AN "EMANCIPATED" WOMAN.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 565, 1 November 1871, Page 2

AN "EMANCIPATED" WOMAN.

Mrs. Habkiet Beeches Stowe, in her sketches entitled " My Wife and I," published in the Christian Union, " takes off" a certain lively maiden iv .New York, who speculates and runs a newspaper.

A day or two after, as I was sitting in my room busy writing, I heard a light footstep on the stairs and a voice saying. "Oh yes! this is Mr. Henderson's room —thank you," and the next moment a jauuty, dashing young woman, with bold olue eyes and curling brown hair, with a little, wicked-looking cap, with nodding cock's feather, set askew on her head, came marching up and seated herself at my writing-table. 1 gazed in blank amazement. The apparition burst out laughing, and seizing me frankly by the hand, said, — " Look here, Hal! don't you know me ? Well, my dear fellow, if you don't, it's time you did! 1 read your last 'thinuumagig ' in the Milky Way, and came round to make your aquaintance." 1 gazed in dumb amazement while she went on. " My dear fellow, I have come to enlighten you,"—and as she said this she drew somewhat nearer to me, and laid her arm contidingly on my shoulder, and looked coaxini-ly in my lace. The look oi uriiizement which I gave, under these circumstances, seemed to cause her great

amusement.

"Ua! lia I" she said, "didn't I tell 'em •jo ? You ain't half out of the shell yet. You aiu't really hatched. You go for the emancipation of woman, but bless yon, boy, you haven't the least idea what it means —not a bit of it, sonny, have you now ? iJonfess ! " she said, stroking my whiskers, coaxingly. " Really, madam—l confess," I said, hesitating, " I haven't the honor—"

V xMot the honor of my aquaintanee, you was going to say ; well, that's exactly what you're getting now. iread your piece in the Milky Way, and, said I, that boy's in heath n darkness yet, and I'm going round 10 enlighten him. You mean well, Hal, but this is a great subject. You- haven't seen through it. Lord bless you, child: you nin't a woman, and I am, that's just the difference." • ■ ;

JN ow I ask any of my readers, what is a modest young man, iv this nineteenth century —haying been brought up to adore and reverence woman as a goddess—to do when he finds himself suddenly vis-a-vis with her, in such embarrassing relations as mine were becoming? I had heard before of' Miss Audacia Dangereyes as a somewhat noted character in .New'Ybrk circles, but did not expect to be brought so unceremoniously, and without the least preparation of mind, into such very intimate relations with her. " Now look here, bub !" she said, " I'm just a-going to prove to you, in five minutes, that you've been writing about what you don't know anything about. You've been asserting, in your blind way, the rights of women to liberty and equality ; the rights of women, in short, to do anythiag that men do. Well, here comes a woman to your room, who takes her rights, practically, and does just what a man would do. I claim my right to smoke, if I please, and to drink, if t please ; and to come up into your room and make you a call, aud have a good time with you, if I please, and tell you that I like your looks, as I do. Furthermore, to mvite you to como snd call on me at my room. Here's my card. You may call me ' Dacia, if I you like—l don't go on ceremony. Come I round and take a smoke with me, this ; evening, won't you ? I've got the nicest j little chambers that ever you saw. What rent do you pay for yours? Say, will you come round?" " Indeed, thank you, Miss -" .oil me ' Dacia for short. I don't stand on ™ mouy -. j ust look oir——--■----another fellow, :Lj nQW con^ jS .^at you've been tied and teuSi-oCI by those vapid conventionalities which bind down women till their is no strength in 'em. : You visit in-tlioso -&»lau artL/uiiaLeJi'cles I where women e'e slaves, tept like eaVary j birds in jri-'a'ed cages. And you are ai-aid i of yon< own principles when you see them. ! parried out in a real free woman. JN'to, i ' I'm a woman that' not only dares say, b\t - I dare do. Why hasn't a woman as iuuci ! , a right to go round und make hersel* 1 ; agreeable to men, as to sit still at home i aud wait for men to come and make themselves agreeable to her ? I know you !

don't like this, I can see you don't • V »" it's only because you are a slave to old prejudices. But lam going to ma k e like me in spite or yourself. Come no be consistent with your principles -'all*1 me my equality as a woman, a hta? being." I wis in such a state of blank a&w mont by this time as seemed todepfwivj of all power of self-possession. |4.t iv- 9 time the door opened, and Jim if^elW 8 appeared. A most ludicrous f^'ms^ passed over his face as he saw the r e m\[J and he cut a silent pirouette in * *£% „;.' behind her. She turned her headj £jW advanced. ' am& c " Fairest of the sex ! (with some sli e \ exceptions) to what happy accident ar"^ we to attribute this meeting ?" \ . " Hallo, Jim !is this you ?" she TevoWeA ' " Oh, certainly, it's me," said JimS ; ing himself familiarly. " How is th brightest star of womanhood—the North 8 crn Light; the Aurora Borealis; the fairest of the fair ? .Bless its little heart has it got its rights yet ? Did it want to drink and smoke P Come along with Ji m now, and let's have a social cocktail." '

" iteep your distance, sir," said she giving him a slight box on the ear. "J prefer to do my own courting. I naye been trying to show our friend here how little he knows of the true equality of woman, and of the good time combe when we shall have our rights, and to do just as we darn please, as you do. I'U bet now there ain't one of those Van Arsdel girls that would dare to do as I'm doing. But we're opening the way, sir we're opening the way. The time will come when all women will be just as free to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happi. ness as men," ; ; . ....

" Good heavens ! " said I, under my breath. . .

"My beloved Audacia," said Ji m , " allow me to remark one little thing, and tliat is, that woman (men also) must be left free to the pursuit of happiness, and also, as the Scripture says, new wine must not be put into old bottles. Now my friend Hal. begging his pardon, is an old bottle, and I think you have already put as much new wine into him as his constitution will bear. And as he and I have both got to make pur living by scratching, and {tempus fucjit) we've got articles to write, ahd there is always, so to speak, the devil after us folks that write for the press, may I humbly request that you will withdraw the confusing light of your bright eyes from us for the present, and, in snort, lake your divine self somewhere else ?"

As Jim spoke these words he passed, his arm around Miss Aud?:cia's waist, and drew her to the door of the apartment, which he threw open, and handedherout, bowing with great ceremony.

"Stop!" she cried, I "ain't going to put out that way. I haven't done what I came for. You both have got to subscribe for my paper, The Emancipated Woman."

" Couldn't do it, divinest charmer," said Jim ; " couldn't do it; too poor; mill runs low; no waterjmodest merit not rewarded. Wait till my ship comes in, and I'll subscribe for anything you want." " "Well, now, you won't get rid of me that way, I tell you. I came in to get a subscription, and I am going to stay till £ get one," said Miss Audacia. " Come, Hal," she said, crossing once more to me, md sitting down by me, and taking my hand, " write your name there, there's a i^ood fellow."

I wrote my name in desperation, while Jim, stood by laughing.

"Jim," said she, "come, put; your's dowu quick, and let's have it over." , •' Well, now," said she, "fork out the tin— five dollars each." : -

We both obeyeimechanically. "Well, well," said she, good-naturedly, " that'll do for this time ; good morning ;" and she vanished from the apartment with a jaunty toss of the head and a nod of the cock's feathers in her hat. Jim closed the door and locked it. *.' Mercy upon us, Jim !" said I; ; " who. and what is this creature?"

" ' h, one of the harbingers of the nerr millenium," said Jim. " Won't it be jo'ly when all the girls are like her? But we >-hall have to keep our doon locked then."