Feminism -- Fiction; Sex role -- Fiction; Women's rights -- Fiction
And I sez, “I don’t blame the good Priest for sendin’ them away from
the Lord’s table, sayin’, ‘I will give no communion to a Jezabel.’ And
the pity of it is,” sez I, “lots of them girls are innocent and don’t
realize what construction will be put on the dress they blindly copy
from some furrin fashion plate.”
Then quite an old woman passed by, also robed or disrobed in the
prevailin’ fashion, and Josiah sez, soty vosy, “I should think she wuz
old enough to know sunthin’. Who wants to see her old bones?” And he
sez to me, real uppish, “Do you think them things know enough to vote?”
But jest then a young man went by dressed fashionably, but if he hadn’t
had the arm of a companion, he couldn’t have walked a step; his face
wuz red and swollen, and dissipated, and what expression wuz left in
his face wuz a fool expression, and both had cigarettes in their
mouths, and I sez, “Does _that_ thing know enough to vote?” And jest
behind them come a lot of furrin laborers, rough and rowdy-lookin’,
with no more expression in their faces than a mule or any other animal.
“Do _they_ know enough to vote?” sez I. “As for the fitness for votin’
it is pretty even on both sides. Good intelligent men ortn’t to lose
the right of suffrage for the vice and ignorance of some of their sect,
and that argument is jest as strong for the other sect.”
But before Josiah could reply, we hearn the sound of gay music, and the
Parade began to march on before us. First a beautiful stately figure
seated fearlessly on a dancin’ horse, that tossted his head as if proud
of the burden he wuz carryin’. She managed the prancin’ steed with one
hand, and with the other held aloft the flag of our country. Jest as
women ort to, and have to. They have got to manage wayward pardners,
children and domestics who, no matter how good they are, will take
their bits in their mouths, and go sideways some of the time, but can
be managed by a sensible, affectionate hand, and with her other hand at
the same time she can carry her principles aloft, wavin’ in every
domestic breeze, frigid or torrid, plain to be seen by everybody.
Then come the wives and relations of Senators and Congressmen, showin’
that bein’ right on the spot they knowed what wimmen needed. Then the
wimmen voters from free Suffrage states, showin’ by their noble looks
that votin’ hadn’t hurt ’em any. They carried the most gorgeous banner
in the whole Parade. Then the Wimmen’s Political Union, showin’ plain
in their faces that understandin’ the laws that govern her ain’t goin’
to keep woman from looking beautiful and attractive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account