ith
the tears and prayers of these people, have been made a jest and a
mock of by you. And strangest, most awful of sights--incredible almost
to men and angels--this govermunt, that sot out as a reformer to
Christianize Cuba and the Philippines, have planted there this
heaviest artillery of Satan, the saloon, to bind the poor islanders in
worse bondage and misery than they ever dremp on. Hain't you ashamed
of yourself! You fool and villain!" (Oh! dear me! Oh, dear suz! To
think on't; Arvilly wuz talkin' to the govermunt, and callin' it a
fool and villain! The idee! Why, it wuz enough to skair anybody most
to death!) I spoze it made a great adoo. I spoze that the men who
represented the govermunt wuz too horrified to make a reply. Arvilly
always did go too fur when she got to goin'. But it can't be denied
that she had great reason for her feelin's, for the strongest argument
wuz still to come. I spoze she got almost carried away by her own talk
and feelin's, for all of a sudden they said she lifted her long bony
hand and arm--Arvilly always wuz kinder spare in flesh--she lifted up
her arm and her bony forefinger seemed to be follerin' the lines of
some words writ up there on the wall, sez she slowly, in a awful
voice:

"My country! thou are weighed in the balance and found wanting!"

It wuz indeed thrillin', but after a minute's silence she went on:
"Look at me!" sez she, pintin' that same forefinger first at herself
and then at the tall veiled figger of the young girl beside her--"Look
at us; we, the people, represent to you another of your favorite
reforms, the Canteen, that product of civilization and Christianity
you transplanted from our holy shores to the benighted tropics. How
many petitions have you had wet with the tears of wives and mothers,
weighted down with their prayers to close this gateway to hell. But
no, for a price, as Judas sold his Lord, you have trafficked in human
souls and will do so. And you are the power--you control; we are the
people--we suffer. We leave all we love, we go out and fight your
battles when you tell us to, we face mutilation and death for
you--isn't that enough? No; besides the foe in front you set us
aginst, you introduce a foe into our midst that is a million times as
fatal and remorseless. The foe in front only aims at our bodies; this
foe, before it kills our bodies, kills honor, manhood, all that is
noble and worthy to be loved--a devilish foe indeed, but by your
command