by Lisa Prysock
Zane brought the blessing and thanksgiving to a swift close since they were both so hungry. “...And thank you Lord, for blessing our marriage and giving us a joyous wedding day. I know you have chosen not only a beautiful bride for me, but a perfect one. May I walk worthy of being her husband.”
It was at this moment when several violinists, a cellist, and the harpist stepped forward from the shadows and began to play Schubert’s “Serenade” one more time, causing her to set her fork down as she clasped her hands over her mouth in surprise once again. How he’d managed to hide them for this moment was yet another mystery. How had she missed seeing the enormous harp and these talented musicians?
“Zane, you are such a joy to my heart,” she whispered to him as the musicians serenaded them, covering his hand with hers as happy tears spilled from her eyes. The whole day had been like a dream to her. Where she’d been afraid, now her worries and fears completely vanished. The magnificent Lord above had been watching over her as only He could. Her heart was soaring.
“May it always be so my darling, may it always be so.”
The End
Author Note
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoyed this story about a Lexington southern belle, women’s suffrage writer marrying a northern doctor from a ridiculously wealthy, Pittsburgh family. I thoroughly enjoyed researching the oldest menageries (the modern term is zoo) in both Europe and the United States for the purpose of this novella, and also the animals who would have a featured role in it.
I also learned many things about the training and education for doctors going into the medical field in the 1800s. While I was fascinated with the palace menagerie in Austria, the history behind the Central Park Zoo and the Philadelphia Zoological Society, during this time period doctors didn’t have formalized licensing and training until the University of John Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland (close to where my son had his open heart surgery) offered a comprehensive program for medical students. The program was among the first of its kind to include laboratory work, field work (kind of like modern internships), and academic coursework.
At the crux of the story is the history of the hardship women have faced in gaining equality in the right to vote, in wage earnings, and in retaining ownership of property in marriage. This stirred up a lot of my passion about the subject of women’s equality. Clearly, God designed women with the capacity to do anything He calls us to. In my lifetime, I’ve seen women astronauts, pilots, government leaders, doctors, Queens, college professors, and more.
I personally believe that God loves and respects women (along with many others who have suffered in their plights for freedom and equality on this earth such as other races and ethnicities, and in particular, children). God’s Word reveals His heart for women. Don’t miss the power verses I’ve included about this. Let them soak down into your soul, and grasp the love He has for you, and for me.
This story definitely touched some part of me in the writing where I needed reminding of my worth and value to Him. If nothing else, I hope you walk away with these two things—: He sent His only beloved Son, Jesus, to die for you on the cross the same as He did for anyone else. Secondly, God our Father loves women, counts them of great value, and has carved out a special role for each and every one of us. I embrace all of this.
There are many women in the Bible who did great things for God. One of the first things I notice is how He introduces women in the Bible as “Wife of and Mother of,” indicating the importance and value of her role. It is clear that man was not complete without his helpmate. He was alone, and God saw fit to create a woman to be with Adam. I also love that He used women in the Bible time and time again to make a difference in the outcome of many things. Ruth became the Great Grandmother of Jesus many generations later, and she wasn’t even born to Israel. Rachel and Leah built the House of Israel, and Deborah was a judge, a prophetess, and a leader in battle. Esther helped to save the Jewish people, and Hannah raised up Samuel to be a man of God from a child.
Mary Magdalene was the first to discover that Jesus had risen from the dead, and she had a special place in worship at His feet. She was also respected among the disciples as a follower of Christ. Martha served Him through her deeds and with her hands. Lydia sold her purple cloth in the marketplace to support the evangelistic efforts of Paul—one of my author themes and the inspiration for what I do. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is highly esteemed among women and birthed the Savior of the World to the earth. The Samarian woman at the well was unafraid to tell everyone about Jesus, effectively evangelizing an entire area as she witnessed.
Bathsheba loved a king and went on to raise a son who would become a king like his father, leading a nation and building a great temple. Miriam watched over her baby brother who would one day lead the nation of Israel out of bondage, and Yochebed wasn’t afraid to disobey the Pharaoh in order to hide Moses and save him alive. Zipporah helped Moses lead a nation through the wilderness. Rahab hid the spies to save Israel, and saved her household and a nation. Dorcas, Salome, and many others helped to do great things for God.
Even though the Lord has grounded me well in studying about his plan for women and how vital they have been through the centuries, as I read through some of the Scriptures on this topic, it refreshed me again. We need to continually remember we are of great importance to Him. We don’t want to underestimate or overestimate it, but we do want to remember we are Princesses in the Kingdom of God, Daughters of the Most High Living God. We need to remember to conduct ourselves accordingly and do our best for Him in all things. I think we can see from these stories that God places a high value upon women and has a special purpose for each and every one of us.
I don’t believe women should usurp a man or his place, or try to “teach” a husband. I believe that’s the Lord’s responsibility. However, it is nice when a husband and wife can sit down together, read the Word, and study or learn about the Word and many other subjects together. I do believe we can be a quiet witness and example of the Lord to our husbands. But there are times when we are called to speak up and speak out, and in today’s world, we have witnessed great progress in women’s equality. Like Deborah in the Bible, in this time in which we live, there are women the Lord is using in many places as teachers, missionaries, pastors, evangelists, in leadership roles, as business women and business owners, as CEO’s, in the military, as speakers in the church and community, in politics, as doctors, and in authority, etc. In fact, I believe a woman can do anything she sets her mind to do. She can be a doctor, a lawyer, a politician, a teacher, a pilot, a scientist, a writer, a business entrepreneur, you name it. However, men and women need to respect each other in any of our roles no matter where we each are in life; knowing God equips each of us with the capacity to do what He calls us to do.
At the same time, I think women should be gentle and use humility in our relationships with men so we do not trample them with our desire for equality. We must respect them if we want to be respected, and we should remember they were created before women, as even the Word reminds us of this in the Scriptures. I do think we should refrain from correcting our husbands in public and be kind to our husbands, and treat them as we want to be treated. I also believe a husband is ultimately accountable for the welfare of his wife and family in numerous ways. If he truly loves his wife, I believe he will treat her with respect, equality, and dignity, viewing the marriage as more of a partnership. I believe how he treats his wife will impact his sons and daughters, and especially how they treat women and view themselves.
There are also many places in the Bible where men are called to war and to leadership where typically, a woman is not. Like it or not, women have been created as the gentler and weaker sex in general, and men were created to protect and lead. Still, God has designed a special role for us as women. There are more women than ever before going into the military these days, and the military is finding roles for them to fill. It is remarkable how far we have come, but women have ste
pped up even in history throughout the Bible. Study about Deborah and Jael in the Old Testament for instance, and you’ll see that women serving in war and battle is not a new concept.
Since my fictional story takes place in Minnesota, it was interesting to note that the women did not earn the full right to vote in this state until 1919. This was a long struggle, and it is surprising how many centuries it has taken to see something fair and good like this happen. I believe this may have a lot to do with the fall of man and woman in the Garden of Eden, but I notice the Lord comes in and breaks those kinds of bondages in our lives as we follow Him. I was also inspired in writing this story by the knowledge that the first Minnesota Woman’s Suffrage Association was founded in 1881 in Hastings, my birthplace. The 19th amendment penned by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony was first drafted in 1878, but it was not ratified until August 18th, 1919.
On my first flight to Europe, I was surprised to find myself seated next to a dear lady who was struggling to believe in a God who could allow it to take so long for women to find equality and justice. She could not reconcile herself to Him, knowing He had allowed so much suffering in the lives of women who have been mistreated by men for centuries upon centuries. I patiently listened to her story, but I did remind her at the end of our conversation that God is a fair and equitable judge who sees all things. Not one of these wrongdoings has escaped His notice, but forgiveness can be found, and abound. He has the power to bring something good from each of those situations, and I believe sometimes He allows us to go through many hardships to shape and mold us. I believe too that a relationship with Christ can open doors and make our lives better than we ever dreamed. I also believe He can protect and help us while we are in desperate, difficult situations.
Relationships almost always become broken when we don’t follow God’s plan. If we ask Him, he’ll show us what to do about it. His answer isn’t the same for every woman. Each circumstance is different. If you are facing a divorce for example, you need to seek the Lord’s guidance. The Lord says you may be able to bring your husband to salvation and faith in Jesus by your example, so a woman should pray and ask the Lord what to do. Don’t doubt and He will show you what to do.
On another note, it is nice to revisit the tremendously romantic waltz from this time period in history. I encourage you to listen to the waltzes I mention in the last chapter of the story, Chopin’s “Spring Waltz” and Schubert’s “Serenade.” In fact, you may even want to listen to them while reading the last chapter for the full effect. I also particularly enjoy Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers,” but this would not have been published yet for the time period setting of this story. If it were to be made into a movie, wouldn’t it be awesome to have “Serenade” played during the title and beginning credits, and again at the final credits, and during the wedding scene? When I listen to this amazing dramatic waltz, I can hear some of the plight of woman and the sadness in her long fight for equal rights in the notes, measures, and the tones of the instruments. I also hear the man and woman as they grow in their romance in the song, but there’s this other idea about the difference between men and women resonating in the music for me when I listen to it.
Although fictionalized for the purpose of this story, the real life Laura Clay was extremely active in women’s rights and the daughter of a powerhouse of a man, Kentucky farmer, politician and abolitionist, Cassius Marcellus Clay (1810-1903). What a colorful character he was! He was also a lawyer, soldier, and newspaper publisher. Since Laura went to school in Lexington and was about the same age as this story’s heroine, it would be entirely plausible that she could have been a friend to the heroine in my fictional story— if fiction were real. Read on to understand more about the research of the amazing real life people and events which inspired me in the writing of this fictional novella. I sincerely hope the daughters of Cassius Clay and both of his wives found forgiveness for Cassius Clay’s actions. Perhaps in the end, maybe Cassius came to respect and love women as much as he did the black people. For his daughter, Laura Clay became a mover and a shaker in the battle for women’s rights. She probably learned much of her speaking ability and tenacity from observing her father’s political career as a child.
Can you imagine waking up to find your mother homeless after forty-five years of marriage after a divorce because your father owned everything, even when he’d wronged your mother through infidelity? That’s exactly what the Mother of Laura Clay, Mary Jane Clay, was facing. I’m sure Laura’s heart was broken, along with that of her sisters, and especially her mother. In those days, women had no rights to ownership when they married. Everything belonged to their husbands. They also could not vote. It was a pathetically lopsided system. It was frowned upon if they aspired to be writers, doctors, or business owners. They were basically expected to be mothers, wives, and maybe they could be a store clerk, take on sewing jobs, or teach in schools. Anything beyond that for women was generally discouraged. It was a tough time for women. In many places, even the children belonged to the husband in the case of a divorce. This began to change slowly over time. I was surprised to find that at one point in Minnesota for example, the women were allowed to vote in elections involving local school issues, but not for any other issues.
Cassius Marcellus Clay
Cassius has many worthy qualities and was a political powerhouse. I discovered Cassius freed the slaves given to him as part of his inheritance from his father. These slaves were allowed to remain as employees with paid wages at White Hall, his Richmond, Kentucky plantation. A founding member of the Republican Party in Kentucky, he was appointed by President Lincoln as the United States Minister to Russia. He served in this capacity as ambassador from May of 1863 to October of 1869. He was effective in gaining Union support from Russia during the Civil War.
He was also a Congressman serving the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1835 to 1841. His first wife was Mary Jane Warfield. They were married from 1833 to 1878 and divorced. He was married to his second wife, Dora Richardson, from 1894 to 1897, and they divorced. They had ten children, six living to adulthood—: Elisha, Green, Mary Barry Clay, Sarah (Sallie), Cassius, Jr. (1843-1843), Cassius, Jr. (1845-1857), Brutus, Laura, Flora (1851-1851), Anne, and Henry (later adopted, believed to be from an affair while in Russia).
In 1843, Clay earned violent enemies as a result of his abolitionist activity. During one political debate that year, he survived an attempted assassination by a fellow named Sam Brown. He pulled out a silver tipped scabbard on a Bowie knife and held it over his heart. Consequently, Sam’s bullet became stuck in the silver. He tackled Sam Brown, cut out his eyes, and threw him over an embankment, despite being shot in the chest. I’m guessing he gained quite a reputation at this point.
Cassius owned his own printing press beginning in 1845, publishing an anti-slavery newspaper called True American, in Lexington, Kentucky. When he received death threats, he armed himself and set up two cannons inside his newspaper office. A mob of about sixty men broke into his office and seized his printing press equipment. Then he moved the operation to Cincinnati, Ohio where many abolitionist activities abounded.
A captain who served in the Mexican-American War with the 1st Kentucky Cavalry from 1846-1847, he opposed the expansion of slavery in the southwest. When he was making a speech for abolition in 1849, he was attacked by the six Turner brothers. These brothers stabbed and beat him, also trying to shoot him. However, Cassius Clay was quite a character. He fought off all six of them, and using a Bowie knife, killed Cyrus Turner.
In 1853, Clay granted ten acres of land to an abolitionist who went on to found the town of Berea and open a college open to all ethnicities and races, Berea College.
Cassius also helped to protect the White House and the U.S. Naval Yard during the Civil War before he left for St. Petersburg to serve in the Russian court as Lincoln’s newly appointed Minister in March of 1861. He organized three-hundred volunteers to serve as guards to protect from possible Confeder
ate attack since there were no Federal troops in Washington yet. These men became known as Cassius M. Clay’s Washington Guards. Lincoln gave him a Colt revolver in recognition. After Federal troops arrived, then Clay and his family embarked for Russia.
There, he witnessed the Czar’s emancipation edict freeing twenty-three million serfs. The event was monumental for Russians. This must have had a great impact on Cassius Clay. As a result of this, Cassius was tremendously instrumental in encouraging Lincoln to prepare an Emancipation Proclamation for the slaves in America before returning to Russia to continue to serve as Ambassador. He also helped negotiate the purchase of Alaska.
His family life was also interesting. After forty-five years of marriage, in 1878, Clay divorced his wife, Mary Jane Clay, claiming abandonment after she would no longer tolerate his infidelities. In 1894, he was eighty-four years old when he married a fifteen-year-old orphaned sister of a sharecropping tenant, likely an outrage to his own daughters. They divorced a few years later, so this didn’t last long. I imagine this caused a huge stir in what little may have remained of his family life.
LAURA CLAY
One of four daughters of Cassius Clay, Laura Clay (1849-1941), was a co-founder and the first president of the Kentucky Equal Rights Association. She was one of two women, alongside Cora Wilson Stewart, to be the first to have their names placed into nomination for the presidency at the 1920 Democratic National Convention. She was a powerful orator, and an important leader in the American women’s suffrage movement. One of the younger daughters, she was mainly raised by her mother because of her father’s political career, but I’m convinced his career impacted her as much as his infidelities to her mother. She attended the Sayre School in Lexington and Mrs. Sarah Hoffman’s Finishing School in New York, the University of Michigan, and the University of Kentucky.
