The Glacier's Gift

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER V The Hand that Rules the World N nearly all the crises of the world's history woman has in reality been the power behind the throne. The pages of ancient, medieval and modern history glow with the achievements of valorous men, but little space is given to the influence exerted by the mothers,...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER V The Hand that Rules the World N nearly all the crises of the world's history woman has in reality been the power behind the throne. The pages of ancient, medieval and modern history glow with the achievements of valorous men, but little space is given to the influence exerted by the mothers, wives and sisters of these same characters, made famous, alike, in story and song. To be sure, the pulses are quickened by reading of the sacrifices of Antigone, one of the most pathetic of early Greek tradition; fascinating in the extreme is the history of the ambitious and voluptuous Cleopatra, of whom it has been said, If the nose of Cleopatra had been shorter, the whole face of the earth would have been changed. Familiar enough to the modern student are the names of Aspasia, from whom Pericles got most of his ideas; Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, to whom, rather than the Gracchi themselves, the Roman reforms were due. The rape of Lucrece, followed by her noble confession and pathetic expiation, resulted in the expulsion of Tarquin and marked the beginning of a brilliant era in Roman history. Alfred the Great attributed his love of learning and goodness of character to his mother's influence. In later history are to be found the names of Isabella of Spain, to whom the discovery of America is really due; Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, and Catherine de'Medici. In that terrible revolution, when the streets of Paris flowed with blood, none played a more important part in that human tragedy than Charlotte Cor- day and Madame Roland. In our own country's crises women have occupied no minor position. In the AmericanRevolution women took a very prominent part, ofttimes with breaking hearts, laying their sacrifices on their country's altar, that not only the people of that...