept and given strength unto that bouII
Had heaid her, early Uught to pray, becauso
Sho trusted Him? Oh, who would tako awny
Tho Christian's faith? Tho same destroys tho slay
Of many burdousd hearts, tho sweetness of
Tor. thousand bitter llvos. Go, snatch tho babo
Asunder from Us mother's breast nnd comfort
It and hcrjtoar love from lovo's embraco,
Aud set their hearts at rest; then canst thou tako
This faith tu God, this simple trusting faith,
From human llvos and leave them happy still,
Ah,
THE MENTAL STRENGTH OF WOMAN.
Philosophers and scientists havo loni; discussed tho (jucs
lion of the relative menial strength of mini and Woman.
Il is hold Unit two fuels alono proclaim womnn's interior
ly in mind; first, her brain, as a rule, weighs less than
man's, second, sho has produced no masterplcco in lit
erature or art. Il is true that Sappho, Mrs. Ilcmans and
Mrs. Browning rival in their song many of our celebrated
nods, but these "poetesses" were leaders of their order and
kind and should therefore justly be compared to tho mas
tor poets. When thus comparod with Homer, Virgil,
Dante, Milton or Shakespeare, their inferiority is discov
ered and confessed. It is claimed that sho shares not
man's advantages, but ills just as certain that site is ex
cused from hearing many of his burdens; again, if hor
mind equalled man's it would bo idlo to maintain that in
all the world's history opportunity never would havo per
mitted her to write a Hamlet or paint a Madonna, for cir.
cumslances often especially favor her and, if otherwise
wcro the case, such genius declares itself in spite of cir
cumstances. It is true Mint until very lecently sho has
been denied Mio advantages of a college course, but neither
have many of tho world's greatest men shared them. I
have somowltore read tho wise mention that oven if woman
rivalled man in mind, her physical weakness would pro.
ven' her from passing Mi tough ihose prolonged seasons of
prt.i und and wearisome thought necessary for tho succcsa
of great menial achievements; but whilst this is true we
must not rashly conclude from it that therefore to her phys.
ical weakness alono should bo attributed her fuiluro to
produce masterpieces in literature aud art and that men
tally sh'j is man's cqutd; just to the contrary; since her
physical weakness must assert rather than disprove mon
tnl inferiority; for though mind nnd body nro oflon un
equally yoked, il would bo to doubt seriously tho wisdom
of providence to suppose a wliolo sex so unfortunately
constituted as to have masculine minds joined to forms
infinitely weaker. Whnt again, would bo tho design of
giving to a whole sex mental powers that their physical
weaknesses prevented thorn from developing or employ,
lug? And if, Indeed, Ibis unequalled alliauco of mind
and body did exist In woman we should find ten women to
ono man driven to insanity or death through exccsslvo
mental work; w herons tho opposite fact Is quite truo
CI
11,