OLD MAIDS' CHILDKEN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13355, 8 December 1906, Page 1 (Supplement)

OLD MAIDS' CHILDKEN.

BY A SHYSTER.

Of course a genteel maiden lady of 60 odd lias no right to expect deference; but even as she goes on to the end of her days, dreaming of the might-have-beens, and even of the may be*, so does she exact deference. That reminds me of the remark of a maiden friend. She was in the early forties then, now she is in the late fifties, and looks almost pretty. People observe that she must have been good-looking in her youth; and they wonder why she. never married.

" She sighed when I once put this question, and I knew that she had magnified some little attention until she really believed that once she was herself engaged. However, I sighed too, looked sympathetic, and waited.

" I expected too much deference." she explained. " I always do, you know, always will." ' *

" Young men nowadays arc so wanting in chivalry," she afterwards informed me. 'No, when a gentleman thinks seriously of me, he must be deferential all the time:. even if I marry him."

Fortunately for her she has not yet contrived to find the man who keeps it up long enough; and when she is round the sixty corner she will begin to forget about her engagements. But there is some truth in what she says, and some reason for her being exacting. : *

I feel inclined, just for their own sakes, to shake those pig-tailed, short-skirted, young women, who toss their heads and giggle when lamppost-holders make rude remarks to them. When I go* past the same loiterers, not bad boys, after all, they are silent; and surely a fresh-faced, bright-eyed girl in her teens is more deserving of respect than a withered old maid, whom no man has chosen. I want sometimes to go back and thank those boys for their kindness in respecting my age; and when one amongst them, as he does when he is there, raises his cap, £ would like to hug him. Then doesn't it seem a pity that a few minutes afterwards these lads call out to ft trio of girls who pass?

I know most people will condemn these boys; but. I think that if they only understood, the lads would soon behave differently. It is older boys who rudely push into cars and hustle women out of their way. For women, it seems to me, have let them acquire bad habits. And yet I know that boys are much more tractable than girls ; more amenable to reason, and certainly more easily moved by a little show of affection. I cannot do anything ; if I kissed a growing boy he would resent it; if I talked sweetly to him he .would mutter that I was mad. But in his sister's or his sweetheart's hands he would be a very lamb. ; :

How long it is since the days of knightly chivalry! " .

I wonder often how they ever came to exist, and if ever they can come again. It seems to me they came because the manly heart was ever responding to the call upon its strength which was made by weak women. Women then, in those times of raid and foray, knew full well that on the power of the man's sword rested their only hope of peace, and security. And can we think that girls then taunted boys and said, "We can work as wcjl as you'.'" . : ' .

Is it not more natural to.think.that gills married ; men whom they trusted best, to fight for them that they" clung to them and showed their weakness, and yet spurred them to the battle, well knowing that men must fight for their women, ■ or those women would be passed from hand to hand of the enemy f It needs strength to show the weakness of a big trust. Any bombastic one may say.- * *

"I don't care for anything." . , _ *-; How few of us modern women have courage to say to our men: • fake care of me."

For, in our easy life, we let words, like weeds, grow'over our loveliest garden, the garden; of 'trust; and • onlooking old maids are among the few who fancy that there are better ways of getting the good out of men than those of nagging and faultfinding and scoffing. And it seems to me that beyond asking them to earn, Wages, mothers and wives neglect to call out the good in their men folk. I fancy, if I were one of them, I should say: "See! i am only a woman, and I cannot do much. Lend me some of that strength. Fight for me."

And then it seems to the old maid they would come to learn that all women must be protected; and so that , deference to the weak, which we used to call chivalry, would grow and flourish. It has occurred to me sometimes to wonder what would happen if a swarm of foreigners came to our shores and demanded' surrender. Ah ! that is the time when we women should tremble behind our wooden walls, when we should wish too to be able to help. I know everyone of sense will say we should be better employed in keeping out of the way, as did those ladies who stitched their samplers. And then we should see whether these boys of ours would not show the old British chivalry. Can you imagine one of them shirking the fight? Can you think of them, spoilt by our silliness, flaming us for keeping them, by talk of wages,. from learning to defend us? For whatever the good pluck underneath, it avails little without the weapon. I heard a woman threaten her boy that if ever she caught him meddling with a gun she would—the usual ineffective hazy threat of foolish mothers— him. And I heard another vow that .she was afraid of guns, and would be scared to see any of her boys go out shooting. And I, the old maid at the comer window, I marvelled that lads nowadays had any spirit at all when there were such mothers. And vet we talk of these boys crowding to football and hugging the streets. What else do we give them to do? Reading-rooms. Fudge! What healthy lad wants to stick in. musty reading-rooms'? Leave them to sodden bachelors and old maids, who have forgotten their dreams Give the boys their guns and teach them always that they are the natural protectors of the women who claim them as sons or brothers or sweethearts. For in those "days of old, when knights were bold," they were bold only because they knew how to "handle well their weapons. Then the common attribute of the man was chivalry, and that of the woman was confidence in the might of Ins arms. , .

So we modern women, we give our men nothing to do but earn wages-that we expect of them, and say to them no praise for it. And if ever our day of reckoning comes we shal cry as sorry ones have cried before and all the inherent chivalry of their blood will not be able to help us, for they cannot stand, unarmed, against the spoilers. Old maids hay* their dreams. I used to have mine, of sturdy sons whom I should teach to tenderly cherish little sisters. For I, too, loved. Who has not? And who loves, dreams of baby fingers. And thac baby fingers might become the strong hands of men, which twisted themselves in caress of bow or spear or rifle, never vet spoiled a dream. For as the knight and his lady loved their sons bv their capacity to do, so should I have loved mine. And if I were young again I should fall in love agam. Be sure it would be with a man who could fight for me. For if he could fight he would respect me for my very -weakness and respecting me he would show me deference. And, of course, wo should marry in the good old-fashioned way, and should teach our children to be chivalrous. But lam forgetting myself. I could not have, wed the man I loved: how could I? He never knew. Nor could be know what warrior sons he-missed. Perhaps he is a sour old widower now and it is certain that I am an old, old maid, sitting at a corner window, trying to philosophise. As for the training every" mother will laugh and say, "Old Maids'children." But all ; the same, if my dreams of chivalry ever I come true, it will be when every boy born '■ ,in this country owns, his rifle and "knows!