Rightlyorwrongly，itiscertainthatamanbothliberalandchivalric，canandveryoftendoesfeeladis-easeanddistrusttouchingthosepoliticalwomenwecallSuffragettes。Likemostotherpopularsentiments，itisgenerallywronglystatedevenwhenitisrightlyfelt。Onepartofitcanbeputmostshortlythus:thatwhenawomanputsupherfiststoamansheisputtingherselfintheonlypostureinwhichheisnotafraidofher。Hecanbeafraidofherspeechandstillmoreofhersilence；butforceremindshimofarustedbutveryrealweaponofwhichhehasgrownashamed。Butthesecrudesummariesareneverquiteaccurateinanymatteroftheinstincts。Forthethingswhicharethesimplestsolongastheyareundisputedinvariablybecomethesubtlestwhenoncetheyaredisputed:whichwaswhatJoubertmeant，Isuppose，whenhesaid，"ItisnothardtobelieveinGodifonedoesnotdefineHim。”WhentheevilinstinctsofoldFoulonmadehimsayofthepoor，"Letthemeatgrass，"
thegoodandChristianinstinctsofthepoormadethemhanghimonalamp-
postwithhismouthstuffedfullofthatvegetation。Butifamodernvegetarianaristocratweretosaytothepoor，"Butwhydon'tyoulikegrass？"theirintelligenceswouldbemuchmoretaxedtofindsuchanappropriaterepartee。Andthismatterofthefunctionsofthesexesisprimarilyamatteroftheinstincts；sexandbreathingareabouttheonlytwothingsthatgenerallyworkbestwhentheyareleastworriedabout。
That，Isuppose，iswhythesamesophisticatedagethathaspoisonedtheworldwithFeminismisalsopollutingitwithBreathingExercises。Weplungeatonceintoaforestoffalseanalogiesandbadblunderinghistory；whilealmostanymanorwomanlefttothemselveswouldknowatleastthatsexisquitedifferentfromanythingelseintheworld。
Thereisnokindofcomparisonpossiblebetweenaquarrelofmanandwomanhoweverrightthewomanmaybeandtheotherquarrelsofslaveandmaster，ofrichandpoor，orofpatriotandinvader，withwhichtheSuffragistsdelugeuseveryday。Thedifferenceisasplainasnoon；
theseotheraliengroupsnevercameintocontactuntiltheycameintocollision。Racesandranksbeganwithbattle，eveniftheyafterwardsmeltedintoamity。Buttheveryfirstfactaboutthesexesisthattheylikeeachother。Theyseekeachother:andawfulasarethesinsandsorrowsthatoftencomeoftheirmating，itwasnotsuchthingsthatmadethemmeet。Itisutterlyastoundingtonotethewayinwhichmodernwritersandtalkersmissthisplain，wide，andoverwhelmingfact:onewouldsupposewomanavictimandnothingelse。Bythisaccountideal，emancipatedwomanhas，ageafterage，beenknockedsillywithastoneaxe。
Butreallythereisnofacttoshowthatideal，emancipatedwomanwaseverknockedsilly；exceptthefactthatsheissilly。Andthatmighthaveariseninsomanyotherways。Realresponsiblewomanhasneverbeensilly；andanyonewishingtoknockherwouldbewiselikethestreet-
boystoknockandrunaway。Itisultimatelyidiotictocomparethisprehistoricparticipationwithanyroyaltiesorrebellions。Genuineroyaltieswishtocrushrebellions。Genuinerebelswishtodestroykings。
Thesexescannotwishtoabolisheachother；andifweallowthemanysortofpermanentoppositionitwillsinkintosomethingasbaseasapartysystem。
Asmarriage，therefore，isrootedinanaboriginalunityofinstincts，youcannotcompareit，eveninitsquarrels，withanyofthemerecollisionsofseparateinstitutions。Youcouldcompareitwiththeemancipationofnegroesfromplanters——ifitweretruethatawhitemaninearlyyouthalwaysdreamedoftheabstractbeautyofablackman。Youcouldcompareitwiththerevoltoftenantsagainstalandlord——ifitweretruethatyounglandlordswrotesonnetstoinvisibletenants。YoucouldcompareittothefightingpolicyoftheFenians-ifitweretruethateverynormalIrishmanwantedanEnglishmantocomeandlivewithhim。
Butasweknowtherearenoinstinctsinanyofthesedirections，theseanalogiesarenotonlyfalsebutfalseonthecardinalfact。Idonotspeakofthecomparativecomfortormeritofthesedifferentthings:I
saytheyaredifferent。Itmaybethatloveturnedtohateisterriblycommoninsexualmatters:itmaybethathateturnedtoloveisnotuncommonintherivalriesofraceorclass。Butanyphilosophyaboutthesexesthatbeginswithanythingbutthemutualattractionofthesexes，beginswithafallacy；andallitshistoricalcomparisonsareasirrelevantandimpertinentaspuns。
Buttoexposesuchcoldnegationoftheinstinctsiseasy:toexpressorevenhalfexpresstheinstinctsisveryhard。Theinstinctsareverymuchconcernedwithwhatliterarypeoplecall"style"inlettersormorevulgarpeoplecall"style"indress。Theyaremuchconcernedwithhowathingisdone，aswellaswhetheronemaydoit:andthedeepestelementsintheirattractionoraversioncanoftenonlybeconveyedbystrayexamplesorsuddenimages。WhenDantonwasdefendinghimselfbeforetheJacobintribunalhespokesoloudthathisvoicewasheardacrosstheSeine，inquiteremotestreetsontheothersideoftheriver。
HemusthavebellowedlikeabullofBashan。Yetnoneofuswouldthinkofthatprodigyexceptassomethingpoeticalandappropriate。NoneofuswouldinstinctivelyfeelthatDantonwaslessofamanorevenlessofagentleman，forspeakingsoinsuchanhour。ButsupposeweheardthatMarieAntoinette，whentriedbeforethesametribunal，hadhowledsothatshecouldbeheardintheFaubourgSt。Germain——well，Ileaveittotheinstincts，ifthereareanyleft。Itisnotwrongtohowl。Neitherisitright。Itissimplyaquestionoftheinstantimpressionontheartisticandevenanimalpartsofhumanity，ifthenoisewereheardsuddenlylikeagun。
Perhapsthenearestverbalanalysisoftheinstinctmayhefoundinthegesturesoftheoratoraddressingacrowd。Forthetrueoratormustalwaysbeademagogue:evenifthemobbeasmallmob，likethe。FrenchcommitteeortheEnglishHouseofLords。And"demagogue，"inthegoodGreekmeaning，doesnotmeanonewhopleasesthepopulace，butonewholeadsit:andifyouwillnotice，youwillseethatalltheinstinctivegesturesoforatoryaregesturesofmilitaryleadership；pointingthepeopletoapathorwavingthemontoanadvance。Noticethatlongsweepofthearmacrossthebodyandoutward，whichgreatoratorsusenaturallyandcheaporatorsartificially。Itisalmosttheexactgestureofthedrawingofasword。
Thepointisnotthatwomenareunworthyofvotes；itisnoteventhatvotesareunworthyofwomen。Itisthatvotesareunworthyofmen，solongastheyaremerelyvotes；andhavenothinginthemofthisancientmilitarismofdemocracy。Theonlycrowdworthtalkingtoisthecrowdthatisreadytogosomewhereanddosomething；theonlydemagogueworthhearingishewhocanpointatsomethingtobedone:and，ifhepointswithasword，willonlyfeelitfamiliarandusefullikeanelongatedfinger。Now，exceptinsomemysticalexceptionswhichprovetherule，thesearenotthegestures，andthereforenottheinstincts，ofwomen。
Nohonestmandislikesthepublicwoman。Hecanonlydislikethepoliticalwoman；anentirelydifferentthing。Theinstincthasnothingtodowithanydesiretokeepwomencurtainedorcaptive:ifsuchadesireexists。Ahusbandwouldbepleasedifhiswifeworeagoldcrownandproclaimedlawsfromathroneofmarble；orifsheutteredoraclesfromthetripodofapriestess；orifshecouldwalkinmysticalmotherhoodbeforetheprocessionofsomegreatreligiousorder。Butthatsheshouldstandonaplatformintheexactaltitudeinwhichhestands；
leaningforwardalittlemorethanisgracefulandholdinghermouthopenalittlelongerandwiderthanisdignified——well，Ionlywritehereofthefactsofnaturalhistory；andthefactisthatitisthis，andnotpublicityorimportance，thathurts。Itisforthemodernworldtojudgewhethersuchinstinctsareindeeddangersignals；andwhetherthehurtingofmoralasofmaterialnervesisatocsinandawarningofnature。
THEPOETANDTHECHEESE
ThereissomethingcreepyintheflatEasternCounties；abrushofthewhitefeather。Thereisastillness，whichisratherofthemindthanofthebodilysenses。Rapidchangesandsuddenrevelationsofscenery，evenwhentheyaresoundless，havesomethinginthemanalogoustoamovementofmusic，toacrashoracry。Mountainhamletsspringoutonuswithashoutlikemountainbrigands。Comfortablevalleysacceptuswithopenarmsandwarmwords，likecomfortableinnkeepers。Buttravellinginthegreatlevellandshasacuriouslystillandlonelyquality；lonelyevenwhenthereareplentyofpeopleontheroadandinthemarket-place。
One'svoiceseemstobreakanalmostelvishsilence，andsomethingunreasonablyweirdinthephraseofthenurserytales，"Andhewentalittlefartherandcametoanotherplace，"comesbackintothemind。
InsomesuchmoodIcamealongalean，paleroadsouthofthefens，andfoundmyselfinalarge，quiet，andseeminglyforgottenvillage。Itwasoneofthoseplacesthatinstantlyproduceaframeofmindwhich，itmaybe，oneafterwardsdecksoutwithunrealdetails。Idaresaythatgrassdidnotreallygrowinthestreets，butIcameawaywithacuriousimpressionthatitdid。Idaresaythemarketplacewasnotliterallylonelyandwithoutsignoflife，butitleftthevagueimpressionofbeingso。Theplacewaslargeandevenlooseindesign，yetithadtheairofsomethinghiddenawayandalwaysoverlooked。Itseemedshy，likeabigyokel；thelowroofsseemedtobeduckingbehindthehedgesandrailings；andthechimneysholdingtheirbreath。Icameintoitinthatdeadhouroftheafternoonwhichisneitherafterlunchnorbeforetea，noranythingelseevenonahalf-holiday；andIhadafantasticfeelingthatIhadstrayedintoalostandextrahourthatisnotnumberedinthetwenty-four。
Ienteredaninnwhichstoodopenlyinthemarket-placeyetwasalmostasprivateasaprivatehouse。Thosewhotalkof"public-houses"asiftheywerealloneproblemwouldhavebeenbothpuzzledandpleasedwithsuchaplace。Inthefrontwindowastoutoldladyinblackwithanelaboratecapsatdoingalargepieceofneedlework。ShehadakindofcomfortablePuritanismabouther；andmighthavebeenperhapsshewastheoriginalMrs。Grundy。Alittlemorewithdrawnintotheparloursatatall，strong，andseriousgirl，withafaceofbeautifulhonestyandapairofscissorsstuckinherbelt，doingasmallpieceofneedlework。Twofeetbehindthemsatahulkinglabourerwithahumorousfacelikewoodpaintedscarlet，withahugemugofmildbeerwhichhehadnottouched，andprobablywouldnottouchforhours。Onthehearthrugtherewasanequallymotionlesscat；andonthetableacopyof'HouseholdWords'。
Iwasconsciousofsomeatmosphere，stillandyetbracing，thatIhadmetsomewhereinliterature。Therewaspoetryinitaswellaspiety；andyetitwasnotpoetryaftermyparticulartaste。Itwassomehowatoncesolidandairy。ThenIrememberedthatitwastheatmosphereinsomeofWordsworth'sruralpoems；whicharefullofgenuinefreshnessandwonder，andyetareinsomeincurablewaycommonplace。Thiswascurious；forWordsworth'smenwereoftherocksandfells，andnotofthefenlandsorflats。Butperhapsitistheclearnessofstillwaterandthemirroredskiesofmeresandpoolsthatproducesthiscrystallinevirtue。PerhapsthatiswhyWordsworthiscalledaLakePoetinsteadofamountainpoet。
Perhapsitisthewaterthatdoesit。Certainlythewholeofthattownwaslikeacupofwatergivenatmorning。
Afterafewsentencesexchangedatlongintervalsinthemannerofrusticcourtesy，Iinquiredcasuallywhatwasthenameofthetown。TheoldladyansweredthatitsnamewasStilton，andcomposedlycontinuedherneedlework。ButIhadpausedwithmymuginair，andwasgazingatherwithasuddenlyarrestedconcern。"Isuppose，"Isaid，"thatithasnothingtodowiththecheeseofthatname。”"Oh，yes，"sheanswered，withastaggeringindifference，"theyusedtomakeithere。”
Iputdownmymugwithagravityfargreaterthanherown。"ButthisplaceisaShrine!"Isaid。"PilgrimsshouldbepouringintoitfromwherevertheEnglishlegendhasenduredalive。Thereoughttobeacolossalstatueinthemarket-placeofthemanwhoinventedStiltoncheese。Thereoughttobeanothercolossalstatueofthefirstcowwhoprovidedthefoundationsofit。ThereshouldbeaburnishedtabletletintothegroundonthespotwheresomecourageousmanfirstateStiltoncheese，andsurvived。OnthetopofaneighbouringhillifthereareanyneighbouringhillsthereshouldbeahugemodelofaStiltoncheese，madeofsomerichgreenmarbleandengravenwithsomehaughtymotto:I
suggestsomethinglike'Vernonsemperviret；sedStiltoniasempervirescit。'"Theoldladysaid，"Yes，sir，"andcontinuedherdomesticoccupations。
Afterastrainedandemotionalsilence，Isaid，"IfItakeamealhereto-
nightcanyougivemeanyStilton？"
"No，sir；I'mafraidwehaven'tgotanyStilton，"saidtheimmovableone，speakingasifitweresomethingthousandsofmilesaway。
"Thisisawful，"Isaid:foritseemedtomeastrangeallegoryofEnglandassheisnow；thislittletownthathadlostitsglory；andforgotten，sotospeak，themeaningofitsownname。AndIthoughtityetmoresymbolicbecausefromallthatoldandfullandvirilelife，thegreatcheesewasgone；andonlythebeerremained。AndeventhatwillbestolenbytheLiberalsoradulteratedbytheConservatives。Politelydisengagingmyself，Imademywayasquicklyaspossibletothenearestlarge，noisy，andnastytowninthatneighbourhood，whereIsoughtoutthenearestvulgar，tawdry，andavariciousrestaurant。
Thereaftertriflingwithbeef，mutton，puddings，pies，andsoonIgotaStiltoncheese。IwassomuchmovedbymymemoriesthatIwroteasonnettothecheese。Somecriticalfriendshavehintedtomethatmysonnetisnotstrictlynew；thatitcontains"echoes"astheyexpressitofsomeotherpoemthattheyhavereadsomewhere。Here，atleast，arethelinesIwrote:-
SONNETTOASTILTONCHEESE
Stilton，thoushouldstbelivingatthishourAndsothouart。Norlosestgracethereby；
Englandhasneedofthee，andsohaveI——
SheisaFen。Farastheeyecanscour，LeagueaftergrassyleaguefromLincolntowerToStiltoninthefields，sheisaFen。
Yetthishighcheese，bychoiceoffenlandmen，Likeatallgreenvolcanoroseinpower。
Plainlivingandlongdrinkingarenomore，Andpurereligionreading'HouseholdWords'，AndsturdymanhoodsittingstillalldayShrink，likethischeesethatcrumblestoitscore；
Whilemydigestion，liketheHouseofLords，Theheaviestburdensonherselfdothlay。
IconfessIfeelmyselfasifsomeliteraryinfluence，somethingthathashauntedme，werepresentinthisotherwiseoriginalpoem；butitishopelesstodisentangleitnow。
THETHING
Thewindawokelastnightwithsonobleaviolencethatitwaslikethewarinheaven；andIthoughtforamomentthattheThinghadbrokenfree。
Forwindneverseemslikeemptyair。Windalwayssoundsfullandphysical，likethebigbodyofsomething；andIfanciedthattheThingitselfwaswalkinggiganticalongthegreatroadsbetweentheforestsofbeech。
Letmeexplain。ThevitalityandrecurrentvictoryofChristendomhavebeenduetothepoweroftheThingtobreakoutfromtimetotimefromitsenvelopingwordsandsymbols。Withoutthispowerallcivilisationstendtoperishunderaloadoflanguageandritual。Oneinstanceofthiswehearmuchinmoderndiscussion:theseparationoftheformfromthespiritofreligion。Butweheartoolittleofnumberlessothercasesofthesamestiffeningandfalsification；wearefartooseldomremindedthatjustaschurch-goingisnotreligion，soreadingandwritingarenotknowledge，andvotingisnotself-government。Itwouldbeeasytofindpeopleinthebigcitieswhocanreadandwritequicklyenoughtobeclerks，butwhoareactuallyignorantofthedailymovementsofthesunandmoon。
Thecaseofself-governmentisevenmorecurious，especiallyasonewatchesitforthefirsttimeinacountrydistrict。Self-governmentaroseamongmenprobablyamongtheprimitivemen，certainlyamongtheancientsoutofanideawhichseemsnowtoosimpletobeunderstood。
Thenotionofself-governmentwasnotasmanymodernfriendsandfoesofitseemtothinkthenotionthattheordinarycitizenistobeconsultedasoneconsultsanEncyclopaedia。Heisnottheretobeaskedalotoffancyquestions，toseehowheanswersthem。Heandhisfellowsaretobe，withinreasonablehumanlimits，mastersoftheirownlives。Theyshalldecidewhethertheyshallbemenoftheoarorthewheel，ofthespadeorthespear。Themenofthevalleyshallsettlewhetherthevalleyshallbedevastatedforcoalorcoveredwithcornandvines；themenofthetownshalldecidewhetheritshallbehoarywiththatchesorsplendidwithspires。
Oftheirownnatureandinstincttheyshallgatherunderapatriarchalchiefordebateinapoliticalmarket-place。Andincasetheword"man"bemisunderstood，Imayremarkthatinthismoralatmosphere，thisoriginalsoulofself-government，thewomenalwayshavequiteasmuchinfluenceasthemen。ButinmodernEnglandneitherthemennorthewomenhaveanyinfluenceatall。Inthisprimarymatter，themouldingofthelandscape，thecreationofamodeoflife，thepeopleareutterlyimpotent。Theystandandstareatimperialandeconomicprocessesgoingon，astheymightstareattheLordMayor'sShow。
RoundaboutwhereIlive，forinstance，twochangesaretakingplacewhichreallyaffectthelandandallthingsthatliveonit，whetherforgoodorevil。Thefirstisthattheurbancivilisationorwhateveritisisadvancing；thattheclerkscomeoutinblackswarmsandthevillasadvanceinredbattalions。TheotheristhatthevastestatesintowhichEnglandhaslongbeendividedarepassingoutofthehandsoftheEnglishgentryintothehandsofmenwhoarealwaysupstartsandoftenactuallyforeigners。
Now，thesearejustthesortofthingswithwhichself-governmentwasreallysupposedtograpple。Peopleweresupposedtobeabletoindicatewhethertheywishedtoliveintownorcountry，toberepresentedbyagentlemanoracad。Idonotpresumetoprejudgetheirdecision；perhapstheywouldpreferthecad；perhapsheisreallypreferable。Isaythatthefillingofaman'snativeskywithsmokeorthesellingofhisroofoverhisheadillustratethesortofthingsheoughttohavesomesayin，ifheissupposedtobegoverninghimself。Butowingtothestrangetrendofrecentsociety，theseenormousearthquakeshehastopassoverandtreatasprivatetrivialities。Intheorythebuildingofavillaisasincidentalasthebuyingofahat。InrealityitisasifallLancashirewerelaidwastefordeerforests；orasifallBelgiumwerefloodedbythesea。Intheorythesaleofasquire'slandtoamoney-
lenderisaminorandexceptionalnecessity。InrealityitisathinglikeaGermaninvasion。SometimesitisaGermaninvasion。
Uponthishelplesspopulace，gazingattheseprodigiesandfates，comesroundabouteveryfiveyearsathingcalledaGeneralElection。Itisbelievedbyantiquarianstobetheremainsofsomesystemofself-
government；butitconsistssolelyinaskingthecitizenquestionsabouteverythingexceptwhatheunderstands。TheexaminationpaperoftheElectiongenerallyconsistsofsomesuchqueriesasthese:"I。ArethegreenbiscuitseatenbythepeasantsofEasternLithuaniainyouropinionfitforhumanfood？II。ArethereligiousprofessionsofthePresidentoftheOrangeFreeStatehypocriticalorsincere？III。DoyouthinkthatthesavagesinPrusso-PortugueseEastBunyiplandareashappyandhygienicasthefortunatesavagesinFranco-BritishWestBunyipland？IV。
DidthelostLatinChartersaidtohavebeenexactedfromHenryIII
reservetherightoftheCrowntocreatepeers？V。WhatdoyouthinkofwhatAmericathinksofwhatMr。RooseveltthinksofwhatSirEldonGorstthinksofthestateoftheNile？VI。Detectsomedifferencebetweenthetwopersonsinfrock-coatsplacedbeforeyouatthiselection。”
Now，itneverwassupposedinanynaturaltheoryofself-governmentthattheordinarymaninmyneighbourhoodneedanswerfantasticquestionslikethese。HeisacitizenofSouthBucks，notaneditorof'NotesandQueries'。Hewouldbe，Iseriouslybelieve，thebestjudgeofwhetherfarmsteadsorfactorychimneysshouldadornhisownsky-line，ofwhetherstupidsquiresorcleverusurersshouldgovernhisownvillage。Butthesearepreciselythethingswhichtheoligarchswillnotallowhimtotouchwithhisfinger。Instead，theyallowhimanImperialdestinyanddivinemissiontoalter，undertheirguidance，allthethingsthatheknowsnothingabout。Thenameofselfgovernmentisnoisyeverywhere:theThingisthrottled。
Thewindsangandsplittheskylikethunderallthenightthrough；inscrapsofsleepitfilledmydreamswiththedivinediscordancesofmartyrdomandrevolt；IheardthehornofRolandandthedrumsofNapoleonandallthetonguesOfterrorwithwhichtheThinghasgoneforth:thespiritofourracealive。ButwhenIcamedowninthemorningonlyabranchortwowasbrokenoffthetreeinmygarden；andnoneofthegreatcountryhousesintheneighbourhoodwereblowndown，aswouldhavehappenediftheThinghadreallybeenabroad。