The right to the glory of having killed the bear being settled, the Doctor, addressing himself to Spalding, remarked—"There was something in H——'s appeal to you about the law of his case, that reminded me of a little scene between my wife and myself, many years ago, when we were both younger than we are now, and certainly had never anticipated the dark years of trial, through which we were unexpectedly called upon to pass. You know that I started in life, like Smith here, a gentleman of fortune, calculating, like him, to live at my ease, without troubling myself with the cares of any particular business, as I passed along. Still I thought, or rather my father thought, that it would be well enough, even for a gentleman, to have at least a nominal1 title to some profession. So I studied the law, and was admitted as an attorney and counsellor of the courts. Never intending to practise, I did not become very profoundly learned in the profession; still I became, to some extent, indoctrinated with its mysteries. I did not like it; and when the necessity for some active employment came looming2 up in the distance, I chose a different calling, and at six-and-twenty, commenced the study of my present profession. This did not occur until after I had been married some three years. I lived in the country then, or rather, summered there, in a beautiful little village in the interior of the State, in a pleasant, old-fashioned house, which my father built, and which, as I was his only heir, I supposed of course I owned. Some half a dozen miles from the village was a fine trout4 stream, to which my wife and myself used occasionally to go on a fishing excursion. On such occasions we went on horseback, as the road was somewhat rough, and my wife was as much at home in the saddle as I was. This, I repeat, was a good while ago, and we were both a score of years younger than we are now. Well, I started out alone one day to visit this trout stream, anticipating a good time with its speckled, and usually greedy inhabitants. I say I was alone, and yet there was with me, all the way, and all the time, one who can talk, reason, philosophise, understand things as well as you or I; and one, to all appearance, as much and distinctly human as you or I."
"Impossible!" exclaimed Smith, "we can't go that, Doctor. I can't stand my quarter of that."
"Foolish man!" continued the Doctor; "I say I was alone; let me demonstrate my proposition. Blackstone says, and what he says every lawyer will concede is the end of the law, and the beginning too, for that matter, that when a woman becomes a wife, she loses her identity, becomes nobody; that her husband absorbs her existence, as it were, as he does her goods and chattels6, in his own. Now, sir, do you comprehend? My wife was with me, and she, being according to law nobody, of course I was alone. You, sir, being a law abiding7 man, must admit that my proposition is Q.E.D.
"The doctrine8 of absorption, as I call it, is convenient. It promotes harmony of action, by subjecting it to the control of a single will, thus avoiding all embarrassment9 from a conflict of opinion between man and wife. So, on my way to the trout stream (I say my way, for though my wife was on horseback by my side, yet she being, according to the best legal authorities, nobody, you see I was alone), I thought I would enlighten the good lady in regard to the true position, or rather the no position at all, which she occupied. Our way lay for a couple of miles along an old road, towards a clearing which had been abandoned, and through which the stream flowed. The tall old trees spread their long arms over us, clothed in the rich verdure of spring, and the breeze, so fresh and fragrant10, moaned, and sighed, and whispered among the leaves.
"'My dear,' said I, blandly11, as we rode along, the birds singing merrily among the branches above us, 'do you know that you are NOBODY?'
"'Nobody, Mr. W——,' (I was simply Mr. W——then; I had not become, nor even dreamed that I should become a Doctor), 'Nobody, Mr. W——? Did you say nobody?'
"'Absolutely nobody,' said I. 'A perfect nonentity12. You are less even than a legal fiction.'
"'Look you,' said she, as she applied13 the whip to her pony14, in a way that brought him, with a bound, across the road directly in front of me (she rode like a belted knight), obstructing15 my progress, 'Look you, Mr. W——,' and there was a red spot on her cheek, and her eye sparkled like the sheen of a diamond, 'let us settle this matter now. I can bear being of small consideration, occupying very little space in the world, but to be stricken out of existence entirely16, to possess no legal identity, to be regarded as absolutely nobody, is a thing I don't intend to stand—mark that, Mr. W——.'
"'Keep cool, my dear,' said I; 'let us argue this matter.' I was calm, for I knew the law was on my side; I had the books, and the courts, and the statutes18 all in my favor. I was fortified19, you see.
"'Argue the matter!' she exclaimed; 'not till it is admitted that I'm somebody. If I'm nobody, I can't be argued with, I can't reason, nor talk. Now, Mr. W——, I've a tongue.'
"'Gospel truth,' said I, 'whatever the authorities may say. But we will admit, for the sake of the argument, that you are somebody; Blackstone says'——
"'Out on Blackstone,' she exclaimed; 'what do I care for Blackstone, whose bones have been mouldering20 in the grave for more than a hundred years, for what I know. Don't talk to me about Blackstone.'
"'But, my dear, you are my wife, and Blackstone says'—
"'I don't care a fig21 what Blackstone says. If I am your wife, I am my mother's daughter, and my brother's sister, and Tommy's mother, and there are four distinct individualities all centered in myself.'
"'But,' said I again, 'Blackstone says'—
"'Confound that Blackstone,' she exclaimed; 'I do believe he has driven the wits out of the man's head. Now, look you, Mr. W——, you invited me to ride with you; you now say I am nobody. Very well. If nobody leaves you, I suppose you won't be without company, for somebody certainly left home with you this morning, and has rode with you thus far. So, good-bye, Mr. W——; success to your fishing, Mr. W——,' and she struck into a gallop22 towards home.
"'Hallo!' said I, 'I give up the point. I take back all I said. Culpa mea, my good wife. If Blackstone does say'—
"'Not a word more about Blackstone,' said she, shaking her whip, half serious half playfully, at me; 'if I go with you, I go as somebody—a legal entity5.'
"'Very well,' said I, 'we'll drop the argument.'
"'Not the argument, but the fact, Mr. W——; and admit that Blackstone was a goose, and that his law, like his logic24, is all nonsense when measured by the standard of common sense and practical fact. Admit that a woman, when she becomes a wife does not become a mere3 nonentity, or I leave you to journey alone.'
"'Very well, my dear, let us see if we cannot compromise this matter. Suppose we allow his philosophy to stand as a general truth, making you an exception. We'll say that wives in general are nobody, but that you shall be exempt25 from the general rule, and be considered always hereafter, and as between ourselves, as somebody.'
"You see the shrewdness of my proposition. Firstly, it saved Blackstone; secondly26, it saved me, let me down easy; and thirdly, it appealed to the womanly vanity of my wife, and it took.
"'Oh, well,' she said, as she brought her pony alongside of me, and we jogged along cosily27 together, 'I see no objection to that. Other wives can take care of themselves. But this compromise, as between us, Mr. W——, must be a finality. No Nebraska traps, Mr. W——. No Kansas bills hereafter. It must be a finality, mind.'
"'Very well,' said I; and a robin28 that was building its nest on a limb that hung over the road, paused in its labors29, and burst into song, and the burden of its lay seemed to be a compromise, which, in truth, should be a FINALITY.
"We were successful in our fishing, and we followed the old-fashioned custom as to bait. We discarded the fly, using only the angle-worm. At the foot of the ripples30; under the old logs; where the water went whirling under the cavernous banks; in the eddies31; among the driftwood; everywhere, we found trout—not large, none weighing over six ounces, and few less than three. We caught my basket full in less then two hours, and then rode home. It was a day of enjoyment32 to us, you may be sure.
"And now I appeal to you, in all seriousness, my friend," the Doctor continued, addressing himself to Spalding, "if there is not something due to the wives and mothers of the present generation? Is there not some relaxation33 of the law necessary in vindication34 of the civilization of the age, against the legal barbarisms still remaining on the statute17 books, and adhered to by the common law, in regard to wives and mothers? Is the current of progress to flow by them for ever, bearing no reforms which shall affect them? Do not misunderstand me. I am no advocate of the practices of the 'strong-minded women,' who hold their conventions and public meetings, who unsex themselves by mounting the forum35, and, throwing off the retiring modesty36 of the true woman, seek to secure notoriety at the price of popular contempt. But there are evils which bear heavily, too heavily, upon the women even of this country, and which, for the credit of the civilization of the age, should be corrected. As calm-minded, philanthropic men, we, the American people, should look into this subject, and, regardless of jeer37 and scoff38, do what justice, humanity, and the right demand of us, in regard to some of the social and legal inequalities between the sexes, pertaining39 to the married state."
"It is one of the mysteries of our system of jurisprudence," replied Spalding, "that while everything else is on the move, while progress is written in letters of living light upon all other things, that remains40 stationary—at least in a comparative sense. The world moves on, civilization advances, science and the arts stride forward, but the law stands still. A principle which may have been somewhat changed, modified, bent41, if you please, into an adaptation to the exigencies42 of the present, and a fitness for the changed circumstances of the times in which we live, is suddenly thrown back into its old position by the exhumation43 of some 'decision' from the dust of ages, made by some judge away back in the olden times, resurrected by the research of some antiquarian lawyer, who loves to delve44 among the rubbish of past generations. The learning, the wisdom, the philosophy of the present is discarded, and the spirits of a lower civilization are conjured45 from the darkness of vanished centuries, to settle rules for the government of commerce, personal conduct, and the social relations of the times in which we live. There seems to be something paradoxical in the idea that the older the decision the better the law—the more ancient the commentator47, the profounder the wisdom of his axioms. This might be well, were it true that civilization is 'progressing backwards,' the science of government retrograding. In that case, it would of course be true, that the nearer you approach the fountain, the purer the stream would be. But such is not the fact. In all these attributes the world is on the advance, the science of government progressive; and to make the wisdom of centuries ago override48 the wisdom, or overshadow the light of the present, is a paradox46 peculiar49 to our system of jurisprudence. There are lawyers and judges, who enjoy a high reputation, whose fame rests upon their profound research among the worm-eaten tomes of black-letter law, and whose glory consists in their familiarity with the opinions and axioms of men who lived and died so long ago that their very tombs are forgotten. This class of lawyers and jurists hold in contempt all the learning, the philosophy, the practical wisdom of the present —rejecting everything that is not bearded and hoary50 with age. Seated in their libraries, in the midst of their ponderous51 octavos, their Roman and black-letter volumes, they reject with disdain52 the commentators53, the opinions of the jurists of the present century; and brushing away the cobwebs and dust from the covers of their treasured relics54 of bygone ages, they clasp them in a loving embrace close to their hearts, exclaiming, 'These are my jewels.' Whatever has not the sanction of ancient authority, is folly55 to them—worse than folly, for it is innovation, and that is rank impiety56.
"I remember an anecdote57 of the celebrated58 William Wirt, related to show how ready his mind was, how instant in activity, and how suddenly it would flash with an eloquence59, superior to that exhibited by the most elaborate preparation. He was arguing a cause before the Supreme60 Court of the United States, and laid down, as the basis of his argument, a principle to which he desired to call the particular attention of the judges. The opposing counsel interrupted him, calling for the authority sustaining his principle,—'The book—the book!' demanded his adversary61. 'Sir, and your honors,' said Wirt, straightening himself up to his full height, 'I am not bound to grope my way among the ruins of antiquity62, to stumble over obsolete63 statutes, or delve in black letter law, in search of a principle written in living letters upon the heart of every man.' If the idea contained in this answer of Wirt, were more fully23 appreciated by our modern jurists, it would be all the better for the country.
"The common law is said to be the perfection of reason. This is doubtless true, but it is the perfection of the reason of the present, as well as of the past. Its principles are elastic64, suiting themselves to the civilization of all ages. They are progressive, keeping pace with the progress of all times. They are not immutable65, save in the element of right, and they therefore shape themselves to all circumstances, moving along with the onward66 march of trade, the commerce, the social relations, and business of the people. The learning of to-day, the wisdom, the philosophy of to-day is profounder than that of any preceding century, and it is folly to overthrow67 it by, or compel it to give place to, the learning, the wisdom, the philosophy of departed and ruder ages.
"In regard to your question, whether there is not some relaxation of the law necessary, in vindication of the civilization of the age, against the legal barbarisms remaining upon the statute book, and in the common law in regard to our wives, I answer frankly68 that I do not know about that. The law, as you read it in Blackstone, and as you expounded69 it to your wife, on your fishing excursion, has been somewhat modified. Wives have been given a status by modern legislation; and a woman, by becoming a wife, does not now cease to be a legal entity. The law permits her to retain and control her property irrespective of her husband, and she has, therefore, thus far, ceased to be 'nobody.' But my private opinion is, that, as a general thing, the women of this country get along very well, even under the pressure of the 'barbarisms' of which you speak. They manage, one way and another, to get the upper hand of their legal lords, law or no law. If their existence, in the light of authority, is 'less than a legal fiction,' they come to be regarded, or make themselves felt in the world as practical facts. They are quite as apt to be at the top, as at the bottom of the ladder, notwithstanding what 'Blackstone says' about their legal position. There is, doubtless, a good deal of abuse of authority on the part of husbands, but the women get their share of the good that is going in the world, as a general thing. If the law is against them, they manage to usurp70 full an even amount of privilege and authority, and keep along about in line with the other sex. I never knew an out and out controversy71 between a man and his wife, in which the former did not get the worst of it in the end; and as to the impositions, which as a melancholy72 truth are too frequent, they are about as much on one side as the other. It is not to legal enactments73 that we must look for the cure of unhappiness incident to the married state, but to a reform in temper and habits of life. Besides, I do not believe the wives of this country would accept of a strict legal equality at all, if it were tendered them as a FINALITY. I believe they would prefer remaining as they are; for by being so, they are left to the resources of their own genius, to win by their tact74, what is not guaranteed by law. I know that there are a good many crazy-headed people in pantaloons as well as petticoats, who go about laboring75 for the 'emancipation76 of women,' as if the heavens and earth were coming together. But those of them who wear skirts, generally have delicate white hands, flowing curls, flashing black eyes, and the gift of oratory—and a desire to exhibit them all; while those in pantaloons have their hair combed smoothly77 back, as if preparing to be swallowed by a boa-constrictor, wear white cravats78, talk softly, and show a good deal of the whites of their eyes, from a chronic79 habit of looking up towards the moon and stars. As a general thing, these latter are of no practical use in the world, and make as good a tail to the kite of the 'strong-minded women' as anything else. But these people represent a very small portion of the American women, and until the masses demand 'emancipation,' I rather think that matters had better be permitted to remain as they are. The women will take care of themselves—no fear of that."
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1
nominal
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| adj.名义上的；(金额、租金)微不足道的 | |
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looming
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| n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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trout
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| n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属) | |
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entity
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| n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物 | |
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chattels
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| n.动产，奴隶( chattel的名词复数 ) | |
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abiding
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| adj.永久的，持久的，不变的 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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embarrassment
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| n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫 | |
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fragrant
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| adj.芬香的，馥郁的，愉快的 | |
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blandly
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| adv.温和地，殷勤地 | |
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nonentity
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| n.无足轻重的人 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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pony
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| adj.小型的；n.小马 | |
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obstructing
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| 阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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statute
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| n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例 | |
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statutes
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| 成文法( statute的名词复数 )； 法令； 法规； 章程 | |
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fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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mouldering
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| v.腐朽( moulder的现在分词 )；腐烂，崩塌 | |
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fig
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| n.无花果(树) | |
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gallop
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| v./n.(马或骑马等)飞奔；飞速发展 | |
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fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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logic
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| n.逻辑(学)；逻辑性 | |
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exempt
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| adj.免除的；v.使免除；n.免税者，被免除义务者 | |
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secondly
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| adv.第二，其次 | |
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cosily
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| adv.舒适地，惬意地 | |
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robin
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| n.知更鸟，红襟鸟 | |
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labors
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| v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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ripples
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| 逐渐扩散的感觉( ripple的名词复数 ) | |
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eddies
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| （水、烟等的）漩涡，涡流( eddy的名词复数 ) | |
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enjoyment
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| n.乐趣；享有；享用 | |
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relaxation
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| n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐 | |
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vindication
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| n.洗冤，证实 | |
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forum
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| n.论坛，讨论会 | |
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modesty
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| n.谦逊，虚心，端庄，稳重，羞怯，朴素 | |
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jeer
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| vi.嘲弄，揶揄；vt.奚落；n.嘲笑，讥评 | |
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scoff
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| n.嘲笑，笑柄，愚弄；v.嘲笑，嘲弄，愚弄，狼吞虎咽 | |
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pertaining
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| 与…有关系的，附属…的，为…固有的(to) | |
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remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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exigencies
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| n.急切需要 | |
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exhumation
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| n.掘尸，发掘；剥璐 | |
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delve
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| v.深入探究，钻研 | |
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conjured
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| 用魔术变出( conjure的过去式和过去分词 )； 祈求，恳求； 变戏法； （变魔术般地） 使…出现 | |
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paradox
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| n.似乎矛盾却正确的说法；自相矛盾的人(物) | |
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commentator
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| n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员 | |
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override
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| vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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hoary
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| adj.古老的；鬓发斑白的 | |
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ponderous
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| adj.沉重的，笨重的，(文章)冗长的 | |
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disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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commentators
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| n.评论员( commentator的名词复数 )；时事评论员；注释者；实况广播员 | |
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relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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impiety
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| n.不敬；不孝 | |
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anecdote
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| n.轶事，趣闻，短故事 | |
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celebrated
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| adj.有名的，声誉卓著的 | |
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eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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antiquity
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| n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹 | |
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63
obsolete
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| adj.已废弃的，过时的 | |
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elastic
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| n.橡皮圈，松紧带；adj.有弹性的；灵活的 | |
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65
immutable
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| adj.不可改变的，永恒的 | |
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66
onward
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| adj.向前的，前进的；adv.向前，前进，在先 | |
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67
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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68
frankly
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| adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说 | |
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69
expounded
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| 论述，详细讲解( expound的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70
usurp
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| vt.篡夺，霸占；vi.篡位 | |
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71
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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72
melancholy
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| n.忧郁，愁思；adj.令人感伤（沮丧）的，忧郁的 | |
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73
enactments
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| n.演出( enactment的名词复数 )；展现；规定；通过 | |
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74
tact
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| n.机敏，圆滑，得体 | |
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75
laboring
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| n.劳动，操劳v.努力争取(for)( labor的现在分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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76
emancipation
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| n.（从束缚、支配下）解放 | |
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77
smoothly
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| adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地 | |
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78
cravats
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| n.（系在衬衫衣领里面的）男式围巾( cravat的名词复数 ) | |
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chronic
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| adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的 | |
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