Rosa Graul

“ When hunger and starvation stares her in the face; when the demon drink has entered her home; when the husband and father is thrown out of work through no fault of his; when the monster monopoly has shed precious blood, and made her home desolate—what then, think you, breeds in the heart of woman? Her every thought, her every breath, must of necessity be freighted with—murder! Then the little helpless unborn, the human embryon, that is being gestated and fed with such nourishment—must not a race of murderers, of criminals of every description, be the product of such creative conditions? ”

“ And you can say it is all long since past! Oh, Imelda, Imelda, in this one instance,—my mother’s case,—is in the past, but oh! in how many thousand cases is it not true today? It is now, that those horrible deeds are being perpetrated. Oh, thou holy ‘sacred’ thing called marriage! How many sweet, pure temples of womanhood you are daily, hourly defiling, by the unrestrained lust hidden under thy protecting shelter. O, that I could proclaim it over the world; O, that I could reach the innermost recesses of every pure woman’s and every trusting maiden’s heart. ”

“ Why dwell upon the past with its many bitternesses and trials? Did not the present moment outweigh all the sufferings? all the dark hours of woe? Her boy was still her own, with a soul pure and true. Should she not rather be thankful? With an overflowing heart she drew the boy’s face down to hers, giving vent to all the pent-up feelings that were causing her heart to heave and her lips to seek a loving, clinging mother’s kiss. Imelda’s eyes filled with tears; without another word she gently touched Cora’s arm and together they withdrew, leaving the two to enjoy their new-found happiness. ”

“ But even in that first quick meeting, when joy lights up the eyes of both, Norman sees the change in his old-time friend; sees the lines that the flight of years alone has not engraven on the handsome face.
“What is it Owen? There is that in your face which tells me all is not well. Have you been sick?”
“Heart-sick—yes! to the extent that life sometimes seems but a burden?”
“Why should a man of almost unlimited wealth, such as you possess, speak in such a strain?”
“Why, indeed! You speak as though wealth could buy happiness.” ”

“ As the last rays of the sun died out in a golden halo, Alice slowly turned her head and for a while lay watching her friend. “A penny for your thoughts, my dear,” she said with a smile, thus recalling her to present things.
“They are not worth it,” Imelda made answer. “They are but vague and unreal dreams.” Alice’s pale face quivered.
“Vague and unreal,” she repeated. “Ah, my precious, as long as they are vague and unreal, you may count yourself happy. It is the real and tangible that makes life a burden. ”

“ The blue eyes would fill with tears, and the trembling lips confess such tales of woe as would blanch the roses on the health-glowing cheeks of the horrified girl, while the lips of the listener would answer: “Again! Again has marriage proven a failure! Is it ever, oh! is it ever, anything else?” Her lips would quiver, the dark eyes would fill with unshed tears as a fair face, a sunny smile, and eyes which seemed pure wells of truth, arose before her mental vision. Then she would question, “Are all men alike? Is it ever and always the fate of woman to be the slave of men?” ”

“ Wilbur smiled as he again folded her close and kissed the trembling lips. “I appreciate the sweet tender love that fills and swells your gentle breast, but I know, if you do not, that it will be another than myself who will be able to shake this woman’s heart of yours to the very foundation of your being. Under the influence of a mightier love than you have yet felt you will awake to your full strength. Then will come the time when you will arise to the height and glory of your work in the cause of humanity, in the cause of womankind.” ”

“ Thou shalt yet wave over this beautiful world the banner of holy brotherly love! Thou shalt yet secure to us this much needed freedom. Thou shalt yet see its fruits in the coming generation of a new-born people,—when poverty, hunger and misery will be unknown! When crime will be a forgotten word; when the rule of the church, like that of the state, will be a thing no longer remembered; when prisons will be swept from the face of the earth; when justice, glory-crowned, at the right shall stand; when charity no longer has a place, since her vocation shall be ended ”

“ Lawrence Westcot’s heart was once more drinking in the lessons of love, and his nature was broadening and expanding under its influence, while Hilda seemed almost glorified, as she moved about, soft snatches of song dropping from her lips. Edith was almost as happy, sunning herself in the reflection of her sister’s new-found love. Alice also saw and was happy. The old child-like merriment had returned and the rooms resounded with merry jests and silvery, tinkling laughter.
One evening when Alice had surprised Norman in the gloaming she had not been able to resist the longing, yearning spirit. ”

“ If in the past you have been childishly wayward I may not always have rightly understood you. If you have dared to fly in the face of society, of man-made laws, it is you who have been the sufferer, and when the sweetest boon that comes to woman’s life was held out to you and you were brave enough to grasp it and to bask in its glorious sunshine, I certainly cannot condemn you. I had not dreamed that the material of so grand a woman lay hidden beneath the surface of that saucy, independent child. A grand and glorious woman indeed is my sister Cora, and I am proud of her! ”

“ Cora broke off with a choking sob, while the tears once more rolled down the pale cheek. Imelda was still upon her knees at her side, was still fondling the white hand when Cora again turned to her:
“Why don’t you turn from me? I who have been a mother, who have granted to man the greatest boon of love a woman can bestow,—without first being a wife! Why are you not angry with me? I am sure I deserve it!”
“Why, my poor, dear Cora! Why should I be angry with you? For loving a noble man? ”

“ All through that evening Imelda was unusually quiet. Wilbur and Margaret played and sang but Imelda only listened. Mrs. Leland once in passing behind her chair, laid her hand upon the glossy dark hair, slightly bending the head so she could look into the dark eyes, saying in a low tone:
“Are the dreams of the future not bright, dear Imelda? Don’t let the shadows of the past follow you into the future. Keep a brave heart and it will be strange if the future does not contain for you something for which it is worth your while to work and wait.” ”

“ Will you be strong, my Imelda? Think you, you can take your Norman by the hand and lead him on until he stands upon your own sublime heights? Until he stands at your side? Then side by side to explore the unknown heights that still lie beyond your field of vision?
“Be brave, my precious one; be strong, and when the time comes when we shall meet again (and I feel that it will come) , and I fold you to my heart, pressing warm kisses on your lips, some prophetic spirit tells me that your Norman will stand by and understand. ”

“ When Love shall have taken upon himself a different guise than he at present wears? Who knows? Imelda listened spellbound to this dreaming girl, almost fearing to break the silence that ensued.
“Margaret, who taught you that? Where did you learn to hold such views of love and marriage?”
Almost instantly the entranced look faded from the face of the beautiful blonde. That most holy glow gave way to a sickly pallor. The lips quivered like those of a grieved child, and the eyes filled with tears. ”

“ No more laws to bind our thoughts and shackle our hands. 63We want to be free, to let the hearts within our bosoms beat as they will; free to follow the dictates of our normal desires; free to extricate ourselves from the old and customary when we recognize it as evil; free to let our souls soar into the regions above the clouds; free to enter the upper chambers of the mind; free to tear down the structure of rottenness that enables the few to drain the life blood of the millions and to coin it into shining gold wherewith to perpetuate their power. ”

“ Imelda was awed by the storm of passion that shook the stately form of her friend. Her words seemed metallic shafts of a “white heat,” entering her sensitive soul. Could it be possible that man under his smooth outward seeming, could be such a monster? Surely, surely such are only exceptions, rare exceptions, never the rule. Her pure soul revolted at the horrible accusations to which Margaret had just given utterance. And, perhaps, this horror was intensified by hearing such accusations drop from the lips of a girl whom she had always regarded as the impersonation of maidenly purity. ”

“ It was beyond Norman Carlton’s conception of pure womanhood.
He was indeed the soul of honor. He held all womankind in high esteem. He revered his mother, and held his sister as one to look up to. His highest conception of happiness was the mutual love of the sexes, the consummation of which meant marriage. His idea of home, and of home life was something exalted, while his ideal of a wife was a thing to be held apart from all the world. She should be his to care for, to make smooth the rough paths of her life, to protect and guard her. She should be the mother of his children. ”

“ I feel certain that if you will follow its dictates you will soon be able to judge whether it was affection for you which caused your father to pierce your mother’s inmost soul by depriving her of the child she had nourished with her heart’s blood. Can you think of more refined cruelty than to rob a mother of the babe that has lain for months beneath her heart, and that, with the most excruciating pain and with great peril to her own life, has been born into the world? Do you think a father’s affection can excel, or even equal, the love of a mother? ”

“ With a quick movement Imelda stepped forward and with outstretched hand greeted the new comer. By the heightened color of her face and the happy light that shone in the lustrous dark eyes Cora quickly judged who it was that so suddenly had stepped into their midst, and in a moment more was bowing in acknowledgement of the introduction which had followed. As she felt the searching glance the clear eyes bent upon her Cora again felt the tell-tale blood mount to her face, but with an effort overcoming the embarrassed feeling she openly returned the look. ”

“ Hastily rising, with a quick step she was at Cora’s side, winding her arms about her she laid her face to hers.
“Forgive me, little sister. For a moment I forgot that we cannot be complete until one more noble man, your own Owen, shall have joined us.”
Cora smiled through her tears.
“There is nothing to forgive, only sometimes I grow so hungry, so heart hungry, so love hungry. I know everyone here loves me, yet——”
“Yet the supreme love, the love of him who makes life’s sunshine for you, is wanting; is not that so? But why, little one, do you not send him the word which will bring him to you?” ”

“ Imelda smiled. She understood what was going on in the other’s mind. When, in all the past, had a woman gone through the dread ordeal of the divorce court that the world in general and women in particular did not believe that she was not in some way to blame for all the shame that had been heaped upon her? She who had the strength to dare to go through the calumny of the divorce court was, in the minds of many, composed of some grosser material than that was used in the composition of women in general, and little Alice Westcot was by no means above the common. ”

“ The unhappy girl walked the room, backward and forward, while a storm of sobs shook her form. For a time Ellwood feared insanity would claim her. He was not at heart a bad man, and such an ending to this day’s work would have been most unwelcome to him. He had been living merely to enjoy himself, as a certain class of young men are in the habit of doing, though it be at the expense of some other member of the human family, probably not stopping to think, not realizing, what the cost may be to that other. ”

“ If she had dealt many a cruel blow to others, in the thoughtlessness of youth, it was very evident that she had suffered much and keenly, and yet—looking at her experiences without prejudice, was she not, in some respects, more to be envied than to be pitied or condemned? This very reckless daring that was Cora’s chief characteristic, had secured to her a term of such intense, such exquisite happiness that Imelda, with her high strung morals, could never hope to attain, and as she bent to kiss the sleeping girl she whispered:
“You possess more courage than the sister you think so pure. ”

“ Imelda listened like one in a dream. Was Alice’s life all sunshine? She made bold to ask her. For a moment the bright sunny face clouded, then a silvery laugh rippled from the ripe red lips.
“Why not? Certainly it is sunshine, all sunshine. Have I not everything my heart desires? No more hard work, no more eking out and economizing, no more planning how to make both ends meet. My husband’s purse is open to me always. I have nothing else to do but be happy.” ”

“ Everyone who is working for reform, or in other words, working for humanity’s best welfare, no matter in what line it may be, is doing his or her share of the work, and will doubtless receive the full credit that is due them. Only this I would add, while everyone is riding his or her own hobby, I would look beneath this mass of corruption and unearth the underlying cause. To lay the ax to the root is what must be done in order to fell the giant, and to be able to do this we want freedom, freedom, freedom! ”

“ How woman is sold! Woman has no outlet for her overcharged feelings save in tempestuous temper and tears. Generally, in time, the temper is subdued and the tears alone remain, and the world wonders why woman so soon loses her attractive powers; why the sparkling girl overflowing with magnetism turns so soon into the pale, weary, hollow-eyed woman who finds life’s happiness turned to Dead Sea fruit upon her lips.
As Imelda listened she felt as though a cold hand were clutching at her throat. ”

“ One beautiful sister bending over the dying form of another,—dying for want of care, want of medicine, want of food. A high fever is racking the prostrate form and the despairing sister knows that if the sufferer does not soon receive the needed relief she will be beyond its need. No work—and if she had work she could not leave the sick one, as there is no one else to care for her. Where to get the money to bring relief—aye, to save life!—is the question staring her in the face, awaiting answer. ”

“ Yes! Imelda now knew that she loved, even as she was loved, and the minutes passed until they grew to hours—hours of pure holy joy, and when Wilbur left her the dawn had crept into the east, and with his kisses resting upon her lips she still sat at the open window, dreaming of the raptures that life—sweetened by magic love—had brought her. And soon the waking dreams merged into the sleep of youth and innocence as the brown eyes closed; and still the smile hovered about the dewy red lips as they in tender cadence whispered—“Wilbur!” ”