MARY CONFIDES IN AUNT SARAH AND GIVES HER VIEWS ON SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN.
"There's no deny'n women are foolish,
God A'mighty made them to match the men."
A short time after her arrival at the farm Mary poured into the
sympathetic ear of Aunt Sarah her hopes and plans. Her lover, Ralph
Jackson, to whom she had become engaged the past Winter, held a
position with the Philadelphia Electric Company, and was studying hard
outside working hours. His ambition was to become an electrical
engineer. He was getting fair wages, and wished Mary to marry him at
once. She confessed she loved Ralph too well to marry him, ignorant as
she was of economical housekeeping and cooking.
Mary, early left an orphan, had studied diligently to fit herself for
a kindergarten teacher, so she would be capable of earning her own
living on leaving school, which accounted for her lack of knowledge of
housework, cooking, etc.
Aunt Sarah, loving Mary devotedly, and knowing the young man of her
choice to be clean, honest and worthy, promised to do all in her power
to make their dream of happiness come true. Learning from Mary that
Ralph was thin and pale from close confinement, hard work and study,
and of his intention of taking a short vacation, she determined he
should spend it on the farm, where she would be able to "mother him."
"You acted sensibly, Mary," said her Aunt, "in refusing to marry Ralph
at the present time, realizing your lack of knowledge of housework and
inability to manage a home. Neither would you know how to spend the
money provided by him economically and wisely, and, in this age of
individual efficiency, a business knowledge of housekeeping is almost
as important in making a happy home as is love. I think it quite as
necessary that a woman who marries should understand housekeeping in
all its varied branches as that the man who marries should understand
his trade or profession; for, without the knowledge of means to gain a
livelihood (however great his love for a woman), how is the man to
hold that woman's love and affection unless he is able by his own
exertions to provide her with necessities, comforts, and, perhaps, in
later years, luxuries? And in return, the wife should consider it her
duty and pleasure to know how to do her work systematically; learn the
value of different foods and apply the knowledge gained daily in
preparing them; study to keep her husband in the best of health,
physically and mentally. Then will his efficiency be greater and he
will be enabled to do his 'splendid best' in whatever position in life
he is placed, be he statesman or hod-carrier. What difference, if an
honest heart beat beneath a laborer's hickory shirt, or one of fine
linen? 'One hand, if it's true, is as good as another, no matter how
brawny or rough.' Mary, do not think the trivial affairs of the home
beneath your notice, and do not imagine any work degrading which tends
to the betterment of the home. Remember, 'Who sweeps a room as for Thy
law, makes that and the action fine.'
"Our lives are all made up of such small, commonplace things and this
is such a commonplace old world, Mary. 'The commonplace earth and the
commonplace sky make up the commonplace day,' and 'God must have loved
common people, or He would not have made so many of them.' And, what
if we are commonplace? We cannot all be artists, poets and sculptors.
Yet, how frequently we see people in commonplace surroundings,
possessing the soul of an artist, handicapped by physical disability
or lack of means! We are all necessary in the great, eternal plan.
'Tis not good deeds alone for which we receive our reward, but for the
performance of duty well done, in however humble circumstances our lot
is cast. Is it not Lord Houghton who says: 'Do not grasp at the stars,
but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily
duties and daily bread are the sweetest things of life.' I consider a
happy home in the true sense of the word one of the greatest of
blessings. How important is the work of the housemother and homemaker
who creates the home! There can be no happiness there unless the
wheels of the domestic machinery are oiled by loving care and kindness
to make them run smoothly, and the noblest work a woman can do is
training and rearing her children. Suffrage, the right of woman to
vote; will it not take women from the home? I am afraid the home will
then suffer in consequence. Will man accord woman the same reverence
she has received in the past? Should she have equal political rights?
A race lacking respect for women would never advance socially or
politically. I think women could not have a more important part in the
government of the land than in rearing and educating their children to
be good, useful citizens. In what nobler work could women engage than
in work to promote the comfort and well-being of the ones they love in
the home? I say, allow men to make the laws, as God and nature
planned. I think women should keep to the sphere God made them
for--the home. Said Gladstone, 'Woman is the most perfect when most
womanly.' There is nothing, I think, more despicable than a masculine,
mannish woman, unless it be an effeminate, sissy man. Dr. Clarke
voiced my sentiments when he said: 'Man is not superior to woman, nor
woman to man. The relation of the sexes is one of equality, not of
better or worse, of higher and lower. The loftiest ideal of humanity
demands that each shall be perfect in its kind and not be hindered in
its best work. The lily is not inferior to the rose, nor the oak
superior to the clover; yet the glory of the lily is one and the glory
of the oak is another, and the use of the oak is not the use of the
clover.'
"This present-day generation demands of women greater efficiency in
the home than ever before. And Mary, many of the old-time industries
which I had been accustomed to as a girl have passed away. Electricity
and numerous labor-saving devices make household tasks easier,
eliminating some altogether. When housekeeping you will find time to
devote to many important questions of the day which we old-time
housekeepers never dreamed of having. Considerable thought should be
given to studying to improve and simplify conditions of the home-life.
It is your duty. Obtain books; study food values and provide those
foods which nourish the body, instead of spending time uselessly
preparing dainties to tempt a jaded appetite. Don't spoil Ralph when
you marry him. Give him good, wholesome food, and plenty of it; but
although the cooking of food takes up much of a housekeeper's time, it
is not wise to allow it to take up one's time to the exclusion of
everything else. Mary, perhaps my views are old-fashioned. I am not a
'new woman' in any sense of the word. The new woman may take her place
beside man in the business world and prove equally as efficient, but
I do not think woman should invade man's sphere any more than he
should assume her duties."
"Aunt Sarah, I am surprised to hear you talk in that manner about
woman's sphere," replied Mary, "knowing what a success you are in the
home, and how beautifully you manage everything you undertake. I felt,
once you recognized the injustice done woman in not allowing them to
vote, you would feel differently, and since women are obliged to obey
the laws, should they not have a voice in choosing the lawmakers? When
you vote, it will not take you out of the home. You and Uncle John
will merely stop on your way to the store, and instead of Uncle John
going in to write and register what he thinks should be done and by
whom it should be done, you too will express your opinion. This will
likely be twice a year. By doing this, no woman loses her womanliness,
goodness or social position, and to these influences the vote is but
another influence. I know there are many things in connection with the
right of equal suffrage with what you do not sympathize.
"Aunt Sarah, let me tell you about a dear friend of mine who taught
school with me in the city. Emily taught a grammar grade, and did not
get the same salary the men teachers received for doing the same work,
which I think was unfair. Emily studied and frequently heard and read
about what had been done in Colorado and other States where women
vote. She got us all interested, and the more we learned about the
cause the harder we worked for it. Emily married a nice, big, railroad
man. They bought a pretty little house in a small town, had three
lovely children and were very happy. More than ever as time passed
Emily realized the need of woman's influence in the community. It is
true, I'll admit, Aunt Sarah, housekeeping and especially home-making
are the great duties of every woman, and to provide the most
wholesome, nourishing food possible for the family is the duty of
every mother, as the health, comfort and happiness of the family
depend so largely on the _common sense_ (only another name for
efficiency) and skill of the homemaker, and the wise care and though
she expends on the preparation of wholesome, nutritious food in the
home, either the work of her own hands or prepared under her
direction. You can _not_ look after these duties without getting
_outside_ of your home, especially when you live like Emily, in a
town where the conditions are so different from living as you do on a
farm in the country. Milk, bread and water are no longer controlled by
the woman in her home, living in cities and towns; and just because
women want to look out for their families they should have a voice in
the larger problems of municipal housekeeping. To return to Emily, she
did not bake her own bread, as you do, neither did she keep a cow, but
bought milk and bread to feed the children. Wasn't it her duty to
leave the home and see where these products were produced, and if they
were sanitary? And, knowing the problem outside the home would so
materially affect the health, and perhaps lives, of her children, she
felt it her distinctive duty to keep house in a larger sense. When the
children became old enough to attend school, Emily again took up her
old interest in schools. She began to realize how much more just it
would be if an equal number of women were on the school board."
"But what did the husband think of all this?" inquired Aunt Sarah,
dubiously.
"Oh, Tom studied the case, too, at first just to tease Emily, but he
soon became as enthusiastic as Emily. He said, 'The first time you are
privileged to vote, Emily, I will hire an automobile to take you to
the polls in style.' But poor Emily was left alone with her children
last winter. Tom died of typhoid fever. Contracted it from the bad
drainage. They lived in a town not yet safeguarded with sewerage. Now
Emily is a taxpayer as well as a mother, and she has no say as far as
the town and schools are concerned. There are many cases like that,
where widows and unmarried women own property, and they are in no way
represented. And think of the thousands and thousands of women who
have no home to stay in and no babies to look after."
"Mercy, Mary! Do stop to take breath. I never thought when I started
this subject I would have an enthusiastic suffragist with whom to
deal."
"I am glad you started the subject, Aunt Sarah, because there is so
much to be said for the cause. I saw you glance at the clock and I see
it is time to prepare supper. But some day I'm going to stop that old
clock and bring down some of my books on 'Woman's Suffrage' and you'll
he surprised to hear what they have done in States where equal
privileges were theirs. I am sure 'twill not be many years before
every State in the Union will give women the right of suffrage."
* * * * *
After Mary retired that evening Aunt Sarah had a talk with her John,
whom she knew needed help on the farm. As a result of the conference,
Mary wrote to Ralph the following day, asking him to spend his
vacation on the farm as a "farm hand." Needless to say, the offer was
gladly accepted by Ralph, if for no other reason than to be near the
girl he loved.
Ralph came the following week--"a strapping big fellow," to quote
Uncle John, being several inches over six feet.
"All you need, young chap," said Mary's Uncle, "is plenty of good,
wholesome food of Sarah's and Mary's preparing, and I'll see that you
get plenty of exercise in the fresh air to give you an appetite to
enjoy it, and you'll get a healthy coat of tan on your pale cheeks
before the Summer is ended."
Ralph Jackson, or "Jack," as he was usually called by his friends, an
orphan like Mary, came of good, old Quaker stock, his mother having
died immediately after giving birth to her son. His father, supposed
to be a wealthy contractor, died when Ralph was seventeen, having lost
his fortune through no fault of his own, leaving Ralph penniless.
Ralph Jackson possessed a good face, a square, determined jaw, sure
sign of a strong will and quick temper; these Berserker traits he
inherited from his father; rather unusual in a Quaker. He possessed a
head of thick, coarse, straight brown hair, and big honest eyes. One
never doubted his word, once it had been given. 'Twas good as his
bond. This trait he inherited also from his father, noted for his
truth and integrity. Ralph was generous to a fault. When a small boy
he was known to take off his shoes and give them to a poor little
Italian (who played a violin on the street for pennies) and go home
barefoot.
Ralph loved Mary devotedly, not only because she fed him well at the
farm, as were his forefathers, the "Cave Men," fed by their mates in
years gone by, but he loved her first for her sweetness of disposition
and lovable ways; later, for her quiet unselfishness and lack of
temper over trifles--so different from himself.
When speaking to Mary of his other fine qualities, Aunt Sarah said:
"Ralph is a manly young fellow; likeable, I'll admit, but his hasty
temper is a grave fault in my eyes."
Mary replied, "Don't you think men are very queer, anyway, Aunt Sarah?
I do, and none of us is perfect."
[Illustration: RALPH JACKSON]
To Mary, Ralph's principal charm lay in his strong, forceful way of
surmounting difficulties, she having a disposition so different. Mary
had a sweet, motherly way, seldom met with in so young a girl, and
this appealed to Ralph, he having never known "mother love," and
although not at all inclined to be sentimental, he always called Mary
his "Little Mother Girl" because of her motherly ways.
[Illustration: ROCKY VALLEY]
"Well," continued Mary's Aunt, "a quick temper is one of the most
difficult faults to overcome that flesh is heir to, but Ralph, being a
young man of uncommon good sense, may in time curb his temper and
learn to control it, knowing that unless be does so it will handicap
him in his career. Still, a young girl will overlook many faults in
the man she loves. Mary, ere marrying, one should be sure that no love
be lacking to those entering these sacred bonds. 'Tis not for a day,
but for a lifetime, to the right thinking. Marriage, as a rule, is too
lightly entered into in this Twentieth Century of easy divorces, and
but few regard matrimony in its true holy relation, ordained by our
Creator. If it be founded on the tower of enduring love and not
ephemeral passion, it is unassailable, lasting in faith and honor
until death breaks the sacred union and annuls the vows pledged at
God's holy altar."
"Well," replied Mary, as her Aunt paused to take breath, "I am sure of
my love for Ralph."
"God grant you may both be happy," responded her Aunt.
"Mary, did you ever hear this Persian proverb? You will understand why
I have so much to say after hearing it."
"'Says a proverb of Persia provoking mirth;
When this world was created by order divine.
Ten measures of talk were put down on the earth,
And the woman took nine.'"
Speaking to Mary of life on the farm one day, Ralph laughingly said:
"I am taught something new every day. Yesterday your Uncle told me it
was 'time to plant corn when oak leaves were large as squirrels'
ears.'" Ralph worked like a Trojan. In a short time both his hands and
face took on a butternut hue. He became strong and robust. Mary called
him her "Cave Man," and it taxed the combined efforts of Aunt Sarah
and Mary to provide food to satisfy the ravenous appetite Mary's "Cave
Man" developed. And often, after a busy day, tired but happy, Mary
fell asleep at night to the whispering of the leaves of the Carolina
poplar outside her bedroom window.
But country life on a farm has its diversions. One of Mary's and
Ralph's greatest pleasures after a busy day at the farm was a drive
about the surrounding country early Summer evenings, frequently
accompanied by either Elizabeth or Pauline Schmidt, their nearest
neighbors.
One of the first places visited by them was a freak of nature called
"Rocky Valley," situated at no great distance from the farm.
[Illustration: PROFESSOR SCHMIDT]