Delia's Doctors

Home

13. Hic Homo Et Haec Homo



"God made him, and therefore let him pass for a man." - Shakspeare.

A very faint ring, of the apologetic species, was, one fine evening, heard at Mr. Thornton's door. Surely at no time previous had bell been so gently handled. Ella half-smiled, curled her lip, did profound obeisance to the yet unseen comer, and said, " Sir, or madam, I forgive you with all my heart."

The words had hardly escaped, when Dora ushered into the room a gentleman, who had come, as he himself announced, to spend a "sociable evening."

With one sigh of submission to their fate, the Thorntons invited their visitor to be seated. The reason of the sigh will be learned with one glance at the character of the man.

The expression of Mr. Stanson's countenance was very humble, as he thought ; but, A*ery abject, as every intelligent reader of physiognomy declared. Although an uneducated man, he had, in consequence of several peculiarities in our social system, gained no unenviable position in the society of his native town. His purse received tlie homage which was denied to his brain.

By virtue of his manhood, he was entitled to the exercise of the elective franchise. His vote was always given for the man approved by Squire Hughes and Dr. Leland. Had these two vanes pointed in different directions, the bewildered Stanson would have failed to discern that the political horizon could ever again regain its wonted serenity. But, as he had always been taught to obey Dr. Leland, he would have done so in this case. He would also have relieved any doubt of the clergyman's infallibility, by arguing that the learned lawyer had probably been hired by government. Even Demosthenes, as Stanson once said, on a similar occasion, accepted a bribe from Harpalus. Who these flagitious men were, or what was the bribe, or on what occasion it was offered, or whether the renowned orator pleaded guilty to the charge, were questions which Mr. Stanson could not have answered. In town-meeting, he never hazarded a speech, but gave his vote as directed by the leaders of the prominent party. But, in the church or conferencemeeting, where, in accordance with Congregational usage, every man, however illiterate, is patiently allowed to have a place in the debates, he only waited to see which side would be advocated by the clergyman. When, at the close of a stormy discussion, he was personally called upon for an expression of his mind, he replied, in subdued accents, " I agree with the pastor." The young men and maidens who had been gathered into the bosom of the church, could not always repress their inclination to smile when Brother Stanson's opinion was asked. Their elders, however, preserved a state of decorum as remarkable as it was exemplary. In matters of state, as I have intimated, he never spoke, deeming the republic safe, if he voted with the greatest men of Clinton. But, in a religious meeting, he was sometimes tempted to display his power. His exhortation was then a repetition, in feeble language, and distorted signification, of the senjinients conveyed in a previous address of some one of the brethren of the church. His prayers were beyond description. The most rigid Congregationalists, if they could claim any spark of intelligence, did, for the moment, long for some " excellent liturgy." Adelaide, conscientiously forbearing to join in his petitions, silently prayed that the time might soon come when women of talent and education should take part in the public services of religion ; and when men devoid of both natural and acquired ability to instruct their brethren and sisters, should be compelled to maintain silence.

Was it surprising, then, that his visits were in demand only among those of his own caliber ?

"Well, how do you all do?" drawled the intruder, as he ensconced his meager frame amid the sofa cushions, from which, on perceiving his intention, Carrie had retreated in dire dismay.

" Quite well thank you, except Delia," replied Mr. Thornton, with a regretful glance at the newspaper, as he deposited it upon the table.

"What is the matter with you, Delia?" asked Mr. Stanson ; " every body is talking about your health."

Delia, who, despite her foibles, detested a sympathetic cross-examination, differing, in this respect, from those inconsiderate invalids who are continually obtruding their ailments upon the notice of their friends, replied, " Do not distress yourself, sir, I am very well."

At which incredible statement, every one in the room looked at the young lady with a comic affectation of amazement.

" Delia," said Stanson, shaking his insignificant head, in a manner intended to be very impressive, and poising his forefinger upon some invisible object suspended in the air, "I am fairly astonished. You are not speaking the truth. Have your parents never taught you the ninth commandment ? You look as if you were in the last stage of consumption. My niece, who died last fall of that terrible disease, was not so much emaciated as you are. You ought to be edifying yourself with thoughts of grave-yards and tomb-stones."

Ella, although she had been told a thousand times, that whispering in company was a heinous offense against the laws of etiquette, murmured to her sister, " Don't faint, Delia. Let him talk. He reminds me of that self-complacent Malvolio, who believed that ' he had greatness thrust upon him.' "

" Mr. Thornton, with as much alacrity as his mental habits would allow, said, " My good sir, you mistake. My daughter did not design to prevaricate. She feels well this evening."

"Ay, ay," ejaculated the tormentor, "consumption is a very nattering disease !"

Mrs. Thornton could no longer attend to the terrific chasm in Jamie's jacket, which had for the last half hour demanded the exercise of all the skill of which her needle was capable. Like an avalanche, did her words fall upon the ear of her guest. " I should like to know, sir, whether you have come to my house for the express purpose of murdering my daughter. Her nervous system is highly excitable. If I wanted to kill her, I should talk in that style."

"I beg pardon, madam," stammered Stanson, looking askance at his hostess.

" Delia, my love," said Mrs. Thornton, without noticing the petition, "you have been up a long time. You must retire early this evening."

" Pray, mamma, permit me to remain," was the laughing response of Delia, who was too well aware of Stanson's ignorance on all subjects, to be alarmed by any prognostication which he might attempt.

"How is Mrs. Stanson?" inquired Mr. Thornton, solicitous to introduce another topic, " and why did not she come with you ?"

"Mrs. Stanson's liealth is "very poor," answered the gentleman, liis head again giving that ominous, oscillatory movement ; " she won't be here long. She never goes out evenings."

The actual truth was, that Mrs. Stanson, having, like many another woman, married a man greatly her inferior, found his presence so intolerable that, under various pretexts, she continually avoided his society, never visiting with him when she could devise any excuse for remaining at home, and always resolutely refusing to invite company to her own domicile. That her cheeks might not every day tingle with shame on account of his ignorance and stupidity, she led, as far as she could, a separate life, and spent a good part of her time in studying those authors who have expatiated upon the subject of Divorce.

Stanson now heaved a sigh, so deeply resonant that it might be termed cavernous, and drew across his eyes a bandanna handkerchief, one of that frightful, sanguinary-hued description, which always seems to imply that the owner may have been committing murder.

"If Mrs. Stanson should die, and leave me solitary in the world, and my innocent children motherless, I should be called to suffer a great affliction. May I have strength to bear up under the trial !"

The widower, by anticipation, here assumed so lachrymose an appearance, that Ella found it politic to give close attention to her lesson.

"What are you studying, my dear?" inquired the visitor, with an air of condescension.

" Caesar's Commentaries," was the laconic reply.

" I never heard of those commentaries. Our minister did not mention them when he was telling me how to study the Scriptures in the most profitable manner. Does Caesar comment upon the Old or the New Testament ?"

This was too much for Ella's gravity. She could not refrain from giving utterance to a shout of laughter. Mrs. Thornton's needle shot vehemently through Jamie's jacket. Mr. Thornton and Delia riveted their eyes upon a venerable Malta cat, the very personification of sobriety.

As soon as Mr. Thornton could venture to speak, he said, " At times, Ella is slightly hysterical. You were alluding, sir, to Dr. Leland - "

"Yes, yes, but those commentaries - what are they ?"

Ella's eyes sparkled. Delia gave her an emphatic frown, but the eager child whispered, " If he will expose himself, let him," and then replied,

"Sir, these commentaries have no connection with the Bible. They were written by Caesar, a celebrated Eoman. They contain an account of a certain war, in which he greatly distinguished himself. The language is Latin."

Stanson's face was a perfect blank.

" I never studied that language," was his candid confession.

" Of course, you never did," muttered impertinent little Ella.

" Sucli studies are of no use," continued the despiser of human learning ; " Dr. Leland would not approve of them."

" Sir, you know nothing about the matter. It is the language of the learned world. No one ignorant of Latin can claim the proud title of scholar. Dr. Leland would not be a respectable clergyman without an aquaintance with the very language which you condemn."

Stanson shrank into his corner, and meekly said, "I hope that you find your book interesting."

"On the contrary, sir, although Latin is my favorite study, this is the dullest book which I ever read. The only interesting part is a description of the early inhabitants of Britain. I am studying Caesar, that I may be qualified for the perusal of the larger classics. I shall soon begin the Latin poets. Those will be fascinating. By-and-by, I shall pass on to Greek, which my brother Charles says is incomparably superior to Latin."

Stanson elevated both hands and eyes.

" Strange that a pious woman, like Miss Adams, should make her scholars study heathen books."

" Sir, those heathen books, as you call them, are studied by all Christians who receive a liberal education. Our clergymen pursue the regular course, or they would not be deemed fit for their office."

" Do yon mean that Dr. Leland has read books written by those pagans ?"

"I do. He would not have ventured to apply for admission at a theological seminary, unless he had previously passed through an academic and a collegiate course."

"Sir," said the astonished Stanson, turning to Ella's father, "is your child speaking the truth?"

" Certainly, sir. A knowledge of the language and the literature of those polished nations of antiquity, is justly considered requisite for a leader of the people."

"I can not see how those men who worshiped idols could write any thing which could prepare a man to preach the gospel."

" You should not confound the Greeks and Komans with the degraded idolaters of our own times. The books which they wrote are without a parallel. Many even go so far as to say that genius left the world with Homer and Virgil. We should also remember, that, in addition to the direct benefit derived from such studies, the scholar gains an immense amount of mental discipline, which qualifies him, as perhaps nothing else would, for the wrestling that he must encounter as a good soldier of Christ. Without a thorough course of training, a man would be poorly prepared to defend the faith."

Stanson sat in silence, his brain almost turned by these ideas. His own deficiences had never before been so clearly revealed. At length he said, in a tone of pique, " I don't pretend to say that a man, especially a minister, does not need such, studies, but, of what use can they be to a woman ?"

Ella started from her seat, her eyes flashing, and her whole frame quivering with excitement. " Of the same use, Mr. Stanson, that they are to a man. They develop and discipline the mind. Every individual, endowed with mind, has a right to education. The fact that any man has a capacious mind, establishes his claim to high' culture."

"Ay, a man, but not a woman!" said Stanson, bridling in his pride of sex.

"In Latin," replied Ella, with dignity, " homo may signify an individual of either sex. If I choose to employ the English word man in the same way, you can not dispute my right. You are not a philologist."

Stanson, who had experienced more or less of discomfort for the last few minutes, and who did not, indeed, understand the meaning of Ella's last sentence, was inexpressibly relieved on hearing an energetic peal of the door-bell. A moment after Dr. Leland, in his genial, but almost pontifical humor, entered the room.

Ella leaped from, the music-stool, on which she had been perched, and met the clergyman with a joyful grasp of the hand. The senior Thorntons advanced with respectful cordiality. Stanson, meanwhile, stood in silence, achieving most extraordinary prostrations. He would fain have touched the carpet with his forehead, had his limbs possessed the requisite pliancy. On seeing him, Dr. Leland, in his effort to suppress an involuntary laugh, was attacked by one of his alarming paroxysms. After coughing till his lungs fairly ached, he smiled, and glanced around the room, carefully averting his eyes from Stanson, who, overwhelmed with a consciousness of the pastor's proximity, was sitting with downcast eyes and folded hands, looking as some good Romanist might in the presence of the Pope. Even the President of the Republic would have received no more homage from Stanson than did our much-amused clergyman. Dr. Leland did, indeed, consider himself as the equal of any man, not excepting the most distinguished, but the curious manifestations of deference which he was obliged to endure from some of his parishoners, were almost too much for the due maintenance of his gravity.

" Dr. Leland," demanded Ella, without waiting for conventionalisms, "should not women be permitted to study the classics?"

"Who denies them the privilege?" asked the gentleman, with a smile.

" In my youth," simpered Stanson, heartily wishing that the child were in bed, "little girls were told that they should be seen, and not heard."

"Why, Mr. Stanson," said the clergyman, with a mock deprecatory air, " you would not compel our little friend to be a mere speechless automaton 2"

Stanson, who was ignorant of the meaning of the last word, took refuge in silence.

The victor Ella continued, ""Why, sir, Mr. Stanson has been saying that women ought not to learn Latin and Greek. Will you tell him that they should attend to every branch of study for which they have the talent?"

Dr. Leland laughed, and replied, "You have told him that, yourself, Ella. "Will it not suffice?"

"No, no; he calls me a little girl. Do you tell him. He regards all that you say as ex cathedra."

"Oh, you little pedant! Well, Mr. Stanson, I am commissioned by Miss Ella Thornton, to tell you that women have a right to study every thing for which they have the talent, even magic, Chaldee, and Japanese, if they aspire to topics of such interest."

"Now, say that your opinion agrees with mine."

" My opinion agrees with hers," repeated the reverend doctor, with great deliberation, as if he certainly knew his lesson, but chose to take due time for correct recitation.

Stanson, who had never learned, with Paley, that, "he who is not a fool half of the time, is a fool all the time ;" and who, moreover, had never heard of a certain eminent statesman's game of horses with his children, began to wonder what had become " >f 1 lis pastors dignity. Like some other simple men, he always associated a long face, and a stern or dismal countenance, with profound wisdom. The fear now seized him, that Dr. Leland, his cherished oracle, was suddenly verging toward idiocy. This supposition, however, he resolutely banished from his mind. The effort to ponder upon its consequences was greater than he could well sustain. Humbled by the clergyman's apparent acquiescence in the views of Ella, he sank back upon the sofa in a state of woful embarrassment, and fervently rejoiced that Mrs. Stanson had been too ill to leave home that evening. At length he summoned courage to ask, in a trembling voice, " Do you think that women should be lawyers and ministers ?"

"Ah! that is another question," replied the clergyman, releasing Ella's hand, and looking proudly around the room, " a woman may study every thing for which she has the time and the talent. You would have figured better, Mr. Stanson, some centuries before this age of the world. Many women, with only a lew advantages, have acquired great erudition. How then can we deny that they have the mental power to equal man in all his pursuits? We must acknowledge that a woman may be whatever she chooses, in character and acquirements. All, however, with the exception of a few ultraists, agree that her position should be limited. Many a man, in looking upon some noble woman, has felt as did Shah Aulum, when he said, 'If Juliana were a man, I would make him my vizier.' A woman's mind should be cultivated, that she may rightly fill her own sphere, not that she may encroach upon man's. I am entirely willing that my wife should be my compeer in learning. But the influence of her knowledge must bear upon her children, and upon general society. She may benefit the world as much as she pleases, by teaching, by conversation, and even by writing, but she shall not enter the pulpit, or plead at the bar, or lecture before any audience."

" Now you only half agree with me," said Ella, with a shade upon her bright face.

" My dear child, how can you complain? "Woman may well be content with the influence which she can exert in private life. Far from resembling the philosopher, who thanked Heaven that he was not born a woman, I sometimes almost envy her lot. In public, my influence extends over a thousand people. In private, it is not a tithe of that possessed by my wife. The morals, the manners, even the minds of my children, are formed wholly by her. Yery promising youth they are, but when I look at one trait or another in their characters, I remember that it was developed by their mother's careful training and example. Not that an illiterate woman would have had this power. But, being highly educated, her sons and her daughters have been inspired with reverence for her literary attainments as well as for her moral excellence. When I married, people laughed at my learned wife, and benevolently predicted that we should both come upon the parish. As if a knowledge of the higher branches of study precluded the idea of skill in domestic economy I Whose home is happier than my own ? Had it not been for my wife, I should have become harshly bigoted, fiercely despotic. Her refining influence has modified and rightly directed the bias of my mind, so that I am not quite the dogmatist for which I was fitted by the circumstances of my early life. She has been the sharer of my cares and of my studies ; she has educated my children in the beauty of knowledge and of holiness ; she has been the loved companion of my leisure hours. Oh, my dear Ella, how can woman complain that her sphere is circumscribed?"

Ella sighed. She was affected by the touching eulogium which her pastor had given his wife, but in more respects than one, was she dissatisfied with the position occupied by the lady. She blushed, and said, in a low tone, "But, you are the ruler."

" Not so, my child. Where the husband and the wife are what they should be, a command is never heard. Both obey the great laws promulgated by the Sovereign of the Universe. People rule by their influence. My wife's power with me is equal to mine with her. When men are men, when, either by the training of others, or by their own self-education, they are what they should be, they always acknowledge the sway of woman. Irresistibly do they submit to her will. Both sexes are thus ennobled. You have read of Gorgo ?"

"Gorgo!" repeated Ella, mournfully shaking her head, "no, sir."

"Time enough yet, my dear. I am sure that you have heard of Leonidas."

"Yes, indeed. Leonidas was king of Sparta."

"Right, and Gorgo was his wife. A foreign lady once said to the queen, ' You Spartan women are the only ones that rule men.' To which Gorgo replied, 'True, for we are the only ones that give birth to men.' The inference which I draw from this fine repartee might be thus expressed: Every man who is a true man evinces honor and reverence for woman. However much may be said to the contrary, woman does indeed rule man. She influences him, not only in his pliant childhood, his susceptible youth, but also in his proud maturity. As, in the days of chivalry, the chief motive to exertion would have been removed if woman, in her grace and beauty, had not been present to applaud the victors, and to crown them with the reward of their valor ; so, now, if she were banished from our halls of public resort, from our social gatherings, how much of most powerful stimulus would vanish ! How few would be so eager to display all their prowess in the contests of our mental knights !"

This rhetoric was thrown away upon the laughing child. She had not the most remote idea of "being nattered out of her rights."

" Do you think, sir, that women will be content as mere spectators? Instead of applauding and encouraging the men, we wish to be actors in the great drama of life."

The clergyman, unused to opposition, now appeared slightly vexed.

"Have I not indicated the way in which you are to act?" he demanded, with some degree of asperity.

"You have given me your views of our duty," replied Ella, with a mischievous smile, " but they do not satisfy me. I can not very well defend my own opinions. You should hear Adelaide."

"I have heard her," muttered Dr. Leland, with a dire contraction of his brow. After a pause, he resumed, "My child, you must be independent. Beware of yielding to the influence even of one so gifted as Adelaide."

"I am independent," replied Ella, proudly; "I should not accept an opinion from any one without due investigation."

" Remember, too, that your years on earth have been very few. You do not yet see objects in their true light."

Ella made no answer. She was endeavoring to recall a sentiment which she had somewhere seen, " Be true to the dream of thy youth."

Dr. Leland looked thoughtfully into Ella's earnest eyes, and continued,

"Adelaide's opinions upon some subjects are erroneous, but she may yet be convinced that she is wandering in devious paths. She is what I call a tangential young lady, if I may be allowed to coin a word."

Tlie idea of comparing Adelaide with a tangent was so ludicrous, that Ella, for a moment, forgot the previous train of thought.

Dr. Leland proceeded. "I dislike ultraists. They would overturn the whole system of society, yea, the world itself, for the sake of their opinions."

"Have not all the reformers been ultraists?" asked Ella, with daring look and tone. " Was not Luther deemed an ultraist, by those who would have preferred to sleep quietly in error, rather than be rashly awaked?"

The clergyman playfully put his hand before Ella's mouth, saying, "That will do for this evening, child. I came to see your brother, not to hold an argument with you. Is he at home ?"

"No, sir," answered Ella, with an arch smile, " he is at Adelaide's."

Dr. Leland's visage was slightly contorted, as he rose to depart. " When I next come, Ella, you shall not talk all the time. I shall see what your father and mother have to say. I must now find Charles."

All had forgotten Stanson. Ella, turning her head, saw her sanctimonious opponent completely lost in a state of somnolence. So many successive sentences uttered in the familiar tones of his pastor's voice had, by the laws of association, been as effectual a sedative as a sermon in the old church.

For the last quarter of an hour he had been under the dominion of Morpheus and his poppy-stalk Ella, with a suppressed laugh, directed the clergyman's attention to his interesting parishioner. Dr. Leland, with a significant nod, endeavored to creep noiselessly from the room. Vain attempt for a man encumbered with two hundred and fifty pounds of material substance ! Stanson fairly awoke, yawned, and said, quite coherently, "Yes, yes, Miss Ella, I hope that you will remember what the minister has been saying to you this evening."

Another yawn, and he rose upon his feet. "Are you going, Dr. Leland ? "Wait a moment. I shall take the same road."

The persecuted clergyman gave a groan of assent. The next moment, accompanied by. his presumptuous follower, he was groping his way through streets yet unfavored by gas or even oil. Clinton was never illumed except by Cynthia and her stellar train.