USA > Ohio > The Western Reserve of Ohio and some of its pioneers, places and women's clubs, Vol. II > Part 14
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I could not possibly by any word painting give you any impression of the emotions which came over me as I beheld this display of a product, which I had heretofore seen only in its more rudely manufactured state. Not only has a kind Heavenly Father provided us with food and shelter, but He has put into the earth in inexhaustible quantities, a substance seen- ingly as hard as iron, but which can be plucked into pieces and manufactured into garments as already stated. Truly can
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it be said that "wonders never cease." And no greater wonder has ever yet been seen on the globe where mortals dwell, than mines of wool or asbestos.
WOMEN OF THE BIBLE
Paper Read Before Sorosis by Mrs. Joshua Ross, August 18, 1892
Other women, though not as wise as Semiramis to found a city, can do some things equally well. Every woman has an in- fluence, be it good or bad.
Remember the little captive maiden, taken from the Israel- ites by the Syrian army, who was living in the general's fam- ily. This general, whose name was Haman, was greatly dis- tinguished for his bravery. He was afflicted with the leprosy, and the little maiden told her mistress that if her husband would apply to the prophet Elisha, he would be cured. So he went to the prophet and was told to wash seven times in the river of Jordan. This simple act seemed to Haman to be alto- gether inadequate, and he ascended his chariot and with great pomp went to Samaria to the King of Israel with a letter from the King of Syria, to inquire about Elisha. But he did not feel satisfied and was about to return, when one of his retinue wisely suggested to him that he try the remedy. He did so and was cured. Thus you see the influence of a little girl.
Even Vashti leaves us the influence of her modesty.
When King Ahasuerus, who reigned over a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, wanted to show the beauty of Vashti, the Queen, to the people and princes, he commanded her to come in, but she refused to come, as it was the custom for ladies of rank to wear a veil. As she was a modest woman, she would not obey. For disobeying him, King Ahasuerus banished her.
Talmage says, when he sees a bold brazen woman, he thinks Vashti hath lost her veil.
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Esther was the next choice. She was left an orphan at five years of age, and her father was cousin to Mordecai. Mor- decai adopted her. The king had all the maidens brought be- fore him, and as she was the most beautiful in all the realm, he chose her for his wife. Her influence over him was very great. When her people were in great danger from wicked Haman, she made a banquet, and the king said, "What is thy petition, and what is thy request? Thou shalt have it even to half of my kingdom." So through her influence with the king, her people were saved, while Haman, who had planned to hang Mordecai because he would not bow to him, was hung on the same gallows that he had prepared for the latter, and Mordecai was made a high officer in the king's court. Thus you see the influence of Esther.
Ruth said when about to part with her mother-in-law, "Entreat me not to leave thee, or to cease following thee, for whither thou lodgest I will lodge, thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest, I will die, and there will I be buried."
Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas, was full of good works. When she was dying, widows were weeping and showing the garments which Dorcas had made. We see the influence of that woman in the societies of the present day. It has come down from one generation to another, until it has reached the nineteenth century, and Dorcas societies are found all over the civilized world.
Mary was the first missionary. She carried the glad tid- ings of a risen Savior to the disciples.
Priscilla must have been a good woman, or Paul would not have encouraged her going to Antioch to assist in persuading people to turn to the Lord.
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A woman of eminent wisdom and holiness was Deborah. She was called a prophetess and a judge of the people of Israel. She was the wife of Lapidoth.
Israel was suffering at that time a most oppressive bondage under Jabin, a Canaanitish king. Deborah, by divine direction, called upon Barak, and commanded him as from God to go forward to battle. Barak engaged to undertake the enterprise if Deborah would accompany him. To this she consented. The two armies met, and as Deborah had predicted, they gained a victory over Sisera. Judges iv., 4.
The triumphal song composed or dictated by Deborah on that occasion is regarded as a fine specimen of oriental poetry.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POETS
Paper Read Before Poets' Club, February 15, 1894, by Mrs. Geraldine Hatch.
Can anything new be said of these "mighty orbs of song" at which the world has been gazing? However, our aim is to present in short compass, the characteristics of the poets we have studied and the impressions received thereby. This under- taking involved in it considerable difficulty on my part. In the first place, most great poets possess more than one dis- tinguishing character, and to select a few pronounced peculiar- ities is always perplexing and deceptive. Then too, after you have selected the prominent characteristic of your author, it is no easy task to express it in a few lines. Therefore if I do not come up to the estimate of most of you, I have been faithful to my impressions.
These men we must just take as they are, and be thankful for them as they are. We are always quarreling over them,
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but there is not one of them that the world could spare, all different, all imperfect, but all the delight and comfort of man- kind. Such men obey a law and follow a path and reflect a light that is not of them.
Our first glance will be at Chaucer, England's father poet.
The court bee, who, while hovering over the sweets of Edward the Third's court, poured forth his song. We notice that a general healthiness, simplicity, innocence and pathos, per- vades his sentiments and fancy. "So truly pious that he could be happy in any world. So humane that he even loved the faults of humanity." He did not waste time in meandering around to find a more spiritual world than this, but quietly took it for granted that this was the best world that God could make, and set himself to work in polishing and toning its language, which he wove into tales and romances for the uplifting of humanity. "So the great Chaucer, wisely, simply, reaching one hand back into the past for what was noblest therein, stretches the other down to us moderns, holding aloft his works to shine along down the years of time," from which light the modern bards have lighted their song.
May I give you the impression received from Wordsworth, the poet of nature? The interest of Wordsworth lies in his treatment of nature, his lifelong mistress. He loved and talked to nature. She calls upon him to rejoice, and if he does not soar with us to the highest, he walks with us through her lovely lands where the wind and trees, and brooks, and torrents converse with us, and the countenance of God shining clear and majestic is seen by him who understands her language. "He was living in a world of his own fair vision, dealing with the common world close to him, and using fresh materials," and stayed at home with his soul, leaving others to gad abroad
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in search of inspiration and legendary lore. It speaks well for him that his muse was never prostituted to the service of his own, or any public vanity, or passion.
Then
Byron, "the poet of the passions, Misery, and crushed aspirations."
This Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde sort of a man, "so earthly, so spiritual, so sensual, so melancholy, and so mirthful," so full of constancy and love, he seemed to love everybody except Lady Byron. In his writings we hear the voice of misery, mis- ery, misery, in search for a deeper hell in which to bewail its desolation and woe. And, never more, shall we meet with an author who fathoms the wretchedness of woe, which proves that it is "not altogether bottomless, however deep." Hence his writings abound with lines and phrases which seem to grasp all misery within them. "Years all winters," what a tale to tell of the state of his heart, which neither on earth nor in heaven could find aught to cheer and comfort it. And in spite of the force, and the endless touches of light wit and wisdom, the general impression of his writings is most melancholy.
Now we have Shelley, the poet of aspiration, whom DeQuincy calls a lunatic angel. We see him as an enthusiast, an idealist. He is at once the most ethereal and dainty. "One who has clothed his thoughts in gorgeous draperies of gauzy imagery." Shelley's poetic ecstasy took him constantly upwards, and the higher he got the more thoroughly did his thoughts become one exquisite and intense harmony. "He had the true spirit of a poet. He aims at elevating, not, like Byron and Moore, leveling mankind." Shelley's mental life was an in- tellectual and spiritual revolt, a magnificent impersonation of mind struggling against circumstances, intellect against force, providence against fate.
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Next in order is Moore, Tommy Moore, the butterfly poet. He flits and flutters, leaps and dances, and sings his love ditties, and lulls you to loveland. You are delighted, you are dazzled, you wonder at the brilliancy of the prismatic love rays and the rapidity of their flashes. "But you seldom weep. You do not tremble or agonize, do not become silent."
In Moore's poetry, we feel the utter want of earnestness or high purpose. It does not lift you up above the earthly. He dampens the mantle of aspiration, throws it around you, and pins it with the star of love, which has weight to drag you down. The general effect of Moore's verse is like that of a thousand sweet tones emerging in one burst of harmony. Add to this his fine delicate shades, the tenderness of his pictures, and the sunny light which colors the whole, and you have the leading features of his poetry. As to his satire, it is as dainty as it is deadly. His arrows are of polished steel, and so keen "that ere you have felt them you have found death." "He is a man, the object of universal regard."
Now a glance at Tennyson, the poet of sensation. We see in his writings "the struggle of a strong intellect, of a cap- ricious and dream-like imagination. 'Tis a curious combination of impulse, strength and delicacy of feeling, at times seeming weak." "In the beauty of Tennyson's landscapes, you cannot see the grass for the flowers." And yet he is not the poet of hope, of action or of passion but of sentiment. We notice in some of his writings traces of a wounded spirit, a disappointed heart, of an intellect wrestling with doubt and faith, and not much sympathy with the cry of humanity; neither do his writ- ings touch the heart-strings of the nation. His works are win- dows through which glimpses come and go, but no broad, clear and inspiring view is seen.
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We will now cross the Atlantic and linger for a while with the poets of America's fireside. We find in the group around the hearth James Russell Lowell. He remains absolutely a poet in feeling. "The spirituality of his thinking, the depth of moral beauty, the breadth of his sympathy, the vividness of his imagery," and power of picturesque scenery painting, is almost unrivaled. His essays, where nature is his theme, are brimful of delicious descriptions, in his writings he can float from good sense as solid as granite, to the most bewitching, lace-like de- scriptions of nature, and then to satire and humor .. "His genius shines in pictures of human life." He makes us feel rather than understand, he suggests thoughts and emotions not expressed in words, a moral sentiment underlies the whole, and it touches the feeling with a powerful hand. The influence of his poetry is pure and ennobling, it ever inspires with a cheerful hope in the future.
Another of the group is Longfellow, poet of the domestic affections. He is the poet of the home, of the fireside. Indeed this "sister of beauty and purity dwells everywhere in his song. It is in the air we breathe, it is part of the light we see by," it is like the rays of moonlight. "He is a spirit of the beautiful, romantic and sentimental, rather than of the sublime or phil- osophical." He has not dared the lofty heights or sounded the deep, but many are the drops of song he has scattered along our pathway. As you gather them you say, "how simple they are." There is nothing startling in them, it does not surprise you, it may not be new, it certainly is true, it is so natural. "Longfellow believed in the supremacy of good over evil in the world, and his writings are prophetic of, and preparatory for the grand reconciliation of man."
And now we have our own dear good Whittier, the poet of
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humanity. He was one of those "God-made men, though creed- less," was one of the most religious of our poets, and his voice was that of a pure conscience. His poetry is not profound, but it is sweet, full of melody and pathos, and easily comprehended. He does not soar, neither does he dive, but he keeps time with the "sad music of humanity." And one of the most pleasing characteristics of this writer's works is their intense, brotherly love, "a man's heart beat in every line." He typifies all that is heroic and high and disinterested in the age. "He deemed love the one thing needful, the one thing most worth giving." Thus should all lives be tuned, and thus they shall, whenever "Love, instead of law, shall lead the great dance of human life.
Let us glance for a moment along the line in a general way. Wordsworth is the poet of nature, Byron of passion, Moore of love, Shelley of aspiration, Tennyson of sentiment, Lowell of spirituality, Longfellow of humanity. Whittier of brotherly love. There you have the light and power of a Divine Spirit, which does not belong to the man, but is perfected in his works.
WOMEN IN BUSINESS LIFE. THE LADY EDITORS OF CLEVELAND.
Paper read before Sorosis by Mrs. C. E. Tillinghast, January 18, 1894.
In all countries which have representative government, the one thing which checks corruption and promotes patriotism, which passes good measures and defeats bad ones, is that pub- licity of proceedings in which the newspaper possesses and ex- ercises unlimited power. It is an educator in every branch of human thought and activity. It opens all the doors of the mind
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and enters for good or ill. It exercises in no small degree the functions of preacher and teacher, of censor and critic, of think- ing and voting, for its readers. Napoleon said that four news- papers were more dangerous than a hundred thousand soldiers, and he considered his conquests in peril until he had subdued the press of Europe and compelled it to take its opinions from the Moniteur, which he edited himself.
The press is the mirror of the daily life of the world, but it performs the very highest duty in selecting what it shall reflect. The newspaper is read by the boy before he begins the study of his morning lesson and is his companion after he re- turns home from school; it is beside our daughter in her bou- doir and bedroom; it drops into those young minds facts, thoughts and impressions, which bear sweet or bitter fruit in later years. At what a sacrifice of care and treasure we guard our children from sewer gas and diphtheria while their whole moral nature is soiled and spoiled by this unguarded and un- guardable communion. I am most happy to say that upon a careful examination of the five newspapers edited and controlled by women of Cleveland, I find substantially nothing of which ministers to the depraved and debased elements of human na- ture, but on the contrary, a pervading sentiment of high and lofty principles of chaste and pure thought. They may be freely and profitably read at every fireside. Compared with the im- moral exhalations of many of our journals, these are bright jewels in the feminine crown.
The five journals referred to are A True Republic, The W. C. T. U. Messenger, The Household Realm, The W. C. T. U. Times and The Headlight.
The proprietor and editor of the first named, A True Re- public, is Mrs. S. M. Perkins, a lady so widely and favorably
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known as to need no introduction to an Ohio audience. A re- former in general, she believes in women's rights and female suffrage, to promote the interests of which she sees the need of a paper-one bright enough for the most cultivated homes and cheap enough for the lowly. Her friends opposed the idea, say- ing she would lose both money and caste. She is not of the temperament to worry about caste, and if the work was impor- tant she had faith that the money would be provided. Her friends, upon solicitation, readily promised to subscribe. Then she went to her butcher and baker and candlestick-maker and secured their pledges to advertise. She asked the publishers to print two hundred copies for thirty dollars, and they agreed to do so. Then she visited all the clubs and conventions and asked the elect ladies to subscribe, which they did, and to-day by the blessing of God and the help of women, she has twelve hundred subscribers, and the advertisements pay the bills. Therefore, her advice to all who desire to get rich speedily and without effort or risk, is to start a suffrage paper. "There's millions in it."
Mrs. Perkins was born near Cooperstown, N. Y. Her maiden name was Clinton, a name highly honored in the early history of the state. At eighteen she was a teacher, at twenty- three the wife of a talented New England clergyman. She has written half-a-dozen books of merit, and scores of articles for papers and magazines. She is a worker in the temperance ranks and superintendent of infirmary work for the Ohio W. C. T. U. She visits infirmaries and brings all abuses to the notice of the authorities who can remedy them. She believes that organizations and clubs among women will assist to reform society. Thoroughly independent in thought and action, she cares more for the one little word, duty, than for all the smiles
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and frowns of the world. Sincerity is the true and perfect mirror of the mind. It reflects the honest thought. It is the foundation of character, and without it there is no moral gran- deur.
Mrs. Harriet E. Hammond was born at the foot of old Grey- lock Mountain in Massachusetts and raised in New York. At nineteen she married a M. E. minister. She has traveled ex- tensively throughout Ohio and New York for twenty-seven years. She was ten years a district president in the W. C. T. U., and eight years in charge of the Cleveland District Women's Foreign Missionary Society in the M. E. Church, and for about ten years she has been giving public addresses and sermons in the best pulpits in Ohio. For the last three years she was the chosen editor and publisher of the Ohio W. C. T. U. Messen- ger, the state official organ of that body which circulates throughout the state. Since coming to Cleveland it has greatly increased in prosperity. Its financial success has been so marked the past year that the W. C. T. U. Convention tendered the editor a vote of thanks and sang the doxology as an expres- sion of their gratitude and pleasure. The Messenger is dis- tinctively a temperance paper which seeks to build up temper- ance sentiment, while through it goes the official documents of the state officers to their constituency. Mrs. Hammond has been a contributor to the press in the line of journalism many years and is well known throughout the state as a leader in reform. To this she gives her utmost thought. Her pages are flecked with sunshine and shadow and in every word is the pulse and breath of life. No one can fall below her pity, no one can wander beyond the circumference of her sympathy.
The Household Realm, a high class monthly for the home, was founded by Miss Alice Webster, a descendant of Daniel
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Webster, whom she is said to resemble. Miss Webster was born in Salem, Ohio, but removed to Cleveland with her mother when quite young. She entered the composing rooms of the Ohio Farmer at the age of fifteen, where she mastered every detail of the printer's art, as a result of which The Household Realm has from the first won high encomiums from experts for the beauty of its typographical appearance and the artistic display of its advertising columns. She superintends every detail of her large business, which embraces an extensive job printing office, in addition to publishing The Household Realm, and no less than four other papers are issued from her press. As a business woman, Miss Webster is calm, cool and collected; quick to see and embrace an opportunity, and her business sagacity enables her to avoid financial difficulties which might wreck a less able woman. Her manner is courteous and so genuinely friendly that to be in her presence is to feel that one has found a personal friend. As a writer, Miss Webster is simple, direct and to the point; capable of expressing herself in telling lan- guage, and stopping when she has nothing more to say.
Mrs. Jennie M. Stratton, the editor and publisher of the W. C. T. U. Times, was born near Salem, Ohio, and came to Cleveland in 1879. From early childhood she displayed a taste for literature, preferring books to dolls and toys. Her first poem, composed when she was only eight years of age, was of such unusual merit that a school committee awarded her a prize. Six years of her life were spent in the school room as a teacher, and she has long been a contributor to magazines and newspapers. Mrs. Stratton is the authoress of two interesting books, "Kitty's Jewels" and "Cecil's Crown," for which she has received many words of praise and congratulation. Her object in starting the Times was to enable her to reach homes she otherwise could not,
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and she at once dedicated it to "God and the home." Having spent years as a mission worker in Cleveland, she seeks to fur- nish the lowly a paper that will be elevating to both mind and soul. She knows that circumstances and conditions determine character; that the lowest and the worst of our race were chil- dren once, as pure as light, and instead of scorn she lends the eager hand of help. She listens to the story of the poor, and all she has she gives. None can do more.
The Headlight is the organ of the (Non-partisan) Women's Christian Temperance Union of Cleveland. It is in the first year of its history under its present name, but it is the suc- cessor of the Journal and Bulletin, which represented the or- ganization named for five years previous to March, 1893. The Headlight is devoted to the consideration of questions of vital interest to the temperance cause. As the Journal and Bulletin, the Union's paper was edited during four years by Mrs. How- ard M. Ingham, and one year by Miss Jessie G. Glasier. The editors of The Headlight are Miss Mary E. Ingersoll, President of the Union, Miss F. Jennie Duty, so intimately connected with the Union's work during the twenty years of its existence, and Mrs. Stephen Laird, President of the Non-Partisan Ohio W. C. T. U. Mrs. W. J. Sheppard is the successful business manager. I sincerely regret that the time allotted me does not permit a more extended reference to these most worthy Christian workers.
Four prosperous papers in Cleveland-edited and controlled by women, all especially devoted to the interests of the home and general reform, and all originated within the last six years -what a foundation of hope and cheer for the future! May God speed the day when pure, chaste, noble women shall occupy the editorial sanctum and the author's chair in as large propor-
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tion as men do now. Then will temperance prevail, the social evil be suppressed, and the political atmosphere of the nation be purified as a result of an elevated, Christianized public senti- ment. Lady editors, whether of Cleveland or elsewhere, strug- gle on, fight on. You are the indispensable vanguards of a mighty host who are rapidly emerging from the dark and misty valley of ignorance and superstition upon the fruitful plateaus and sunny heights of intellectual light and power. In the name of all that is just and holy, this most righteous battle of the mind and pen must not, shall not be stayed until every wife stands proudly erect beside her husband, every sister beside her brother, every mother beside her son, sharing equally with them every right, every privilege, every honor.
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