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diff --git a/43657-8.txt b/43657-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index eb85632..0000000 --- a/43657-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,14476 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The College, the Market, and the Court, by -Caroline H. Dall - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The College, the Market, and the Court - or, Woman's relation to education, labor and law - -Author: Caroline H. Dall - -Release Date: September 6, 2013 [EBook #43657] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COLLEGE, THE MARKET, AND *** - - - - -Produced by Barbara Tozier, Jane Robins, Bill Tozier and -the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - - THE COLLEGE, THE MARKET, - - AND - - THE COURT; - - OR, - - WOMAN'S RELATION TO EDUCATION, LABOR, - AND LAW. - - BY CAROLINE H. DALL, - - AUTHOR OF "HISTORICAL SKETCHES," "SUNSHINE," "THE LIFE OF - DR. ZAKRZEWSKA," ETC. - - "Let this be copied out, - And keep it safe for our remembrance. - Return the precedent to these lords again."--KING JOHN. - - "How canst thou make me thy friend who in nothing am like thee? - Thy life and dwelling are under the waters; but my way of living - Is to eat all that man does!"--BATRACHOMYOMACHIA. - - BOSTON: - LEE AND SHEPARD. - 1867. - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by - - LEE AND SHEPARD, - - In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of - Massachusetts. - - - CAMBRIDGE: - - STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY JOHN WILSON AND SON. - - - - - TO - LUCRETIA MOTT, - - FOR MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS A PREACHER AND REFORMER; SPOTLESS - ALIKE IN ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE RELATIONS; WHOSE - CHILDREN'S GRANDCHILDREN RISE UP TO - CALL HER BLESSED; - - This Book is Dedicated, - - SINCE SHE IS THE BEST EXAMPLE THAT I KNOW OF WHAT ALL WOMEN - MAY AND SHOULD BECOME. - - - "A woman - Leading with sober pace an armed man, - All bossed in gold, and thus the superscription: - 'I, Justice, bring this injured exile back - To claim his portion in his father's hall.'" - - SEVEN AGAINST THEBES. - - - - -A PREFACE - -TO BE READ AFTER THE BOOK. - - -When, some years ago, I delivered nine lectures upon the Condition of -Woman, I had no intention of printing them until time had matured my -judgments and justified my conclusions. Peculiar circumstances -afterwards induced me to modify this decision. The first course of -lectures, now printed as "The College," had proved unexpectedly popular, -and was many times repeated. At its close, I announced the second course -upon Labor, involving the subject of Prostitution as the result of Low -Wages; and a very unexpected opposition ensued. My files can still show -the large number of letters I received, beseeching me not to touch this -subject; and private intercession followed, on the part of those I hold -wisest and most dear, to the same effect. Why I did not yield to all the -clamor, I cannot tell,--except that I was not working for myself nor -_of_ myself. - -I thought it, however, necessary to take unusual precautions to prevent -these lectures from being misunderstood. I wrote private notes, -enclosing tickets, to almost all the leading clergymen, asking that -they would attend them as a personal favor to myself. I believe I did -not allude to the efforts which had been made to silence me, except when -I wrote to those who had joined in the outcry. In that case, I demanded -the attendance as an act of justice. These notes were kindly responded -to; and grateful tears started to my eyes, when I found on the seats -before me white-haired men, who set aside their prejudices for my sake. -Whatever might have been thought before, the delivery of the lectures -silenced all objections. They were fully attended and frequently -repeated; and I followed the delivery by the printing of this particular -course, in order that misunderstandings should not have time to -establish themselves. The book was well received, both at home and -abroad. Letters came to me from the far shores of India and Africa, -thanking me for its publication. The first edition was sold at once; and -I should have reprinted the book, but that I did not wish to re-issue -these lectures in an isolated form. I wanted them reprinted, if at all, -in their proper place, subordinated to my main thought. - -I smile a little as I look back. The remonstrances upon my file, dated -less than ten years ago, would now be earnestly repudiated by the dear -friends who wrote them. - -After the delivery of the third course, upon Law, local reasons decided -the publication of that book. Many efforts were being made in the -different States to change laws; and it was thought that the lectures -would give necessary information. - -Of the first course, nothing has ever been printed in this country. The -second lecture was printed, by a sympathizing friend in England, as a -tract, and widely circulated. Part of it was reprinted with approbation -in the "Englishwoman's Journal." The whole of this course is now given -to American readers in its proper connection, in which it is hoped, that -its bearing upon the later lectures will be seen, and a new significance -given to its suggestions. The history of these volumes seems to make it -necessary to reprint the original Prefaces in connection with the -lectures on Labor and Law. - - * * * * * - -In 1856, I conceived the thought of twelve lectures, to be written -concerning Woman; to embrace, in four series of three each, all that I -felt moved to say in relation to her interests. No one knew better than -myself that they would be only "twelve baskets of fragments gathered -up;" but I could not distrust the Divine Love which still feeds the -multitudes, who wander in the desert, with "five loaves and two small -fishes." - -In the first three of these lectures, I stated woman's claim to a civil -position, and asked that power should be given her, under a professedly -republican government, to protect herself. In them I thus stated the -argument on which I should proceed: "The right to education--that is, -the right to the education or drawing-out of all the faculties God has -given--_involves_ the right to a choice of vocation; that is, the right -to a choice of the end to which those faculties shall be trained. The -choice of vocation necessarily _involves_ the protection of that -vocation,--the right to decide how far legislative action shall control -it; in one word, the right to the elective franchise." - -Proceeding upon this formula, I delivered, in 1858, a course of lectures -stating "Woman's Claim to Education;" and this season I have condensed -my thoughts upon the freedom of vocations into the three following -lectures. There are still to be completed three lectures on "Woman's -Civil Disabilities." I should prefer to unite the twelve lectures in a -single publication; but reasons of imperative force have induced me to -hurry the printing of these "Essays on Labor." Neither Education nor -Civil Disability can dispute the public interest with this subject. No -one can know better than myself upon what wide information, what -thorough mental discipline, all considerations in regard to it should be -based. I have tried to keep my work within the compass of my ability, -and, without seeking rigid exactness of detail, to apply common sense -and right reason to problems which beset every woman's path. At the very -threshold of my work, I confronted a painful task. Before I could press -the necessity of exertion, before I could plead that labor might be -honored in the public eye, I felt that I must show some cause for the -terrible earnestness with which I was moved; and I could only do it by -facing boldly the question of "Death or Dishonor?" - -"Why not leave it to be understood?" some persons may object. "Why not -leave such work to man?" the public may continue. - -In answer to the first question, I would say, that very few women have -much knowledge of this "perishing class," except those actually engaged -in ministering to its despair; and that the information I have given is -drawn from wholly reliable sources, as the reader may see, but can be -obtained only by hours--nay, days and weeks--of painful and exhausting -study. Very gladly have I saved my audience that necessity: greatly have -I abbreviated whatever I have quoted. But I _meant_ to drive home the -reality of that wretchedness: I _wanted_ the women to whom I spoke to -feel for those "in bonds as bound with them;" and to understand, that to -save their own children, male and female, they must be willing to save -the children of others. It will be observed, that I have said very -little in regard to this class in the city of Boston; very little, also, -that was definite in regard to our slop-shops. The deficiency is -intentional. I would not have one woman feel that I had betrayed her -confidence, nor one employer that I had singled him out as a victim; and -it is almost impossible to speak on such subjects without finding the -application made to one's hand. I may say, in general, that a very wide -local experience sustains the arguments which I have based on published -statistics. - -It was also my earnest desire to prepare one article on this subject -that might be put into the hands of both sexes; that might be opened to -the young, and read in the family circle, without thrilling the reader -with any emotion less sacred than religious pity. This cannot be true of -the reports of any Moral Reform Society; for in them it is needful to -print details so gross in character as to be fit reading for none but -well-principled persons of mature age. It is not true of such a work as -Dr. Sanger's; for his historical retrospect furnishes every possible -excuse to the vices of youth, and is open to question on every page. - -From the highest sources in this community--from the lips of -distinguished clergymen, scholars, and men of the world--I have had -every private assurance, that, in this respect, I have not failed. - -It would be unjust not to state, that two powerful causes co-operate, in -the city of Boston, with low wages, to cause the ruin of women; I mean -the love of dress, and a morbid disgust at labor. - -The love of dress was a motive which obviously had no natural relation -to my subject. A disinclination to work, my readers may think, it was -proper I should have treated; but it is the natural reflection of a -state of things, in the upper classes, which would be a much fitter -subject of rebuke. - -So long as a lady will allow her guest to stand exposed to snow and -rain, rather than turn the handle of the door which she happens to be -passing; so long as neither bread nor water can be passed at table, -except at the omnipresent waiter's convenience,--servants will naturally -think that there is something degrading and repulsive in work. This -reform must begin in the higher classes. - -But, if this subject must be treated at all, why should it not be left -to men? Can women deal with it abstractly and fairly? The answer is -simple. In physics, no scientific observations are reliable, so long as -they proceed from one quarter alone; many observers must report, and -their observations must be compared, before we can have a trustworthy -result. So it is in social science. Men have been dealing with this -great evil, unassisted, for thousands of years. By their own confession, -it is as unapproachable and obstinate as ever. Conquered by its -perpetual re-appearance, they have come to treat it as an "institution" -to be "managed;" not an evil to be abolished, or a blasphemy to be -hushed. But these lectures are not written for atheists. The speculative -sceptic has retreated before the broad sunlight of modern civilization: -only two classes of atheists remain,--men of science, who fancy that -they have lost sight of the Creator in his works, and talk of the human -soul as the most noble result of material forces; and people of fashion, -who live "without God in the world." Why man should ever investigate the -material universe without a tender and reverent, nay, a growing -dependence on "the dear heart of God," we will not pause to inquire. The -child does not let go his father's hand when he first comprehends the -abundance of his resources. Neither the fountains of God's beauty, nor -the perplexities of his nicely ordered law, loosen man's loving grasp. -He clings all the closer in his joy, because he knows Him better. But -why should not the denizens of the fashionable world be atheists? When I -go among them, and listen to their heartless fooleries; when I see them -absorbed by the vain nothings of their coterie, rapt in endless -consultations about times and seasons, devoid of any real enjoyment, -hopeless of noble occupation, with the days all empty and the nights all -dark,--then I, too, shiver with doubt, and am ready to say in my heart, -"There is no God." We can never believe in any spiritual reality of -which our own souls do not receive some faint reflex. These people must -do the will of the Father, before they can believe in his love. I do not -write for them, but for thoughtful men and women, who rejoice in God's -presence, deny the permanence of evil institutions, and are anxious to -share with others the inheritance that belongs to the "child of the -kingdom,"--for those who have faith to remove mountains, and courage to -confess the faith. For them I shall not have spoken too plainly. - -Shortly after these essays were written,--in June, 1859,--I received -from London Mrs. Jameson's "Letter to Lord John Russell;" and I cannot -refrain from expressing the deep emotion with which I read what she had -written to him upon the same subject. Well may she wear the silver hairs -of her sixty years like a crown, if, only through their sanction, she -may speak such noble words. But-- - - "Earnest purposes do age us fast;" - -and many a true-hearted woman, far younger in years, would gladly bear -witness with her. - -I would not write, if I could, an "exhaustive" treatise. All I ask for -my work is, that it should be "suggestive." With that purpose, I have -worked out my schemes, in the last lecture, far enough to provoke -objection, to stimulate the spirit of adventure, to show how easily the -"work" may wait upon the "will." May the "Opening of the Gates" be near -at hand! - -It remains only to acknowledge my indebtedness to some English and -American friends: and first to the "Englishwoman's Journal;" not merely -for its own excellent articles, but for references and suggestions, most -valuable when followed out. The story of the young straw-braider was -drawn from its pages; and, disappointed in the arrival of original -material from Paris, long expected, I have been compelled to depend upon -it largely for my sketch of Félicie de Fauveau. To one of its editors, -Miss B.R. Parkes, and to Madame Bodichon in London, as well as to the -Rev. Mr. Higginson, I am under pleasant private obligations. I must rest -content to seem largely indebted to the "Edinburgh Review," of April -1859, for condensing the results of the census. My materials were -collected and arranged, when the article on "Female Industry" reached -me; and the differences in treatment were so few, that I at once drew my -pen through whatever was not sanctioned by its authority. The ladies who -first directed my attention to the Waltham watch-factory, and to the -inventors of artificial marble in France, will see from these few words -that I am not forgetful. - - BOSTON, November, 1859. - - * * * * * - -There seems, at first sight, a certain presumption in offering to an -American public, at this moment, any book which does not treat of the -great interests which convulse and perplex the United States. But -experience has shown, that neither the individual nor the national mind -can remain continually upon the rack; and both author and publisher have -thought that a book upon a serious subject, popular in form and low in -price, would find perhaps a more hearty welcome, under present -circumstances, than in those prosperous days, when romances and poems, -travels and biographies, were scattered over every table by the score. - -"Woman's Right to Labor" owed its warm welcome, not to any power or -skill in its author, but to the impatient interest of philanthropists in -every thing relating to that subject. It remains to be seen, whether as -large a portion of the public and the press are prepared to treat with -candid consideration the subject of Law. - -Both these volumes have been given to the world in their detached form, -that they might receive the benefit of general criticism; that errors, -inaccuracies, or misapprehensions, might be perceived and rectified -before they took a permanent position as part of a larger work. All -criticism, therefore, which is _honestly intended_, will be received -with patience and gratitude; but a great deal falls to the lot of the -author which cannot come under this head. - -If we are told that a "wider acquaintance with the history" of a certain -era will modify our views, it is natural to expect that an honest critic -will show _where_ the acquaintance fails, and how the views should be -modified. When we are told that certain scientific illustrations, -"though true in the main, are not accurate in detail," we may reasonably -hope to see at least _one_ error pointed out. When neither of these -things is done, we sweep such remarks aside, as alike unprofitable to us -and our readers. - -A wide and generous sympathy in my aims has given me, thus far, all that -I could desire of encouragement and appreciation; and this appreciation -has come, in several instances, from a "household of faith" far removed -from my own, and has been mingled in such cases with an outspoken -regret, that one who "wrote so well, and felt so warmly," should not -acknowledge on her pages the debt woman owes to Christianity, and unfurl -an evangelical banner above a Christ-like work. Because such friends -have spoken tenderly, I answer them respectfully; because I never saw -any church-door so narrow that I could not pass through it, nor so wide -that it would open to all God's glory, I answer them without fear. - -And, first, I believe in God, as the tender Father of all; as one who -cares for the least of his children, and does not turn from the -greatest; as one whose eye marks the smallest inequalities of happiness -or condition, and holds them in a memory which does not fail. I believe -in Christ as his authorized Teacher, anointed to reveal the fulness of -God's love through his own life of practical good-will. I do not expect -him to be superseded or set aside; and I do expect, that in proportion -as men grow wiser, humbler, and sweeter, their eyes will open only the -more widely to the great miracle of his spotless life, to the heavenly -nature of his so simple teachings. And, next, I believe in my own -work,--the elevation of woman through education, which is development; -through labor, which is salvation; through legal rights, which are only -freedom to develop and save,--as part of the mission of Jesus on the -earth, authorized by him, inspired of God, and sure of fulfilment as any -portion of his law. If at any time I have lost sight of this in -expression, it is because I have thought it impossible that the purpose -and character of my work should be mistaken. I am a slow and patient -worker,--patient, because one may well be patient, if God can; and -therefore no disappointment, no lack of appreciation, could sour or -disturb me. - -If I have justified the publication of this essay at the present moment, -it may be thought that I shall not be able to justify the principal -presumption; namely, that of a woman who undertakes to write upon law. - -Such a treatise as this would be valueless, in my eyes, if it were -written by a man. It is a woman's judgment in matters that concern women -that the world demands, before any radical change can be made. To -understand the laws under which I must live, no recondite learning, no -broad scholarship, no professional study, can be fitly required. Common -intelligence and common sense are all that society has any right to -claim of me. Because most women shrink from criticising this law, I have -criticised it. - -Very recently, the "London Quarterly" said, in speaking of the -republication of John Austin's work, that "English jurisprudence would -be indebted for one of its highest aids to the reverential affection of -a wife, and the patient industry of a refined and intelligent woman;" -and Mrs. Austin defends her undertaking on this very ground,--that, if -she had not superintended the work, _no one else would_. If John -Austin's firm and penetrating intellect could not hold a score of -persons about his lecturer's desk, and if it found its fit appreciation -only in the grave, a conscientious woman need not shrink from any branch -of his great subject, only because her audience will be small. - -In one of his lectures upon Art, John Ruskin says:-- - - "Every leaf we have seen, connects its work with the entire and - accumulated result of the work of its predecessors. Dying, it - leaves its own small but well-labored thread; adding, if - imperceptibly, yet essentially, to the strength, from root to - crest, of the trunk on which it has lived, and fitting that trunk - for better service to the next year's foliage." - -Let these words, printed on my titlepage, show the modesty of my aim, -and the conscientious steadfastness of my purpose. As the leaf is to the -tree, so is the individual to society. Tear away a single leaf from the -towering crest, and the trunk does not seem to suffer: nevertheless, one -small thread withers, one channel dries up, one source of beauty and use -fails; and, from that moment, a certain sidewise tendency marks the -growth. - -To compact carefully one "well-labored thread," is all that I have -sought to do,--to write a little book, that women might be won to read, -as conscientiously as if it were a heavy tome, to be endlessly consulted -by the bench. - -In writing these three lectures, I feel quite sure that I must have made -use of many significant expressions borrowed from those who have broken -the way for me. For many years an extemporaneous lecturer on this and -kindred topics, I have so wrought certain modes of expression into the -fabric of my thought, that I do not _know_ where to put my -quotation-marks. To Mrs. Hugo Reed, for instance, I know I must be -under great obligations; and I can only hope, that she will trust me -with her thoughts and words as generously as I desire to trust all my -readers with mine. It is little matter who does the work, so that it be -done; but I owe to one author, in particular, something like an -explanation. - -A few days before the third of these lectures was delivered in Boston -(that is, before Jan. 23, 1861), a gentleman from Paris brought me from -Madame d'Héricourt a book called "La Femme Affranchie," an answer to -Michelet, Proudhon, Girardin, and Comte, which its author kindly desired -I should translate for the American market. Unable to comply with her -request, some weeks elapsed before I opened the book. I was struck with -the energy, self-possession, and rapidity with which she seized the -various points of the subject, with the thoroughness of her assault, and -the temper of her argument. I did not sympathize in all her methods or -conclusions; but I was interested to observe, that, in what I had then -written and publicly spoken of the relations between suffrage and -humanity, I had, in several instances, used her very words, or she had -used mine. I did not alter my manuscript; but, with better times, we may -hope for a translation of her spirited volumes, and the public will then -do justice to her precedence. - -I have been anxious to have positive proof of my conjecture in regard to -the authorship of the "Lawe's Resolution of the Rights of Women;" but -persevering endeavors in England, in several directions, have only left -the matter as it stands in the text. It would be very interesting to -know something of the private history of the man who wrote that book. - -In the first of the following lectures, I have ventured a rhetorical -allusion to the blue-laws of Connecticut. Since it went to press, I have -seen it stated, on high authority, that any American writer who should -"profess to believe in the existence of the blue-laws of New Haven would -simply proclaim himself a dunce;" and the "Saturday Review" has been -handled without gloves for taking this existence for granted. - -I never supposed that the term "blue" applied to the color of the paper -on which such laws were printed, any more than I supposed "blue -Presbyterianism" referred to the color of the presbyters' gowns. I -supposed it was the outgrowth of a popular sarcasm, descriptive, not of -a "veritable code," nor of a "practical code unpublished," but of such -portions of the general code as were repugnant to common sense, and the -genial nature of man. This I still think will be found to be the case; -and it is certainly to Connecticut divines and Connecticut newspapers -that we owe the popular impression. - -It was in the forty-sixth year of the independence of the United States -that S. Andrus & Co., of Hartford, published a volume purporting to be a -compendium of early judicial proceedings in Connecticut, and especially -of that portion of the proceedings of the Colony of New Haven commonly -called the "blue-laws." Charles A. Ingersoll, Esq., testified to the -correctness of these copies of the ancient record. - -As I quote this title wholly from memory, I am unable to say whether the -colony ever fined a bishop for kissing his own wife on Sunday; but I -have read more than once of such fines; and, if no laws remain -unrepealed on the Connecticut statute-book quite as absurd in their -spirit and general tendency, there are many on those of Massachusetts -and New Hampshire: so I shall let my rhetorical flourish stand. - -To my English friends, to Mr. Herndon of Illinois, Mr. Higginson, and -Samuel F. Haven, Esq., of Worcester, I owe my usual acknowledgments for -books lent, and service proffered, with a generosity and graceful -readiness cheering to remember. - -Nor will I omit, in what may be a last opportunity, to bear faithful -testimony to the assistance rendered, in all my studies of this sort, by -my friend, Mr. John Patton, of Montreal. No single person has helped me -so much, so wisely, or so well. - -In order to secure technical accuracy, my manuscript and proofs have -been subjected to the revision of my friend, the Hon. Samuel E. Sewall. -The principal alteration which Mr. Sewall has made, has been the -substitution of the word "suffrage" for that of "franchise;" which -latter I used in the Continental fashion. I prefer it to "suffrage," -because it seems to have a broader signification; but I yield it to his -suggestion. - -I would gladly have dedicated this volume to the memory of the late John -W. Browne, whose pure purpose and eminent gifts made me rejoice, while -he was living, to call him friend. As, however, he never read the whole -of the manuscript, I have given it a dedication "to the friends of -forsaken women," which no one, who knew him well, will fail to perceive -includes him. - - BOSTON, Sept. 1, 1861. - - CAROLINE H. DALL - - 70, WARREN AVENUE, - BOSTON, January, 1867. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - - -THE COLLEGE. - - -I. - -THE CHRISTIAN DEMAND AND THE PUBLIC OPINION. - - Original Proposition. Objections to Republicanism. No Retrograde - Steps Possible. The Educational Rights of Women. A Share of - Opportunities the only Effectual Way. Both Sexes need the Oversight - of Women. Men need the Needle. Sydney Smith to Lady Holland. The - Education not Won till its Privileges are attained. Kapnist and the - Normal School. Low Wages. An Illustration. The Social Position of - the Teacher. The Spirit of Caste. Increase of Salaries. Is it Real - or Nominal? What is the Standard of Education? Niebuhr to Madame - Hensler. Cousin and Madame de Sablé. Examples of To-day do not - Cheer. Opinion of the Druses. Charles Lamb on Letitia Landon. - Coventry Patmore. Mrs. Jameson on the English Deficiency. Standard - of Italy. 500,000 Women in England. Dr. Gooch's Appeal. Opposition - to first School of Design. Note on Miss Garrett. B.L. Bodichon on - Jessie Meriton White and Medical Colleges. Need of a Medical - Society. John Adams on his Wife. Why has not the Standard advanced? - Alice Holliday in Egypt. Hekekyan Effendi speaking for the - Massachusetts Board of Education. Madame Luce in Algiers. Her - Workshop Discontinued. The Advance shown in such Lives. - Mrs. Griffith. Janet Taylor. Miss Martineau. "Aurora Leigh." - Maria Mitchell. Oread Institute. New-York Schools. Vassar College. - Michigan University. Duty of Literary Men and Women to invigorate - Public Opinion. What _is_ Public Opinion? Mary Patton. pp. 1-48. - - -II. - -HOW PUBLIC OPINION IS MADE. - - Existing Opinion. Proverbs. The Novel kept Faith with the Classics. - Social Customs. Newspapers. All form this Opinion. Individual - Influence must stem the United Current. The Classics. Aristophanes. - Iscomachus. Euripides. College Slang. St. John. Margaret Fuller on - her "Beloved Greeks." Buckle. From Greece to Rome. Ovid. No Need to - end Classical Study. Rather sanctify it. Perversions of History in - the Classical Spirit. Hypatia. Aspasia. Society in the Time of - Louis XIV. and Charles II. Lady Morgan on Alfred de Vigny. - Rousseau. Dr. Day, Dr. Gregory, and Dr. Fordyce. Margaret Fuller. - Association of Ideas. Fanny Wright. Captain Wallis and the Queen of - Otaheite. Peru and the Formosa Isles. African Customs. Mrs. - Kirkland on the Strong Box. Sir John Bowring on Marriage. Mrs. - Barbauld. The Newspapers. Impure Habits. pp. 49-82. - - -III. - -THE MEANING OF THE LIVES THAT HAVE MODIFIED PUBLIC OPINION. - - Mary Wollstonecraft and the Literature of the Eighteenth Century. - "Rights of Woman." "Not Empire, but Equality." Dr. Channing on Mrs. - Wollstonecraft. Her Unhappy Home. Fanny Blood. Breaks up her School. - Saves the French Crew. Provides for her Brothers and Sisters. - Translations. Answer to Burke. Fuseli. Paris. Imlay. Helen Maria - Williams. Happiness. Deserted in Eighteen Months. Attempted - Suicide. Goes to Norway. Final Separation. Marries Godwin. Birth of - Mrs. Shelley. Death of Mary. Her Husband's Testimony. No Fair - Statement recorded. Strength of Prejudice against her. A Republican - and a Unitarian. The Judgment of her own Time upon her. The Right of - Society to pass Judgment. Mr. Day and Maria Edgeworth. Lady Morgan. - Always True to Freedom. Harriet Martineau. Thorough Work. Mrs. - Jameson. Her Bravery and Truth. Woman's Rights Testimony. Mrs. - Gaskell. Fredrika Bremer. The Brownings. "Aurora Leigh." Charlotte - Bronté. "I Care for Myself." Our Abdiel. Margaret Fuller as a - Person. "Woman in the Nineteenth Century." "Truth-teller and - Truth-compeller." Rebuke to Harriet Martineau. Emerson's - Misapprehension. Florence Nightingale. Santa Paula. Mary Patton. - Miss Muloch libels Women. The Popular Idea of Love. Woman's Entire - Self-possession. Carlyle and Count Zinzendorf. Who refuses Strength - must miss Beauty. The Best Brains make the Best Housekeepers. The - Affections of the Woman prompt and dignify the Labors of the - Scholar. pp. 83-130. - - - - -THE MARKET. - - -I. - -DEATH OR DISHONOR. - - The Attar of Cashmere. Moral Force must change the Results of - History. Statement of Subject. Death or Dishonor the Practical - Question. An Honorable Independence the Way of Safety. The Forcing - Pump and Siphon. Women must Work for Pay. Success the Best Argument. - Competition in Rural Districts. Duchâtelet. Miss Craig. "Edinburgh - Review." Dressmakers and Sir James Clarke. Lace-makers. Manchester - Mantle-maker. 7,850 Ruined Women in New York. Society Responsible - for this Evil. Governesses. Mr. Mayhew to the "Morning Chronicle." - The Minister's Daughter. The Power of a Divine Love. Noble Natures - among the Fallen. The Glasgow Case. 1,680 Reformed French Women. The - Straw-braider. Have Women Strength to Labor? Marie de Lamourous. The - Young Laborer to be Protected by Social Influences. Women Hard - Workers from the Beginning. China. Hindostan. Bombay Ghauts. - Australia. Africa. Greece. Bertha of the Transjurane. Tyrolese - Escort of Women. Germany. Montenegro. Holland. France. Widow Brulow. - Nelly Giles. Ignacia Riso. Factory Labor in France. Sale of Wives at - Derby and Dudley. Women in the Coal-mines. Pinmakers. Anna Gurney. - Honduras. American Indians. Santa Cruz. Ohio and Pennsylvania. New - York. Women of Lawrence. Ship "Grotto." Thomas Garratt concerning - Sarah Ann Scofield. That all Men support all Women, an Absurd - Fiction. pp. 131-177. - - -II. - -VERIFY YOUR CREDENTIALS. - - Want of Employment lowers the Whole Moral Tone. Vigorous Women do - not Ask what they shall Do. Idleness the Curse of Heaven. Organized - Opposition on Man's Part. Mr. Bennett and the Watch-makers. Ribbon - Looms at Coventry. The School at Marlborough House. Miss Spencer. - Painting Crockery. Printing in America. Pennsylvania Medical - Society, 1859. Want of Respect for Labor. Census of the United - Kingdom. Agriculture. Mining. Fishing. Servants, &c. Reporters. - Bright Festival. Metal Workers. Gillott's Pens. Jewelry. - Screw-making. Button-making. Paper and Card Making. Engravers, - Printers, &c., &c. The Lower Classes need the Brains of the Upper. - Labor in the United States. Nantucket. Pennsylvania. Dr. Franklin's - Sister-in-law. Mrs. Hillman. Mrs. Johnson. Martha B. Curtis. Ann - Bent. Scientific Pursuits not Open. Clerks under Government. - Census. Waltham Watch Factory. Dentists. School Committees. - Postmistresses. Olive Rose. Semi-professions and Artists. - Shoe-making in Lynn. Condition of the Poor dependent on the Action - of the Rich. Happy Homes the Growth of Active Lives. The Pine and - Ænemone. Emily Plater. "Verify your Credentials." Encouragement from - Men; Faithfulness from Women. The Sorbonne. Madame Sirault. That - Career fated which Woman may not share. Influence of the Sexes on - each other. Baron Toermer and Félicie de Fauveau. pp. 178-220. - - -III. - -"THE OPENING OF THE GATES." - - The Drowning of Daughters. Teachers of Elocution and the Languages. - Inspectors. Physicians. Dr. Heidenreich. Wood Carving. Properzia - dei Rossi. Swiss Work. Elizabetta Sirani. Engravers. Barbers. - Candied Fruit for Christmas. Pickles. Fruit Sauces. Dishmops. - Gymnastics. Female Assistants in Jails, Prisons, Workhouses, not to - be had till Public Opinion honors Labor. Florence Nightingale an - Example. Parish Ministers. Deaconesses. Marian of the Seven Dials. - Reading Aloud to the Perishing Classes. St. Pancras. Mrs. Wightman. - A Training School. A Public Laundry and Bleaching Ground. - Ready-made Clothing. An Assistance to our Practical Charity. - Knitting Factory. Ornamental Work to be Avoided. Occupation for the - Young Ladies at the West End. Mrs. Ellen Woodlock and her - Industrial Schools. She takes Eighty Paupers out of the Poorhouse. - Mr. Buckle's Position to be Questioned. Mistaken Moral Effort a - Harm to Society. Want of Connection between the Employer and the - Employed. People who want "a Chance Lift." Defects in our Present - Intelligence-Offices. A Labor Exchange. The Argument Restated. Will - you tread out the Nettles? The Drosera. Purposes the Blossoms of - the Human Heart. pp. 221-261. - - - - -THE COURT. - - -I. - -THE ORIENTAL ESTIMATE AND THE FRENCH LAW. - - The Seat of the Law the Bosom of God? Of what Law? Legal - Restrictions constantly Outgrown. The Laws which relate to Woman. - Vishnu Sarma: the Hindoo Wife must use the Dialect of the Slave. - Ancient Chinese Writer. Köhl on Turkish Husbands. Convent to lock - up Ladies. The Island of Coelebes. The Garrows in the North-east - of India. The Muhar. Military Tribe of Nairs in Malabar. Later - Proverbs; used by the Satirists. The Four Points to Consider. - Discussion of Marriage and Divorce to be Deferred. The Public - Opinion which has educated Woman, and her Approximation to it. - Woman under Roman Law. Absence of well-tested Cotemporaneous - Evidence. Theodora. French Law. Bonaparte's Opinion. The Estimate - of a Double Character. Condition of the Peasant-woman. Need of Love - in the Upper Classes. Business-freedom. George Sand. Rosa Bonheur, - and the Claimants for Civil Rights. The Dotal founded on Roman Law; - the Communal founded on German. Dotal Law rejected throughout - Europe. Protection means Subordination. As a "Public Merchant," - Woman becomes a French Citizen. Position contradictory: not allowed - to rule the Household, which is called her Sphere. Civil Position. - No Right of Promotion. Laws of Louisiana. Estimate of Woman under - the "Code Napoléon:" tends to lower her Wages. List of Employments. - The Needle-women of Paris. pp. 263-286. - - -II. - -THE ENGLISH COMMON LAW. - - It contains All to which we have any Need to Object. Literature. - "The Lawe's Resolution of Woman's Rights." Inquiries as to its - Author. Probability points to Sir John Doderidge. The Law, for - Single Women, of Inheritance. Offices Open. Right to Vote, and Lady - Packington. Sheriff of Westmoreland. Lady Rous. Henry VIII. and - Lady Anne Berkeley. As Constable, and Overseer of the Poor. Female - Voter in Nova Scotia. Law relating to Seduction: its Profanity. The - French Law, as summed up by Legouvé. Woman's Opinion of this Law. - Objections. Laws concerning Married Women. Impossibility of - Divorce, from Hopeless Insanity. Instances where _Men_ have taken - the Law into their own Hands. Impossibility of Woman's ever doing - this. Marriage of a Minor. A Wife loses _all_ her Rights. Satire in - a London Court. Truth of this. Consequent Unwillingness of the - Honest Poor to Marry, and of Single Women of Rank to relinquish - Power. Freedwomen at the South. The Descendant of Morgan the - Buccaneer. Need of Equity. May make a Will by Permission. Nutriment - of Infants. The Law resists Maternal Influence, and denies Natural - Authority. Word not binding. Gifts Illegal. Indictments in the - Husband's Name. Divorces: only Three ever granted to Women. The - Widow recovers her Clothes and Jewels, but need not bury her - Husband. Christian on Suffrage. Moderate Correction. Property-laws. - The Hon. Mrs. Norton. Hungarian Freedom. Right to Vote. Experience - in America. Parisian Milliner. "Union is Robbery." The Heiress. - Longevity of the Wife. Woman discouraged from Labor by the - Influence of the Laws of Property. Sexual Legislation thoroughly - Immoral. Man's Adultery even a more Serious Evil than Woman's, so - far as State Morals and Interests are concerned. Canton Glarus. - "Courts have never gone that Length." Debate on the New Divorce - Bill. Man's Fidelity considered an Imbecility. The Compliments of - the Law. The Husband's Vigilance. Duplicity the Natural Result of - Slavery. The Right of Suffrage. Objections Answered. The Abstract - Right and the Practical Question. Suffrage to be limited by - Education, not Money nor Sex. The "Sad Sisterhood." Woman has never - had a Representative. Her Suffrage would put an End to Three - Classes of Laws. Harris _vs._ Butler. Delicate Matters to be - Discussed. The Duke of York's Trial. John Stuart Mill's Opinion. - Dedication of his Essay on Liberty. Women of Upsal. On Juries. Miss - Shedden. Russell on Female Evidence. Fate of the "Bulwarks of the - English Constitution." Power of Women not Disputed while it was - dependent on Property. It should depend on Humanity. Louis XIV. and - the Fish-women. Pauline Roland and Madame Moniot. Men borrow the - Suffrages of Women. Saxon Witas. Abbess Hilda. Council at - Benconceld. King Edgar's Charter. Abbesses in Parliament. Peeresses - in Parliament. East-India Stockholders. Stockholders in Banks. - Association for the Promotion of Social Science. Mrs. Mill's - Article. Florence Nightingale's Evidence. Petition to Parliament, - and its Signers. The New Divorce Bill. Buckle's Lecture. Canadian - Changes. Inconsistencies. Canadian Women as Voters. Pitcairn's - Island. pp. 287-341. - - -III. - -THE UNITED-STATES LAW, AND SOME THOUGHTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS. - - Condition of Women in Republics. Helvetia. Kent on the Law's - Estimate. "The Man's Notion." Property-laws, and Natural Obligations - of Husband and Wife. The Law's Indulgence. Marriage and Divorce in - the Different States. Variety of the Laws. "Cruelty." What have the - Woman's-Rights Party done?--changed the Law in nineteen States. The - Law of Illinois. Rhode Island on Property. Vermont. Connecticut. New - Hampshire. Massachusetts, and what remains to be done. Maine. Ohio. - Judge Graham's Decision. Mrs. Dorr's Claim. New-York Property-bill - of 1860, and its Supplement. Relief to 5,000 Women. Mrs. Stanton - before the Legislature. The Right of Suffrage in New Jersey. - Wisconsin. Michigan. Ohio. Kansas. Connecticut. Kentucky in - Reference to Suffrage. A Woman's Right to Life, Liberty, and the - Pursuit of Happiness. Mrs. John Adams and Hannah Corbin understood - its Worthlessness. Richard Henry Lee on a Woman's Security. "Woman's - Rights,"--a Phrase we all Hate: identical with "Human Rights,"--a - Phrase we all Honor. Reception of Woman in the Lyceum. Labor to be - honored through Woman. Trade to become a _Fine Art_. - Property-holders must have Political Power. Mr. Phillips on - Suffrage. The Lowell Mill. Dr. Hunt's Protests. Mean Men. Woman's - Duty to the State a Moral Duty. Woman's Right to _Man_ as Counsellor - and Friend. The Constitution of the Family. The Historical - Development of the Question. Mary Astell in the Seventeenth Century. - Mary Wollstonecraft in the Eighteenth, and the Customs of Australia. - Responses to her Appeal. Margaret Fuller in the Nineteenth. The - great Lawsuit in 1844. Convention at Seneca Falls in 1848. National - Association in 1850. Profane Inanity. Chinese Women. Does Power - belong to Humanity or to Property? Mahomet, and the Right to Rule. - Wendell Phillips and the Venetian Catechism. pp. 342-374. - - * * * * * - - -TEN YEARS. - - EDUCATION.--Absence of Discussion Wise. American Association for the - Promotion of Social Science. Lectures from the Lowell Institute. - Ripley College. Howard University. Professor Baldwin at Berea. St. - Lawrence University, N.Y. Lombard University, Ill. Oberlin. List of - Colleges it has Organized. Lane Seminary. President Finney. Ladies' - Library. Ladies' Hall. Miss Fanny Jackson. A Confession. Antioch. - Way thither. Yellow Springs. The Glen. Matins. Necessities. Changes - in Buildings, Books, &c. Missionary Work. The Professors. The - Brigadier-General. Literary Societies. A Southern Refugee. Vassar - College. Lawrence University, Kansas. Letter from Miss Chapin. A - Professor Elected. Michigan University. Miss Nightingale's - Training-School for Nurses, Liverpool. Schools in Calcutta. - Deaconesses. Kaiserworth. Strasburg. Basle. St. Loup. Geneva. - Faubourg St. Antoine. Passevant Hospital. Bishop Kerfoot's Schools. - pp. 377-429. - - MEDICAL EDUCATION.--New-York Medical Society. Medical Society in - London. Hospital of the Maternity in Paris. Miss Garrett and - Apothecaries' Hall. Dr. Zakrzewska and the Medical Society. Medical - Lectures at Harvard. Women and the Cossacks. Women and the - Algerines. Women in India. Cause of Cholera. Success of Female - Physicians. Dr. Ross. A Medical College Needed. New-England - Hospital. pp. 429-434. - - PULPIT.--Amélie von Braum. Mamsell Berg. Rev. Olympia Brown. Mrs. - Jenkins. Mrs. Booth. Mrs. Timmins. Ann Rexford. Nancy Gove Cram. - Abigail H. Roberts. Mrs. Hedges. The Church at Amsterdam, and its - Deaconesses. Resolution at Syracuse. Delegates to Local Conferences. - Mrs. Dall. Counsel to Women who desire to preach. pp. 434-447. - - ART SCHOOLS.--Lowell Institute. Cooper Institute. Miss Roundtree and - Miss Curtis. Coloring Photographs. Mrs. Elizabeth Murray and the - London Society of Female Artists. pp. 447-449. - - LABOR.--Statistics of Eight-hour Movement. Factory Labor in England. - Foreign Society for Employment of Women. Mending Schools. A Barber. - Public Clerks. Fanny Paine. Musical Careers. Charlotte Hill. - Williston Button-factory. Madam Clarke. A Capitalist. Mr. Thayer's - Lodging-house for Girls. Young Women's Christian Association. - Lodging-house in New York. Miss Hill's Ruskin Lodging-houses in - London. Female Printers. A Notary Public. pp. 450-468. - - LAW.--Married Women in New York. Right of an Ordained Woman to Marry - in Massachusetts. School Committees. Richmond. Are a Woman's Clothes - her own? State of Missouri. College. Where shall a Woman's Children - go to Church? Francis Jackson's Will. Conference at Leipsic. - Petition to enable Widows, Potter's County, Pa. Women as Bank - Directors. pp. 468-472. - - SUFFRAGE.--Kansas. Missouri in Congress. The Speaker of the House. - Mercantile Library in Philadelphia. Voting in New Jersey. Mr. Parker - at Perth Amboy. A Petition to Kentucky. Equal-Rights Association, - Petitions, &c. George Thompson's Objections. John Stuart Mill and - the Franchise. English Petition a Model. To be sustained by Able - Men. Mrs. Bodichon's Pamphlets. Women Ejected. Austria. Swedish - Reform Bill. Italian Law. The Hungarian Diet. pp. 472-486. - - CIVIL PROGRESS.--Australia. Moravia. Dublin. Aisne. Bergères. Need - of a Newspaper. pp. 486-488. - - OBITUARIES, &C.--Merian. Baring. Farnham. Lemonnier. Dr. Barry. Mrs. - Severn Newton. pp. 488-491. - - The Ballot will secure All Things. A Glimpse of the Wide West. - Vassar and Miss Lyman. Oberlin and Mrs. Dascomb. Dr. Glass. Female - Lecturers. Business Capacity of Women. The Ice in Fox River, Ill. - Cholera at Elgin. Quincy High School. Coloring Photographs at the - Cooper Institute. Conclusion. pp. 491-499. - - - - -THE COLLEGE; - -OR, - -WOMAN'S RELATION TO EDUCATION. - -IN THREE LECTURES. - - -I.--THE CHRISTIAN DEMAND AND THE PUBLIC OPINION. - -II.--HOW PUBLIC OPINION IS MADE. - -III.--THE MEANING OF THE LIVES THAT HAVE MODIFIED IT. - - - - - Now press the clarion on thy woman's lip, - (Love's holy kiss shall still keep consecrate,) - And breathe the fine, keen breath along the brass, - And blow all class-walls level as Jericho's - Past Jordan.... The world's old; - But the old world waits the hour to be renewed. - AURORA LEIGH. - - - _Two_ of far nobler shape, erect and tall,-- - Godlike erect, with native honor clad - In naked majesty,--_seemed lords of all:_ - _And worthy seemed;_ for in their looks divine - The image of their glorious Maker shone,-- - Truth, wisdom, sanctitude severe and pure; - Whence true authority in men. - MILTON. - - - - -THE COLLEGE. - - - - -I. - -THE CHRISTIAN DEMAND AND THE PUBLIC OPINION. - - "Since I am coming to that holy room, - Where, with the choir of saints for evermore, - I shall be made thy music; as I come, - I tune the instrument here at the door, - And what I must do then, think here before." - MACDONALD. - - -To propose an essay on education requires no little courage; for the -term has covered, with its broad mantle, every thing that is stupid, -perverse, and oppressive in literature. We will not tax ourselves, -however, to consider exact theories, or suggest formal dissertations. In -these lectures, let us take all the liberties of conversation; pass, in -brief review, a wide range of subjects; comment lightly, not thoroughly, -upon them; and trust to quick sympathies and intelligent apprehension to -follow out any really useful suggestions that may be made. - -Some time since, we laid down this proposition: "A man's right to -education--that is, to the education or drawing-out of all the faculties -God has given him--involves the right to a choice of vocation; that is, -to a choice of the end to which those faculties shall be trained. The -choice of vocation involves the right and the duty of protecting that -vocation; that is, the right of deciding how far it shall be taxed, in -how many ways legislative action shall be allowed to control it; in one -word, the right to the elective franchise." - -This statement we made in the broadest way; applying it to the present -condition of women, and intending to show, that, the moment society -conceded the right to education, it conceded the whole question, unless -this logic could be disputed. - -Men of high standing have been found to question a position seemingly so -impregnable, but only on the ground that republicanism is itself a -failure, and that it is quite time that Massachusetts should insist upon -a property qualification for voters. - -In this State, so remarkable for its intelligence and mechanical -skill,--a State which has sent regiment after regiment to the -battle-field, armed by the college, rather than the court,--in this -State, one somewhat eminent voice has been heard to whisper, that _men_ -have not this right to education; that the lower classes in this country -are fatally injured by the advantages offered them; that they would be -happier, more contented, and more useful, if left to take their chance, -or compelled to pay for the reading and writing which their employers, -in some kinds, might require. - -We need not be sorry that these objections are so stated. They are a -fair sample of all the objections that obtain against the legal -emancipation of _woman_, an emancipation which Christ himself intended -and prophesied,--speaking always of his kingdom as one in which no -distinctions of sex should either be needed or recognized. Push any -objector to the wall, and he will be compelled to shift his attitude. He -says nothing more about women, but shields himself under the old -autocratic pretension, that man, collectively taken, has _no_ right to -life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness; that republicanism itself is -a failure. - -Our hearts need not sink in view of this assertion, apparently sustained -by a civil war that fixes the suspicious eyes of autocratic Europe in -sullen suspense. A republic, whose foundations were laid in usurpation, -could not expect to stand, till it had, with its own right arm, struck -off its "feet of clay." It is not freedom which fails, but slavery. - -The course of the world is not retrograde. Massachusetts will not call a -convention to insist upon a property qualification for voters, neither -will she close her schoolhouses, nor forswear her ancient faith. The -time shall yet come when she shall free herself from reproach, and -fulfil the prophetic promise of her republicanism, by generous endowment -for her women, and the open recognition of their citizenship. - -It is not our purpose, however, to dwell upon facilities of school -education. More conservative speakers will plead, eloquently as we could -wish, in that behalf; and suggestions on other topics need to be made. - -We have already said, that the educational rights of women are simply -those of all human beings,--namely, "the right to be taught all common -branches of learning, a sufficient use of the needle, and any higher -branches, for which they shall evince either taste or inclination; the -right to have colleges, schools of law, theology, and medicine open to -them; the right of access to all scientific and literary collections, to -anatomical preparations, historical records, and rare manuscripts." - -And we do not make this claim with any particular theory as to woman's -powers or possibilities. She may be equal to man, or inferior to him. -She may fail in rhetoric, and succeed in mathematics. She may be able to -bear fewer hours of study. She may insist on more protracted labor. What -we claim is, that no one knows, as yet, what women are, or what they can -do,--least of all, those who have been wedded for years to that low -standard of womanly achievement, which classical study tends to sustain. -Because we do not know, because experiment is necessary, we claim that -all educational institutions should be kept open for her; that she -should be encouraged to avail herself of these, according to her own -inclination; and that, so far as possible, she should pursue her -studies, and test her powers, in company with man. We do not wish her to -follow _any_ dictation; not ours, nor another's. We ask for her a -freedom she has never yet had. There is, between the sexes, a law of -incessant, reciprocal action, of which God avails himself in the -constitution of the family, when he permits brothers and sisters to -nestle about one hearth-stone. Its ministration is essential to the best -educational results. Our own educational institutions should rest upon -this divine basis. In educating the sexes together under fatherly and -motherly supervision,[1] we avail ourselves of the highest example; and -the result will be a simplicity, modesty, and purity of character, not -so easy to attain when general abstinence from each other's society -makes the occasions of re-union a period of harmful excitement. Out of -it would come a quick perception of mutual proprieties, delicate -attention to manly and womanly habits, refinement of feeling, grace of -manner, and a thoroughly symmetrical development. If the objections -which are urged against this--the divine fashion of training men and -women to the duties of life--were well founded, they would have been -felt long ago in those district schools, attended by both sexes, which -are the pride of New England. The classes recently opened by the Lowell -Institute, under the control of the Institute of Technology, are an -effort in the right direction, for which we cannot be too grateful. -Heretofore, every attempt to give advanced instruction to women has -failed. Did a woman select the most accomplished instructor of men, and -pay him the highest fee, she could not secure thorough tuition. He -taught her without conscience in the higher branches; for he took it -upon himself to assume that she would never put them to practical use. -He treated her desire for such instruction as a caprice, though she -might have shown her appreciation by the distinct bias of her life. We -claim for women a share of the opportunities offered to men, because we -believe that they will never be thoroughly taught until they are taught -at the same time and in the same classes. - -The most mischievous errors are perpetuated by drawing masculine and -feminine lines in theory at the outset. The God-given impulse of sex, if -left in complete freedom, will establish, in time, certain distinctions -for itself; but these distinctions should never be pressed on any -individual soul. Whether man or woman, each should be left free to -choose its own methods of development. We pause, therefore, to show, -that, when we spoke of a certain use of the needle as a matter to be -taught to both sexes, we did so by no inadvertence. The use of the -sewing machine is even now common to both; but men, as well as women, -should be taught to use their fingers for common purposes skilfully. -Personal contact with the pauperism of large cities has sent this -conviction home to many practical minds. - -The rough tippets, mittens, and socks imported into the British -Colonies, are the work of the Welsh farmers and the Shetland fishermen -during the long tempestuous winter nights. In writing to Lady Holland, -Sidney Smith pens some pleasant words on this subject. - -"I wish I could sew," he says. "I believe one reason why women are so -much more cheerful than men is because they can work, and so vary their -employments. Lady ---- used to teach her boys carpet-work. All men ought -to learn to sew." - -All men! and so might the cares of many women be lightened. Let us -candidly confess our own indebtedness to the needle. How many hours of -sorrow has it softened, how many bitter irritations calmed, how many -confused thoughts reduced to order, how many life-plans sketched in -purple! - -Let us pass over that portion of our statement which hints at vocation, -and confine ourselves, for the present, to that part of it which looks -to an unrestricted mental culture. Nowhere is this systematically denied -to women. It is quite common to hear people say, "There is no need to -press that subject. Education in New England is free to women. In -Bangor, Portsmouth, Newburyport, and Boston, they are better Latin -scholars than the men. Nothing can set this stream back: turn and labor -elsewhere." - -We have shown to how very small an extent this statement is true. If it -were true of the mere means of education, education itself is not won -for woman, till it brings to her precisely the same blessings that it -bears to the feet of man; till it gives her honor, respect, and bread; -till position becomes the rightful inheritance of capacity, and social -influence follows a knowledge of mathematics and the languages. Our -deficiency in the last stages of the culture offered to our women made a -strong impression on a late Russian traveller. - -"Is that the best you can do?" said Mr. Kapnist, when he came out of the -Mason-street Normal School for Girls. "It is very poor. In Russia, we -should do better. At Cambridge, you have eminent men in every -kind,--Agassiz, Gray, Peirce. Why do they not lecture to these women? In -Russia, they would go everywhere,--speak to both sexes. At a certain -age, recitation is the very poorest way of imparting knowledge." - -To all adult minds, lectures convey instruction more happily than -recitation; and, when men and women are taught together, the lecture -system is valuable, because it permits the mind to appropriate its own -nutriment, and does not oppress the faculties with uncongenial food. - -To those who are familiar with the whole question, no theme is more -painful than that of the inadequate compensation and depressed position -of the female teacher. There is no need to harp on this discordant -string. Let us strike its key-note in a single story. - -A year ago, in one of the most beautiful towns of this neighborhood, -separated by a grassy common, shaded with drooping elms, rose two ample -buildings, dedicated to the same purpose. They were the High Schools for -the two sexes. - -They were taught by two persons, admirably fitted for their work. The -man, uncommonly happy in imparting instruction, was yet deficient in -mathematics, and considered by competent judges inferior to the woman. - -_She_ was an orphan, with a young sister dependent upon her for -instruction and support. She had been graduated with the highest honors -at one of the State Normal Schools. She was delicate and beautiful; not -in the least "strong-minded." Neither spectacles upon her nose, nor -wooden soles to her boots, appealed to the popular indignation. All who -knew her loved her; and the man whom we have named was not ashamed to -receive instruction from her in geometry and algebra. The two schools -were equal in numbers. The man was a bachelor, subject to no claim -beyond his own necessity. What did common sense and right reason demand, -but that these two persons should be treated alike by society, -prudential committees, and so on? You shall hear what was the fact. The -man was engaged at a salary of fifteen hundred dollars. The wealthiest -class in the community intrusted its sons to his charge without -question. Single, he was made much of in society, invited to parties, -and had his own corner at many a tea-table, which he brightened with his -pleasant jokes. He soon came to be a person in the town,--had his vote, -was valued accordingly; went to church, was put upon committees, had a -great deal to do with calling the new minister, and so, out of school, -had pleasant and varied occupation, which saved his soul from racking to -death over the ruts of the Latin grammar. Would we have it otherwise? -Was it not all right? Certainly it was, and our friend deserved it; -deserved, too, that when the second year was half over, and there were -rumors that a distant city had secured his services, the committee -should raise his salary two hundred and fifty dollars, and so keep him -for themselves. But let us look at the reverse of the picture. The -woman, burdened with the care of a younger sister, greatly this man's -superior in mathematics and possibly in other things, was engaged at six -hundred dollars. It was not customary for the wealthy families in that -neighborhood to trust their girls to the tender mercies of a public -school; so she had a class of pupils less elegant in manner, of more -ordinary mental training, and every way more difficult to control. Still -they were disciplined, and learned to love their teacher. A few of the -parents called upon her, and she was occasionally invited to their -homes. But these homes were not congenial to her tastes or habits. There -was no intellectual stimulus derived from them to brighten her life. -They offered neither pictures, statues, books, nor the results of -travel, to her delicate and yearning appreciation. She talked, for the -most part, of her pupils and their work; and the strain of her vocation, -always heavier on woman than on man, wore more and more upon her soul. -Society, as such, offered her no welcome.[2] - -_She_ was nothing to the town. She hired her seat, and went to church. -She had no vote, was never on a parish committee, had only one chance to -change her position. That was to remove to a more congenial -neighborhood, at a lower salary; but she thought of her young sister, -and refused. If the committee heard of it, they did not offer to -increase her salary. They were men incapable of appreciating her rare -and modest culture. There was a tendency to consumption in her frame. -Had she been happy, she might have resisted it for years, perhaps for -ever; but with the restless pining at her heart, that mental and moral -marasmus, the physical disease soon showed itself. In the commencement -of the third year of her teaching, she began to cough; and, in less than -three months from the day when she heard her last class, she lay in an -early but not unhonored grave. The deep affection of her classmates in -the Normal School had always followed her; and one who chanced to hear -of her illness brightened its rapid decline. This woman, herself -prematurely old, in consequence of twelve years of labor on the Red -River of Louisiana, the only place open to her, where her abilities were -appreciated to the extent of twelve hundred dollars a year, and would -enable her to support a widowed mother,--this woman, with her now-scanty -purse, supplied the invalid with fresh flowers and sweet pictures; and, -when her heavy eye grew weary of gazing, gently closed it in the sleep -of death, scattered rare and fragrant blossoms over her unconscious -form, and followed it to the grave. Those flowers! brought daily to her -teacher's-desk by a friendly or loving hand, they might have fed a -craving heart, and saved a precious life. - -It is no new story. You have heard it many times. Do not reply in the -stale maxims of political economy. Do not say that woman's labor is -cheaper than man's, because it is more abundant. Unskilled labor, we -will grant you, is more abundant; but such labor as is here offered must -always be rare and valuable. To the applicants who came to fill her -vacant place the committee said, "We do not expect to find another -capable as she was. We have only to select one that _will do_." Yet they -had not been ashamed to use that capacity without paying for it! Only -ignorance and prejudice and custom stood in the way of its appreciation; -only the want of that respect which a citizen can always command was at -the bottom of her social isolation. She never complained; but we -complain for her, sadly conscious, that, until men themselves perceive -what is fit, the remonstrances of women will be fruitless. One such word -as that spoken by the Hon. Joseph White at Framingham, in July, 1864, is -worth more than all that women can say. Nevertheless, we women have our -duty. It is to convince and stimulate men. Be on the watch, then, for -such women; and claim for them their place and remuneration. Help -society to understand its duty, to be frank and honorable. And if -certain services are worth, as in this case, seventeen hundred and fifty -dollars a year, pay for equal services, _by whomsoever rendered_, an -equal sum. - -Since I first began to speak upon this subject, a very great change has -taken place: women are put in places which require higher culture and -greater administrative capacity. They are also paid better wages: these -wages are not yet in fair proportion to what are paid to men for the -same work; and the shameful argument is still used, that we employ -women, chiefly because men will not work for the same price. The Roxbury -High School, the Shurtleff Grammar School in Chelsea, the Normal School -at St. Louis, and the Normal School at Framingham, are now under the -charge of women. In the list of teachers from the Oswego School, we find -four who are paid one thousand dollars a year, and eleven who are paid -seven hundred dollars. Our daily press is very well satisfied with this; -but, since 1860, what portion of a decent living will seven hundred -dollars provide to a cultivated woman? When the salaries of the St. -Louis teachers were raised in 1866, the principal was obliged to express -her indignation before her salary was raised to its present sum of two -thousand dollars. Had she been a man, she would certainly have had as -much as the principal of the High School; namely, twenty-seven hundred -and fifty dollars. A graduate of Antioch College, assisting in the High -School at St. Louis, has twelve hundred dollars, where a man would have -seventeen hundred dollars. Miss Brackett's own assistants in the Normal -School have eleven hundred dollars. - -The appointment of Miss Johnson to the head of the Normal School at -Framingham will open the way to a similar change in many quarters, if -what Governor Bullock has not disdained to call the "policy of -Massachusetts" is consistently carried out. I do not know what salary is -offered to Miss Johnson; but, if it were equal to that of the man who -preceded her, would not the newspapers have told us? The comparative -value of these salaries is not shown by the figures. It depends on the -prices of gold, and of food and provisions, each year. It cannot be half -as great as an inexperienced person would think. - -There is a great want of female teachers of Latin and French. School -committees assure me, that proficients in language would be certain of -good pay in our high schools. For the most part, women prefer to devote -themselves to mathematics. I used to say, with a smile, in the Western -States, that all the women could read the "Mécanique Céleste;" but they -found Cæsar and Télémaque equally uninteresting. Later, Colonel -Higginson bears witness to the impossibility of getting good classical -teachers. - -It is a common idea, that the standard of education is higher now than -it was thirty years ago. It may be doubted. More things are taught in -schools,--ologies, isms, and the like; but the most thorough teachers -are not the most popular, and it may be questioned, whether in the best -minds on the Continent, in England, or this country, so great progress -has been made as has been generally claimed. There is much more -liberality in regard to the general question, but no more in regard to -the ideal standard. - -In one of Niebuhr's letters to Madame Hensler, he says, in speaking of -Klopstock: "The character of the women is a remarkable feature of the -time of Klopstock's youth. The cultivation of the mind was carried -incomparably farther with them than with nearly all the young women of -our days; and this we should scarcely have expected to find in the -cotemporaries of our grandmothers. It was not, therefore, the influence -of our native literature; for that first rose into being along with, and -under the influence of, the love inspired by these charming maidens. For -some time after the Thirty Years' War, the ladies of Germany, -particularly those of the middle classes, were excessively coarse and -uneducated. This wonderful alteration must have taken place, therefore, -during eighty years,--between 1660 and 1740; though we are quite -ignorant how and when it began." - -Passing over to France, we encounter the reputation of Madame de Sablé; -a woman, let me remark, for the benefit of those who are afraid that the -march of education will deprive them of their dinners, as celebrated for -her exquisite cooking and delicate confections as she was for her -literary ability. In speaking of her, Cousin says: "All the literature -of maxims and thoughts, including those of La Rochefoucauld, grew up in -the _salon_ of a lovely woman withdrawn into a convent. Having no -earthly pleasure but that of reliving her life, she knew how to impart -her own taste to society, in which she met by chance an accomplished -wit, whom she contrived to turn into a great writer." He is speaking of -the early part of the seventeenth century; and, in spite of the -notorious dissipation of the period, many gifted and many virtuous women -crowded her _salon_,--the Princess Palatine, the Princesses of Condé, de -Conti, de Longueville, and Schomberg, Anna de Rohan, and Mademoiselle -herself. There the gentlemen carried the pages they wrote at home, and -not only bore with, but accepted, the criticisms of the women. They had -no compensation but their praises, unless, like La Rochefoucauld, they -were cunning enough to demand a carrot pottage or some preserved plums -in exchange for a page of literature. In England, it is not necessary to -avail ourselves of an exceptional education, like that of Lady Jane -Grey. Remembering the noble culture of Elizabeth Tudor and Mary Stuart, -of the sturdy women of the Commonwealth, we might surely expect a -greater progress in the national idea. But, if its average could be -found, neither the wife of John Hampden nor Lady Russell would accept -it. It would seem that our standard advances, if at all, by a series of -Hugh Miller's parabolic curves. What we find, depends upon the point at -which we happen to test the eccentric arc; and, when we enter the -nineteenth century, we are forced to take refuge in analogy, and ask, -"If the ancient Egyptians _ever_ mastered the Copernican idea, why -should Galileo be imprisoned to-day for insisting that the sun does not -move round the earth?" The stimulating examples of noble and educated -women, which now present themselves, do not cheer us as they should, -while they remain exceptions. In making what Dickens would call an -"indiscriminate and incontinent" excursion, into the regions of female -thought and literature, we find its atmosphere in a somewhat -unventilated condition, and are reminded of an opinion of the Druses -which does not seem to have been wholly impertinent, that "literature is -a mean and contemptible occupation, _fit only for women_." Twenty years -ago, when ties of an almost filial tenderness linked us to the household -of the late Judge Cranch, we have often followed him, unrecognized, of a -Saturday afternoon, when, returning from the bench, he climbed Capitol -Hill, one hand grasping the handle of some colored washerwoman's basket, -or slinging her heavy bundle over his shoulder on a stick. The dear -remembrance, sustained by all the sweet and delicate courtesies of his -private life, has always lain side by side in our mind with that -exquisite Essay of Elia to which he first directed our attention, in -which a noble reverence to woman is inculcated, and we are taught to -judge every man's respect for the sex by his demeanor towards its -humblest representative. Yet, if Judge Cranch never swerved from his -gracious dignity, Charles Lamb did. Woman had not gained, in his -lifetime, such a hold upon her intellectual rights, that a dinner -company dared chide him, when he said of Letitia Landon, "If she -belonged to me, I would lock her up, and feed her on bread and water, -till she gave up writing poetry. A female poet, or female author of any -kind, ranks below an actress, _I_ think." - -We do not quote these words so much against Lamb himself,--for the lips -of Mary Lamb's brother must have been thick with wine, when, with -"stammering, insufficient sound," he included her in so sweeping a -reprobation,--but to indicate the nature of that public opinion which is -even now dwarfing the ideals of the best men; to show how little -reliance is to be placed on the standard of the most generous, when a -remark like this, uttered in a large literary circle, passes without -criticism, and is recorded without conscious mortification,--recorded, -too, by the father of that Coventry Patmore, who has known how to offer -us, in later times, sugar-plums of his own _coloring_--let us add of his -own _poisoning_ also--under the alluring names of "betrothals" and -"espousals." How far the _facts_ are from the ideal standard, Mrs. -Jameson, in a lecture lately delivered, will help us to show. - -"With all our schools," she says, "of all denominations, it remains an -astounding fact, that _one-half_ of the women who annually become -_wives_, in this England of ours, cannot sign their names in the parish -register; and that this amount of ignorance in the lower classes is -accompanied with an amount of ill-health, despondency, inaptitude, and -uselessness in the so-called educated classes, which, taken together, -prove that our boasted appliances are to a great extent failures." - -The ancient standard of Italy was very high, even in the fifteenth -century, if we consider only the literary skill or mathematical culture -frequently desired and attained; but Anna Maria Mozzoni may congratulate -herself on having given a moral and social impetus to it, which it has -never before received. Her wise, considerate, philosophical suggestions -will meet the cordial welcome of all right-minded women. If followed -out, they will create nobler women than Tambroni or Laura Veratti.[3] - -There was no institution in England for the proper training of sick -nurses, when Florence Nightingale went to Kaiserworth, a small town near -Düsseldorf, on the Rhine, to prepare herself to take charge of the -Female Sanitorium. In Great Britain, at this moment, the excess of the -female population over the male amounts to five hundred thousand souls; -and from all directions we hear the cry, that _men_ need educated -assistants. What is the country doing to answer this cry, to educate her -five hundred thousand women? In 1825 Dr. Gooch made a noble appeal to -the English public, in behalf of educating women to be nurses; but there -was no response. When the first school of design was started, a petition -was drawn up and _signed_, praying that women might not be taught, at -the expense of the Government, arts which would interfere with the -employment of men, and "take the bread out of _their_ mouths"! - -Here was an absurd interference with the right of _feeding_, on the -part of these petitioners! As if women did not want bread as well as -men; and being, according to authority, the less intelligent and weaker -sex, one would suppose that to help them to find it might be a part of -that protection to which the Government stands pledged, and for which -their property is taxed. - -"But," says Mrs. Jameson, "if a petition were drawn up, and handed to -medical men, praying that women should not be trained as nurses, nor -taught the laws of health, I am afraid there are well-intentioned men, -who would, at the time, be induced to sign it; but I believe that -twenty, nay, even ten years hence, they would look back upon their -signatures with as much disgust and amazement as is now excited by the -attempt to explode and sneer down the school at Marlborough House." - -Another noble English woman, Mrs. Barbara Leigh Bodichon, in a recent -pamphlet called "Woman and Work," gives us the correspondence between -Jessie Meriton White and the various medical schools to which she -applied for admission. This lady had for several years had charge of two -little lame children, one of them her own nephew. The latter, on account -of some structural defect, had broken his leg sixteen times. Once, when -suitable attendance was not to be had, his aunt set and splintered it -herself. The physician who examined it advised her to apply for -instruction. She applied to fourteen medical institutions in the city -of London, asking sometimes for _private_ anatomical instruction. The -correspondence with four colleges in the year 1856 is given,--from the -St. George's, the Royal College of Surgeons, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, -and the University of London. It amply bears out her assertion, that she -was nowhere met with solid objections, or with sensible and logical -replies. Sometimes she was told of the _indelicacy_ of her request! The -University of London, which was legally bound by its charter to receive -her, treated her as coolly as the rest; and in no case was any -individual regret expressed for the official decision. - -Indelicacy, forsooth! Where can we find it, if not in the impure nature -which raises the objection, and the low manner of thinking in general -society which consents to receive it? May not the mother, who receives -her naked new-born child from the hand of God, fitly ask to understand -the liabilities of its little frame? May not the wife, called in seasons -of sickness to the most delicate and trying duties, modestly ask for -that thorough culture which alone can make those duties easy? And who -make this objection? Men who go shuddering and half-drunken into the -dissecting room, to scatter vile jests above that prostrate temple of -the Holy Ghost! Men who see nothing in the exquisite development of -God's creation, but the reflection of their own obscene lives! Students -who know no better way to steel their courage to the use of the scalpel -than to play at foot-ball on the college green with a human skull, -holding its dignity to the level of their own honor![4] - -The best hope that Jessie Meriton White has for England is, that some of -the most distinguished professors shall consent in time to take classes -of female students. - -The office of the physician is as holy as that of the priest: formerly -they were one; now, at least, the physician should be priest-like. -Irreverence and impurity should be banished from medical ranks. The -science of medicine stands in great need of the intuitive genius of -woman. In pursuing it, she will need the steady caution of man. In this -country and in France, earnest and devoted students of both sexes have -stood in the dissecting room to the benefit of both. So let them -continue to stand, till the spirit is known by its fruits. An impure man -is no better than an impure woman; but impurity among men may be -concealed. Let it come between the two sexes, and it will be brought at -once into antagonism with society, and will meet its true desert. The -objection reveals the secrets of the medical college, and is the -strongest argument ever offered for the medical education of women. - -If women are to practise as physicians, some means should be taken to -protect society against those who are imperfectly educated. _What a -degree means_ will always be doubtful, until men and women receive -their degrees in the same way and from the same hands. America stands -greatly in need of this protection. Crowds of unauthorized, -half-educated women, some of whom have not been ashamed to cross the -Atlantic, and have attracted such sympathy abroad as only a different -class of students deserve, are thronging the valley of the Mississippi, -as well as haunting with their empirical pretensions the purlieus of the -seaboard cities. If men had received properly trained women into their -colleges and medical societies, this would not have happened. Cannot -such physicians as Dr. Zakrzewska, Dr. Blackwell, Dr. Sewall, Dr. Tyng, -and Dr. Ross of Milwaukie, unite to organize a Woman's Medical Society, -with an examining board whose diploma shall attest the character of the -member? Dr. Storer's admirable pamphlet entitled "Why not?" points out -an evil, which will never be remedied by thrusting empirical women into -the positions now held by unscrupulous men.[5] - -And what have we to say of our own country? Has the American standard -reached a safe altitude, or must we admit that it has the same -limitations? A popular width of view we have certainly gained in the -last half-century; but have we made secure progress in the right -direction? Some eighty years ago, John Adams wrote of his wife, "This -lady was more beautiful than Lady Russell, had a brighter genius, more -information, and more refined taste, and was at least her equal in -virtues of the heart, in fortitude and firmness of character, in -resignation to the will of Heaven, and in all the virtues and graces of -the Christian life. Like Lady Russell, she never discouraged her husband -from running all hazards for the salvation of his country's liberties; -she was willing to share with me, and that her children should share -with us both, in all the dangerous consequences we had to hazard." - -Will America ever offer to the world a nobler picture? Is it at this -moment above or below our average ideal? "With such a mother," said John -Quincy Adams, in Boston, less than twenty years ago, "with such a -mother, it has been the perpetual instruction of my life to love and -reverence the female sex; but I have been taught also--and the lesson is -still more deeply impressed--I have been taught _not_ to flatter them." -Noble words! Gentlemen to whom it falls to deliver annually -Normal-school addresses would do well to take a lesson from them. They -would wince a little, could they hear the criticisms of the indignant -girls upon their actual advice and praise. How would these men have -liked it, if at fifteen they had been addressed as fathers of an unborn -generation, whose especial duty it was to adapt themselves to this -sphere? And why should men complain, that women look to marriage, and -marriage only, as salvation, if the whole tenor of their own influence -is used to emphasize it as woman's "manifest destiny"? "Are there not -_two_ married, and where is the one?" What propriety is there in -assuming, in advance, that the sphere which married life opens has a -stronger hold on one sex than the other? - -We have said enough to show, that in Germany, France, England, and -America, the ideal standard of education was sufficiently high over a -century ago. Why has not such actual progress been made as might have -been expected? - -Because _public opinion_ has constantly thwarted the ideal growth. -Educated women have, for the most part, wanted courage to do what is -right, unless sustained by men. In education, for the duties of which -they are acknowledged to be superior, they have never insisted on the -changes they knew to be necessary, but have uniformly succumbed to the -masculine idea. Shall we blame them? Is a conflict in the heart of a -family a pleasant thing? Certainly, the hand which the magnanimous -sympathy of men has set free cannot cast the first stone. The slowness -and faithlessness of men too often paralyzes the best efforts of women. -The faith which Isabella showed Columbus, would be, at this moment, a -grateful return from them. Charles Lamb has shown us how valueless to -the working woman the support of delicate sentiment may be. The ringing -of the glasses round a table dulled his exquisite ear to the fine -spheral harmonies it had once caught. He broke, in an after-dinner tilt, -the very lance with which he had pierced to the heart of the enemy's -shield. If the ideal standard makes no headway against public opinion, -what encouragement to our hopes does common life offer? - -As exquisite beauty of water, hill, and dale lies hidden in many a -country hamlet, unheeded by the guidebook, unsuspected by the traveller -on the turnpike road; so, in society, self-sacrifice, noble daring, and -saintly perseverance, nestle behind the prominent failure. We find them -everywhere, except where we should most naturally look for them. - -There is in England a Society for the Promotion of Female Education in -the East. It undertakes to do _abroad_ precisely the work that its -individual members refuse to assist the community to do at home. -Consequently, their printed schemes read like satires on their -individual convictions. In the year 1835, Miss Alice Holliday called the -attention of this society to the condition of women in Egypt and -Abyssinia. She asked their sanction to her attempt to educate the women -of Egypt, with an ultimate view to those of Abyssinia, whose condition -chiefly interested her. She had pursued a severe course of study, -unfriended and alone, before she asked this help. She had studied the -severe sciences, the antiquities and customs of the countries -themselves, and the Arabic and Coptic languages. She was fortunate also -in stirring the enthusiasm of a certain Miss Rogers, who, unable to -teach, was yet willing to accompany her friend, and devote her fortune -to their mutual support. As these ladies wanted no money from the -society they consulted, they were received as agents without difficulty, -and reached Alexandria in the autumn of 1836. At this time Miss Holliday -wrote: "The condition of the Coptic women is truly lamentable. Their -abodes are like the filthiest holes in London; yet their persons are -decked out in the most costly apparel. I have seen ladies sitting at -their latticed windows, their heads and necks adorned with pearls and -diamonds of the highest value, their bodies covered with the richest -silks and velvets, while the room they occupied was the most disgusting -scene you can imagine. Smoking and sleeping occupy their time. Female -schools have never had an existence, and the prejudice against them is -very strong." - -We can recall the argument used in those Eastern lands, and the answer -which civilization offered. "I am afraid to teach my women," said the -Turk: "they are already crafty and impure. To gather them into public -places is to offer a premium on immodesty, and a temptation to -misconduct." The Christian answered proudly, "We can trust our women; -yes, even in Paris and London." - -Soon after their arrival, Miss Rogers died; but her friend was not -discouraged. In the following March, an officer of state, Hekekyan -Effendi, came to inquire whether she would take charge of the royal -women, one hundred in number, and the nearest relatives of the -sovereign. Much depended, it was thought, upon the co-operation of the -oldest daughter, Nas-lee Hanoom; and it was His Highness's desire that -the heads of the family should be formed into a committee to extend -female schools. See how this Mohammedan officer writes to Miss Holliday. - -"You have no doubt read much about hareems," he says, "yet little, I -fear, that resembles the truth. We pay great respect to women and aged -persons, whatever may be our own rank. Our children, however, are -uneducated, in the European sense of the term. Besides being illiterate, -they know nothing of domestic economy; and, in the middling and lower -classes of the community, this ignorance is so profound as to endanger, -by its dire consequences, domestic health, peace, and prosperity. This -want is the first cause of slavery and its concomitant vices. In -seconding the illustrious efforts of Mehemet Ali, I have been able to -trace our debasement as a nation to _no other cause_ than the want of a -useful and efficient moral education for our women. In giving to them -enlightened education, we shall be striking at the root of the evils -that afflict us; we shall diminish the dangers and misfortunes which -proceed from ignorance and idleness. Habits of industry, cleanliness, -order, and economy, by increasing happiness, make us morally better, and -will secure that moral training to our children which no subsequent -effort is sufficient to replace." - -So true is it that the value of words is comparative, that all this -might have been written by some Secretary of the Board of Education in -Massachusetts. The arguments of the Turk and Effendi are very familiar -to us. Modern civilized society shuts women out of schools to protect -their modesty. Modern professors tell us how much they respect women, -and value material training, at the very moment when they bar the gates -of life against her. On the 27th of March, 1838, Miss Holliday went in -state to the hareem. She was preceded by the two janissaries attached to -the English Consulate, bearing their silver wands of office, and -accompanied by the wife of Hekekyan. In the ante-room they were regaled -with coffee out of golden cups set with diamonds. Young Georgian girls -of great beauty brought sherbet and massive pipes with amber -mouth-pieces. They were then introduced to the Princess Nas-lee, a -little woman about forty, simply dressed; and, before the interview -ended, Alice had promised to spend four hours of every day in the -hareem. She began with instruction that tended to civilize daily life; -and boxes of embroidery and baby-clothes, made for patterns in England, -excited the first lively interest. She declined all invitations to take -up her abode in the hareem, although promised entire liberty. She was -_humble_, and, as a consequence, _wise_. She did not expect great -results, or look for much enthusiasm, in the hareem. - -In August, she writes: "My visits have been attended with the most -cheering success. I am received and honored with every possible -distinction; but, added to my school, it is a great fatigue." Her -character in every way sustained the effect of her teaching. She was -offered thirty pounds a month for her attendance at the hareem, but -thought ten pounds sufficient, and would accept no more. In October, a -box of presents was received from England. When Hekekyan was invited to -look into this box, he seized upon some scientific plates sent to the -young princess. "Ah!" said he, "these are the things we need." The Pacha -was captivated, in his turn, by an orrery, and a model of the Thames -Tunnel. The hareem sent back a similar box, and Nas-lee herself worked a -scarf for the queen. Miss Holliday was soon ordered to translate some of -her books into Turkish; and her princesses wrote touching letters to -their English friends. Soon after, we find this indefatigable woman -teaching English, French, drawing, and writing, in the hareem of a late -Governor of Cairo. Education must begin with languages; for Egypt has no -literature to offer to her children. In 1840 Victoria sent to the hareem -a portrait of herself, which was carried in procession and hung with -proper honors by the side of that of the pacha. Very soon came an -Egyptian Society for the Promotion of Female Education. Scientific -instruments and books were ordered. An infant school began with one -hundred and fifty children. The hareem demanded another teacher, and -Mrs. Lieder was sent out. In 1844 a male school was formed, and European -teachers imported. The young girls, who had begun with needle-work eight -years before, were now studying Turkish, Persian, and Arabic, geography, -arithmetic, and drawing. "What a change," writes Alice in 1846,--"what a -change within the last ten years! When I came to Egypt, there was not a -woman who could read; and now some hundreds have not only the power, but -the best books. Year after year, I have been permitted to see the growth -of a new civilization. What a change has come over the royal family -since I first entered it! The desire for trifles is preparing the way -for our noblest gifts; and a fatal blow has been struck at the whole -system of hareems." It would be pleasant to trace this devoted woman -farther, to know whether she still lives, and if she has reached the -Abyssinian plains. In this humble way began the great educational -movement in Egypt, which gave strength and vitality to Mehemet Ali's -best-considered plans, which has sent scores of young princes to Paris, -and will eventually change the face of the whole land. - -Alice Holliday succeeded, because the "sinews of war"--namely, the -"purse-strings"--were in her own hands. Very similar in spirit was the -enterprise of Madame Luce in Algiers, of which Madame Bodichon has given -an interesting account. Madame Luce went to Algiers, soon after the -conquest, about 1834, and was probably a teacher in the family of one of -the resident functionaries. In 1845, nearly nine years after Alice had -begun her Egyptian labors, Madame Luce was a widow, with very little -money to devote to the work on which she had set her heart; namely, a -school to civilize the women of Algiers. Government was already -beginning to instruct the men; but the Mohammedan dread of proselytism -stood in their way. The women were in the worst state,--closely veiled, -taught no manual arts, having no skill in housekeeping even,--for the -simple life of a warm climate, the scanty furniture, give no scope for -such skill. To wash their linen, to clamber over the roofs to make -calls, to offer coffee and receive it, to dress very splendidly at -times, very untidily always, was the synopsis of their lives. They did -not know their own ages, yet were liable to be sold in marriage at the -age of ten. Upon such material, and at such a time,--when the value of a -Moorish woman was estimated, like that of a cow, _by her -weight_,--Madame Luce undertook to work. She had a Christian courage in -her heart, which might put many a man to shame. - -While laying her plans, she had perfected herself in the native tongue, -and now commenced a campaign among the families of her acquaintance, -coaxing them to trust their little girls to her for three or four hours -a day, that they might be taught to read and write French, and also to -sew neatly. Her presents, her philanthropic tact, her solemn promise not -to interfere in matters of religion, won for her, at length, four little -girls, whom she took to her own hired house without a moment's delay. As -the rumor of her success spread, one child after another dropped in, -till she had more than thirty. Finding the experiment answer beyond her -hopes, she was compelled to demand assistance of the local government. -Men have no faith in quixotic undertakings. As might have been expected, -they complimented Madame Luce upon her energy, saw no use in educating -Moorish women, and declined to assist her. She waited, in breathless -suspense, till the day on which the Council were to meet, bribing the -parents, clothing the children, and pursuing her noble work. "Surely," -she thought, "they _will_ devise some plan;" but the twilight of the -30th of December closed in, and they had not even alluded to her school. -On the 1st of January, 1846, it was closed. Nine hundred miles from -Paris, without the modern conveniences of transport, what do you suppose -this woman did? Could she give up? She scorned an offer of personal -remuneration made by a few gentlemen, and told them that what she wanted -was adequate support for a national work. She pawned her plate, her -jewels, even a gold thimble, and set off for Paris, where she arrived -early in February, and sent in her report to the Minister of War. She -went in person from deputy to deputy, detailing her plans. Poor Madame -Luce! her success was not quite so speedy as Alice Holliday's, whose -schools had doubtless stimulated her efforts. Everywhere she had to -combat the scepticism, the indifference, the inertia, of worldly men. -There was no Miss Rogers, with a kind heart and a long purse, to help -her on her way. Nor did Madame Luce desire that there should be. She -knew that individual efforts of such a kind can never last long; and she -was determined to make the government adopt and become responsible for -her work. Then it would outlive her. Then it might redeem the nation. At -last, daylight began to dawn. The government gave her three thousand -francs for her journey, and eleven hundred more on account of some claim -of her deceased husband. They urged her return to Algiers, and promised -still farther support. So perseveringly had she wrought, that, early in -June, she was able to re-open her school, amid the rejoicings of parents -and children. It was seven months before the government contrived to put -the school on a better foundation. During this time, her pupils -constantly increased, and she was put to the greatest straits to keep it -together. The Curé of Algiers gave her a little money and a great deal -of sympathy. The Count Guyot, high in office, helped her from his own -purse. When she was entirely destitute, she would send one of her -negresses to him, and he would send her enough for the day. On one -occasion, he sent a small bag of money, left by the Duc de Nemours for -the benefit of a journal which had ceased to exist. She found in this -two hundred francs, which she received as a direct gift from Heaven. -Thus she got along from hand to mouth. She engaged an Arab mistress, who -was remarkably cultivated, to assist her, and to train the children in -her own faith. Pledged as she was not to instruct them in Christianity, -she had the sense to see, what few would have admitted, that such -instruction was not only necessary, but desirable. It gave them the -knowledge of one God, and made clear distinctions between right and -wrong. At last, in January, 1847, the school was formally adopted, and -received its first visit of inspection. The gentlemen were received by -thirty-two pupils, and the Arab mistress _unveiled_; a great triumph of -common sense, if we consider how short a time the school had been -opened. Since that time, the work has steadily prospered. In 1858 it -numbered one hundred and twenty pupils, between the ages of four and -eighteen. The practical wisdom of Madame Luce led her to establish a -workshop, where the older pupils learned the value of their labor, and -earned a good deal of money. They had always a week's work in advance, -when the wise, slow government put an end to it, whether to save the -thirty-five pounds a year, which the salary of its superintendent cost, -or to prevent competition with the nunneries, Madame Luce has never -known. _She_ thought it the best part of her plan,--far better than -teaching the girls to turn a French phrase neatly for the satisfaction -of inspectors. The government are now beginning to understand her value. -They have established a second school in Algiers, and several in the -provinces. The results are not miraculous, but they plant new germs of -moral power and thought in every family circle which they touch. Such -names as those of Alice Holliday and Madame Luce have a great value. -These women and their labors are permeated by the Christian idea of -self-surrender. The preponderance of this idea in these examples -distinguishes them above women of the past, whether German _exaltadas_, -brilliant adventurers amid the perils of the Froude, or witty loiterers -in the _salon_ of Madame de Sablé. - -La Rochefoucauld, who was proud of Mademoiselle and her princesses, -would only have sneered at Madame Luce; nor would Lady Russell, nor Mrs. -John Adams, have followed Alice to Egypt cheerfully. Nor do these two -women belong to the army of saints and martyrs. A religious devotee has -in her a mistaken enthusiasm, and goes _away from_ the world. These -women are doing the work of saints and martyrs with a far higher -appreciation of God's providence, of the uses of this world, and with -all the hindrances that fall to the lot of simple human beings. It is -not our intention to multiply such instances here: they belong, rather, -to the illustrations of individual power. We must not forget, however, -the existence, in England, of that circle of women, of whom Mrs. -Bodichon, Mrs. Hugo Reid, Mrs. Browning, Mrs. Fox, Mrs. Jameson, and -Bessie Raynor Parkes, are honorable examples. We have such lives as -those of Mrs. Gaskell and Miss Evans; the scientific reputation not -alone of Mrs. Somerville, but of Mrs. Griffith, to whose masculine power -of research English marine botany may be said to owe its existence, and -who still survives, at an advanced age, to see that knowledge becomes -popular, in her cheerful and honored decline, which she pursued, for -many a year, unassisted and alone. We have Mrs. Janet Taylor, one of the -best and most popular teachers of navigation and nautical mathematics in -all England. Her classes have been celebrated and numerously attended by -men who have been long at sea, as well as by youths preparing for the -merchant service; and, still farther, we have in cultivated circles, to -balance the old prejudice, an encouraging liberality. A review, -published in the Westminster, after the issue of Miss Martineau's -pamphlet on the future government of India, shows conclusively that any -woman who will do _good_ work may feel sure of honest appreciation. If -she does poor work, she will only the more provoke the enemy. Nothing -could have been more ambitious than Miss Martineau's theme; but, when -she showed herself well qualified to handle it, no one had any -disposition to consider the choice unwomanly. Such criticisms are the -exponents of the century's experience. They betray the unconscious -drift of the public mind. A book is modest by the side of a pamphlet. -The former may wait its day: the latter aspires to immediate influence, -if it does any thing,--must mould the hour. It was once the chosen -weapon of Milton and Bolingbroke, later of Ward and Brougham. Is it -nothing, that a woman of advanced years, writing from an invalid's -chamber, feels herself competent to wield it? Was it nothing, when, by -her tracts on political economy, she gave an impulse to the middle -classes of her native land, for which busy political men could not find -time? - -Is it not Godwin who says that "human nature is better read in romance -than history"? Every actual life falls short of its ideal; but a poem -dares demand some approximation to its standard from the whole world. In -this way, "Aurora Leigh," into which Mrs. Browning confesses she has -thrown her whole heart, is a wonderful indication of human thought and -feeling. In this country, there are many significant signs of progress. -The name of Maria Mitchell in astronomy; of the women engaged in the -Coast Survey; of the professors at Antioch, Vassar, and Oberlin,--are -familiarly known, and have their own power. Only lately, a Nashua -factory-girl takes the highest honors at the Oread Institute; and its -principal is willing to put her and two other graduates into competition -with any three college graduates in New England for examination -according to the curriculum. When she finished the education she had -first earned the money to procure, she left her Worcester home, and, -with quiet right-mindedness, went back to Nashua to labor for an -indigent family. As she tends her loom on the Jackson Corporation, she -will have leisure to investigate her _right_ to these acquisitions. - -In support of this "exception," the superintendent of the New-York City -Schools, long ago, reported, that its female schools, whether by merit -of teachers or pupils or both, are of a much higher grade than the male -schools. Eighteen girls'-schools are superior, in average attainment, to -the very best boys'-school. He goes on to speak of the rapidity with -which women acquire knowledge, in terms which remind us of Margaret -Fuller, when she remarks of Dr. Channing, that it was not very pleasant -to read to him; "for," said she, "he takes in subjects more deliberately -than is conceivable to us feminine people, with our habits of ducking, -diving, or flying for truth." In speaking of her classes at Vassar -College, Miss Mitchell says (1865): "I have a class of seventeen pupils, -between the ages of sixteen and twenty-two. They come to me for fifty -minutes every day. I allow them great freedom in questioning, and I am -puzzled by them daily. They show more mathematical ability, and more -originality of thought, than I had expected. I doubt whether young men -would show as deep an interest. Are there seventeen students in Harvard -College who take mathematical astronomy, do you think?" - -At the session of the Michigan Legislature, held in 1857-8, petitions -were received, asking that women might be permitted to enjoy all the -advantages of the State University. The committee to whom the subject -was referred, took counsel with the older colleges at the East, whose -whole spirit and method is as much opposed to such an idea as that of -Oxford. The result was, that they reported against any change for the -present,--a report the more to be regretted, as Ann Arbor has a broader -University foundation than any institution within the limits of the -United States. The University has lately petitioned for a larger -endowment, and again an effort has been made to secure its advantages -for women; Theodore Tilton pleading before the committee in their -behalf, in February, 1867. We know of twenty-seven colleges in the -United States, open to men and women, of which Oberlin was the noble -pioneer.[6] - -The highest culture has been claimed for women: it has been shown, that, -for two centuries, the ideal of such a culture has existed, but has been -depressed by an erroneous public opinion. There has, however, been a -steady growth in the right direction, which entitles us to ask for a -"revised and corrected" public opinion. The influence of mental culture -is a small thing by the side of that insinuating atmospheric power and -the customs of society which it controls. All educated men and women, -all liberal souls, therefore, should do their utmost to invigorate -public opinion. To allow no weakness to escape us, to challenge every -falsehood as it passes, to brave every insinuation and sneer, is what -duty demands. Can you not bear to be called "women's-rights women"? To -whom has the name ever been agreeable? Society gives the lie to your -purest instincts, and you bear it. It calls the truths you accept hard -names, and you are dumb. It throws stones, and you shrink behind some -ragged social fence, leaving a few weak women to stand the assault -alone. - -What influence has the highest literary character of America, at this -moment, on the popular idea of women? "How much is there that we may not -say _aloud_," wrote Niebuhr to Savigny, "for fear of being stoned by the -stupid _good_ people!" and upon this principle the thinkers of our -society act; not a word escaping from their guarded homes to cheer the -more exposed workers. - -Prescott stabbed Philip II. to the heart without a qualm. Ticknor could -give a life to the romance of old Spain. Froude has defended Henry VIII. -Our best poets sing verses that enslave, since the song of beauty echoes -always among tropical delights. "Barbara Frietchie" alone has been -written for us. When George Curtis blows his clarion, a courtly throng -come at the call. We yield with the rest to the charm of the lips on -which Attic bees once clustered. What honor do we pay the fair -proportions of the simple truth? - -How can we settle questions of right and wrong for remote periods, -without knowing the faces of either in the street to-day? How shall any -one honor Margaret of Parma, and pity poor crazy Joan in Spain, and have -no heart for the heroism of Mary Patton? How unravel with patient study -the _tracasseries_ of Elizabeth Tudor and Mary Stuart, yet ignore the -complications of the life he himself lives? - -When Mary Patton had carried her ship round Cape Horn,--standing in a -parlor where the air was close, though the breezes that entered at its -open casement swept the Common as they came, a woman told, with newly -kindled enthusiasm, the story of that wonderful voyage. She gave her, in -warm words, her wifely and womanly due. "She saved the ship, God bless -her!" she said as she concluded; and another voice, that once was sweet, -responded, "More shame to her!" - -"'More shame to her!'" repeated the first speaker, as if she had been -struck a sudden blow; and turning quickly towards the girl, beautiful, -well educated, carefully reared, who, in the fulness of her twenty -summers, found time for church-going, for clothing the poor, for elegant -study, for every thing but sympathy,--"More shame!" she repeated: "What! -for saving life and property?"--"Better that they should all have gone -to the bottom," returned her friend, "than that one woman should step -out of her sphere!" Ah! the Infinite Father knows how to educate the -public opinion that we need. Now and then he lifts a woman, as he did -Mary Patton, against her will out of her ordinary routine; and, while -all the world gaze at her with tender sympathy, they half accept the -coming future. - -Does it sadden you, that we should repeat such words? They did not shock -the ears on which they fell; they met no farther rebuke than one -astonished question. Yet what did they represent? Not the public opinion -of Mary Patton. The New-York underwriters, when they voted her a -thousand dollars, were a fit gauge of that. It was the public opinion of -the "right of vocation" that the young girl unconsciously betrayed. -Harsh words die on our lips, as we think, "This girl's life is aimless. -_She_ would gladly do some noble work, but society does not help her. -She lacks courage to stand alone, and envies the very woman she -decries." - -"Public opinion is of slow growth," you retort: "do not charge its -corruptions on the people of to-day." - -The people of to-day are responsible for any corruptions which they do -not reject. - -We have seen that the standard of womanly education does not lead where -it should, because controlled by a public opinion which demands too -little. It becomes us here to investigate the origin of that public -opinion, and to ask the meaning of the lives which have been lived in -its despite. - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [1] This does not mean the supervision of father and mother, but that - into colleges, universities, medical schools, and whatever educational - institutions may be named, the controlling and protecting influence of - both sexes should be carried. I believe that every university should - have a cultivated and elegant woman (not necessarily the _wife_ of any - of its officers), whose duty it should be to preside over its social - life, and offer such allurements to virtuous pleasure that - gambling-houses and worse shall lose their present fascinations. If - young men could associate with virtuous and lovely women, under - suitable sanction, in their college life, they would not, in general, - go out of it in search of the vicious and unlovely. No one who lives - within three miles of a large university need doubt the meaning of - this paragraph. An age and a religious faith which discards the - cloister, should discard a cloisteral fashion, wherever it exists. - - [2] "Society offered her no welcome." I am very well aware that this - statement, taken with what I shall elsewhere indicate, will be - considered an exaggeration; but, with a somewhat wide and varied - experience of the United States and of Canada, I maintain it to be - true. I am not to say what is true in the eyes of others, but what is - true in my own. "What!" some one will exclaim, "education not a - passport to social honor! Where was there ever a country where the - teacher was respected as she is in New England?" Theoretically, this - is true; and I have known a few instances in New England, in which - teachers of private schools, of good family, successful in acquiring - wealth (not necessarily through their schools), kept an eminent social - position. Men generally keep a fair position; women, rarely. To test - the truth of this, let me press the question. To whom do we all, to - whom does the Commonwealth, owe a sacred debt, if not to the teachers - of the primary and the grammar schools? Among these women, I have - found some of the most delicate, high-bred, and cultivated women whom - I have ever known of the same age. Let any one who sees them collected - on public occasions glance at them, and judge; but, in cities at - least, these women are never in society. Their meagre salaries prevent - them from dressing as ladies must be dressed for a large company. For - the same reason, their boarding-places are obscure and lonely. The - middle class of artisans, &c., who send their children to the public - schools, seek no intercourse with those whose refinement seems to - isolate them; the upper class look down upon them very kindly, but - never think of inviting them to meet distinguished people, of showing - them rare books or pictures, of stimulating their worn-out faculties - in any way. Why do we not make these teachers our first care? Should - we not be more than repaid--if pay we must have--by the cheer and - comfort added to the schoolroom in which our children are to be - taught? I have tried the experiment of bringing these tired souls into - contact with those who ought to refresh them. It does marvellously - well, until the crucial question is asked, "Who is she?" If I answer, - "The teacher of a primary school," what a change of countenance, what - a fading of the cordial smile, what passive indifference! and this, in - cases where, in refinement and delicacy of manner, the young lady - might pass unchallenged anywhere. But let the subject of my experiment - be a girl of genius; with such cultivation only as a Normal School - could add to the education of a country home; deficient still in the - minor graces of deportment; too energetic and adventurous, perhaps, to - be elegant; and who will take a motherly interest in her, draw her - within the charmed circle where she shall learn to carry herself with - reserve and dignity, and to veil her flashing powers, that they may - warm where they have hitherto consumed? - - No: I do not exaggerate. I believe we are all concerned to know in - what sort of homes, under what influences, with what helps to health - and happiness, these lonely and isolated girls pass the hours when - they are not engaged in teaching. It concerns us, in the first place, - of course, because theirs are the direct influences which mould our - children; but I scorn that argument. It concerns us far more because - they are the children of the same Father, engaged in the most trying - of human vocations, and entitled as women, especially as unprotected - women, to the sympathy of all mothers. - - Some years ago, a lady not yet out of her teens, and suddenly reduced - in fortune, went to Virginia to teach. She had letters from persons of - distinction, who had known her in her early home. The letters were - delivered; but there the matter ended. But she was one of those - persons who make a place for themselves; and, after the neighborhood - grew proud of her, she was called down one day to meet the wife of a - lieutenant in the navy, to whom one of her letters had been addressed. - "I am sorry I have not called before," apologized the visitor; "but - there are so many of _these teachers_!" She had no time to say more: - the young girl's cheek kindled. "Madam," said she, springing to her - feet, "I desire no attention from you which would not under any - circumstances be accorded to your daughter's teacher;" and she left - the room. It is a matter of small importance, that, in this case, the - young teacher was soon placed in a position in which her good-will - became important to the lieutenant's wife. - - "This," you will say, "was at the South. It grew out of that spirit of - 'caste' which died with slavery." Is it indeed dead? Is there no - spirit of caste in Massachusetts? - - [3] Un Passo Avanti nella Cultura Femminile Fesi e Progetto di Anna - Maria Mozzoni Mitano. 1866. - - [4] I would gladly expunge the bitter reproof of these lines; but they - record a fact which occurred at a medical school, where such an - application was made, and must stand as history. - - [5] The three parts of this book have been made to conform to the - census and statistics of the year 1850. To bring them up to the year - 1860 would require a repetition of all the labor originally devoted to - the question. That would be unwise if it were possible, for it could - not alter the bearing of any statements; and it is not possible, - because we have now no certain values in America. I had from the first - intended to indicate in notes any important changes that had taken - place in this decade. I had earnestly hoped to be able to contradict - here the statements in the text in regard to medical opportunities for - women, and the proper training of sick nurses, in England. But my - English correspondents assure me that I have no occasion to change any - thing; that the facts remain substantially what they were when my - manuscript was written. - - "But," says some watchful woman, "has not Miss Garrett taken her - degree from Apothecaries' Hall? and have not a few women at least been - trained as sick nurses?" - - There is still no _institution_ for the training of sick nurses, as - the text asserts. Some few have been trained in hospitals and the - like, on conditions of service, or to supply the need of such - institutions themselves. How does the matter stand with Miss Garrett? - The press has made the most of her success: it lies with us to exhibit - the naked truth. After applying in vain to the various medical - colleges, Miss Garrett went to Apothecaries' Hall. Here they refused - her; but she looked up their charter. She found the word indicating to - whom degrees should be granted indeterminate, with no character of sex - attached to it. Lawyers told her the hall must grant her a degree, or - surrender its charter. She was wealthy, and in earnest. She pushed her - advantage. "The Apothecaries' Hall" prescribed certain courses of - instruction to be pursued and certified before the degree could be - granted. These she pursued in private, paying the most exorbitant - rates for her instruction. In one instance, for a course of lectures, - to which a man's fee would have been _five_ guineas, she paid _fifty_; - and I am credibly informed that the round cost of these preparatory - steps must have amounted to two thousand pounds. All honor to Miss - Garrett! Should her genius as a physician equal her energy and her - wealth, she may gain something for the cause she has espoused, by the - honor and consideration she will win for her sex. Apart from this, it - will be seen, she has gained nothing. Bribery is not possible to - ordinary mortals; and the conditions of the degree, in the present - state of public feeling, would make it wholly impracticable. - - The case, as it has been stated to us, is an exemplification, on a - gigantic scale, of all that we complain of; and proves our statement, - that women have not won an education for themselves, till they win - with it its legitimate results. For their opportunities as things now - stand, all over the world, women pay a premium on the terms offered to - men. Let them take these opportunities as tools, and try to win their - bread with them, and the wages offered are, as a rule, a large - discount on those offered to men. Political economy has nothing to do - with the exceptional cases in which this is most evident,--only the - common, habitual idea, that the wages of women must be kept down; and - that, to do it, the value of superior labor must not be recognized, as - in the case of the female teacher quoted in the text. - - In the Report of St. Mary's Dispensary for Women and Children, in - Marylebone, I find Miss Elizabeth Garrett mentioned as the General - Medical Attendant. The Devonshire-square Nursing Institute, - established, I think, by Mrs. Fry, twenty years ago, sends out nurses - on the request of clergymen. Several sisters give their whole time to - it. - - King's College pays one thousand pounds annually for nurses to St. - John's Home. - - St. Thomas's Hospital, where nurses are being trained by the - Nightingale fund, rejected fifty applications in six months. - - The excitement in England has had a wholesome effect upon colonial - action. The East-Indian Government has lately given Lady Canning - twenty thousand rupees, to assist in building a home for the Calcutta - Nurses' Institute; and a movement is making in India to educate native - women as physicians. See, in the Appendix, the account of Miss - Nightingale's School for Nurses in Liverpool. - - Since the above was written, in January, 1867, three ladies have taken - their degrees at Apothecaries' Hall, having passed a good examination, - in Euclid, arithmetic, English history, and Latin. The _cost_ of these - degrees has not transpired. - - [6] See Appendix. - - - - -II. - -HOW PUBLIC OPINION IS MADE. - - "A governed thought, thinking no thought but good, - Makes crowded houses, holy solitude." - _Sanscrit Book of Good Counsels._ - - -The existing public opinion with regard to woman has been formed by the -influence of heathen ages and institutions, kept up by a mistaken study -of the classics,--a study so pursued, that Athens and Rome, Aristophanes -and Juvenal, are more responsible for the popular views of woman, and -for the popular mistakes in regard to man's position toward her, than -any thing that has been written later. - -This influence pervades all history; and so the study of history -becomes, in its turn, the source of still greater and more specious -error, except to a few rare and original minds, whose eccentricities -have been pardoned to their genius, but who have never influenced the -world to the extent that they have been influenced by it. - -The adages or proverbs of all nations are the outgrowths of their first -attempts at civilization. They began at a time which knew neither -letter-paper nor the printing-press; and they perpetuate the rudest -ideas, such as are every way degrading to womanly virtue. The influence -of general literature is impelled by the mingled current. For many -centuries, it was the outgrowth of male minds only, of such as had been -drilled for seven years at least into all the heathenisms of which we -speak. - -Women, when they first began to work, followed the masculine idea, -shared the masculine culture. As a portion of general literature, the -novel, as the most popular, exerts the widest sway. No educational -influence in this country compares with it; even that of the pulpit -looks trivial beside it. There are thousands whom that influence never -reaches; hardly one who cannot beg or buy a newspaper, with its story by -some "Sylvanus Cobb." - -From the first splash of the Atlantic on a Massachusetts beach to the -farthest cañon which the weary footsteps of the Mormon women at this -moment press; from the shell-bound coast of Florida, hung with garlands -of orange and lime, to the cold, green waters of Lake Superior, in their -fretted chalice of copper and gold,--the novel holds its way. On the -railroad, at the depot, in the Irish hut, in the Indian lodge, on the -steamer and the canal-boat, in the Fifth-avenue palace, and the -Five-Points den of infamy, its shabby livery betrays the work that it is -doing. - -Until very lately, it has kept faith with history and the classics; but -it is passing more and more into the hands of women,--of late into the -hands of noble and independent women; and there are signs which indicate -that it may soon become a potent influence of redemption. It has thus -far done infinite harm, by drawing false distinctions between the -masculine and feminine elements of human nature, and perpetuating, -through the influence of genius often _intensifying_, the educational -power of a false theory of love. - -Social customs follow in the train of literature; and sometimes in -keeping with popular errors, but oftener in stern opposition to them, -are the lives and labors of remarkable individuals of both sexes,--lives -that show, if they show nothing else, how much the resolute endeavor of -one noble heart may do towards making real and popular its own -convictions. - -The influence of newspapers sustains, of course, the general current -derived from all these sources. - -Public opinion, then, flows out of these streams,--out of classical -literature, history, general reading, and the proverbial wisdom of all -lands; out of social conventions, and customs and newspapers. These -streams set one way. Only individual influences remain, to stem their -united force. - -We must treat of them more at length, and first of the classics. Until -very lately, there were no proper helps to the study of Egyptian, Greek, -or Roman mythology. It was studied by the letter, and made to have more -or less meaning, according to the teacher who interpreted it. Lemprière -had no room for moral deductions or symbolic indications; his columns -read like a criminal report in the "New-York Herald." The Egyptian -mythology was, doubtless, an older off-shoot from the same stem. Many of -its ceremonies, its symbols, and its idols, must be confused by the -uninstructed mind with realities of the very lowest, perhaps we should -not be far wrong if we said, of the most revolting stamp. The Greek -classics, so far as I know them, present a singular mixture of -influences; but, where woman is concerned, the lowest certainly -preponderate. We should be sorry to lose Homer and Æschylus, Herodotus, -Thucydides, and Xenophon, from our library; but of how many poets and -dramatists, from the few fragments of Pindar and Anacreon down through -the tragic poets,--down, very far down, indeed, to Aristophanes,--can we -say as much? - -There need be no doubt about Aristophanes. The world would be the purer, -and all women grateful, if every copy of his works, and every coarse -inference from them, could be swept out of existence to-morrow. When we -find a _noble picture_ in Xenophon, it had a noble original, like -Panthea in Persia, as old perhaps as that fine saying in the Heetopades -which all the younger Veds disown. When we find an _ignoble thought_, it -seems to have been born out of his Greek experience. Transported by a -fair ideal, Plato asks, in his "Republic," "Should not this sex, which -we condemn to obscure duties, be destined to functions the most noble -and elevated?" But it was only to take back the words in his "Timæus," -and in the midst of a society that refused to let the wife sit at table -with the husband, and whose young wives were not "tame" enough to speak -to their husbands, if we may believe the words of Xenophon, until after -months of marriage. When Iscomachus, the model of an Athenian husband, -and the friend of Socrates, asked his wife if she knew whether he had -married her for love, "I know nothing," she replied, "but to be faithful -to you, and to learn what you teach." He responded by an exhortation on -"_staying at home_," which has come down to posterity, and left her, -with a kiss, for the saloon of Aspasia! Pindar and Anacreon, even when -they find no better representatives than Dr. Wolcott and Tom Moore, -still continue to crown the wine-cup, and impart a certain grace to -unmanly orgies. A late French writer goes so far as to call Euripides "a -woman-hater, who could not pardon Zeus for having made woman an -indispensable agent in the preservation of the species." In his -portraits of Iphigenia and Macaria, Euripides follows his conception of -_heroic_, not human nature. They are demi-goddesses; yet how are their -white robes stained! - -Iphigenia says,-- - - "More than a thousand women is one man - Worthy to see the light of day;" - -a sentiment which has prevailed ever since. - - "Silence and a chaste reserve - Is woman's genuine praise, and to remain - Quiet within the house," - -proceeds Macaria, and still farther:-- - - "Of prosperous future could I form - One cheerful hope? - A poor forsaken virgin who would deign - To take in marriage? Who would wish for sons - From one so wretched? Better, then, to die - Than bear such undeservèd miseries!" - -Here is the popular idea which curses society to-day,--no vocation -possible to woman, if she may not be a wife, and bear children: and -these are favorable specimens; they show the practical tendencies of the -very best of Euripides. The heroic portions are like Miriam's song, and -have nothing to do with us and our experiences. - -In speaking of Aristophanes, I do not speak ignorantly. I know how much -students consider themselves indebted to him for details of manners and -customs, for political and social hints, for a sort of Dutch school of -pen-painting. - -But if a nation's life be so very vile, if crimes that we cannot name -and do not understand be among its amusements, why permit the record to -taint the mind and inflame the imagination of youth? Why put it with our -own hands into the desks of those in no way prepared to use it? Would -you have wit and humor? Sit down with Douglas Jerrold, or to the genial -table spread by our Boston Autocrat, and you will have no relish left -for the coarse fare of the Athenian. One of the most vulgar assaults -ever made upon the movement to elevate woman in this country was made in -a respectable quarterly by a Greek scholar. It was sustained by -quotations from Aristophanes, and concluded by copious translations from -one of his liveliest plays, offered as a specimen of the "riot and -misrule" that we ambitious women were ready to inaugurate. Coarser words -still our Greek scholar might have taken from the same source to -illustrate his theory. He knew very well that the nineteenth century -would bear hints, insinuations, sneers, any thing but plain speaking. We -have limits: he observed them, and forbore. Women sometimes talk of -Aristophanes as if they had read his plays with pleasure; a thing for -which we can only account by supposing that they do not take the whole -significance of what they read,--and this is often the case with men. -But a college furnishes helps. The mysteries of the well-thumbed English -key are translated afresh into what we may call "college slang," -illustrated oftentimes by clever if vulgar caricatures, where a few -significant lines tell in a moment what a pure mind would have pondered -years without perceiving; and if, perchance, some modest woman finds her -friend or lover at this work, society says only: "You should not have -touched the young man's book. What harm for him to amuse himself?--only -women should never find it out! Keep them pure, no matter what becomes -of men. What business had you to know the meaning of those pencil -marks?" - -Even St. John does not hesitate to condemn Aristophanes.[7] "With an art -in which Shakespeare was no mean proficient," he begins, "he opens up a -more culpable source of interest in the frequent satire of vices -condemned as commonly as they are practised. He unveils the mysteries of -iniquity with a fearless and by no means an unreluctant hand. He -ventures fearlessly on themes which few before or since have touched, -despising the stern condemnation of posterity. He evidently shared in -the worst corruptions of his age, and, like many other satirists, -availed himself joyfully of the mask of satire to entertain his own -imagination with his own descriptions. No one, with the least -clear-sightedness or candor, can fail to perceive the depraved moral -character of Aristophanes. Only less filthy than Rabelais, his fancy -runs riot among the moral jakes and common sewers of the world, over -which, by consummate art and the matchless magic of his style, he -contrives unhappily to breathe a fragrance which should never be found -save where virtue is." - -When I first took up my pen, knowing well that I should speak of -Margaret Fuller's beloved Greeks in a tone somewhat different from hers, -I did not know that I should have the sympathy of a single eminent -scholar. - -It was with no common pleasure, therefore, that, opening her Life at -random, one day, I chanced upon these words from her own pen. She is -speaking of a class of private pupils:-- - -"I have always thought all that was said about the anti-religious -tendency of a classical education to be 'auld wives' tales.' But the -puzzles (of my pupils) about Virgil's notions of heaven and virtue, and -his gracefully described gods and goddesses, have led me to alter my -opinions; and I suspect, from reminiscences of my own mental history, -that, if all teachers do not think the same, it is from the want of an -intimate knowledge of their pupils' minds. I really find it difficult to -keep their _morale_ steady, and am inclined to think many of my own -sceptical sufferings are traceable to this source. I well remember what -reflections arose in my childish mind from a comparison of the Hebrew -history, where every moral obliquity is shown out with such _naïveté_, -and the Greek history, full of sparkling deeds and brilliant sayings, -and their gods and goddesses, the types of beauty and power, with the -dazzling veil of flowery language and poetical imagery cast over their -vices and failings."[8] - -We may be permitted also to quote, from the competent pen of Buckle, the -following words:-- - -"We have only to open the Greek literature," he says, in his lecture on -"The Condition of Women," "to see with what airs of superiority, with -what serene and lofty contempt, with what mocking and biting scorn, -women were treated by that lively and ingenious people, who looked upon -them _merely as toys_." - -Alas! we need no prophet to show that what pollutes the mind of youth -and lover, by polluting the ideal of society, must soon pollute the mind -of maiden and mistress. Is that a Christian country which permits this -style of thinking? and how many men of the world accept the stainless -virginity of Christ as the world's pattern of highest manliness? - -Passing from Greece to Rome, you will see that even as we owe to Roman -law, before the time of Justinian, almost all that is obnoxious in the -English, retaining still the strange old Latin terms which were applied -to our relations in a very barbarous state of society; so we owe to the -time of Augustus, to the influence of satirists like Horace and Juvenal, -almost all the wide-spread heresies in regard to human nature: if we had -but time to look at it, we might say Calvinism among the rest. - -The views of women are still lower. Cæsar and Cicero may be abstract -nullities to our young student; but what can he learn from Ovid? It is -not delicate to name the "Art of Love." In simple, honest truth, it is -the same to read the Metamorphoses. You cannot ventilate a gross man's -atmosphere; all the Betsy Trotwoods must toss their cushions on the lawn -when he leaves the room. It is the old difference between "Don Juan" and -"Childe Harold," only less. In the first, the unvarnished play of -passion may disgust you until it instructs; in the second, you have the -despairing misanthropy, the false philosophy, the devil in Gabriel's own -garment, which is always fascinating to the young, morbid with the -stimulus of growth, and which you might mistake for piety if you did not -know it was born of the lassitude left by excess. - -Latin mythology was but the corruption of the older types. What was -beauty once became here undisguised coarseness or worse. The gods who -once endured sin now patronized and made money by it. These things are -not without their influence. Above all, low images, witty slang, and -sharp satire, have force beyond their own, when slowly studied out by -the help of the lexicon. The women to whom I speak know this very well. -They know that the Molière, the Dante, the Schiller, studied at school, -are never forgotten. They smile to hear men call them hard to read: for -them they glow with clear and significant meaning. Striking passages are -indelibly impressed by associations of time or place or page, which can -never be forgotten. _I would not put an end to classical study; I would -only direct attention, through such remarks, to the dangers attendant on -the present manner of study. Classical teachers should not be chosen for -their learning alone. No Lord Chesterfield should teach manners, but -some one whose daily "good morning" is precious. So no coarse, -low-minded man should interpret Greek or Roman, but some noble soul, not -indifferent to social progress, capable of discriminating, and of -letting in a little Christian light upon those pagan times._ Where men -and women are taught together, this thing settles itself; and this is a -very strong argument for institutions like Antioch and Oberlin. - -Then might the period passed at the Latin school and the college become -of the greatest moral and intellectual use. Then would no graduating -students run the risk of hearing from their favorite doctor of -divinity, instead of sound scriptural exhortation, some doctrine whisked -out of Epicurus, by a clever but unconscious _leger-de-plume_. - -Do not tell us, O excellent man! that you have gone through all this -training, and come out with your soul unstained. We look at you, and see -a temperament cold as ice, passions and imagination that were never at a -blood-heat since you were born, that never translated the cold paper -image into the warm deed of your conscious mental life; and you shall -not answer for us, nor for our children. - -In leaving this branch of our subject to be more fitly pursued by -others, we ought to add that mental purity is not enough insisted upon -for either sex. It is only by the greatest faithfulness from the -beginning in this respect that we become capable of "touching pitch" at -a mature age, in a way to benefit either ourselves or the community. How -desirable it is to keep the young eye steadily gazing at the light till -it feels all that is lost in darkness, to keep the atmosphere serene and -holy till the necessary conflicts of life begin! For such a dayspring to -existence no price could be too high; and, if _desirable_ to all, it is -_essential_ to those who inherit degrading tendencies. - -We must speak now of history. For the most part, it has been written by -men devoid of intentional injustice to the sex; but, when a man sits in -a certain light, he is penetrated by its color, as the false shades in -our omnibuses strike the fairest bloom black and blue. If the positive -knowledge and Christian candor of the nineteenth century cannot compel -Macaulay to confess that he has libelled the name of William Penn, what -may be expected of the mistakes occasioned by the ignorance, the -inadvertence, or the false theories of the past? Clearly that they also -will remain uncorrected. - -If men start with the idea that woman is an inferior being, incapable of -wide interests, and created for their pleasure alone; if they enact laws -and establish customs to sustain these views; if, for the most part, -they shut her into hareems, consider her so dangerous that she may not -walk the streets without a veil,--they will write history in accordance -with such views, and, whatever may be the facts, they will be -interpreted to suit them. They will dwell upon the lives which their -theories explain: they will touch lightly or ignore those that puzzle -them. We shall hear a great deal of Cleopatra and Messalina, of the -mother of Nero and of Lucretia Borgia, of Catharine de Medicis and Marie -Stuart, of the beautiful Gabrielle and Ninon de L'Enclos. They will tell -us of bloody Mary, and that royal coquette, Elizabeth; and possibly of -some saints and martyrs, not too grand in stature to wear the -strait-jacket of their theories. - -If they think that purity is required of woman alone, and all license -permitted to man, they will value female chastity for the service it -does poetry and the state, but never maidenhood devoted to noble uses -and conscious of an immortal destiny. - -Hypatia of Alexandria, noble and queenly, so queenly that those who did -not understand, dared not libel her,--Hypatia, a woman of intellect so -keen and grasping, that she would have been eminent in the nineteenth -century, and may be met in the circles of some future sphere, erect and -calm, by the side of our own Margaret Fuller,--she, who died a stainless -virgin, torn in pieces by dogs, because she tried to shelter some -wretched Jews from Christian wrath, and could even hold her -Neo-Platonism a holier thing than that disgraced Christianity,--what do -we know of her? Only the little which the letters of Synesius preserve, -only the testimony borne by a few Christians, fathers of the Church -_now_, but outlawed _then_ by the popular grossness! Yet, a pure and -fragrant waif from the dark ocean of that past, her name was permitted -to float down to us, till Kingsley caught it, and, with the -unscrupulousness of the advocate, _stained_ it to serve his purpose.[9] - -It would have been no matter, had not genius set its seal on the work, -and so made it doubtful whether history has any Hypatia left. We must -not fail to utter constant protest against such unfairness; and to -assert again and again, that not a single weakness or folly attributed -to Hypatia by the novelist--neither the worship of Venus Anadyomene nor -the prospective marriage with the Roman governor, neither the -superstitious fears, the ominous self-conceit, nor the half conscious -personal ambition--is in the least sustained by the facts of history. -She was pure and stainless: let us see to it that such memories are -rescued. - -And there is still another name, deeply wronged by the prejudice and -party spirit of the past, which it is quite possible to redeem: I mean -that of Aspasia. For many centuries, the very sound of it suggested an -image of all womanly grace and genius, devoid of womanly virtue; the -insight of a seer, the eloquence of an orator, but the voluptuousness of -a courtesan. Very lately, the manly justice of Thirlwall and Grote, and -the exquisite taste and imagination of Walter Savage Landor, have -striven to repair the wrong. Her reputation fell a victim to the gross -puns of Aristophanes, himself the hired mouth-piece of a political party -that hated her, and whose misrepresentations were so contemptible in the -eyes of Pericles, that he would not interfere to prevent them. - -Would you have the history of that immortal marriage written truly? - -Imagine the Greek ruler married, for some years, to a woman of the -noblest Athenian blood, already the mother of two children, but one who, -if irreproachable in conduct, was utterly incapable of taking in the -scope of his plans, or sharing his lofty, adventurous thought. After -years of weariness passed in her society, with no rest for his heart and -no inspiration for his genius, there came to Athens a woman and a -foreigner, in whom he found his peer,--a woman who gathered round her -in a moment all that there was of free and noble in that world of -poetry, statesmanship, and art. She was from the islands of the -Archipelago, and, like the women of her country, walked the streets with -her face unveiled. - -Hardly had she come, before Socrates and Plato, and Anaxagoras the pure -old man, became her frequent guests, and honored her with the name of -friend. In such a society, Pericles saw that his own soul would grow; so -sustained, he should be more for Athens and himself. He was no Christian -to deny himself for the sake of that unhappy wife and children,--a wife -whose discontent had already infected the state. The gods he knew--Zeus -and Eros--smiled on the step he took. What if the laws of Athens forbade -a legal marriage with a foreigner? Pericles was Athens; and what he -respected, all men must honor. Aspasia had, so far as we know, a free -maiden heart; and Pericles shows us in what light he regarded her, by -divorcing his wife to consolidate their union, and subsequently forcing -the courts to legitimate her child. Had he omitted these proofs of his -own sincerity and her honor, not a voice would have been raised against -either. What need to take these steps, if she were the woman -Aristophanes would have us see? - -This divorce created or strengthened the political opposition to -Pericles. This opposition was headed by his two sons and their forsaken -mother, joined by the pure Athenian blood to which theirs was akin, and -gained all its strength and popularity from the wit and falsehood of -Aristophanes and the players. - -Follow the story as it goes, and see Aspasia, at last, summoned before -the Areopagus. What are the charges against her? The very same that were -preferred against her friends, Socrates and Anaxagoras. "She walks the -streets unveiled, she sits at the table with men, she does not believe -in the Greek gods, she talks about one sole Creator, she has original -ideas about the motions of the sun and moon; _therefore_ her society -corrupts youth." Not a word about vice of any sort. Is it for abandoned -women that the best men of any age are willing to entreat before a -senate? The tears which Pericles shed then for Aspasia glitter like gems -on the historic page. - -When the plague came, his first thought was for her safety; and, after -his death, her name shares the retirement of her widowed life. There was -a rumor that she afterward married a rich grazier, whom she raised to -eminence in the state. Not unlikely that such a rumor might grow in the -minds of those who had not forgotten the great men _she_ made, when they -saw the success of Lysicles; but other authors assert that his wife was -the Aspasia who was also known as a midwife in Athens. - -It is a noble picture, it seems to me; and when we consider the -prejudice of a Christian age and country, the mob that a Bloomer skirt -will attract in our own cities, we need not wonder that slander followed -an unveiled face in Athens. - -What do we know of the women of the age of Augustus?--of the galaxy that -spanned the sky of Louis XIV.? - -Do you remember, as you read of those crowds of worthless women, what -sort of public opinion educated them,--what sort of public opinion such -histories tend to form? Do you ever ask any questions concerning the men -of the same eras,--how they employed their time, and what part they took -in those games of wanton folly? It is time that some one should: and I -cannot help directing your attention to the significant fact, that while -the word "mistress," applied to a woman, serves at once to mark her out -for reprobation, there is no corresponding term, which, applied to man, -produces the same effect; and this because the interests of the state -are still paramount to the interests of the soul itself. - -In speaking of the court of Charles II., Dr. William Alexander says, in -1799: "Its _tone_ ruined all women: they were either adored as angels, -or degraded to brute beasts. The satirists, who immediately arose, -despised what they had themselves created, and gave the character to -every line that has since been written concerning women," down to the -verses of Churchill, and that often-quoted, well-remembered line of -Pope, with which we need not soil our lips. - -We may quote here a criticism upon the "Cinq-Mars" of Alfred de Vigny, -taken from Lady Morgan's "France." You will find it especially -interesting, because it bears on what has been suggested of the -influence of history, and may be compared with a portion of one of -Margaret Fuller's letters, in which she criticises the same work, and -makes, in her own way, parallel reflections. - -"I dipped also," says Lady Morgan, "into the 'Cinq-Mars' of Alfred de -Vigny, a charming production. It gives the best course of practical -politics, in its exposition of the miseries and vices incidental to the -institutions of the middle ages. Behold Richelieu and Louis XIII. in the -plenitude of their bad passions and unquestioned power, when-- - - 'Torture interrogates and Pain replies.' - -Behold, too, their victims,--Urbain, Grandier, De Thou, Cinq-Mars, and -the long, heart-rending list of worth, genius, and innocence immolated. -With such pictures in the hands of the youth of France, it is impossible -they should retrograde. How different from the works of Louis XV.'s -days, when the Marivaux, Crebillons, and Le Clos wrote for the especial -corruption of that society from whose profligacy they borrowed their -characters, incidents, and morals! Men would not now dare to name, in -the presence of virtuous women, works which were once in the hands of -every female of rank in France,--works which, like the novels of -Richardson, had the seduction of innocence for their story, and witty -libertinism and triumphant villany for their principal features. - -"With such a literature, it was almost a miracle that one virtuous woman -or one honest man was left in the country to create that revolution -which was to purify its pestiferous atmosphere. Admirable for its -genius, this work is still more so for its honesty." - -In the praise given to this new literature is implied the censure passed -upon the old. Of direct educational literature, we may say, that all -writers, from Rousseau to Gregory, Fordyce, and the very latest in our -own country, have exercised an enervating influence over public opinion, -and helped to form the popular estimate of female ability. Rousseau's -influence is still powerful. Let me quote from his "Emilius:" -"Researches into abstract and speculative truths, the principles and -axioms of science,--in short, every thing which tends to generalize -ideas,--is out of the province of woman. All her ideas should be -directed to the _study of men_. As to works of genius, they are beyond -her capacity. She has not precision enough to succeed in accurate -science; and physical knowledge belongs to those who are most active and -most _inquisitive_." - -Alas for Mary Somerville, Janet Taylor, and Maria Mitchell, as well as -for the popular idea that women are a _curious_ sex! He goes on: "Woman -should have the skill to incline _us_ to do every thing which her sex -will not enable her to do of herself. She should learn to penetrate the -real sentiments of men, and should have the art to communicate those -which are most agreeable to them, without _seeming to intend it_." - -This sounds somewhat barefaced; but it is the model of all the advice -which society is still giving. It is refreshing to catch the first gleam -of something better from the author of "Sandford and Merton." "If -women," says Mr. Day, "are in general feeble both in body and mind, it -arises less from nature than from education. We encourage a vicious -indolence and inactivity, which we falsely call delicacy. Instead of -hardening their minds by the severer principles of reason and -philosophy, we breed them to useless arts which terminate in vanity or -sensuality. They are taught nothing but idle postures and foolish -accomplishments." Dr. Gregory recommends dissimulation. Dr. Fordyce -advises women to increase their power by reserve and coldness! When we -hear of the educational restraints still exercised, of the innocent -amusements forbidden, the compositions which may be written, but not -read, lest the young girl might some time become the lecturer,--we -cannot but feel that the step is not so very long from that time and -country to this, and wonder at the folly which still refuses to trust -the laws of God to a natural development. It is mortifying, too, to -listen to the silly rhapsodies of Madame de Staël. "Though Rousseau has -endeavored," she says, "to prevent women from interfering in public -affairs, and acting a brilliant part in political life, yet, in speaking -of them, how much has he done it to _their satisfaction_! If he wished -to deprive them of some rights foreign to their sex, how has he for ever -asserted for them all those to which it has a claim! What signifies -it," she continues, "that his reason disputes with them for empire, -while his heart is still devotedly theirs?" - -What signifies it? It signifies a great deal. It signifies all the -difference between life in a solitary seraglio, and life with God's -world for an inheritance; all the difference between being the worn-out -toy of one sensualist, and the inspiration of an unborn age; all the -difference between the butterfly and the seraph, between the imprisoned -nun and Longfellow's sweet St. Philomel. When we read these words, we -thank Margaret Fuller for the very criticism which once moved a girlish -ire. "De Staël's name," she wrote, "was not clear of offence; she could -not forget the woman in the thought. Sentimental tears often dimmed her -eagle glance." What a grateful contrast to all such sentimentalism do we -find in Margaret's own sketch of the early life of Miranda! - -"This child was early led to feel herself a child of the spirit. She -took her place easily in the world of mind. A dignified sense of -self-dependence was given as all her portion, and she found it a sure -anchor. Her relations with others were fixed with equal security. With -both men and women they were noble; affectionate without passion, -intellectual without coldness. The world was free to her, and she lived -freely in it. Outward adversity came, and inward conflict; but that -self-respect had early been awakened, which must always lead at last to -an outward security and an inward peace." Here is the great difficulty -in the education of woman, to lead her to a point from which she shall -naturally develop self-respect, and learn self-help. Old prejudices -extinguish her as an individual, oblige her to renounce the inspiration -in herself, and yield to all the weaknesses and wickednesses of man. -Look at Chaucer's beau-ideal of a wife in the tale of Griselda, dwindled -now into the patient Grissel of modern story. In her a woman is -represented as perfect, because she ardently and constantly loved a -monster who gained her by guile, and brutally abused her. Put the matter -into plain English, and see if you would respect such a woman now. No: -and therefore is it somewhat sad, that, in Tennyson's new Idyll, he must -recreate this ideal in the Enid of Geraint; and that, out of four -pictures of womanly love, only one seems human and natural, and that, -the guilty love of Guinevère. The recently awakened interest in the -position of woman is flooding the country with books relating to her and -her sphere. They have, their _very titles_ have, an immense educational -influence. Let me direct your attention to one published in Boston by a -leading house last winter, and entitled "Remarkable Women of Different -Ages and Nations." Let us read the names of the thirteen women with -whose lives it seeks to entertain the public:-- - - Beatrice Cenci, the parricide. - Charlotte Corday, the assassin. - Joanna Southcote, the English prophetess. - Jemima Wilkinson, the American prophetess. - Madame Ursinus, the poisoner. - Madame Göttfried, the poisoner. - Mademoiselle Clairon, the actress. - Harriet Mellon, the actress. - Madame Lenormand, the fortune-teller. - Angelica Kauffman, the artist. - Mary Baker, the impostor. - Pope Joan, the pontiff. - Joan of Arc, the warrior. - -Look at the list! Assassins, parricides, and poisoners, fortune-tellers, -and actresses! Let us hope they will always remain _remarkable_! In this -list we have the name of one woman who never lived, and of four at least -who in this country would owe all their celebrity to the police court; -and this while history pants to be delivered of noble lives not known at -all, like the women of the House of Montefeltro, or little known, like -the pure and heroic wife of Condé, Clemence de Maillé. And by what black -art, let us ask, are such names as Beatrice, and Charlotte Corday, sweet -Joan of Arc, and dear Angelica Kauffman, a noble woman, whose happiness -was wrecked upon a fiendish jest, juggled into this list? As well might -you put Brutus who killed great Cæsar, and Lucretia of spotless fame, -and Andrea del Sarto who loved a faithless wife, into the same category. -Such association, however false, helps to educate the popular mind. - -Of the power of adages, and that barbaric experience and civilization of -which they are generally the exponent, we might write volumes; but the -subject must be dismissed in this connection without a word. We must -pass on to consider the force of social instincts and prejudices which -underlie this general literature, and are as much stronger than it as -the character of a man is stronger than his intellectual quality. A -lecturer once said, "that the first prejudice which women have to -encounter is one which exists before they are born, which leads fathers -instinctively to look forward to the birth of sons, and to leave little -room in their happy or ambitious schemes for the coming of a daughter." -Not long since, a highly educated Englishman told me that this remark -smote him to the heart. "I never expected to have any thing but a son," -he declared; "and, when my little Minnie was born, I had made no -preparation for her. I had neither a thought nor a scheme at her -service." - -Fanny Wright, in some essays published thirty years ago, says, "There -are some parents who take one step in duty, and halt at the second. Our -sons," they say, "will have to exercise political rights, and fill -public offices. We must help them to whatever knowledge there is going, -and make them as sharp-witted as their neighbors. As for our daughters, -they can never be any thing; in fact, they are nothing. We give them to -their mothers, who will take them to church and dancing-school, and, -with the aid of fine clothes, fit them out for the market. - -"But," she goes on to say, "let possibilities be what they will, no man -has a _right_ to calculate on them for his sons. He has only to consider -them as human beings, and insure them a full development of all the -faculties which belong to them as such. So, as respects his daughters, -he has nothing to do with the injustice of law, nor the absurdities of -society. His duty is plain,--to train them up as human beings, to seek -for them, and with them, all just knowledge. Who among _men_ contend -best with the difficulties of life and society,--the strong-minded or -the weak, the wise or the foolish? Who best control and mould opposing -circumstances,--the educated or the ignorant? What is true of them is -true of women also." - -In the customs of nations, women find the most discouraging educational -influences. While with us these customs all set one way, they are easily -broken through by the untutored races, who still rely on the force of -their primal instincts. When Captain Wallis went to see the Queen of -Otaheite, a marsh which crossed the way proved a formidable obstacle to -the puny Anglo-Saxon. No sooner did the queen perceive it, than, taking -him up as if he were a meal-bag, she threw him over her shoulder, and -strode along. Nobody smiled; even Captain Wallis does not appear to have -felt mortified. These people were accustomed to the physical strength of -their queen. It would be well if civilized nations could imitate them, -far enough at least to remember, that wherever strength, whether mental -or physical, is found, _there_ it certainly belongs. - -In Peru and the Formosa Isles, it is the women who choose their -husbands, and not the men who choose their wives; and, from the moment -of marriage, the man takes up his abode in his wife's family. Lord of -creation in every other respect, he still owes to her whatever social -standing and privileges he may possess. Such an exception is valueless, -save that it shows us that sex does not absolutely, of itself, determine -such customs. - -The African kings are permitted to have many wives; but they respect the -chastity of women, and require it. Dr. Livingstone tells us of an -instance in which the royal succession finally lapsed upon a woman. Her -counsellors forbade her to marry a single husband, telling her that it -would create jealousies and divisions in the tribe. She must follow the -royal custom. But pure womanly nature spoke louder than the counsellors. -The poor queen renounced marriage altogether, and associated a -half-brother in the government, upon whose children she settled the -succession. Let this beautiful fact shame those coward souls who fear to -trust to the instinctive purity of the sex. - -He goes on to state, in a recent letter, that he has found nothing more -remarkable, among the highly intelligent tribes of the Upper Sambesi, -than the respect universally accorded to women. - -"Many of the tribes are governed by a female chief. If you demand any -thing of a man," remarks the intrepid explorer, "he replies, 'I will -talk with my wife about it.' If the woman consents, your demand is -granted. If she refuse, you will receive a negative reply. Women vote in -all the public assemblies. Among the Bushwanas and Kaffirs, the men -swear by their fathers; but among the veritable Africans, occupying the -centre of the continent, they always swear by their mother. If a young -man falls in love with a maiden of another village, he leaves his own, -and takes up his dwelling in hers. He is obliged to provide in part for -the maintenance of his mother-in-law, and to assume a respectful -attitude, a sort of semi-kneeling, in her presence. I was so much -astonished at all these marks of respect for women, that I inquired of -the Portuguese if such had always been the habit of the country. They -assured me that such had always been the case." - -If women were unwise managers of money,--a statement frequently made, -but which we may safely deny,--it would be owing to the custom which -has, through long ages, put the purse in the hands of "their master;" a -custom so old, that to "husband" one's resources is a phrase which -expresses man's pecuniary responsibility, and is always equivalent to -locking one's money up. "It will be time enough," says Mrs. Kirkland, -"to expect from woman a just economy when she is permitted to -distribute a portion of the family resources. Witness those proud -subscription-lists where one reads, 'Mr. B., twenty dollars;' and, just -below, 'Mrs. B., ten dollars,'--which ten dollars Mrs. B. never saw, and -would ask for in vain to distribute for her own pleasure." - -And this custom has such educational force, that very liberal men refuse -the smallest pecuniary independence to their wives to their very dying -day. "The Turk does not lock up his wife with more care than the -Christian his strong box. To that lock there is ever but one key, and -that the master carries in his pocket. The case is not altered when the -wife is about to close her weary eyes in death. She may have earned or -inherited or saved the greater part of their common property, but -without his consent she cannot bequeath a dollar." This passage reminds -us of a criticism on the marriage service attributed to Sir John -Bowring. This eccentric man considers it wicked from beginning to end. -"Look at it," he says: "'with this ring I thee wed,'--that's sorcery; -'with my body I thee worship,'--that's idolatry; 'and with all my -worldly goods I thee endow,'--that's a lie!" - -It is the long customs of mankind which stand in the way of educating -women to trades and professions. These matters are mainly in woman's own -hands. One is glad to see in the English Parliament certain statements -made in this connection, and others also in a London pamphlet on the -nature of municipal government. In reply to the common argument that -women ought not to enter certain vocations, because they would -ultimately find themselves incompetent, it is stated, that, in all -delicate handicrafts, men do the same. Thus, of those who learn to make -watches and watchmakers' tools, not one-fifth continue in the trade; -and, in the decoration of that delicate ware called Bohemian glass, by -far the greater portion of apprentices give it up on account of natural -unfitness. - -It is the customs of society which sustain the prejudice against -literary women. When Dr. Aikin published his "Miscellaneous Pieces," Fox -met him in the street. "I particularly admire," said the orator, -complimenting him, "your essay on Inconsistency."--"That," said -Aikin, "is my sister's."--"Ah! well, I like that on Monastic -Institutions."--"That is also hers," replied the honest man; and, in a -tumult of confusion, Fox bowed himself away. Had public feeling been -right, how gracefully he might have congratulated the brother on his -sister's ability, how gladly might that brother have seen her excel -himself! This sister was that Mrs. Barbauld who afterward did such -womanly service, that we feel tempted to forgive the early fit of -sentimentality which found vent in that rhymed nonsense, concluding,-- - - "Your best, your sweetest empire is to please." - -The manners of men have their educational influence. The quiet -turning-aside from women when matters of business, politics, or science -are discussed; the common saying, "What have women to do with that? let -them mind their knitting, or their house affairs;" the short answer when -an interested question is asked, "You wouldn't understand it, if I told -you,"--all these depress and enervate, and, even if not _spoken_, the -spirit of them animates all social life. "Men are suspicious," wrote Dr. -Alexander in 1790, "that a rational education would open the eyes of -women, and prompt them to assert the rights of which they have always -been deprived." But education could not be withheld nor eyes closed for -ever; therefore the time has come to claim these rights. The Sorbonne is -already asked why it confers degrees upon women with one hand, while it -quietly locks Margaret Fuller out of Arago's lecture-room with the -other. Need we inquire what influence it would have upon society, if all -literature and scientific opportunities, if all societies devoted to -natural history and mathematics, if all colleges and public libraries -the world over, were thrown open to woman? - -In inferior circles, where no leading minds preside, it would be as it -is now: there would be much idle prating, much foolish delay, much -inconsequent discussion; but woman is quick to recognize genius, to -listen when wisdom speaks. She chatters, to be sure, in the presence of -fools; but, when earnest men come to know the value of her enthusiasm, -they will never be willing to lose it. When the great door of the -scholarly and scientific retreat is once thrown open, you will be -surprised to see the crowd ready to enter; and, when the sexes kindle -into intellectual life together, many a woman's coals will be modestly -laid upon an honored altar, and the flames will rise all the higher -because they have been so fed. - -How can we estimate sufficiently the corrupting influence of the -newspapers of the land? - -We may hope your prejudices will defend woman here, and you will -acknowledge that the minds cannot be kept pure before whom their details -are set. Let us go farther, and say that they cannot be kept pure, -coming in contact as they do with minds among men that gloat over such -records. God is just, and his compensations are terrible. If you do not -spare the purity of the lowest in the land, you cannot save that of your -wife and daughter. If you will not protect the vulgar against -themselves, you cannot protect the refined against the vulgar. He is not -a pure man, who, among his fellows, thinks a thought or utters a word he -would blush to have his sister hear. She is not a pure woman, who, in -the seclusion of her chamber, or gossip with her household, omits one of -the proprieties which delicacy requires. She has no title to _our_ -respect, who is not secure in _her own_. How can we reach such a -standard as this, if we invite pollution daily across our threshold, and -call it harmless because it dresses in printer's ink? It is not enough -that much of the obscenity is pure invention. The profit of the scandal -overbalances the cost of the libel. The simplest item is turned to gross -account. Even the intimation that the postmaster has placed a woman at -the ladies' window in New York has to be coupled with the insinuation -that she would have "done better at the gentlemen's." What business have -you or I with details that concern only judge and jury? What good does -it do society to quote high legal authority upon "flirtation," unless, -indeed, we learn thereby to estimate aright the corrupting power of the -first wrong step? Police reports, vulgar anecdotes, shocking accidents, -and trivial gossip a child might be ashamed to repeat, make up the mass -of our daily sheets. Happy is the editor who offers three columns of -common sense daily to his readers. When, alas! shall we have a public -willing to pay for common sense and pure reading alone? - -A woman ought to turn like a flash of light from a foul page, a coarse -and vulgar word. No wit should ever tempt her to read the one, or repeat -the other; and what I say of woman, I _mean_ of man. I have not two -separate moral standards for the sexes. - -Margaret Fuller speaks somewhere of certain habits of impure speech -which she had heard attributed to ladies in a New-York hotel. What -foundation that story had, we may never find; but all of us know some -women before whom we keep the coldest reserve, and with whom we would -never touch many a subject we should be willing to discuss with any -pure-minded man. Ladies! Not all the gold of Pactolus, not all the -beauty of Anadyomene, not all the wisdom of Minerva, could make such -women _ladies_! We cannot redeem the poor denizens of Five Points till -we have redeemed those of the Fifth Avenue. - -Our own children must prattle oaths, if we will not hush the drunken -brawler in the streets. - - NOTE.--When this lecture was first delivered, in 1858, it excited - more discussion than any "revolutionary notions" of which I have - ever been suspected. Since then, the same ideas, as applied to other - questions, have been expressed in various quarters. I think a - thorough classical education necessary to a college bred man. As far - as I have any opinions to express, they coincide with those - recently uttered by John Stuart Mill at St. Andrew's. - - I wish to sustain the remarks of the text by the following - quotations:-- - - "Many things with the Greeks and Romans most venerable have not - merely lost their sanctity in our eyes, but present contemptible and - even ludicrous ideas to us. Hence, any allusion to them, or any - expression of the feelings connected with them, or even a reference - to the habits of thinking which those feelings have produced, must - have an operation most unpropitious."--LORD BROUGHAM. - - "The fictions constituting the epic poetry of Homer, Virgil, and - their imitators, so far from being consonant with the taste and - sense of modern readers, are, on the contrary, often annoying, from - the absence of all moral or poetical justice."--"The gods who - preside in this scenic exhibition are tainted with every vice which - has since degraded their supposed subordinates of the human race. - Cruelty, revenge, deceit, hatred, unrelenting rancor, and unbridled - lust, are the qualities which call for approval in a generation - professing to feel and practise virtues of an opposite nature. An - exterminating war is undertaken for the sake of a vacillating - adulteress, and its heroes quarrel implacably about the possession - of their female slaves. Ulysses, on his return home, winds up the - 'Odyssey' by a wholesale slaughter of his disorganized subjects, - hangs up a dozen censurable females in a row, and puts Melanthius to - a lingering death by gradual mutilation."--"In their social - relations, the Greeks were licentious and exquisitely depraved. In - their domestic habits, they were primitive, destitute, and - uncleanly."--DR. JACOB BIGELOW. - - These words represent the re-action of Christian morality against - the abuses of classical study, to which I allude in my text. But let - the classics be taught properly, and morality will have no complaint - to make. We cannot understand the history of the world, without an - intelligent investigation of its beginnings; but we should be - carefully protected against assuming, as reasonable and proper, - either the habits and opinions or the sarcasms of an extinct - experience. - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [7] Manners and Customs of Greece, vol. i. p. 337. - - [8] Memoirs of S.M. Fuller, vol. i. p. 337. - - [9] I have sustained this assertion in two articles on Hypatia, - published in "Historical Sketches," 1855. - - - - -III. - -THE MEANING OF THE LIVES THAT HAVE MODIFIED PUBLIC OPINION. - - "Speak! or I go no further. - I need a goal, an aim. I cannot toil, - _Because the steps are here_; in their ascent, - Tell me THE END, or I sit still and weep." - _Naturliche Tochter._ - - -We have considered the controlling influence exercised by consolidated -public opinion concerning women. We have asked from what sources this -opinion was derived. We have now to consider some individual lives which -have set it at defiance, and in that way done something towards its -reconstruction. - -Mary Wollstonecraft is chiefly known in this country as the wife of -Godwin, and the author of a "Vindication of the Rights of Woman." This -book is often accused of the most irreligious and libertine tendencies; -and, for many years, her name stood in my own mind as the representative -of an unfortunate woman of genius, unbalanced in character, and only to -be remembered by the obstacles she had laid in the path of her sex. I -turned instinctively from the idea I had somehow conceived of her; nor -was it till a singular literary fact, the exponent of her individual -power, arrested my attention, that I was tempted to take up the "Rights -of Woman." - -In making a rapid survey of English literature, to ascertain how many -women had made a decisive mark upon it, and how many works had been -published especially bearing upon woman's advancement, I at first -experienced a bitter disappointment. Upon approaching the year 1800, -however, I found a stream of literature rushing in, for which I could -not account. It united many rivulets of thought and life. Some volumes -were heavy and oppressive in a double sense; some were light as -pamphlets; some consisted of translations from other languages; some -were biographies; many were attempts at reconstruction on a rotten -foundation; others, an attempt at the rebuilding of society from its -very base. But these works all bore the same stamp, an impress powerful, -but healthy. It seemed as if one thought had animated all these workers -who had taken society by surprise; for the prejudice and bigotry they -must have aroused had left no corresponding trace. The prefaces -generally began, "On account of the interest lately excited," "The -public mind seeming now to be interested;" and I read very few volumes -before I discovered that the power which had aroused and interested was -no other than Mary Wollstonecraft's "Rights of Woman." - -These books ranged onward from 1790, and the force of the influence was -not spent for twenty years. Among them, I recall, at this moment, Dr. -Alexander's "History of Women" in two quarto volumes; Matilda Betham's -"Biographical Dictionary," an _honest_, if not a valuable, attempt to -supply a want still felt in English literature; and Cotton's translation -of the mathematical works of Maria Agnesi. These were born of a common -mother. I read the "Vindication," therefore, with persistent care; -looking with fruitless question for the second and third volumes that -were promised. Could this be the book which had been so abused for half -a century? The American edition had been published before garbling -became the fashion; but I took pains to collate it carefully with the -English. It was all in vain. I found only a simple, determined, eloquent -plea for a proper education for women, urged on social, moral, and -religious grounds; an earnest protest against Rousseau and Dr. Gregory; -and a demand that _men_ should be subject to the same moral laws as -women. Very revolutionary this! Reprint it, under modern sponsorship, -and you would find it perhaps too heavy to read. It would only repeat -what you all know, and you would miss the fanatical spice of our later -speech. Yet this book was so much needed when it appeared, that it acted -on the under-current of English thought and life like a subsoil plough, -and brought all manner of abominations to the surface. The preface alone -contains any allusion to woman's political rights. If is dedicated to -Talleyrand, who, in publishing a pamphlet on national education, had -admitted the inconsistency of debarring women from their exercise. From -this preface, the _world_ took fright, and _we_ may judge in what manner -she intended to follow up her plea for education. Let me quote a few -passages. "I earnestly wish," she says, "to point out in what true -dignity and human happiness consist. I wish to persuade women to acquire -strength both of mind and body, and to convince them, that the soft -phrases, 'susceptibility of heart,' 'delicacy of sentiment,' and -'refinement of taste,' are almost synonymous with epithets of weakness, -and that those beings who are the objects of pity, and that kind of love -which has been termed its sister, will soon become objects of -contempt."--"An air of fashion is but a badge of slavery."--"It -follows," she says farther on, "that women should either be shut up, -like Eastern princesses, or educated in such a manner as to think and -act for themselves."--"Suppose a woman trained to obedience, married to -a sensible man, who directs her judgment, without permitting her to feel -the servility of her position. She cannot ensure the life of her -protector. He may die, and leave her at the head of a large -family."--"It is not _empire_, but _equality_, woman should contend for. -When women are sufficiently enlightened to discover their real -interests, they will be very ready to resign all those prerogatives of -love _which are not mutual_ for the calm satisfactions of friendship and -the tender confidence of habitual esteem. Before marriage, they will not -assume any insolent airs, nor afterwards abjectly submit; but, -endeavoring to act like reasonable creatures in both relations, they -will not be tumbled from a throne to a stool." - -This is the character of the whole book. It contains nothing more -subversive of morality than these words. You cannot do better than read -it, and receive, as I did, a lasting lesson on the folly of prejudice. -As a work of art, it is irregular in method, and impulsive in execution; -facts not to be wondered at, since it was written and printed in the -brief space of six weeks. Dr. Channing once wrote of her: "I have lately -read Mary Wollstonecraft's posthumous works. Her letters towards the -close of the first volume are the best I ever read. They are superior to -Sterne's. I consider her the greatest woman of the age. Her 'Rights of -Woman' is a masculine performance, and ought to be studied by her sex; -the sentiments are noble and generous." - -What, then, was the character of the woman? Was it as strong and -generous as the sentiments she advocated? Her life broke down some -social barriers, and, though noble and heroic when viewed from within, -looks hampered and unsatisfactory from the common stand-point. Godwin -has erected an exquisite monument to her memory, in a sketch written -soon after her decease. Mary Wollstonecraft was born near London in the -year 1759. She came into an unhappy and uncongenial home. Her father was -a passionate tyrant; her mother, compelled to submit to his caprice, -became like every other slave, a tyrant where she had the power, and -ruled her children with a rod of iron. By defending her mother from her -husband's violence, Mary early extorted some degree of affection from -the one, and respect from the other. Her father had some property, which -he seems to have squandered by frequent changes of abode; and a day -school at Beverley, in Yorkshire, gave her her principal advantages of -education. An eccentric clergyman at Hoxton, named Clare, added some -farther instruction. Under his roof, she formed an intimacy with Frances -Blood, destined to influence her whole life. This girl was remarkably -accomplished, and, at the age of eighteen, supported her father and -mother and their family of younger children. She was delicately neat and -proper in all she did; and her influence was of the greatest benefit to -Mary, who had often desired to assist her family, but was deterred by -the helpless condition of her mother. She now went as companion to a -family at Bath, but soon relinquished the position, on account of her -mother's serious illness. Mrs. Wollstonecraft was exacting and -troublesome. Mary nursed her with devoted care, but, after her death, -bade a final farewell to her father's roof. His affairs had become -wretchedly involved; and, with Fanny Blood and her two sisters, she -proceeded to open a day school. At first, she had looked upon Fanny as -her superior, but her own force of character soon found its rightful -position. The health of her friend broke down under her unnatural -burden, and Mary's devotion to her for years was beautiful to see. Her -marriage and removal to Lisbon, in a vain search for health, soon put -this devotion to the test. - -At this point, Mary Wollstonecraft's reputation was unsullied. She was -an admirable manager, an efficient and successful teacher; yet, when -Fannie became seriously ill, she did not hesitate to risk her only means -of support, the prosperity of her school, to go to her. Her friend, Dr. -Price, the Unitarian minister, and Mrs. Burgh, were annoyed at what they -considered a quixotic devotion; but they supplied her with money, and -she went. A few days closed in death an intimacy of more than ten years, -which had been, until this time, Mary's tenderest interest in life. On -her way home, her moral energy saved the lives of a French crew in a -sailing vessel which she encountered, just about to founder. Her school -had suffered by her absence; and the pressing necessities of Fanny's -family, in which she still took an interest, induced her to have -recourse to literature. The first ten pounds received from her "Thoughts -on the Education of Daughters" went to their relief. Nothing can be -sadder than to see a young girl placed as Mary Wollstonecraft now -was,--compelled to fulfil the duties of a father and mother to younger -brothers and sisters. The position is unnatural. Gratitude might be -expected, but envy is more often felt. The personal advantages sought -for their sakes, and not to be transferred except as a pecuniary profit, -she is supposed to seek for her own. Affection partly yields, and -enthusiasm does not replace it; while she is urged by necessities which -make it difficult to bear the errors and intractabilities of those she -is providing for. Still loving, and desiring to provide for her -sisters, Mary thought it better to live apart from them, and accepted a -temporary position as governess in Lord Kingsborough's family. When they -left England, she went to Bristol, and published a novel, which, founded -on her ten years of friendly devotion, took the highest rank as a work -of sentiment. The next three years were spent in her own house, in -London, in the active service of the publisher, Johnson. She translated -from French, German, and Italian, wrote several books for children, and -took a large share in the conduct of the "Analytical Review." - -Her translation of Salzman's "Elements of Morality" led to an -interesting correspondence with its author, who repaid the service, -subsequently, by translating into German her "Rights of Woman." These -occupations, if they did little towards the discipline of her powers, -served to rouse her from the dejection into which the death of her -friend had plunged her. Her earnings were now devoted to her own family. -One sister she kept at Paris for two years to qualify her as a -governess; another she placed as parlor-boarder at a London school. Her -brother James she sent to Woolwich; afterward procuring for him a -position in the navy, where he soon rose to be a lieutenant. Her -favorite, Charles, she placed with a farmer for instruction; and then -fitted him out for America, where he grew wealthy on the basis she -provided. This brother must have left a large family in the State of -New York. Her brothers and sisters thus established, she attempted to -rescue a support for her father from his broken and confused fortunes. -This proving impossible, he was supported by her own labor, until his -death. The very great demands made upon her by such natural obligations -did not prevent her from assuming others. She adopted for her own the -child of a dead friend, the niece of John Hunter. Her brilliancy, her -personal beauty, her unselfish devotion, could not fail to win for her -many loving friends; and among them the French Revolution found her. The -work which first gave her her proper literary rank was her answer to -Burke's Reflections upon that movement. She wrote rapidly: her pamphlet -was the first of the many that appeared, and obtained extraordinary -success. The public applause warmed her, and her next production was her -celebrated "Vindication of the Rights of Woman." The startling energy -with which she exploded the system of gallantry, a miserable relic of -the Stuart courts, roused the popular indignation. It was hard to -reconcile the vigor of her rebuke to the tender sentiment which trembled -through the book, and also to the impression produced by Mary herself, -lovely in person, and, in the most engaging sense, feminine in her -manners. Her intimacy with the historical painter, Fuseli, followed. He -was a man of powerful genius and strong prejudices. His influence upon -Mary, if it was sometimes refreshing, could not always have been -beneficial. The reader of Haydon's Autobiography will remember this -man. A wider knowledge of the world would have protected her from his -influence: as it was, she pursued the intimacy with unsuspecting -delight; for Fuseli was a contented husband, and his wife was her -friend. She was now in her thirty-second year; she had arrived at a -period when domestic happiness of some sort becomes essential to the -strongest woman. The fullest-fruited laurel then withers before her -eyes, if it has not taken root at her own hearth. At the close of the -year 1792, Mary took refuge in Paris from the chagrin and restlessness -which began to oppress her. Her years of toil had left her sad and -lonely: she needed to rest for a little while in human affection. She -could not even write to her own satisfaction; for her morbid fatigue led -her to reproduce Fuseli's cynicism, and she dared not trust herself. She -entered the best circles of Parisian society, and became intimate with -the leaders of the Revolution. In four months after her arrival occurred -the most untoward event of her life,--her marriage to a worthless -American named Gilbert Imlay; a name rescued from oblivion only by his -temporary attachment to her. I say her _marriage_, for Imlay offered -himself in marriage, and was accepted as a husband; but, taking -advantage of a custom not unusual at Paris in those disorderly times, -Mary refused to consummate the legal forms. Mr. Imlay had no property. -Mary had a large family to support; and she neither wished to become -answerable for his debts, nor to make him responsible for hers. She -took the name of Imlay; and, expecting to follow her brother to America, -she obtained from our ambassador at Paris a certificate of American -citizenship, to serve as a temporary protection. In order that you may -comprehend the precise significance which this step had in that place -and at that time, let me remind you, that Helen Maria Williams, her -personal friend, and the ward of Dr. Rees of cyclopedic memory, was -married in the same way to a Mr. Edwards, then in Paris. She was a -well-known writer of that period; and we are still indebted to her for -some of the best hymns sung in our churches,--among them, that -well-known hymn, beginning, "While thee I seek, protecting Power." But -her husband was worthy of the trust she had reposed in him, and she -never turned a ready pen against the follies of society: so _her_ -character has never stood in the public stocks. - -It will be impossible to consider Mary's attachment to Imlay in any -degree rational, if we look only at her _character_, and keep out of -sight her peculiar personal _history_. - -The dawdling inefficiency and brutal temper of her father had disgusted -her alike with "men of spirit" and "men of straw." In her husband, she -saw, as she thought, a certain democratic manliness; and his daring -speculations seemed to be inspired by courage and genius. The affections -which had been roused by her admiring intercourse with Fuseli kindled -gladly on this new shrine, where no social duty, nor stern sense of -personal honor, contended against her warming fancy. For the first time -in her life, she found herself happy; and happiness gave her back the -beauty of early youth. She was playful, gentle, sympathetic. Her eyes -had new brightness, her cheeks new color, and the bewitching tenderness -of her smile fascinated the very women who approached her. She had been -married eighteen months, her love braving all the trials that must have -come, when Imlay left her for London. She had expected his quick return; -but delay followed delay, and Mary passed a year with a new-born child, -learning, by slow and painful degrees, that she had trusted this man -beyond his worth. At last, he sent for her to London, where his -misconduct affected her mind to such an extent, that she twice attempted -her own life, and was rescued the second time with difficulty. As soon -as she recovered from the fever which had induced delirium, her native -strength told her what she ought to do. Imlay had business in Norway, -which required a confidential and judicious agent. She determined to -take this upon herself; and hoped, by absence and success, to regain the -affection she had lost. The man was, in no sense, worthy of her. On her -return, she tried, for the sake of their child, to remain in the same -house with him. It was not possible; and, very soon, a final separation -took place. It would have taken place long before, but that Imlay was a -man who could not wholly escape from a fascination he had once felt. -After he became involved in low connections, he could never re-enter -her presence, without resuming, for the time, the sympathetic delicacy -befitting her lover. During all this time, Mary had occupied herself -with literary work. She never spoke of Imlay, and would allow no one to -blame him in her presence. Conscious of her own upright intentions, it -must have been no small mortification to find her insight and generosity -baffled. She felt that she was herself to blame for having placed an -impulsive man in a position to which he was wholly unequal. She was -everywhere received and treated as a married woman, and lost none of the -respect and affection she had well deserved. In April, 1797, she was -married to Godwin, the author of "St. Leon;" and this marriage deprived -her of two new friends, whom she held very dear. Godwin was so artless, -that he imagined his wife's social position would be improved by an -honorable marriage; but it obliged Mrs. Inchbald and Mrs. Siddons to -admit that the nature of her marriage to Imlay allowed her to take her -divorce into her own hands. - -Wonderful inconsistency of society, which, having interpreted truly her -upright nature through years of desertion, now condemned her,--whether -for her first wrong step, for assuming her own divorce, or for loving a -man of undoubted probity, who could tell? A short year of undisturbed -happiness followed, when the birth of their only child--the late Mrs. -Shelley--suddenly put an end to her life. - -A beautiful memorial survives her, in these words of her husband. "This -light," he says, "was lent me for a very little while, and it is now -extinguished for ever. The strength of Mary's mind lay in her intuition. -In a robust and unwavering judgment of this sort, there is a kind of -witchcraft. When it decides justly, it produces a responsive vibration -in every ingenuous mind. In this sense, my oscillation and scepticism -were often fixed by her boldness." I am very well aware how much courage -is required of any woman who shall seem to defend Mary Godwin from the -popular conception of her. I know that the woman should herself be -spotless who would attempt to rectify that conception, yet two -circumstances seem to compel explanation. In the first place, there is -no question, that if the views of woman which are now beginning to move -society originated with her scholarly, republican friend, Mrs. Catharine -Macaulay, yet the fire and eloquence of Mary's own words were needed to -give them currency. Society has been just so far as this, that it has -identified her with the subject of "Woman's Rights;" and all of us who -are carried forward by a momentum which she imparted, must desire to -understand the nature of the impulse which controls us. - -In the second place, Godwin's short Life of her has been long out of -print, and has now become very rare; and I have not been able to find a -single encyclopædia or biographical dictionary which gives the facts -correctly. Turn to them, and you will find that Mary Wollstonecraft had -a criminal but fruitless attachment for Fuseli; that she formed -another, of _the same kind_, for an American, who deserted her. I brand -these statements as malicious falsehoods, carelessly repeated now that -they have been long exploded: and, as I write these statements, the -tears rush to my eyes; for where are the descendants of the brothers and -sisters whom she reared? where are the kindred of Fannie Blood and John -Hunter, whose lives her generous efforts gladdened? Nay, might not one -man of the drowning crew she forced the captain of her ship to rescue, -speak a noble word in her behalf? I have narrated her life with some -detail, for you must understand the facts upon which you pass judgment; -and these details are many of them gathered from private sources. - -To understand the strength of the prejudice against Mary Wollstonecraft, -you should see that from all the autobiographies of the period her name -is excluded; as if the friends of those who had been intimate with her -while living, would not permit the association of names after death. I -have said, that, until her marriage to Godwin, she kept her place in -English society; and women of the most sensitive propriety, such as Mrs. -Siddons and Mrs. Inchbald, admitted her to their intimacy. How, then, -did such a prejudice grow up? It was probably forming in the popular -mind while she was happy in the affection of her friends; and, the -moment they found it conventionally needful to sacrifice her, the -outbreak was unrestrained. In the first place, she was an ardent -republican; a thing no less antagonistic to English feeling in her day, -than we have seen it prove in ours. In the second, she was a Unitarian; -and Unitarians were radicals in politics as well as in religion. In the -third place, being a republican, and a resident of Paris in its troubled -times, she was supposed to share the disorder of its morals; an -impression which her attempted suicides no doubt confirmed. - -We shall not share in this country in any prejudice which republicanism -or Unitarianism excited. We are, I trust, ready to admit that an attempt -at suicide could only come with delirium, for which she would be as free -from responsibility as for a typhoid fever or an Asiatic cholera. What -we have to do, then, is to understand her relation to the laws of -marriage, and to see how far her second marriage can be justified. When -she met Imlay at Paris, I do not think she had ever considered the -social bearing of these laws, except so far as her mother's experience -had pained her. That experience made her willing to do what other women -about her were doing, with no bad result that she could see, to keep -herself free from pecuniary entanglement. In one way, this was prudent; -in an other way, it was extremely imprudent; and the imprudence touched -a more vital point than the prudence: but that it was never considered -criminal by wise and candid judges, that she was never compromised in -any relation up to this, the intimacies we have recorded prove. Had she -been a weak, _immoral_ woman, she would have continued to live with -Imlay for her child's sake, but availing herself of the shelter of a -connection from which she recoiled. At this moment, she wrote to her -husband, "Your reputation shall not suffer. I shall never have a -confidant. I am content with the approbation of my own mind; and, if -there be a Searcher of hearts, mine will not be rejected." And again: -"My child may have reason to blush for her mother's want of prudence; -but she shall never despise me." These are not the words of a weak or -irreligious woman. So far, then, all was well, except that society had -no efficient outlawry for the man who had deserted her. She still -occasionally met him, but bore the unexpected trial, when it came, with -dignity and sweetness. When Godwin sought her in marriage, he knew, of -course, that no legal ties bound her. Mary saw no harm in using the -liberty that remained to her. "Why could she not have remained single?" -said the world; but had the world been so just and kind to her, that we -could expect her to resist the influence of a generous and courageous -love? Had she lived in this country, and been divorced by the laws of -Indiana, society would have been silent; but the real evil would have -been the same. - -"Never did there exist a woman," said her husband, "who might with less -fear expose her actions, and call upon the universe to judge them." I -believe this to be true so far as her own relations were concerned; and -I believe, that, by her second marriage, she meant to exercise a right -of protest against existing laws, which two of the most gifted children -of the nineteenth century have exercised again in our own time with -emphasis. It requires a philosophic mind to see the relation of the -individual to the state: heroic, indeed, is the spirit which, perceiving -it, braves the common expectation by a defiant life. On the other hand, -it is by no prejudice that we demand this account of each person's -private affairs. It is a demand born of an ill-defined, dimly -entertained, but still a just idea of the relations of God, the family, -and the state. I ought not to say so much, without adding that no one in -this country can adequately judge of the pressure of the marriage laws -as they still exist in England. What is resisted, is, in most instances, -what no American woman would be expected to bear; but for England, as -for this country, I rest in the confident hope that a right adjustment -of woman's relation to society will change healthfully all existing -legislation. Such legislation as that of Indiana does not seem to me an -advance, although it may have been demanded by an _advancing_ public -sentiment. - -I have said this honestly, with a tender pity in my heart, to clear the -memory of a much-abused woman. Does any one ask me if I would justify -the position in which she stood? I answer, frankly, No. We do not live -to ourselves alone; and if we are ever tempted to take a step against -the moral convictions of the world, believing that we can do as we will -with our own, one would think the possibility that children may be born -to inherit the obloquy we excite, without themselves deserving it, would -be enough to deter any right-minded woman. No love or care, or abject -self-sacrifice, can reconcile a child to the stain of illegitimacy. -"What does the Lord thy God require of thee?"--"To do justly, love -mercy, and walk humbly." It is not walking humbly to set up our own -conception of fitness against the accumulated experience of mankind. -Still farther: It is of very little importance what others may think of -us, when we are acting conscientiously; but what we think of others, our -own mood of mind towards God and man,--that is of the very greatest. - -The influence of the "Vindication of the Rights of Woman" was greatly -aided by the efforts of Mr. Day, and of Maria Edgeworth, whose literary -career began about the time of its publication. Following closely upon -these, and so nearly parallel in effort, and equal in varied ability, -that we hardly know in what order to name them, are Lady Morgan, Harriet -Martineau, and Mrs. Jameson. Sydney Morgan, sitting alone at the age of -fourscore in her tiny house at Dublin, filled like a museum with the -accumulation of her years of travel, projecting the publication of her -last work, was lately, like Mrs. Somerville at Florence, a pensioner of -Queen Victoria. But, from the hour of her first appearance as the author -of the "Wild Irish Girl," she has exercised a generous womanly -influence. Under the disguise of novels, books of travel, and the like, -she has published an immense number of volumes, filled with information -which may be a little too crowded for convenience, but always accurate, -always original, and, for the most part, received from historic sources, -in personal intercourse. Her warm hatred of tyranny made friends for -her, wherever she went. When a young girl, she took up the cause of her -own country with a vehemence which won the liberal party, and made her -fashionable before she was approved. "The wild Irish girl" and her harp -were essential to the success of every entertainment; and invitations -lay two or three deep for every evening. She entered society with -beauty, wit, and prestige. She might have done what she would. She chose -to remain faithful to unpopular opinions. After her marriage to Sir -Charles Morgan, they went, for economical reasons, to the Continent, -where they eventually spent many years. In France, Lafayette, Ségur, -Dénon, and L'Aguisseau were her intimate friends; and in the _salon_ of -the Princess de Salm she was always a welcome guest. In Germany, -Flanders, and Italy, not only the liberal youth, but the learned eld, -crowded her apartments, gave her minute information, and became devoted -cicerones. The friendship of cardinals and princes did not dim her -natural democracy of view; and her last words were as true to liberty as -her first. Her works on France and Italy were proscribed in both -countries; yet "Young France" and "Young Italy" contrived to obtain and -read them. She came into fashion in Paris whenever the Bourbons went -out; and, when she dined with Rothschild, his famous cook acknowledged -her friendship for the people in autographs of spun sugar! "We shall -meet at the breakfast of the Austrian ambassador," said a Parisian fop, -as he made his bow. "Not we," she laughed in answer: "it would be as -much as his place is worth to ask me." Wherever she went, and whatever -she did, her ears were always open to a woman's name; and, with the most -loyal interest, she gathered up every thing relating to their lives, -their influence, and their disabilities. What she was told as gossip, -was retained, studied out, and digested, before, with the piquancy of a -French woman and the warmth of an Irish, it was given to the world. The -first two volumes of her "History of Woman" do not touch a period of -universal interest; but, had she been able to complete the work, it -would have exhausted the subject. In the Béguine, she says: "Women -meddle with politics as well as tent-stitch, and, like Madame de -Maintenon, bring their work-bags to the Privy Council, and direct the -affairs of Europe while they trace patterns for footstools. The -influence of woman will ever be exercised directly or indirectly in all -good or evil. It is a part of the scheme of nature. Give her, then, such -light as she is capable of receiving. Educate her, whatever her station, -for taking her part in society. Her ignorance has often made her -interference fatal; her knowledge, never." The cordial sympathy of her -husband has made Lady Morgan's life beautiful. His legal knowledge and -antiquarian taste added their own charm to whatever she undertook. - -How great and worthy is the literary position of Harriet Martineau, we -all know. Its retro-actionary influence in favor of the ability and -freedom of her sex is what we are to indicate here. For whatever -immediate purpose she writes, her words bear indirectly on the widest -womanly emancipation. May this remark stimulate your curiosity, and keep -you on the alert for pregnant sentences! Such sentences tell more of the -progress of human thought than some of us suspect: they indicate its -natural, habitual poise. "Women especially," she writes, "should be -allowed the free use of whatever strength their Maker has seen fit to -give them. It is essential to the virtue of society, that they should be -allowed the freest moral action, unfettered by ignorance, and -unintimidated by authority; for it is an unquestioned and unquestionable -fact, that, if women were not weak, men would not be wicked, and that, -if women were bravely pure, there would be an end of the dastardly -tyranny of licentiousness." This passage will have all the more power -over observant readers, because it occurs unexpectedly, and marks the -opportunity seized to speak a necessary if unwelcome truth. - -What noble service Mrs. Jameson rendered in the field of art or letters -did not leave her indifferent to the interests of her sex. She was -placed in circumstances to make her see quickly and feel deeply all -that relates to womanly position and development. An early martyr to the -prejudices of society; married, I think at sixteen, to a man far beyond -her own rank in life, who left her at the altar,--she bore the title of -wife, and led the life of a celibate: but her first word for her sex was -as strong and true as her last, while her own path lay between lines of -living fire. Only lately did we hear of her as a lecturer and reformer; -but, nearly thirty years ago, we might have cut from her pages the -following words: "We are told openly by moralists and politicians, that -it is for the general good of society, nay, an absolute necessity, that -one-fifth part of the female sex should be condemned as the legitimate -prey of the other, predoomed to die in reprobation in the streets, in -hospitals, that the virtue of the rest may be preserved, and the pride -and the passions of men both satisfied. But I have a bitter pleasure in -thinking, that this most base and cruel conventional law is avenged upon -those who made and uphold it; that here the sacrifice of a certain -number of one sex to the permitted license of the other is no general -good, but a general curse, a very ulcer in the bosom of society." Can -you guess how brave and pure a woman was needed to write those words? -All the indirect tendency of her works is in keeping with them; and we -recognize the same voice, as she said in a later lecture:-- - -"When female nurses were to be sent to the Crimea, there was to be met -the mockery of the light-minded, the atrocious innuendoes of the -dissolute, the sneers of the ignorant, and the scepticism of the cold. I -have seen men who deem it quite a natural and proper thing that -women--_some women_ at least--should lead the life of a courtesan, put -on a look of offended propriety at the idea of a woman nursing a sick -soldier. I have seen men--ay, and women too--who deem it a matter of -course that our streets should be haunted by contagious vice, disgusted -at the idea of women turning apothecaries and _hôpitalières_. And, worse -than all, I have heard men--and women too--who acknowledge the gospel of -Christ, who call themselves by his name, who believe in his mission of -mercy, disputing about the exact shade of orthodoxy in a woman who had -offered up every faculty of her being at the feet of the Redeemer."[10] - -Remember that these words were spoken where they belonged, in the very -heart of Belgravia, to the very people who deserved them, and respect -the brave purity which compelled lips as well as pen to utterance. It -would scarce be honest not to say, in this connection, that Mrs. Jameson -took some pains, so long as she lived, to separate herself from the -American Woman's-Rights party--a party, it may be, only represented to -her by the vulgar pretension of travelling Bloomers. Some of us take -comfort in remembering how much more easily the misrepresentations of -the press, or the intrusions of unfit subjects on womanly discussion, -will float across the wide Atlantic, than our weightier works. When she -said, in the same breath, concerning a decree of the French Consulate, -"I confess, I should like to see a decree of _our_ Parliament beginning -with a recognition that women do exist as a part of the community, whose -responsibilities are to be acknowledged, and whose capabilities are to -be made available, not separately, but conjointly with those of men," we -know that she worked for us and with us, and forgive the want of -recognition in gratitude for the real service. - -Mrs. Gaskell has perhaps done more than any woman of this century, not -confessedly devoted to our cause, to elevate the condition of her sex, -and disseminate liberal ideas as to their needs and culture. The first -part of her career was one of those brilliant successes which startle us -into surprise and admiration. It was checked midway by the publication -of her life of Charlotte Bronté, the best and noblest of her works. -Checked, because condemned in that instance without a hearing, she could -never afterwards feel the elastic pleasure which was natural to her in -composing and printing; and, for three long years afterwards, never -touched her pen. I would not allude to this subject, if every notice of -her, since her death, had not done so; repeating the old censure, as a -matter of course. Here in America, we exculpate her. The public was -wrong, in the first place, inasmuch as it has come to demand biography -before biography is possible. The publisher was wrong, in the second; -for he ought to have known, and could easily have ascertained, how plain -a statement the English law would permit. The public was still further -wrong, when it attributed misapprehension and carelessness to a woman -whom it very well knew to be incapable of either. I, for one, shall -never forgive nor forget the officious censure given by one who must -have known that the legal apology tendered, in Mrs. Gaskell's absence, -to protect her pecuniary interests, had the unfortunate effect to put -her in a position where explanation and self-defence were alike -impossible. Mrs. Gaskell had deserved the steady confidence of the -public. - -I have kept till the last the name of Fredrika Bremer, whose good -fortune it was to secure lasting benefits to her sex. God sent to her -early years dark trials and privations. Her father's tyrannical hand -crushed all power and loveliness out of her life. At first, she rebelled -against her sufferings; but, when he died in her girlhood, she was able -to see that they lent strength to her efforts for her sex. It was the -rumor of what we are doing in this country for women that first drew her -hither. It is not the fashion for Miss Bremer's friends fully to -recognize her position in this respect. I owe my own convictions on the -subject of suffrage to the reflections she awakened. When I told her -that my mind was undecided on this point, she showed her disappointment -so plainly, that I was forced to reconsider the whole subject. Miss -Bremer did not hurry her work: she had a serene confidence that she -should be permitted to finish what she had begun. She secured popularity -by her cheerful humor, her genuine feeling, her true appreciation of -men, and her insight into the conditions of family happiness, before she -made any direct appeal against existing laws. Those who will read her -novels thoughtfully, however, will see that she was, from the first, -intent upon making such an effort possible. From the beginning, she -pleaded for the social independence of wives; asked for them a separate -purse; showed that woman could not even give her love freely, until she -was independent of him to whom she owed it. To a just state of society, -to noble family relations, entire freedom is essential. - -Under her influence, females had been admitted to the Musical Academy. -The directors of the Industrial School at Stockholm had attempted to -form a class, and Professor Quarnstromm had opened his classes at the -Academy of Fine Arts to women. Cheered by her sympathy, a female surgeon -had sustained herself in Stockholm; and Bishop Argardh indorsed the -darkest picture she had ever drawn, when he pleaded with the state to -establish a girls'-school. It was at this juncture that Miss Bremer -published "Hertha." This book was a direct blow aimed at the laws of -Sweden concerning women. By this time, she had herself become, in -Sweden, what we might fitly call a "crowned head." She was everywhere -treated with distinction; and her sudden appearance in any place was -greeted with the enthusiasm usually shown by such nations only to their -princes. She said of her new book, "I have poured into it more of my -heart and life than into any thing which I have ever written;" and -verily she had her reward. She was at Rome, two years after,--in -1858,--when the glad news reached her, that King Oscar, at the opening -of the Diet, had proposed a bill entitling women to hold independent -property at the age of twenty-five. All Sweden had read the book which -moved the heart of the king; and the assembled representatives rent the -air with their acclamations. - -In the following spring, the old University town of Upsala, where her -friend Bergfalk occupies a chair, granted the _right of suffrage_ to -fifty women owning real estate, and to thirty-one doing business on -their own account. The representative whom their votes went to elect was -to sit in the House of Burgesses. Miss Bremer was not ashamed to shed -happy tears when this news reached her. If she had ever reproached -Providence with the bitter sorrow of her early years, she was penitent -and grateful now. Then was fulfilled the prophecy which she had uttered, -as she left our shores, "The nation which was first among Scandinavians -to liberate its slaves, shall also be the first to emancipate its -women." - -This is not the place to unfold the delicate sheaths of meaning with -which flower-like Robert Browning invests his thought; but the man who -wrote the "Blot on the Scutcheon," and the exquisite sketch of "Pippa -Passes," has done such justice to the sex, and so far helped the cause -of right feeling and right thinking in respect to some of the most -delicate problems that concern it, that we are compelled to speak of him -gratefully. His marriage, too, is still fragrant; a full-fruited flower -of promise to the world, which makes us see the best things possible, -and believe that the time is coming when man and woman will not seldom -stand before the altar as equal and individual, yet sacredly one. To -Elizabeth Browning, to whom was given in her life that place of -pre-eminence among women which Shakespere must always hold among men, -we owe grateful thanks, for the scholarly achievement, the conscientious -study, the womanly zeal, which distinguished all her work. When theology -sometimes wrestled with poetry in her speech, we translated it into a -freer tongue, and thanked her all the same. In "Aurora Leigh" she -stabbed every conventional falsity to the heart, and held the ear -tenaciously till she had delivered all her oracle. - - "I read a score of books on womanhood, - To prove, if women do not think at all, - They may teach thinking,--books demonstrating - Their right of comprehending husband's talk, - When not too deep, and even of answering." - "I perceive - The headache is too noble for my sex: - You think the heartache would sound decenter." - "Such praise - As men give women, when they judge a book, - Not as mere _work_, but as mere _woman's work_, - Expressing the comparative respect, - Which means the absolute scorn." - -The woman who wrote these words counsels us from her grave; and, taught -by her, we do not hesitate to say,-- - - "Deal with us nobly, women though we be, - And honor us with truth, if not with praise." - -Yet these were all to a certain extent indirect influences. Can I utter -without trembling the two names which sit upon the thrones of female -power in the Old World and the New? I mean Charlotte Bronté and Margaret -Fuller. I wish I could confer a proper emphasis upon my words, when I -say that the publication of "Jane Eyre" formed the chief era in the -literature of women since that literature began. Into it was compressed -all the feeling and experience of a very remarkable life,--feeling and -experience entertained without the smallest sense of responsibility to -the conventional world. The life of the author touched the restrictions -of society, as the spheral curves touch the tangents which square them, -so slightly as never to impair its wonderful individuality. Who would -not seek a wife like Jane Eyre? Who does not rejoice in the smallest -detail of that sparkling and varied courtship? Think of those words of -Rochester, when, holding her with the grasp of a madman, he says, "Never -was any thing at once so frail and so indomitable. A mere reed she feels -in my hand. I could bend her with my finger and thumb. And what good -would it do, if I bent, if I uptore, if I crushed her? Consider that -eye; consider the wild, resolute, free thing looking out of it, defying -me with more than courage,--with a stern triumph. Whatever I do with its -cage, I cannot get at it, the savage beautiful creature! If I tear, if I -rend the slight prison, my outrage will only set the captive free. -Conqueror I might be of the house; but the inmate would escape to -heaven, before I could call myself possessor of its clay dwelling-place. -And it is you, spirit, with will and energy and virtue and purity, that -I want, not alone your brittle frame." - -And from what literature, of ancient or modern growth, shall we match -Jane's answer, when passion presses, crying, "Who in the world cares for -you? or who will be injured by what _you_ do?" - -"_I_ care for _myself_," is the indomitable reply: "the more solitary, -the more friendless, the more unsustained, I am, the more I will respect -myself. I will keep the law given by God, sanctioned by man. I will hold -by the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad, as I am -now. Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no -temptation. They are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise -in mutiny against their rigor. Stringent are they? Inviolate they shall -be. If, at my individual convenience, I might break them, what would be -their worth? They have a worth, so I have always believed; and, if I -cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane, with my veins running -fire, and my heart beating faster than I can count. Pre-conceived -opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand -by. _There_ I plant my foot!" - -Other women have been brave and pure, but this woman was an Abdiel. -Never had she faltered in her life, never encountered a sham but to -crush it. We did not know what freedom meant, till we had this book. Its -advent was an era, not merely in the literature, but in the life, of -woman. Its welcome, so profound, so stirring, betrayed the secrets of -womanly nature. Do you remember how you sat and discussed this book, far -into the night?--how you wondered whether man or woman wrote it?--how -the women it enfranchised _looked_ their scorn when you suggested the -first possibility?--how your temper and feeling, and sense of justice, -were roused by it? All this was because a life resolute and free poured -itself out between those covers. A woman delicate, cleanly, quaint, -secured the polished purity of every page. Will you start, if I ask you -who ever stated the Woman's-Rights' argument with the serene force of -the little lace-mender in the "Professor"? Do you not envy her and her -husband the happy English home secured by their united labors? Ah! when -she gave us later that exquisite miniature of her sister Emily which she -called "Shirley," that noble bit of Rubens color which she named -"Villette," the same flood of womanly thought and feeling poured through -the prayer,--_the same flood_, though we no longer started as when we -first heard society's signal gun, and saw her whole fleet hoist the flag -of distress. Women ought to buy that old stone house upon the hillside, -set in among the tombs, and framed in purple heather. The lives which -began and ended there have hedged it in with laurels. Read this life and -these works, and learn what fortunes hang upon a noble living. Read -them, that you may learn how to cheer the world with what is natural and -dignified, to do your Master's work, regardless of narrow criticism or -still disdain. The host of imitators who stand about Charlotte Bronté's -still-open grave are the best tribute to the power that went out from -her,--a power tempered by the sweetest personal graces, by a -housekeeping delicate and pure and tasteful, which never lets us dream -of Jane in her school at Morton, of Shirley in her peach-room parlor, of -the lace-mender at the professor's desk, or Lucy Snowe in the first -class of Paul Emanuel, as otherwise than brilliant in cleanliness and -order. I turn reluctantly from a life so well known, and now, thank God, -beginning to be so well understood. - -I do not treat of Margaret Fuller as a literary power; for, whatever may -be her rank in this respect, she does not exert a tithe of the influence -in this way, which attaches to the idea of her as a person, to _herself_ -as the centre of the radiant and shining group of women who were known -as "Margaret's friends." - -Her "Woman in the Nineteenth Century" is a scholarly, refined, and noble -plea for the freedom of her sex. In point of ability, no book can be -named with it, if we except that of Madame d'Héricourt. It has an -advantage over that of Mary Wollstonecraft, in being, so far as the -author could make it, a _complete_ statement; but it is written so much -more from the stand-point of thought and feeling, that it has had a far -more limited influence. There is not a word in the "Vindication" which -the most simple might not read as he ran, and, reading, understand; but -much of the "Nineteenth Century" depends upon a critical scholarship, -and an evasive delicacy of sentiment and thought, which elude the common -grasp. Precious passages have become axioms. "Let her be a sea-captain, -if she will," has a power in both hemispheres; for it has been justified -to learned and simple, by Captain Betsy, of the Scotch schooner, -"Cleotus," and the sweet and noble woman who so lately carried an -American ship round Cape Horn. The life of Margaret Fuller is in -everybody's hands; but not even Boston _women_ appreciate her personal -influence. Who _else_ could be expected to understand it? Her very -existence was a stimulus to endeavor; and hundreds of women become -practical "Exaltadas," because they saw the position she was permitted -to hold. "I always know a Boston woman," said a rough German miner to -me, beyond Lake Huron: "she always has Margaret Fuller's stamp upon -her;" and I felt that his words were true. We have missed her sadly -since she was taken from us. Ever memorable will be the "Life and -Writings," which revive our memories better than they satisfy our -demands. "It will be seen," she once wrote, "that my youth was not -unfriended, since those great minds came to me in kindness." We have not -been unfriended either, since she was permitted to come to us. If I were -to characterize her in two words, it would be as "Truth-teller and -Truth-compeller." She not only spoke what she thought, in her own way, -let it be abrupt or gentle, but she compelled us to do the same. There -was something in her presence which tore away all disguises: even -unconscious pretension could not bear it. We were soon made to feel -whether we had any right to our own thoughts. "What I especially admired -in her," says Dr. Hedge, "was her intellectual sincerity. Her judgments -took no bribe from her sex or sphere, nor from custom nor tradition nor -caprice. She valued truth supremely, both for herself and others. The -question with her was, not what _should_ be believed, nor what _ought_ -to be true, but what is true. Her 'yes' and 'no' were never -conventional; and she often amazed people by a cool and unsuspected -dissent from the commonplaces of popular acceptation." - -"Truth-teller and Truth-compeller,"--the words seem to fall like the -shadow of Omnipotence, a noble fillet for a woman's forehead. What a -noble _character_ that must have been, which inspired the remark made -after her marriage:-- - -"Her life, since she went abroad, is wholly unknown to me; but I have an -unshaken trust, that what Margaret did she can defend." An "unshaken -trust,"--such words are a challenge to all noble living. In great and -small matters, we are told, she was a woman of her word, and so gave -those who conversed with her the unspeakable comfort which flows from -plaindealing. "I walk over burning ploughshares, and they sear my feet, -yet nothing but truth will do," she says; and again, in a letter to a -friend: "My own entire sincerity in every passage of life gives me a -right to expect that I shall be met by no unmeaning phrases or -attentions." - -I enlarge upon this trait of character, for I think it Margaret's due. -Everybody here knows her reputation as a scholar: few know her character -as a woman. In beautiful keeping with this trait was her letter to Miss -Martineau, after the publication of her book upon this country. - -"When Jouffroy writes his lectures," she says, "I am not conversant with -all his topics; but I can appreciate his lucid style and admirable -method. When Webster speaks on the currency, I do not understand the -subject; but I do understand his mode of treating it, and can see what a -blaze of light flows from his torch. When Harriet Martineau writes about -America, I often cannot test that rashness and inaccuracy of which I -hear so much; but I can feel that they exist. A want of soundness and -patient investigation is found throughout the book; and I cannot be -happy in it, because it is not worthy of my friend. - -"I have thought it right to say all this to you, since I feel it. I have -shrunk from the effort, for I fear that I must lose you. If your heart -turn from me, I shall still love you; and I could no more have been -happy in your friendship, if I had not spoken out." - -What a noble pattern in that letter for us all! The electric power of -her womanhood, which claimed the inmost being of every one with whom she -came in contact, I can best express in the words of Emerson:-- - -"She had found out her own secret by early comparison, and knew what -power to draw confidence, what necessity to lead in every circle, -belonged of right to her. She had drawn to her every superior young man -or woman she had ever met; and whole romances of life and love had been -confided, counselled, thought, and lived through, in her cognizance and -sympathy. She extorted the secret of life which cannot be told without -setting heart and mind in a glow, and thus she had the best of those she -saw. She lived in a superior circle; for people suppressed all their -commonplaces in her presence. Her mood applied itself to the mood of her -companion, point to point, in the most limber, sinuous, vital way, and -drew out the most extraordinary narratives." - -When we remember this wealth of sympathy and appreciation, is it not sad -to hear her say, no one ever gave such invitation to her mind as to -tempt her to a full confession?--that she felt a power to enrich her -thought with such wealth and variety of embellishment as would no doubt -be tedious to such as she conversed with? - -A bitter reproach to us women, certainly. What better _could_ we do than -listen, while she embellished her thought with all wealth and variety -possible? And I quote the saying, because hers are not the only noble -lips which have a right to repeat it. Could we but be patient listeners! -In that way, we might educate powers of expression, and become possessed -of wealth of which we have very little idea. What does such a saying -record,--her egotism or our selfishness, her insatiable demand or our -bankruptcy? We may well confess to mortification when we read; but it is -not felt for _her_. Very beautiful is the conception of this Memoir of -Margaret, this triune testimony of independent minds. We should be more -grateful for the analytical skill shown in Emerson's contribution, did -it not bear witness to _power_, rather than _appreciation_. We see, -though he could not, what Margaret missed in her friend. She could not -exempt the finest thinker she knew from the customary tribute; but he -could not pay her in current coin,--only in some native ore, which it -cost her much to make available at need. Some time may _women_ write the -lives of women! Why not warm thy scalpel, O philosopher! out of regard -to what was once tender, quivering, human flesh? Rumor and prejudice -carried the news of Margaret's faults far enough while she was living: -what we need now is to send on the same wave the most abundant and -satisfying proof of her goodness and genius. When great men speak of -her, they should speak grandly, and find for what vulgar natures _must_ -misconceive, the noble and generous interpretation. I do not mean that -SHE would have shrunk from the boldest statement of the truth. It was in -her to invite it. "She could say," says Emerson, "as if she were stating -a scientific fact, in enumerating the merits of somebody, _he -appreciates me_;" and he refers this saying to the "mountainous _me_" of -hereditary organization, italicizing the offending monosyllable. But, in -Margaret's mind, the emphasis lay quite as often on the word -_appreciates_; and the statement was of a psychological fact, a -superiority to vulgar prejudice, which laid some claim to her generous -estimate in return. Ah! when those we love are gone for ever, their -faults drop away, like the garment, which was of the earth, earthy; but -to great and noble words, to heroic and womanly living, God has given a -power of blessing far beyond the grave. We lost her at a moment when we -could ill bear it,--when, instructed by the noble sympathies of Mazzini, -softened by her own sweet and tender ministrations in Italian hospitals, -revealed at length in loving beauty by a wife's and mother's experience, -she might have come home the woman she had often made us dream of. We -see the shadow of it all in that little picture which once hung on the -walls of the Boston Athenæum; and, God willing, we shall yet encounter -the glad reality beyond the reach of tempests, beyond the need of wreck, -lifted into true deserving of so great a privilege on the broad ocean of -an Infinite Love! - -Florence Nightingale is no exception in the history of her sex, only a -consummate flower of its daily bloom. Ever since the commencement of the -Christian era, whole armies of women have devoted themselves, not for a -few years only, like Florence Nightingale, but for their whole lives -long, to the same painful duties,--women who organized their bands with -an efficiency and thoroughness, felt to this very day, and which made -them the competent instructors of Florence Nightingale in the Crimea. -The holiest vocation fails to instruct the unprepared mind. The soil of -the nineteenth century is fallow; but in the year 385 a saintly woman -traversed those same Crimean shores. Of her it was written:-- - -"She was marvellous debonaire and piteous to them that were sicke and -comforted them, and served them right humbly, and gave them largely to -eat, such as they asked; but to herself she was hard in her sickness and -scarce, for she refused to eat flesh, how well she gave it to others, -and also to drink wine. She was oft by them that were sicke, and she -laid the pillows aright and in point, and she rubbed their feet, and -boiled water to wash them; and it seemed to her that the less she did to -the sicke in service, so much the less service did she to God, and -deserved the less mercy; therefore she was to them piteous, and nothing -to herself." - -The Church canonized this woman, who carried her own substance to the -work in which the British Government sustained Florence Nightingale so -many centuries later; but the public mind was not prepared, so the -world has never rung to the name of Santa Paula. - -Florence Nightingale's most heroic service lay in breaking open the -storehouses at Scutari. It may have cost her very little, but at that -moment the force of accumulated character made itself felt. An -everlasting reproach to all cowards of circumlocution offices, the duty -not a single commissioned officer had courage to assume has gently -crowned the woman with the woven suffrages of the world. - -The name of Mary Patton has with us also a true educational power. There -was no obstacle nor vulgar prejudice which this heroic girl was not -called to combat. Not twenty years old, with two little children -clinging to her skirts, and the great primal sorrow of her sex -overshadowing her afresh, with her husband bereft of reason, and neither -nurse nor physician at hand, she kept the ship's reckoning, overpowered -a mutinous mate, and carried her vessel triumphantly in to the destined -port. - -The author of "John Halifax" has so laid us under obligation by work -faithfully done, that it seems worth while to indicate the -inconsistencies which warp her "Thoughts about Women." - -She speaks of the "Woman's-Rights movement" in this country, as if it -were a movement to _force_ women into a certain position, instead of an -effort to set them _free_, to the end that they may ascertain whether -they have any capacity for it. She sneers at letters and account-books -kept by women; and we read her words in a country where women are widely -and creditably established as book-keepers, and where they hold classes -to instruct others in accounts! She tells us that more than one-half of -English women are obliged to provide for themselves; and gives a noble -example of two young women, who, on their father's death, continued to -carry on a disagreeable business, to keep books, manage stock, and -control agents. They sustained a delicate mother in ease, and never once -compromised their womanhood. What became of the womanly unfitness for -letters and accounts in that case? She speaks of the contemptible and -unwomanly habit of beating down, and says that men are less prone to it -than women. Who keeps the purse-strings of a family? Who condemn women -to the practical ignorance which makes them too uncertain of values to -turn at once from a manifest overcharge? - -But, sadder still, this woman brings against her sex the two grave -charges of common falsehood and disloyalty in friendship. We may pity -her for a social experience which seems to her to justify the statement; -but let us never repeat the libel. Let Margaret Fuller answer it, not -only by a life of radiant truth, but by the words in which she speaks of -the honor of which young hearts are capable, and the secret of her own -young life voluntarily kept by forty girls. - -In her chapter on "Lost Women," Miss Muloch does grateful service when -she draws attention to those who choose to dwell in the very gutters of -idle gossip and filthy scandal, who soil their lips and tongues while -they take selfishly faithful care of their reputations. This word needed -to be spoken. Better for a woman, that she should be a cast-away in a -city refuge, with a mind comparatively pure, than a woman in high -society, capable of catching or uttering the vile "double entendre," -always on the lookout for a possible vulgarism, wringing decency out of -human life as if it were only a wet napkin, and sceptical of the purity -and innocence she has not yet found in her own heart. - -In estimating the influences which modify public opinion concerning -women, I am not willing to be silent concerning the popular idea of -love. It is a common thing to hear it said, with a sort of sneer, that -no _man_ ever died for love,--as if it were a quite romantic and in -nowise _dis_creditable thing that many women should! - -Creditable and discreditable elements may enter into the assumed fact as -it regards man; but if he does not die for love because he more -thoroughly acknowledges his responsibility, keeping God in his right -place _above_, and his own heart and its idols in their right place -_below_, then we may drop the unwomanly sneer, and go and do likewise. - -I shall have little hope for woman, till _she_ learns to feel that to -die for love is not so much a pitiful as a disgraceful thing; that it -proves of itself that God was never to her what he should have been; -that life had no aim so holy as the weak indulgence of a sentiment or a -passion, or some generous longing for some duty God did not set before -her; that all the world's work and society's ambition was hidden from -her by a desire for personal happiness, spread like a film over her -moral vision. - -No better education do I claim for woman than her entire -_self-possession_, the ultimate endowment of all the promise she carries -in her nature. "The great law of culture," says Carlyle, "is, Let each -become all that he was created capable of being; expand, if possible, to -his full growth; and show himself in his own shape and stature, be they -what they may."--"The excellent woman," writes the Hindoo in Calcutta, -"is she who, if the father dies, can be father and provider to the -household." - -"Who," says Count Zinzendorf in Germany,--"who but my wife could have -been alternately servant and mistress without affectation and without -pride? Who could have maintained like her, in a democratic community, -all outward and inward distinctions? Who, without a murmur, would have -met such peril? Who could have raised such sums of money, and acquitted -them on her own credit?" - -To such women I think men will always offer generous help; and, even if -they did not, there are props of God's own disposing. Let woman once -reject the absurd notion that she was created for happiness, let her -constitute herself instead a creator of it, let her accept with joy the -fact that this is a working-day world; then she will no longer strive to -escape from labor, discipline, or sorrow, but will gladly hail each in -its turn as part of God's appointed teaching, a shadow crossing the -sunshine to show that it is bright. Perhaps such a life is not easy, -perhaps many feet must falter on such a path; but, indicating what I -earnestly believe to be the will and way of God for us all, I earnestly -entreat you to enter and walk therein. Some words written by John Ruskin -upon Art seem to me to have such force in this connection as to make it -justifiable to quote them. - -Speaking of a painter who could only paint the fair and graceful in -landscape, he says:-- - -"But such work had, nevertheless, its stern limitations, and marks of -everlasting inferiority. Always soothing and pathetic, it could never be -sublime, never freely nor entrancingly beautiful; for the man's narrow -spirit could not cast itself freely into any scene. The calm -cheerfulness which shrank from the shadow of the cypress and the -distortion of the olive, could not enter into the brightness of the sky -they pierced, nor the softness of the bloom they bore. For every sorrow -that his heart turned from, he lost a consolation. For every fear which -he dared not confront, he parted with a portion of his manliness. The -unsceptred sweep of the storm-clouds, the fair freedom of glancing -shower and flickering sunbeam, sunk into sweet rectitudes and decent -formalisms; and, before eyes that refused to be dazzled or darkened, the -hours of sunset wreathed their rays unheeded, and the mists of the -Apennines spread their blue veils in vain." - -Imagine these words written metaphorically of your own inner lives, and -accept the lesson they convey. Be earnest to inherit the whole of human -life. Insist on turning the golden shield, till you have, not merely the -iron lining full in view, but whatsoever Medusa's head the Divine hand -has traced thereon. - -See how many women have excelled in literature and art, in philosophy -and science, within the present century. Their literary contributions -owe their popularity to intrinsic excellence: they have sought and found -the light of day, without the pompous recommendations of institutions, -or the forced encouragement of a clique. There is no limit to womanly -attainment, other than the force of womanly desire. Bihéron, destined to -become an anatomist, becomes one, whether the college of dissectors -smile or frown. Wittembach, versed alike in the mysteries of ancient -tongues and modern physics, becomes the counsellor of the wisest men of -her time, without neglecting her pantry or her needle. There is no -excuse for neglecting any home duty for the most desirable foreign -pursuit. Let buttons and shirt-bosoms have their day, the lexicon or -grammar its own also. Let the dinner-table be carefully spread; the -food, not only well cooked, but gracefully laid,--before we seek the -more precious nutriment of culture: and this, not so much because any -one has a right to say it _shall_ be so, as out of our own tender regard -to the needs of others, and a desire, through every possible -self-sacrifice, to make the common road easier, and turn recreant public -opinion to its proper vent. Let a neatness as exquisite, as womanly and -as polished as that of Charlotte Bronté, pervade not only our homes, but -consecrate our own personal appearance; then may we safely wear the -livery of schools. It may be double-dyed in indigo; yet, with this -accessory, no man will assert that it is unbecoming, no woman have need -to comfort her own ignorance by an unsisterly sneer. - -If God intends woman to walk side by side with man wherever he sees fit -to go, the movement now beginning must materially develop civilization. -Finer elements will be poured into the molten metal of society; and, -when the next cast is taken, we shall see sharper edges, bolder reliefs, -and a finer lining, than we have been wont. Nor shall we miss the -gentler graces. The classical world bitterly mourned the young and -gifted lecturer, Olympia Morata; but not with the broken-hearted agony -of the husband whose strength and life she had always been. Clotilda -Tambroni was crowned, not only with the laurels of a Greek -professorship, but with modesty and every virtue. - -It was the tender appreciation of the WOMEN of Bologna that erected a -stately monument to Laura Veratti. - -In England, a woman writes admirable tales to endow a bishopric in a -distant land. In our country, it was a pleasant omen, that the woman who -first made literature a profession was urged to it, neither by -scholarly taste nor an eccentric ambition, but to fulfil a mother's duty -to four orphan children. Her literary career is not yet closed; and, -though not lofty in its range, has been steadily pursued, and deserves -the regard which it has won. - -The names of Sedgwick, Sigourney, Kirkland, and Child suggest womanly -excellences first of all. Let us pay the debt we owe these women, by -following hopefully in the paths they have opened, till we create a -public opinion without reproach. - - "If I speak untenderly, - This evening, my belovèd, pardon it; - And comprehend me, that I loved you so, - I set you on the level of my soul, - And overwashed you with the bitter brine - Of some habitual thoughts." - - "Alas! long-suffering and most patient God, - Thou need'st be surelier God to bear with us, - Than even to have made us! Belovèd, let us love so well, - Our works shall still be better for our love, - And still our love be sweeter for our work!" - - -FOOTNOTE: - - [10] In allusion to the Unitarianism of Florence Nightingale. - - - - - THE MARKET; - - OR, - - WOMAN'S POSITION AS REGARDS WAGES - AND WORK. - - IN THREE LECTURES, - - DELIVERED IN BOSTON, NOVEMBER, 1859. - - - I.--DEATH OR DISHONOR. - - II.--VERIFY YOUR CREDENTIALS. - - III.--"THE OPENING OF THE GATES." - - - - - "And could he find - A woman, in her womanhood, as great - As he was in his manhood, then, he sang, - The twain together well might change the world." - - "But he never mocks; - For mockery is the fume of little hearts." - - "For, in those days, - No knight of Arthur's noblest dealt in scorn; - But if a man were halt or hunched,--in him, - By those whom God had made full-fed and tall, - Scorn was allowed, as part of his defect." - - GUINEVERE, in _Idyls of the King_. - - - - -THE MARKET. - - - - -I. - -DEATH OR DISHONOR. - - "How high, beneficent, sternly inexorable, if forgotten, is the - duty laid, not on women only, but on every creature, in regard to - these particulars!"--T. CARLYLE. - - -The delicate ladies on Beacon Street, who order their ices and creams -flavored with vanilla or pear-juice, may not know that bituminous coal, -rope-ends, and creosote, furnish a larger proportion of the piquant -seasoning than the blossoming bean or the orchard-tree; but every man of -science does.[11] - -Already the chemist furnishes the attar of Cashmere from heaps of offal -that lie rotting by the way. It is as if God forced man face to face -with every repellent fact of nature, and said, "Slake thy thirst at this -turbid fountain, child of the dust; or the purer streams of the hillside -shall trickle for thee in vain." - -Somewhat so, I am compelled to turn your eyes to the most repulsive -side of human life. I do not do it willingly, but of a necessity; not -because I like it, but because it is essential to the argument. May the -contact prove, that the perfumed joy of later years has disguised -itself, for both of us, in the rotting accumulations of our social life! - -It rests with yourselves to decide. These lectures may be useless; they -may fill your minds with painful details, open hideous vistas, and blind -you to the tempting, heavenward ways which we love to see the young and -beautiful pursue. - -But, in such case, the responsibility is not mine. _I_ would have you -look on vice, that you may learn to loathe it; _I_ would have you -realize, that what a noble friend of ours has called the "perishing -classes" are made of men and women like yourselves. - -Bidding you trust, to a certain extent, to the truth of those terrible -statistics that crush Thomas Henry Buckle in their grasp, I would still -have you remember, that, beside the active laws of moral and material -life, there is ever the living God immanent in the world; and that it is -always for _you_ to change the results of history, at any given era, -according to the great first law,--none the less real because so often -forgotten,--that this living God helps or hinders you as you will, and -becomes, at any moment that you choose, an important element in each -calculation. - -The subject at present before us is "Woman's Claims to Labor." - -These claims rest upon three points:-- - -First, The absolute necessity of bread. - -Second, A natural ability, physical and psychical; and an attraction -inherent in the ability. - -Third, An absolute want of the moral nature. - -Having treated these in turn, I propose to show you what practical -opposition man offers to her advance; what fault lies in herself; how -much more numerous are the occupations open than is generally supposed; -and what social obstructions have prevented her taking advantage of -them. - -In this connection, I shall speak of those women who have opened a way -for their sex; and shall offer to you certain plans of action, by which, -it seems to me, the convenience and the happiness of the employer and -the employed may be materially advanced, especially as regards our own -city. Like a wise child, who from his fretful pillow takes the pill -first, and the conserve afterwards, I shall open the most painful branch -of my subject in this lecture, and turn from it as soon as the needed -impression has been made. - -I ask for woman, then, free, untrammelled access to all fields of labor; -and I ask it, first, on the ground that she needs to be fed, and that -the question which is at this moment before the great body of working -women is "death or dishonor:" for lust is a better paymaster than the -mill-owner or the tailor, and economy never yet shook hands with crime. - -Do you object, that America is free from this alternative? I will prove -you the contrary within a rod of your own doorstep. - -Do you assert, that, if all avenues were thrown open, it would not -increase the quantity of work; and that there would be more laborers in -consequence, and lower wages for all? - -Lower wages for _some_, I reply; but certainly higher wages for women; -and they, too, would be raised to the rank of partners, and personal ill -treatment would not follow those who had position and property before -the law. - -You offer them a high education in vain till you add to it the stimulus -of a free career. In this lecture, I undertake to prove to you, that a -large majority of women stand in such relations to their employers, that -they are compelled to death or a life of shame. Why not choose death, -then? - -So I asked once of a woman thus pressed to the wall. "Ah, madam!" she -answered, "I chose it long ago for myself; but what shall I do for my -mother and child?" - -The superior has a right to every advantage which he can honestly gain, -as well as the inferior; but he has no right to increase any natural -difference in his favor, if he believe it to exist, by laws or customs -which cripple the inferior. If, as political economists tell us, it is -chiefly by man, collectively taken, that the property of society is -created; and if, on that very ground, man's interest has the first claim -to consideration,--does it not follow, that every friend of woman will -try to induce her to become a capitalist, and open to her, as her first -path to safety, the way to honorable independence? And, in this -connection, I must repeat what some of you have often heard me say, that -a want of respect for labor, and a want of respect for woman, lies at -the bottom of all our difficulties, low wages included. - -I will not admit that the argument of the political economist has, as -yet, any rightful connection with the price of woman's work. "The price -of labor will always rise or fall," he says, "as the number of laborers -is small or large; and it is because there are too many women for a few -avenues of labor that the wages are so low." If man believes this, let -him help us to open new avenues, and so reduce the number in any one. -But I claim that he has increased the natural difference in his own -favor, supposing that there be any such, by laws and customs which -cripple woman; and that his own lust of gain stands in the way of her -daily bread. Just so in hydraulics, men tell us, that water rises -everywhere to the level of its source; but you may raise it a thousand -feet higher by the aid of your forcing-pump, or drop it from a siphon a -thousand feet below. And a forcing-pump and a siphon has man imposed -upon the natural currents of labor. If, in my correspondence with -employers last winter, one man told me with pride that he gave from -eight to fifty cents for the making of pantaloons, including the -heaviest doeskins, he _forgot_ to tell me what he charged his customers -for the same work. Ah! on those bills, so long unpaid, the eight cents -sometimes rises to thirty, and the fifty cents _always_ to a dollar or a -dollar and twenty-five cents. - -The most efficient help this class of workwomen could receive would be -the thorough adoption of the cash system, and the establishment of a -large workshop in the _hands of women_ consenting to moderate profits, -and superintended by those whose position in society would win respect -for labor. When I said, six months ago, that ten Beacon-street women, -engaged in honorable work, would do more for this cause than all the -female artists, all the speech-making and conventions, in the world, I -was entirely in earnest. - -It is pretty and lady-like, men think, to paint and chisel: -philanthropic young ladies must work for nothing, like the angels. _Let_ -them, when they rise to angelic spheres; but, here and now, every woman -who works for nothing helps to keep her sister's wages down,--helps to -keep the question of death or dishonor perpetually before the women of -the slop-shop. - -Why? Because she helps to depress the estimate of woman's ability. What -is persistently given for nothing is everywhere thought to be worth -nothing. I throw open a door here for some stifled sufferer at the West -End: let her open a clothing establishment, and employ her own sex; let -her make money by it, and watch for the end. When an Employment Society -or a Needle-woman's Friend becomes bankrupt in purse, it is bankrupt in -morals and argument as well. The wheels of the world move on the -grooves of good management, of success. Set these once firmly -underneath, and the outcry against our moral Fultons will be hushed. - -In country villages and farming districts, there is a great deal of -harmful competition with the girls of the slop-shops, which can never be -ended until it is considered respectable for women openly to earn money. -The stitching of wallets, hat-linings, and shoe-bindings, the more -delicate labor on linen collars and shirt-bosoms, is carried on now not -merely by so-called benevolent societies who want to build churches, -lecture-rooms, and so on, but by rich farmers' wives, who keep or do not -keep servants, in the long, summer afternoons and winter evenings, -because it is work that can be done privately, and is sought to supply -them with jewelry and dress. If they will not educate their minds by -profitable reading, it is earnestly to be desired they should work, but -openly, for money, and at such trades as naturally fall to their lot. -Herb and fruit drying, distilling, preserving, pickling, -market-gardening, may yet lay the foundations of ample fortune for many -a woman. I have passed a summer amid lovely landscapes, where the women -found neither fruit nor vegetables for their table, but let the brown -earth plead to them in vain; while they stitched, stitched, stitched the -long hours away, every broken needle bearing witness against the broken -lives of women who needed in distant cities, where they stood homeless -and starving, the work their sisters pilfered, sitting at their ease -beside the hearth-stone. Their ignorance was their excuse. Let it not be -ours. - -And, first, for a few general statements. - -An indispensable requisite for what the Germans call a "bread study" is, -that, for average talent, it should command moderate success. "Of all -causes of prostitution in Paris," says Duchâtelet, "and probably in all -great towns, none is so active as the want of work, or inadequate -remuneration. What are the earnings of our laundresses, seamstresses, -and milliners? Compare the price of labor with the price of dishonor, -and you will cease to be surprised that women fall. Out of 5,183 -prostitutes in Paris, I found that 2,696 had been driven to the streets -by starvation; and 89, to feed starving parents or children. That is 300 -over one-half of the whole number." - -"It is well known," writes Miss Craig, in Edinburgh, "how brief is the -career that our female criminals run. How they are recruited, it is not -hard to guess in a country where there are fifty thousand women working -for less than sixpence a day, and a hundred thousand for less than one -shilling." - -When, a few years ago, the "Edinburgh Review" collected the statistics -of female labor, it found the wages about half what were paid to men. -But no reason was assigned for this difference; only, one master -gardener ventured to assert, that women ate less than men! - -An advertisement in London for fifty dressmakers brought seven hundred -applicants to the door of the warehouse; and, after long waiting, a -police-officer brought the employer to explain why they could not all be -hired. Sir James Clarke tells us, that the results of the inquiry into -the condition of this class of women exceeded in horror those of the -factory commission. Eighteen hours a day was the allotted time for work; -and nothing but strong coffee enabled them to ply their needles. Fifteen -hundred employers keep fifteen thousand girls. In driving times, they -work all night. One girl testified that she had worked through the whole -Sunday fifteen times in two years. - -The lace-makers also work from twelve to twenty hours; and, in families -where a peculiar "knack" is thought to be transmitted, children are put -to this work from the age of two years. There is no regular time for -food or sleep in certain stages of the manufacture; and many of these -overworked women become vagrants. - -A terrible letter from a Manchester mantle-maker was lately published, -in which she pleads to be permitted to earn twopence an hour, when -compelled to work overtime (that is, over twelve hours a day); and says, -pitifully, that, if the present regulations go on, nothing but death can -save her from dishonor. - -A Persian traveller, who visited the bazaar in Soho, was greatly shocked -when he found that all those young women were earning their own living; -and plumed himself on the superior happiness of the women of his own -country. What would he have said, could he have followed the clergyman's -daughter, as we must do, from a happy home and fine sewing, down, -through all the degradations of the slop-shop, to the very gutter? - -But this is England. - -Out of two thousand women who work for their daily bread in New York, -five hundred and thirty-four receive a dollar a week. "How many men," -asks Dr. Chapin, "would keep off death and conquer the Devil on such -wages? One woman had to do it by making caps at two cents each! Think of -this, women who like to buy things cheap: for, if the veil could be -lifted from your eyes, _you_ would see--the angels _do_ see--on your -gay, white dresses many a crimson stain; and among the dewy flowers with -which you wreathe your hair, the grass that grows on graves!" - -Seven thousand eight hundred and fifty ruined women walk the streets of -New York,--five hundred ordinary omnibus-loads. They are chiefly young -women under twenty, and the average length of the lives they lead is -just four years. Every four years, then, seven thousand eight hundred -and fifty women are drawn from their homes, many of them from simple, -rural hearths, to meet this fate. What drives them to it? The want of -bread. - -Last October, two vagrant women came before a Liverpool court, who -testified that they had been driven to evil courses by blows, and forced -to support in idleness, by their vice, the father of one, and the -husband of the other. - -This statement shocks you: but poor pay strikes as heavy a blow as a -husband's right arm; and these seven thousand eight hundred and fifty -women in New York supported hundreds of men in ease, before they dropped -from the seamstress's chair to the curbstone and the gutter.[12] - -Tait says that the permanent prostitution of any city bears a recognized -numerical relation to its means of occupation. You ask for proof. - -Out of two thousand cases in the city of New York, five hundred and -twenty-five pleaded destitution as the cause. - -One of the police-officers testified of one girl, "She struggled hard -before she fell; living on bread and water, and sleeping in -station-houses. In three years, I have known more than fifty such -cases." - -A young girl of seventeen was left with the care of a sick, crippled -sister. They were left to touch the very brink of despair. A kindly, -fair-faced woman brought work which saved them from death. More was -promised, on conditions that you can guess; and the toils so skilfully -woven, that the young and healthy longed for her sister's sickly face -and broken limb to ward off her fate. - -"When a whole day's work brings only a few pennies," said another to -Dr. Sanger, "a smile will buy me a dinner." - -Out of these two thousand women, one thousand eight hundred and eighty -had been brought up "_to do nothing_:" but, of all the trades, -dressmaking furnished the largest proportion; and yet you think you pay -your dressmakers well! - -Out of the two thousand, all but fifty-one had been religiously -educated. - -"It has been shown elsewhere," says Dr. Sanger, "that the public are -responsible for this evil, because they persist in excluding women from -many kinds of employment for which they are fitted, while for work that -is open they receive inadequate compensation. The community are equally -responsible for non-interference with openly acknowledged evils." - -Thus far I have spoken of New York. I might speak to you of Philadelphia -and Boston, and tell you of ruin wrought under my own eyes; of the -daughter of a State-street merchant found in the gutters of Toronto -years ago; of a daughter whom that wealthy father dared not deny, when I -wrote to him, though he refused to furnish the bread that would have -kept her from sin. I know how hard it is for a true and good man to open -his eyes to the wickedness and misery near at hand. I have no desire to -draw down upon myself the local wrath of small clothiers and petty -officials. You know what wages are in England: let us go thither for our -concluding facts. - -There are five hundred thousand single women in England, and one out of -every thirteen is a thing of shame; that is, there are thirty-eight -thousand four hundred and sixty-one women of the town. - -Almost none of these women are drawn from domestic service. Many were -found in New York who had lived out for twenty-five cents a week, and -from that dropped to moral death. - -You know what to expect from the lot of English dressmakers, -mantlemakers, and laceweavers; but does it not chill you with horror to -think that the class of governesses and private teachers furnishes also -a certain number? - -There is in London a Governesses' Benevolent Institution. There were -lately before its committee a hundred and twenty candidates for -annuities of a hundred dollars a year. Ninety-nine were unmarried, -eighty-three were literally penniless, all of them were over fifty years -of age, and forty-nine of them were over sixty. - -One woman had labored for twenty-six years, supporting a mother and five -brothers and sisters, all of whom she had educated at her own expense; -but she had not saved a penny. Three were ruined by attempting to -sustain their fathers in business. Six had invalid sisters dependent -upon them. These are the histories of pure, untarnished names: fancy for -yourselves the tales told by dishonored lips. The labors of Mr. Mayhew -among this forsaken class of women are probably familiar by name to you -all. To deepen the impression which I wish to make, I shall quote some -of the evidence offered by him in his letters to the "Morning -Chronicle," and close this branch of my subject. Eleven thousand women -under twenty are employed in the slop-shops. If their own words do not -touch you, mine, of course, will fail. - -_1st Case._--"I work from six, A.M., to ten, P.M. In the best weeks, I -clear a dollar and fifty cents; but I only average seventy-five cents -the year round. My mother is sixty-seven, and seldom gets a day's work. -She scours pots for the publicans at thirty-seven cents a day, but is -otherwise dependent upon me. I was a good girl when I first went to -work, and struggled hard to keep pure; but I had not enough to eat. Then -I took up with a young man, turned of twenty, who said he would make me -his lawful wife; but I _hardly cared, so I could feed myself and -mother_.[13] Many young girls tempted me,--they were so happy with -enough to eat and drink. Could I have honestly earned enough for food -and clothes, I would never have gone wrong; no, never. I fought against -it to the last. If I had been born a lady, it would _not have been hard -to act like one_." - -_2d Case._--"I earn seventy-five cents a week clear. My husband has been -dead seven year, and I have buried three children. I was happy so long -as he lived (here she hid her face in a rusty shawl, and burst into -tears). I was always true to him, so help me God! I was an honest woman -up to the time my security[14] died. I swear it. I am glad my children -are dead; for I could not feed them." - -_3d Case._--"I was an honest woman till my husband died. I can put my -hand on my heart, and swear it. But I was penniless, and a baby to keep. -The world has drove me about so. When I want clothes, I _must_ go to the -streets." - -_4th Case._--"I am the daughter of a minister of the gospel; and I -pledge my word solemnly and sacredly, that it was the low price paid for -my labor that drove me to sin. I could only make thirty-four cents a -week at shirts, and should have starved but for the street. At last, I -swore to myself that I would keep from it for my boy's sake. I had -pawned my clothes, and slept in a shawl and petticoat under a butcher's -shed. I was trying to get to the workhouse. I had had no food for two -days. My baby's legs froze to my side, and I sank upon a doorstep. A -lady found us, and would have fed us; but I could not eat. She rubbed -the baby's legs with brandy. That night I got to the workhouse: but they -would not take me in without an order; so I went back to sin for one -month. It was the last. In my heart I hated it; my whole nature rebelled -at it; and nobody but God knows how I struggled to give it up. I pawned -my only gown more than once." - -Look at the frightful calmness of this story: "They would not admit me -to the workhouse without an order; _so I went back to sin for one -month_." When this girl told her story to Mr. Mayhew, she had been eight -years at service, honored by her employers. Her personal beauty was so -great, and the whole story so romantic, that Mr. Mayhew could hardly -believe that she had come to him of her own accord to save other women -from the same fate; and he took a day's journey into the country to -confirm the facts. Her employers spoke in high terms of her honesty, -sobriety, industry, and modesty. For her child's sake, she begged him to -conceal her name; and she told her story with her face hidden in her -hands, sobbing so as scarcely to be understood, and the tears dropping -through. - -If you do not realize the commonness of these tragedies, may God help -you! Some of you will assert that all this is necessary; that, in this -age, a certain proportion of women must meet this fate; and wall me up -with statistics. - -I tell you to bring the battering-ram of a Divine Love to bear on that -wall. You will find, then, that, just as much as it was decreed that -such women should be, it was decreed that an infinite saving power -should exist, and that you should help to make it available. You may -make these statistics what you will, not in an hour or a day, but in -_time_. - -Some of you will assert that women capable of falling thus can hardly be -worth saving. I know there is some wilful vice; I do not desire to blink -the truth: but, among those whom ill-paid labor forces into sin, there -are women nobler and more disinterested than many who remain pure. Look -at the stories I have told you,--women working for their kindred; a -young girl of seventeen ruined to find bread for a crippled sister. In -New York, the thirty-seven women supporting infirm parents; twenty-nine -providing for nephews and nieces; twenty-three, widows with the care of -young children. - -Those of you who have had personal experience of these women will not -need me to tell you that _they_ never pay low wages. The washerwomen and -starchers whom they employ are always well paid and well treated. They -give much in charity to save others, as they often say, from their fate, -and doubtless in the secret hope that God will permit them thus to atone -for their sin. A few years ago, three young girls lived together in -Glasgow. One of them, the youngest and frailest, a girl whose story was -like that of Mrs. Gaskell's "Ruth," had left a rural home for a -dressmaker's workroom. She fell into a decline, and, in her frequent -delirium, raved about the bleat of her father's sheep, the evening -cow-bell, and the crowing of the cock. In her lucid moments, the thought -that she must die in shame convulsed her with agony. The two remaining -girls took counsel. "There is no hope for us," they said; "but perhaps -God will forgive us if we save her. Let us send her into the country, -and work for her till she dies." And so they did, adding to the reckless -wear of their horrid life the toil of the needlewoman; but, believe me, -they never forgot the dying smile of her they had saved. Did you or I -ever make a sacrifice which would compare with that? It is painful for -me to stand here, and present this subject; it is, perhaps, painful for -you to listen: but, with such women among the ruined, only cowards, it -seems to me, would refuse to risk all things to save them.[15] - -In France, where all women of this class are registered, Duchâtelet -found 1,680 who had erased their names from the list, on the plea that -they had found honest occupation. He traced them: 108 had become -housekeepers; 864, seamstresses; 247, shopkeepers; and 461, domestics. - -The Society for the Rescue of Young Women, in London, admitted two -hundred members last year. It asks no questions of those who enter; and -the wisdom of this is shown in the fact, that its subscription-list -contains the names of sixty former inmates, whose subscriptions range -from twenty-five cents to twenty dollars per annum. - -A terrible account has lately been published of the straw-bonnet -warehouses in London, by one who has worked in them. One single story -will show you, how that _touch of truth_, which, far more than the touch -of genius, makes the "whole world kin," revealed a noble human nature in -the midst of what seemed utter depravity. - -One day, the worn-out women tried to compel a young, fresh worker to do -less than she was able, or to secrete a portion of her braid, instead of -making it up. They could not prevail. "Are you a Metherdis, miss?" asked -one woman. "I'm not a thief," she replied gently. A big, bad woman stole -her extra plait; but no one dared insult her. Once she fainted, and some -one offered her gin; but the big, bad woman started forward: "Would you -make her a devil like the rest of us?" she cried; "I'd sooner see her -stabbed!" and she got her a cup of tea from her own "screw."[16] When -they were kept late, this woman walked home with her, cautioning her -against gin, against young men, especially the gentry, and bidding her -not forget her prayers: "for," said she, "_you_ know how; _I_ was never -teached." As she parted from her one night, she said, "I don't expect -it's any use; but it would do no harm if you prayed _once_ for me." Who -will say that this woman was irreclaimable? And, in estimating the -chances of saving a depraved woman, you should always remember, that, in -nine cases out of twelve, she sold herself, not to vice, but to what -seemed, at least, to her longing heart, like _love_. Put yourself in her -place. Do not start: it will do you no harm. Think what it would be to -slave soul and body, day after day, for a crust and a cup of cold water. -Not so much would your failing body crave one nourishing meal, as the -aching, human heart within you one tender look, one loving word. If, in -your misery, you had kept some beauty; if you had known no gentler touch -than a drunken father's blow or a mother's curse,--how strong would be -the temptation when one above you pleaded for affection! See how like an -angel of light this demon would descend! O my sisters! you have never -read this story right. Such a woman is no monster, only a gentle-hearted -creature, unsupported by God's law, unrestrained by self-control. Your -scorn, the world's rejection, _may_ make her what you think. Meanwhile, -are you above temptation? Does not conscience enforce my plea? - -"Some positions," says Legouvé, "attract by their ease; but it is work -that purifies and fills existence. God permits hard trials; but he has -appointed labor, and we forget them all." A serious comforter, it gives -always more than it promises, and dries the bitterest tears. A pleasure -unequalled in itself, it is the salt of all other pleasures.[17] - -You have seen that a necessity to live demands of you new fields for -woman to work in; and the question arises, Is she fit for these new -duties?[18] - -I consider the question of intellectual ability settled. - -The volumes of science, mathematics, general literature, &c., which -women have given to the world, without sharing to the full the -educational advantages of man, seem to promise that they shall outstrip -him here, the moment they have a fair start. But I go farther, and state -boldly, that women have, from the beginning, done the hardest and most -unwholesome work of the world in all countries, whether civilized or -uncivilized; and I am prepared to prove it. I do not mean that rocking -the cradle and making bread is as hard work as any, but that women have -always been doing man's work, and that all the outcry society makes -against work for women is not to protect _women_, but a certain class -called _ladies_. Now, I believe that work is good for ladies; so let us -look at the truth. "Let it once be understood," says one of our English -friends, "that the young business-woman is shielded by the social -intercourse of those who are called ladies, and it would obviate many of -those grave objections which deter parents from consenting that their -children shall brave the world in shops and warehouses." - -Most certainly it would; and to this point we must frequently return. -Meanwhile, says Sydney Smith, "so long as girls and boys run about in -the dirt, and trundle hoop together, they are both precisely alike;" and -I shall proceed to show that large numbers have not only played but -worked in the dirt together, and trundled hoop, not merely through our -own lives, but ever since work and play began. - -I shall speak first of Asiatic women; and I can afford to begin by -quoting a Cochin-China proverb, to the effect that "a woman has nine -lives, and bears a great deal of killing." I do not know anything else -about the Cochin-China women; but this looks as if their lot were no -exception to the general rule. The Chinese peasant-woman goes to the -field with her male infant on her back, and ploughs, sows, and reaps, -exposed to all the changes of the weather. When her husband is proved -criminal, she must die as his accomplice; having, at least, strength -enough to suffer. In Calcutta, women are the masons who keep the roof -tight; and you may see them daily carrying their hods of cement, -spreading it on the tops of houses, and flattening it with a wooden -rammer like that with which our Irishmen pave the streets. - -You have heard of the Bombay ghauts. Ghaut is a native word, which means -"passage through;" and it is applied by the resident not only to the -railway cut between the hills, but to the hills themselves. These are of -volcanic origin,--a sort of trap. Formed beneath the water, the mass -cooled as it was thrown up, and the sides do not slope much. "When I -gained an elevation of two thousand feet," says my correspondent, "and -looked back, I saw hills of all shapes and sizes thrown up, and ravines -thousands of feet below, all looking like the dried bed of an ocean. The -table-land on which I stood is two thousand five hundred feet above the -level of the sea; and, as this is the elevation at Poonah, the railroad -from Campoolu winds as it can along the sides of the mountains. There -are twenty-five tunnels through the solid rock on this road, each half a -mile long or more. There are piers of solid stone, with arches spanning -forty feet, which rise a hundred above the valley. Part of the grade was -formed by lowering men with ropes, to drill the holes for blasting, a -thousand feet above the ravine. There are twenty thousand workmen -employed; and one-third, or about seven thousand, of these are"--what do -you think? In a country where no European man can labor, where the -native rests until compelled by his conqueror to work, in the year 1859 -behold seven thousand _women_ laboring in the ghauts! Climbing, -climbing, through the cloudless day, _women_ carry baskets of stone and -earth upon their heads, to creep to the edge of the ravines, and fill -with these tedious contributions thousands of perpendicular feet; and -the men who pay them, doubtless, talk to their daughters about _woman's_ -lack of physical strength! - -In Australia, the woman carries the burdens which man's indolence -refuses; and the deserts of Africa bear the same testimony in freedom -that we glean from the witness of slavery. In the West-India Islands, -the patient negress toils by the side of her mate, doing to the full as -hard a day's work, though encumbered by the weight of a child upon her -back; but she does not share, in the same way, his hours of rest. The -customs of Africa still prevail, and she offers her husband's food and -tobacco on her knees. - -Nor does the poetry of ancient Greece show us the so-long vaunted -delicacy of the sex. Homer's princesses beat linen on the rocks, and -Andromache shares all the functions of the groom:-- - - "For this, high fed in plenteous stalls ye stand, - Served with pure wheat, and by a princess' hand; - For this, my spouse, of great Actæon's line, - So oft hath steeped the strengthening grain in wine!" - -We have crossed the boundary line of Europe, without any change in the -indications; and we may drop from Homer to the middle ages, or modern -times, as well. - -The traveller who gazes admiringly upon the vineclad hills of the Jura, -rising, terrace upon terrace, till the eye can scarce distinguish the -limit between the work of man and the rock of ages which still crowns -the summit, will learn with surprise that the mind which conceived of -such stupendous labor, and the hand which held out honor and freedom as -its reward, were a woman's. - -Under a burning sun, or exposed to a bitter, glacial _bisè_, the first -cultivators, partly women, climbed slowly and painfully, by rocky ledges -or crevices, along those dangerous slopes and beetling cliffs, where -trees were to be hewn down and briers plucked up, raising by manual -efforts alone the stone necessary for the steps and walls, and the deep -tunnels for the safe passage of the torrents which vegetation now -conceals. And among them, wherever her donkey's foot could find a way, -went the woman who devised the work and bestowed the guerdon, with the -distaff on her saddle, which gives her to this day the name of Bertha -the spinner. - -Yes, it was Bertha, of the Transjurane, who, about the middle of the -tenth century, undertook this work; opened the old Roman roads; and, in -defending her people against the Saracen hordes, first devised, it may -be, the modern telegraph. A prolonged line from her Alps to the Jura is -still set with the solid stone towers from which Bertha's sentinels -warned each other.[19] - -On the 13th of April, 1809, the French and Bavarian prisoners held by -the Tyrolese at Steinach were marched to Schwatz, and thence to -Salzburg, under an escort of women: and the prisoners, at least, felt -sufficient confidence in the physical strength of the guard; for they -made no attempt to escape. - -"Not a year ago," writes Anna Johnson of Germany, "I saw a young girl -standing up to her knees in a manure-heap, which she shovelled into a -cart, and then drove to the field. She was hired to do this work at -fourteen dollars a year. On the mountains, the women were carrying soil -and manure to the vines in baskets, as Queen Bertha taught them nine -centuries ago." A still less pleasant picture may be drawn from Köhl's -"Reminiscences of Montenegro." "Down among the stones, on the banks of -the Fuimera," he says, "some Cattaro women and girls were washing and -scraping the entrails of the goats that the men had brought to market. -There was one tall, slender, handsome girl, dressed in a crimson -petticoat, and jacket embroidered with gold, and her hair elegantly -fastened with golden pins. A pair of richly wrought slippers lay on the -stone beside her; and she laughed and talked merrily as she washed and -scraped away. At last, she packed the whole into a tub, and lifted it on -her gayly dressed head to carry home. The next day was Sunday; and I met -her, radiant with beauty and gold embroidery, on her way to church. I -often met these girls carrying on foot the baggage of the -riding-parties." - -In 1850, a clergyman of this city tells me that he saw women, wearing -leathern breast-plates, harnessed to the canal-boats of the Low -Countries, and doing the work of oxen. - -In France, we find the same evidences of out-door work and physical -ability. Galignani tells us, that, in consequence of the success of a -certain Madame Isabelle in breaking horses for the Russian Army, the -French minister of war lately authorized her to proceed officially -before a commission of officers, with General Régnault de St. Jean -d'Angely at their head, to break some horses for the cavalry. After -twenty days, the animals were so completely broken, that the minister -immediately entered into an arrangement with her to introduce her system -into all the schools of cavalry in the empire, beginning with that of -Saumur. - -Marshal Baraguay d'Hilliers, at Nantes, recently made a distribution of -St. Helena medals to the old soldiers of the empire. Among the number -was a woman named Jeanne Louise Antonini, who had served ten years in -the navy, and fifteen in the infantry, where she obtained the rank of -non-commisioned officer in the seventieth regiment of the line. She -received nine wounds while bravely fighting. "It is not the _coat_ that -makes the man," said our marshal when he gave the medal. - -One of the great celebrities of the Invalides was buried, very lately, -with great pomp. This "old invalid" was an individual of the softer -sex,--the widow Brulow,--who entered the army, in 1792, as a soldier in -the forty-second regiment of infantry, authorized to enlist, in spite of -her sex, by General Casabianca. At Fort Gesco, she was promoted to the -rank of sergeant, after being severely wounded in the encounter which -took place. Perceiving that the troops were getting short of powder, she -set out alone at midnight for Calvi, roused the women of that place to -the number of sixty, and started them off for Gesco, laden with powder -and ammunition, which enabled the little fort to hold out eight and -forty hours longer, until relief came. A little after, at the siege of -Calvi, the widow Brulow, while in charge of a gun, was so desperately -wounded that she was forced to renounce her military career; and none -other was open to her but the retirement of the Invalides, where she was -admitted with the rank of sub-lieutenant. The present emperor, to whom -the widow Brulow was introduced on his visit to the Invalides, presented -her with the cross of the Legion of Honor and the medal of St. Helena; -her comrades, by acclamation, having designated her as most worthy of -the honor. By a decree, dated from the imperial headquarters, since our -first edition was printed, we learn that the race of heroines is not -extinct; for two other women, by that decree, obtained the military -medal for their courage at the battle of Magenta. - -There recently died, at Portsea, in England, a woman, ninety years of -age, named Nelly Giles. She was one of the few surviving witnesses of -the battle of the Nile; having been on board His Majesty's ship -"Bellerophon," in the command of Captain Darby, and in all subsequent -engagements under Nelson. During the action of the Nile, she was -surrounded by heaps of slain and wounded; and she nursed the latter -tenderly, undismayed by the horrors of the scene. Three days after the -battle, she gave birth to a son. - -The government, in consideration of her great attention to the sick and -wounded, and of the assistance she gave the surgeons, awarded her a -gratuity of seventeen pounds a year for her life. - -A young patriot, named Francisco Riso, was killed on April 4, 1862, at -Palermo, during a popular demonstration which took place before -Garibaldi's arrival. On April 20, his father, Giovanni Riso, sixty years -old, was shot by the Bourbon soldiers, without so much as the form of a -trial. On the very day that Garibaldi entered Palermo, a young and -beautiful nun, Ignacia Riso, the sister and daughter of the two Risos -named above, left the convent, and, amidst a shower of balls and -grape-shot,--a cross in one hand, and a poignard in the other,--placed -herself at the head of Garibaldi's column, crying, "Down with the -Bourbons! Death to the tyrant! Vengeance!" She kept her place as long as -the fighting lasted; and her courageous attitude electrified the -volunteers. Ever since that day, the name of Ignacia Riso has been held -sacred. When she passes in the street, the soldiers bow low, and bless -her with the most profound respect. Garibaldi himself pays her great -attention, and loves her as if she were his own daughter. - -From instances like these, refreshing because they tell of self-imposed -labor and eccentric character, we turn with less pleasure to the -statistics of the factories. Here men have left to women not only the -worst paid but the most unwholesome work of the respective mills. - -Women, in France, are employed in the manufacture of cotton, silk, and -wool. The cotton manufacture compels two processes which are very -injurious,--the beating of the cotton, which brings on a distressing -phthisis; and the preparation, or dressing, which needs a degree of heat -not to be endured after mature age. Both these departments are filled by -women paid at half-prices. - -The woollen manufacture compels only one unwholesome process,--that of -carding; but all the carders are women at half-wages. - -In the silk factories, again, there are two unwholesome processes -entirely carried on by women. The first is the drawing of the cocoons, -where the hands must be kept constantly in boiling water, and the odor -of the putrefying insects constantly fills the lungs; the second is -carding the floss, the fine lint of which affects the bronchial tubes. -Six out of every eight women so employed die in a few months. Healthy -young girls from the mountains soon develop tubercular consumption; and, -to complete the dreadful tale, they are kept upon the lowest wages; -being paid only twenty cents where a man would earn sixty.[20] - -The Anglo-Saxons, says the historian, "had not been long settled in -England before the more savage of their traits were softened down. The -wife continued to be regularly purchased by her husband, and the -contract was considered a mere money bargain, long subsequent to the -reign of Ethelbert." And why? Not because love was mercenary; but -because woman was regarded, in the first place, as a beast of burden, a -laborer. In the "Romany Rye," we are told that the sale of a wife with a -halter round her neck is still a legal transaction in England. "It must -be done in the cattle-market, as if she were a mare; all women being -considered as mares by the old English law, and, indeed, called mares in -certain counties where genuine old English law is still preserved." - -Such a sale as this was recently completed at Worcester, and the -agreement between the men was published in the "Worcester Chronicle." - -"Thomas Middleton delivered up his wife Mary Middleton to Philip Rostins -for one shilling and a quart of ale; and parted wholly and solely for -life, never to trouble one another. - - "Witness. (Signed) THOMAS × MIDDLETON, his mark. - Witness. MARY MIDDLETON, his wife. - Witness. PHILIP × ROSTINS, his mark. - Witness. S.H. STONE, Crown Inn, Friar St." - -I have preserved the old expression _mare_ in my quotation, to indicate, -not the degradation to which women fell, but that it was as a beast of -burden that men regarded her. Several cases of sales, such as is here -referred to, have occurred within a few years; but this is the only -certificate of transfer that I ever saw. I desire to direct your -attention to the remarkable fact, that, of the three parties to it, the -wife, who was sold, was the _only_ one who could write her name. The men -signed it by a mark.[21] "A generation back," says Cobbett, "it was a -common thing to see women, half naked, working like beasts, chained to -carts, upon the common roads of England." - -When Lord Ashley's Commission reported, in 1842, five thousand females -were at work, more than a thousand feet below the soil, in the -coal-mines of the north of England. These women were nearly naked, and -drew trucks, in harness, on all-fours, like beasts of burden. You cannot -have forgotten the remarkable description of such women in D'Israeli's -novel of "The Sibyl." - -"They come forth. The plain is covered with the swarming multitude: -bands of stalwart men, broad-chested and muscular, wet with toil, and -black as the children of the tropics; troops of youth, alas! of _both -sexes_, though neither their raiment nor their language indicates the -difference. All are clad in male attire, and oaths that men might -shudder to hear issue from lips born to breathe words of sweetness. Yet -these are to be, some _are_, the mothers of England! Can we wonder at -the hideous coarseness of their language, when we remember the savage -rudeness of their lives? Naked to the waist, an iron chain fastened to a -belt of leather runs between their legs, clad in canvas; while, on hands -and feet, an English girl, for twelve, sometimes for sixteen, hours a -day, hauls and hurries tubs of coal along subterranean roads, dark, -precipitous, and plashy." These women, _called_ free, were the wretched -slaves of capital. In the life of Stephenson, the railway engineer, you -will find a further account of them, and may read the chilling answer -given by a woman whom he asked if she had ever heard of Jesus, "that no -such hand had ever worked in her shaft!" Let the proprietors of English -mines remember! No such hand did ever work in those shafts, yet they -called themselves Christian men! True as death were the words. If the -_law_ is now free of reproach, the _evil_ has by no means ceased to -exist: the Master still stands knocking. - -"Children," wrote Lord Ashley, "are taken to work when only four years -old, girls as well as boys. Dragging the coal carriages requires the -whole strength of either sex. Young men and women, married women and -married men, work together through the same number of hours, almost, -sometimes quite, naked, constantly demoralizing each other. It stints -their growth and cripples their limbs." In the east of Scotland, they -still toil up steep ladders from the shafts. - -If it were my purpose to show you moral degradation, you could hardly -bear what I must say; but I desire only, at this moment, to show you -these men and women _working_, as Sydney Smith would say, _in the dirt -together_. In 1842, the Earl of Durham knew of this; and he and the set -with whom he lived dared, doubtless, to whisper to the ladies in their -halls, that women were not made to labor! - -In the calico-mills, girls grind and mix the colors. They are called -_teerers_. They begin at five years of age, and labor twelve hours a -day, sometimes sixteen; and are kept late into the night to prepare for -the following day. - -In Sedgely and Warrington, the fate of the female pinmakers is no -better. They begin at five years of age, and work from twelve to sixteen -hours a day. If refractory, they are struck at Wiltenhall with strap, -stick, hammer, or file, in spite of the delicacy of the sex. In Sedgely, -more women are employed than men; but they do not fare any better: their -bodies are seamed by blows given with bars of burning iron. - -O my sisters! why has God sheltered _us_ in quiet homes? What have we -done to deserve a happier fate? Why were we not left to writhe beneath -the blows of the smith, or the outrage of a market-sale? - -Because God has laid down a responsibility by the side of every -privilege, and requires us to labor not merely to set such women free, -but to establish a freedom and security _by law_,--the law of custom as -well as the law of courts, which we only possess through usurpation or -indulgence. - -I will not leave these English shores without alluding to the physical -strength shown by that lovely paralytic, Anna Gurney. Deprived of the -use of her limbs in very early life, she acquired the Latin, Greek, and -Hebrew, and finally the Teutonic tongues, with a facility and -thoroughness that her Anglo-Saxon translations show. Men might be -excused if they sheltered from contact with the world this infirm -creature, dependent upon artificial aid for every movement; but what did -she choose for herself? - -In 1825, after her mother's death, she went to live at Northrepps. At -her own expense, she procured one of Manby's apparatus for saving the -lives of seamen cast upon that dangerous coast; and, in cases of great -urgency and peril, she caused herself to be carried down to the beach, -and, from the sick chair which she wheeled over the sand, directed every -movement for the rescue and recovery of the half-drowned men. - -Look at the pictures! See that grimy, tangled woman in harness, -straining, in full health, along the coal-shafts! See, nearer, this -lovely cripple, the Quaker cap folded over her soft, brown hair, her -soul erect and noble, doing the duty of a Grace Darling! The first -labors like the brute beast, the victim of human misgovernment and -heathenish ignorance; the last chooses for herself a conflict with the -storm, and earns, with as full right as any brother, the meed of the -world. - -Let us pass over to America. The Caribs of Honduras are a hardy race, -and do not share the prejudices of Massachusetts on the subject of -labor. Each man has several wives. For each he clears a plantation and -builds a house. In a year, she has every kind of breadstuff under -cultivation; and hires creers, which she freights for Truxillo and -Belize, her husband often commanding for her. If her agricultural labors -prove too heavy, as a thrifty woman will sometimes make them, she hires -her husband to work for her at two dollars a week. - -So the Northern Indian glides nimbly through the woods; while the squaw -carries on her unlucky back their common food and covering, or perhaps -hauls the canoe across the portage. A Jesuit priest rebuked an Orinoco -woman for infanticide. "I wish _my_ mother had been brave enough to part -with me!" was her reply. "Our husbands go to hunt; and we drag after -them, one baby at the breast, another on our back. When we return, we -cannot sleep, but must grind maize all night for their chica. Drunken, -they beat us, or stamp us under foot; and, after twenty years of such -labor, a young wife is brought home to abuse us and such children as we -have not killed. What ought I to do?" - -At Santa Cruz, Theodore Parker writes to Francis Jackson that men and -women work together to repair the public highway; hoeing the earth into -trays, and throwing it into a cart which they drag and push together. - -In Ohio, last year, about thirty girls went from farm to farm, hoeing, -ploughing, and the like, for sixty-two and a half cents a day. At Media, -in Pennsylvania, two girls named Miller carry on a farm of three -hundred acres; raising hay and grain, hiring labor, but working mostly -themselves. These women are not ignorant: they at one time made -meteorological observations for an association auxiliary to the -Smithsonian Institute. But labor attracts them, as it would many women -if they were not oppressed by public opinion. - -"In New York," writes a late correspondent of the "Lily," "I saw women -performing the most menial offices,--carrying parcels for grocers, and -trunks for steamboats. They often sweep the crossings in muddy weather; -and I once saw one carrying brick and mortar for a mason." - -During the late terrible destruction of property at the Lawrence mills, -the women, heroic in every department, did not excuse themselves from -the severest labor. When, after hours of extreme exertion, the firemen, -worn down and quite exhausted, called for help, a bevy of ladies, who -were standing on the sidewalk in Canal Street, flew over to the engines, -and, "manning" the brakes, worked the machine, amid the cheers of the -firemen. - -You know what bodily strength and nervous energy carried Mary Patton -round Cape Horn. Well, on the 25th of June, 1858, the British ship -"Grotto" left Cuba; and, on the second day, the yellow-fever broke out -in the worst form. Seven days after, so many had died, that there -remained only the captain, his wife, and two of the crew. Then the -captain was taken ill; and, beside nursing him, the poor wife, who had -already nursed officers and men, took her station at the wheel, and -steered by his instructions for Sandy Hook. There the steam-tug -"Huntress" found them, the heroic woman at the wheel, the husband at -that moment struggling with death; and, when they reached New York, -three out of eleven, one of them the suffering wife, survived to tell -the tale, and show how a woman can work. So common are such instances -becoming, that you have hardly heard the name of this Mrs. Nichols, for -whom tender charity soon cared. - -A mutiny on board the ship "Maria," of New York, was put down Nov. 10, -1860, by the energy and decision of the wife of the master, Captain -Clark, who, with pistols in her hands, threatened to shoot one of the -mutineers if he did not desist. He was cowed into submission; and, a -signal being made to the revenue cutter, the mutineers were taken into -custody. The mate would have been killed, but for the heroic woman's -intrepidity. - -But all such labor is the result of compulsion,--compulsion of -barbarism, of slavery, of unfair competition, or dire disease. Let us -close this branch of our subject with a picture homely but attractive. -"According to thy request," writes a Quaker friend from Wilmington, -Del., "I send thee some facts concerning Sarah Ann Scofield. Some -fifteen years since, her father became very much involved in debt. He -owed some ten or twelve hundred dollars; having lost largely by working -for cotton and woollen mills. His business was making spindles and -fliers. His daughter, then just sixteen, proposed to go into her -father's shop and assist him; she being the oldest of seven children. He -accepted her offer, and told me himself, that, in twelve months, she -could finish more work, and do it better, than any man he had ever -trained for eighteen. She earned fifteen dollars a week at the rate he -then paid other hands. Her father died. Her two oldest brothers learned -the trade off her, and went away. She has now two younger sisters in -apprenticeship, and a brother fourteen years of age, all working under -her; turning, polishing, filing, and fitting all kinds of machinery. I -went out to see her last week. She was then making water-rams to force -streams into barns and houses. She is also beginning to make many kinds -of carriage-axles. She is her own draughtsman, and occasionally does her -own forging. To use her own words, 'What any man can do, I can but try -at.' She has a steam-engine, every part of which she understands; and I -know that her work gives entire satisfaction. When they have steady -employment, they clear sixty dollars a week; and she says she would -rather work at it for her bread, than at sewing for ten times the money. -The truth is, it is a business she is fond of." - -I have shown you that a very large number of women are compelled to -self-support; that the old idea, that all men support all women, is an -absurd fiction; and, if you require other evidence than mine, you may -find it in the English courts, under the working of the new Divorce -Bill. Nearly all the women who have applied for divorces have proved -that the subsistence of the family depended upon them. Out of six -million of British women over twenty-one years of age, one-half are -industrial in their mode of life, and more than two millions are -self-supporting in their industry like men. Put this fact fully before -your eyes. - -Driven to self-support, you have seen, also, that low wages and -comparatively few and overcrowded avenues of labor compel women to -vicious courses for their daily bread. The streets of Paris, London, -Edinburgh, New York, and Boston, tell us the same painful story; and in -glaring, crimson letters, rises everywhere the question,--"Death or -dishonor?" I have shown you that there is encouragement for moral -effort, because these women escape from vice as fast as they find work -to do. "Have they strength for the conflict," you ask, "or desire to -enter such fields?" Find your answer in what they have done from the -earliest ages, with the foot of Confucius and Vishnu, of capital and -interest, upon their necks. In the lovely lives of Bertha and Ann -Gurney, and the powerful attraction of Sarah Scofield, you have found -pleasanter pictures whereon to rest your eyes. Let no man taunt woman -with inability to labor, till the coal-mines and the metal-works, the -rotting cocoons and fuzzing-cards, give up their dead; till he shares -with her, equally at least, the perils of manufactures and the press of -the market. As partners, they must test and prove their comparative -power. - -We must next consider what need woman's moral nature has of work, and -what sort of opposition man practically offers her. - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [11] "Now that we can produce artificially, and from waste and even - noisome materials, the ethereal liquids to which the fragrance of the - pear, the pineapple, and the melon are due, and can manufacture - spirits of wine from coal-gas and oil of vitriol, we can scarcely be - over-sanguine as to what we shall yet effect as competitors with - living organisms in the production of certain compounds."--GEORGE - WILSON'S _Life of Forbes_, p. 129. - - [12] What I mean here will be understood by a reference to Emile - Souvestre's "Philosophe sous les Toits." In a pretty story of two - women employed in a clasp-factory, he speaks of their low wages, and - says, that, having worked for thirty years, they had seen ten masters - grow wealthy and retire from business, without having changed, in any - degree, their own position. - - These claspmakers certainly supported these ten masters and their - families in ease; and, wonderful to relate, these two did not fall. - - An angel, clothed in white, sat on the sepulchre wherein their hopes - were buried, all through that thirty years. - - [13] This may strike some readers like the hardihood of willing vice; - but it is only callousness, born of exposure to hopeless cold and - hunger. - - [14] When a woman wishes to get slop-work, she must find some friend, - who will either deposit, or become responsible for, a sum equal to the - value of the work she is permitted to carry home. This person is - called her "security." The longer she works, the lower she falls; and, - on the death of the "security," it is often impossible to replace him. - The custom does not seem to be _general_ in this country. - - [15] Those who are unaccustomed to this class of women will be - inclined to think that the state of things represented in the text has - long passed away. People who know nothing of the value of money talk a - great deal about "increase of wages," and are apt to say that any - honest woman can now get a living. Women's wages are at this moment of - less value than they were before the war; and, to confirm the - foregoing statements, I add here the statements of my friend Mrs. - Corbin, which reach me as I go to press:-- - - "At a meeting of the Liberal Christian League, held at Rev. Robert - Collyer's church, on Sunday evening, Feb. 3, a report was read by the - Chairman of the Committee on Friendless Women, from which the - following is an extract:-- - - Your Committee aimed [in visiting houses of ill-fame], in Chicago, - to find out, as nearly as possible, the general facts concerning - the lives of this class of women. - - It was found that these women of pleasure, as they are called, - instead of leading the idle and luxurious life which many imagine, - are, in fact, the most steadily employed of any class in the - community, and have the least available leisure. Your Committee - have never yet visited a house of this kind, staying on the average - half an hour, but they have found male visitors, either there when - they entered, or coming in before they left; and this in the open - day. Inquiries put to the women concerning their hours of leisure - developed incidentally the fact, that it is only at certain times, - on certain days, that they can get out; and then it must be - strictly in the prosecution of their calling. The terms on which - these women are kept, are usually a certain stipulated sum per week - for room rent, and, over and above this, the half of their - earnings; which makes it necessary for the keepers to have a - constant eye upon the girls, to prevent their taking money outside. - The number of men supporting these houses is, moreover, so much - greater than the number of women supported therein, that every girl - is kept in constant requisition, either at the house, or as a - walking advertisement on the street and at public places. - - Your Committee, before making these visits, were constantly assured - that these women preferred this way of life, and would scout the - efforts of their own sex at reforming them. Your Committee take - great pleasure in reporting, that, in every instance, they have - found this charge _utterly unsustained_. Everywhere doors were - freely opened to them; they were treated with as much politeness - and cordiality as they have ever received in the most respectable - houses; and the conversation was of the freest and most - satisfactory character. - - 'Are you happy in this life?' was asked of a delicate girl in her - teens, who had been seen, five minutes before, dancing and singing - about a man in an adjoining apartment in the most wanton - manner,--'Are you happy in this life?' - - Tears, sudden and sincere, with a look of indignant protest, filled - her eyes, as she answered,-- - - 'Think how we have to treat the men: that of itself is enough to - prevent _any woman_ from being happy.' - - 'But you do not always talk this way to men?' was the reply. - - 'Oh, no!' she said; 'I would never tell a _man_ that. We always - tell the men that we like this life, and would not live any other, - if we could; but _women know_.' - - Another voluntarily mentioned the intemperance with which they are - universally and justly charged, as one of the hard necessities of - their position. Women ought not to drink, she admitted; but they - would die if they did not, or go mad with anguish and despair. - - Your Committee feel, that, at the present stage of investigation, - it may seem premature to speak of the causes of this terrible evil; - this slavery, which their observation assures them is more - degrading and horrible than any other upon the face of the earth: - but two causes have met them so constantly face to face, that they - cannot in justice refrain from mentioning them. - - The first is the terribly prevalent and everywhere tolerated - licentiousness of men. Your Committee believe it to be an admitted - fact, that, if to-day every woman of abandoned life could suddenly - be removed from the dens of this city and placed in a respectable - position, it would not be six months before their places would be - filled, from the ranks of women who are now virtuous; and they have - no faith in any system of reform which does not strike effectual - blows at this, the mainspring of the evil. - - Over against this, the first great pillar of the institution, - stands the almost equally colossal one of poverty, and the - exclusion of women from the ordinary fields of labor. - - 'Here is what I work for,' said a fine, strong-looking woman, as - she placed her hand on the head of a bright boy of two years. 'He - is my child. I have him to support. There is no other way in which - I could earn a comfortable subsistence for myself and him.' - - Another, the keeper of a house of ill-fame, an intelligent, - graceful, refined-looking woman,--a woman who would have been an - ornament to any society,--said:-- - - 'I was left suddenly poor, with my mother to support. I had never - been used to work, and there seemed no work I could do that would - support us both. The circumstances of my life seemed to force me - into this way of living;' which meant, of course, that some man - stood ready to offer her kindness, protection, support, every thing - but marriage, and she accepted it. 'My mother, to-day, is as - innocent of any knowledge of my way of life, as a saint in heaven. - I live in daily terror and solicitude lest she should find it out, - for it would kill her. I am going soon on a visit to her, and shall - carry with me twelve hundred and fifty dollars, with which to - secure her a home for life; so that, whatever happens to me, she - will be provided for.' - - In confirmation of this story, a hack came to the door while she - was speaking, to carry her to the train she had previously - indicated; which fact, together with her earnest and sincere - manner, left no doubt in the minds of your Committee concerning the - truthfulness of her story. - - In regard to the series of meetings proposed to be inaugurated, - your Committee are obliged for the present to report unfavorably, - for the following reasons:-- - - The proposition was everywhere cordially met among the women. They - readily agreed to the usefulness of the project, and mentioned only - one objection, and that to time. 'Sunday,' was the invariable - answer, 'is our busiest day. We could hardly get away at all on - that day; but we will try to do so.' Your Committee saw at once the - blunder they had made in forgetting that Sunday is the leisure day - of men; and therefore went to the first appointed meeting, through - a cold and blinding snowstorm, with little hope of success. They - found the room already occupied by some six or eight street roughs, - evidently waiting for what might transpire. They left the room very - soon, but took their station about the door, and remained there as - long as the Committee did. Subsequent inquiries confirmed the - impression, that they were sent there by some of the men who had - been in the houses at the time of the visits, to break up the - meetings, for which purpose, of course, only their presence would - be necessary. - - Beyond this determined opposition which would no doubt be - encountered at the hands of the male supporters of the institution, - your Committee see but one serious difficulty; and that is, the - deep-rooted scepticism which prevail among the women concerning any - general sentiment of Christian charity in their behalf. They have - so long been persecuted with unjust opprobrium, abandoned, outcast, - left to live or die as they might, without one word of pity or - encouragement, while the men who shared their sins, and were - oftentimes the guiltier partners, were the honored and trusted - associates of Christian women, pillars perhaps in Christian - churches, that they have naturally come to feel, that the sympathy - of one or two good women, however earnest and grateful it may be in - itself, will be of little avail against the malignity of the whole - banded world. - - Still your Committee have seen nothing, so far, to discourage them - in their efforts, but every thing to impress upon them the feeling - of imperative duty in this direction. - - (Signed) Mrs. C.F. CORBIN, Chairman. - - "The plan of action proposed by this Committee was to visit the women - in a friendly, Christ-like spirit, inaugurate a series of meetings - among them, organize efforts in the direction of saving their money, - so that they might be able to take an independent position, with only - such moral support as should be necessary to enable them to face the - opposition of the world, and to direct their lavish free-heartedness - into channels of benevolence toward the old and worn-out of their - number. Pure and healthful pleasures would also be provided for them, - good music, the reading of fine poems and interesting stories, and so - a beginning made toward introducing principles of steadiness and - sobriety into their now totally abandoned and desperate lives." - - [16] This expression, used in all such places to denote the food, tea, - coffee, or gin, used by the overstrained girls, is terribly - significant. - - [17] I do not know that any person has ever practically carried out - Legouvé's estimate of labor as a moral help, but Marie de Lamourous, - the foundress of the House of Mercy at Bourdeaux. This was a refuge - for ruined women, whom she trained to self-support. Some one offered - her a sum sufficient to insure her family a comfortable living; but - she wisely refused it. "No false pretences," she said: "if we are not - compelled to labor, we shall not labor. An idle mind makes its own - temptations. I can do nothing without work." - - [18] When woman's power to work is called in question, men almost - always remark, that she has shown no _inventive_ genius whatever. - Should a proper history of the arts ever be written, this will be - found to be an entire mistake. Patentees are not always inventors; and - many of these, after hopeless labor carried on for years, have owed a - final success to some woman's power of adaptation. We need not, - however, take refuge in general statement, nor in the traditional fact - that she invented spindle, distaff, needle, and scissors. Any new-born - barbarian, pressed by necessity, might accomplish so much. The most - delicate and beautiful obstetrical instruments were invented by Madame - Boivin. Madame Ducoudray invented the manikin; Madame Breton, the - system of artificial nourishment for babes; Morandi and Bihéron - adapted wax to the purposes of medical illustration; and it was to the - observations of Mademoiselle Bihéron, recorded in wax, that Dr. Hunter - owed the illustrations of his best work. He was her generous friend; - but she preceded him seven years in this direction, and may possibly - have given him the right to use her observations as his own. Madame - Rondet has, in the present century, invented a tube to be used in - cases of restoration from asphyxia. It is easy to quote these cases - from the history of medicine, because an honest French physician has - taken pains to preserve them; but the following instances of inventive - and mechanical power may be less known:-- - - In 1823, _the first patent of invention_ was taken out in Paris by - Madame Dutillet, for the formation of artificial marble. This was so - successful a patent, that she sold it in 1824; and the purchaser - renewed it, with still further improvements. - - In 1836, Burrows, an Englishman, took out a patent for cement. Madame - Bex, of Paris, found this cement a failure in damp places, and - published a method of less limited application, in which bitumen was - employed. - - In 1840, Mrs. Marshall, once of Manchester, England, and now of - Edinburgh, was struck with the idea, that the electric forces evolved - by decaying animal and vegetable matter, acting upon calcareous - substances, must have much to do with the natural formation of marble. - In five years, by upwards of ten thousand experiments, she perfected - an artificial marble, whose constituents and manufacture were entirely - within control, and which could be made in hours or months, at the - maker's volition. To this cement she gave the simple Italian name of - _intonuca_. It is singular that she should so intuitively have seized - this secret; for, under Madame Dutillet's patent, we are expressly - informed that all vegetable matter must be removed from the - composition, if we would have the cement indestructible. The example - is an interesting one; for the ten thousand disagreeable experiments - show that one woman at least possessed the power of persistent - application, of long-protracted labor, so often denied. - - Starch first came into use in England in 1564. It was carried thither - by a Mrs. Dinghen Vanden Plasse, of Flanders, who set up business as a - professed starcher, and instructed others how to use the article for - five pounds, and how to make it for twenty pounds. - - Side-saddles for ladies first came into use in 1138. Anne, queen of - Richard II., introduced these to the English ladies. - - The braiding of straw in this country was first begun in Providence, - in 1798, by Mrs. Betsey Baker, lately residing in Dedham, Mass. The - first bonnet she made was of seven straws with bobbin let in like - open-work, and lined with pink satin. - - I had hoped to add to these names that of a peasant woman, who - successfully drained a large estate in France after her own original - fashion, and was sent from Paris to do the same in French Guiana for - the government; but, although no phantom, she eludes my researches. - - [19] Historical Pictures of the Middle Ages, in Black and White. - - [20] Ernest Legouvé. - - [21] While these papers were preparing for the press, the record of - another such sale, in August, 1859, disgraced the English nation. - Opposite the brewery, at Dudley, in Staffordshire, not many miles from - Kidderminster and Birmingham, a man named Pensotte sold his wife, with - a halter round her neck, for sixpence. He had previously dragged - her--a three weeks' bride--three quarters of a mile in this state. It - is intimated in this case, that she was not faithful; but it is the - first time I ever saw such a charge attached to such an account. - Americans are anxious to understand this outrage. Is it possible that - a government which forbids the sale of a negro cannot forbid the sale - of a Saxon wife? What shadow of law sustains the custom? Is the woman - supposed to be sold into wifehood or servitude? I have taken it for - granted that the word "mare" shows that she is regarded as a beast of - burden. It is impossible for the fairest and loftiest woman in - England--nay, for Victoria herself--not to suffer, in some degree, - from the public opinion which such transactions, ever so rarely - occurring, tend to form. - - - - -II. - -VERIFY YOUR CREDENTIALS. - - "This hurts most, this ... that, after all, we are paid - The worth of our work, perhaps." - - E.B. BROWNING. - - -If low wages, by actually starving women and those dependent upon them, -force many into vicious courses, so does the want of employment lower -the whole moral tone, and destroy even the domestic efficiency of those -whose minds seek variety and freedom. More than once have I been to -insane asylums with young girls whom active and acceptable employment -would have saved from mania; and scores of times have young women of -fortune asked me, "What can you give me to do?" - -And to this question there is, in the present state of the public mind, -no possible answer. No woman of rank can find work, if she do not happen -to be philanthropic, literary, or artistic in her taste, without braving -the influence of home, or, what is next dearest, the social circle, and -earning for herself a position so conspicuous as to be painful to the -most energetic. The woman who is prepared for all this will not ask -anybody what she is to do: she will take her work into her own hands, -and do it. - -That was a pleasant time in the history of the world, when every woman -found, in spinning, weaving, and sewing, in the active labor of a small -or the skilful management of a large household, full employment for time -and thought, under the cheering shelter of a husband's or father's -smile. That was a pleasant time also, when, in the middle English -classes, women worked freely by a husband's side, with more regard to -his interest than heed of the world's talk. But with the wide -intellectual culture that America has been the first country in the -world to offer to women, individual tastes and wishes must develop in -single women; and all men who value the moral health of society must aid -this development. - -There is no greater enemy to body and soul than idleness, unless it be -the absurd public sentiment which compels to idleness. Thousands and -tens of thousands have fallen victims to it. The woman who will not -labor, rich or honored though she be, bends her head to the inevitable -curse of Heaven. - -This curse works in failing health, fading beauty, broken temper, and -weary days. Let her never fancy, that, being neither wife nor mother, -she is exempt from the law: she cannot balance that decree of God by the -foolish customs of society or the weak objections of her kindred. Never -let her say she does not need to labor. Disease, depression, moral -idiocy, or inertia, follow on an idle life. He who never rests has made -woman in His image; and health, beauty, force, and influence follow on -the steps of labor alone. - -I shall not pursue this subject; for it is far easier for you to think -it out, than to gather the facts I wish to bring before you. Read -"Shirley," and let the saddest hours of Caroline Helstone's life bear -witness for thousands who never find a vocation. Read the "Professor," -and let its sweet stimulus kindle in you some appreciation of the joy -which mutual labor can bring to a happy husband and wife. - -Sad, indeed, then, is it when man himself represses a woman's longing -for work, whether from false tenderness, from a dread of public opinion, -a shrinking from her ultimate independence, or a small personal -jealousy. That he does, in the aggregate and as an individual, so -repress it, is unfortunately matter of history: it is no invention of an -outraged inferior. I could offer you many private examples of this; but -those that carry proofs of their reality with them will, I fear, seem -very familiar. The first consists in the opposition shown to the attempt -of Mr. Bennett to establish young women as watchmakers. Honorary -Secretary to the Horological Department of the great Exhibition, he -could not help observing the superiority of the Genevese watches, in -cheapness and convenience of carriage. In England, watches are so dear -that only the privileged classes can carry them. It would be for the -interests of the manufacturers, of course, to be able to compete with -the Swiss; but they were too short-sighted to see it. Finding that -twenty thousand women and girls were employed in Switzerland in the -manufacture of watches and watchmakers' tools, Mr. Bennett undertook to -deliver a public lecture on the subject. It was interrupted by hisses, -and broken up like a New-York convention. Three well-educated women then -applied to him to be taught; but no Englishman could be found to take -them. A Swiss, settled in London, did. They made more progress in six -months than ordinary boys in six years; but they, as well as their -teacher, were so cruelly persecuted, that it was found necessary to -relinquish the attempt. My impression is, though I cannot find the -account in print, that a further effort was made on a more extended -scale, something like a school; and this was resisted by such combined -effort on the part of the trade, that Mr. Bennett and his friends began -to make a stir through the press. The "Edinburgh Review" mentions a -watchmaker's wife who wished to work with her husband in his special -department. Finding that it could not be done with the consent of the -trade, she undertook, instead, the engraving of the brass work; but, -though working in her own house, she was at last successful only under -the plea that she had been regularly apprenticed by her father, also in -the business. She persevered, and taught her two daughters; and so will -many others. - -Women in England must certainly make watches; and the time is not far -distant when the men of Coventry will yield to this demand, as they have -already yielded to others. A few years ago, winding silk, weaving -ribbon, and pasting patterns of floss upon cards, excited the same -opposition; but now thousands of women pursue these employments, and -the men look on as quietly as the grazing cattle in the fields. - -"The first steam factory in Coventry," says the "Edinburgh Review" for -October, 1859,--"a very small factory,--was burned down during a quarrel -about wages. Then there was an opposition to the employment of women at -the looms. To this day, one of the lightest and easiest processes in the -manufacture, which a child might manage, is engrossed by the men, under -heavy penalties." - -Fancy a strong man winding silk for a whole day, or sorting colors in -floss! How has he ever degraded himself to such girls' work? - -I need only remind you of the formal petition sent in at the time of the -opening of the School of Design at Marlborough House, to entreat the -Government not to instruct and aid women, lest the poor, helpless men -should starve! A similar prejudice, much more active than any in -America, prevents English women from qualifying themselves as -physicians. Dr. Spencer, of Bristol, really educated his daughter as an -accoucheuse; but the prejudice was so strong that she was not allowed to -practise, and became a governess instead. The same prejudice kept the -English Army suffering for months, while it delayed the departure of -female nurses to the Crimea. - -In Staffordshire, women are employed to paint crockery and china, which -they can do with more taste and grace than men. It seems hardly -credible, that the desire of the men to keep down their wages should -deprive the females of the customary hand-rest; which would, of course, -diminish the fatigue, and make the pencil-stroke more certain. I am -happy to believe that not an employer in the United States would submit -to this absurd demand; and the result of any such attempt on the part of -workmen would probably be a general permission to leave. We are, in this -country, much more free from the control of guilds and unions of various -sorts than the people of England; yet the conduct of our printers -furnishes a fair parallel to these foreign facts. Within a few years, -there have been more than twenty strikes in printing-offices, consequent -upon the employment of a few women; and the result has generally been an -entire change of hands, masters in America not enduring dictation. - -In August of 1854, the journeymen employed in the office of the -"Philadelphia Daily Register" left the office, in high dudgeon, because -the publisher had employed two women as type-setters in a separate -office. They acted in conformity to a resolve of the Printers' Union, -and were permitted to depart. But this was not all. Threats of personal -violence followed all who sought the waiting work, and an attempt was -made to cut the rope by which the forms are raised. The result would -have been to break up the type, prevent the issue of the paper, and run -the risk of endangering life. Complaints were lodged against the -printers; and, after a hearing, they were each held to bail in six -hundred dollars, to answer to the charge of conspiracy, at the Court of -Quarter Sessions. - -About the same time, a printer in the same establishment with the -"Lily," but working on the "Home Visitor," refused to give some -necessary instruction to a girl employed on the first paper. It was -found that all the hands had signed an agreement never to work with or -instruct a woman! The men, after proper remonstrance, were dismissed, -and their places supplied by four women and three men, who worked -harmoniously together. That was only five years ago, and now there are -hundreds of female printers in Ohio; and one orphan girl has risen from -type-setting to an editor's chair and a handsome competence. - -Jealousy in America sometimes takes a more comical form. Coming home -lately from a Female School of Design in another city, I expressed some -disappointment at the character of the work and management. A young man -in the room spoke of the impossibility of a woman's ever learning to -design, in terms so contemptuous that I did not think it worth while to -answer him. Making some inquiries, however, in private, I found that his -master had often reproached him with _falling behind the women_ at the -school; so that personal pique had more to do with the whole thing than -any real experience.[22] - -But, having made these remarks, I must recur to my previous -statement,--that, in the main, no jealousy of cliques, no legal -restrictions, prevent women from taking their proper place. A want of -respect for woman, and a want of respect for labor, latent and -unacknowledged in the public mind, must be overcome before she can do -it. The overworked and ill-paid woman has seized every chance to slight -her work; and an idea has gone abroad, that no slop-work will be fit for -sale unless a man inspects it. So New York and Paris have man-tailors -and man-milliners; and the poor, tempted, stricken girls are brought -into contact, in the pursuit of bread, with the very men most likely to -take advantage of every failure. Very sad stories could be told of work -rejected day after day, on account of pretended faults, till the -starving victim drops at the feet of the treacherous overseer, only to -be trampled, in the end, under those of the whole town. Educated, -respectable women should have the giving-out and the inspection of -woman's work; but educated and respectable women will never stand in -such a position till public opinion teaches them that all _labor_ is -honorable, and that no lady will ever sit with folded hands. How we rate -an idle boy! how we bear with a dawdling girl! That father grows -impatient whose son does not rise early, or show some desire for -employment; but the same man keeps his daughters in Berlin wool and -yellow novels, and looks to marriage as their salvation, even when he -blushes to be told of it. - -To prove this, let me show you that many employments have been open to a -degree not generally acknowledged; and a safe foundation for this -assertion will be found in the census of the United Kingdom and that of -the United States. - -It is a singular fact, that there are a great many more women in -England in business for themselves than employed as tenders or clerks; -while, in America, the fact, at the present day, is directly the -reverse. - -It was not so in the time of the Revolution. Then, as in France, the men -went to the war. Women of shrewdness and ability managed their husbands' -affairs,--the shops and trades of the nation,--and grew so independent -thereby, that even Mrs. John Adams had to rebuke her husband for the -absurd inequalities of privilege which his new government sustained. In -England, the deficient education of the lower classes makes it almost -impossible for the women to make change quickly, or keep accounts; and -we smile as we find the "Edinburgh Review" gravely contending that woman -may master the rule of three; that, at least, they ought to have a -chance to _try_: and we can afford to smile; for our public schools have -taught us how much quicker most women can count than most men. While, -therefore, the want of education has prevented a certain class of -English women from becoming clerks or book-keepers, the national habits -of thrift, and a certain respectable pride in a family shop or trade, -have induced thousands of a superior class to assume, upon a father's or -husband's death, the charge of his establishment, and so secure a -competence for the heirs. This is what we could wish our women to do. We -all know how frequently the whole social position of a family here -changes with the death of its head. Let our women prevent this for the -future, by cherishing a natural ambition to do for their children what -the fathers of those children would have done. - -The last census of the United Kingdom shows, that, while the female -population has increased in such proportion that there are now _eight -women_ where there were _seven_, there are _eight working_ women where -there were only _six_; that is, there are more new workers than new -women. There are 1,250,000 women earning their own bread as -independently as any men. Of these, there are-- - - 385,000 employed in Textile manufactures, - 40,000 in Metal-works, and - 128,418 in Agriculture. - -I hope these statements will not seem useless and superficial to you. - -This hour cannot be better employed than in opening to you some of the -mysteries of woman's work in England. - -Among the 128,418 women employed in Agriculture, there are 64,000 -dairy-women; not women who tend a single cow for a single family, but -women of muscle, who wield large tubs and heavy presses, who turn -cheeses and slap butter by the hundred-weight. Then there are -market-gardeners, who not only raise their stock, but drive it to the -town for sale; bee-mistresses and florists, of whom there are many among -the Quakers; flax-producers, who not only raise the pretty blue-eyed -flowers, but beat the silicious fibres apart; and they are followed by -hay-makers, reapers, and hop-pickers, gracefully garlanding the group. - -Naturally connected with this first interest of the soil is the second, -or Mining. It is no longer considered fit for women to work in shafts, -though the need of bread forces many to evade the law. The census, -however, cannot touch them: the seven thousand women it reports as -engaged in Mining are employed in dressing and sorting ore, and as -washers and strainers of clay for the potteries,--heavy and disagreeable -if not unfit work. - -The next largest interest is that of the Fisheries. The Pilchard fishery -employs many thousands of women. Jersey oysters alone employ over one -thousand. Then come the-- - - Herring, - Cod, - Whale, and - Lobster fisheries. - -The work in connection with the whale fishery consists chiefly in what -is done after the cargo is landed. Apart from the Christie -Johnstones,--the aristocrats of the trade,--the sea nurtures an heroic -class, like Grace Darling, who stand aghast, as she did, when society -rewards a deed of humanity, and cry out in expostulation, "Why, every -girl on the coast would have done as I did!" - -In natural connection with these come the-- - - Kelp-burners, the - Netters, and the - Bathers, - -or women who manage the bathing machines used on the coast. Then come -two hundred thousand female servants; of which, largest in number, -shortest in life, and, of course, the worst paid, are the general -housemaids, or unhappy servants-of-all-work. Then come-- - - Brewers, - Custom-house and Police searchers, - Matrons of jails, - Lighthouse-keepers, and - Pew-openers. - -I cannot mention the Matrons of jails, without a sigh, when I remember, -that at our common jail and at Charlestown there is no proper matron; -and sickness, death, and childbirth meet only with such care as women -detained as witnesses, or inebriates, can offer. Surely a Christian -community should furnish Christian, womanly ministrations to its -prisoners; and I would that some noble soul in an able body might be -found to take up this work! Pew-opening has never been a trade in this -community; but, as there are signs that it may become so, I advise our -women to keep an eye upon it! - -There are in the United Kingdom-- - - 500,000 business-women, - 94,000 shoemakers' wives, - 27,000 victuallers' wives, - 26,000 butcheresses, - 14,000 milk-women, - 10,000 beershop-keepers, - 9,000 innkeepers, and - 8,000 hack proprietors. - -The difference between the employers and the employed is shown in the -following numbers. There are-- - - 29,000 shopkeepers, and only - 1,742 shopwomen; - -since the lower class of English women are seldom taught writing or -accounts. - -Telegraphic Reporters, Phonographers, and Railway-clerks, are on the -increase. In reporting the Bright Festival at Manchester last year, the -speed and accuracy of the young women were thought very remarkable. Six -whole columns were transmitted at the rate of twenty-nine words a -minute, almost without mistake, although the subject of the speeches was -political, and so supposed to be beyond their comprehension! - -Several railways employ women as clerks and ticket-sellers, and the -results are more than satisfactory. Thus far the census; which has not -been without its interest, since, in English parlance, shoemaker-wife -means not merely the wife of a shoemaker, but a wife who shares her -husband's labor, or has succeeded to it on his death. Butcher-wife also -means a woman who can buy and sell stock, pickle meat, and perhaps drive -a cart through the town. - -Now for the results of some private letters. When I spoke of forty -thousand Metal-workers, your minds did not revert, I trust, to those -dens at Wiltenhall, where women have been struck with hammers, files, -and even bars of iron glowing at a white heat. - -Now, at least, let us visit a pleasanter scene. A man has forged and -rolled out the sheet which is soon to pass for a hundred gross of -Gillott's pens; but a woman cuts and bends and stamps, grinds, splits, -polishes, and packs it, so that her sisters may have pleasure in the -using. - -It was at Birmingham that your gold chain was made. A man's strength -drew out the precious wire; but hundreds of young girls cut it to the -required length, shaped it on a metal die to the required pattern, -soldered it invisibly over a jet of gas-light, ground the facets till -they gleamed and polished the whole length to tempt the gazer's eye. -Quiet, diligent, skilful, tidy, they sit; with polished slippers bobbing -along the floor; not quite so healthy as those who labor on the pens, -for the gas and solder do an unwholesome work. Others burnish the silver -plate, sort needles, paint iron and papier-maché trays; and hundreds -more are busy cutting and polishing screws,--a work mainly in their -hands, because men cannot be trusted with the delicate manipulation. - -There is a covered button, my brother, on your coat. Women cut the -metal, the cloth cover, the paper stuffing, the silk lining; a child -piles these in proper order; and, by one stroke of a magic press, a -woman throws them out a finished button. - -One young girl in London began life by designing for such buttons, till -she found that she had a soul above them, and cheerfully entered an -artistic career. - -Nail-cutting and hook-and-eye making employ others; and, if we take a -book into our hand, women follow us through all the stages of its -manufacture. A woman cut and cleaned the rags, counted the sheets of -paper, and set off the reams; a woman may have set the types; perhaps -some worn-out seamstress wrote the verses, or a female physician -composed the thesis: a woman _may_ print, a woman certainly _will_ fold -it down and stitch it for the binder. A woman will engrave on wood its -illustrations, or color in her own home its fine photographs or -drawings: at the very last, her white hand will touch with gleams of -gold its tinted edges or many-hued envelope. - -It is women who pack cards and throw off damaged paper. I have not -obtained any reliable account of English female card-makers; but there -must be many. In an old Nuremberg rate-book are the names of "Elizabeth -and Margaret," _Karten-mächerin_, reported in 1436 and 1438. Cards were -invented in 1361. In about seventy years, therefore, the manufacture had -passed into woman's hand. In my notes from the census, I find no mention -of wood-engravers: but, in 1839, Charlotte Nesbit, Marianne Williams, -Mary Byfield, Mary and Elizabeth Clint, held honorable positions among -English wood-engravers; while, at the close of the last century, -Elizabeth Blackwell executed botanical plates, and Angelica Kauffman -engraved on steel, to the satisfaction of Sir Joshua Reynolds. In -London, recently, one accomplished female engraver has turned her steel -plates into a pleasant country-house, which she means to furnish with -the proceeds of her delicate painting on glass. - -A whole volume might be written concerning English female printers. -Turning over some old books the other day in the Antiquarian Rooms at -Worcester, I came upon Elizabeth Bathurst's "Truth Vindicated," printed -and sold by Mary Hinde, at No. 2 in George's Yard, Lombard Street, 1774. -A little farther along, I found Sophia Hume's "Letters to South -Carolina," printed and sold by Luke Hinde, at the Bible in George's -Yard, Lombard Street, 1752. Good Quaker books, both of them; and the -titlepages told a pleasant story. Here, at the sign of the Bible, Luke -Hinde carried on his work in 1752. When he died, his widow kept the -establishment open, and taught her girls to stand at the forms; so, -twenty-two years after (in 1774), the place goes on in her name. No -change; only some dissenting wind has blown down the Old Bible, and a -gilded number two shines in its stead. It is the history of half the -business-women in England, and a very creditable history for Mary Hinde. - -On those dishes of Liverpool ware are pretty pictures in gray ink. Women -took them wet from the copperplate, and, laying them along the biscuit, -carried it to the furnace; there the paper burns away: while others -paint and gild, or, with hideous clatter of blood-stones, polish off the -finer ware. - -In the next street, hundreds of women make paperbags and pill-boxes, -without wasting a square inch of material. - -Not long ago, two young girls, whose father's clerkship was ill paid, -took to making artificial teeth, and succeeded so well as to obtain -constant orders and a competence. More cheering still: a young servant, -with strong elbows, took to French polishing, and gave desk and work-box -and inlaid cabinet a gloss that no varnish of man could match. For two -or three years she made contracts with upholsterers, and kept herself in -profitable work: then Cupid pinched the strong elbows, and she slipped -out of permanent reputation as a cabinetmaker's wife. - -In brushmaking, women sort the hair, and set it in the holes. The -delicate, cone-like arrangement of the badger's hair, in the modern -shaving-brush, can be made only by a woman's hand; and she who has skill -to do it well may ask her own wages. - -Then there are glove-cleaners; women who strain silk, in fluting, across -the old-fashioned work-bag or the parlor-organ front; women who shell -pease and beans at so much a quart, and who make the thousands of -baskets for the fruiterer's stall. Passing the white-lead factory at -meal-times, you will see fifty women file away, whose duty it is to pile -the lead for oxidation; and thousands, very different from these, sit -making artificial flowers, many of them cheap enough, but others, from -their exquisite grace and naturalness, bringing the artist's own price. - -I have purposely dwelt on all these avocations. As you have followed -me, has it seemed to you that we wanted more avenues for manual labor? -As many as you please. We are bound to inherit the whole earth. But it -seems to me that what is most needed is, first, respect for woman as a -laborer, and then respect for labor itself. - -When men respect women as human beings, consequently as laborers, they -will pay them as good wages as men; and then uncommon skill or power to -work will be set free from the old forcing-pump and siphon, and we shall -see what women can do. When men respect labor,--respect it so far, that -they hold a woman honored when she seeks it,--then women of a higher -rank will seek to invest their capital in mercantile experiments; will -establish factories or workshops; will organize groups of struggling -sisters; and the class that most needs to be helped, the idle rich, will -find happiness and honor, will find help, in offering opportunities to -the lowest. - -What the lowest class of women need is active brains to plan and think -for them. There are plenty of these active brains at the West End, -tingling with neuralgia, hot with idleness, dizzy with waltzing. Offer a -government testimonial to the first girl of rank who will carry her -brains to a market, and you will see what a throng of aspirants we shall -have; letting it be understood, mind you, that the public feeling -sustains the government testimonial. - -Let us ask, then, a few questions about the state of female labor in the -United States. Our census is by no means so complete as that of Great -Britain; and our statements will, therefore, be less accurate. - -At the close of the Revolution, there were in New England, and perhaps -farther south, many women conducting large business establishments, and -few females employed as clerks, partly because we were still English, -and had not lost English habits. Men went to the war or the General -Court, and their wives soon learned to carry on the business upon which -not only the family bread, but the fate of the nation, depended; while -our common schools had not yet begun to fit women for book-keepers and -clerks. - -The Island of Nantucket was, at the close of the war, a good example of -the whole country. Great destitution existed on the establishment of -peace. The men began the whale fishery with redoubled energy: some -fitted out and others manned the ships; while the women laid aside -distaff and loom to attend to trade. A very interesting letter from Mrs. -Eliza Barney to Mr. Higginson gives me many particulars. "Fifty years -ago," she says, "all the dry-goods and groceries were kept by women, who -went to Boston semi-annually to renew their stock. The heroine of -'Miriam Coffin' was one of the most influential of our commercial women. -She not only traded in dry-goods and provisions, but fitted vessels for -the merchant service. Since that time, I can recall near seventy women -who have successfully engaged in commerce, brought up and educated large -families, and retired with a competence. It was the influence of -capitalists from the Continent that drove the Nantucket women out of the -trade; and they only resumed it a few years since, when the California -emigration made it necessary. Five dry-goods and a few large groceries -are now carried on by women, as also one druggist's shop." Mrs. Gaskell, -in her "Life of Charlotte Bronté," mentions a woman living as a -druggist, I think, at Haworth; and I have always been surprised that -this business was not left to women. Our Nantucket druggist is doing -well. In Pennsylvania, the Quaker view of the duties and rights of women -contributed to throw many into trade at the same period. One lady in -Philadelphia transferred a large wholesale business to two nephews, and -died wealthy. I saw a letter the other day, which gave an interesting -account of two girls who got permission there to sell a little stock in -their father's shop. One began with sixty-two cents, which she invested -in a dozen tapes. The other had three dollars. In a few years, they -bought their father out. The little tape-seller married, and carried her -husband eight thousand dollars; while the single sister kept on till she -accumulated twenty thousand dollars, and took a poor boy into -partnership. - -I have spoken of English female printers. The first paper ever issued in -Rhode Island was printed by a brother of Dr. Franklin, at Newport. He -died early, and his widow continued the work. She was aided by her two -daughters, swift and correct compositors. She was made printer to the -Colony, and, in 1745, printed an edition of the laws, in 346 folio -pages. That she found time to do something else, you may judge from this -advertisement:-- - - "The printer hereof prints linens, calicoes, silk, &c., in figures, - in lively and durable colors, without the offensive smell which - commonly attends linen printed here." - -Margaret Draper printed the "Boston News Letter," and was so good a Tory -that the English Government pensioned her when the war drove her away. -Clementina Bird edited and printed the "Virginia Gazette," and Thomas -Jefferson wrote for her paper. Penelope Russell also printed the -"Censor," in Boston, in 1771. - -When we record these things, and think how women are pressing into -printing-offices in our time, it is pleasant to find a generous action -to sustain them. At a recent Printers' Convention held in Springfield, -Ill., the following resolution was adopted:-- - - "_Whereas_, The employment of females in printing-offices as - compositors has, wherever adopted, been found a decided benefit as - regards moral influence and steady work, and also as offering - better wages to a deserving class; therefore, be it-- - - "_Resolved_, That this Association recommends to its members the - employment of females whenever practicable." - -Mrs. Barney tells us that failures were very uncommon in Nantucket while -women managed the business; and some of the largest and safest fortunes -in Boston were founded by women, one of whom, I remember, rode in her -own chariot, and kept fifty thousand dollars in gold in the chimney -corner, lest the banks should not be as cautious in their dealings as -herself. While writing these pages, I have visited such a woman, still -living in Prince Street, at the age of ninety-five. Her name is Hillman. -She lived for sixty-four years in the same house, and made her property -by a large grocery business, and speculations on a strip of real estate. -Her father, Mr. William Haggo, was a nautical-instrument maker; and she -has a very remarkable head, and as conservative a horror of modern -changes--steam-bakeries, for instance--as any of you could wish.[23] -Some of you will remember the two sisters Johnson, who, for more than -half a century, kept a crockery-shop on Hanover Street, and separated -about two years ago,--one sister to retire on her earnings; the other to -rest in a quiet grave, at the age of fourscore. The spirit of modern -improvement has since seized hold of the old shop. - -It was one of the most distinguished of our female merchants--Martha -Buckminster Curtis--who planted, in Framingham, the first potatoes ever -set in New England; and you will start to hear that our dear and honored -friend Ann Bent entered on her business career so long ago as 1784, at -the age of sixteen. - -She first entered a crockery-ware and dry-goods firm; but, at the age -of twenty-one, established herself in Washington, north of Summer -Street, where we remember her. She soon became the centre of a happy -home, where sisters, cousins, nieces, and young friends received her -affectionate care. The intimacy which linked her name to that of Mary -Ware is fresh in all our minds. What admirable health she contrived to -keep we may judge from the fact, that she dined at one brother's table -on Thanksgiving Day for over fifty years. She was the valued friend of -Channing and Gannett; and her character magnified her office, ennobled -her condition, gave dignity to labor, and won the love and respect of -all the worthy. Less than two years ago, at the age of ninety, she left -us; but I wished to mention both her and Miss Kinsley in this -connection, because they were the first women in our society to confer a -merchantable value upon taste. - -Instead of importing largely themselves, they bought of the New-York -importers the privilege of selection, and always took the prettiest and -nicest pieces out of every case. As they paid for this privilege -themselves, so they charged their customers for it, by asking a little -more on each yard of goods than the common dealer. - -I know nothing for which it is pleasanter to pay than for taste. When -time is precious (and to all serious people it soon becomes so), it is a -comfort to go to one counter, sure that in ten minutes you can purchase -what it would take a whole morning to winnow from the countless shelves -of the town. - -Scientific pursuits cannot be said to be fairly opened to women here. -The two ladies at work on the Coast Survey were employed by special -favor, and probably on account of near relationship to the gentleman who -had charge of the department of latitudes and longitudes. Their work is -done at home. Some years ago, Congress made an appropriation for an -American nautical almanac; and Lieut. Davis was appointed to take charge -of it. Three ladies were at one time employed upon the lunar tables. -Lieut. Davis told one of them that he preferred the women's work, -because it was quite as accurate, and much more neat, than the men's. In -1854, Maria Mitchell was employed in computing for this almanac, with -the same salary that would be given to a man. I may say, in this -connection, that a great number of female clerks have been employed in -Washington for many years. The work has generally been obtained by women -who had lost a husband or a father in the service of his country; and, I -am proud to say, such women have usually been paid the same wages as -men. During Mr. Fillmore's administration, two women wrote for the -Treasury, on salaries of twelve hundred and fifteen hundred dollars a -year; but the succeeding administration reformed this abuse, and very -few are now at work. - -In 1845, there were employed in the Textile manufactures of the United -States, 55,828 men and 75,710 women. This proportion, or a still -greater preponderance of female labor,--that is, from one-third to -one-half,--appears in all the factory returns. As an _employed_ class, -women seem to be more in number than men: as _employers_, they are very -few. The same census reports them as-- - - Makers of gloves, - Makers of glue, - Workers in gold and silver leaf, - Hair weavers, - Hat and cap makers, - Hose-weavers, - Workers in India-rubber, - Lamp-makers, - Laundresses, - Leechers, - Milliners, - Morocco-workers, - Nurses, - Paper-hangers, - Physicians, - Picklers and preservers, - Saddle and harness makers, - Shoemakers, - Soda-room keepers, - Snuff and cigar makers, - Stock and suspender makers, - Truss-makers, - Typers and stereotypers, - Umbrella-makers, - Upholsterers, - Card-makers, and - Grinders of watch crystals. - 7,000 women in all. - -There is no mention of female wood-engravers, though we have had such -for twenty-five years; and pupils from the Schools of Design have -already achieved a certain success in this direction. To the enumeration -of the census, I may add, from my own observation,-- - - Photographists and daguerrotypists, - Phonographers, - House and sign painters, - Button-makers, - Fruit-hawkers, - Tobacco-packers, - Paper-box makers, - Embroiderers, - Fur-sewers; and, at the West, - Reapers and hay-makers. - -In a New-Haven clock factory, seven women are employed among seventy -men, on half-wages; and the manufacturer takes great credit to himself -for his liberality. At Waltham, also, a watch factory has been lately -started, in which many women are employed.[24] In the census of the city -of Boston for 1845, the various employments of women are thus given:-- - - Artificial-flower makers, - Boardinghouse-keepers, - Bookbinders, - Printers, - Blank-book makers, - Bonnet-dealers, - Bonnet-makers, - Workers in straw, - Shoe and boot makers, - Band and fancy box makers, - Brush-makers, - Cap-makers, - Clothiers, - Collar-makers, - Comb-makers, - Confectioners, - Corset-dealers, - Corset-makers, - Card-makers, - Professed cooks, - Cork-cutters, - Domestics, - Dress-makers, - Match-makers, - Fringe and tassel makers, - Fur-sewers, - Hair-cloth weavers, and - Map-colorers. - -I think you cannot fail to see, from this list, how very imperfect the -enumeration is: not a single washerwoman nor charwoman, for one thing, -upon it. Yet here you have the occupations of 4,970 women. Of these, -4,046 are servants,--a number which has, at least, doubled since then; -and which leaves only 924 women for all other avocations. - -In New York, Mr. Jobson, formerly surgeon-dentist to Victoria, offers to -instruct women in the duties of a dentist. I do not know that he has a -single practising pupil; but he asserts that some of the most -distinguished dentists in Europe are women. A few years since, the town -of Ashfield elected two women and three men to the duties of a School -Committee,--duties for which women are greatly to be preferred. A letter -from the senior lady shows that one of them at least never attempted to -do the actual work to which she was called, considering it _out_ of her -sphere! Does any one in this audience suppose that those women felt -incapable of the duty? We know better; but they were not of the stuff of -which martyrs are made, and, deferring to popular views, set aside a -sacred opportunity. They might have so done that work as to have secured -the election of women for ever after. - -The occupations of which the census takes no account may be classed as-- - - Professions, - Public Offices, - Semi-professions, and - Arts. - -Under the Professions come-- - - Physicians, - Lawyers, - Ministers, - -of which there are increasing numbers. - -Under Public Offices we find-- - - Postmistresses, - Registers of Deeds, - The few calculators at Washington, and - School-committee women at the West. - -It is probably known to you all how largely the rural post-office duties -are performed by women; petty politicians obtaining the appointment, and -leaving wives and daughters to do the work. There are several Registers -of Deeds; but I know only one,--Olive Rose, of Thomaston, Me. She was -elected in 1853, by 469 votes against 205; was officially notified, and -required to give bonds. Her emolument depends upon fees, and ranges -between three and four hundred dollars per annum. She continues to -perform the duties of her office, and, if an exquisitely clear -hand-writing is of service there, will probably never be displaced. - -Under the head of Semi-professions come-- - - Teachers, - Librarians, - Editors, - Lecturers, and - Matrons. - -Under that of Artists,-- - - Painters, - Sculptors, - Teachers of Drawing and the like, - Designers, - Engravers, - Public Singers, and - Actresses. - -I am sorry to conclude these attempts at statistics with one reliable -estimate, which holds, like a nutshell, the kernel of this question of -female labor. - -In 1850, there were engaged in shoemaking, in the town of Lynn, 3,729 -males and 6,412 females,--nearly twice as many women as men; yet, in the -monthly payment of wages, only half as much money was paid to women as -to men. The three thousand men received seventy-five thousand dollars a -month; and the six thousand women, thirty-seven thousand dollars: that -is, the women's wages were, on the average, only one-quarter as much as -those of the men. - -If we inquire into details, we may find many exceptional causes at work, -not perceptible at first sight: still this remarkable fact remains -essentially unchanged. - -In my first lecture, I showed you that women were starving, and that -vice is a better paymaster than labor. I showed you the awful falsity of -the cry, "Do not let women work: we will work for them. They are too -tender, too delicate, to bide the rough usage of the world." I showed -you that they were not only working hard, but had been working at hard -and unwholesome work, not merely in this century, but in all centuries -since the world began. I showed you how man himself has turned them -back, when they have entered a well-paid career. Practically, the -command of society to the uneducated class is, "Marry, stitch, die, or -do worse." - -Plenty of employments are open to them; but all are underpaid. They will -never be better paid till women of rank begin to work for money, and so -create a respect for woman's labor; and women of rank will never do this -till American men feel what all American men profess,--a proper respect -for Labor, as God's own demand upon every human soul,--and so teach -American women to feel it. How often have I heard that every woman -willing to work may find employment! The terrible reverses of 1837 -taught many men in this country that they were "out of luck:" how -absurd, then, this statement with regard to women! One reason why so -many young women are attracted to the Catholic Church is, that the -Catholic Church is a good economist, and does not tolerate an idle -member. In Catholic countries,--nay, in Protestant,--the gray hood of -the Sister of Charity is as sacred as a crown. - -When I think how happy human life might be, if men and women worked -freely together, I lose patience. Such marriages as I can dream -of,--where, household duties thriftily managed and speedily discharged, -the wife assumes some honorable trust, or finds a noble task for her -delicate hands; while the husband follows his under separate auspices! -Occupied with real service to men and each other, how happily would they -meet at night to discuss the hours they had lived apart, to help each -other's work by each other's wit, and to draw vital refreshment from the -caresses of their children! It is your distrust, O men! that prevents -your having such homes as poets fancy. You will not help women to form -them. The sturdy pine pushes through the tightest soil, and will grow, -though nothing more genial than a November sky bid it welcome; but -tender anemones--wind-flowers, as we call them--must be coaxed through -the loose loam sifted from thousands of autumn leaves, and tremble to -the faintest air. Yet are anemones fairer than the pine, and their -lovely blossoming a fit reward for Nature's pains. Follow Nature, and -offer the encouragement which those you love best daily need. Do it for -your own sakes; for proper employment will diffuse serenity over the -anxious faces you are too apt to see. Do not fancy that the conventions -of society can ever prevail over the will, it may be the freak, of -Nature. That stepdame is absolute. She set Hercules spinning, and sent -Joan of Arc to Orleans. She taught Mrs. John Stuart Mill political -economy, and Monsieur Malignon netting and lace-work. She enables women -to bear immense burdens, heat, cold, and frost; she sets them in the -thick of the battle even; while in South Carolina, and in the heart of -Africa, or among the Indians of the Rocky Mountains, old men croon over -forsaken babes till the milk flows in to their withered breasts.[25] - -Women want work for all the reasons that men want it. When they see -this, and begin to do it faithfully, you will respect their work, and -pay them for it. We are all taught that we are the children of God; only -Mohammedans deny their women that rank: yet we are left without duties, -as if such a thing were possible,--left without work that offers any -adequate _end_ as a stimulus to diligence or ambition; and, until "Work" -becomes man's cry of inspiration, woman will never train herself to do -her work well. - -It was Margaret Fuller, I think, who wrote of the Polish heroine, the -Countess Emily Plater, "_She_ is the figure I want for my frontispiece. -Short was her career. Like the Maid of Orleans, she only lived long -enough to _verify her credentials_, and then passed from a scene on -which she was probably a premature apparition." Ah! that is what all -women should do,--verify their credentials! "Say what you please," said -a young girl to her lover, as they passed out of a Woman's Convention; -"a woman that _can_ speak like Lucretia Mott, _ought_ to speak." And men -themselves cannot escape from this conviction. The duty of women, -therefore, is to inspire it by doing whatever they undertake worthily -and well; patient in waiting for opportunities, prompt to seize, -conscientious to profit by them. - -The Sorbonne, which still excludes woman from its courses and colleges, -has formed a separate course, and now institutes examinations, and -distributes diplomas for women. The Committee consists of three of the -Inspectors of the University, two Catholic priests, one Protestant -clergyman, and three ladies. - -A daughter of the greatest living French poet passed the examination -lately for the mere honor of it. Another girl, the daughter of one of -the highest public functionaries, passed the examinations; going through -the winter twilight every morning at five, that she might not only be -permitted to found a school on her estate, but secure the right to teach -in it. Aware that her rank would befriend her, she concealed her name -that she might owe nothing to favor. That is the right spirit. When a -majority, or even a plurality, of women are capable of it, farewell to -lecturers and lectures, to conventions, special pleadings, and the like! -The whole harvest will be open, and the laborers will come, bringing -their sheaves with them. - -In receiving lately a letter from a distinguished French author,--Madame -Sirault,--I was struck by the following sentence: "Every career from -which woman is steadily repulsed by man is, by this fact alone, marked -with the seal of death. The very repulse stigmatizes it. Man may not be -conscious of what he does; but the career which is too vile for a woman -to enter has outlived all chance of reform, and must perish with its -abuses." - -And, heroic as this statement may seem to you, it is a simple statement -of fact. Can man demand of woman a higher purity, a more ideal Christian -grace, than the letter of the Scripture, than the spirit of Christ, -demands of man himself?--"Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father in -heaven is also perfect." - -That was the clear command laid upon the simple fishermen, upon Luke the -physician and Matthew the publican, as well as upon Mary and Martha. The -world's eyes are slowly opening to the need of a pure life in men; and -it helps to show men what they ought to be, when women knock at the -doors of their workshops, and insist on entering. - -"What!" says the soldier, "must my sister follow me to the field to take -this blood-stained hand; to see me decked in the spoils of fallen men; -or hunting unprotected women like a brute beast, till they fall -senseless on the bodies of those they loved?" - -"Shut her out!" cries the minister of state. "Shall my _sister_ see -these hands, dripping with blood-money, bribed by a slave power or a -party interest, signing papers that condemn children yet unborn to the -miseries of hopeless war?" - -"Shut her out!" cries the advocate. "I am preparing to defend this man -for luring helpless innocence to the brink of hell, for building up a -fortune on dollars wrung from starving women, for putting a bullet -through his brother because he did not live a life purer than his own." - -"Turn her out!" cries the judge. "She will see that my scales are -loaded. She heard that railroad company offer me a bribe. She caught a -whisper just now from the husband of yonder outraged woman. She will -hear the liquor dealer's counsel, and see the golden lure that South -Carolina offers when the fugitive stands at the bar. Turn her out!" - -"Turn her out!" says the physician. "Shall she hear me jeer at what she -deems holy? Would you have her grow shameless also?" - -"Shut her out," says the trader, "while I mark my goods! This spool of -cotton is short fifty yards: mark it two hundred. This yard of muslin -was made at Manchester: sew on the Paris tack. This shawl was woven in -France: label it Cashmere. Color that cheese with annatto, weigh down -that butter with salt, dilute that rose-water from the spring, grate up -turnip to mix with that horseradish; but turn that woman out!" - -"Turn her out!" cries the priest, last of all. "Polemics and theology -have no charms for her. She will ask me why I do not do justly and love -mercy. Turn her out!" - -"Turn her out!" and, in the shudder which creeps over him while he -speaks, man sees not only how tender and strong is his love for the -sister that hung on the same maternal bosom; but he sees also what the -gospel without and the gospel within demand of the son no less than the -daughter of God. - -Farewell to war, to statecraft, to legal tricks, to shifts of trade; -farewell to bribery, to desecration, to idle controversy,--when woman -enters in to man's labor! - -You feel the doom falling, and strive to put it off. Not because God has -made woman of a diviner nature; not because he has made her more -precious, to be kept from the rough handling of the world,--does it -shrink from her pure gaze. No; but because God himself, in balancing the -world's forces, has blended her moral nature with her mental, purposely -to check her brother's aggressiveness, and moderate his lust of gain. So -has he given to man a cooler temper, a grander deliberateness, a -strength equal to every strain, which shall repair the fault of her warm -impulses, her "nimble" action, her unfitness, casual or universal, for -long-sustained effort. But what can either of you do alone? Impulse, -tenderness, and moral promptings, grow into tawdry sentimentalism, when -shut out from their fit arena, when untrained to emulate a brother's -active life. Coolness, forethought, and strength grow into cunning, -rapacity, and tyranny, when uninfluenced by that gentler element of your -nature which God has placed by your side. Helps-meet for each other you -were ordained: why hinder and obstruct each other's pathway? - -From this moment, put aside ignoble jealousy, inert sympathy, and stupid -indifference to your own moral position. Only by heartily accepting the -sweet juices and flavors of her life can you secure fragrant blossoms -and precious fruit to your own. The words are just as true when I turn -to counsel her. If ever this earth grows liker heaven, it will be when -the broad and generous sympathies prophesied by this new movement take -practical shape, and there are-- - - "Everywhere - Two heads in council, two beside the hearth, - Two in the tangled business of the world, - Two in the liberal offices of life, - Two plummets dropped for one, to sound the abyss - Of science, and the secrets of the mind: - Musician, painter, sculptor, critic, more: - And everywhere the broad and bounteous Earth - Shall bear a double growth of its best souls." - -I have often spoken, not only in this lecture, but in almost every one I -have ever given, of the great need of conscientious, painstaking woman's -work. During the last year, Baron Toermer has been borne by -torch-light to his last home, and the mediæval artist has been mourned -as a personal friend by many a crowned head. The torches of the priests -who bore him to his grave very likely startled to the window our two -young countrywomen, who are pursuing sculpture in the Eternal City. -Little did they guess, that, in the city of Florence, there was living -at that moment a woman as able, as renowned, though, for certain -reasons, not so well known to them, as the great artist just departed. I -will close this lecture with a brief sketch of Félicie de Fauveau, for -whose woman's work no apology will ever need to be made. - -Entering Florence by the Porta Romana, you find, in the Via della -Fornace, a dark-green door, which opens in to a paved court, once the -entrance to a convent. Beyond stretches a cool, quiet garden; and all -manner of birdcages and dovecotes remind you of Rosa Bonheur's fondness -for pets. Through that quiet garden, hedged with laurel and cypress, you -might have walked, but a little time ago, with a shrewd, sagacious, -life-loving French woman, an aristocrat and a Legitimist, whose eyes had -looked upon the guillotine, and who was proud of having suffered for her -faith and country. She would lead you to her small parlor, furnished -with ancient hangings, carved chairs, and gold-grounded Pre-Raphaelite -pictures of great value. Here she would introduce you to her daughter, -Félicie de Fauveau. - -A forehead low and broad; soft, brown eyes; an aquiline nose; a -well-cut, well-closed mouth; a flexible, fine figure; a velvet skirt and -jacket of the color of the "dead leaf;" a velvet cap of the same, drawn -over blonde hair, cut square across the forehead, as in the picture of -Faust,--this is what you see when you look at the artist; this is what -Ary Scheffer painted and valued so, that no gold would buy the portrait -while he lived. Fire, air, and water are in that organization: the -movements of the arms are angular; but the hands are soft, white, fine, -and royal. - -Born in Tuscany, she was early carried to Paris; whence she removed, -when very young, to Limoux, Bayonne, and Besançon. A great taste for -music and painting she inherited from her mother. Her studies were -profound, and among them she pursued archæology and heraldry. At -Besançon she painted in oils, but was not satisfied; and from the -workmen who carved for the churches she got her first hint towards -modelling. When her father died, she was ready to devote herself to the -support of her family. When people told her it was unbecoming, she drew -herself up: "Are you ignorant," she asked, "that an artist is a -gentlewoman?" - -Benvenuto Cellini was her prototype; and to her may be attributed that -revival of a taste for mediæval art which, proceeding from Paris, has -had, of late years, so great an influence on England. - -Her first work was a group called "The Abbot." Encouraged by unlimited -praise, she made a basso-relievo,--containing six figures, and -representing Christina of Sweden in the fatal galley with Monaldeschi. -This was in the last "Exposition des Beaux Arts," and received the gold -medal from Charles X. in person. - -Up to 1830, the young girl remained in Paris. Her mother was so -accomplished, Félicie herself so witty and profound a talker, that a -distinguished circle gathered round them; among them, Scheffer, -Delaroche, Giraud. All manner of fine artistic experiments in modelling -and drawing were improvised about their study-table. There she executed -for Count Pourtalès a bronze lamp of singular beauty. A bivouac of -archangels, armed as knights, were represented as resting round a -watch-fire, where St. Michael stood sentinel; round the lamp, in golden -letters, _Vaillant, veillant_,--"Brave, but cautious;" beneath, a -stork's foot holds a pebble surrounded by beautiful aquatic plants. -Many models were lost on the breaking-up of her Paris studio. She was -incessantly occupied with commissions for private galleries; she was to -have modelled two doors for the Louvre, and to have superintended the -decoration of a baptistery,--when the Revolution broke up her calm and -studious life. With the celebrated daughter of the Duras Family, she -retired to La Vendée, and, virtuous and honored, made herself as active, -politically, as the reckless women of the Fronde. To this day, the -peasantry know her as the Demoiselle. For those who remember her, there -will never be another. Finally came pursuit and capture. After a long -search, the two women were dragged from the mouth of an oven. Félicie -assisted her companion to escape; was watched more closely in -consequence, and remained seven months in prison at Angers. In prison -she designed a group representing the duel of the Lord of Jarnac before -Henry II., and a monument to Louis de Bonnechose. At the close of the -seven months, she returned to her studio at Paris. But very soon the -appearance of the Duchesse de Berri in La Vendée restored hope to all -Royalist hearts, and Félicie rushed to her side. - -"My opinions are dearer to me than my art," she said, and proved it by -heroic sacrifices. On the failure of this second attempt, she was exiled -by the government. In the very teeth of the authorities, she returned to -Paris, broke up her studio, and joined her mother in Florence, where -they have ever since resided, clad, not without significance, in colors -of the fallen leaf. No one but an artist can guess what loss is involved -in the sudden and forcible breaking-up of an old studio. At the very -moment when Félicie and her mother were all but starving in Florence, a -man in Paris made an almost fabulous fortune by selling walking-sticks -made from designs which she had sketched during the happy evenings of -her girlhood. The Fauveaus would not accept a dollar from the party they -had served; and Madame had as much pride as her daughter in establishing -the new studio. Félicie wrote, "We have manna, but only on condition -that we save none for the morrow." - -In her studio you find no Pagan traces, only Christian art,--St. -Dorothea lifting her lovely hands for the basket of fruit an angel -brings; a Santa Reparata, perfect in terra-cotta; exquisite -mirror-frames of wood, bronze, and silver. She has executed for Count -Zichy an Hungarian costume, a collar, belt, sword, and spurs, of finest -work. The Empress of Russia has ordered from her a silver bell. It is -decorated by twenty figures, the servants of a mediæval household; who -assemble at the call of three stewards, whose figures form the handle. -Round the bell is blazoned, in Gothic letters,-- - - "De bon vouloir servir le maître." - "With good will to serve the master." - -Beside the crowded labors of twenty-five years, Félicie has studied the -merely mechanical portions of her art, and tried to discover some old -artistic secrets. To cast a statue whole, so as to require no -after-touch of the chisel, has been her lifelong endeavor. She finally -succeeded in her St. Michael, though not till it had been recast seven -times. It is probable her experiments led the way for those by which -Crawford succeeded in casting his Beethoven. I cannot tell how many of -you have heard of Félicie de Fauveau. The fact that her works are -chiefly in private galleries and her own studio, screens her from -observation. The higher dignitaries of the church and the princes of art -are almost her only companions. She works constantly. About a year -since, the death of her devoted mother drew the veil still closer round -her daily life; but I retrace her story with honorable pride. - -Félicie de Fauveau is not merely an artist. She is the first artist in -the world, in her peculiar walk. As a worker in jewels, bronze, gold, -and silver, as a designer of monuments and mediæval furniture, she -stands without approach. - - "Witness that she who did these things was born - To do them; claims her license in her work." - -So let all women claim it. - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [22] When I first began to lecture, many persons, sincerely interested - in my success, objected to what they called the "antagonistic" tone - occasionally adopted. They thought I ought to take for granted the - cheerful co-operation of the world, and that the woman's cause was the - loser whenever the audience was reminded of actual difficulties in the - way. But it would be hardly worth while for a woman to enter the desk, - only to hedge it in with compromise and evasion. The simple truth is - the "utmost skill" she needs to seek; and no reform built upon an - inaccurate survey can be lasting. Only by telling our brothers openly - what we think of their jealousy can we ever hope to shame them out of - it. That the day of opposition is _not_ passed; that the way of duty - cannot, even in America, be trod in satin slippers,--the following - extract, cut from a weekly paper while I am writing this note, will - plainly show:-- - - "The Pennsylvania Medical Society has exhibited a narrow-mindedness - altogether disgraceful to its members, by adopting a resolution - recommending 'the members of the regular profession to withhold from - the faculties and graduates of Female Medical Colleges all countenance - and support; and that they cannot, consistently with sound _medical - ethics_, consult or hold professional intercourse with their - professors or alumni.' The Female Medical Colleges of Pennsylvania, it - should be remembered, are strictly allopathic: so we are forced to - conclude, that the objection to them is founded _solely_ upon the fact - that they afford the means of education to women. We echo the - sentiment of the 'Philadelphia Sunday Dispatch:' 'Shame upon the men - who, while prating about their respectability, would combine to rob - women of the means of supporting themselves and their families! Such - infinitesimal littleness cannot benefit them. The public are ever - willing to aid the weak, and support them against the strong. The war - against women cannot be sustained by the public voice: it will recoil - upon and injure those who are so arbitrary and selfish as to endeavor - to interfere with them.'"--_Antislavery Standard_, July, 1859. - - "The medico-chirurgical school of Lisbon has granted the diploma of - _pharmacienne_ to Mesdames Marie Fajardo and Caroline de Matos, after - a legal examination. These illustrious _pharmaceuticas_ have a regular - knowledge of their business, and passed a preliminary examination in - 1859. 'The Gazette' does not say if they are _religieuses_ charged - with the management of a private pharmacy, or whether they are acting - as civil _pharmaciennes_. In one of the hospitals of the city is a - female dispenser, whose knowledge, accuracy, and care are said to be - reliable and satisfactory." - - [23] I first saw Mrs. Hillman the day after the destruction of the - steam-bakery at the North End. She was sitting up, reading the account - of it, without glasses, and eloquent in behalf of the trade, and - against innovations. Since the above passage was written, she has - passed away. - - [24] I do not dwell upon this watch factory in the text, because, - although fifty women are at work with one hundred and fifty men, they - are only "tending machines;" so that, although employment is open, a - career can hardly be said to be. The watches made at Waltham by - machinery are said to be so superior to all others, that they are used - by preference on the race-courses to time the horses. Men and women do - not compete with each other there; but both are at service, with a - steam-engine for their master. - - For the first two months, the women earn two dollars and fifty cents - _a week_; for the third, three dollars; and, after that, four dollars. - The men earn from five shillings to two dollars a _day_. It seems that - no special skill is required in the women, while the men in a few - departments are still paid according to their ability. The - steam-engine, it appears, has not yet learned how to cook dials! In - this case, the operator must hold the dial, turning it evenly, as if - he were a smoke-jack, which requires judgment and "faculty"! - - [25] Livingstone's "Africa." Paul Kane's "Travels in the North-west." - - - - -III. - -"THE OPENING OF THE GATES." - - "If such a day never come, then I perceive much else will never - come; heroic purity of heart and of eye, noble, pious valor to - amend _us and the age of bronze and lacquer_,--how can they ever - come?"--T. CARLYLE. - - -"To destroy daughters is to make war upon Heaven's harmony. The more -daughters you drown, the more daughters you will have; and never was it -known that the drowning of daughters led to the birth of sons." - -This passage from the treatise of Kwei Chunk Fu upon Infanticide may be -translated so as to apply to every Christian nation. The Chinese are not -the only people who drown daughters. England, France, and America, the -three leading intelligences of the world, are busy at it this moment. -The cold, pure wave of the Pacific is a sweeter draught than that social -flood of corruption and depression which, like a hideous quicksand, -buries your sisters out of your sight. "The more daughters you drown, -the more daughters you will have." Most certainly; and if, instead of -the word "daughters," you insert the words "weak and useless members of -society,"--which is what the Chinese mean by it,--you will see that Kwei -Fu is right. Let women starve; let them sink into untold depths of -horror, without one effort to save them; and, for every woman so lost, -two shall be born to inherit her fate. - -Nor need the careless and ignorant man of wealth fancy that his own -daughters shall escape while he continues heartlessly indifferent, -though he never actively wronged a human creature. When the spoiler is -abroad, he does not pause to choose his victims. The fairest and most -innocent may be the first struck down; for human passions find their -fitting type in the persecuted beast of the forest. It is not the hunter -alone who feels his teeth and talons, but the first human flesh his -lawless members seize. - -If these things are so, surely it is our duty to consider well this -question of work, to suggest all possible modes of relief, and, while -waiting for the final application of absolute principles, to help -society forward by all partial measures of amelioration; for only -partial can they be, so long as the present modes of thought and feeling -continue. How little any one person can contribute toward the solution -of our difficulties, I am well aware; yet I venture to make a few -suggestions. - -The "Edinburgh Review," whether prepared to recommend female preachers -and lecturers or not, _does_ propose women as teachers of Oratory; and -says distinctly, that, for this purpose, they are to be preferred to -men, as their voices are more penetrating, distinct, delicate, and -correct than those of men. I think it was a matter of surprise to -American audiences, when women first came forward as public speakers, -that, in so large a number of cases, the parlor _tone_ would reach to -the extremity of a large hall. Women, too, were heard at a disadvantage, -because popular curiosity compelled them to speak in the largest -buildings. There are a great many women, and there are also a great many -men, whose voices are wholly unfit for public exigencies; but, when you -consider that women have been wholly untrained so far, how great do -their natural advantages appear! Several female teachers of elocution in -our midst prove that this is gradually perceived. These remarks should -be extended so as to cover all instruction in the pronunciation of -languages. There may be men capable of distinguishing the delicate -shades of sound, so that a woman's voice can catch them; but such men -are rare exceptions to the common incompetency. The French nasals cannot -be distinguished accurately by a man's voice: the bass tone is too -broad, and the treble wavers in trying to find the middle rest. Pursue -the study of Italian for years with the best teacher that Boston can -furnish; and, when you first hear a cultivated Italian woman speak, you -will find that you have the whole thing to learn over again. So there -was never any teacher of the French language equal to Rachel, whose -nimble and fiery tongue never dropped an unmeaning accent nor tone; nor -of the English like Fanny Kemble, who, despite certain "stage tricks," -in vogue since the days of Garrick, shows us what delicate shades of -meaning lie hidden in the vowel sounds, and what power a slight -variation of a flexible voice confers upon a dull passage. The teaching -of oratory and of language, then, should devolve upon woman. - -"Why," asks Ernest Legouvé,--"why should not the immense variety of -bureaucrative and administrative employments be given up to women?" -Under this head would come the business inspection of hospitals, -barracks, prisons, factories, and the like; and the decision of many -sanitary questions. For all this, woman is far fitter than man. Her eye -is quick; her common sense ready: she sees the consequence in the cause, -and does not need to argue every disputed point. A shingle missing from -the roof is a trifle to a man; but, the moment a woman sees it, her -glance takes in the stained walls, the dripping curtains, wet carpets, -sympathetic ceilings, damp beds, and very possibly the colds and -illness, which this trifle involves. For this reason, she is a far -fitter inspector of all small abuses than man. - -Consider, then, Legouvé's proposition. The proprietor of the London -Adelphi advertised, at the opening of the last season, that his -box-openers, check-takers, and so on, would all be women. Throughout the -whole range of public amusements, there is a wide field for the -employment of girls, which this single step has thrown open. - -Women are so steadily pressing in to the medical profession, that I have -no need to direct your attention toward it; but I may say, that it is -much to be wished that women should devote themselves to the -specialities of that science. Until within a very few years, a Boston -physician has been expected to understand all the ills that flesh is -heir to; an eye-doctor or an ear-doctor or a lung-doctor must -necessarily be a quack. Women are entering, in medicine, a very wide -field. A few specially gifted may master every branch of practice; but -many will undoubtedly fail, from the want of _inherited_ habits of hard -study, of _transmitted_ power of investigation. I wish those who are in -danger of this would apply strenuously to one branch of practice; and a -great success in any one direction would do more for the general cause -than a thousand competences earned by an ordinary career. - -I do not suppose there is a city in the United States,--and, if not in -the United States, then certainly not in the world,--where, if you asked -the name of the first physician, you would be answered by that of a -woman.[26] I do not complain of this: it is too soon to expect it. -Colleges, schools of anatomy, clinical courses, have not yet been thrown -open; and success, so far, has been mastered mainly by original -endowment. Genius has held the torch, and shown the way; but I want -women to remember, that, in this department, all the teachings of nature -and experience show that they are bound to excel men. Let them, -therefore, take the best way to accomplish it. - -At the School of Design in New York, the other day, I pressed upon the -observation of the young wood-engravers the possibility of opening for -themselves a new career by wood-carving. It is quite common, in old -European museums, to see the stones of plums and peaches delicately -carved by woman's hand, and set in frames of gold and jewels. Sometimes -they are the work of departed saints or cloistered nuns; and a terrible -waste of time they seem to our modern eyes. Properzia dei Rossi,--whose -early history is so obscure, that no one knows the name of her parents; -while the cities of Bologna and Modena still dispute the honor of her -birth,--Properzia began her wonderful career by carving on peach-stones. -One she decorated with thirty sacred figures, holding the stone so near -the eye as to gain a microscopic power. On one still in the possession -of the Grassi Family, at Bologna, she chiselled the passion of our Lord; -where twelve figures, gracefully disposed, are said to glow with -characteristic expression. Properzia died a maiden, according to Vasari -and the best manuscript contemporaneous authority; and there seems to be -no ground for the vile stories that have clustered round her name, other -than the fact, that in her sculpture of Potiphar's wife, finished when -she knew that she was dying, she ventured to cut her own likeness. It -is not to the carving of cherry-stones, however, that I would direct the -attention of young women, but to the Swiss carving of paper-knives, -bread-plates, salad-spoons, ornamental figures, jewel-boxes, and so on. -On account of the care required in transportation, these articles bring -large prices; and I feel quite sure that many an idle girl might win a -pleasant fame through such trifles. No one will dispute the assertion, -who recalls the pranks of her young classmates at school. Do you -remember the exquisite drawings which once decorated the kerchiefs, the -linen collars and sleeves, of a certain schoolroom? The sun of the -artist set early; but I have often thought that a free maiden career in -the higher walks of art might have preserved her to us. The same fancy, -displayed in wood-carving, would have challenged the attention of the -world; and the cherry-stones also bore witness to her power. The only -practical difficulty would spring from the want of highly seasoned wood; -and that could be obviated by a little patience. Should any young girl -be tempted by my words into this career, I hope she will not give away -her carvings to indifferent friends, but carry them into the market at -once, and let them bring their price, that she may know her own value, -and that of the work. - -Properzia also excelled in engraving: so did Elizabetta Sirani in 1660. -Her engravings from Guido are still considered master-pieces. We have -female engravers on wood and steel, and also female lithographers. I -want some woman to apply herself to this work, with such energy and -determination as will place her at the head of it. Let her do this, and -she could soon establish a workshop, and take men and women into her -employ; standing responsible herself for the finish of every piece of -work marked with her name. Let some idle woman of wealth offer the -capital for such an experiment, and share some of its administrative -duties. "Success" is the best argument. It would be possible to organize -in Boston, at this moment, a shop of the best kind, where all the -designing and engraving should be done by women. Why can it not be -tried? Carvers on wood, and engravers then. - -I have known several English barbers,--not women of the decorative art, -like our sainted Harriet Ryan; but women actually capable of shaving a -man! Why, then, does the "Englishwoman's Journal" inform us, that, in -Normandy and Western Africa, there actually are female barbers? - -I think there is room in Boston for an establishment of this kind; a -place from which a woman could come to a sick-room to shave the heated -head or cut the beard of the dying; a place where women's and children's -wants could be attended to without necessary contact with men; and with -the absolutely necessary cleanliness, of which there is not now a single -instance in this city. - -When I mentioned wood-carving to women, I was thinking, in part, of the -immense annual demand for Christmas presents. In this connection, also, -I should like to direct the attention of our rural women to the art of -preserving and candying fruit. "But that is nothing new," you will say. -"Did not your Massachusetts census for 1845 enumerate certain picklers -and preservers?" Yes; but those women were merely in the employ of men -carrying on large establishments. What I would suggest is a domestic -manufacture to compete with French candies, and to occupy the minds of -our farmers' wives and daughters, to the exclusion of shirt-fronts and -shoe-binding. - -Every one of us, probably, fills more than one little stocking, on -Christmas night, with candied fruit. If we belong to the "first -families," and wish to do the thing handsomely, this fruit has cost from -seventy-five cents to a dollar a pound; we knowing, all the while, that -better could be produced for half or two-thirds the money. Last year, I -purchased one pound of the candy, and examined it with practical -reference to this question. Plums, peaches, cherries, apples, and pears, -all tasted alike, and had evidently been boiled in the same sirup. Apple -and quince marmalades alone had any flavor. Now, our farmers' daughters -could cook these fruits so as to preserve their flavor, could candy them -and pack them into boxes, quite as well as the French _men_; and so a -new and important domestic industry might arise. The experiment would be -largely profitable as soon as all risk of mistake were over; and -perishable fruit at a distance from market could be used in this way. A -few years ago, we had a rare conserve from Constantinople and Smyrna, -called fig-paste. Now we have a mixture of gum Arabic and flour, -flavored with essences; made for the most part at Westboro', and called -by the same name. Yes, we actually have fig-paste, spicy with -wintergreen and black-birch! Now, what is to prevent our farmers' -daughters from making this?--from putting up fruits in air-tight cans, -and drying a great many kinds of vegetables that cannot be had now for -love or money? Who can get Lima beans or dried sweet-corn, that does not -dry them from his own garden? - -Do not let our medical friends feel too indignant if I recommend to -these same women the manufacture of pickles. The use of pickles, like -the use of wine, may be a questionable thing; but, like liquors, they -are a large article of trade: and, if we must have them, why not have -them made of wholesome fruit, in good cider-vinegar, with a touch of the -grandmotherly seasoning that we all remember, rather than of stinted -gherkins, soured by vitriol and greened by copper? There are many sweet -sauces, too,--made of fruit, stewed with vinegar, spice, and -sugar,--which cannot be obtained in shops, and would meet a good market. -How easy the whole matter is, may be guessed from this fact, that, -sitting once at a Southern table,--the table of a genial grand-nephew of -George Washington, who bore his name,--I was offered twenty-five kinds -of candied fruit, all made by the delicate hands of his wife; and seven -varieties in form and flavor, from the common tomato. - -I looked through Boston in vain, the other day, to find a common -dish-mop large enough to serve my purpose. There was no such thing to be -found. Taking up one of the slender tassels offered me, I inquired into -its history, and was informed that it was imported from France. The one -I had been trying to replace had been made by some skilful Yankee hand -for a Ladies' Fair. Now, what are our poor women doing, that they cannot -compete with this French trumpery, and give us at least dish-mops fit -for use? - -As teachers of gymnastics, women are already somewhat employed. A wide -field would be opened, if a teacher were attached to each of our public -schools,--a step in physical education greatly needed. - -No conservative is so prejudiced, I suppose, as to object to placing -woman in all positions of moral supervision. Female assistants in jails, -prisons, workhouses, insane asylums, and hospitals, are seen to be fit, -and to have a harmonizing influence in every respect. How many more such -assistants are needed, we may guess from the fact that our City Jail and -Charlestown are still unsupplied. Women of a superior order are needed -for such posts; and when will they be found? Not till labor is -thoroughly respected; not till the popular voice says, "It is all very -well to be a Miss Dix, and go from asylum to asylum, suggesting and -improving; but it is just _as_ well, quite _as_ honorable, to work in -_one_ asylum, carrying out the wise ideas which a Miss Dix suggests, -and securing the faithful trial of her experiments." Many men in Beacon -Street would feel honored to call the moving philanthropist sister or -friend; but few would like to acknowledge a daughter in the post of -matron or superintendent. Why not? There is something "rotten in the -State" where such inconsistencies exist. How thoroughly men accept such -women, as soon as they are permitted to try their experiment, we may -judge from the case of Florence Nightingale and her staff. The very men, -whose scepticism kept the army suffering for months, would be the first -to send them now; and the soldiers, who kissed her shadow where it fell, -would fill the whole Commissariat with women. When her gentle but -efficient hand broke in the doors of the storehouses at Scutari, a -general huzza followed from the very men who were too timid to break the -trammels of office. The woman's keen sympathy with the advancing spirit -of her time, taught her what it was fit to do; and, if the rippling -smiles of suffering men had not rewarded her when the bedding and stores -were distributed, the warm encomiums of her Queen, whose heart she had -so truly read, must have done it. Following out this train of -reflection, I have often thought it would some day fall to women, and to -women alone, to exercise the function of parish minister! I do not mean -"parish preacher." I hold pulpit graces cheap by the side of that -fatherly walk among his people, which has made the name of Charles -Lowell sacred to the West Church. Go back to the history of the first -church in every town: see how the minister knew the story of every heart -in his parish; how he kept his eye on every lonely boy or orphan girl; -how widowed mothers took his counsel about schools and rents; how -forlorn old maids trusted to him to make all "things come round right;" -how the lad, inclining to wild courses, found no better friend than he. -How is it now? The minister has his Sunday sermons, his annual addresses -before certain societies, his weekly association. In the old time, such -things were done, yet not the other left undone. Now the lonely boy or -orphan girl must seek out the minister,--and how likely this is to -happen everybody knows; the mother must tell over the story of her -widowhood, pained to see how "in course" it falls upon that wearied ear; -the spinster must tell again how the boat floated empty and bottom -upward to shore long years ago, and so no one was "spared to keep all -right;" and the wild lad--alas! how many such do the clergy save now? - -As I see such things,--and I do see them often,--as I realize that -change in men and times, in manners and books, from which this change is -inseparable,--I confess I see a new[27] sphere opening for women. It -takes no remarkable gifts, in the common sense of those words; only a -kindly heart, a thoughtful head, a tender, reverent care-taking, wholly -apart from meddlesomeness. Not many are the ministers now who will -pause to explain to Martha that she is careful and troubled about many -things; and that really the visionary Mary, with her dreamy eyes, is -choosing the good part. Not many can see Nathanael standing under the -fig-tree, and remind him of it at the needful moment. But if, in every -religious household, there were a deaconess, called by nature and God to -her work,--one to whom the young felt a right to go with questions home -could not answer; one pledged to secret counsel, with whom the restless -and unhappy might confer,--it seems to me the wheels of life would move -more smoothly.[28] How the unlikeliest persons are sometimes raised up -to such a ministry, let the following story tell. In the dim and dreary -precincts of the Seven Dials in London, years ago, two orphan girls were -left lying on door-steps, fed by chance charity, to grow up as they -might. One died; and the other was finally adopted by an old man, an -atheist, who had been neighbor to her parents. She grew up an atheist -also, and married,--saved by God's mercy from what had seemed her -likeliest fate. Stepping into the passage of the Bloomsbury Mission Hall -to shelter herself from the rain, one night, a shaft, winged by the Holy -Spirit, struck to her empty heart. - -The next week, a lending library was to be opened in the district. -Marian was first at the door. "Sir," said she, "will you lend me a -Bible?"--"A Bible!" exclaimed the man. "We did not mean to _lend_ -Bibles; but I will get you one." - -How long she read, how she was at first moved, none but God can know. -But, whether from mental distress or from the sad vicissitudes of her -needy career, she became very ill, and went to a public hospital. While -there, she saw the sufferings of those who applied for its charity, and -observed that the filthy state of their persons needed a friendly female -hand. When she came out, she wrote to the missionary, and told him she -wished to dedicate all her spare time to the lost and degraded of her -own sex. "God's mercy," she writes, "has spared me from their fate: for -me their misery will have no terrors. I will clean and wash them, and -mend their linen. If they can get into a hospital, I will take care of -their clothes." You may suppose the missionary did not lose sight of -Marian, and you may guess how gladly she undertook to distribute Bibles; -going, where none of the gentry could go, into dens of misery known only -to the police-officers and herself. Spending her mornings in -distributing Bibles, and giving the kind and pastoral counsel everywhere -needed, she discovered, in the autumn of 1857, a new want, and devoted -her afternoons to teaching the ignorant women about her to cut and make -their children's clothes. Why _she_ knew better than _they_, who shall -tell? Then came the November panic and its wide-spread distresses; and, -seeing how food was wasted from ignorance, she opened a soup-kitchen of -her own. She used what is called vegetable stock: her wretched customers -liked it, and she sold it all through the winter for a price which just -paid the cost of cooking. Her noble work goes on. The stone which the -builders of our modern society would have rejected, is now the head of -the corner; and Seven Dials knows her as "Marian, the Bible-woman." - -Another mission has been begun at St. Pancras, where, in one of the -worst neighborhoods, the most profligate men have gathered together, -between church hours, to hear a young lady read the "Pilgrim's -Progress," and are thus softened and led to higher things. Would you -shut those sacred lips because they are a woman's? Would you quote St. -Paul to her, and blush for her career, if she were your own daughter? I -will not believe it. - -At the parish of St. Alkmunds, in Shrewsbury, the wife of the clergyman, -Mrs. Whitman, began by modest reading from house to house; a work which -has since been greatly blessed. Gently she won profligate men and women -to give up their beer, and the temptations of the "tap;" signing herself -the pledge which they alone needed. - -A very important work could be done in this city by the establishment of -a proper Training School for Servants. One reason why our house-work is -so miserably done is, that it is never regarded as a profession, in -which a certain degree of excellence must be attained, but rather as a -"make-shift," by the aid of which a certain number of years can be got -through. The only thorough servant I ever had was one who had been -educated at such a school in Germany. Here would be an admirable field -for some of the women who have money and time, but no object in life. -Such a school must be carried on in connection with a good-sized -boarding-house of a respectable kind; and beside the regular -superintendents, who will, of course, be hired for the different -departments, there must be committees of ladies who should see to the -practical working of the institution in turn. This is necessary to -secure that thorough working in every department which the best -housekeeping demands. Only by intelligent, refined oversight can -feathered "flirts" be hindered from taking the place of the tidy dusting -cloth; only so will a girl learn to sweep each apartment separately, -without dragging her accumulations from floor to floor; only so can -soap-suds be kept off your oil-cloths, soiled hands from your doors, and -dust from your shirt-fronts. I do not believe a better service could be -done to the community than the establishment of such a school, -especially in relation to cooking.[29] A good many such experiments have -been successfully tried in England, but none so thorough as that I would -propose in Boston. - -With regard to the lowest class of employed women, such as are employed -at home, we have, it seems to me, several distinct duties to perform. - -In the first place, we need a public but self-supporting Laundry. By -this I mean two large halls, with an adjacent area, built at the expense -of the city, and properly superintended, where, for so much an hour, -women of the lower class may wash, starch, dry, and iron the clothes -they take home. A bleaching-ground would be desirable; but, if it could -not be had, a steam drying-room would be the next best thing. Good -starch, soap, and indigo should be for sale upon the premises at -wholesale prices; it not being desirable that the city should make money -out of the necessities of its poor. If such an establishment could be -had, a great many women would be changed from paupers to decent -citizens. They are tired of seeking washing; for, in their one close -room, scented with boiling onions or rank meat, without a proper area -for drying, and compelled to pay high prices for poor soap and starch, -they cannot do decently the very work which philanthropy soon becomes -unwilling to intrust to them, and for which they are compelled to charge -higher than the best private laundry. The city could buy coal, wood, -soap, starch, and indigo at manufacturers' and importers' prices, and so -give them a fair chance for competition. I hope this project, long since -partially adopted in many cities of the Old World, may find favor with -my audience. - -There is in Boston no place, strange as it may seem, where plain, neatly -finished clothing can be bought ready-made. I can go down town, and buy -embroidered merinos, Paris hats with ostrich feathers, and lace-trimmed, -welted linen: but if I want a plain, cotton skirt for a child, whereof -the calico was eight cents a yard; if I want a plain, cotton print made -into a neatly fitting dress; if I want a boy's coarse apron,--such -things are not to be had, or only so very badly made that no one will -buy them. I do not want lace or embroidery or silk, or fine linen; but I -do want my button-holes nicely turned and strong, my hems even, my -gathers stroked, and, however plain and coarse, the whole finish of the -garment such as a mistress of the needle only would approve, such as no -lady need be ashamed to wear. So do others. The reasons given to explain -the non-existence of such a magazine in Boston are, first, That our -women of the middle class are, for the most part, accustomed to cut and -make their own clothes; second, That there is a prevalent but mistaken -idea, that clothes made for sale cannot possibly fit. With regard to the -first point, it may be said, that, as more and more avenues of labor are -opened for women, this class perceives that it is not good economy for -them to do their own sewing. Hands compelled to coarser or heavier labor -cannot sew quick or well, and those training to more delicate -manipulation lose practice by returning to it; so there will be a -constantly increasing class of purchasers. - -As to the impossibility of fitting, that is a vulgar mistake. The human -frame is quite as much the result of law as Mr. Buckle's statistics. Any -comely, healthy form is a good model for all other forms of the same -height and breadth. Who ever heard of a French bonnet or a bridal -trousseau that did not fit? yet these things are made by arbitrary -rules. Our superintendent could find every measure she would ever need -in one of the teeming houses on Sea Street. She must take her measures -from life, not books. Nor would I have the sewing done with machines, -unless those of the highest cost could be procured and ably -superintended. The best machine is as yet a poor substitute for the -supple, human hand; and many practical inconveniences must result from -its use. It requires more skill and intelligence to manage man's -simplest machine, than to control with a thought that complicated -network of nerve, bone, and fibre which we have been accustomed to use. - -Capital to start such an establishment as I refer to is all that is -needed. How desirable the thing is, you can easily see. In the first -place, if good common clothing could be so purchased, mothers need not -keep a large stock on hand: an accident could be readily repaired. In -the second, it would greatly simplify and expedite many a charitable -task. The terrible suffering which followed the panic of November, 1857, -you all remember. Purses, always open hitherto, were necessarily closed; -no Sister of Charity was willing to tread on the heels of the sheriff: -yet the need was greater than ever. Many persons who had dismissed their -servants were found willing to give a rough, untrained girl her board; -but who was to provide her with decent clothes? They could not be -bought, and to make them was the work of time and strength. May I always -remember to honor, as God will always surely bless, one woman possessed -of wealth and beauty, who did clothe from head to foot with her own -needle, in that dreadful winter, _three_ "wild Irish girls," and took -them successively into her own family; training them to habits of -tolerable decency, until others, less self-sacrificing, were found ready -to do their part! - -No people in our community suffer such inconvenience, loss, and -imposition, in having their clothes made, as our servant girls. If a -plentiful supply of calico sacks and skirts or loose dresses could be -anywhere found, few girls would ever employ a dressmaker. - -I have spoken of Public Laundry Rooms, and a Ready-made Clothing Room. -There is a class of women greatly to be benefited by the establishment -of a Knitting Factory. It is well known to every person in this room, -especially to physicians, that no knitting done by machinery can compete -with that done by the human hand, in durability, warmth, or stimulative -power. Invalids are now obliged to import the Shetland jackets, which -are always badly shaped; or to hire, at our fancy stores, the making of -delicate and very expensive fabrics. Men's socks and children's gloves -may be purchased; but the first cost from seventy-five cents to a dollar -a pair, and the last are of very inferior manufacture. We cannot give -out knitting to advantage, because of the dirt and grease it is liable -to accumulate where water is not plenty nor ventilation to be had; and -very good knitters of socks have not skill and intelligence to manage -the different sizes, or to shape the larger articles, such as drawers -and under-jackets for the two sexes. Coarse crocheting would answer -better than knitting for many articles. - -Let a large, airy room be hired, well supplied with Cochituate. Let all -sorts of material be kept on hand, and some coarse, warm kinds of -Shetland yarn imported that are not now to be had. Let at least two -superintendents be appointed from among the women, who work _best_ for -our fancy stores; let knitting-women be invited to use this room for -twelve hours a day, or less, as they choose,--receiving daily pay for -their daily needs; and in less than one year you would have an -establishment, for which not merely Boston, but all New England, would -be grateful. I should hope that neither this nor the Clothing Room would -ever offer very expensive or highly ornamental articles for sale. There -is no danger that the interests of the wealthy will suffer. What I -desire is to provide for the needs of the lowest women and the comfort -of the middle-class customer. - -The young girls in Beacon Street have now some thing to do. I offer them -the establishment of a Training School for Servants, of a public but -self-supporting Laundry, of a Ready-made Clothes Room, and a Knitting -Factory; all simple matters, entirely within their control, if they -would but believe it. - -A certain human faithlessness often interferes with the execution of -such plans. If my young friends doubt, let them go and talk to Harriet -Ryan about it. She will show them, how, having taken the first step -toward duty, God always leads the way to the second. To cheer them still -further, I will tell them--for I may never have a fitter opportunity--of -the splendid success of the industrial schools in Ireland, established -in 1850 by Ellen Woodlock,--a name destined to stand honorably by the -side of Florence Nightingale; nay, worthy to precede it, in so far as -preventive measures are always a greater good than remedial. Mrs. Ellen -Woodlock has powers of statement, according to the "London Times," equal -to her extraordinary powers of execution; and it is from her own account -of the work that I select what I have to offer you. - -In 1850, Mrs. Woodlock had placed her only child at school, and began to -look for something to do. A lady, who had started an industrial school -on a gift of $250 from a clergyman, asked for her help. She proposed to -teach young girls to do plain sewing. Very soon, there were more -seamstresses than customers; but God did not fail to open a way. One -poor, half-blind creature--very poor and very earnest--failed in the -plain sewing, and was put to make cabbage nets. She did it so well, that -Mrs. Woodlock taught her to make silk nets for the hair. The nets took: -other girls were taught; and Mrs. Woodlock went to all the shops in -Cork, and coaxed the merchants to buy of her. She very soon began to -make nets for exportation. Mrs. Woodlock's fashionable niece arrived -from Dublin, with a new style of crocheted net. Her aunt had a dozen -made directly; and, by showing these, got orders from all the merchants -for the new style. One day, a merchant came into the school, and saw a -little girl at work on a mohair net. He asked the price, and found that -she would make him twelve for the same money that he had paid for one -in London. So you may guess where his next orders went. - -Mrs. Woodlock then made interest with the "buyers," or young men who go -to London twice a year to purchase goods. They took over her patterns, -and returned with orders so large that their principals at once entered -into the business. Yellow nets were made for Germany. Many were sent to -England and America; and orders came so thick that they had to share -them with the convent schools. They paid out a hundred dollars weekly; -and alacrity and intelligence beamed where there had been, at first, -only hopeless suffering and imbecility. Of course, this point was not -reached without much self-sacrifice. At first, the children made awkward -work that would not sell. Then the lady patronesses got tired, and -dropped off. Worn and worried, Mrs. Woodlock fell ill. If you ever -undertake any of the schemes I have mentioned, you must be prepared for -all these things: they will certainly happen. No one ever fought a -revolutionary war, and established an independence, without one or two -defeats like that at Bunker Hill.[30] When they become historic, we call -them victories. When Mrs. Woodlock found that she was human and liable -to fall ill, she sent for some of the Sisters of Charity, and trained -several, so that they could, on an emergency, fill her place well. - -But Mrs. Woodlock did not stop here. She used to teach the Catechism in -the parish church; and, one day, she gave notice that a new school would -be opened in that neighborhood. The next morning, one hundred and fifty -girls, between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, presented -themselves. Mrs. Woodlock asked every girl, who had ever earned any -money before, to hold up her hand. Four girls did so. They had sold -apples in the streets. One hundred and forty-six suffering creatures, -who had no way to earn a cent! Think what a class it was! Do you -remember what I told you, the other day, of eighteen hundred and eighty -women in New York who had never been taught to support themselves? Ten -of the best workers from the first school were taken to teach these -girls; and, for a salary, the teacher received the first _perfect_ dozen -of nets made by each of her pupils. This plan was not costly, and worked -well. There was no lack of faithfulness. Travellers came to see the -schools. There was no time wasted in looking for orders: they had more -than they could fill. Of course, they must keep these hands employed: so -other manufactures must be tried. Mrs. Woodlock thought she would try -fine shirt-fronts for the city dealers. What do you think the people -said? That it could not be done in all Ireland; that there was nobody to -wash and iron them properly; that they would have to be sent all the -way to Glasgow to be boxed in card boxes! Well, the nuns undertook the -first washing and ironing,--making apprentices, let us hope, of some of -the older pupils; and Mrs. Woodlock found a starving band-box maker, -whom she herself taught to make flat boxes. And look now at the blessing -which always follows wise work. This flat-box maker has had to take -apprentices, has opened another branch of her business in Limerick, and -has put money into the Savings' Bank. - -Mrs. Woodlock's account of her work would be a great help to any young -persons engaged in philanthropic effort. She lays the very greatest -stress upon her machinery,--her methods. Every industrial work ought to -support itself: if it does not, it is a failure. All her schools earn -their own bread, _in every sense_; and all reforming agencies must -always stand second to any institution which does that. See how she -carried this thought into her daily life. Mrs. Woodlock had a brother -who was one of the Board of Poor-Law Guardians. Seeing the success of -her work, he persuaded the other members to employ an embroidery -mistress in the Union School for a few months. - -When these children knew enough, Mrs. Woodlock took out six, and put -them into her industrial school, till she was sure they could support -themselves. Then she let them look up lodgings, and continued to give -them work from the school. In a few weeks, they got on so well that they -began to take their relations and friends out of that terrible -poorhouse. Three young girls took out their mother and cousin, and -supported them. Eighty girls were brought off the parish by the first -working of her schools. A house has also been opened for orphans, where -they are trained to support themselves. - -Now, my friends, the census, at the end of ten years, will report a -great change in the industrial condition of Ireland; and the beginning -of that change was Mrs. Woodlock's intelligent moral effort to benefit -her countrywomen,--in the first place, to teach one little sufferer to -make cabbage-nets. That element will enter into the statistics on which -Mr. Buckle bids you so confidently rely. Do not believe him when he says -that _moral_ effort can never help anybody but yourself, because it will -be balanced, in the long-run, by your neighbor's _immoral_ effort. Two -and two make four in all statistics, and always will while the world -stands; but two and two and one make five, and not four, as he asserts; -and the one which he forgets to enumerate is no other than the divine -Centre of life and action,--God himself. I value Mr. Buckle's book. I -see how clearly he thinks; how much he has read; and how much truer his -historical attitude than any ever before assumed. But when a man -separates goodness from knowledge; tells you that intelligence may reign -alone; does not see that the two are now and for ever one, equal -attributes of the divine nature,--then he makes a mistake which saps the -very foundation of his own work, and writes fallacy on every page. - -What he says is perfectly true of _mistaken, ignorant_ moral effort. -That does help yourself, and does _not_ help anybody else. It helps you, -because it develops your right-mindedness,--your generosity. It does not -help anybody else. It _hinders_ others who are clearer intellectually: -they see and despise the mistakes, and are not inspired by the purpose. -Had it been intelligent, they would have seen it to be divine. - -Mrs. Woodlock's work was both intelligent and moral. What inspired the -pupils was her moral force and disinterested love. They saw this, and -were kindled by it; while the community at large respected the -intelligence and common sense with which she laid her plans. -Intelligence made these plans self-supporting; intelligence gave them -solid pyramidal position in the world: but moral energy gave them their -prestige, and will win its way by the side of intelligence into the very -columns which Mr. Buckle's closing volume must quote. - -Do not be disheartened, then, as to the ultimate profit to others of any -kindly work you feel inclined to do. Let kindliness inspire, let -intelligence direct, your efforts. God has made your success certain -from the very foundations of the world. - -I cannot close such inadequate survey of this field as I have felt it my -duty to offer, without alluding to one other fact, and making one -parting suggestion. It cannot but be realized, by all the women to whom -I speak, how very casual is the communication between the laboring class -in this community and their employers. Suppose a housekeeper wants -additional service, how can she secure it? If she is not wealthy enough -to hire regularly, her "chance" is a very poor one; and she must take -the recommendation, in nine cases out of ten, of some one in the -charwoman's own rank of life. - -Suppose a maid of all work leaves a mistress alone early some busy -Monday morning, where can her place be filled? How can any one be found -who will work by the hour or the day, in a cleanly, respectable manner, -till a new servant can be deliberately chosen? Nobody knows of a -washerwoman who is out of work on Monday. The intelligence offices hold -no women so distressed that they will go out for less than a week, and -that on trial. Yet, somewhere in the city, there must be women pining -and longing for that waiting work. - -Suppose a sudden influx of visitors exhausts your household staff, and -makes a waiting-maid a necessity where none was kept before; suppose a -large group of relatives, passing quickly through the city, come for a -plain family dinner at a moment when your personal superintendence is -impossible,--where is the active, tidy girl who can be summoned, or the -decent woman of experience who can order matters in your kitchen as well -as you can yourself? - -Somewhere they sit waiting--suffering, it may be--for the opportunity -which never comes. The intelligence office will get them places; but -places they are not at liberty to seek. They need what they call "a -chance lift." - -I am well aware that wealthy and long-established families may not -suffer much from this cause. Old servants well married, or a variety of -well-paid servants with wide connections in the neighborhood, or -deserving objects of charity personally met and understood, often -prevent such persons from feeling any inconvenience; but for young -housekeepers, for new residents, for persons of small means and few -connections, there is no help. - -I need not enlarge on the subject. There is no kind of female labor of -which it is easy to get a prompt and suitable supply. To obviate this -difficulty, I think there should be a sort of "Labor Exchange;" and this -is a project which all classes would be glad to have carried out. How -shall it be done? That, of course, must be settled by those who have the -task in charge; but, to explain what I mean, I will offer a few -suggestions. In the first place, What are the defects in the -intelligence-offices now in existence?[31] There are several. They take -cognizance of domestic servants alone. They are kept by ignorant or -inexperienced persons, who often lose sight of the interests of both the -employer and the employed in their own pecuniary loss or gain. These -persons have necessarily little insight into character, and do not see -how to bring the right persons together. They will send a slow, dawdling -girl to an impatient, lively mistress;--a smart upstart to some meek, -little wife, who has hardly learned the way to order her own house; and -the natural misunderstandings will occur. Then the books of the office -are irregularly kept, and closed to the applicant, so that you have no -chance to select for yourself. Go down to an office, and ask for a -servant; tell the keeper not to send a raw girl, not to send one without -a recommendation, not to send a foreigner who cannot speak English; and -go home. The odds are, that, while you are taking off your bonnet, there -will be three rings at the bell. The first girl will be a barefooted imp -of Erin, just from the steerage. Some one at the office has been -watching three days for just such a hand to be broken into a -farm-kitchen. The second wears a flower-garden on her head, more -flounces than you do, and has, of course, no recommendation. Some -soda-room wants her; but you do not. The third is high Dutch, and, when -you ask her for the coal-hod, brings you, in her despair, the -bread-tray. Neither of these three is what you ordered or wanted. - -Do you ask me the reason of this bad management, and whether I think -it can be remedied? The reason of it is, that the superintendence of -these offices is not treated like a profession. People neither fit -themselves for it, nor are attracted to it by nature: they simply _do_ -it; and how they do it we feel. They want comprehensive insight, have no -business ways, and these difficulties are only to be obviated by -bringing a higher intelligence to bear upon the arrangements. - -Let us have a place where all kinds of female work can be sought and -found; an intelligent working committee first, who know what is wanted, -and how to get it, and who, most important of all, shall not be too wise -to accept diplomas from experience. - -Let us have a committee of five; its quorum to be three. Let these -persons hire a large, clean, airy room, and appoint an intelligent -superintendent,--one who will be interested to have the experiment -thoroughly successful. Let them line the walls, and screen off the room -with frames, having glass covers, to lock and unlock. Let one frame be -devoted to cooks; another, to laundresses; another, to washerwomen, -window-washers, charwomen, seamstresses, dressmakers, copyists, -translators, or what you will; and under the glass the notices should be -posted. Each should contain the name, age, and residence of the -applicant; the situation last held, and for how long; the full address -of the reference; and the date of posting. The date should be printed -and movable, and changed semi-weekly, on the personal application of the -poster. Each woman should pay five cents for the privilege of posting; -should lose this privilege from misconduct, from neglect to report -herself, from proved falsehood. No date should be left unchanged more -than a week, and the superintendent should be responsible for the strict -observance of the regulations. No woman, not even a charwoman, should be -allowed to use the posting privilege, unless she has a reference. -"What!" you will say, "is that kind?" Yes, it is kind: the want of it is -doubly cruel. A woman who needs work can afford to offer a day's free -work to get a reference; and referees should be required to tell the -simple truth. A lady who once recommended a dishonest or incapable -servant without the proper qualification should be struck off the books, -not allowed to testify again in that court. - -With regard to all transient labor, it should be the duty of the -superintendent to see that the references are reliable before posting, -so that those who apply in haste need not be delayed. - -If a dressmaker or charwoman inform the superintendent that she has -worked for A, B, and C, let a printed circular, addressed to such -persons, inquiring if they can recommend her, and to what degree, be -placed in her hands. To this she should bring written answers before -being allowed to post. - -If the institution became popular, books would have to be kept, -corresponding to these glass cases--one book for cooks, another for -housemaids, and so on; but the cases should never be given up. There -should always be as many as the room will hold. Ladies should pay a -certain sum for each servant they obtain; and the servant should pay for -every place she gets, at a rate proportioned to the wages received. In -most intelligence offices, the servants get two places for the same fee, -if they do not stay over a week in the place, and the lady gets two -girls or more on the same condition. This works like a premium on change -of place. The servant should prove to the Labor Exchange, that she did -not leave her place of her own will, and the lady should show that -incapacity or insubordination made it impossible to keep her. - -It should be a cash business, and a fee should be paid for each -application. Wanting a cook, you go down to the room, and consult the -proper frame. Finding, perhaps, forty posters, you select one that reads -like this:-- - - Matilda Haynes. - Irish. - Twenty-five years of age. - In the country four years. - Thoroughly understands plain cooking. - Expects two dollars. - Is willing to go out of town. - Lived last at No. 4, Pemberton Square. - Kept the place six months. - May refer to it. - Can be found at 24, High Street. - -You first go to Pemberton Square. It is quite possible that this girl -may not be what you want; but if she is, and your eye tells you that you -can trust the judgment of her referee, you have only to go to High -Street, and make your own terms. If you are already prejudiced in her -favor, you will go prepared to make some concessions, so that the chance -will be better for you both; and this process may be repeated without -loss of time, till you are supplied. - -You will see that this is quite a feasible plan, and has two advantages. -One is, that you have access to the books, and can choose for yourself; -the other is, that there would be no waiting-room for servants, where -they should talk with, prejudice, and morally harm each other. You would -also be saved the pain of rejecting servants to their faces, on the -ground of "greenness," or bodily unfitness. Such an institution would -offer this advantage over the present offices, that it would direct you -to temporary laborers, and give you in a moment the addresses of some -dozens. Such an institution would be a very great saver of time, and so -a great blessing. - -If, in the course of these lectures, any words that I have spoken have -touched your hearts, or carried conviction to your minds, do not put -aside, I beseech you, such impulse as they may have given. Remember -that, however feebly the subject has been treated, however presumptuous -may seem the attempt, the subject itself is the most important theme -that is presented to this generation. In my first lecture I showed you, -that while women, ever since the beginning of civilization, have been -sharing the hardest, and doing the most unwholesome work, they have also -done the _worst paid_ in the world. I showed you that this poor pay, -founded on a false estimate of woman's value as a human being, and -consequently as a laborer, was filling your streets with criminals, with -stricken souls and bodies, for whose blood society is responsible to -God. Having proved thus, that women need new avenues of labor, I tried -in my second lecture to show you, that, when she sought these, she had -been met too often by the selfish opposition of man. I showed also that -all such opposition proved, in the end, unavailing; that all the work -she asks will inevitably be given. I showed you, from the censuses of -Great Britain and America, how much labor is even now open to her; that -it is not half so necessary to open new avenues of labor as to make -work itself _respectable for women_; and I therefore entreated women to -learn to work thoroughly and well, that men might respect their labor in -the aggregate. "Woman's work" means nothing very honorable or -conscientious now. Alter its significance till it indicates the best -work in the world. - -In my present lecture I have indicated some of the steps that might be -taken to benefit the women in the heart of this city. To encourage you -to take them, I have briefly pointed out Ellen Woodlock's remarkable -success. Have I kindled any interest in your minds? Can you enter into -such labors? Have you strength or time or enthusiasm to spare? In the -ballads of Northern Europe, a loving sister trod out, with her bare -feet, the nettles whose fibre, woven into clothing, might one day -restore her brothers to human form. - -Your feet are shod, your nettles are gathered: will you tread them out -courageously, and so restore to your sisters the nature and the -privileges of a blessed humanity? - -Opportunity is a rare and sacred thing. God seldom offers it twice. In -the English fields, the little Drosera, or sundew, lifts its tiny, -crimson head. The delicate buds are clustered in a raceme, to the summit -of which they climb one by one. The top-most bud waits only through the -twelve hours of a single day to open. If the sun do not shine, it -withers and drops, and gives way to the next aspirant. - -So it is with the human heart and its purposes. One by one, they come to -the point of blossoming. If the sunshine of faith and the serene heaven -of resolution meet the ripe hour, all is well; but if you faint, repel, -delay, they wither at the core, and your crown is stolen from you,--your -privilege set aside. Esau has sold his birthright, and the pottage has -lost its savor. - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [26] I am happy to find, on the authority of the "London Athenæum," - that this statement was, when I wrote it, untrue. "Germany," it says, - on the 23d of July, 1859,--"Germany has lost one of her most famed and - eminent female scholars. Frau Dr. Heidenreich, _née_ Von Siebold, died - at Darmstadt a fortnight ago. She was born in 1792, studied the - science of midwifery at the Universities of Göttingen and Giessen, and - took her doctor's degree in 1817; not, _honoris causâ_, by favor of - the Faculty, but, like any other German student, by writing the - customary Latin dissertation, as well as by bravely defending, in - public disputation, a number of medical theses. After that, she took - up her permanent abode at Darmstadt, indefatigable in the exercise of - her special branch of science, and universally honored as one of its - first living authorities." - - "Universally honored as one of its first living authorities," that was - what I was in search of; and French and German papers confirm the - statement. Dr. Heidenreich came of a family highly distinguished in - her specialty. It was ancient and noble: she was a baroness in her own - right. All readers of English works on midwifery know the authority - given to the name of Von Siebold. Her father founded the famous - hospital at Berlin; and her brother, still living, stands high in - medical fame, having written the best history of midwifery extant. - - Rosa Bonheur, also, is as unquestionably at the head of her department - as Sir Edmund Landseer. The three pictures Boston has had a chance to - see this autumn ought to fill every woman's bosom with a glow of - honest pride. - - I can find no better place than this, perhaps, to introduce the - following facts, to which my attention has been directed by the - kindness of Miss Mary L. Booth, of New York. - - In the History of Southold, N.Y.,--one of the oldest towns in the - United States,--it appears that women have practised there as - "doctresses" and "midwives" from the first settlement of the country. - From 1740 to the present time,--more than one hundred years,--the town - of Southold has had a trustworthy female physician. The first of - these, Elizabeth King, who practised from 1740 until her death in - 1780, attended at the birth of more than _one thousand_ children. - - During this time,--from 1760 to 1775,--a Mrs. Peck was also known in - the same town as an excellent midwife. The direct successor of Mrs. - King was, however, a Mrs. Lucretia Lester, who practised from 1745 to - 1779. Of her my authority says, "She was justly respected as nurse and - doctress to the pains and infirmities incident to her fellow-mortals, - _especially_ her own sex;" a remark which shows she attended _both_. - "She was, during thirty years, conspicuous as an angel of mercy; a - woman whose price was beyond rubies. It is said she attended at the - birth of _thirteen hundred_ children, and, of that number, lost but - two." - - A Mrs. Susannah Brown practised from 1800 to 1840, and attended at the - birth of _fourteen hundred_ children. From the number of patients - these women must have had, it would seem as if they were sustained by - the whole neighborhood. The book just published speaks highly of them, - as what Henry Ward Beecher would call a "means of grace," and pleads, - from the precedent, for the education of women to medicine. - - Southold is in Suffolk County, on Long Island; and was settled in the - early part of the seventeenth century. It has now three churches, and - less than five thousand inhabitants. - - The instance of so creditable a practice being maintained for a whole - century, by three women, stands alone, so far as I know, in this - country. Mrs. King probably studied abroad, and taught her next - successor, and possibly Mrs. Peck, who seems to have assisted both. - That three of the four women named should have practised forty years - each, seems very remarkable. - - [27] See Appendix, sketch of Mrs. Roberts, and other female - preachers. - - [28] I did not think, certainly, when I wrote the above passage, of - Arthur Helps's "Companions of my Solitude;" but, taking up the book - during a day of illness, I find a parallel passage in what he writes - of the "sin of great cities." In speaking of the many excuses which - ought to be made for fallen women, he says: "And then there is nobody - into whose ear the poor girl can pour her troubles, _except she comes - as a beggar_. This will be said to be a leaning, on my part, to the - confessional. I cannot help this: I must speak the truth that is in - me." - - It seems to me, that the "narrow" church, against which so much is - intimated in our times, is nowhere so narrow as in its human - sympathies. Oh that our clergymen knew how many utterly _friendless_ - souls sit before them clothed in "purple and fine linen"! It is not to - be taken for granted, that, because a woman has a home, a father and - mother, and a genial, social circle, she has a _friend_, or even a - counsellor. It is not the beggar-girl alone who needs a "Confessor" - within our Protestant churches. Many of the most refined, the most - noble, and the most wealthy, are hurried into unfit marriages, because - they dare not live alone, and think the superficial confidences of - common courtship only a prelude to something deeper which never comes. - - Why should not the "Comforter" have come to our churches, with some - special significance, before this? If stout-hearted Luther could say, - "When I am assailed with heavy tribulations, I rush out among my pigs, - rather than remain alone by myself," why should any of us blush to - confess our need of help? Herein, it seems to me, lies the vital want - of the modern church. Here and there, the rare personal gifts of a - single pastor lessen the evil; but what we want, in every religious - circle, is a friend to whom we can go, without the smallest danger of - being suspected of impertinence or egotism, under the sanction of the - divine words, "Bear ye one another's burdens." The burdens of - temptation _must_ be borne alone; but the burdens of poverty, - sickness, and grief, should be shared in every Christian church, - without regard to the social condition of the sufferer. Oftentimes the - rich man is poorer than the pauper. I know all the objections that - will be raised. I _feel_, to this day, how I saw one clergyman shrink, - years ago, from a tale which he ought to have heard from one agonized - woman's lips; and how others, admirable in the usual pulpit and - pastoral charge, will think themselves unfit for this. Under such - circumstances, let a clergyman call upon those of his congregation who - are willing to become the friends of the rest, to meet in his study. - From the half-dozen who will have at once the _modesty_ and the - courage to come forward, let a man and a woman be chosen to act as a - "Committee of Comfort." This might be done with the utmost quietness; - the minister alone need know the names of those willing to serve; but - if it were an understood thing, that every church had such officers, - the blessing would be beyond belief. - - In many cases, no actual help could be given, beyond patient - listening, a mutual prayer, or tender soothing; but in every church - there are souls that need these far more than eloquent - preaching,--souls that ask for nothing, except some one to hear and - consider _who is not in a hurry_, some one to appoint those to their - true uses who stand idle in a waiting world. I claim such an - institution for the sake of friendless _women_; but such substitutes - for it as the world has hitherto had, have been by no means useless to - _men_. - - [29] I must suggest, in this connection, a thought which I have not - had time to elaborate in the text. Very much needed in Boston is a - restaurant for the lower classes, presided over by the highest skill - and intelligence, where well-cooked, well-flavored, and _stimulating_ - food could be offered at all times; and where a judicious alternation - of pea soup, baked beans, and very simple dishes, with roast meat and - broths, might secure daily nourishment for a very low price. There is - a great deal of very cheap food, which an epicure might desire, but - which the poor have never been taught to prepare. Hundreds of wretched - families in Boston ought never to try to make a cup of tea for - themselves. In hot weather, the shavings and wood necessary to boil - the water are worth as much as the tea itself. Crime of all sorts, and - especially intemperance, will retreat before a proper provision of - nourishing and stimulating food for the lower classes. Gallons of - oyster liquor are thrown away every day by dealers who sell the fish - "solid," which would make the most nourishing of soups and stews; for - no food replenishes the vital essences so rapidly as the oyster: hence - its inseparable connection with all places of dissipation and vicious - resort. If men would only make a good instead of an evil use of the - few natural secrets they discover! With such a restaurant,--which - should, of course, be self-supporting,--a capital training-school for - cooks might easily be associated; and so it would become an infinite - blessing, in the end, to the kind hearts and wise heads of those who - should project it. - - [30] This allusion was made before an American audience, to show that - the defeats suffered in a noble cause are honored in time as - victories. So strong is our popular delusion on this point, that few - of the common people can be found willing to believe that we were - actually defeated at Bunker Hill. It was our "first battle." All honor - to all such! - - [31] I cannot allude to the subject of Intelligence-offices without - saying, that all such institutions ought to be brought, in some _new_ - and _effective_ manner, under public supervision and control. - - A private Intelligence-office, kept in the superintendent's own house, - cannot be interfered with, unless it can be proved a nuisance; and how - difficult it is to abate a nuisance I need not tell anybody who has - ever tried the experiment. - - The keeper of a General or Public Intelligence-office makes - application for a license to the city government, sustained by a - certain number of respectable vouchers, and pays, I believe, a yearly - fee of one dollar. - - This looks fair enough; and, if every officer of the city government, - from the lowest police-officer to the mayor, were immaculate, it would - be so; but we all know what the fact is. It is an open secret, that, - in all our largest cities, the marts of vice are stocked from these - places, and that they serve the purposes of bad men better than houses - of professedly vicious resort. One of the most excellent and - respectable women I know, who superintends one of these offices, told - me herself that four women made assignations on her premises, and went - out of her office to keep them, without her having power to prevent - it. She proved the correctness of her suspicions by employing one of - her vouchers to watch the result. If this happens under the eyes of - the virtuous and vigilant, what _may_ not happen when the head of the - establishment is in the pay of interested parties? I do not know in - what way this wickedness can be broken up; but, in the words of Dr. - Gannett, "what _must_ be done, can be." Is it not a terrible thought, - that fashionable women and tender girls should supply themselves with - servants from the very brink of that hell they believe they have never - touched? Is it not a far more terrible thought, that an innocent - stranger cannot seek her daily bread without running the risk of - certain perdition? How real these possibilities are, there are those - in this city able to testify. - - Ought not the ministers at large, of all denominations, and our - overseers of the poor, to unite in prompt and efficient action in this - regard? - - - - - THE COURT; - - OR, - - WOMAN'S POSITION UNDER THE LAW. - - IN THREE LECTURES, - - DELIVERED IN BOSTON, JANUARY, 1861 - - I.--THE ORIENTAL ESTIMATE AND THE FRENCH LAW. - - II.--THE ENGLISH COMMON LAW. - - III.--THE UNITED-STATES LAW, AND SOME THOUGHTS ON HUMAN - RIGHTS. - - - - - "Kind gentlemen, your pains - Are registered where every day I turn - The leaf to read them." - _Macbeth._ - - "Some reasons of this double coronation - I have possessed you with, and think them strong." - "Why do you bend such solemn brows on me? - Have I commandment on the pulse of life?" - _King John._ - - "According to the fair play of the world, - Let me have audience. I am sent to speak." - _King John._ - - "Let this be copied out, - And keep it safe for our remembrance. - Return the precedent to these lords again." - _King John._ - - - - -THE COURT. - - - - -I. - -THE ORIENTAL ESTIMATE AND THE FRENCH LAW. - - "It was not Zeus who uttered this decree, - Or Justice, dwelling with the gods below: - Nor did I think thy will such power possessed, - That thou, a mortal, could o'errule the laws - Unwritten and immovable of God." - _Antigone_: SOPHOCLES. - - "We seldom doubt that something in the large - Smooth order of creation, though no more - Than haply a man's footstep, has gone wrong." - E.B. BROWNING. - - "The law of God, positive law and positive morality, sometimes - _coincide_, sometimes _do not coincide_, and sometimes - _conflict_."--JOHN AUSTIN: _Province of Jurisprudence Defined_. - - -"Of Law, no less can be said than that her seat is the bosom of God; her -voice, the harmony of the spheres. All things in heaven and earth do her -reverence; the greatest as needing her protection, the meanest as not -afraid of her power." - -In reading this magnificent and well-known sentence from Hooker, the -imagination is easily kindled to a divine prescience. We accept the -definition. Fair before us rise the graceful proportions of eternal -order in society, upon which wait present peace and future progress; -towards which those bow most reverently who live most purely and see -most clearly. But alas! if the reader be a woman, her heart may well -sink when the enthusiasm of the moment has passed; and she must ask, -with a feeling somewhat akin to displeasure, "Of _what_ law realized on -earth, administered in courts, dealt out from legislatures or -parliaments, from republics or autocrats, were these sublime words -written?" - -Where in the soft shadows of Oriental hareems, in the gloom of Hindoo -caves, Egyptian pyramids, or Attic porches, sculptured by divinest art, -and luminous with marbles of every hue; where in the porticos echoing to -Roman stoicism, or the baths floating on Roman license; where in the -saloons of French society, or by the hearths of good old England; where, -alas! in the free States of America, whether North or South,--has a -system of law prevailed that women could think of, without blasphemy, as -sitting in the bosom of God, and so entitled to the reverence of man? - -We outgrow all things. Always the new patch breaks the fabric of the old -garment; always the new wine shatters the well-dried leathern pouch -which held the vintage of our ancestors. But most of all do we outgrow, -have we outgrown, our laws. They fall back, dead letters, into the abyss -of that past from which we have emerged. We put new laws upon the -statute-book, and do not pause to wipe out the old; finding our -protection in the public feeling and the public progress, if not in the -traditions of the elders. - -This, and this only, saves old systems from violent demolition. Were the -State of Connecticut at this moment to attempt to put in force such of -the blue-laws as are technically unrepealed, she would be met by the -open rebellion of her highest officer; and the chief-justice who should -attempt to fine a bishop for kissing his wife on Sunday might shake -hands cordially with the chief-justice who once ruled that a man might -beat his wife with a stick no bigger than his thumb! - -The laws which relate to woman are based, for the most part, on a very -old and a very Oriental estimate of her nature, her powers, and her -divinely ordained position. We shall see this, if we follow the course -of legal enactments or religious prohibitions from the beginning. When -the subject of Woman's Civil Rights first came to be considered, it was -customary to quote from the scholars one of the sayings of Vishnu Sarma: -"Every book of knowledge which is known to Oosana or to Vreehaspatee is -by nature implanted in the understandings of women." - -Nobody asked what sort of knowledge was known to these two deities; but -most readers took it for granted that it was divine: and ordinary people -asked why, if society began with this reverent faith, we had nothing -better now than the practical scepticism of priest and lawyer. When the -names of these two deities were translated into Venus and Mercury (that -is, into _love_ and _cunning_), the announcement seemed more in keeping -with the subsequent revelations of Vishnu Sarma:-- - - "Women, at all times," he says, "have been inconstant, even among - the Celestials." - - "Woman's _virtue_ is founded upon a modest countenance, precise - behavior, rectitude, and a _deficiency of suitors_." - - "In infancy, the father should guard her; in youth, her husband; in - old age, her children: for at no time is a woman fit to be trusted - with liberty." - - "Infidelity, violence, deceit, envy, extreme avarice, a total want - of good qualities, with impurity, are the innate faults of - womankind." - -These extracts will throw some light, perhaps, upon the knowledge of -Oosana and Vreehaspatee, and will save modern women from any very strong -desire to restore the "good old rule." After such a commentary on this -seeming compliment, we shall not think it strange, that, in a country -where dialect is the exponent of condition, the most ancient drama -represents the Hindoo wife as addressing her lord and master in the -dialect of a slave. - -"It is proper," says an ancient Hindoo scripture, "for every woman, -after her husband's death, to burn herself in the fire with his corpse." -I quote this saying here only to advert to the power of public opinion, -which has been strong enough for ages to compel this sacrifice. But for -it, many a woman, who had been burnt during her whole conjugal life in -the fires of tyranny, self-will, and arrogant dominion, might have -hailed with joy the hour of her release. Under it, such a woman went -calmly to the new martyrdom. - -An ancient Chinese writer tells us, that the newly married woman should -be but an echo in the house. Her husband may strike her, starve her, -nay, even _let her out_! Such was the spirit of most Oriental custom and -law. It has crossed the Ural; so that Köhl, the German traveller, tells -us that a Turk blushes and apologizes when he mentions his wife, as if -he had been guilty of a needless impertinence. The same thing is -reported of one of the Sclavic tribes, among whom it may have been -borrowed from their Ottoman conquerors. - -In the "London Quarterly" for October, 1860, we are told that the -convent of Nuestra Senhora da Ajuda in Rio was long employed for the -purpose of locking up ladies whose husbands were on their travels. This -has been forbidden by the present emperor. - -There were, however, singular exceptions to the prevailing estimate. In -the Island of Coelebes, where the government is republican in form, -the president, and four out of six councillors, are not unfrequently -women. In the diary of the Marquess of Hastings, we are told, that among -the Garrows, a populous and independent clan in the hill country in the -north-east of India, all property and authority descend in the female -line. On the death of the mother, the bulk of the possessions goes to -the favorite daughter, _so_ designated, without regard to primogeniture -in her lifetime. The widower has a stipend settled on him at the time of -marriage, and a moderate portion is given to each daughter. The sons are -expected to support themselves. A woman, called Muhar, is the chief of -each clan. Her husband is called Muharree, and has a representative -authority, but no right to her property. Should he incline to squander -it, the clan will interfere in her behalf. When the Duke of Wellington -fought the battle of Assaye, in 1803, against the Mahrattas, a woman, -the Begum of Lumroom, belonging to the military tribe of Nairs, fought -against him at the head of her cavalry. In this tribe the succession -follows, according to the duke's report, the female line. This was on -the coast of Malabar, south of Bombay, and in what we should call the -south-western part of the Deccan. In spite of the difference in -orthography, and the statement about the north-east, I think these -stories may refer to the same clan. An orthography so variously rendered -as the East Indian is a blind guide. - -Quite evident is it that the proverbs of more western and later-born -nations grew out of the estimate of Vishnu Sarma and his compeers. Look -at them:-- - - "A rich man is never ugly in the eyes of a girl." - "A beautiful woman, smiling, tells of a purse gaping." - "Every woman would rather be handsome than good." - "A house full of daughters is a cellar full of sour beer." - "Three daughters and the mother are four devils for the father." - "A man of straw is worth a woman of gold." - "A rich wife is a source of quarrel." - "'Tis a poor roost where the hen crows." - "A happy couple is a husband deaf and a wife blind." - -It is quite evident, I think, that men made these proverbs; and somewhat -mortifying, not to _women only_, but to our common humanity, that they -should have the run of society and the newspapers, in an age which has -given birth to Florence Nightingale, Mary Patton, and Dorothea -Dix,--women who have been born only to remind us that their counterparts -appeared a thousand years ago. - -Aristophanes and Juvenal, Boileau and Churchill, turn these slanderous -proverbs into verse, if not into poetry; and, in examining the laws of -more modern times, we shall constantly trace the effect of the old -Oriental estimate. In all such examinations, we have four points to -consider:-- - -1st, That estimate of woman on which her civil position is founded, and -those rights of property which are granted or refused to her -accordingly. - -2d, Such laws as relate to marriage and divorce. - -3d, Such laws or customs as keep woman out of office, off the jury, and -refuse her all authorized legitimate interference in public affairs. - -4th, Her right of suffrage. - -Of these points, the discussion of such laws as relate to marriage and -divorce is alone to be restricted by any considerations of prudence. It -has never seemed to me a wise thing to open needlessly this discussion; -and the opening of it by women is needless, while they are in no -position to discuss it equally with men. In the marriage relation, -whatever is the certain loss and misery of one sex is also the certain -loss and misery of the other. Whatever inequality and injustice -appertains to it will be best removed when the two sexes can consider it -together, like two equal and competent powers.[32] I shall advert to the -laws of marriage and divorce, only to point out mistakes or bad results -not generally perceived, and make no attempt to treat them at length. - -When we consider what sort of public opinion has educated woman, what -estimate has lain at the bottom of all the laws passed concerning her, -it does not seem strange, that, after living for ages in a false -position, she should somewhat approximate to this estimate; so that we -say with pain of the mass of women, that _they themselves_ need a change -quite as much as their circumstances. It is common, in treating of this -subject, to dwell on the position of woman under the Roman law; but very -little is gained by it. We can see by the literature of the nation what -estimate was put upon woman, and what share she took in the degradation -of society; but how far this was the consequence of bad law, what -changes were wrought from the time of Justinian, not merely in law, but -in moral soundness under the law, it is not easy to tell in a country -which had neither printing-presses nor newspapers. We have only the -judgment of a few men, themselves law-makers, to rely upon; and their -opinions had a very limited circulation in their lifetime, and could not -be tested by any cotemporaneous verdict. It is in vain that we listen to -testimony when no competent witnesses appear on the "other side." Women, -however, ought always to remember to whom they owe the changes made in -Justinian's time. The life of Theodora is yet to be written. The -scandalous anecdotes of a secret history must some day be balanced by -the public testimony of Procopius, and some good be told of the woman -whose first thought, when raised to empire, was for the companions of -her previous infamy, and whose influence over her husband never -faltered, and is visible in every modification of the laws relating to -her sex. If we could realize the corruptness of the higher classes of -society, we should not wonder at the emperor who chose his wife from the -streets; and the fact itself tells a story which he who _heeds_ need not -misunderstand.[33] - -The laws which most directly affect us here in America are -the laws of France and England: the laws of France, because they modify -the code of Canada, Florida, and Louisiana; the laws of England, because -in her common law, recognized all over the country by all the States, we -find the basis of all that is objectionable in our legislation. - -First, then, let us consider the estimate on which the French law is -based, and then its property-laws. Civil position and the right of -franchise can be disposed of in a few words the world over. "There is -one thing which is not French," said Bonaparte, as he closed a cabinet -council, while preparing his famous Code; "and that is, a woman who can -do as she pleases." - -The estimate of woman in France is of a double character. - -It is _low_, because marriage among the upper classes is, at the best, -only a well-made bargain. - -It is _high_, because women have been encouraged to enter trade, both by -law, which protects them in their capacity as merchants, and by the -military character of the nation, which prevents men from entering -business. - -It is _low_, because throughout the provinces there are remnants of old -feudal custom, which keep her in the position of a slave. The peasant's -wife rarely sits at table: she crouches in the chimney-corner, eating -from the stew-pan; while her husband sits at the table in state before -his porringer. Yet, in another respect, this very woman helps to raise -the estimate of her sex; for she works with her husband in the field, -while a wealthier wife is often only a burden. Like him, she is exposed -to all the changes of the weather. Pregnancy does not save her from the -plough or the vintage. While her husband rests at noon, she must nurse -her babe or prepare his meal. - -In most countries, it is desirable to turn the thoughts of women away -from love, and give them some healthier occupation. In France, it would -be well to stimulate the affections, because covetousness, a desire of -worldly position, or splendid wealth, is the main motive to a marriage. -With us, love constitutes the whole life of many a woman; while it may -be only an episode in that of her husband. - -In France, even woman seldom loves, but marries to establish herself in -life. It is against this greed that she needs to be cautioned, _not_ -against that emotion and sentiment which God meant should be both a -safeguard and a blessing. _Love_ must rescue woman from vanity, -self-indulgence, and empty show. Only through its divine power will she -come to perceive the true nature of that shameful bargain, by which she -surrenders what is most precious to appease the thirst of society. If we -would save and serve humanity _here_, we must let natural -susceptibilities have their full play. - -At the same time, the business freedom which women enjoy in France has -led many women to reflect thoroughly and act vigorously. The reading -world is deluged with books relating to woman,--her education, her -labor, and her civil rights. Out of this condition of things spring a -class who long to share the sorrow and responsibility as well as the joy -of liberty. They will not accept the tenderness and pity of such men as -Michelet, who veil a profound sensualism with the graces of an affected -sentimentality. Sometimes, like George Sand, these women break loose -from social ties, test the world for themselves, and, when they have -squeezed the orange which looked so tempting, show to others the empty, -bitter rind, and return gladly to the daily bread of Divine Ordinance. -Once, in Rosa Bonheur, fresh and wise, energetic and vigorous, the -French woman has challenged the attention of the civilized world. With -no womanish weaknesses, frank, loyal, and endowed with a serious and -reflective nature, this artist has asked no leave to be of church or -society. "I have no patience," she once said, "with women who ask -permission to think. Let women establish their claims by great and good -works, and not by conventions." She took the whole world in her two -brave woman's hands, _found_ her inheritance, and resolved to enjoy it. - -It is in France, too, that Clara Demars thinks out all the psychological -relations of love and marriage, and reminds us of Mrs. John Stuart Mill, -by saying that "truth will never reign over the world, nor between the -sexes, until, by being set free, woman loses all temptation to -dissimulate." - -There, too, Flora Tristan provokes a smile by echoing in prose the -rhythmic platitudes of Mr. Coventry Patmore, and claiming, not -_equality_, but sovereignty and autocracy, for woman. - -There Pauline Roland boldly claims that marriage shall never be -tolerated, till man as well as woman is compelled to keep the law of -chastity. - -There Madame Moniot claims her civil rights from the lecturer's desk; -and Désirée Gay, interesting herself practically in the question of -woman's labor, rules the women of the national workshops. - -When both sides of this picture are studied; when we look back, on the -one hand, to Marie Antoinette and Madame Récamier, and, on the other, to -Madame Roland, Madame de Staël, and Marie de Lamourous,--it is not -strange that the fanciful protectorship of such men as Michelet should -be balanced by a claim, made not only by Talleyrand, but Condorcet, for -woman's full equality as a laborer and a citizen. And this varying and -inconsistent estimate of woman, made evident in the social, industrial, -and literary spheres of France, is strangely sustained by her legal -enactments. The "Code Napoléon" is founded on the Roman, and is very -similar to the English common law, so far as it concerns woman: but -beside this law, which is called, in reference to married women, the -_dotal_, there is another, called the _communal_; and, before marriage, -parties may choose between these two. That contract once signed, they -must abide by their choice ever after. If the dotal law is founded on -Roman law and usage, and so came naturally enough to prevail in Southern -France until the time of the Revolution; so the communal law prevailed -at the North, and is founded on the German habits and laws, beneath -which always lay the idea, that, if not technically a laborer, the wife, -by care and industry,--the thrift of the housewife,--contributed to the -acquisition of property. - -It is very singular that all the nations of Continental Europe, with the -exception of Spain, have rejected the dotal or Roman law. The objection -to it seems to have arisen out of the fact, that it permits the wife's -property to be settled _solely_ on herself, and to be so secured against -her husband's debts. In the community of estates, the property of each -is liable for the debts of either. It was on this account, probably, -that, while the "Code Napoléon" elucidated and defined the dotal system, -it expressly provided for the right of choice in the parties, and -declared, that, if no choice were made, they should be supposed to be -living under the German or communal law. - -The Dutch law is essentially the same. When the "Code Napoléon" came -into force, there were not wanting French legislators to say, that woman -was now better _protected_ than ever before. But this _legal protection_ -is of a kind due only to minors and lunatics. This law, like our own, -suspects, not only the _intelligence_ of woman, but her integrity; and -aims not to protect _her_, but _man_, against her weakness or fraud. In -marriage, the husband administers for both, not only the common -property, but her personal possessions. That is to say, by _pretending -to protect it_, the law _takes away_ from woman her personal property. -It often happens, that a woman who has brought her husband a large -property is compelled to shift in narrow ways, like a beggar or a miser, -on account of his parsimony or personal ill-will. - -The wife cannot give away the smallest article, not even such as have -been gifts to her: and the 934th article of the "Code Napoléon" -declares, "that the wife may not accept a gift without the consent of -her husband; or, if he should refuse, without the approbation of a -magistrate." She cannot pledge their common property, even though it -were to set her husband free when imprisoned for debt; nor, in the event -of his absence, to secure necessaries for his children, without the same -magisterial authority. Commonly, this authority would be readily -obtained; but it is easy to see that many cases might arise, when, from -defeated purposes, personal enmity, or the influence of the husband -against her, it would be all but impossible. - -Even in case of bankruptcy, French legislators tell us, the rights of -the wife are protected. But this very protection is insulting; for it -treats the wife as if she must of necessity be either an inert -instrument in the hands of her husband, or a dupe, whose weakness he -might readily abuse. _Through_ such protection, the dishonest merchant -finds it easy to defraud his creditors. - -Now, this "Code Napoléon" says that "the husband owes protection to his -wife; and the wife, on her side, owes obedience to her husband:" but it -goes on to secure the obedience by giving an unlimited right to the -person of the wife, without in any way providing the promised -protection. - - "The wife must live with her husband, and follow him wherever he - sees fit to go. As for him, he must receive her, and furnish her - with necessaries according to her wealth and rank." - -Now, this clause actually constrains no one but the wife; for what would -be the condition of a woman who followed her husband against his will, -and remained _under_ his roof when he was determined that she should -quit it? Under such circumstances, his recognition of her wealth and -rank would be very apt to fall to the level of his own irritation. - -The French code will interfere to protect a wife against the total loss -of her property, if she can prove _some_ loss already experienced, -either from the improvidence or the bad conduct of her husband; but it -keeps her powerless to protect herself against that first loss. Having -thus, and for such reasons, obtained a separate jurisdiction over her -property, she cannot alienate, mortgage, or acquire a title to new -property, without her unworthy husband's consent in person or on paper. -The guardianship of the children is left to the survivor of the -marriage; but the mother's right in such case may be restrained by the -father's and husband's will. He can appoint a trustee to be associated -with her. As a business woman, even if separated in estate, the wife -cannot make or dissolve a contract without the consent of her husband. - -As a "public merchant" under the communal system,--that is, pledged in -_her own name_,--she is free from this restraint. As a citizen of the -French republic, she in that case supports, conjointly with her husband, -all State charges. She is taxed as much as he; for their common income -is diminished as much for one as for the other. She has no suffrage; -but, on the other hand, she is not liable for military service. She has -no rights; a state of things, which, if it be excusable when she is -absorbed into her husband's personality, is only absurd when she fulfils -all the functions of a citizen. Well may Legouvé exclaim, "that, if the -household be woman's own sphere, she ought to be queen in it; and her -own faculties should secure her this supremacy. Her opponents should be -forced, on their own principles, to emancipate her as daughter, wife, -and mother." The woman who owns an estate is, under this law, sole -mistress of it. She signs the leases and makes the bargains. She pays -the State tax, an additional rate to her own department, a town tax, and -a tax on roads. It is with her that the local or general government -treat, if they cut through her estate for public ends. Against them, if -wronged, she herself carries suit. By her influence as a proprietor, she -controls many votes; yet she is not permitted to cast one. She cannot -_directly_ control the position of the very representative who imposes -her taxes. She is in the same position with regard to all the higher -officers, who decide such questions as affect the value of her estate. -As citizen, therefore, under the communal law, her position is uncertain -and contradictory. - -So much for the estimate of woman in France; and so much for the rights -of property, of marriage, and of suffrage, founded upon that estimate. -What is her _civil position_? what office or employment is open to her? -Women are better off in France, it is again said, than ever before. As -merchants, fair chances, barred by some contradictions and anomalies, -await them; but whoever ponders their condition cannot fail to see, that -here, as elsewhere, the protection afforded by the law is merely the -vigilance of a police officer, which protects the criminal, not for _her -own_ sake, but for that of society, which her very existence is supposed -to endanger. - -The most desirable amelioration of her lot will be secured by the -admission of her free personality. When society strikes out from the -statute-book all distinctions of sex, and admits that she is a person -capable of thinking and acting for herself, she will lay the foundation -of a new civilization. - -In France, we are told, women sometimes fill public functions. They may -be postmistresses, and inspectors of schools; or they may take charge of -the bureaus of wood or tobacco. They may also be inspectors of public -asylums,--a right and a duty of very great importance. As a public -functionary, woman fills few and inferior posts; but in these she -exercises and possesses all the rights of a man, with one -exception,--that exception, alas! the very keystone on which all human -success must rest: I mean, the right of _promotion_. Do not smile, -prompted by an unworthy apprehension of my meaning. It is _not_ because -women are more greedy or more ambitious than men that I call the right -to promotion the keystone of their success. Only small and narrow -natures can be content in a treadmill. If constant motion will not carry -her over the top of the wheel, instinct prompts the reasoning creature -to abate her efforts. No man of his own free will turns into a road -which abuts upon a stone wall. The State turnpike is better, where the -wayfarer may die by a sunstroke, or perish of a frost; where endless -miles stretch over uncultivated wastes: better; for here, at least, the -way is open, the sky overhead. - -Before proceeding to speak of the English common law, it will perhaps be -well to turn from the "Code Napoléon" to the law of Louisiana, in which -the influence of the two forms of French law still shows itself. I do -not consider the laws of Canada, because they are complicated, not only -by the English common law, but by Canadian statutes, somewhat in the -spirit of our own recent enactments, and by curious archæological -remains of feudal law,--laws which would sound like the decrees of -Haroun al Raschid, were I to tax your soberness by setting them before -you. They are, let us be thankful, of small practical importance, as is -the great body of all law.[34] - -In Louisiana, according to the civil code of 1824, the partnership of -gains arising during coverture exists by law in every marriage, without -express stipulation to the contrary. But the parties may regulate their -married obligations as they please, provided they do nothing immoral. -The wife's property is "dotal." What she _brings_, her paraphernalia, is -"extra-dotal." The dowry belongs to the husband during marriage; and he -has the administration of the partnership, and may alienate his revenue, -without his wife's consent: but he cannot convey the common estate. If, -before marriage, he should stipulate that there should be no -partnership, his wife preserves the entire control of her own property. -Her heirs take her separate estate; even money received by her husband -on her account. If there be no agreement as to the expenses, the wife -contributes one-half of her income. Her landed estate, whether dotal or -not, is not affected by his debts. She is a privileged creditor, and has -the first mortgage on his property. - -If the parties have agreed to the "partnership of gains," the common -property is liable for the debts of either. On the death of either -party, one-half of the property goes to the survivor; the other, to the -heirs of the dead partner. - -You will perceive that this law seems a loose mixture of the Roman or -dotal system with the German communal law, based on the partnership of -gains; but the common law takes it for granted that the partnership -exists, where there is no express stipulation to the contrary. As a -public trader, the wife may bind herself in whatever relates to her -business, without her husband's consent,--may even make a will; and -reference is made to the "Code Napoléon," in the same way, to all -appearance, that we refer to the common law of England. - -The estimate of woman upon which the "Code Napoléon" is founded has the -same effect upon her earnings as the English common law. As, in -marriage, the policy has been to keep her subordinate and inferior; to -give her no privileges which should lead to independence: so, in -business, the effect of the law is to keep the price of her work down, -and give her as few escapes from household drudgery as may be; to offer -her, in fact, no _temptation_ to escape. - -As polishers, burnishers, and copper-workers; as glove-makers, -enamellers, and wire-drawers; as flax-beaters and soakers; as spinners, -gauze-workers, and winders; as basket-makers, and temperers of steel; as -knife-handlers, embroiderers, and wheel-turners; as velvet-makers, -cockle-gatherers, and ivory-workers; as packers, knitters, -satin-makers, and folders; as picture-colorers, and workers in wood; as -casters, weighers, and varnishers; as shoe-makers, strap-makers, -lace-makers, and cocoon-winders,--the French employ many women; and the -estimate of the law is practically indicated, there as well as here, in -the price of the labor done. - -The highest wages marked upon my list are those paid to the workers in a -porcelain factory, who received one franc and fifty centimes a day, or -thirty cents. The lowest are those paid to cockle-gatherers and -lace-makers; that is, from twenty to twenty-five centimes, or from four -to five cents a day. - -The fact that the poor lace-makers, who lose their eyesight and their -lives bending over their bobbins, are paid the same wages as the -loitering girls who pick up gay cockles on the beach, shows how little -the price of the labor depends on the value of the work done, and tells -the whole story in a breath. The wages of the needlewomen of Paris have -been diminishing ever since 1847, and, according to the "Revue des Deux -Mondes," now average only from twenty to twenty-five cents a day. - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [32] Of course, I do not mean to be understood here as objecting to - any temperate and earnest attempt by men or women to _amend law_. - - [33] It will easily be conjectured that I do not feel competent to - treat the great subject of Roman legislation for women, in the noble - and extended manner which is at once, as it seems to me, necessary and - possible. Perhaps I shall never become so. - - It seems to me proper, however, that I should indicate my - dissatisfaction with existing methods in the clearest manner, and drop - a few hints, as I do in the text, as to the difficulties in the way. - - Roman sepulchral inscriptions, of the era generally considered the - most licentious, bear witness in the fullest manner to the existence - of chastity and domestic virtue. A sepulchral inscription, it may be - argued, is a poor witness to facts. I would suggest in reply, that a - nation ceases to commemorate the virtue which has ceased to exist, or - which it has, through a general depravity of manners, ceased to - respect. - - [34] The great body of all law is of small practical importance, - because, in spite of the five points of Calvinism and the long faces - of many bearded philosophers, the majority of mankind not only _obey_ - the law, but transcend it,--do better than it requires. It is only the - few who transgress; and thus many absurdities are never or very rarely - dragged into the light of a "decision." - - - - -II. - -THE ENGLISH COMMON LAW. - - "And we, perusing o'er these notes, - May know wherefore we took the sacrament, - And keep our faiths firm and inviolable." - _King John._ - - -In approaching the subject of English common law, we come nearer to our -own special interests. Twenty years ago, I am safe, I think, in -presuming that this law was the basis of all our legislation in regard -to woman, if we except that in French or Spanish territory; and, in -criticising its provisions, I shall criticise all that is objectionable, -whether in the laws that have been changed, or in the laws that remain -to be changed, in our own States. - -If we were to examine the literature of England with reference to this -subject, we should probably find from the beginning many protests -against the present position of woman. It is never safe, for instance, -to assume what poets may or may _not_ have said. If Dryden could get so -far as to say that there is "no sex in souls," one would think the -gentle Chaucer and heavenly-minded Daniel doubtless discerned still -deeper things; but of lawyers we may say with some truth, that their -early protests were so quietly made as scarcely to be recognized, or -were made for the most part by unread and anonymous writers. - -In the "Lawe's Resolution of Woman's Rights," published in the year -1632, there seems to be a distinct recognition of the true nature of the -law:-- - - "The next thing that I will show you," says the author, "is _this_ - particularity of law. In this consolidation which we call wedlock - is a locking together. It is true, that man and wife are one - person; but understand in what manner. When a small brooke or - little river incorporateth with Rhodanus, Humber, or the Thames, - the poore rivulet looseth her name; it is carried and recarried - with the new associate; it beareth no sway; it possesseth nothing - during coverture. A woman, as soon as she is married, is called - _covert_; in Latine, _nupta_,--that is, 'veiled;' as it were, - clouded and overshadowed: she hath lost her streame. I may more - truly, farre away, say to a married woman, Her new self is her - superior; her companion, her master." - - Still farther: "Eve, because she had helped to seduce her husband, - had inflicted upon her a special bane. See here the reason of that - which I touched before,--that women have no voice in Parliament. - They make no laws, they consent to none, they abrogate none. All of - them are understood either married or to be married, and their - desires are to their husbands. I know no remedy, though some women - can shift it well enough. The common lawe here shaketh hand with - divinitye." - -In this plain statement of the old black-letter book lies the root of -the evil with which we contend: "All of them are married or to bee -married, and their desires are to their husbands." Woman, single, -widowed, or pursuing an independent vocation, never seems to have -entered the head of the law, as a possible monster worth providing for. -The world of that day believed in the _sea-serpent_, but not in her. -This book, "The Lawe's Resolution of the Rights of Woman," was, so far -as I know, first brought under our notice by Mrs. Bodichon's quotation, -in her "Brief Summary of the English Law." Then a few copies found their -way to this country, and into the hands of curious persons. People began -to wonder who wrote the quaint old book. In pleading before our own -Legislature in the spring of 1858, I was myself asked by the committee -who was its author; and I think it but right to rescue from oblivion the -probable name of this early friend to woman and justice. It is always -difficult to trace an anonymous book, and, this time, more difficult -than usual, as it was probably published _after_ its author's death. - -Sir John Doderidge, to whom my attention was directed by an eminent -antiquarian, was an able lawyer, and an industrious compiler of -law-books of a special kind. He was from Devonshire, and admitted as a -barrister in 1603. He was successively appointed Solicitor-General, -Judge of the Common Pleas and of the King's Bench. Among the works known -to be his, yet not commonly included in the list of his works, are the -"Lawyer's Light," published in 1629; and "The Complete Parson," with the -laws relating to advowsons and livings, in 1670,--books of the same -class, character, and appearance as the "Lawe's Resolution." - -As he died in 1628, I was at first inclined to suspect the fairness of -this inference: but a further examination showed that all his -publications were _posthumous_; which accounts, perhaps, for the -_candor_ of their covert satire. A few particulars of his life and -standing may be gained from the new Life of Lord Bacon, where Hepworth -Dixon says that "the Solicitor-Generalship, vacant once more, is given, -over Francis Bacon's head, to Sir John Doderidge, Serjeant of the Coif." -In 1606, when Sir Francis Gawdy dies, "Coke goes up to the bench; and -Doderidge, the Solicitor-General, ought, by the custom of the law, to -follow Coke, leaving the post of Solicitor void: but Cecil raises Sir -Henry Hobart, his obscure Attorney of the Court of Wards, over both -Doderidge and Bacon's head, to the high place of Attorney-General." -Since that day, Bentham and Catharine Macauley, Mary Wollstonecraft, and -John Stuart Mill, have made the same complaint; sustaining it, however, -by vigorous argument for woman's full emancipation, and a demand for the -right of suffrage. - -Let us look at this English law. So far as it affects _single_ women, it -is very simple. - -A single woman has the same rights of property as a man; that is, she -may get and keep, or dispose of, whatever she can. She has a right, like -man, to the protection of the law, and has to pay the same taxes to the -State. - -"Duly qualified," she may _vote_ on parish questions and for parish -officers; and "duly qualified," in England, means that she shall have a -certain amount of property, and so a vested interest in the prosperity -of her parish. If her parents die without a will, she shares equally -with her brothers in the division of the personal property; but her -eldest brother and his issue, even if female, will take the real estate -as heirs-at-law. If she be an only child, she inherits both personal and -real, and becomes immediately that most pitiable of creatures, an -heiress. - -The church and all state offices are closed to women. They find some -employment in rural post-offices; but there is no important office they -can hold, if we except that of sovereign. This is sometimes spoken of as -an inconsistency; but if we reflect upon the position of a -constitutional sovereign, whose speeches are the work of her minister, -and whose actions indicate the average conscience of a cabinet council, -we shall find her legally but very little more independent than other -women technically classed with minors and idiots. - -There have been a few women governors of prisons, overseers of the poor, -and parish clerks; but public opinion still effectually bars most women -from seeking or accepting office. - -The office of Grand Chamberlain was filled by two women in 1822. That of -Clerk of the Crown, in the Court of Queen's Bench, has been granted to a -female; and, in a certain parish of Norfolk, a woman was recently -appointed parish clerk, because, in a population of six hundred souls, -no man could be found able to read and write! - -In an action at law, it has been determined that an unmarried woman, -having a freehold, might vote for members of Parliament. Mr. Higginson -tells us that a certain Lady Packington returned two. - -In all periods, there have been women who have held exceptional -positions, under peculiar influence of wealth or rank or circumstances; -and though this has not affected the position of other women, or given -them any more freedom, yet it is valuable in itself, because it has kept -the _possibility_ of their employment always open, and acted like a -practical protest against the law. - -The Countess of Pembroke was hereditary Sheriff of Westmoreland, and -exercised her office. In the reign of Queen Anne, Lady Rous did the -same, "girt with a sword." Henry VIII. once granted a commission of -inquiry, under the great seal, to Lady Anne Berkeley, who opened it at -Gloucester, and passed sentence under it. - -Some of the old legal writers averred, that a woman might serve in -almost any of the great offices of the kingdom. Lately we find it stated -that a woman may be elected as constable, since she can _hire a man_ to -serve for her; but she may _not_ be elected overseer of the poor, -because, in this case, substitution, if not impossible, would be -difficult! - -What were the peculiar political excitements which enabled Lady -Packington to return two members of Parliament, we are not told; but it -is quite certain that women of twenty-one, duly qualified, cannot and do -not vote for members of Parliament by virtue of that decision. In rural -districts, where personal influence weighed a good deal, such a vote -might be courteously winked at. A woman of property and standing, in -Nova Scotia, has in this manner, for more than forty years, cast her -annual vote, without rebuke or interruption; but, should any _number_ of -women act on this precedent, a legal restraint would doubtless be laid. - -No single woman, having been seduced, has any remedy at common law; -neither has her mother nor next friend. If her father can prove -_service_ rendered, he may sue for loss of service. - -In what "bosom of divinitye" does this law rest? Here is a remedy for -the loss of a few hours, but no penalty held up _in terrorem_, to warn -man that he may not trifle with honor, womanly purity, and childish -ignorance or innocence. - -In the eye of this law, female chastity is only valuable for the work it -can do. It must not be thought, however, that the English common law -stands alone in this moral deformity. Under the French law, female -chastity does not seem of any worth, even in consideration of the work -it can do. In honest indignation, Legouvé exclaims,-- - - "Let a man, who has seduced a child of fifteen years by a promise - of marriage, be brought before a magistrate. He has under the law a - right to say, 'There is my signature, it is true; but I deny it. A - debt of the heart is void before the law.'" - -Thus everywhere, in practice and theory, in society and in law, for rich -and poor, is public purity abandoned,--the bridle thrown upon the neck -of all restive and depraved natures. - -Manufacturers seduce their work-people; the heads of workshops refuse to -employ girls who will not sell themselves, soul and body, to them; -masters corrupt their servants. Out of 5,083 lost women counted by -Duchâtelet at Paris in 1830, there were 285 domestic servants seduced, -and afterwards dismissed by their employers. Commission-merchants, -officers, students, deceive the poor girls from the province or the -country, drag them to Paris, and leave them to perish. At all the great -centres of industry, as at Rheims and at Lille, are societies organized -to recruit the houses of sin in Paris. - -This is well known to be true of all the large English towns; yet the -law is powerless, and philanthropy interferes with no other result than -that of driving these societies from one post to another. - -Can women be expected to believe that the law would be powerless, if -there were a sound public opinion behind it to sustain the law; if there -were any _desire_ on the part of the majority of men that it should be -sustained? "Punish the young girl, if you will," continued Legouvé; -"but punish also the man who has ruined her. She is already -punished,--punished by desertion, punished by dishonor, punished by -remorse, punished by nine months of suffering, punished by the charge of -a child to be reared. Let him, then, be struck in his turn. If not, it -is no longer public modesty that you defend: it is the 'lord paramount,' -the vilest of the rights of the 'seigneur.'" - -In the laws which regard single women, we object, then,-- - -1. To the withholding of the elective franchise. - -2. To the law's preference of males, and the issue of males, in the -division of estates. - -3. We object to the estimate of woman which the law sustains, which -shuts her out from all public employment, for many branches of which she -is better fitted than man. - -4. We object to that estimate of woman's chastity which makes its -existence or non-existence of importance only as it affects the comfort -or income of man. - -We do not mean that the present _interpretation_ of the common law does -not _sometimes_ show a more liberal estimate than the law itself, but -rather that the existence of this law, unrepealed, _unchristianized_, is -a forcible restraint upon the progress of society. - -"A legal fiction," says Maine in his "Ancient Law," "signifies any -assumption which conceals, or affects to conceal, the fact, that a rule -of law has undergone alteration, its _letter_ remaining unchanged, while -its operation is modified." Such fictions may be useful in the infancy -of society; but, like absurd formulas and embarrassing technicalities, -they should give way before advancing common sense, before the -diffusion of general intelligence and a common-school system, which is -destined to qualify the humblest man for a full understanding of the law -under which he lives. - -We have now to consider the laws concerning _married women_. "On -whatsoever branch of jurisprudence may lie the charge," says a late -reviewer, "of working the heaviest sum of suffering, perhaps we shall -not err in saying that the sharpest and cruellest pangs are those which -have been inflicted by our marriage-laws." In making our abstracts, we -have need to avoid the absurd complications which confuse, not only -simple-minded people, but lawyers themselves; and, to avoid any charge -of ignorance or mistake, we will, as far as possible, adopt the language -of Mrs. Bodichon's "Summary," which has stood for six years before the -English public without impeachment. - -We shall not discuss the question, as to what constitutes fitness for -marriage in the eye of the law. In Scotland and in England, the consent -of the parties is said to be the "essence of marriage;" but, alas! in -how many cases is this "consent" taken for granted only, it being, in -fact, the most baseless of legal fictions! - -In commenting on the English law as compared with the Scotch, the -reviewer adds, "A code so unsatisfactory, so unsettled, and by every -alteration coming so palpably near to their own system, is one which -Scotchmen may be pardoned for declining further to consider, and which -certainly they cannot be expected to recognize as the model to which -their own should be conformed." - -The rule of the English law was, at the institution of the Divorce -Court, that the wife should have the same domicile as her husband, and -that within English territory. A dishonest domicile barred her claim to -divorce; and the husband who abandoned his wife, and fixed his residence -abroad, effectually bound her to him. Justice has of late been done, -because it was justice, heedless of the question of domicile. - -There are in relation to this subject many provisions which wrong men -and women alike; and, if there are any which especially wrong woman, -they wrong man in a still higher degree through her. As an example of -the former class, we may take the impossibility of release from a -hopelessly insane partner, which makes the point of the wonderful story -of "Jane Eyre." - -Now, several things are quite evident to the eye of common sense:-- - -_First_, That the insane partner should be properly provided for during -life, in the upper classes, by the sane partner; in the lower, by the -parish or state. - -_Second_, That as it is a sin against God and society to bring children -into the world, born of a hopelessly insane parent; so, on the other -hand, it is a sin against God and society to compel any man or woman to -a life of hopeless celibacy. - -_Third_, That, if the law does use this compulsion, it is responsible -for the vicious connections that inevitably grow out of it; "_car les -mauvaises lois produisent les mauvaises moeurs_."[35] I should not -turn aside from my main point to consider this, even for a moment, if it -were not a striking instance of the want of common _sense_ which -afflicts the common _law_, and if I had not in my own experience been -made aware of its frightful results. Within the limits of one small -parish in the city of Toronto, Canada West, I found four instances in -which men of the middle class had taken the right of divorce into their -own hands, and were illegally married a second time. These persons, if -not markedly religious, were respectable, orderly members of society, -living properly in their families, supporting the wives they had left, -and justifying the course they had taken. Two of them had left England -on account of the hopeless insanity of their wives, and two on account -of their hopeless immorality; the latter, cases in which the law would -have granted a divorce, but at an expense which the husband could not -pay. When I first heard this account of one person, I resented it as a -slander, and went to console the afflicted wife, who was overwhelmed by -the supposed rumor. - -The husband met me at the door, with an honest, unabashed, but -distressed face. "Don't deny it to her," said he. "I never committed but -one sin, and that was when I kept it from her. She was a sweet, pious -creature; and I feared she would not consent." - -This man told me that he sent six hundred dollars yearly to his insane -wife; that this kept her better than he could afford to keep himself and -his family: "but," said he, "her station was always higher than mine." - -In the other cases, the men had told their stories, and the wives had -consented to the arrangement. It is obvious, that, if a wife wished to -withdraw from a husband in this manner, she could not do it, on account -of property restrictions, and the common unfitness for self-support.[36] - -In the marriage of a minor, the consent of the father, or of a guardian -appointed by him, is necessary, but _not_ that of the _mother_: another -indication of the estimate the law puts upon woman, as compared with -man; and this estimate, whenever and wherever it shows itself, has the -effect to depress every woman's desire to fit herself to be a good -citizen; and, when she fails in citizenship, man must fail also, as is -ably shown by De Tocqueville. - -"A hundred times in the course of my life," he says, "I have seen weak -men display public virtue because they had beside them wives who -sustained them in this course, not by counselling this or that action in -particular, but by exercising a fortifying influence on their views of -duty and ambition. _Oftener still_, I have seen domestic influence -operating to transform a man, naturally generous, noble, and unselfish, -into a cowardly, vulgar, and ambitious self-seeker, who thought of his -country's affairs only to see how they could be turned to his own -private comfort or advancement; and this simply by daily contact with an -honest woman, a faithful wife, a devoted mother, from whose mind the -grand notion of public _duty_ was entirely absent."[37] - -A man and wife are one person in law: _a wife loses all her rights_ as a -single woman. Her husband is legally responsible for her acts: so she is -said to live under his cover. A woman's body belongs to her husband. She -is in his custody, and he can enforce his right by a writ of _habeas -corpus_. - -_This last_ is one of the points in which the public feeling is so far -before the law, that the latter could never be wholly enforced. - -If a woman were unlawfully restrained of her liberty, her husband might -take advantage of a _habeas corpus_ to get possession of her; but it is -not probable that any court, in England or this country, would _now_ -grant one to compel a wife to live with her husband against her will. -Still, the estimate of the marriage relation which such laws sustain is -so low, that one never can tell what will happen. - -In the year 1858, a curious but _unintentional_ satire on the judicial -position of the husband occurred in one of the London courts. A -delicate, much-abused woman, unmarried, but who had been, in her own -phrase, "living for some time" with a man, brought an action against him -for assault. Erysipelas had inflamed her wounds, and endangered her -life. - -"Had she died, sirrah," said the magistrate, addressing the criminal, -"you must have taken your trial for murder. What have you to say in your -defence?" - -"I was in liquor, sir," pleaded the man. "I gave her some money to go to -market. I told her to look sharp; but she was gone more than an hour, -your worship: so, when she came back, I--I was in liquor, your honor." - -The magistrate leaned over his desk, and, speaking in the most -impressive manner, thus endeavored to cut short the defence:-- - -"This woman is not your slave, man. She is not accountable to you for -every moment of her time. She is not," he continued with increasing -fervor, but a growing embarrassment,--"she is not--she is not"-- - -He paused; but the throng of wretched women who crowded the court -interpreted the pause aright, and were not likely to forget the lesson. - -A suppressed titter ran through the court: for every married man knew -that the words, "she is not your wife," were those which had sprung -naturally to the worthy magistrate's lips; and must have passed them, -had not honest shame prevented. - -The man then attempted to defend himself on the ground of jealousy: but -this was instantly set aside; the unmistakable impression left on the -mind of the court-room being, that the illegality of the relation was -wholly in the woman's favor. - -Since the war, freed-women at Beaufort, S.C., have refused marriage for -this very reason. - -Women long ago understood this, and literary gossip gives us a late -instance in a maiden aunt of Sir Charles Morgan. This woman, descended -from Morgan the buccaneer, has more than once turned the scales of an -Irish election. When she once arrested a robber on her own premises, and -held him fast till the arrival of an officer, the gentlemen of the -neighborhood advised her not to prosecute. - -"It is well known," they argued, "that you refuse to employ a single -man on your premises, and you may be marked out for the revenge of the -gang." - -"Justice is justice," she exclaimed in reply; "and the villain shall go -hang!" - -It was quite natural that we should find this woman telling Lady -Caroline Lamb that no _man_ should ever have legal rights over her, or -her property. A wife's money, jewels, and clothes become absolutely her -husband's; and he may dispose of them as he pleases, whether he and his -wife live together or not. Her chattels real--that is, estates held for -a term of years--and presentations of church livings become absolutely -his; but, if she survive him, she may resume them. - -Under such a common law as this, it is not surprising to find something -needed which is called _equity_. Therefore, if a wife, on her marriage, -gives all her property to her husband, the said _equity_ (Heaven save -the mark!) will, under certain circumstances, oblige him to make a -settlement upon her. That is, when the wife has an interest in property -which can only be reached by the husband through a court of equity, that -court will aid him to enjoy it, _only_ on condition that such part as it -thinks proper shall be settled on the wife. - -The civil courts in England cannot compel a man to support his wife: -_that_ is left to the action of the church, and her own parish. - -A husband has a freehold estate in his wife's lands as long as they both -live. - -Money earned by a married woman belongs absolutely to her husband. - -By her husband's particular permission, she may make a will; but he may -revoke his permission at any time before probate,--that is, before the -will is exhibited and proved,--even if _after_ the wife's death. - -The custody of a child belongs to the father. The mother has no right of -control. The father may dispose of it as he sees fit. If there be a -legal separation, and no special order of the court, the custody of the -children (except the nutriment of infants) belongs legally to the -father. - -_Except the nutriment of infants!_ Here is a hint from the good God -himself. Should we not think, that the first time these words were -written down, and men were compelled to see the natural dependence of -the child upon the mother,--to detect the obvious laws of nurture, -natural and spiritual,--the right of a good mother to her child would -have made itself clear? - -Yet, to this day, there are many States of our own Union where a mother -can better authenticate her right to a negro slave than to the young -daughter who is bone of her bone, and flesh of her flesh! - -If the direct influence of Christianity did not, in some measure, modify -the influence of the law in social life, there would be no such thing as -a mother's exercising maternal authority over a son. No matter how wise, -how old, how experienced, she may be, she never possesses, in the eye -of the law, the dignity of a boy who has just attained his majority. -Sufficiently instructed in legal maxims, he can always resist her, under -the influence of the most besotted or unprincipled of fathers. - -The word of a married woman is not binding in law, and persons who give -her credit have no remedy against her. - -The moral results of such a law are sufficiently obvious, not only in -England, but in our own country. The statute-book does not, cannot, -stand absolved, because public opinion in the present day abhors and -contemns the woman who assists her husband to defraud his creditors, or -takes refuge from her own debts behind this disgraceful cover. Yet, if -the law gives her husband her property, it ought surely to hold _him_ -responsible for her debts. And this is what society calls _protection_! - -As a wife is always presumed to be under the control of her husband -(numerous instances to the contrary notwithstanding), she is not -considered guilty of any crime which she commits in his presence. - -When a woman has consented to a proposal of marriage, she cannot give -away the smallest thing. If she do so without her betrothed husband's -consent, the gift is illegal; and, after marriage, he may avoid it as a -fraud on him: a strong temptation to any woman, one would think, to give -away her all. You see here what estimate the law puts on property, as -an inducement to marriage. This provision evidently grew out of the -exigencies of the time, when marriage among the Anglo-Saxons was a -_pure_ matter of bargain. - -As a protection against the common law, it is usual to have some -settlement of property made upon the wife; and, in respect to _this_ -property, the courts of equity regard her as a single woman. Such -settlements are very intricate, and should be made by an experienced -lawyer. - -The wife's property belonging to the husband, should her scissors, -thimble, or petticoats be stolen, the indictment must describe either of -these articles as his! - -Of divorce it is only necessary to say, that a divorce from the bonds of -matrimony in England could be obtained only by act of Parliament; the -right of investigation resting with the House of Lords alone. Until the -passage of the New Divorce Bill, only three such divorces had ever been -granted to a woman's petition. The expense of the most ordinary bill was -between three and four thousand dollars. - -Nor need we dwell long on such laws as relate to _widows_. You may be -interested to hear, that, _after_ her husband's death, the widow -recovers her right to her own clothes and jewels; also that the law does -not compel her to bury him, that being the duty of his legal -representative. - -The indignation which we might naturally feel at the suggestion that a -wife _could_ forsake her unburied dead, cools a little as the law goes -on to state, that a husband _can_, of _course_, deprive a wife of all -share in his personal estate. Very graciously, also, the widow is -permitted to remain forty days in her husband's house, provided that she -do not _re_-marry within that time! - -The result of a great deal of reading of a great many law-books is only -this,--that we are more firmly convinced than ever, that the most -necessary reform is a simple erasure from the statute-book of whatever -recognizes distinctions of sex. You should make woman, in the eye of the -law, what she has always been in the eye of God,--a responsible human -being; and make laws which such beings, male or female, can obey. - -Even Christian, in his edition of Blackstone, said long ago, that there -was no reason why civil rights should be refused to single women. In -every respect but this, the single woman is independent; but let her -take to herself a husband, and the law steps in to protect her, and she -finds herself in a position of what is called "reasonable restraint." He -may give her, says Blackstone, _moderate correction_; he may adopt any -act of coercion that does not endanger life; he may beat her, but not -violently. She may, by her labor, support him: but she cannot prevent -him from bestowing her earnings, should he happen to die, upon those who -have most wronged her in life; his mistress, it may be, or his -illegitimate children. Do you tell me that men of good feeling never -act on such laws? Why, then, should men of good feeling be unwilling to -wipe them from the statute-book? - -For the most part, it is upon women of the lower class that the -property-laws most hardly press. It was the suffering of this class, -years ago, when the common law of Massachusetts was the same as that of -England, that first roused my interest, and excited my indignation; but -the story which the Hon. Mrs. Norton tells us shows that this class of -women are not the _only_ sufferers. - - "I have learned the law piecemeal," she says, "by suffering all it - could inflict. I forgave my husband's wickedness again and again, - and found too late, that, in the eye of the law, practical - Christianity, the forgiving unto seventy times seven, was a - condonation which deprived me of all protection. My children were - stolen from me, and put into the vilest custody, where one of them - afterwards died for want of a mother's commonest care. My husband - brought an action against his kindest friend, of whom he borrowed - money and received office. The jury listened with disgust, and gave - their verdict against him. Then I was told that I might _write_ for - my bread, _or_ my family might support me. My children were kept - away, as their residence with me would make him liable for my - debts. - - "When my mother died, and left me, through my brother, a small - income, he balanced the first payment by arbitrarily stopping his - own allowance. For the last three years, I have not received a - farthing from him. He retains all my personal property which was - left in his home, the gifts of the royal family on my marriage, - articles bought with my own earnings, and presents from Lord - Melbourne. He receives from my trustees the income which my father - bequeathed to me, which the 'non-existent' wife must resign to - the 'existent' husband. - - "I have also the power of earning by literature; but even this - power, the gift of God, not the legacy of man, bears fruit only for - him. Let him _subpoena_ my publishers, and enjoy his triumph: he - has shown me that I was not meant to write novels and tales, but to - rouse the nation against such men as he, and such laws as they - sustain. Let him eat the bread I earn; but it shall be bought with - the price of his own exposure. If law will not listen to me, to - literature I will devote my power, and secure for others what I - have not been able to secure for myself." - -No wonder that provident parents circumvent such a common law by a -settlement before marriage! There is no chance for a partnership of -gains or losses in England. - -As we have already said, all sexual laws ought to be wiped off the -statute-book; but the Hungarian law which was in force until 1849, when -the German law was introduced into Hungary, is a comment on the -absurdity of the English. - -"No countrywoman of mine," said a proud sister of Kossuth, "would ever -submit to such a marriage settlement as is common in England." In -Hungary, inherited property could not be devised by will, and all -unmarried women were considered minors. As soon as she married, a woman -came of age, and into the full control of her estates. She could make a -will, and sign deeds; and was not responsible for her husband's debts or -the family expenses. As a widow, she was guardian of her children, and -administrator on her husband's property. So long as she bore his name, -she could exercise all his political rights. She could vote in the -county elections, and for deputies to the Diet. Trained up under such a -law, what could the Hungarian woman think who found herself for the -first time in the power of the English law? - -Among the refugees whom the misfortunes of a leading Hungarian family -drove to these shores was one woman of the highest natural gifts, the -best social station. She was married to a man, handsome, accomplished, -and reckless, but hardly patriotic enough to have need to fly with her. -In the city of New York she opened a boarding-house of the highest -class, by which she strove to support herself and her children. A -fascinating hostess, a skilful manager, she succeeded, as might be -expected. Soon her improvident husband followed her. At first, he did -not attempt to annoy her; but, in time, some one was found cruel enough -to expound to him the English common law. He stared, refused to believe; -but finally entered his wife's house, seized her earnings, compelled her -boarders to pay their money into his hands, stripped her of all power to -pay her rent and provide for her family, and then took himself off, -enraptured, doubtless, with his brief experience of English and American -liberty. Stripped of peace, position, and property, the injured wife had -no longer courage to struggle. In underhand ways, to evade the unjust -law, her personal friends settled her upon a little farm, where her -shattered hopes found a short repose. - -A few years ago, an American woman of captivating address gained great -reputation in Paris as a milliner. She had a profligate husband, whom -she invited to tea every Sunday, supplying him at that time with a sum -for his weekly expenses. In an evil day, seduced by promises of high -patronage, she went to London. She was very successful; but in a few -months her husband surprised her, seized all she possessed, and, turned -adrift on the streets, she went back to a country where the law would -protect her industry. Marriage has been sought only to legalize a -theft,--to apply the words of Wendell Phillips, when "_union was -robbery_." A respectable servant, who had laid by a considerable sum, -was sought in marriage by an apparently suitable person. On the day -before the marriage, she put her bank-book into his hands. After the -ceremony, he said to her, "I am not well in health, and do not feel -equal to supporting a family: you had better go back to service." -Naturally indignant, she responded, "Give me, then, my bank-book."--"I -am too feeble to spare the money," he replied. She went back to service, -and has never seen him since; but, of course, she has been often obliged -to change her name and residence to protect herself from a long -succession of extortions. - -We see thus, that if a woman is able to conquer her fate, and to gain a -livelihood in spite of a dissolute or incompetent husband, her home is -not her own. Her husband's folly may, at any moment, deprive her -children of bread. - -I have said that there was no woman so pitiable as an heiress. I said it -advisedly. I thought of the long persecution she must bear from -unwelcome suitors,--of all appreciation of her personality, ever so -lovely or gifted or individual, sunk, as it must be, in the mire of her -money. - -Mrs. Reid says, justly, that this money is not so much her own as a -perquisite attached to her person for the benefit of her _future -husband_; the larger portion of which will eventually pass to his heirs, -whether of her blood or not. If forced from ill treatment to leave his -roof, the law will return her but a scanty pittance. - -The nature of the law itself, and that estimate of woman on which it is -based, are so identical, that we are compelled, as we turn over its -pages, to treat these two points as one. - -"For one-half the human race," said Mrs. Reid years ago, "the highest -end of civilization is to _cling_ like a weed upon a wall;" a curious -instance of the power that the use of language has over a fact. There is -nothing captivating in clinging like a "weed to a wall;" but most women -are satisfied to hang like the "vine about the oak." - -It is a great misfortune, that this estimate of woman not only governs -the courts in their decisions, but enters into and moulds all the -movements of society. Such an estimate leads to constant -contradictions; being, as it is, directly the opposite of the _fact_ in -so many cases, and of the Divine Will in all. In a book on woman -recently published by a lawyer in England, I found a pithy paragraph to -this point, concluding some observations on the comparative longevity of -the sexes: "The wife," he says, "_fitly survives the husband_, both to -take care of _his_ premature infirmity, and to consummate the rearing of -their offspring"!--a creative effort of the imagination which certainly -entitles the writer to the laurels of the century. - -One reason that the wages of women are kept down is, that, for the most -part, women do not begin to labor early; do not devote themselves _in -youth_ to any trade or profession, so as to compete with men who have. -The plodding and steady habits of the man of business, he has acquired -in his early years; and they are developed by the fact, that he is sole -master of what he can earn, and can dispose of it as he thinks proper: -but his wife has been brought up in no such school,--has no such motive -to industry. Should she toil on for ever, she cannot possess what she -acquires, nor lay out the smallest part of it, without another's leave. -Even when man says to her with the sanction of the church and in the -presence of God, "With all my worldly goods I thee endow," it means only -that she is invited to enjoy, not possess them. This estimate of her -rights, her position, and her ability, made manifest in every law-book, -in the church itself, and obvious in every social form, discourages her -whenever she would devote herself to any lucrative employment; so that -it is only in desertion and despair, for the most part, that she becomes -a laborer. She is not always conscious of this discouragement. She -quiets the Cerberus within by a three-times-repeated "It is not proper," -without pausing to analyze the conventional instinct. Here we find the -real significance of the proverb, "A man of straw is worth a woman of -gold;" for the "man of straw" is, at least, worth such money as he may -hereafter earn, which the "woman of gold" is not. - -We hear a great deal about laws for the _protection_ of women; but we -cannot urge too often the remark of James Davis in his Prize Essay of -1854, "that all early legislation for woman was founded, not on her own -rights, but on those of her husband and children, and the _State over -her_." - -When one remembers that the "seat of the law is the bosom of God," it -strikes one strangely, that moral consequences to character have so -little to do with what one may call "sexual legislation." - -In speaking of the frequenting of disreputable houses, neither -Montesquieu, nor Dr. Wood in his "History of Civil Law," finds a single -word to say as to the moral degradation of the race, of the special -degradation of woman involved in it, but both grow eloquent concerning -the ruin of the State. It requires a sounder mode of thinking than most -men possess to see the relation between the ruin of the State and their -own bad habits, the loss of one man's purity. Thus the laws concerning -adultery, or divorce for that cause, bring the heaviest penalties, -social and legal, upon the head of an offending woman. The legal excuse -for this positive injustice is the safety of the family and the -State,--the great crime of imposing upon a family false representatives -of its name and honor; but a woman's brain and conscience are too clear -to rest in this masculine decision. - -If a man cannot bring a false representative into _his own family_, he -can carry it into his neighbor's, when his profligate life violates the -social compact; and, as to his own family, his vices may injure it far -more than the infidelity of his wife. At the worst, her misconduct will -only bring into the shelter of his home a child who grows up protected -socially by her fraud; but, if _he_ choose to "spend his substance in -riotous living," his wife and children may, while the law gives him -exclusive right to their common property, be deserted, or driven from -their homes, to make room for those who are the companions of his guilt. -It is quite possible, it will be seen, therefore, to show another side -to this matter, in no better light than that of expediency. One canton -of Switzerland (the Canton Glarus) possesses laws in regard to such -matters, in marked contrast to those of the whole civilized world. The -consequence is, that the falsehood and crime so common elsewhere are -here unknown.[38] - -"Perhaps it would be just," says Poynter on "Marriage and Divorce," in -1824,--"_perhaps_ it would be just, that where the husband violates the -matrimonial compact, and the property originally belonged to the wife, -he should give back the whole of it. Courts, however, have never gone -that length." - -One would think, nevertheless, that husbands themselves might go that -length, and that men who aspire to the credit of decency would be -ashamed to eat the bread of her they have betrayed and wounded. How is -it that they have deceived themselves from the beginning, and have -fancied that God requires of woman a fidelity and purity that was not of -the smallest consequence to themselves? - -In the late debate in Parliament on the New Divorce Bill, when a member -objected to the introduction of a clause equalizing the relief of -divorce to both sexes, he asked, "If this clause were adopted, I should -like to know how many married men there would be in this house?" He was -answered by shouts of laughter. - -Would these men have laughed, think you, if they had been asked how many -_pure wives_ could be found in their family circles? and, if _not_, -would it have been because they were capable of estimating the value of -womanly virtue? No: _he_ cannot estimate that who has never known the -worth of manly purity. The spectres of illegitimacy and civil ruin are -what would stare them in the face, and turn their very lips so white. - -In France, says the "Westminster Review," fidelity on the part of the -husband is considered a sort of imbecility. What is thought of it in -England? Does this scene in Parliament, printed for all our girls to -read, suggest any higher view? - -"The frequenting of disreputable places," says Davis, "was once an -indictable offence in a _man_; but that is now obsolete." Obsolete? and -why? A lawyer once told me, that the most obscene publication he had -ever read was a book upon divorce. I can well believe it. I thought I -knew how corrupt modern society could be; but I did not know how -unsoundness had darted to its very core, till I began to read law, and -to understand the estimate which that puts upon woman and chastity. - -When I think of these things, I wonder that this platform is not -thronged with the ghosts of dead and ruined women, crowding here to -second my appeal to beseech you to grant human justice, to require human -virtue! And all this sin is sheltered under the plea of protection! "How -many delicious morsels I should miss if it were not for _thy_ care, O -most excellent jackal!" - -"Lawyers," says Johnson in 1777,--"lawyers often pay women the high -compliment of supposing them proof against all temptations combined." - -Certainly, whatever the _lawyers_ may do, the _law itself_ confidently -expects of them a superhuman strength. It gives them no defence but -immaculateness. It offers them no shelter but God's temple, no robe but -spotless ermine; and then, turning the page, it says, "A _husband_ is -expected to be vigilant, and so prevent his own dishonor:" as if his -_vigilance_ and quick-wittedness could save the woman whom his _love_ -had not blessed. - -Ah! these lawyers are but blind guides, after all. Centuries of -discomfiture and defeat have not sufficed to teach them how little -security is to be found in suspicion and scepticism. If I do not want my -groceries stolen, I must leave my storeroom open. The very servant who -would not scruple to pick my locks will know better than to pick that of -her own heart. "A thorough-bred woman," says Mrs. Reid, "is good only so -far as her husband suggests and allows;" and, so long as _this_ is the -standard, woman's duplicity may well match man's utmost expectation, and -there is not a privilege of his open vice that she will not secure by -stealth. - -There was a time when all the women at the court of France blushed for -one of their number who unluckily made use of a hard word in a _proper_ -place. In like manner, the woman who reads law blushes to find herself -even tolerably sincere and modest. It is not expected of her. Why has -she never done any of the bad things the law so confidently predicts? - -All thinking people must see how easily we turn from the consolidated -law of ages, with its false views, its untrue estimate of woman and -duty, to the question of the right of suffrage. - -In 1848 and 1850, we used to hear a great deal of three objections to -conferring this right upon women:-- - - 1st, Its incompatibility with household care and the duties of - maternity. - - 2d, Its hardening effect on the character; politics not being fit - for woman. - - 3d, The inexpediency of increasing competition in the already - crowded fields of labor and office. - -To these three points we gave short and summary answers:-- - - 1st, There are a great many women who will never be mothers and - housekeepers; and, if there were not, suffrage is no more - incompatible with maternity and housekeeping than it is with - mercantile life and the club-room. - - 2d, If it hardens women, it will harden men; and the politics which - are not fit for her are not fit for him, nor will they become so - till her presence gives men a motive to purify them. - - 3d, At the worst, competition could only go so far, that a man - _and_ a woman would earn as little together as the man now does - alone. This would be better than the present condition of things; - for they would then be equal partners, and no longer master and - slave. Both would work, and neither need pine. - -These answers, whether logical or not, have practically silenced the -objections. We hear no more of _this_ nonsense. But, on the other hand, -a respectable daily says, "As to the abstract right of a woman to vote -because she is a human being and pays taxes, there is no such abstract -right in any human being, male or female: the extent of the elective -franchise is, and must ever be, limited by considerations of -expediency." - -Then a distinguished review goes on to say, "that while the question of -suffrage stands where it now does, so unsettled that every Congress and -Parliament discuss it anew, we are glad that any thing should prevent -the discussion as to conferring on woman a duty, the grounds of which -are very vague and undetermined so far as regards men;" and a critic of -Rosa Bonheur's magnificent pictures advises the "sad sisterhood of -women's-rights advocates to visit the exhibition, and sigh to think how -much one silent woman's hand outvalues for their cause the pathos and -the jeers of their unlovely platform." - -Such remarks as these are easily met. To the first objector, who -declares, although the professed advocate of a republican government, -that _there is no such thing_ as any abstract right to vote, we reply, -that in this particular discussion we don't care about _abstract -rights_: what we want is our _own share_ of the tangible acknowledged -right which human governments confer. If in England this right depends -on a property qualification, then we claim that there the property -qualification shall endow woman as well as man with the right of -suffrage. If in America it depends upon an inalienable right to life, -liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then we demand that our -government recognize woman as so endowed, and receive her vote. - -To the reviewer we say also, If the grounds of suffrage are vague and -undetermined in _theory_, they may remain so, so far as our interference -is concerned. What we ask to share is the steady right to vote, which -has been actually granted, and never disputed, since our government was -founded; and sufficiently pressed, we might add, that, if there is ever -any chance of limiting the right of suffrage, we shall do all we can to -secure its dependence on a certain amount of education, in preference to -a certain amount of wealth. - -As to the art critic, we thank him for calling us the "sad sisterhood." -We should be sorry to be otherwise, when pleading for women _before_ -men; sorry to find matter for jesting in those purlieus of St. Giles and -Five Points and the Black Sea, beating up remorselessly against these -very doors, which lie at the very heart of our effort. As to the matter -of going to see the Horse Fair and the Highland Cattle, it will probably -be found to be a fact, that, in every city where those great pictures -have been exhibited, "_women's-rights women_" have been their _earliest_ -visitors; and, standing before the canvas, have thanked God, with an -earnestness the art critic never dreamt of, for that silent woman's -hand, that glorious woman's life. It was not necessary for him to remind -us of what Solomon had said so much better three thousand years ago; -namely, that "speech is silvern, and silence is golden." Nathless, -silver is still current in all markets; and, God willing, we are not -ashamed to use it. - -We intend to claim, in words, the right of suffrage; and why? - -Turning from that wretched estimate of woman, and of man's duty toward -woman, which the law-books have just offered us, we claim the right of -suffrage, because only through its possession can women protect -themselves; only through its exercise can both sexes have equality of -right and power before the law. Whenever this happened, character would -get its legitimate influence; and it is just possible that men might -become rational and virtuous in private, if association with women -compelled them to _seem so_ in public. - -It is noticeable, that every man disclaims at his own hearth, and in the -presence of women, whatever there is of disgraceful appertaining to -political or other public meetings. _Somebody_ must be responsible for -these things; and yet, if we are to believe witnesses, nobody ever does -them. The bare fact of association must take all the blame. - -The laws already existing prove conclusively to woman herself, that she -has never had a real representative. What she seeks is to utter her own -convictions, so that they shall redeem and save, not merely her own sex -but the race. - -That the right of suffrage would be a protection to women, we see from -this fact, that it would at once put an end to three classes of laws:-- - -I. Those that protect her from violence. - -II. Those made to protect her from fraud. - -III. Those that protect society from the passions of both sexes. - -The moment woman began to exercise this right, I think we should see -moral significance streaming from every statute. We should no longer -hear that seduction was to be sued as "loss of service:" it would become -loss of honor to _more_ than one. We should no longer hear that consent -or temptation excused it: we should find that God demanded chastity of -both sexes, and had made man the guardian of his own virtue. We should -find, that, if its punishment admitted of degrees, it should be -_heaviest_ where a man committed it in defiance or abuse of a positive -trust. - -Let us look at a single decision in the light of these principles. Let -us take the case of Harris _versus_ Butler, reported in the notes to -Davis's Prize Essay. - -A man named Harris had apprenticed his daughter to a milliner named -Butler, paying as an entrance-fee a sum equivalent to a hundred and -fifty dollars. After a short time, the girl was seduced by her -mistress's husband. She became seriously ill, and was returned to her -father, who lost not only his hundred and fifty dollars, but all the -benefits of her apprenticeship, and was obliged to provide her with -board, medicine, and nursing. - -Why the father became liable for the care of his child under such -circumstances does not appear. Common sense would suggest that the court -might have required this at the hands of the Butlers; but, -unfortunately, law has very little to do with common sense. - -The father brought an action against Butler: but the defence urged, that -he could only sue for "loss of service;" that her "services" were not -his after she was apprenticed to Mrs. Butler; that Mrs. Butler and her -husband were "one person in law;" and that, if Butler chose to deprive -himself of her services for his own ends, the law had no remonstrance to -make, no redress to afford. - -The prosecution urged, that the "care of morals" was one of the duties -involved in the very system of apprenticeship; but the court denied the -claim, unless it were distinctly set forth on the articles signed. - -This is but one case out of hundreds accessible to you all. The moment -woman becomes a law-maker, such records will be wiped out of your life. -They may make a certain sort of show in your law-books; but what have -the unbending laws of God to do with this "one person in law," this plea -for "loss of service"? At the eternal bar, no man will dare to echo that -plea, no judge rehearse that verdict. Such law rests not in the "bosom -of God;" its voice chimes not in keeping with the harmony of his -countless spheres. - -You object to seeing women in Parliament. English lords tell us that -delicate matters have to be discussed there, with which women would -hardly care to meddle. The natural growth of society opens the area of -all proprieties. Delicate matters come to be discussed in most -households; and it is reasonable to suppose that they would be more -delicately and rationally discussed if they were sometimes _publicly_ -met. It is my opinion, that no subject is fit for discussion at all that -cannot be discussed between men and women. It is separating the sexes in -such cases, that opens the way to indecency. All great themes of human -thought and human virtue, men and women ought to be trained to consider -seriously together; and where better than in the Congress or the -Parliament? Think only of the debate which I have quoted on the New -Divorce Bill! Could such a scene have taken place in the presence of -women? Recur to the trial of Queen Caroline; or to that of the Duke of -York, when accused of conniving at the corrupt sale of military -commissions by his mistress, Mrs. Clarke. - -Under date of Feb. 16, 1809, Freemantle writes: "The scene which is -going on in the House of Commons is so disgusting, and at the same time -so alarming, that I hardly know how to describe it to you. Of course, -while this ferment lasts (and God knows when it is to end), no attention -will be paid to the business of the country." - -In these instances, high-bred men showed a taste for low scandal; -battening day after day on the same loathsome details, which the -presence of a single woman must have checked. Here was a woman, too, -this very Mrs. Clarke, somewhat debased and hardened, who had never a -seat in Parliament, who had never dreamed of exercising the right of -suffrage, yet was quite equal, as the evidence showed, to any political -venality, striving in her way to outdo the very jobbers of Downing -Street itself! Why _should_ elections be scenes of tumult, or -parliaments free fields for imbecile improprieties? Why should not a -peeress feel herself as properly placed among her peers as the Queen -seated at her Council? - -We are not likely to withdraw our claim while it is sustained by such a -man as John Stuart Mill, who, in his late essay on "Political -Representation," advises this extension of the suffrage: "All -householders, without distinction of sex," he says, "might be adopted -into the constituency, on proving to the registrar's officer that they -have fifty pounds a year, and can read, write, and calculate." - -"The almost despotic power of husbands over wives," Mr. Mill adds in his -"Essay on Liberty," "needs not to be enlarged upon here, because nothing -more is needed for the complete removal of the evil than that wives -should have the same rights, and should receive the protection of the -law in the same manner, as all other persons; and because, on this -subject, the defenders of established injustice do not avail themselves -of the plea of liberty, but stand forth openly as the champions of -power." - -The dedication of this "Essay on Liberty" ought to be preserved in these -pages; for it is full of historic significance:-- - - "To the beloved and deplored memory of her who was the inspirer, - and in part the author, of all that has been best in my writings; - the friend and wife, whose exalted sense of truth and right was my - strongest excitement, and whose approbation was my chief reward,--I - dedicate this volume. - - "Like all that I have written for many years, it belongs as much to - her as to me; but the work, as it stands, has had, in a very - insufficient degree, the inestimable advantage of her revision; - some of the most important portions having been reserved for a more - careful re-examination, which they are now never destined to - receive. Were I but capable of interpreting to the world one-half - the great thoughts and noble feelings which are buried in her - grave, I should be the medium of a greater benefit to it than is - ever likely to arise from any thing that I can write, unprompted - and unassisted by her all but unrivalled wisdom." - -I said that this dedication ought, for many reasons, to be preserved in -these pages. What is better fitted than such a tribute to check the -jeering scepticism of the crowd as to the ability and purity of the sex? -What could lay a better foundation for a better estimate on the part of -the law? Necker, in his report to the French Government, publicly -awarded to his wife the credit of the recent retrenchment in the -expenses of the Government; Bowditch dedicated his translation of the -"Mécanique Céleste" to the wife who aided him to prepare, and by her -self-denial opened a way for him to publish it: but where, in the -records of the past, shall we find such a tribute offered by such a man, -as honorable in itself to the first political economist of our time as -it is a gracious adornment to the name of the woman he loved? Does it -not promise in itself the dawning of a brighter future for woman, when -no "sad sisterhood" shall be needed either to proclaim woman's rights or -redress her wrongs?[39] - -About two years since (1858), the Stockholm "Aftonblad," a Swedish -newspaper, stated that "the authorities of the old university-town of -Upsal had granted the right of suffrage to fifty women owning real -estate, and to thirty-one doing business on their own account. The -representative that their votes assisted in electing was to sit in the -House of Burgesses." - -This is the way the matter is to begin. By and by, the interests of -labor and trade will force the authorities of Bristol and Manchester, -Newcastle and Plymouth, to do the same thing; and, after women have gone -on for some twenty years electing members of Parliament, no one of us -will be surprised to find some women sitting in that body. "But," -objects somebody, "if that ever happens, we shall have women on juries, -women pleading at the bar, women as attorneys, and so on." And this is -exactly what we want. Women are very much _needed_ on juries, and -_female_ criminals will never be tried by their peers until they are -there. It is very seldom that a criminal case in which women are -implicated is brought forward, when women could not be of immense -service in clearing up evidence, and showing to the male jurors on the -panel the absurdity or impossibility of some of the statements. The -recent instance of Miss Shedden, who took up, at a moment's notice, a -case which five well-feed lawyers of distinction declared themselves -unprepared to defend, might be quoted in confirmation of our view. Mr. -Russell said at the Liverpool Assizes lately, in a case which involved -some peculiar evidence, "The evidence of women is, in some respects, -superior to that of men. Their power of judging of minute details is -better; and when there are more than two facts, and something be -wanting, their intuitions supply the deficiency." And precisely the -qualities which fit them to give evidence, fit them to sift and test it. -Women often have occasion to smile, sometimes sadly, sometimes -mischievously, at the verdicts passed upon their own sex. If women were -to enter into the practice of law, or become law-makers, an immense -change would take place in all that relates to it. Absurd technicalities -would be swept off its papers. One hundred words would no longer do duty -for one. Simple, common-sense forms of expression would take the place -of obsolete Latin and Norman-French. Daylight would be let into -indictments, and flaws would soon be hard to find. No woman ever -existed, whose patience would stand, in cases where meaning and law are -evident, the absurd delays of chancery courts, or the still absurder -"filing of objections," or "defining of terms," with which lawyers amuse -a jury, and which Sir Leicester Dedlock, we are told, considered as the -bulwarks of the English Constitution. This impatience of woman might not -be very valuable, if she were to legislate alone; but, controlled by -man's conservative caution, it will be of the greatest service. - -We are perpetually met by the opposition extended to _any thing_ that is -new. It ought to be our object, therefore, to show, that for woman to -claim and possess the right of suffrage is by no means a new thing. It -is easy to show from the records of most nations, that women held and -exercised political power so long as power was supposed to inhere -_chiefly_ in property, and so long as women, either single or in -association, possessed property not represented by men. Thus the -suppression of religious houses in England put an end to the -representation of abbesses. "Truly, we think more of money than of -love," said one of the St. Simoniens: "we have more consideration for -bags of dollars than human dignity. We emancipate women in proportion as -they are property-holders; but, in proportion as they are women, our -laws declare them inferior to us." It was only when the republican idea -had crept to a certain extent into monarchical governments themselves, -that women gradually dropped a recognized public influence which had -depended on rank and wealth. What men have to do is, not to reconcile -themselves to a woman's right to vote,--a right acknowledged hundreds of -years ago, which is still covertly acknowledged when woman means -property,--but to reconcile themselves to the idea that woman is a human -being, and that _humanity_ has a right to vote. Wherever governments -decide that every individual has a right to life, liberty, and the -pursuit of happiness, they must admit the right of the individual woman -to vote, or deny the fact of her humanity. There is the dilemma. In -support of this statement, I should have shown you, that in France, as -early as the reign of Louis XIV., the political rights of property were -respected in the persons of women. At the present day, the remains of -the old feudal and communal system still secure a kind of political -influence to certain women in the provinces, and often confer upon their -husbands a right of franchise. In the reign of Louis XIV., the women who -hawked and vended fish took up the business of the "insolvent -fishmongers," and managed so well, that they acquired wealth, married -their children into the first families, and finally became an estate of -the realm. - -"Les Dames de la Halle," or "Dames of the Market," as they are called, -have a corporate existence; and, if corporations have no souls, they -ordinarily possess _franchises_! They have their queen, their laws, and -a language peculiar to themselves. They take part in revolutions, and -send deputations to the foot of the throne. Nor am I alluding now to -long-past feudal or re-actionary crises. Louis Napoleon treats them as -civilly as he does the clergy. When he was married, and when the young -prince was born, they went to the Tuileries in their court-dress. Their -princesses--and we are told that their blood-royal claims the higher -privilege of beauty also--their princesses took the front rank in the -procession, and offered bouquets to their imperial majesties. In -response, Louis Napoleon gave to them what he gives to all -corporations,--a very diplomatic speech. - -I have told you what was granted at Upsal in 1858. It is a curious fact, -that, just at the moment when this question of suffrage was first -agitated by the women of the United States assembled in convention at -Seneca Falls in 1848, Pauline Roland and Madame Moniot publicly claimed -their civil rights in Paris. Pauline went herself to the ballot, and, -when her vote was refused, published a protest after the fashion of our -tax-payers. Very absurd English society found woman's first demand for -the suffrage; yet what Englishmen refuse contemptuously to _give to_ -woman, certain men of the mean sort, yet calling themselves respectable, -have not been ashamed in that very country to _borrow of_ her. Even -"Blackwood" helps out our argument, when it says, in November, 1854, "I -believe, Eusebius, I speak of a notorious fact, when I say, that it is -less than a century since, for election purposes, parties were -unblushingly married in cases where _women_ conveyed a right of freedom, -a political franchise to their husbands, and parted, after the election, -by shaking hands over a tombstone, as an act of dissolution of the -contract, under cover of the words, 'Until death do us part.'"[40] The -men who looked calmly on this profane and absurd fraud may well dread -the moral influence of woman on elections. As to the historical argument -for England, ladies of birth and quality, we are told, sat in council -with the Saxon Witas. The Abbess Hilda _presided_ in an ecclesiastical -council. "In Wightfred's great council at Benconceld in 694," says -Gurdon in his "Antiquities of Parliament," "the abbesses sat and -deliberated; and five of them signed decrees of that council, with the -king and bishops:" and that illuminated prebendary of Sarum, old Thomas -Fuller, thus further chronicles the same event:-- - - "A great council (for so it is titled) was held at Becanceld - (supposed to be Beckingham in Kent) by Withred, King of Kent, and - Bertuald, Archbishop of Britain, so called therein (understand, him - of Canterbury), wherein many things were concluded in favor of the - church. Five Kentish abbesses--namely, Mildred, Ethelred, Æte, - Wilnolde, Heresinde--were not only present, but subscribed their - names and crosses to the constitutions concluded therein; and we - may observe, that their subscriptions are not only placed before - and above all presbyters, but also above that of Botred, a bishop - present in this great council. It seems it was the courtesy of - England to allow the upper hand to the weaker sex, as in their - sitting, so in their subscription." - -King Edgar's charter to the Abbey of Crowland, in 961, was with consent -of the nobles and _abbesses_ who signed that charter. In Henry the -Third's and King Edward the First's time, four abbesses were summoned to -Parliament; namely, of Shaftesbury, of Winchester, of Berking, and of -Wilton. In the thirty-fifth year of Edward the Third, were summoned--by -writ of Parliament, to sit in person or by their proxies--Mary, Countess -of Norfolk; Alienor, Countess of Ormond; Anna Despenser; Philippa, -Countess of March; Johanna Fitzwater; Agneta, Countess of Pembroke; Mary -de St. Paul; Mary de Roos; Matilda, Countess of Oxford; Catharine, -Countess of Athol. - -As to the offices which women can hold in Great Britain, we have already -quoted something from Mr. Higginson, in speaking of the prohibitions of -the law. Lady Packington's estate has probably, by this time, passed -into male hands: so _she_ elects no more members of Parliament. Those -who have read the plea of Lady Alice Lille, when she was forbidden to -speak by attorney, will find no great difficulty in imagining that a -woman could manage a government debate. - -Such women as have purchased or inherited East-India stock have always -had the privilege of voting at the meetings of the company, and so have -assisted to govern that unhappy country. In the provincial English -towns, if I may judge from the indirect testimony of novels and -newspapers, women appear to attend all stockholders' meetings; certainly -those held by the banks. In the United States, they are notified, _but -not expected to attend_; a cool kind of insult, which I wish some women -might astonish them by retaliating. If any bank were established by, or -had a majority of, female stockholders, it would be quite easy to notify -men, without expecting _them_ to attend; and the alternative of trusting -their own property to the judgment of _women_ might possibly open the -eyes of men to the absurdity of the present custom. - -As we withdraw our eyes from the past, it is natural to inquire, What -late changes have taken place in Great Britain? and what is the strength -of the reform tendency? I have often said, yet I must repeat it here, -that nothing has ever promised such noble usefulness for woman, nothing -has ever occurred to change the popular estimate of her character, in -the same degree as the formation of that _out-of-door Parliament_,--the -Association for the Advancement of Social Science. It offers a position -of entire equality to woman. It encourages her to express herself in the -presence and with the sympathy of the wisest men, and gives her an -opportunity to speak to the actual Parliament through her own influence -exerted on its best members. It has been well said (I think, by Mrs. -Mill), that the very best opportunities of education will be opened to -woman in vain, until she is practically invited to turn them to account. -Here, in this association, is her first practical invitation in Great -Britain. God grant that she may understand the responsibility it -involves, and bear it well! But the formation of this association in -1857 was preceded by other steps. It was on the 13th of February, 1851, -that a petition of women, agreed to by a public meeting at Sheffield, -and claiming the elective franchise, was laid before the House of Lords -by the Earl of Carlisle; and, in July of the same year, Mrs. Mill's -admirable article on the "Enfranchisement of Women," now become -commonplace on account of the extensive and thorough use that has been -made of it, appeared in the "Westminster." - -The examination of Florence Nightingale before a commission of inquiry -bore witness no less to the surpassing ability of the woman than to the -increasing value of such ability to all governments. In connection with -it, one could not but smile at the distress felt by certain journals -over a single mistake on the part of the lady as to the proper title of -a subordinate officer. - -In the month of March, 1856, the "London Times" published a petition to -both Houses of Parliament in behalf of an amendment of the English -property-laws. This petition was signed by many women whose names are -well known and dear to us,--by the late Anna Jameson, so well known to -the world as an accomplished critic in literature and art; by the wife -and sister of the poet Browning,--Elizabeth Browning, herself the first -poet among women, so far; by Bessie Raynor Parkes and Matilda Hayes, the -editors of the "Englishwoman's Journal," the establishment of which of -itself constitutes an era in the progress of human thought; by Barbara -Bodichon, the well-known artist; by Harriet Martineau, distinguished in -political economy; by Mary Howitt, the womanly story-teller and -ballad-maker; and Mrs. Gaskell, the author of "Mary Barton." The -petition was supported in the House of Lords by Lord Brougham, and in -the House of Commons by Sir Erskine Perry. - -After the close of the session in April, 1857, a dinner was offered to -Lord Brougham in acknowledgment of the distinguished ardor with which he -had pressed this bill,--the Married Woman's Property Act of 1857. This -bill did not apply to Ireland or Scotland, nor to pre-existing -contracts; that is, to marriages solemnized before the first day of -January, 1858. It was not passed; but a clause for the protection of the -earnings and savings of married women was introduced into the New -Divorce Bill, and has already proved a blessing to hundreds. This -clause, however, operates _only_ in cases of desertion,--a charge easily -evaded.[41] - -The New Divorce Bill passed in 1858: the Divorce and Matrimonial Causes -Act Amendment Bill passed in July, 1858; and since then, the Divorce -Court Bill in August, 1859; both of these last having been made -necessary by the first change in the law. It was in April, 1858, that -Mr. Buckle delivered his lecture on "Civilization;" an important -contribution to that estimate of woman, which is beginning to act -powerfully on all legislation. The Law-Amendment Society also published -a report, urging a thorough reform of the law. - -In connection with the reforms effected in the mother-country, it may be -well to state, that similar reforms are being effected in Canada. -Legislators there turn for their precedents to England; but there can be -no doubt that the agitation in the United States largely contributes -towards these changes. - -A Married Woman's Property Act passed the Council in May, 1858; but as -these changes are still in progress, and a progress much interrupted by -political fluctuations, it seems hardly worth while to enter into their -details. - -In one respect, the statutes of Canada are marked by a singular -inconsistency. They record the only instance, within my knowledge, in -which a government distinctly _forbids_ women to vote; and almost the -only instance of a government _conferring_ that right, even to a limited -extent. In the twelfth year of Victoria, the Canadian Government passed -a statute in these words: "No woman is or _shall be_ entitled to vote at -any election for any electoral division whatever." What spasm of -autocratic terror, what momentary rebellion against their liege lady, -inspired this act, we are left uninformed. For the most part, in all -countries, women wait to be told that they _may vote_; and their -ineligibility is decided by the introduction of the word "male," or the -popular construction of the word "citizen," which, it is quite evident, -does not mean a woman. But it was in Canada also that a distinct -electoral privilege was conferred by intention in 1850; an intention, -however, which indicated no enlargement of views, nor desire of reform, -nor recognition of woman at her human value: it was simply an intention -on the part of the Protestants to secure a little more political power. -Not _humane_, then, but interested motives dictated the omission of the -word "male" in that section of the statutes which provides for the -election of school trustees. It was desired thus to bring the influence -of female property-holders and Protestants to check the Roman-Catholic -demand for separate schools. Three things made it easy for Canadian -women to vote under this provision:-- - -1st, The great degree of individual independence seen everywhere in -English-born women, as compared with American. - -2d, The respect felt, in all countries where distinctions of rank exist, -for the mere property-holder. - -3d, The political excitement of the local Protestant Church, which -sustained them to the uttermost. - -They have voted for ten years; and a four-years' residence among them -was sufficient to convince me, that no greater derangement to society -would occur if the full right were conferred. In connection with English -government and English colonies, I ought to speak of the government of -Pitcairn's Island. It was the mutinous crew of his majesty's ship -"Bounty" that settled Pitcairn's Island. Adams, the boatswain, was the -father of the little community, and drew up the simple code of laws by -which the islanders are still governed. On Christmas Day, a magistrate -and councillor are elected for the ensuing year; men and women over -sixteen being allowed to vote. The women assist in the cultivation of -the ground, and take no inconsiderable share in the municipal debates. -The fate of this experiment is not yet decided; so I have thought it -worth while to preserve the statement. You will have already seen, that -in England, as elsewhere, so long as the right of suffrage depended upon -possession of property, upon hard pieces of eight, or broad acres of -land, there was no dispute of woman's privilege. It is no new thing for -woman to vote in England: it is a very _old_ thing. It is only a -question whether she shall vote upon the ground of her humanity. - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [35] A curious instance of the immoral result of holding marriage - sacramental, and indissoluble under all circumstances, comes within my - personal experience while I am correcting these pages for the press, - Oct. 11, 1861. - - A young Catholic girl was divorced some years ago, immediately after - marriage, on account of the bad conduct of her husband. She was - received into the family of a brother-in-law, in every way highly - respectable. For the last two years, she has been courted by an - officer in the navy of the United States; but nowhere in New England - could a Catholic priest be found willing to marry them. The church - still holds her responsible to her first vows. The officer honestly - desired to marry her; but the natural result of her ignorance and - perplexity followed. Expecting to become a mother, and rejected by her - family, she came to me for advice. As the officer is a Protestant, I - recommended that they should be married by a minister of that faith. - She again consulted her priest, and was told that it was less sinful - for her to remain in her present relation to her lover than to receive - a sacrament from unholy hands; the priest ignoring utterly the _legal_ - protection and maintenance which she might thus receive. - - [36] The only excuse for considering this point, in an essay pleading - especially for women, is that the law bears unequally on the two - sexes; pressing hardest on woman, on account of her pecuniary - dependence, and general subordination to man. - - A woman, every reader will understand, would find it impossible to - free herself from her obligations, like the men referred to in the - text; nor is it desirable that she should _free herself_, but that the - law should free her. - - [37] National Rev., Apr. 1861, pp. 291, 292. - - [38] "A man who is guilty of adultery is branded by public opinion as - a forger or bigamist is elsewhere, and is not eligible to public - office during the whole of his life; which, under such a government, - is the greatest punishment that can be inflicted. A man who breaks his - promise of betrothal, or who in any way betrays a woman to - mortification and shame, is heaped with the same scorn that women - receive elsewhere. The woman who is betrayed is censured; but the man - is henceforth an outcast."--_Cottages of the Alps_, p. 288. - - [39] In reprinting for his collected works Mrs. Mill's article on "The - Enfranchisement of Women," Mr. Mill more lately says, "All the more - recent of these papers were the joint production of myself, and one - whose loss, even in a merely intellectual point of view, can never be - repaired or alleviated. But the following essay is hers in a peculiar - sense; my share in it being little more than that of editor or - amanuensis. Its authorship having been known at the time, and publicly - attributed to her, it is proper to state, that she never regarded it - as a complete discussion of the subject which it treats of; and, - highly as I estimate it, I would rather it remained unacknowledged, - than that it should be read with the idea, that even the faintest - image can be found in it of a mind and heart, which, in their union of - the rarest, and what are deemed the most conflicting excellences, were - unparalleled in any human being that I have known or read of. While - she was the light, life, and grace of every society in which she took - part, the foundation of her character was a deep seriousness, - resulting from the combination of the strongest and most sensitive - feelings with the highest principles. All that excites admiration, - when found separately, in others, seemed brought together in her,--a - conscience at once healthy and tender; a generosity bounded only by a - sense of justice, which often forgot its own claims, but never those - of others; a heart so large and loving, that whoever was capable of - making the smallest return of sympathy always received tenfold; and, - in the intellectual department, a vigor and truth of imagination, a - delicacy of perception, an accuracy and nicety of observation, only - equalled by her profundity of speculative thought, and by a practical - judgment and discernment next to infallible. So elevated was the - general level of her faculties, that the highest poetry, philosophy, - oratory, or art, seemed trivial by the side of her, and equal only to - expressing some part of her mind; and there is no one of these modes - of manifestation in which she could not easily have taken the highest - rank, had not her inclination led her for the most part to content - herself with being the inspirer, prompter, and unavowed co-adjutor, of - others. - - "The present paper was written to promote a cause which she had deeply - at heart; and, though appealing only to the severest reason, was meant - for the general reader. The question, in her opinion, was in a stage - in which no treatment but the most calmly argumentative could be - useful; while many of the strongest arguments were necessarily - omitted, as being unsuited for popular effect. Had she lived to write - out all her thoughts on this great question, she would have produced - something as far transcending in profundity the present essay, as, had - she not placed a rigid restraint upon her feelings, she would have - excelled it in fervid eloquence. - - "Yet nothing that even she could have written on any single subject - would have given an adequate idea of the depth and compass of her - mind. As, during life, she detected, before any one else had seemed to - perceive them, those changes of time and circumstances, which, ten or - twelve years later, became subjects of general remark; so I venture to - prophesy, that, if mankind continue to improve, their spiritual - history for ages to come will be the progressive working out of her - thoughts, and the realization of her conceptions." - - Such tributes, borne by noble men to noble women, are so frequently - hidden away in the heavy volumes which lie out of ordinary reach, that - I take pleasure in bringing them to support my own plea; and I only - wish I could as easily add to that in the text the charming - acknowledgments of Alexis de Tocqueville to his wife. - - [40] In an article in the "Edinburgh Weekly Journal" for Jan. 10, - 1827, written by Sir Walter Scott, the following allusion is made to - abuses which had crept into the army in the middle of the eighteenth - century:-- - - "To sum up this catalogue of abuses, _commissions_ were in some - instances bestowed upon _young ladies_, when pensions could not be - had. We know ourselves one fair dame who drew the pay of a captain in - the ---- dragoons, and was probably not much less fit for the service - than some who at that period actually did duty." - - [41] "In the little brown duodecimo which contains the jottings of - 'that famous lawyer, William Tothill, Esquire,' there is the following - entry, of the date of James I.:-- - - "'Fleshward _contra_ Jackson. Money given to a _feme covert_ for her - maintenance, because her husband is an unthrift. The husband pretends - the money to be his; but the court ordered the money to be at her own - disposal.'"--_London Quarterly_, July, 1861. A very ancient germ of a - "Married Woman's Property Law." - - - - -III. - -THE UNITED-STATES LAW, AND SOME THOUGHTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS. - - "Men often think to bring about great results by violent and - unprepared effort; but it is only in fair and forecast order, 'as - the earth bringeth forth her bud,' that righteousness and praise - may spring forth before the nations."--JOHN RUSKIN. - - -In passing last to the United States of America, one is tempted to ask, -with Anna Brewster when rehearsing the hardships of Helvetian women, -"Can it be true, as the advocates of despotic government often say, that -under no government are women so harshly treated, so stripped of all -independent rights, as under a republic? In republican Helvetia, the -Vaudois peasant woman leaves all household care, to stand, spring, -summer, and autumn, in her vineyard; but not a bunch of grapes can she -gather for the market, without her husband's leave. _He_ may have -loitered and smoked through every sunny day, while _she_ has dug and -dressed and watered; but she may not sell one grape to buy bread for her -children." - -And this is a picturesque statement of the English common law, on which -the common law of the United States still rests in the main, and on -which it has rested entirely until within the last ten years. - -A few passages from Chancellor Kent will indicate,-- - -I. The estimate of woman formed by this law, and the property-laws built -upon this estimate. - -II. The laws which regulate divorce. We shall have to consider,-- - -III. Woman's general civil position; and,-- - -IV. The right of suffrage. - -Fortunately for us, Chancellor Kent talks plain English. He tells us -exactly what the law means, and sets it forth as if it were written to -be understood; which is not exactly the case with all his predecessors. - -As to the estimate of woman on which the laws are based, we have, in -connection with what we have already quoted from English law-books, the -following statement:-- - - "But as the husband is the guardian of the wife, and bound to - protect and maintain her, the law has given him a reasonable - superiority and control over her person; and he may even put gentle - restraints upon her liberty, if her conduct be such as to require - it. The husband is the best judge of the wants of the family, and - the means of supplying them; and, if he shifts his domicile, the - wife is bound to follow him."--_Kent's Commentaries_, vol. ii. p. - 180. - -The best comment on this is found, I think, in a story told by Mrs. -Stowe, who says that she once saw a little hut perched on a barren ledge -of the Alps, out of reach of human help, and without pasture; but a -little below it were stretches of sweet Alpine grass, inviting to eye -and foot, and capable of affording sustenance to goats and sheep. "How -long have you lived here?" asked Mrs. Stowe of the old woman. "Above -forty years."--"And what made you come so far up? Don't you like the -meadow?"--"I don't know," was the reply: "it was the _man's notion_." - -It is somewhat questionable, whether this man _would_ be the best judge -of the wants of his family, Chancellor Kent to the contrary -notwithstanding; as also what might be his idea of "gentle restraint," -in case the wife had refused "to shift her domicile." As to property, -Kent proceeds:-- - -The general rule is, that the husband becomes entitled, on the marriage, -to all the goods and chattels of the wife, and to the rents and profits -of her lands; and he becomes liable to pay her debts and perform her -contracts. - -1. If the wife have an inheritance in land, he takes the rents and -profits during their joint lives. He may sue in his own name for an -injury to the profits of the land; but, if the husband himself chooses -to commit waste, the wife has no redress at common law. - -2. If the wife, at the time of her marriage, hath an estate for her -life, the husband becomes seized of such an estate, and is entitled to -the profits during marriage. - -3. The husband also becomes possessed of the chattels real of the wife; -and the law gives him power, _without her consent_, to sell, assign, -mortgage, or otherwise dispose of, the same as he pleases. Such chattels -real are liable to be sold on execution for his debts (vol. ii. p. -133). If he survive his wife, the law gives him her chattels real by -survivorship. - -4. If debts are due to the wife before marriage, and are recovered by -the husband afterward, the money becomes, in most cases, absolutely his -own. - -On the other hand, the husband is,-- - -1st, Obliged to provide for his wife out of his fortune, or her own -that he has taken into his custody, of what the court calls -"necessaries,"--these again, of course, to be dependent on the "_man's -notion_"! and,-- - -2d, Becomes liable for her frauds and torts during coverture,--the law -understanding, as well as a merchant, that it is useless to "sue a -broken bench." - -The _indulgence_ of the law toward the wife, we are then told, is -founded on the idea of force exercised by the husband; a presumption -only, which may be repelled. What this indulgence is, we may well be -puzzled to guess, unless the phrase indicate that she is not to be -prosecuted for theft, where _both_ are guilty; and yet, if the -presumption that he compelled her to steal be _repelled_, she _may_ be -prosecuted, and found guilty. - -A wife cannot devise her lands by will; nor can she make a testament of -chattels, except it be of those which she holds _en autre droit_, -without the license of her husband. It is not strictly a will, then, -only an appointment, which the husband is bound to allow (vol. ii. p. -170). - -The laws are essentially the same in Pennsylvania, Virginia, North -Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky, and New York; in the latter State, -of course, only as applicable to marriages contracted before the passage -of the new bill. It is the same in all the States, with one or two -Western exceptions; because the passage of a new law never annuls -_pre-existing_ contracts. In consequence, practice becomes contradictory -and intricate; and most lawyers not only _feel_, but _show_, a great -dislike to new laws on that account. - -In regard to marriage and divorce, Kent says that the English practice -was, not to grant divorce for unfaithfulness on the part of the -_husband_; and the early settlers of Massachusetts made the same -distinction, creating a difference at the very outset in the moral -responsibility of the two, fatal alike to happiness and civilization. - -In 1840, the policy of South Carolina continued so strict, that there -had been no instance, since the Revolution, of a divorce pronounced by a -court of justice, or an act of the legislature. - -In Massachusetts, the law was, that divorce could only be had for -criminality. In Vermont, New Jersey, Kentucky, Mississippi, and -Michigan, divorce from "bed and board" may be had for extreme cruelty; -and, in Michigan, for wilful desertion for three years. - -In Indiana, it is rendered for any cause, at the judgment of the court. - -In Illinois, divorce may be had for the usual causes, and for -drunkenness or cruelty, or such other cause as the court shall think -right; and, in such cases, the wife does not lose her dower. These -differences in statute law indicate, one would think, a variety -sufficient to test in time all the theories of reformers and -experimentalists. - -As to the consistency of the law, Poynter says,-- - - "It is singular to see a marriage _annulled_ on account of the - misspelling or suppressing of a name, which would be held _valid_ - against the lasting misery of the parties." - -By cruelty is meant "reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt." Mere -austerity of temper, petulance of manners, rudeness of language, a want -of civil attention, even _occasional_ sallies of passion, do not amount -to that cruelty which the law can relieve. The wife must disarm her -husband by the _weapons of kindness_! - -I have shown you upon what estimate the general common law of the United -States is based, as regards both property and divorce. It is needless to -say that this estimate is very little to be preferred to that of older -countries; but, when the reformers of our cause are tauntingly asked -what good they have done, they may reply proudly, though they should -point to the changes of legislation during the last ten years alone. -Since 1850, the laws have been changed in at least nineteen States. The -credit of this change should certainly rest with the men and women of -this reform; for, in every State, its sympathizing friends helped to -frame the new laws. - -Whether justly or not, Rhode Island claims the honor of leading the way -in such changes. In 1844, the Hon. Wilkins Updike introduced a bill into -her legislature, securing to married women their property under certain -regulations. The step was in the right direction. In 1847, Vermont -passed similar enactments. In 1848-9, Connecticut, New York, and Texas -followed; in 1850, Alabama; in 1853, New Hampshire. In 1855, -Massachusetts passed an act of a still more comprehensive kind. It was -essentially the same as that introduced into her Senate, in 1852, by the -Hon. S.E. Sewall. It was not wholly satisfactory to those who prepared -it, but was the best it was thought possible to pass.[42] In 1856 and -1857, the Legislatures of Kentucky, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, Rhode -Island, and Maine, altered their property-laws,--Rhode Island advancing -somewhat on her first step.[43] Wisconsin and Iowa have followed; and it -is not likely that any new States, unless they should be slave States, -will repeat the old barbarisms. - -I have given Rhode Island the precedence she claims; but there are -certain statutes of the State of Illinois, as early in date as January, -1829, which deserve to be alluded to, on account of their unusual -liberality. - -If married, and over the age of eighteen years, a woman in Illinois -may, _in spite_ of her husband, devise her real estate, and bequeath her -personal estate, to any one for ever. - -The wife may administer on her deceased husband's estate, in preference -to all others, if she apply within sixty days. On her husband's death, -she inherits one-half of his real estate in fee-simple, absolute; and -the whole of his personal estate, with her rights of dower in addition. - -The wife has not _legally_ the first title to the guardianship of her -child on the demise of her husband; but she has it by a kind of -_comity_, the consent of public opinion and the courts. - -In reference to the wife's inheriting from the husband, my -correspondent, the Hon. William H. Herndon, says,-- - - "You will perceive a difference in the two sections relating to the - wife and husband as inheriting from one another, favorable to the - wife apparently. In the twenty-second section you will find, that, - in case of the wife's death without children, the husband inherits - one-half of her real estate in fee-simple, absolute; but nothing is - said about her personal. This is because the common law has already - given him her personal estate on her marriage." - -So we see that the State of Illinois did not quite divest itself of the -barbarisms of the common law. - -In a later letter, Mr. Herndon continues:-- - - "Our Illinois Legislature has this winter (1860-61) enacted a law, - allowing women (married women) all their property,--real, personal, - mixed,--free from all debt, contract, obligation, and control of - their husbands. This law puts man and woman in the same position, - as far as property-rights and their remedies are concerned. This is - right,--just as it should be. For my life, I cannot see why there - should be any distinction between men and women, when we speak of - rights under government. A woman's rights are identical with a - man's. Where he is limited, she should be; where she is limited, he - should be." - -In Rhode Island, the civil existence of the husband and wife is but one; -and, though the letter of the law considers her property acquired by -trade or inheritance as technically her own, still it is no longer under -her single control. If, as a wife, she sells merchandise, the buyer -becomes a debtor to her _husband and herself_. If she makes a purchase, -her note is good for nothing, unless her husband's signature is affixed -to it. He can dispose of the whole of her personal estate, unless the -buyer has been previously notified by _her_, in writing, that the -property is exclusively her own. Her real estate the husband cannot -sell: but _even of this_ she cannot dispose by will; so, perhaps, it -might as well be sold. The absurdity becomes ludicrous, when we remember -that the law makes her competent to devise any number of millions, so -long as it is invested in bank-stock or merchandise. - -In the State of Vermont, there are three peculiar provisions:-- - -_First_, If the husband abscond without making sufficient provision for -his wife, she is _permitted_ (!) to use her own property and earnings, -or the earnings of her minor children, to secure a support. This -_permission_ indicates the tender mercies of the common law, and reminds -us of the Helvetian peasant-woman. - -_Second_, She is exempted from personal restraint during the pendency of -a divorce suit. - -_Third_, A mother and her illegitimate child may inherit from each -other. - -A married woman may devise her real estate, and it is exempt from -attachment for the sole debts of her husband. She may have her husband's -life insured, the insurance to be made payable to her or her children. -If he should be put into the penitentiary, she may transact business as -if she were a _feme sole_. - -The laws of inheritance are liberal; and the common law prevails by -statute, when not repugnant to any recorded statute. - -In Connecticut, in 1855, all the real estate owned at the time of -marriage, or subsequently inherited by the wife, rests absolutely in -her. All her personal estate passes to her husband; but all that she may -afterward receive remains in her right, her husband being only her legal -trustee. Her earnings are subject to his trusteeship, and nothing more. -She is the guardian of her own children; and the court always confirms -this right, unless she is incapacitated. In case of divorce, the father -is entitled to the children, unless objection is made. On the decease of -the husband childless, one-half of his personal estate goes to the -wife, and a life-interest in one-third of the real; or the whole, if it -be needed for her support. - -In New Hampshire, the common law prevails for the most part. What -express enactments she passed in 1853 seem to refer rather to making the -position of a deserted wife equivalent to that of a _feme sole_ than any -thing else. - -As regards Massachusetts, it is common to say that the legislation of -1855 leaves very little to be desired, beside the right of suffrage; but -a keen eye still detects more than one shortcoming. The custody of the -wife's person still vests in the husband. - -With reference to the guardianship of children, the custom is in advance -of the law; while her power to make a will is so carefully guarded, that -it might as well be surrendered. - -A married woman in Massachusetts can make no contract to bind her, -except one strictly relating to her trade, business, or property. She -cannot, for instance, indorse a note, or be a surety for another person -in any way. - -In Maine, since 1857, a wife may hold the wages of her own labor. - -In Ohio, at the same date, the law gave this right only _under -conditions_. Long before any such changes took place, however, the -current of public opinion often forced courts to decide against the -common law, and in accordance with equity,--equity not technically, but -divinely, considered. - -Judge Graham, of the Court of Common Pleas in Perry County, Penn., made -such a decision in a suit where a wife claimed return of earnings loaned -by her to her husband, and accumulated _after_ marriage. The legal -question brought before Judge Graham was, "Can a wife maintain a suit -against her husband?" He decided that she could legally hold him to a -contract of the kind under consideration; and a verdict was rendered for -the woman, in the sum of $2,508. - -In August, 1859, Mrs. Dorr put in a claim for $40,000 on her husband's -estate, in the Court of Insolvency in Worcester County. The court -objected to entertaining the claim until after the choice of an -assignee. The hearing was never completed; some private adjustment -taking its place. The claim was said to be the first of the kind in the -Commonwealth. - -We come now to the consideration of the Property Bill, passed in the -spring of 1860 by the State of New York. Not only as the latest act of -specific legislation, but as the most complete provision ever made by -any government to outwit the common law, it demands our attention. After -it was passed, a deficiency relating to the rights of guardianship was -discovered, and a supplement was added. By these two acts, the "New-York -Tribune" tells us that at least five thousand women in that State are -redeemed from pauperism, and established in peaceful homes. - -But the supplement bears on one important point, which should be alluded -to. According to the common law, as I showed in referring to England, a -daughter owes service _only_ to her father. The mother, who bore and -nursed her; who has trained her up, it may be by painful sacrifices, to -habits of propriety and thrift,--has no claim upon her service, even in -her minority. By conferring on the mother, in case of the father's -decease, all the rights, remedies, privileges, and responsibilities in -law appertaining to the father, the new act meets the difficulty. - -Before quitting the subject, we cannot refrain from alluding to the -fact, that, as early as 1849, the State of New York had passed a -qualified measure in regard to property; and directing your attention to -the manifest truth, that every imperfect act of legislation constitutes -a new set of exceptions to general rules, and very undesirably -complicates legal practice. - -If reforms are not to be unpopular, they should be simple and -complete.[44] - -In commenting on the passage of these bills, advocated by Mrs. Stanton -before the committees of the Assembly and the Senate, the "New-York -Tribune" says,-- - - "Mrs. Stanton talked forcibly. It is needless for me to say that she - talked earnestly of woman's sufferings, sweetly of her endurance, - eloquently of her rights. When she talked of her right to be - protected in the enjoyment of her property, of her right to be - released from the bondage of an ill-assorted marriage, she was - listened to with marked favor. She pleaded these demands with the - feeling of a true woman; and she carried the conviction, that she - was not asking more than policy, as well as justice, demanded should - be conceded. When she claimed that her voice should be heard on the - hustings, and her vote be received at the ballot-box, she was - earnest and eloquent and _plausible_; but she must have felt that - she was not convincing her audience, and she did not." - -Here the single word _plausible_ vitiates, as cunning reporters well -know how to do, the whole effect of the sentence. Far more reasonably, -the "Tribune" might have said she was earnest, eloquent, and _sensible_; -and so have spurred its readers to thought instead of ridicule. His -criticism, however, launches fairly our last subject of discussion. It -is needless to say, that nowhere in the United States has woman the full -power of suffrage. - -In New Jersey, women formerly possessed, and often exercised, this -right. By the Constitution, adopted July 2, 1776, the privilege of -voting was accorded to all inhabitants, of full age and clear estate, -who had resided for a certain time in the country, and who had fifty -dollars in proclamation-money. - -In 1790, a Quaker member of the Assembly had the act so drawn as to read -"he or she." Until 1807, women often voted, especially in times of great -political excitement; at such times, for the most part, "under -influence," we may presume. Many voted in the presidential contest of -1800; and a newspaper of that period thanks them for unanimously -supporting John Adams in opposition to Jefferson. So they were supposed, -at times, to act independently. At an election in Hunterdon County in -1802, the ballots of some colored women elected a member of the -legislature. Probably this fact, by stimulating the local prejudice -against color, and the fading-out of all aristocratic distinctions, -which left no property qualifications on the statute-book, led to a -change; for, in 1807, an act was passed, limiting the right of suffrage -to "free white male citizens of twenty-one years."[45] - -In later times, committees of intelligent men, in Wisconsin, Michigan, -and Ohio, have reported in favor of granting to women the right of -suffrage; but the question was lost in the ballot which followed. - -If the constitution prepared for Kansas should be accepted by the -people, single women will be empowered to vote there. In Nebraska, the -lower house passed a vote, conferring the privilege; but it was too late -in the session for the question to come before the upper branch. - -In 1858, a proposition to amend the Constitution of the State of -Connecticut, so as to extend the franchise to women, received eighty-two -votes in the House of Representatives. It was defeated by a majority of -forty-five. In 1852, the Kentucky Legislature, in providing for the -election of school-trustees, enacted that "any widow, having a child -between six and eighteen years, may vote in person or by proxy." - -A provision thus limited by public opinion and prejudice would probably -have very little force. I have understood that such a provision has -taken effect in some parts of Michigan, and it has also been recommended -to the State of Massachusetts. Very early in the history of our -government, its inconsistencies became a matter of comment among women -themselves. How could it be otherwise? How can she be said to have a -right to _life_, who has never consented to the laws which may deprive -her of it, who is steadily refused a trial by her peers, who has no -voice in the election of her judges? How can she be said to have a right -to _liberty_, whose person, if not yet in custody, almost inevitably -becomes so on her maturity, who does not own her earnings, who can make -no valid contract, and is taxed without representation? How can that -woman be said to possess either the right or the reality of _happiness_, -who is deprived of the custody of her own person, of the guardianship of -her children, of the right to devise or share her property? - -The government is tyrannical which leaves a single citizen in this -predicament. What is to be said of a government which enforces it upon -half its subjects? - -It is not strange then, that, half in jest, half in earnest, the wife of -John Adams wrote to him in 1776 to ask if it "were generous in American -men to claim absolute power over wives at a moment when they were -emancipating the whole earth." Nor was it strange, that, in a more -serious mood, Hannah Corbin of Virginia should write to her brother, -Richard Henry Lee, on the same subject. - -The American Colonies were struggling against the mother-country, on the -ground that taxation and representation should be inseparable. - -The "National Intelligencer" has to confess, when it tells the story, -that it was not strange if "strong-minded" women of that era, finding -themselves _taxed_, should wonder why they could not vote. - -Mr. Lee wrote from Chantilly in reply, March 17, 1778:-- - - "I do not see," he says, "that any thing prevents widows, having - large property, from voting, notwithstanding it has never been the - case either here or in England. Perhaps it was thought unbecoming - for women to press into tumultuous assemblies.... Perhaps it was - thought, that, as all those who vote for taxes must bear the tax, - none would be imposed, except for the public good. - - "For both the widow and the single woman," he continues, "I have - the highest respect; and would, at any time, give my consent to - secure to them the franchise, though I do not think it would - increase their security. - -"The Committee of Taxation," he adds, "are regularly chosen by the -freeholders and housekeepers; and, in the choice of them, you have as -legal a right to vote as any person." - -Mr. Lee thinks, that, in a few minutes' conversation, he could "content" -his sister upon the subject; but eighty years have passed away, and the -question is still unsettled. - -What he calls a "woman's security" is proved to be no security, even in -the small matter of money; for men are constantly imposing taxes, the -burden of which _they_ are never to bear. As I have shown, in treating -of labor, what position women hold toward the State in the matter of -employment, I will not repeat the statement here. Let these pages bear -no other burden than that of woman's civil rights,--"woman's rights,"--a -phrase which we _all_ hate; which soils the lips that use it; which -women speak with such unction as a slave might clank his chains! - -Soil the lips? Not because it is a phrase which stirs the ridicule and -the contempt of the weak-minded; not because _you_ consider it only the -second term of the Bloomer equation: but because the necessity to use it -shows how little has yet been done; shows that men still dwell on -distinctions of sex, in preference to identities of duty; that women are -play-things still in the popular estimate,--creatures of the nursery and -the drawing-room, but not angels of God, joint-heirs of immortality. - -We have not laid a secure foundation for any statement on this subject, -unless we have made it clear that "woman's rights" are identical with -"human rights;" that what men do for women, they do in far _wider_ -measure for themselves; that no father, brother, or husband can have all -the privileges ordained for him of God, till mother and sister and wife -are set free to secure them according to instinctive individual bias. - -The subject would have no interest for me, if it were but a selfish -clamor of one class for advantages over another; but it does interest -me,--interest beyond all earthly debate,--because, in its evolution, -there unfolds also the highest interest of our common humanity. - -That public opinion has been somewhat conquered, the reception given to -women in the lyceum is alone sufficient to show. When a woman of good -social standing struggles with convention on the one hand, and womanly -affection on the other, she still stands _on the platform_ somewhat as -she _did at the stake_; but, on the other hand, the awakening public -interest has nurtured a class of women who owe all that they have and -are to the platform itself. - -With no oppressive restrictions in their circumstances,--endowed with -strong good sense and a vigorous talent,--they have won their way to the -public esteem; and are stronger and healthier than most women, only -because they have had an object for life and thought to grasp. - -What will most help women in the matter of labor, and, through labor, to -their "civil rights," is a new conception of the dignity of labor on the -part of the educated classes, men as well as women. - -Harriet Hosmer comes back from Rome to queen it over our men; Rosa -Bonheur drives a tandem of Flemish horses through a square of canvas, -and over the very necks of her critics: but we want women who shall turn -the trades into fine arts. Do you smile at the expression? It is -legitimate. France has already answered my demand. A finer statue than -the "Moses" of Michael Angelo would be one womanly model of patient -thoroughness. A finer picture than the glowing pencils of Titian and -Claude ever fused into a canvas would be the prospective elevation of -manual labor. - -The fine arts are already obedient to woman's will. To _what_ woman is -it reserved to make the useful arts pay tribute? Dependent upon the -"right to labor," as we have already seen, is "woman's civil equality." -If all the fields of human labor are thrown absolutely open (and you -admit that they ought to be); if women enter and grow wealthy therein; -if every second woman, for instance, were an intelligent -property-holder,--is it credible that she, or her husband for her, would -remain contented in her present minority? Would she not want a seat in -the legislature to protect her property, a vote to control -appropriations and taxes? There are no revolutionists like the -industrial classes. - -It was the discontent of merchants and artisans which hunted Charles -Stuart to the block, and paved the way for English freedom. It was the -discontent of trade, a long-entertained moral disgust, culminating in -indignant contempt at a Stamp Act, which secured American -_independence_,--I wish we could say, American _freedom_ as well. -Create, then, a class of wealthy working women, you who are ambitious of -a female franchise, and society will be forced to give you your desire. - -Wendell Phillips says, that, when woman is once brought to the -ballot-box, men will cry out, "Educate her!" in self-preservation. If -this be true (and I am not sure that it is; for a great many popular -elections are at this moment carried in the Middle and Southern States, -to come no nearer home, by the _un_educated class, partly by the -dram-shops indeed),--if this _be_ true, however, it is a "poor rule -which does not work both ways;" and we may go farther than Mr. Phillips, -and say, he will also cry out, "Give her something to do!" that she may -understand the interests of property, and be qualified to plead for -them. Mr. Phillips plants himself upon the right of suffrage, and _goes -back_ to secure education and free labor, for State reasons. He has -every right to do it; but, on the other hand, _we_ may rest upon our -undoubted right to education, and go _forward_, with safe, strong steps, -to claim the right of suffrage. When a majority of women find the means -of thorough education open, then a much greater number will seek actual -employment, and immediately the interests of property will compel them -to clamor for suffrage. Do not misunderstand me. It is not a nation of -paid underlings, of ever so intelligent clerks and apprentices, men or -women, that will control the springs of government, and overthrow -institutions as well as prejudices, if they stand in their way: it is -the heads of firms, the movers in great undertakings, the proprietors of -mills, the builders of ships, the contractors for supplies, persons -conversant with large interests, and quick to see their jeopardy, which, -as women no less than men, must secure the elective right. - -How I should rejoice to see a large Lowell mill wholly owned and managed -by women! What is to make it possible?--only, that the unoccupied women -of wealth and rank, at this moment in the Commonwealth, should combine -to build or buy such a mill. Suppose it _well_ managed, representing -ultimately a million of dollars: do you believe it would long remain -without political power? Just as the testy trade of Upsal demanded the -franchise for its eighty-one women, so would the Lowell mill. - -Every year, these ten years, our sturdy friend Dr. Hunt has sent up her -protest to the city assessors. She has not quite had the heart, as I -wish some woman had, to let them sell her household goods over her head, -for non-payment of taxes; but the City Government sits as serene and -patient under her inflictions as if she had never spoken. Her protests -probably go back to the pulp of the paper-mill; and, but for the -newspaper, we should never know that they were written. But five -thousand female property-holders, calling their own caucus, and storming -the City Hall with well-concerted words, would compel any government to -listen; would compel committees to sit, and departments to act. Let it -be your first duty, then, to add to the number of intelligent female -workers. - -Last summer, I heard one of our friends say, that the reason that men -did not wish women to enter medical societies, and receive medical -diplomas, was, that they were unwilling to be detected in their own -double-dealing and malpractice. I should not be willing to indorse a -statement so broadly made. Mean men may justify it: but the men I have -known, the men who have been at once my inspiration and my -strength,--these men were not mean; yet among them even the bravest -doubted, at first, as to the expediency of our discussion. - -These men have felt a tender reverence for moral purity in woman. They -have seen laborers of the lower class fall as if smitten by a -pestilence. They had not faith to save the world at such a cost. From -the malpractice and guilty dread of mean men, then; from the sensitive -horror of the noblest, let us learn, at least, that the duty woman owes -the State is a _moral_ duty. A full understanding of this will give her -courage to press her claims. It is the power of conscience and love -which she is to bring to bear on the ballot-box, and which is to mould, -with her aid, questions and interests hitherto untouched by any higher -impulse than the love of gain. - -I cannot leave this statement of human rights, without claiming for -woman one right of which men very commonly deprive her; in behalf of -which society makes no clamor, and about which the most radical -reformers say very little. I mean woman's right to find man in his -proper place, as counsellor and friend. - -As _father_, to find him interested, equally with his wife, in the -spiritual custody and training of his daughters; giving thus some -portion of each day to imbuing young womanly souls with manly strength. - -As _brother_, to find in him wise respect for womanhood, and helpful -free communion. - -As _husband_, to find him, unless there is manifest interposition of -Providence, always at the head of his family, always the support and -counsellor of his wife, as she in turn is to be his; making his love her -shelter, his strength her dependence, his experience her guide, his -manliness the complement of her womanliness. - -As a _son_, to find him always anxious and ready to minister, provident -to think, patient to bear, and willing to act; never shirking, from -idleness, the duty which an active mother does not shrink from bending, -perhaps _breaking_, beneath. - -Society sets man free from every conceivable family duty, without a -word. On the other hand, it binds women down to them with cords of iron, -and is pitiless if a single one be snapped. I do not ask society to -require less of woman, but _more_ of man. There is an immense amount of -cant, intentional and unintentional, talked upon this subject. Last -January, I heard one of our wisest and best public teachers speak upon -the constitution of the family; and, when he had spoken whole pages of -solid sense, he said this foolish thing,--that the life of the family -rested in the mother; that, when _she_ died, the children must scatter, -the father could not hold them alone, but that the father might be -faithless or dissipated, might abide in foreign countries, might wander -for years a stranger, and still the family sacredness be unbroken. I do -not believe it. I protest against such a view of the family, as a great -public evil, and one which no public teacher should strengthen by any -heedless or sentimental words. - -No man has a right to ask any woman to be his wife, who means to -sacrifice her life to his own love of business or pleasure or vagrancy; -who does not mean to stand strong at her side till death. I speak for -the heart of all womanhood when I say, that no good woman would ever -accept such an offer, if she supposed she were to be idly left to fulfil -its duties alone. If God had intended to rear women independent of manly -influence, he would never have constituted the family. It is because -every woman needs every man that its laws are absolute. If the physical -legitimacy of the family depend upon the mother, the spiritual -legitimacy depends upon the holy faithfulness of the father. When death -or sickness or imperative duty takes her beloved ones from her, God -sends to woman the Comforter, who helps her to bear and do her double -duty. Yet even this angel is born of a voiceless sorrow. It was in -recognition of this human need, as much as of the divine love, that -Theodore Parker was accustomed to pray to Him who is _both_ Father and -Mother. - -Do you object, that, under the present constitution of society, man -cannot find time for this fidelity? When woman becomes an active worker, -adding to the resources of the household, man is set free from a portion -of his care. The future offers him ample time; the present, more than -he uses. I wish I could see him as anxious to make acquaintance with his -own young children as with the gay society of his neighborhood. - -The actual guardianship of society is now thrown into woman's hands. It -does not belong to her: it belongs to men _and_ women.[46] - -Individual men shrink from the idea of being "governed by their wives." -From traditional indolence, however, and that sentimental respect which -does not permit a man to sit in a woman's presence, the "world" has -certainly come to be governed by "_its_ wife." Worst of all, nobody -punishes it even by a sneer. - -The historical development of woman's social progress corresponds to the -logical statement upon which I have insisted. - -Nearly two centuries ago, Mary Astell would have established a college -for women; but the bigotry of Bishop Burnet defeated her plans. The -niece of a beneficed clergyman, she had not the courage to press her -schemes against the open opposition of the church. Many other efforts, -like hers, to secure and make use of education, led the way to a -recognition of a decided bias in the individual: so when, a century -later, Mary Wollstonecraft was born, the way was open for the assertion -of the right to labor. This assertion is hardly indicated in her most -celebrated work; but it gives pungency and effect to the dreariest pages -of her novels. - -In Australia, when a female child is born, the natives break her -finger-joints; an artificial distinction, which _they_ seem to think -more decisive and enduring than God's own limit of sex. - -Mary Wollstonecraft saw, that civilized society, enslaved by tradition -and custom, imposed conditions quite as arbitrary, and, to all practical -purposes, broke _every_ joint in a woman's body; leaving her helpless, -to depend on the strength and skill and affection of man. - -A passionate and thriftless father, who spent more than three daughters -could earn, and whom she nevertheless protected to her dying day, did -not give her a very high idea of the security of such dependence. The -response to her appeal was heard in a myriad of distinguished voices, -and seen in the consecutive, chosen, and persevering labors of Harriet -Martineau in political economy, of Anna Jameson in artistic criticism, -of Mary Carpenter in the reformation of criminals, of Florence -Nightingale in sanitary reform, of Caroline Chisholm in emigration, of -Mrs. Griffith in marine botany (a special study, which she may almost be -said to have created), of Janet Taylor in practical philanthropy among -seamen, and nautical astronomy. - -This selection of duty shows the advance of the movement. Formerly a -woman might be literary in a general sense: now she had the oversight of -the field, and might choose the place and kind of her work. - -All this prepared the way for the advent of Margaret Fuller, and brought -about the condition of which she was the exponent. She caught the rumor -which floated in subtle discord all around her. Her quick insight -detected every true and living germ of thought in the confused social -deposits and exhalations. Out of the discord, she wrought a quaint and -scholarly music; out of the refuse, she enriched a fragrant garden: and -this song, this outgrowth, had an essential music and beauty, and were -caught at once to the popular heart. - -That the division of labor was already taking place, was obvious enough -to her: so she claimed, in advance, the right of suffrage. Society was -already prepared to make this claim, but only discovered its readiness -as it listened to her enthusiastic song. Like Deborah, our friend struck -her cymbals; and, when the heart of the people shouted consent, they -"made her a judge over them." - -Although it was doubtless owing to many older causes, it seemed as if -her statement of the "great lawsuit" in 1844 led to the first Woman's -Convention at Seneca Falls in 1848; and, in 1850, the National -Woman's-rights Association began the yearly work in which it has ever -since persevered. - -Man, as well as woman, has been forced to respect this work, moved by -the moral destitution in the lowest, and the profane inanity in the -highest, ranks of life, which is the result of our social depravity. - -_Profane inanity_, I repeat; for every helpless woman is a living, -intolerable blasphemy against the Most High. Not more a blasphemy than -every helpless man; but society neither expects, defends, nor provides -for, helpless _men_. It is only the helpless woman who is expected and -approved. - -Often do we hear it said, that no law forbids American women to _work_. - -Neither, it has been responded, is there any _law_ which forbids Chinese -women to _walk_; but the careful ligatures, so closely pressed by -unsuspecting mothers about those tender feet, do not do their work more -surely than the inevitable restrictions of society. - -In summing up this constantly accruing list of influences and changes, I -must again direct your attention to the fact, that, from the earliest -dawn of modern civilization, women have been, in some nations at least, -invested with political power. - -The mock-marriage, by which the woman's entailed suffrage served a -fraudulent purpose; the abbesses called to Parliament in right of -abbey-lands, the permission accorded to the eighty-one women of Upsal, -the position of the French "Dames de la Halle," the female stockholders -in the East-India Company, that one persistent female property-holder in -Nova Scotia, the fifty-dollar proclamation-money in New Jersey,--all -indicate that there never _has_ been, and never _will_ be, any serious -difficulty about woman's voting in any age or any country where the -right to vote depends upon the possession of property, and where she -herself professes to desire it. - -Understand, then, that the abstract right to vote is not the question -for you to consider: that was settled some hundreds of years ago. - -The practical question for American men to put to themselves is, whether -their own democratic experiment is a failure. Will you go back to the -property basis for your own franchise? or do you still profess to -believe, that man--as man, as child of God--has a right to reign, which -does not depend upon broad doubloons or broad acres? And, if man has -this right upon a simple human ground, how can you deny it to woman? - -Will you say that she is not human,--that she has no soul? - -Even Mahomet did better than that. Some one once asked him if the -marriage-tie were immortal, and if a husband might claim his wife in the -next world:-- - - "If the man be the superior being," he replied, "he can claim his - wife or not, as he chooses; but, if the woman be the superior, the - decision must rest with her." - -And what Mahomet thus prophesied of the world to come is clearly true of -the world that is. There is no such thing as cheating either God or -humanity. - -Let him who aspires to rule _make himself superior_ in understanding and -moral purpose, and he _will_ rule. - -No possibilities, visible or invisible, need daunt him; but, let him be -false by one hair's breadth, and he carries his doom in his own bosom as -certainly as the flawed crystal at the approach of frost. - -You are, then, to base your demand for woman's civil rights upon her -simple humanity,--the value of the soul itself. - -If you deny this foundation for her, you deny it for yourselves, and the -Declaration of Independence is only an impertinent pretence. - -It may not be easy to push this truth home, and force your friends and -neighbors to consider it; but, once convinced in your own minds, you -cannot escape from the responsibility. - -Wendell Phillips once told us of an old catechism, printed, I think, at -Venice in 1563, which contained the following question and answer:-- - - _Q._ How shall I show my obedience to God? - - _A._ By never doing any thing which is disagreeable to my neighbor. - -Is it possible that this catechism is still in general use? - -Fashionable morality is of so loose a sort, that to do any thing -disagreeable to one's neighbor is still, in the estimation of most -people, the unpardonable sin. People who are capable of hesitating on -that account need not be greatly anxious about their responsibility. - -Our cause does not need them; resting, not on timid self-deceivers, but -on immutable truth, and the hallowed recognition of woman herself. - -Society still cries, like King John in the play,-- - - "If not, fill up the measure of her will; - Yes, in some measure, satisfy her so, - That we shall stop her _exclamation_!" - -And woman, serener than Constance, may whisper back,-- - - "Wherefore, since law is perfect wrong, - Why should the law forbid my tongue to cry?" - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [42] A law, apparently favorable to all widows, passed the - Massachusetts Legislature at the last session. It seems to me, - however, to bear the marks of a law passed for a special case. I have - made several applications in the proper quarters for information - concerning it, but have received nothing in return. - - CHAP. 164.--AN ACT CONCERNING THE PROVISIONS FOR WIDOWS IN CERTAIN CASES. - - _Be it enacted, &c., as follows_:-- - - SECT. 1.--When a man dies, having lawfully disposed of his estate - by will, and leaving a widow, she may, at any time within six - months after the probate of the will, file in the probate-office, - in writing, her waiver of the provisions made for her in the will; - and shall, in such case, be entitled to such portion of his real - and personal estate as she would have been entitled to if her - husband had died intestate: _provided, however_, that, if the share - of the personal estate to which she would thus become entitled - shall exceed the sum of ten thousand dollars, she shall, in such - case, be entitled to receive in her own right the said amount of - ten thousand dollars, and to receive the income only of the excess - of said share above said sum of ten thousand dollars during her - natural life. If she makes no such waiver, she shall not be endowed - of his lands, unless it plainly appears by the will to have been - the intention of the testator that she should have such provisions - in addition to her dower. - - SECT. 2.--Upon application, made by the widow or any one interested - in the estate, the judge of probate may appoint one or more - trustees, to receive, hold, and manage, during the lifetime of the - widow, the portion of the personal estate of her deceased husband, - exceeding ten thousand dollars, of which she is entitled to receive - under this act. - - SECT. 3.--The twenty-fourth section of the ninety-second chapter of - the General Statutes is hereby repealed. - - Approved April 9, 1861. - - In a case on trial in the Superior Court to-day (Oct. 3, 1861), - Chief-Justice Allen ruled, that the law of 1855, allowing married - women to do business on their own account, separate and apart from - their husbands, did not exclude them from entering into - business-partnerships with men other than their husbands. - - [43] On the 7th of April, 1861, the Ohio Legislature passed a bill - concerning the Rights and Liabilities of Married Women. - - SECT. 1 conveys the impression, that all married women may control - their rents and issues of real estate belonging to them at marriage, - or separately received after. - - SECT. 5, however, says "that this law shall not affect any - rights which may have _become_ vested in any person at the time of - its taking effect;" which, of course, cuts off from its beneficial - results all persons previously married. - - It seems a perfectly simple matter to a woman to obviate the - difficulties and disappointments which arise in this way. - - Let parties married under the old law, but desiring to benefit by the - new, go before a magistrate, and state their wish; and then let the - decision in their favor be published in the regular way. - - Such a method would not benefit parties at variance; but it would - benefit a large class of women engaged, or desiring to engage, in - independent business. - - The Ohio law repeals a former law of 1857, which secured to all - married women the control of the sale or the disposal of personal - property exempt from execution: so its benefits are of a nature by no - means unmixed. - - [44] See note, page 349. - - [45] See Appendix. - - [46] This passage was originally prompted by some reflections on the - changes which have occurred in domestic life in Boston. - - Here the family, even among those of the highest social rank, had once - a sacred simplicity pleasant to remember. Men were accustomed to take - their three meals with their wives and children. The latest - dinner-hour was two, p.m.; and suppers were unheard of. The evening - party began at seven; and young girls went freely and uninvited from - house to house, with their needle or their book. - - How greatly all this is changed, my readers, many of them, feel still - more deeply than I; and, with this change, the formation of "clubs" of - various kinds has brought about others far more important. - - A young married lady of rank and fashion was lately lamenting to me - the isolation of husbands and wives, fathers and children, consequent - upon club-life. - - "But," she concluded with a sigh, "if my husband had no club, he would - expect a hot supper for a friend two or three times a week; and how - could I ever accomplish that?" - - This _indolence_ of _women_ lies at the bottom of many serious social - evils. The woman who will not, health and fortune permitting, make - herself responsible in such a case for any number of hot suppers, - deserves to see her own happiness wither, her own hearth made - desolate. - - It is needless to add, that if women would educate themselves to be - true and noble companions to their husbands, and resign on their own - part all that is unsound, and therefore unbecoming, in fashionable - life, hot suppers would cease to be a desideratum, and men would pass - pleasant evenings without them. - - - - -TEN YEARS: - -AN APPENDIX. - - -"The only respect in which all men continue for ever to be equal, is -that of the equal right which every man has to defend himself; but this -involves a source of much inequality in respect to the things which any -one may have a right to defend."--ADAM FERGUSON. - - - - -TEN YEARS: - -AN APPENDIX. - - "To go on working, I consider the only thing to do; and, when - friends urge this after every fresh effort, their doing so in - itself contains a kind of verdict."--FELIX MENDELSSOHN BARTHOLDY. - - -There are some items of interest, that have come under my observation, -for the first time, during the last few years, which I have not found it -possible to add to the preceding lectures without destroying their -symmetry. I therefore offer them in an Appendix. They are not placed -here because they are unimportant, but simply that the later progress of -public opinion may be set forth by itself. - -For the last five years, the women of the United States have held few -public discussions. They have done wisely. Circumstances have proved -their friend. Nothing ever had done, nothing ever will do again, so -great a service to woman, in so short a time, as this dreadful war, out -of which we are so slowly emerging. Respect for woman came only with the -absolute need of her; and so many women of distinguished ability made -themselves of service to the government, that we had no single woman to -honor as England had honored Florence Nightingale. With us, her name -was _legion_. But with the prospect of peace comes the old duty of -agitation; and we find ourselves again summoned to our work, and again -anxiously awaiting its results,--_anxiously_, for the public work of -women is an object which still attracts the gaze of the curious; and the -smallest indiscretion on the part of a single woman has a retrograde -effect, which very few seem able to measure. - -Our reform is unlike all others; for it must begin in the family, at the -very heart of society. If it be not kindly, temperately, and -thoughtfully conducted, men everywhere will be able to justify their -remonstrances. Let us rather justify _ourselves_. My last report to any -convention was made to those called in Boston in 1859 and 1860. Between -that time and 1863, I printed five volumes, which are nothing but -reports upon the various interests significant to our cause. During the -last four years, I have watched the development of American industry in -its relation to women, and have, through the newspapers, aroused public -feeling in their behalf. My labor is naturally classed under the three -heads of Education, Labor, and Law. A proper education must prepare -woman for labor, skilled or manual: and the experience of a laborer -should introduce her to citizenship; for it provides her with rights to -protect, privileges to secure, and property to be taxed. If she be a -laborer, she must have an interest in the laws which control labor. - -In considering our position in these three respects, it is impossible -to offer a digest of all that has occurred during the last six years. -What I have to say will refer chiefly to the events of the last two. - - -EDUCATION. - -The most important educational movement of the last two years has been -the formation of an American Association for the Promotion of Social -Science, with four departments, and two women on its Board of Directors. -Subsequently, the Boston Association was organized, with seven -departments, and seven women on its Board of Directors; one woman being -assigned to each department, including that of law. Any woman in the -United States can become a member of the American association. If the -opportunities it offers are not seized, it will be the fault of women -themselves. - -During the past winter, the Lowell Institute in Boston, in connection -with the government of the Massachusetts Technological Institute, took a -step which deserves public mention. They advertised classes for both -sexes, under the most eligible professors, for instruction in French, -mathematics, and natural science. As the training was to be thorough, -the number of pupils was limited, and the _women_ who applied would have -filled the seats many times over. These classes have been wholly free, -and have added to the obligation which the free Art School for women had -already conferred. - -On the 25th of June, 1865, the Ripley College, at Poultney, Vt., -celebrated its Commencement. Seventeen young ladies were graduated. -Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered the literary address, and two days were -devoted to the examination of incoming pupils. Feeling very little -satisfaction in the success of colleges intended for the separate sexes, -I take more pleasure in speaking of the Baker University, in Kansas, -which was chartered by the Legislature of that State in 1857, as a -university for both sexes. It has now been in active operation for seven -years. A little more than a year ago, Miss Martha Baldwin, a graduate of -the Baldwin University at Berea, Ohio, was appointed to the chair of -Greek and Latin. She is but twenty-one years of age, but was elected by -the government to make the address for the faculty at the opening of the -Commencement exercises, and seems to have given entire satisfaction -during the year. - -Howard University was chartered at the last session of Congress, for the -education of all classes of students, without distinction of sex, race, -or color. It has purchased three acres of land in a pleasant part of -Washington, and is now ready to receive about twenty-five students. Rev. -Dr. Boynton, chaplain of the House of Representatives, is President of -the Board of Trustees. - -St. Lawrence University, Canton, N.Y., a university still very young, -graduates both men and women, on precisely the same conditions. Civil -engineering and political economy are the only optional studies with -the women. It reports one theological student. Lombard University, -Galesburg, Ill., does the same; but I know nothing of its standard of -scholarship. It is only within the last year that I have been able to -visit the most conspicuous colleges in this country in which women are -taught with men. I consider the system of mixed classes an immense -advantage, as it secures the standard of scholarship, prevents all -foolish hazing, and places personal character and moral deportment in -their right relations to classic study. It prevents also such -instruction in the classics as must necessarily deprave the estimate of -woman. - - -OBERLIN. - -About all that I knew of Antioch, before I went West, was this,--that it -was a college for the instruction of both sexes. I would like to have my -readers know more of Antioch than I did, and to feel, without seeing it, -the same intense interest that warms me now. They have heard of Oberlin, -I suppose,--heard of it as a sort of fanatical way-station between the -district school and Harvard University, where men, women, and "colored -people" are all taught together. If I should show them what Oberlin has -actually _done_, I think they may see more plainly what it is possible -for Antioch to do: so I shall begin with some account of this college, -which has "saved the North-west." - -It is no idle boast: and, when I had stayed a week at Antioch, and was -thoroughly roused to a sense of its immense importance; when I had seen -how admirably fitted was Dr. Hosmer for the work given him to do,--I -decided this in my own mind; namely, that if any one thing had stood in -the way of Antioch hitherto, if any thing had prevented her complete -work, it was the Eastern prejudice, the idea that men and women could -not be educated together. And, as they had been trying this experiment -at Oberlin for thirty-two years, I thought I would go there, and see how -it had worked. If I had known then, what I know now, that out of the -bosom of Oberlin twenty-two colleges had sprung, and that, of the -twenty-two, ten are at this moment officered by her own graduates, I -think I might have spared myself the trouble. Here are their names; for -you will care more for Oberlin, if you get some glimpse of the work she -has done, before I tell you the details of her story. I have put an -asterisk against the names of the colleges whose presidents are -graduates of Oberlin. All of those named receive pupils of both sexes. - - _Ohio._--Baldwin University, Berea, three colleges and one - university, 326 pupils, 1846; Heidelberg College, Tiffin; Antioch - College, Yellow Springs; Mount Union College, Alliance; Otterbein - College, Westerville, a Gallery of Fine Arts forming, 360 students. - - _Michigan._--*Olivet College, 308 pupils; *Hillsdale College, 609 - pupils; *Albion College; *Adrian College, with an endowment of - $300,000. - - _Wisconsin._--Madison University; *Ripon College, 87 pupils. - - _Illinois._--Wheaton College, 219 pupils; Lombard University. - - _Indiana._--*Union Christian College, Mecom, 115 graduates. - - _Minnesota._--*Northfield College. - - _New York._--Genesee College, Lima; Elmira College. - - _Kentucky._--Berea College. - - _Kansas._--State University, Lawrence; Lincoln College, Topeka; - Baker University. - - _Iowa._--Grenell College; *Tabor College, 192 pupils. - -To these we may add Oberlin herself, with 1,145 pupils for the term -which has just closed, and the prospect of a college in Missouri, which -her president has recently been solicited to organize. Wherever I have -obtained the catalogues of 1866, I have recorded the present number of -students in these colleges. To those I have not marked, it will be fair -to allow an average of 210 students. Those are not high schools, be it -understood, but colleges in the proper sense. There is no doubt, that -Oberlin, as the principal educational influence in Ohio, imposed upon -Antioch and all other "Christian" colleges the necessity of educating -both sexes. - -In 1832, Oberlin was a little religious colony, born into a complete -wilderness out of the Presbyterian Church. The plan of the colony -involved a school, for which a tract of five hundred acres was given. -The sale of the remainder of a tract of six thousand acres furnished a -small fund with which to begin teaching. A year later, the students of -Lane Seminary determined to hold an antislavery prayer meeting. The -trustees forbade it. "You are right," said old Dr. Beecher, when the -mutinous lads appealed to him,--"you are right; but we are too weak to -hold Lane Seminary on antislavery principles. Go and make it possible -for us." They went--Theodore Weld and Henry B. Stanton among them--to -speak the truth at Oberlin. Arthur Tappan called from the Broadway -Tabernacle the man who had been in the front of the great awakening -which has swept through the land, instinct in every fibre of his being -with the spirit of aggressive Christian work. "Go," he wrote to -President Finney,--"go and teach the young men whom Lane refuses." One -hundred thousand dollars was pledged by the merchants. Oberlin studied -in summer that her pupils might teach all winter. So, promising to -return to New York for the winter seasons, President Finney found his -way, one muddy spring morning, to Oberlin. What he found there was two -frame-houses in the midst of the forest, and half a dozen log-cabins. He -found also his sixty students. - -Very soon they had no end of difficulties to contend with. A jealous -college, that had wanted Dr. Finney for its president, did its best to -break down Oberlin. The crash of 1837 came; and Arthur Tappan, and the -rest who had not paid out capital, ceased to pay interest. It was -necessary to raise $50,000, and President Finney went to England and did -it. Every man's hand was against them. The cross-roads were ornamented -with pictures of fugitive slaves, pursued by lions and tigers, and -running in the direction of Oberlin. But when Oberlin became a station -on the underground railroad, and the slave-hunters actually came there -after their chattels, the case altered. The neighborhood took part with -the college, as if by miraculous conversion, and the offensive pictures -disappeared. Then a thousand scholarships were instituted, at $100 each. -Some were perpetual; some for six, eight, or ten years. On the interest -of this investment the college now lives. The scholarships, as they fall -in, increase its means. It costs $15,000 per annum, and $15 is the -student's yearly fee. He rents his scholarship of a broker in the town. -The college is managed with exquisite economy, and the most perfect -attention to essential neatness. - -For twenty years the college sent out into the West five hundred -antislavery pupils yearly, to take the post of teachers, ministers, -editors, and lawyers. They were heretics, so they were pushed farther -and farther West. For the last fifteen years, it has sent out a thousand -yearly. In all, twenty-five thousand men and women have gone out from -her bosom, who have eaten and drank and recited at the same board with -the colored man. Through all her pecuniary troubles, her original -teachers have stayed by her, have given up all else for her sake; and -President Finney has never been without a colored student at his table. -There are two large churches in the town; for a population of four -thousand persons has grown up to supply the wants of the college, which -has the great advantage of still retaining the services of those who -originally created it. Last year, Dr. Finney, now nearly eighty years -old, resigned his position as president, but still remains at the head -of the Theological School. I had always thought Oberlin bigoted to -evangelical ways. I did not find it so. I was made as welcome to -cross-question classes as if I had been an ordained graduate of their -own. All theological teaching is done by discussion; and the fact that -the colleges which have grown up under her graduates are of all -persuasions, from the Methodist to the Christian, will show that -doctrine is not urged. In all the recitation-rooms, questions were -freely asked by both sexes; and this questioning is encouraged by all -the professors but one, a young man from Yale. "Yes," said President -Fairchild, himself a graduate of Oberlin, when I had pointed this out; -"yes, that is what remains of New-England stiffness. Six months will -convert him: we shall let him take his own time." I have never seen any -thing like the enthusiasm this college inspires in those who labor for -it. Would that I could see a man bred at Harvard with the same patient -fire in his soul as President Finney! As I knelt by his side morning and -evening, I felt that under his ministry the very _stones_ must cry out. -The twenty-five thousand men sent out from Oberlin did not go out as -citizens merely, but as _teachers_. I was not surprised to find, that, a -few months before the Proclamation of Emancipation, a letter had gone to -Washington, from President Finney, entreating Mr. Lincoln to "recognize -the hand of the Lord in this matter." In Oberlin, it is believed to have -substantially modified the proclamation. Oberlin sent eight hundred and -fifty men into the field during the rebellion. Professor Peck, our -minister to Hayti, is the man who was once imprisoned by slave-hunters -in Cleveland jail. An indignant mass-meeting was held in that city. Six -hundred sabbath-school children went from Oberlin to greet their -imprisoned superintendent, and the prosecuting attorney thought it best -to give up the case. Professor Monroe, married to a daughter of -President Finney, is our consul at Rio, and is well known as a -controlling political power in Ohio. One of the faculty headed the first -Oberlin regiment; a graduate of the Theological School, the second; -Colonel Cooper, of the third, who went through with Sherman, is still -doing antislavery work in Arkansas; and the present Governor of Ohio, -Major-General Cox, also married to a daughter of Mr. Finney, has a -record so brilliant, that it demands a volume in itself. - -During the war, the college realized one unexpected advantage from the -presence of women. The female pupils kept the college working! In the -original constitution of Oberlin, it was stated that its main object was -"to diffuse pure religion throughout the Mississippi Valley, and to -elevate the female character." To both these objects it has been -religiously faithful. In the Ladies' Library Room I saw a picture of -Camp Dennison. It was drawn by one of the graduates; was sent from camp -to college, with the inscription beneath, "From the boys at Camp -Dennison to the girls of '61,--the dearest girls in all the world." It -was not put out of sight, but proudly shown to me. I have never been in -any educational institution where the interests of the _pupils_ so -evidently rule. The vacation comes in winter, that the pupils may pass -it in teaching; but the professors do not then take a vacation. They -open a winter school, where students who are behindhand may make up -deficiencies. I do not mean that all the pupils go through the entire -college course: many cannot afford it. They stay as long as they can, -and go reluctantly away. - -They follow the fashions at Oberlin: the Continental pronunciation took -possession of the Greek and Latin class-rooms last year. They employ -undergraduates to teach the preparatory students at thirty cents an -hour. The common or town school has 830 pupils, 180 of whom are colored. -In the college, the colored pupils are 5 to 100, and the female pupils -40 out of 50. There are scarcely any rules. The few that are printed are -enforced as friendly advice. President Finney says he has often known a -year to pass without an opportunity for a presidential admonition. The -management of the girls seems to me admirable. The teachers _feel_ no -doubt of their method; therefore they show none. Once a fortnight the -lady principal meets the ladies, and talks with them privately on all -questions of womanly habits and manners. The splendid endowment of -Vassar College could not give to Oberlin a woman better suited to this -purpose than Mrs. Dascomb. Once a week there is a religious meeting. - -The college has just now the brightest prospects. Its old buildings were -far less convenient than those at Antioch; but at a late Commencement an -appeal was made, and by a spasmodic response, like that which recently -gave us $30,000 for Meadville, the graduates subscribed as much for a -new "Ladies' Hall." The contracts were made before the war, the expenses -managed with scrupulous prudence; and now a beautiful brick building, -121 feet by 121, is opened. It has a library, reading-room, and parlors; -and a dining-hall, to which the male students are admitted, and where -truly excellent board is given for three dollars a week. The kitchen -would do anybody's heart good. On every floor is a wood and water room, -where the wood and ashes go up and down on a dumb-waiter, where water is -carried up in a well-protected pipe, and slops may be thrown into a -sink. Two excellent new buildings for recitations will be ready for the -spring term. Some idea of the admirable tact and prudence which have -prevailed at Oberlin may be gleaned from the following anecdote: -Thirty-three years passed before a colored _teacher_ was employed in the -Preparatory School. "We knew," said President Fairchild, "that we must -not try the experiment till it was sure to be a magnificent success." In -1865, Oberlin had in Miss Fanny Jackson a pupil worthy of the -experiment. She had been a slave in the District of Columbia, and so -puny, that, at an early age, she was sold to her own aunt, a freedwoman, -for a trivial sum. She was sent here, and with fear and trembling now -yielded to the wish of the president. That no one might be compelled to -enter her class, _two_ advanced classes in English grammar were -organized, one under the present wife of Dr. Finney. On the first day, -an over-grown lad came to the president, and said, "My father would not -like it very well if he knew I was taught by a woman,--but a woman and a -negro!" "Stay in the class three days to please me," said the president; -and, at the end of that time, the boy refused to be removed. After a -day's absence from illness, Miss Jackson was received with cheers; and, -when her class had to be subdivided, the heart-burnings of those who had -to leave it were pitiable. She is now teaching in the Colored High -School in Philadelphia, where she will remain till she has paid the -price of her freedom. The brilliancy of her classical teaching is -considered very remarkable in Philadelphia. - -It remains only to consider the double system. Everybody at Oberlin was -loud in its praise; no one would teach now in any other sort of college. -The presence of women secured discipline. There was no chance for hazing -or any other antiquated folly. Pupils and teachers who had gone from -Oberlin to Vassar both missed the pleasant excitement of the old life. - -"But," said President Finney, when I turned from all the rest to him, -"it must not be forgotten that we have had great advantages. We came -here for a religious reason; our pupils _came_ for years. It is only -lately that they have been _sent_. I expect that some difficulties may -arise, but none worse than would arise in a neighborhood-school. It is -God's way to rear us." The old man showed me, with great emotion, a -confession, signed by three young girls, and read at college prayers in -1837. They had been walking, and met one of the students with an -improvised sledge; without thinking, they jumped on and took a drive. -There were no rules against it; but, when they came home, they -remembered how much depended on their prudence as members of an -antislavery institution, and wrote the confession of their own accord. -One of these lovely women is now the wife of President Fairchild. - -I record with pride the history of Oberlin, the first college which -undertook to teach resident pupils of both sexes. I feel that it has -been a great success. I am ashamed of the half-denominational prejudice -which kept me from taking a warmer interest in it, in advance; and I -greet its new life under President Fairchild, a graduate of the -institution, with the warmest feelings of hope and admiration. - -It has just received $25,000 from the executors of the estate of the -Rev. Charles Avery, of Pittsburg, who left $150,000 in trust, to be -devoted, according to the best judgment of the directors, to the -"education and elevation of the colored people in the United States and -Canadas." The conditions are, that the college shall never make any -discrimination, on account of color, against colored students, and that -it shall furnish free tuition to fifty of its most needy colored -students who may apply for it; preference being given to twenty to be -nominated by the American Missionary Association. - - -ANTIOCH. - -The road to Antioch is hard to find: indeed, it would seem as if the -trustees had specially secluded it,--made interest, perhaps, with the -railroads to prevent the cars from stopping there, for the special -protection of the young people! From Cincinnati, we wind along the -lovely banks of the little Miami, through nurseries and hillside -terraces, through groves of oak and sycamore, and birch-trees stretching -out white, bewildered arms. Pigs are quietly grazing in the woods, as if -it were their nature to "chew the cud;" there are groups of tiny -powder-houses, made small, the people say, because they are "expected to -blow up once a fortnight"! Heavy loads of corn and hay wind along the -terraced roads; a gay-looking negro on horseback takes off his hat; two -children are pulling a boat across the Miami; there are no houses along -the shore, only safe-looking spits of sand jut out here and there; and, -at last, having come the ten miles from Xenia in a private carriage, we -roll on to Antioch Plain. I had heard that the college was on high land; -so I was a little disappointed to find it on a table among the hills, -which did not command any marvellous extent of country. As for the -college, it has evidently made its toilet for posterity. I could not get -a glimpse of its two fine towers and broad front, till I wandered down -to the railroad track, and looked at it from the vicinity of a lime-kiln -and a sorghum-mill. For some unknown reason, it turned its back on the -village in the beginning, and pranks its beauty in full sight of that -cursive population which travels by steam. - -Yellow Springs is a pretty little place to live in,--an economical one, -certainly, for there isn't a thing in it to buy; and, when we have -looked at two or three little churches and Judge Mills's pretty park, we -are quite content to go through the grounds of the Yellow Springs House, -look down on the glen from the quaint, long, low southern piazza of the -Neff House, and finally get home as we may, by log-bridges, and banks of -moss, over which the walking-fern is striding. Ten miles of hedge, made -of the Osage orange, surround the Neff Place, which a wealthy family in -Cincinnati refuse to sell; but which is destined, in the far future, for -a large hotel. In the little glen,--where a beautiful cascade falls, and -tortuous rapids sputter and foam, and tiny fish dart up and down, and -great graceful trees bend to shelter us,--we may find all the beauty of -the White-Mountain passes. Two or three miles off, there are persimmons -in the woods, and fossils under the soil; and, on Saturdays, pleasant -parties go with Mr. Orton or Professor Clarke to find them. The "Yellow -Spring," which gives the town its name, is of course largely -impregnated with iron. It is imprisoned in a stone tank, which it colors -brown; and it changes a rusty iron ladle to gold. It is a tonic; and, -not far from the spot where it bubbles up, there is a pretty -summer-house, where those who come to drink may sit and rest. As we -walked toward it, a little brown rabbit skipped across the grass. From -every high point in the glen, there are lovely views of the college and -town. - -Dr. Hosmer has just introduced a change into the Sunday-morning service -at the chapel. He has taken the service-book of James Freeman Clarke, -and, between reading and chanting, devised a matin service of great -beauty. No musical professors could have done greater credit to the -first performance than the students themselves. It made the bare, -whitewashed walls of the chapel seem as sacred as a grand cathedral. - -I did not look into the books at Antioch. Those at Oberlin I thoroughly -investigated; and the strict economy the figures showed would -distinguish honorably any institution in any land. But, as far as I can -judge from oral testimony, the fees of the students and the interest of -the endowment fund here amount to $13,000, and do not _quite_ provide -for the annual expenses. There is, therefore, no fund for _repairs_, -none for _scientific instruments_, none for the _library_; and, while -the president and professors feel that a further endowment will sometime -be needed,--nay, is needed _now_,--yet they also feel that they must -show what work Antioch can do, before they ask further sympathy. Still, -there are some few things which the wise prudence of the trustees, the -thoughtfulness of loving friends, the surplus of full purses, can, in a -quiet way, provide. - -The pupils at Antioch make no complaint of their commons this year; yet -it is undeniable that they should be better than they are. The commons -are provided at Oberlin and Antioch in the same way; that is, by a -family entirely disconnected with the college. At Oberlin, the table -presents an attractive appearance. It would be grateful to any hungry -person, and board is furnished at $3 a week. At Antioch, a pleasant and -friendly woman has charge of things; but no great variety seems to be -offered, and the board is $3.50 per week. Both these prices seem to me, -after investigating Western markets, _starvation prices_; but it is -evident, that, on this point, we have something to learn from Oberlin. -If the president and faculty of Antioch should visit Oberlin, where they -would be most kindly received, they would see, perhaps, that the -difficulty lies in the cooking-apparatus. Oberlin offers a first-rate -kitchen; Antioch, one very far behind what most of the pupils would find -at home. I suppose no one will deny, that, when the average social -standing of the students in these Western colleges is considered, it is -desirable that they should find at the college-table a standard of -cooking and serving which is a little in advance of that to which they -have been used. The food may be plain and without variety, but it should -be thoroughly nice and inviting of its kind. The ladies of any one of -our city churches might undertake to furnish the kitchen at Antioch, and -they could not have a better model than the kitchen at Oberlin. To -advance the standard over previous experience, is, I think, a necessary -part of education here. - -Still farther, cisterns should be built in the upper stories of the -dormitories, into which the waste-water may run from the roofs. Pipes -leading downward from this should supply one sink on each story, and -this sink should also carry away the waste-water from the rooms. A large -"dumb waiter"--I use the word for want of a better--should be provided -in each dormitory to carry up wood, and carry down ashes and dry dirt. I -have already shown that this is done at Oberlin; and, if cisterns are -not possible, then reservoirs and a forcing-pump should take their -place. - -There are but two dormitories,--one for men, and one for women; and when -we consider, that, beside studying, the pupils have to help themselves -by sawing wood and other manual labor, it will be acknowledged, that to -bring their own wood and water up two or three flights of stairs is more -than we can ask of them. - -The library and scientific apparatus are very deficient for present -needs. In the scientific department, some means of protecting the -apparatus already obtained is greatly wanted. Microscopes are needed -for scientific investigation. In the library, a translation of the -"Mécanique Céleste," modern scientific books generally, Smith's "Bible -Dictionary," and the leading works on English literature, are required. -Trench, Müller, Taine, have not yet found their way to Yellow -Springs.[47] - -It seems to me, that, before Antioch, there now opens a great career. If -her trustees and her faculty will but keep faith in her methods, surely -we are bound to help them to the utmost. The personal friends of Dr. -Hosmer also, who realize the nobility of that enthusiasm which made him -willing to accept such a post while "looking towards sunset," ought, I -think, to make the position as easy as possible, by anticipating these -practical wants. Five hundred dollars would supply the most necessary -books to the library. - -But, if Oberlin does such noble work, what need of Antioch? Why should -we strive to sustain an institution at such a continual cost, if one -already established is competent to do its work? Let us get a glimpse of -what Antioch can do, and then we shall be better able to answer these -questions. In the first place, we are in possession of buildings worth -now $180,000, and of twenty acres of land, worth $10,000. The land was a -donation, in the beginning, from Judge Mills, the great man of the -village, who perhaps fancied that a growing college would increase the -value of his real estate; and for this property, worth now nearly -$200,000, we gave $50,000. For its proper appropriation we are -responsible; and I think we have work enough to do, though Oberlin has -saved the North-west, and though her new halls should be crowded thrice -over. - -In the first place, Antioch is to be a missionary station. No one who -has not travelled through the West can imagine the thirst of the people -for spiritual food. I think those who know least about it are the -Western ministers themselves. I always found them sceptical about it, -when I spoke to them; and I could not very well say, what I was -sometimes compelled to feel, "It is because you could never satisfy this -want, that it does not show itself to you." To Dr. Hosmer, however, with -his warm, genial soul, with a temper conciliatory and discreet, the -people are willing to speak. Beside the daily college prayers, there are -services in the chapel on Sunday at half-past eight in the morning, and -at three in the afternoon. During the last year, the audiences at the -Sunday preaching had dwindled to a score: since Dr. Hosmer's arrival, it -averages about two hundred and fifty; and, of course, townspeople, who -come to the chapel regularly, grow in sympathy with the college and its -purposes. Dr. Hosmer has promised to supply the Christian pulpit in -Yellow Springs for eight Sundays, which gives Mr. McConnell liberty to -do missionary work for the same time. The little town of Troy has some -difficulty in keeping a minister. Dr. Hosmer promises him four Sundays, -that he may go away, and so add to his substance. He goes also himself -to the Universalist church in Columbus; and at Cleveland, where about -twenty Unitarian families are hoping sometime to have a church, he -promises them an occasional service if they will pay the expenses of -transit. Professor Hosmer, whose preaching is thoroughly appreciated in -the neighborhood, has also preached in Marietta; and either he or his -father stands ready to supply Mr. Mayo's pulpit when that gentleman -undertakes the missionary work, which has already made him one of the -most useful of the Western clergy. - -Who are the people that have this college in charge? What sort of pupils -are likely to benefit by the education we offer? If we know a little -about them, perhaps it will kindle a warmer interest. Beside the two -Hosmers whom we know, there is Dr. Craig, Professor Weston and his wife, -Professor Clarke, and Mr. Orton, with four teachers under him in the -preparatory department. Dr. Craig was the man whom Horace Mann thought -it constituted an era in his life to know. For fifteen years he was the -minister of the church at Blooming Grove, Orange County, N.Y., a church -which has existed for more than a hundred years without a creed, and -which is governed by seven deacons and seven deaconesses. Professor -Weston and his wife divide the classical department between them, having -both taken the degree of A.M. at Oberlin. - -Professor Clarke is the son of the famous Methodist minister in Chicago. -He was professor of mathematics in Michigan University, and went abroad -for two years to fit himself more thoroughly for his work. The war -called him home; he raised a company, was made major, and, being taken -prisoner, was thrown into Libby. There, he says, one of our Boston boys -saved his life by sharing his supplies with him. He was removed to -Macon, and, while sharing all the horrible experience of the stockade, -succeeded in digging a tunnel, through which he would have escaped; but -some other prisoners doing the same thing, and the escape of one being -sure to lead to the detection of all, he waited honorably for the second -tunnel to be completed. Meanwhile he was removed to Charleston, and put -under Gilmore's fire, where, at last, his exchange was effected. When -Professor Clarke left Michigan University to come to Antioch, he made a -sacrifice born of the true missionary spirit. May we share his spirit -sufficiently to strengthen his hands in the new work! Mr. Orton is most -admirably fitted to his department, and has an excellent corps of -teachers under him. Among them is one, the daughter of a mechanic, that -went from Worcester to assist in building the college, who got her own -education at Antioch by alternate years of study and teaching, having to -earn one year what she spent the next. A more exquisite model school -than that connected with the college, I never saw. - -Among the older pupils of Antioch is the Christian minister of Yellow -Springs, the Mr. McConnell of whom I spoke, who may be called, if you -prefer it, a brigadier-general. He was born humbly, in Ohio, had only -the rudest schooling, was a Christian minister before he was twenty, and -married before he was twenty-one. He was preaching in Troy when the -first gun was fired at Sumter. He raised a company at once, and got a -lieutenant's commission. In actual service, he was soon made a captain. -He kept with General Grant throughout his Western campaign, and returned -from Pittsburg Landing the colonel of his regiment; then re-enlisted for -the war, went back to the front, kept with the Western army, and, at the -close of the war, was mustered out a brigadier-general. He did signal -service in many battles, but especially before Nashville, where his -brigade, assisted by a negro brigade, broke Hood's centre by a very -gallant charge. He went to Atlanta with Sherman, and could never weary -of telling me how the Sanitary and Educational Commission followed the -army with their fostering care, ever present, it seemed to him, like the -blood which supplies with food the minutest nervous fibre of the human -frame. When he returned, the people would have carried him into -Congress; but he declined. Then they offered to make him a judge of -probate, with a salary of $2,500 a year; but he told them he had chosen -the pulpit for his field: and now, preaching in Yellow Springs, he comes -into the college classes, and, hoping to take his degree, keeps -faithfully all the college rules. - -Still another pupil, now thirty years old, raised a company for the war. -He was at the fall of Vicksburg, had not been at school since he was ten -years old, but made $1,800 by buying and selling grain, and brought it -here to carry him through college. When I cross-examined him in Greek -history, I found he had read Grote! The teacher of the village school at -Yellow Springs has had a more vexatious experience. He had finished his -third year at Antioch, when he went into the army. He became an aid to -three Western generals successively, and was with Grant when Lee -surrendered. He saved $800 of his pay to carry him through his last -college year, but had only been home a few days when a burglar stole it! -He has taken the village school for $900 this year, studies hard; and -the faculty have voted, that, when he can stand a certain examination, -he shall take his degree. - -It is for such students that Antioch is open. One-third of her present -pupils are women. Pleasant levees are held once a fortnight at the -president's house, where the two sexes mingle gracefully. The girls have -a literary society, which they call the Crescent; the young men, two -societies, the Star and the Adelphian. The Star and the Crescent have -fitted up one room under the gambrel very tastefully. The Adelphians -rival them. The folding-doors in the hall of the latter society open -into a pretty alcove, where a good library is beginning. These two rooms -are the only glimpse of tasteful, home-like comfort that one gets in any -public room at Antioch. I attended the meetings of the three societies. -Before the Crescents, I heard a graceful little essay on "A Rail-fence," -from a girl of fifteen. From the Stars, I heard a discussion of Roman -funerals. The Adelphians discussed the possibility of obeying an -unrighteous law, very much as I have heard their elders do in Congress. -Each society had a censor, who took notes of papers and discussions, and -quietly criticised each performance when it ended. It was noticeable, -that the performances of the women, making due allowance for age and -opportunity, were far more graceful and able than those of the men, and -a most valuable help to the latter. Coming home one night from the -Adelphians, I found at Dr. Hosmer's a Southern refugee, who is educating -her children at Antioch. - -Sometime before the war, Mrs. Palmer and her husband went to East -Tennessee from New York, carrying with them $50,000. I think they must -have opened a store; for she spoke of having on hand a valuable stock of -millinery and medicines. Being Northerners, they were constantly -threatened, and at last consented to barricade their house. Three times -the rebels stole their horse, a colt only two years old; and three times -Mrs. Palmer's perseverance got it back. At last they surrounded the -house at night, firing on the peaceable inmates; and Mr. Palmer, -attempting to escape over the roof, got three bullets in his arm. The -next day the party came back, robbed the house, and burned up the -stores. The medicine was a great loss: there was no more within reach -for rebel or loyalist. Mrs. Palmer succeeded in hiding her meat and -meal. For eight days she and her family hid in the rocks, only venturing -back to the house at night to cook and eat a little food. One night, -when the poor wife was so employed, her feverish, half-delirious husband -followed her, and, in some way, attracted the attention of the enemy. A -terrible battle followed, and Mr. Palmer lay on the kitchen floor with -eight wounds in his body. When the malice of the rebels was spent, Mrs. -Palmer went out with her children, and called the cattle. By keeping -them between her and the house, she succeeded in getting her husband -into the woods. A Union man finally received and fed him; but it was -many days before his wounds could be dressed. She then escaped with her -children and the colt, on which they rode by turns. She had picked up -some of the ends of her burnt millinery, which she used to barter for -food as they went along. She came at last to an old schoolhouse, where -she lay down; and here she nursed her children through the measles. -Here, after many weeks, her husband came to see her, but was taken -prisoner as he crept away, and was sent to Libby. She saw many terrible -things while she lingered here: one of her neighbors had his bowels cut -out while he was still alive! When she started afresh, she had seven -hundred miles to travel before she reached Bardstown. One of her five -children ultimately died of the fatigue and hunger. - -"How did you get food?" I asked. - -"I prayed for it," she answered; "and I always felt sure of enough for -the hour." - -"Who would shelter you?" I continued. - -"I never lay out but one night," she answered. "I used to tell them, -wherever I went, that the Union soldiers must win in the end; that I was -going to them, and would report whoever used me ill. So they would let -me lie on the kitchen floor." At Bardstown, Morgan's men destroyed her -last thing; and then a United-States sutler found her, and carried her -to Louisville. - -The children of many such women will hereafter seek Antioch. Let them -find there a generous provision. - - -VASSAR COLLEGE. - -Mr. Vassar's magnificent donation is drawing interest at last; and, -though I do not feel as much confidence in any institution founded for -women alone as I do in mixed colleges, we ought all to be grateful for -the advanced standard lifted at Poughkeepsie. - -Malt has always been a beneficent agent in the civilization of mankind. -Ever since Mr. Thrale looked kindly on old Sam Johnson, brewers have -seemed to have a generous pride in conquering human selfishness, and -leaving something better than a family of children to interest -posterity. Mr. John Guy, of Liverpool, a wealthy brewer without -children, founded there the great "Guy's Hospital." He was the -great-uncle of Matthew Vassar, also a great brewer in Poughkeepsie, -N.Y. By and by, Matthew Vassar found his property close upon a million; -and, as he had no children, he began to think what he should do with it. -He had a good many poor relations, and those who were industrious and -deserving he did not forget. One of them, a young niece, supported -herself by school-teaching. He built her a schoolhouse, and did what he -thought right to ease her way. At last, sinking in a decline, she came -home to die. As she lay on the sofa, day after day, she watched him -walking back and forth, and talking over his plans. Now and then she -would say gently, "Uncle Matthew, do something for women." After she was -gone, Matthew Vassar went to see Guy's Hospital. His connections advised -him not to give away his money. His Baptist friends in Edinburgh and -Liverpool laughed at the idea of a college for women, which had already -entered his mind. He came home, and tried to plan a hospital; he got up, -and went to bed with the idea uppermost; but all the time he seemed to -hear the voice of his niece, "Do something for women, Uncle Matthew." -Mr. Vassar has two houses: one, in the heart of Poughkeepsie, which is -opposite the brewery, and, with a long range of comfortable -outbuildings, looks as steadfast and English as ever Mr. Thrale's own -house could do; the other, a modest little country box, set on a hill -among extensive grounds, and commanding, from various points, lovely -views of the town and river. The peculiarity of this place is, that it -is ornamented with all manner of punchinellos cut in dull gray -limestone, and leering or grinning from every corner of the park. I did -not find out who was responsible for this grim joke. In 1860, Mr. -Vassar, with the humility and common sense which belong to his -character, obtained a charter, and called together thirty trustees. To -them he transferred more than half his actual property. When the opening -of the war occasioned the failure of the contractors, he did not draw -back, but gladly gave the additional $150,000 which the increased -expense demanded. - -The building is planned after the palace of the Tuilleries, having at -each end the chateau roof and mansard windows. It is 500 feet long, and -170 deep. The only drawback to its architectural effect is the entrance, -which should have been a magnificent double stairway, but is, for the -present, only an ordinary private door. This building stands in the -midst of two hundred acres of lovely sloping and swelling land. To the -right, and quite visible at the porter's lodge, is the gymnasium and -hippodrome under one roof; to the left, the graceful observatory, which -is also the home of Miss Mitchell and her father. - -In the two wings of the building with chateau roofs are five private -dwellings, rented for a moderate sum to the resident professors. In the -centre, just behind the entrance, are the dining-hall, the chapel, the -art-gallery, and the library; also the large drawing-rooms, where pupils -and teachers receive their friends, and the parlor and office of -president and principal. Connecting this centre with each wing, on four -floors, run long corridors with sunshine and bright windows on one side, -and clusters of students' rooms and recitation-rooms on the other. The -rooms are in pretty groups of four. Three bedrooms open into one study, -the latter made pleasant and home-like by the united treasures of the -occupants. The music-rooms are "deadened," so that the noise hardly -strays beyond the walls; and the cabinet, where the students in natural -history prepare specimens, is full of cases to preserve the work. The -best that I can say of the building will hardly do justice to the -intention of the founder, which no one can comprehend who has seen only -such institutions as Harvard and Yale. There is no occasion here to wish -for any thing which may perhaps come when the college is rich enough. -Mr. Vassar's intention was and is to have the endowment perfect. The -building is fire-proof, every partition wall being of solid brick. There -are four pairs of fire-walls, into which iron doors run on rollers; and -between these are fire-proof stairways, always safe, even if the wood -work should catch fire. There is the physiological cabinet, with every -thing for the use of the professor, including various manikins and wax -preparations. The library, chiefly of books of reference, holds three -thousand volumes, to be increased at the rate of five hundred per annum, -and is also used as a reading-room, where newspapers and reviews may -always be found. The art-gallery, purchased at an extra cost of $20,000, -is such as no college in the country possesses. It consists of good -copies in oil, fine water-colors, including six real Turners, large -portfolios of original sketches, and a perfect library of works on art -and engravings,--in all, about a thousand volumes. Besides the five -hundred pictures, this gallery contains a few busts and casts; among -them, Palmer's Sappho in marble, an ancient wrought brazen shield, and -specimens of ancient stained glass. The chapel seats seven hundred -persons, and might hold a thousand. Over the altar is a beautiful copy -of the Dresden Madonna, by Miss Church, of New York. There is also a -fine organ. - -The music-rooms accommodate a "conservatory" on the Charles Auchester -plan, as well as separate pupils. Thirty-two pianos are in use. - -The building on the outside is laid with brick in black cement, and has -dark stone trimmings, which prevent its glaring on the eye like a new -brick building. To the right is the riding-school, one hundred feet by -sixty, where thirty horses are kept; and, in the same building, a -gymnastic hall, thirty feet by seventy. - -The observatory, eighty feet long and fifty high, rests on the rock, as -well as the great pier. It contains a telescope made by Fitz, whose -focal length is seventeen feet, and its object-glass is twelve and a -half inches. There is also a smaller instrument, for the constant use of -pupils, and, on the roof, a good comet-seeker. There is a beautiful -transit circle, made by James, of Philadelphia, which Miss Mitchell -considers invaluable of its kind; and a very perfect sidereal clock and -chronograph, from the Bonds of Boston. - -Between the observatory and the riding-school, four hundred feet from -the main building, is the gas and boiler building, from which the -college is lighted and warmed. Beside these, twenty miles of water-pipe -travel up and down the corridors to supply culinary and domestic needs. -Let us follow them into the kitchen, and we shall find there every -possible convenience of a good hotel, to the steam-filled table on which -the food is carved. - -And now, the building once ready for its inmates, was Mr. Vassar -rewarded for the sacrifice he had made? for all the time and thought -bestowed on the outfit? No one had supposed that the school would be -full when it opened in September, 1865; but there were 353 pupils on -hand the first day, and the work of organizing was no trifle. When I -looked at the teachers and principals in this institution, many of whom -I had known before visiting it, it seemed to me that each one had been -providentially fitting for the very work Mr. Vassar now offered. Of the -thirty persons employed, I saw no one that I should have desired to -change. Maria Mitchell, Hannah Lyman, and the admirable resident -physician, Alida Avery, are now too well known to need any praise of -mine. These persons are all of the faculty; and their names indicate how -liberal all the decisions of the faculty must be. I visited the -institution at the beginning of the second year, in October, 1866. It -had already outrun its bounds. There was talk of still another -dormitory. Four hundred pupils, well born, well bred, in good health, -with more than ordinary education (for the tests are severe), and with -ample means, had come to meet those teachers. They had come, between the -ages of seventeen and twenty-two, at the very time when society holds -out every attraction. Vassar is no charity school. Its necessary fees -amount to four hundred dollars; and a girl should have six hundred to -feel happy and at ease. It paid every bill the first year, but had -nothing left for repairs and additions. To create a fund for this -purpose, the fees have been increased to the above-named sum. When the -first rush of pupils occurred, Mr. Vassar was almost dismayed. "God -sometimes gives great thoughts to very little men," he said, and -trembled; but, when the year came to a close, he lifted his hands in -serene gratitude. I arrived at night; and the procession filing past me -to enter the handsome dining-hall, supported by light pillars, about -which were circular stands for the urns, occupied seven minutes. When I -saw more than four hundred young women seated in groups of twenty, saw -them bow their handsome heads in silent grace,--a suggestion which came, -I think, from Miss Mitchell's Quaker father,--I felt excited with -happiness. After tea, I walked round and through the groups of tables; -and the bright faces smiled back at me either consciousness or question. -When they left the dining-hall, they went to the chapel, where Miss -Lyman offers an evening prayer, and, no gentlemen being present, talks -to the ladies in reference to all matters of decorum; a practice I hope -to see followed at Antioch. After breakfast the next morning, I went to -President Raymond's short matin service, and then walked over to the -observatory. There I saw the graceful figures of the girls bending to -the instrument, as they recorded the spots on the sun. I saw the daily -diagrams in which they had recorded the position of these spots for the -last year, and other diagrams of lunar eclipses. "Women make better -observers than men," said old Mr. Mitchell. "They have more patience, -more accuracy. I had been observing thirty years, when Maria took it up, -and I thought, mebbe, 'twas only Maria; but it is just the same with -these girls. They do better than I did." I don't wonder Miss Mitchell is -proud of her seventeen mathematical astronomers. She is a tender -daughter, as well as a capable "observer;" and she would not come to -Vassar without her father. All the girls come to the white-haired old -man with their joys and troubles; and I saw a letter from an old pupil -to Miss Mitchell when I was there, which contained this audacious -sentence, left to tell its own story: "Was it not good of God to put it -into Mr. Vassar's heart to spend his whole fortune in making your -father's last years perfectly happy?" In the art gallery I found, one -morning, twenty-five pupils copying; and, in the musical conservatory, -one hundred and seventy-five. The gymnasium was not quite ready for use; -so I went down to see the girls rowing on the pretty lake. After school -hours, the floral clubs were busy in the grounds. I cannot say any thing -better of Professor Tenney's pupils, than that they work over their -specimens as enthusiastically as boys. In chemical analysis, under -Professor Farrar, the girls are greatly interested. The curriculum is -such as we find adopted at all colleges, except that far more time is -devoted to science than is usual at Yale or Harvard, and room is left -for music. Riding, driving, rowing, &c., are extras, only allowed in the -time allotted to out-door exercise. The resident physician, Dr. Avery, -in whom the college is conscious that it possesses a great treasure, -gives a regular course of physiological lectures. - -Matthew Vassar was seventy-six years old on the 29th of April, and that -day is a perpetual festival for the pupils. Could you see him meet the -scholars in the grounds, you would think them all his children. I had -interviews with the president, trustees, and the teachers; but was most -attracted toward this noble old man. He told me that he meant to go on -endowing the college until he died. "Then," he said, "I shall leave -nothing for executors to quarrel about: money will be safe in brick and -stone." He asked me to talk with him about a culinary and household -college for the proper training of housewives, which he still wishes to -erect. His last gift to the college was its magnificent cabinet of -stones and fossils; one of the best, Professor Dana thinks, that he ever -saw. Beside the beautiful specimens shown under glass, there are, in -drawers beneath the glass cases, similar specimens which may be handled. - -In furnishing Vassar College, no one has had to think what any thing -would cost. When shall we have an institution for wealthy persons, of -both sexes, with an outfit as splendid? It is a sight which Oberlin has -earned the right to see. - - -LAWRENCE UNIVERSITY, KANSAS. - -But a still more interesting story is that connected with the -establishment of the State University in Kansas. Its name will be seen -on the list of colleges which owe their existence to Oberlin. This -university is one of those whose _character_ was determined by the -excitement the success of Oberlin had aroused; but its _existence_ was -due to two ladies from Western New York. It will have been seen, by some -details in the body of this work, that an attempt was made to secure for -woman a share in the noble State endowment at "Ann Arbor," Michigan, but -without success. I will tell a part of the story in the language of Miss -Mary Chapin, then of Milwaukie, the lady who, with the assistance of her -sister, carried the work out in Kansas. - -"Some years ago," she says, "the Legislature of Michigan decided that -girls might be admitted as pupils to the State University. The faculty -of that institution consulted the 'wise men of the East' on the subject, -and excluded women on the ground of expediency. If it were necessary to -make it a mixed school, in order to admit them, perhaps they acted -wisely. It is no more just and wise to give the charge of endowed -schools for girls to men, than it would be to put Harvard and Yale into -the hands of women. Girls need incentives to study, even more than -facilities for it. The fact, that the real education of the boy begins -where that of the woman ends, is not so depressing as the 'hard work and -low wages' which await her as a teacher. In 1863, Kansas accepted the -grant of land from Congress for the endowment of a State University. The -citizens of Lawrence secured its location in that city, by the gift of -forty acres for a site. The college was not organized; and it seemed the -time and place to decide whether women should enter endowed schools on -equal terms with men, as pupils and teachers. Many of the most -influential men of Kansas thought it both just and expedient to give -women an equal share of the benefits of the university, and voted for -such a result. To obviate the objection which closed the Michigan -University to women, a bill was drawn up, organizing a double school; -that for girls to be taught by women. Some objection was made to this -unusual provision, and the time was too short to urge its necessity: so -the bill merely reads, that it _may_ be taught by women. The date of -this law is February, 1864. A school-building was finished last summer -(1866), and the college opened in September. The regents elected a -president and three professors at the outset, one of the latter being a -lady. There is some danger that the two schools will become one, by an -act of the Legislature. If this occurs, nothing important is gained; -but, if the present organization continues, woman may here show what a -true feminine culture implies: for, while woman differs widely from man, -like him she needs _development through her own work_." - -I have altered none of the statements in this admirable letter. It will -be seen that Miss Chapin went to Kansas, desiring to accomplish two -things: she not only wanted education, but position and _compensation_, -for women, from the State fund. I want these also; but I only ask for -the first, for I am certain the rest will follow. Neither do I think it -wise to insist that women shall be taught only by women, until -universities have done the necessary work of preparation. In all the -colleges mentioned on the Oberlin list, women are employed as teachers: -there are already a good number of professors of Greek and mathematics. -Nor is the welfare of _women_ alone a sufficient motive for me. I am -satisfied, that humanity and civilization gain, in the mixed college, -more than either sex can lose. It remains for me to give a few of the -personal details which Miss Chapin's modesty has omitted. When she first -thought it her duty to press this matter, she knew that she must be in -Lawrence, in order to do the "talking" which must precede an act of -legislation in America. She corresponded with Governor Robinson, in -reference to a day-school in Lawrence, and started with her sister to -take charge of it. On their way, they were startled by the terrible -news of the Kansas raid. They hesitated for a little; but, thank God, in -spite of raids, the work of the world goes on. Miss Mary went on herself -in September, and, after a week's residence, decided to defer the -opening of her school. In December, both sisters went, and began their -daily teaching, and the gentle agitation which was to yield the great -result. They also tried, at the East, to raise money to realize at once, -on a small scale, their ideal of a practical course of study for women, -especially of a scientific school. "Science," says Miss Chapin, "has not -yet been applied to the arts of domestic life. The ordering of home, as -a centre of comfort and culture, has yet to be considered. Architecture -has much to do with civilization. The laws of health and the means of -social progress lie entirely in woman's province. Horticulture will do -more for her than calisthenics. She is ready to do useful work, but has -no means. A very wasteful economy denies her this, to lavish thousands -on her folly and ostentation." - -I cannot detail all the obstacles which Miss Chapin's effort -encountered. Mr. Charles Chadwick, of Lawrence, drew up the bill; -General Dietzler and Governor Robinson pushed it. At the last moment, -the original bill was carried off in the pocket of an opposing member; -but the wit and quick memory of a woman saved it. - -It has been mentioned, that, after its passage, a lady was elected -professor, with a salary of $1,600, and the same for her assistant. It -is almost needless to say, this was Miss Caroline Chapin. She has not -yet accepted the position. The two sisters are at the head of a high -school in Quincy, Ill., which has this peculiarity: there is attached to -it a school in modelling, under the charge of a professed sculptor. - -In the first part of this volume, I have intimated that a new effort has -been made, sustained by the pleading of Theodore Tilton, to open -Michigan University to female students. At the moment when these pages -go to press, it seems uncertain whether this resolution will prevail -with the present Legislature, or whether a motion for a university for -women, under the same regents, will supersede it. The Greek professor -has practically solved the difficulty, by admitting his own daughter to -his classes, without asking the faculty. This example was set him, years -ago, by Mr. Magill, in the Boston Latin School. - -As these pages go to press, an anonymous statement appears, to the -effect that there have passed examinations for the University of -Cambridge, England,--Junior boys, 1,126; Junior girls, 118; Senior boys, -212; Senior girls, 84. It would seem that the conditions of the opening -of this university are hardly understood. If I am right, these -examinations confer a certain rank on the female scholars, but do not -admit them afterward to the university. - - -SCHOOL FOR NURSES. - -The most interesting educational movement, at this moment, in that -country, is Miss Nightingale's "Training-school for Nurses," which has -been in operation for three years in Liverpool. It was founded, after a -correspondence with her, in strict conformity to her counsel. As a -training-school, it may be said to be self-supporting; but it is also a -beneficent institution, and, in that regard, is sustained by donations. -A most admirable system of district nursing is provided, under its -auspices, for the whole city of Liverpool, all of whose suffering sick -become, in this way, the recipients of intelligent care, and of valuable -instruction in cooking and all sanitary matters. It is too tempting an -experiment to dwell upon, unless we could follow it into its details. -Its report occupies a hundred and one pages. - -It seems worth while to look into this report, and examine in detail its -method of dealing with sickness among the poor. When Miss Nightingale -drew especial attention to the want of such schools in England in 1861, -some ladies and gentlemen in Liverpool came together, and entered into -correspondence with her. Out of that correspondence grew the Liverpool -school. The Liverpool Infirmary, the most considerable hospital in that -city, entered into the plan, and offered its wards for the instruction -of the nurses. The society proposed to itself three objects:-- - -1. To provide thoroughly trained nurses for hospitals. - -2. To provide district or missionary nurses for the poor. - -3. To provide trained nurses for private families. - -Nowhere are hospital and private nurses so badly trained as in England; -and Miss Nightingale well says that half the symptoms which are -considered symptoms of disease are, in reality, indications of a want of -air, light, warmth, quiet, or cleanliness, which properly instructed -nurses would know how to supply. A want of punctuality in administering -food, and of watchful care in detecting its effects upon the patient, -create other classes of symptoms. The beer-drinking habits of the people -lead to much intoxication; and we ourselves have seen ladies of quality -lying on a sick-bed, where they suffered for the attention which a -thoroughly stupefied nurse was incapable of giving. No amount of wealth, -as Miss Nightingale testifies, can secure such nurses as wealthy -patients often need, and for which a thorough hospital-training is -required. The society strengthens her appeal by extracts from Dr. -Howson's paper, read at the meeting of the Social Science Association in -1858. - -The Liverpool school has erected a building, to carry out its purpose, -eighty-five feet by forty. It has three stories, each of them eleven -feet high; and, by a single glance at the plans which accompany the -pamphlet, one sees that the arrangements for bathing and ventilation are -what those of our new city hospital ought to be. One lady -superintendent, with three servants, has charge of this building. It has -thirty-one nurses under training. By the wages which they earn in the -second and third years, the expenses of this Home are nearly paid, -leaving a margin of about three hundred pounds to be supplied by -donations. It is expected to be a self-supporting institution, except so -far as it becomes a benevolent charity, by supplying to the poor, food -and nursing. When the institution was ready to begin its work, the lady -superintendent having been some months in training at St. John's College -and the London Hospital, where the nurses educated by the Nightingale -Fund are to be found, took possession of her building. Her head-nurses -had been thoroughly educated. Pupils then offered: they were engaged for -three years, the first year to be strictly probationary. Each head-nurse -was to take charge of an entire ward of the hospital, to be responsible -for the medicines and stimulants, always assisted by one pupil. Each -pupil went first for two months to a surgical ward; then for two to the -medical; then four at the surgical, and four again at the medical,--one -course helping the other, and both filling the entire year under a -thoroughly trained head. For the next two years, the pupil is employed -without such superintendence wherever need is; and, for each of the -three years, receives, in addition to board and lodgings, seventy -dollars. At the Home there is a good library, and evening classes are -held for the disengaged pupils. A superannuation fund has been started, -to encourage respectable women to enter the Home. At the end of the -third year, the Home has twenty-eight pupils under training, fourteen -hospital nurses, fourteen district or gratuitous nurses, and ten -employed in private families. - -This gives an idea of the training process; but our chief interest lies -in the district nursing. As soon as the Home had nurses it felt willing -to trust, one of the experiments recommended by Miss Nightingale was -tried. The wife of a Scripture-reader undertook to prepare sago, -necessaries, &c.; the clergyman of the parish furnished a list of -patients, and a central lodging for the nurse. The Home sent her out, -supplied with cushions, blankets, and bed-rests. She went into the -families, showed them what to do, and helped with her own hands. At the -end of the first week, she came back, crying and begging to be relieved; -she thought she never could bear the sight of the misery she -encountered. But, in a short time, she was so strengthened by seeing the -results of her labor, that she positively refused to take employment -among the rich. It is easy to see what great advantages wait on this -form of charity. As instruction is precisely what she comes to give, the -poor cannot resent this from the nurse; she fears no imposition, for she -is in the house at all hours of the day and night; her little gifts do -not wound, but cheer like neighborly kindnesses. It is Miss -Nightingale's idea, that such nursing is a far greater good than the -establishment of hospitals. In six months, this nurse found two cases -where the prolonged sickness of the wife had made drunkards of two -otherwise steady husbands, and brought their families to the brink of -ruin. The wives were cured, the husbands reformed, the families saved. A -leaf from her report of cases will show what she did. - - 1. _Asthma and bed-sores._--Lying on a floor; so thin, had to lift - her on a sheet. Dirt, bad air: two children. Husband said he "was - forsaken by God and man." Our nurse goes in, washes her, changes - linen; lends bedstead and bedding, and air-cushions; cleans and - whitewashes. The woman now sits up, and the man is again hopeful. - - 2. _Internal cancer._--Nurse attended to the surgical operation, - and administration of subsequent remedies. The woman is now at - work. - - 3. _Paralysis._--Nurse attended; gave instruction and food. - Recovery complete. - - 4. A girl--as the doctor said--in a consumption. Hospital refused - her as incurable. Beef-tea, wine, sago, and cod-liver oil supplied; - and, in one month, she could walk to the nurse's lodging. - -Out of all this success, the perfect plan developed. It had been proved, -that the poor were willing to be taught _how_ to nurse, and to keep -their houses clean; that intense distress might be mitigated, and coming -poverty arrested. It was also proved, that the nurse so employed could -notify the health commissioners of incipient epidemics, and obtain for -ignorant tenants, in return, necessary whitewashing, drainage, &c. - -The city of Liverpool was now divided into eighteen districts, each of -which, for practical convenience, was made to correspond to two church -cures. The Home undertook to furnish a nurse to each district, provided -it would elect for itself a lady superintendent, and raise a -subscription for food, medicines, and necessaries. As soon as the -superintendent is found, meetings are held to interest the district; -each district having an average population of twenty-four thousand and -over. A central lodging is then to be supplied for the nurse, and the -district must furnish, for loan and use, the following articles:-- - - One iron bedstead, six pairs of sheets, six blankets, cushions, - bed-gowns, shirts, flannels, wine, meat, sago, bread, coals, - arrow-root, preserves, and vinegar. - -If any thing excites one's envy in the current expenses, it is the -amount of coals required. To think of warming forty people for one year -for twenty-six pounds! - -The superintendent is supplied with a map of the district, forms of -recommendation, rules for patients and nurses, and slates and pencils to -be hung at the head-board, to receive the directions of the doctor, and -the inquiries of the nurse. In seven of the districts, the lady -superintendents furnish the supplies at their own cost! How gladly ought -any wealthy woman to avail herself of so sure a method! A strong woman -is hired for scrubbing; and very often the first thing a nurse does is -to demand whitewashing and repairs of the Board of Health. In each -district, a person is provided to cook the necessary food; the nurse -giving notice, through the superintendent, of her wants. The nurse -herself confers with the doctors, waits on the surgeons, changes and -cleanses the patient, and administers poultices, blisters, leeches, -enemas, and the like. One Liverpool lady defrays the whole cost of -washing the loaned linen for the eighteen districts! A registry of it is -kept by the nurse. - -We need not be surprised to find that this admirable plan has such -marked success, that all the Liverpool charities are eager to play into -its hands. Each district superintendent is appointed locally; but the -Home has an out-door inspector, who looks after the district nurses. The -superintendents make quarterly reports to the Home, and hold meetings of -conference by themselves. - -There is, at the seaside town of Southport, a hospital, which furnishes -sea-bathing to invalids. - -The Committee of Central Relief for the city of Liverpool are so -delighted with this nursing charity, that they have already offered -butcher's meat, three weeks of seaside bathing at Southport, and coals -and money to any convalescing patient when deemed needful. The -workingmen's dining-rooms offer, on proper application, warm dinners to -convalescents; and the Home, through its inspector, superintendents, and -nurses, makes sure there is no waste nor misuse. - -The statistics for 1864 were as follows:-- - - Apparently cured 936 - Partially restored 456 - Relieved before death 488 - Still hopeful 180 - Hopeless 9 - Dismissed 289 - ----- - Total 2,358 - -Such a record as this makes one wish to emigrate to the land where such -things are done. The rapid increase of the charity may be judged from -the fact, that, in the previous year, only one thousand seven hundred -and seventy-six patients were _treated_, and only six hundred and -seventy-two were _cured_. This report comes to us with a letter and -notes from Miss Nightingale. It is prepared with the most beautiful -modesty. The names of the paid officers are given; but we cannot tell -from its pages whose were the kind hearts and clear heads which first -responded to Miss Nightingale's call. Nowhere has benevolent action -accomplished so much as in Great Britain. Such a work as this may well -challenge the gratitude and admiration of the world. - -The "Arnott Scholarship" of Queen's College, London,--founded by Mrs. -Arnott in 1865, for the promotion of the study of natural philosophy, -and the highest scholarship open to women in England--has just been -gained by Miss Matilda Ballard, a young lady of seventeen, daughter of -Dr. W.R. Ballard, a native of New York, and, for some years, the leading -American dentist in London. The prize, the money value of which is not -far from two hundred dollars, consists of one year's free instruction -and perpetual free admission to certain lectures, always interesting and -instructive. - -The ladies' classes at Oxford have proved a great success, and the -committee have just issued a programme for the present term. The course -of instruction includes Latin, French, Arithmetic, Euclid, German, &c. -The Rev. W.C. Sedgwick, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Merton College, has -undertaken to deliver a course of lectures on the Italian Republics of -the Middle Ages. - -On the 26th of October, 1864, a Working-women's College was opened in -London, with an address from Miss F.R. Malleson. It is governed by a -council of teachers. In addition to the ordinary branches, it offers -instruction in botany, physiology, and drawing. Its fee is four -shillings a year; and the Coffee and Reading Room, about which its -social life centres, is open every evening from seven to eleven. - -In France, the Imperial Geographical Society, which is, in a certain -sense, a college, has lately admitted to membership Madame Dora d'Istra -as the successor to Madame Pfeiffer. Madame d'Istra had distinguished -herself by researches in the Morea. - -In Calcutta, Miss Mary Carpenter has been starting schools for Hindoo -women, free from all religious character or sectarian denomination. - - -DEACONESSES' INSTITUTIONS. - -This seems the proper place also to insert some details about schools -like those at Kaiserworth, which I could not procure in an authentic -form in 1858. The Kaiserworth school opened under Dr. Fliedner, in 1822, -with "one table, two beds, a chair, and one discharged prisoner"! In -1852, the King of Prussia laid the foundation of a home for the aged -deaconesses who have served as teachers and nurses. - -The school at Strasburg, under Pastor Härber, began, in 1842, with one -sister from a higher rank of life. It undertakes to train servants, and -is chiefly under women's control. Assistance is also given to clergymen -in seeking out cases of temporal and spiritual distress, in detecting -imposture, in attending the sick in their own houses, in teaching the -poor how to nurse and how to cook, in promoting the attendance of -children at school, in co-operating with charitable institutions to -superintend sewing and mending schools, in influencing, for good, -factory girls and servants; and, in the hospital at Mühausen, the women -taught here make up bandages and prescriptions, cook for the poor and -sick, receive the patients, and do out-door visiting. At Basle, there is -a Deaconess House, under the charge of a daughter of a Basle -manufacturer. It looks after the laboring classes, and provides for the -sick. - -The house opened at St. Loup, under Pastor Germond, in 1842, takes -charge of sick children. At Geneva, a deaconess has had charge for six -years; through whom five hundred servants get their places, and with -whom they find homes when out of health or work. In 1859, twenty-one -were nursed in the institution. - -A house in the Faubourg St. Antoine, Paris, was proposed by M. Vermeil, -in 1830. In 1840, Mademoiselle Malvesin offered to conduct it; her -letter to Vermeil, and his to her, crossing each other. Holland and -Sweden have opened several of these schools. In our own country, the -Rev. Mr. Passevant, a Lutheran minister of Pittsburg, Pa., is -establishing hospitals in every State, under the care of women. They are -supported by contributions in all the city churches, except the -Catholic. These hospitals are under the care of a sisterhood, who -cannot, _as yet_, compete with the Sisters of Charity. It seems to me, -that Mr. Passevant has erred in a most noble work, by drawing his -sisters from the _uncultivated_ classes. Such a work should bear the -right stamp in the beginning. In Western Pennsylvania, also, Bishop -Kerfoot has begun the noble work of endowing his whole diocese with -suitable high schools for girls, where they may obtain at home, for one -hundred dollars annually, what it would cost five times as much to -procure at a distance. - - -MEDICAL EDUCATION. - -As regards medical education, we know of two colleges, or, rather, of -one college and one hospital, in Boston, where education is given. There -is one in Springfield, and one in Philadelphia. We should be glad to get -more statistics of this kind; for Cleveland, where Dr. Zakrzewska took -her degree, is no longer open to female students, and Geneva is -contenting herself with the honor of having graduated Dr. Blackwell. -Nine women were graduated at the New-York Medical School for Women, in -February of this year. Professor Willis then stated that there are three -hundred female physicians in the country, earning incomes of from ten to -twenty thousand dollars. - -There is a female medical society in London. This society wishes to open -the way for thorough medical instruction, which will entitle its -graduates to a degree from Apothecaries' Hall; and it offered lectures -from competent persons, in 1864, upon obstetrics and general medical -science. Madame Aillot's Hospital of the Maternity, in Paris, still -offers its great advantages to women; of which two of our countrywomen, -Miss Helen Morton and Miss Lucy E. Sewall, have taken creditable -advantage. They are both of them Massachusetts girls. Miss Morton is -retained in Paris, and Miss Sewall is the resident physician of the -Hospital for Women and Children, in Boston. - -At present, to obtain thorough instruction in any branch, women are -obliged to pay exorbitant prices, and receive, as the results of their -training, but half-wages. In Boston, Dr. Zakrzewska has again -unsuccessfully asked permission to become a member of the Massachusetts -Medical Society. Many physicians, however, extend the fellowship which -the institution denies, and the "Medical Journal" expresses itself -courteously on this point. Efforts, sustained by the influential name of -the Hon. Charles G. Loring, are at this moment making to secure the -advantages of the Harvard-College lectures to women intending to become -physicians.[48] - -In 1863, there existed in St. Petersburg a stringent regulation, which -prohibited women from following the university courses. A Miss K., who -had a decided taste for medicine, without the means to pay for -instruction, applied for such instruction to the authorities of -Orenburg. Orenburg is partly in Europe and partly in Asia, and its -territory includes the Cossack races of the Ural. These people have a -superstitious prejudice against male physicians, and are chiefly -attended in illness by sorceresses. Miss K. offered to put her medical -knowledge at the service of the Cossacks, and received permission to -attend the Academy of Medicine. The Cossacks promised her an annual -stipend of twenty-eight roubles; but, when she passed the half-yearly -examination as well as the male students, they sent her three hundred -roubles as a token of good-will! - -In France, a Mademoiselle Reugger, from Algeria, lately passed a -brilliant examination, and received the degree of Bachelor of Letters. -She appealed to the Dean of the Faculty at Montpellier for permission to -follow the regular course, and was refused on account of her sex. She -then turned to the Minister of Public Instruction, who granted it, on -condition that she should pledge herself to practise only in Algeria, -where the Arabs, like the Cossacks, refuse the attendance of male -physicians. Unlike our Russian friend, she refused to give the pledge. -She threw herself upon her rights, and appealed in person to the -emperor. This was in December last, and I have not been able to find his -decision. It was doubtless given in her behalf; for Louis Napoleon will -always yield, as a favor, what he would stubbornly refuse as a right. - -A female medical mission is to be despatched to Delhi, for the same -reason. The physicians sent out are,-- - -1. To attend native ladies in the Zenanas. - -2. To set on foot a dispensary for women only. - -3. To train native women as nurses. - -Of the medical profession, it should be stated, for the encouragement of -women, that there are over three hundred graduates from the several -medical colleges for women; and that there is scarcely a village -throughout the country but has its woman physician, of greater or less -skill. In New-York City, there are many successful physicians beside the -Drs. Blackwell. Dr. Lozier has a practice of $15,000, and owns two fine -houses, earned by her own perseverance. In Orange, N.J., Dr. Fowler is -very popular, and has a paying practice of $5,000 a year. In -Philadelphia is Dr. Hannah Longshore, with a practice worth $10,000 per -annum; then there are Drs. Preston, Tressel, Sartain, Cleveland, and -Myres, with incomes ranging from $5,000 to $2,000. In Utica, N.Y., Dr. -Pamela Bronson is a successful physician. In Albion is Dr. Vail; in -Weedsport, Dr. Harriet E. Seeley. In Rochester, Dr. Sarah Dolley numbers -among her patrons many persons of wealth and fashion, who, but a few -years ago, ridiculed the idea of a "female physician." Mrs. Dolley's -practice brings her fully $3,000 a year. - -Dr. Gleason of Elmira, Dr. Ivison of Ithaca, and Dr. Green, late of -Clifton Springs, who has opened a water-cure somewhere in Western New -York, all have a large amount of practice, and prescribe with the -greatest acceptance for those who favor hydropathic treatment. - -At Milwaukee, in the autumn of 1866, I found Dr. Ross. She is one of the -consulting physicians of the Passevant Hospital and of the Orphans' -Home. She has practised with steadily increasing reputation for ten -years. She understands what is due to her position, and has had a hard -struggle with the empirical women of the medical profession that crowd -the great thoroughfares of the West. But she would neither lower her -fees nor abate her requirements to compete with this class. She came of -the best surgical blood. Her grandmother was Mercy Warren, married to -Darling Huntress, of Newbury, and first cousin to General Warren, of -Bunker's Hill. Our famous Boston surgeons of the same family might be -proud of her reputation. She has established her practice and her -character, and would agree with all that I have stated in the body of -this book in regard to the great need of medical societies to guard the -position of well-educated physicians, which is now at the mercy of a -worthless college diploma. Dr. Ross goes to the Paris Exposition of this -year (1867), as an agent for the State of Wisconsin. She deserves the -honor; and the State has done itself credit by the choice. The -professional position of the physicians at the New-England Hospital for -Women and Children in Boston, is also a matter for general -congratulation. - -The English Female Medical Society reports (June, 1866) twenty students -and good results. - -The physicians of this country have been occupied this winter in -discussing the discovery, by one of their number, of the active -infectant in fever and ague. It has been found in the dust-like spores -of a marsh plant, the Pamella. In Paris, at the same time, a woman of -rank claims to have discovered the cause of cholera, in a microscopic -insect, developed in low and filthy localities. Her details were so -minute, that the Academy of Science, which began by laughing at the -introduction of the matter, has been compelled to listen; and the -subject is now under investigation. - - -THE PULPIT. - -A very interesting account has lately been published of Amélie von -Braum, an educated Swedish lady, the daughter of an army officer. She -began to preach in 1843, at Carlshamm, where she lived, in the lowest -dens of vice and misery. She carried with her a clean cloth and lighted -candles, which give a festive impulse to the Swedish mind; and her -serious words produced an extraordinary effect. In 1856 she removed to -Stockholm, and was earnestly entreated to go to Dalecadin, and instruct -the people. From that time, she has acted as an itinerant evangelist, -preaching in summer in the open air. People listen to her for hours in -rapt attention. - -In Sweden, there is also Mamsell Berg,[49] a brave young woman, who -thought herself moved by the Holy Spirit to teach the young Laps. She -could not get away from the thought that she ought to do it. A -clergyman, to whom she spoke upon the matter, counselled her wisely: -"Endeavor to shake off the feeling; if you cannot, then accept it as a -vocation from God, and try it for six months." She said, "If I go, it -shall not be for six months, but for three years." She went; and the -three years became seven. She seems also to have been a noble and -beautiful creature. She gathered the children around her, under the most -difficult circumstances, expending her little property in putting up a -schoolhouse for them, and laying in sacks of potatoes, that she might -feed the half-famishing; learning herself the Laplandish language, -teaching them the Swedish, and discoursing to them about the love of -God. - -In spite of the bitter words of warning which John Ruskin has thought it -his duty to speak to such women as enter upon theological studies, a -good many women in Great Britain and this country have engaged in what -is properly the work of the Christian ministry. The only ordained -minister whose work has come under our notice since the marriage of -Antoinette Blackwell is the Rev. Olympia Brown, settled over the -Universalist Society at Weymouth Landing, Mass., and lately called to -Newburgh in New York. Her ministry has been highly successful, and is to -be mentioned here chiefly on account of a legal decision to which it has -given rise. The church at Weymouth Landing made an appeal to the -Legislature, last winter, as to the legality of marriages solemnized by -her. The Legislature gave the same general construction to the masculine -relatives in the enactment which the English law gave to the old Latin -word in the charter of Apothecaries' Hall; deciding that marriages so -solemnized are legal, and no further legislation necessary. - -Mention, too, should be made of Rev. Lydia A. Jenkins, who has been a -successful preacher among the Universalists for the last eight or ten -years, and is now settled at Binghamton, N.Y. - -Very recently, during the illness of her husband, the minister at -Bethesda Chapel, Newcastle, England, a Mrs. Booth occupied the pulpit, -to the great interest and profit of the congregation. Among the -Methodists and "Christians,"[50] as well as among the Quakers, women -have always been received as preachers. In October, 1866, I found a Mrs. -Timmins settled as the pastor of Ebenezer Church, three miles from -Yellow Springs, Ohio, where she had been for three years. Ann Rexford is -mentioned as an effective preacher among the Christians. Her preaching -attracted large crowds in the State of New Jersey, some thirty years -ago. - -But the most remarkable record, if we except those to be found among -the Quakers, of any single woman's work in the ministry, is that of -Abigail Hoag Roberts, who was the settled minister of a church built for -her at Milford, N.J., and who died in 1841, at the age of forty-nine. - -With her ministry is interlinked that of two other women,--that of Nancy -Gore Cram, of Weare, N.H., and a Mrs. Hedges. Mrs. Cram began life as a -Free-will Baptist, and undertook a mission to the Oneida Indians. The -spiritual destitution of Central New York in the year 1812 affected her -profoundly. Not a preacher of her own denomination in New Hampshire -could be induced to go there. Disappointed in them, she hurried to -Woodstock, Vt., and laid the case before a conference of "Christian" -elders and ministers, then in session. They understood her better. She -hurried back to the field she had left; and, when the ministers followed -her, they were astonished at her work. A church was built for her at -Ballston Spa. She is described as a delicate, blue-eyed woman, with dark -hair, dressing plainly in black silk, with her hair in a silk net; her -whole appearance and manner befitting her work. She died in 1816, -suddenly, in the fortieth year of her age. Mrs. Roberts was one of her -converts,--a woman who was a constant preacher, from June, 1814, to the -June of 1841, in which she died, and, for many years, a settled pastor -over the church at Milford, where a monument has been erected to her. -More than once she defended the unity of God in public discussion with -the clergy, whom she brought to ignominious defeat. She travelled -through the three States of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, -where her name is still a household word. More than once, she was -threatened by her own sex with "tar and feathers." She seems to have -been, like Ann Hutchinson, a witty woman. "If you feel called to -preach," said one minister to her, "why do you not go to the -heathen?"--"So far as I can judge," she answered, "I am in the midst of -them." She had a large family of children, and was distinguished for her -household skill. She was quite famed for delicate clear-starching, and, -on one occasion, wove with a hand-shuttle twenty-four yards of woollen -cloth between early morning and nine o'clock at night. Many people -sought her for information. Disliking one woman's vulgarity, she said to -her, "If you believe in the Holy Ghost, why not use the _language_ that -the Holy Ghost uses?" She was a great sufferer in her latter years, but -continued to preach at the Milford church, where she had four hundred -communicants, and a congregation, at times, of twelve hundred persons, -even after she was compelled to lean upon a staff. The Rev. Eli Fay -preached her funeral sermon, and bore testimony to her great ability. -The life from which I have drawn these particulars was written by her -son, and printed at Irvington, N.J. - -Her colleague, Mrs. Hedges, died before her; but a singular anecdote is -related of her. She was exercised with some doubts as to the separate -existence of the soul, and besought God in prayer to satisfy her mind. -It seemed to her, after retiring to rest, that her soul left her body, -passed through locked doors, and found several unusual adjustments of -furniture in the house, and at last returned to the pale form upon the -bed. She rose happy, but, on trying to prove her vision, found every -thing in its usual place. A thorough inquiry in the household, however, -showed that the changes she had observed had actually occurred in the -night, and continued for some time. Her experience was the not uncommon -one of the Seeress of Prevorst. - -It will be remembered, that, in the first edition of "Woman's Right to -Labor," I proposed a deaconess in every church; and I found, the other -day, a little record in reference to the old church at Amsterdam, in -Holland, which I copy here:-- - - "In the church at Amsterdam, there were about three hundred - communicants; and they had for pastors two admirable men, Smith and - Robertson, and four ruling elders, as well as one aged woman as - deaconess, who served them many years, though she was sixty years - old when she was chosen. She filled her office honorably, and was an - honor to the congregation. She sat commonly in a convenient place in - the church, with a little birchen rod in her hand, and held the - little children in much awe, so that they disturbed not the - assembly. She diligently visited the sick and the infirm, especially - women, and called on younger sisters, in case of need, to watch - over them at night, and to give other assistance that might be - required; and, if they were poor, she made collections for them, - among those who were in a condition to give, or informed the deacons - of the case. She was obeyed as a mother in Israel, and a true - handmaid of the Lord." - -With the exception of "keeping the little children in much awe," which -might or might not have been desirable, these are precisely the -functions which I desire to see formally renewed. The church at Blooming -Grove, Orange County, N.Y., has existed, for more than a hundred years, -without a creed, and is governed by seven deacons and seven -deacon_esses_. - -The following resolution was introduced by the Rev. S.J. May, at the -Unitarian Conference which met at Syracuse, N.Y., in the first week of -October 1866:-- - - "Whereas women were among the first, the most steadfast, and the - most fearless disciples of Jesus Christ; whereas women have been, - in all ages, the most ready to embrace the religion of the gospel, - and the most constant and devoted members of the Christian Church; - and whereas, in several denominations, women have been among the - most effective preachers of Christianity: therefore, _Resolved_, - That we, Liberal Christians, should do well to encourage those - women among us who are moved by the Holy Spirit to devote - themselves to the ministry, and should assist them to prepare - themselves in the same manner, and to the same extent, as we deem - necessary for young men." - -The convention, having just passed a resolution to admit female -delegates to the session of 1868, rather shrank from this second vote. -Yet of what use to receive delegates, unless they feel free to join in -discussion? and what woman, likely to be sent as a delegate by any -Unitarian church, will ever address the convention until it _more_ than -welcomes the above resolution? To the local conferences, women are -already being elected, and will do great good if they can get courage to -accept their membership practically, and to speak when they have any -thing to say. - -It would not be quite honest nor fair to those women who seek to enter -the pulpit, if I did not here record my own experience in connection -with it. - -I know very well where my natural sphere of work lay, and could I have -had a theological education in my youth, or had even the paths of the -ministry at large been open to women, I have every reason to believe -that I should be at this moment a settled minister. As it was, it never -entered my head that the thing was possible; and except that I taught -steadily in Sabbath schools, and visited as steadily among the city -poor, I never turned toward ministerial work. In the first year of my -marriage, now twenty-two years ago, my husband was settled in the city -of Baltimore, as minister at large to the degraded population, which has -a special character (or want of character) in a large city, in a -slaveholding State. I say _has_, for I cannot yet speak in the past -tense. He had daily schools of girls and women, and nightly schools of -boys and men. The latter were of all ages from six to forty, and had -been gathered together by a great personal effort. In this state of -things, my husband was taken ill. It fell to me, in the first place, not -only to nurse him, but to take charge of his night-school. The ladies -could do very well without me in the day-school; but there was no -clergyman, nor leading man of character and culture, who could be -depended upon to take the _general_ charge of the men and boys, among -whom were some desperate characters. I went first in a very stormy -night; and my Irish servant took her knitting, and sat upon the steps of -the platform while I addressed them. It happened that not a single -teacher braved the storm; and the school, when I called the roll, -responded to the number of eighty. I told them that I knew how dearly -they loved my husband, that he was very ill, and that the only way in -which they could help him was to behave so well that he need feel no -anxiety about his work. They responded at once to this appeal, and I -carried home the best possible account. As Sunday drew near,--this -night-school having been held on Monday,--my husband grew more ill and -more anxious. He thought of the large, mixed congregation, which met him -every week, and for which no provision had been made. We were on an -outpost of our faith; we could not have summoned assistance in season, -nor without an expense we could not well bear. I thought the matter -over; said to myself that it was only like a large Sunday school; that -the fashionable ladies, who often dropped in to hear the preaching, -would certainly stay away, knowing my husband to be ill: so I told him -quietly that I had made arrangements for the Sunday service. He was too -weak to make inquiries, but was comforted at once. He was sick several -weeks,--long enough for me to relinquish reading, and take to -exhortation in pure despair; but he did not find a small congregation -when he resumed his place, and that was my reward. Perhaps no such step -was ever taken more simply, or with less idea of its natural -consequences. When I came back to Boston, radical country ministers took -pains to ask me to their pulpits. I shall not soon forget the first time -I preached to a large Unitarian audience, with a good mixture of city -people. It was at South Hingham; the church was crowded; the country -covered with a crystalline mantle of snow, over which a clear moon -glimmered. The beauty of that night is a permanent possession. So it -went on, till I became, I believe in the winter of 1859 and 1860, the -superintendent of the Sunday school at Indiana-place Chapel, in Boston, -where I remained for five years. This broke up my preaching, for I could -not leave town on Sundays; but it led to my addressing various -Sunday-school gatherings, and my being asked to address Sunday schools -when away from home in the summer. My addressing a Sunday school in -Greenfield in the summer of 1865, while the pastor of the church was -absent with his regiment, led, by his kind sympathy, to my preaching in -the summer of 1866 in the regular Unitarian churches at Rowe and -Warwick, as well as doing irregular service in many other places. The -church at Florence had always shown me a generous appreciation; and I -was often asked to preach for Theodore Parker's people at the Music Hall -and the Melodeon. I always declined to speak for this last society, not -because I do not sympathize with their purposes in the main, but because -I would not consent to be advertised for a religious and especially a -devotional service in the city which I make my home. There may be women -who, in the present state of things, can do this innocently and -properly; but _I_ cannot go into the pulpit myself, except in the -regular sequence of my work, and at the call of duty. The gaping crowd -of curious people who would come to look at a woman in the pulpit, would -disturb the sphere in which it is alone possible for me to work. It was -the custom of the Music-Hall society to advertise for every Sunday, and -they declined to relinquish this advertisement on my account. The -delivering a course of lectures in Hollis-street Vestry in connection -with the Suffolk Sunday-school Union, in April, 1866, showed me that -there was a work of criticism to be done,--and necessary to be -done,--which I could do: so in going West to examine the condition of -certain colleges, in October, 1866, I gave it to be understood, that, if -I were in any Western city over Sunday, I should prefer to preach for -the Unitarian minister--giving him a "labor of love"--to addressing an -audience at an evening lecture. This interfered with my pecuniary -advantage; but I believed it was in my power to enter some pulpits that -would not be offered to all women, and I desired to do what I could to -create a demand for the preaching of women. In this way, I preached for -Robert Collyer in Chicago, for Carlton Staples in Milwaukee, for Mr. -Hunting in Quincy, and in the chapels of Oberlin and Antioch Colleges. I -took the whole service, accepting no assistance in the reading or the -prayer; for it is not well that a woman who fills the pulpit should seem -to shrink from any service there, and sensitive women will always find -their self-possession impaired by any second influence. I received the -kindest sympathy and appreciation from the churches I have mentioned; -and, in every instance but one, I received the usual fee for my service, -voluntarily tendered. I think at least twenty other churches would have -been open to me, could I have gone to them. - -I do not offer this explanation of the manner in which I have been led -into the pulpit, stupidly, in ignorance of the charge of egotism and -folly that may be made against me by those who read it. I have borne -harder things than that charge, for the truth's sake; and I hope that -the real motive of this statement will be transparent to honest and -gentle hearts. - -I long to see women preparing for this work, for there are very few men -in the field; and, if there were more than enough, the pulpit is still -an eminently fit place for a woman. The encouragement I have received, -will show young women what is open to them. With a few words of counsel -to those who may desire to speak in churches, I leave the subject. The -dress of a woman in the pulpit should be such as will attract absolutely -no attention; yet it should be thoroughly graceful and lady-like. A -black silk well made, with collar and cuffs of fine linen, is the best, -with no ornament whatever save the needful brooch. Peculiarity should be -avoided. When we are trying to win souls for heaven, we must not lose -them, because of a "dress reform," which may wait patiently, until more -important things are achieved. - -Again, if the woman who enters the pulpit is a temperance, an -antislavery, or a woman's-rights lecturer, it will be better for her to -give lectures on these subjects in the week. In the pulpit, she should -subordinate these subjects to theological reform, moral appeal, and that -attempt to stimulate religious interest and faith in which most men -fail. Nor would I have her, whatever her station in society, refuse the -fee, small or large, which shall be tendered her. If she has no need of -it, her "poor" will have; and it is important to let the ministry of -women fall into the same social and congregational relations as that of -men. - -There has been a great change in public feeling since the day, not -twelve years since, when I heard Dr. Parkman refuse Lucretia Mott -permission to speak in the old Federal-street Church. - -Among historical instances of the theological influence of woman, that -of the Countess Matilda stands pre-eminent; but a book by Capefigue, -recently published at Paris, shows, that Madame de Krudener was the -first to conceive the idea of the Holy Alliance, and her influence over -the Emperor Alexander was sufficient to induce him to propose what his -allies had no power to decline. Her purpose was finally accomplished, -by her engaging the emperor in prayer. She was finally exiled, and died, -I believe, in the Crimea. It was pretended that her preaching was -dangerous; but, as she spoke only in French, that could hardly be true. - - -ART SCHOOLS. - -An art school, which started some years ago in Boston, in private hands, -finally surrendered its casts, lithographs, and so forth, to the -teachers of the Free Art School of the Lowell Institute. The female -classes of this school are always crowded, and are doing a great deal of -good. Artists are accustomed to say very disparaging things of the -school at the Cooper Institute; but I visited it in December, 1866, and -found a very great improvement within a few years. Under Dr. Rimmer, a -most admirable lecturer on anatomy, there has been an infusion of new -life. The drawings from casts looked better than I have ever seen them. -They have a good master in color, and the drawing and engraving on wood -by the pupils find a ready market. Two of them, Miss Roundtree and Miss -Curtis, are said to have a high reputation. I was delighted to find a -large class coloring photographs; for heretofore it has been almost -impossible for women to receive decent instruction in this art. The -classes are all full; and three times the number of pupils might be -received, if there were more light in the large rooms. It is to be hoped -Mr. Cooper may some time divide them, and put in gas. - -I have taken advantage of the residence in this country of a well-known -member of the Royal Academy, Mrs. Elizabeth Murray, to ascertain what -circumstances led to the formation of the Society of Female Artists, in -London. To Mrs. Grote, the wife of the historian, and Mrs. Murray -herself, this society owed its existence, somewhere in the winter of -1854 and 1855. There is no objection to it, so far as I know, except one -apparent on its catalogues, the present preponderance of distinguished -amateur artists on the Board of Direction. I insert here Mrs. Murray's -letter in reply to my inquiries. The best artists, such as Rosa Bonheur -and Mrs. Murray herself, exhibit with this society. - - MY DEAR MRS. DALL,--On my return to England, after an absence of - many years, I found that women labored under very disheartening - conditions; their professional occupations consisting chiefly of - teaching, music and singing, literature and the fine arts. In the - latter department, they came more under my own personal - observation; and I found, that, although they were countenanced by - men individually, collectively they were persecuted by men, seldom - being permitted membership with any public body, or, when admitted, - were not allowed the full privileges accorded to men. - - For instance: At the Royal Academy of London, women are not - admitted at all to membership. On the walls of that exhibition may - be seen the works of women, which rank among the best; but here - their privilege ends. They assist in bringing their quota of the - entrance fees, the main source of income of the academy, while they - are debarred from all privileges and emoluments. - - The two water-color societies profess to admit women as members, - which they do to a very limited extent; but even here they are - subject to the same restrictions. Under these circumstances, the - project occurred to me of founding a separate and independent - society, which should include only the works of female artists, in - order to give to those excluded from other societies, opportunities - of asserting their own powers. - - The first step was to get up an exhibition to excite public sympathy - in favor of the scheme. This was a most difficult undertaking, as - opposition was met with, not only from men, but from the very women - whose interests were at stake; those who were strong in the - profession fearing to lose caste, and the weaker ones being afraid - to act independently. - - After much perseverance and explanation, several large-minded - persons of the more moneyed and influential ranks in society came - forward, and assisted, by their cordial co-operation, in - establishing a temporary committee. Money was freely contributed; - and the society had a fair start, opening to the public a very - creditable exhibition of the works of female artists. - - Finding that, for the future, I must necessarily be absent from - England, I retired from the Committee of Direction. - - The society has continued in a more or less prosperous condition up - to the present time, although my plan of establishing an adequate - school of art has not been carried out. Much private good has been - the result; and I think the class of women for whom the society was - founded, have been raised in position. - - Believe me, dear madam, - Very truly yours, - (Signed) ELIZABETH MURRAY. - - 13, Pemberton Square, Dec. 22, 1866. - -In Paris, Rosa Bonheur is now the directress, under the government, of -the École Impériale de Dessein, established exclusively for young -women. - - -LABOR.[51] - -The advance of women, as regards all sorts of labor, in the United -States, has been such as might be expected by watchful eyes; and yet -reports on the general question will not read very differently from -those published ten years ago. In New York, women are still reported as -making shirts at seventy-five cents a dozen, and overalls at fifty -cents. These women have two Protective Unions of their own, not -connected with the Workingmen's Union; and most of them have, naturally -enough, sympathized with the eight-hour movement, not foreseeing, -apparently, that the necessary first result of that movement would be a -decrease of wages, proportioned to the limitation of time. Ever since -the beginning of the war, women have been employed in the public -departments, North and South. It has been a matter of necessity, rather -than of choice. The same causes combined to drive women into field-labor -and printing-offices. All through Minnesota and the surrounding regions, -women voluntarily assumed the whole charge of the farms, in order to -send their husbands to the field. A very interesting account has been -recently published of a farm in Dongola, Ill., consisting of two -thousand acres, managed by a highly educated woman, whose husband was a -cavalry officer. It was a great pecuniary success. In New Hampshire, -last summer, I was shown open-air graperies, wholly managed by women, in -several different localities; and was very happy to be told that my own -influence had largely contributed to the experiment. In England, -field-labor is now recommended to women by Lord Houghton, better known -as Mr. Monckton Milnes, who considers it a healthful resource against -the terrible abuses of factory life. At a meeting of the British -Association, last fall, he produced a well-written letter from a woman -engaged in brick-making. This letter claimed that brick-making paid -three times better than factory labor, and ten times better than -domestic service. In addition to persons heretofore mentioned, in this -country, as employing women in out-door work, I would name Mr. Knox, the -great fruit-grower, who, on his place near Pittsburg, Pa., employs two -or three hundred. I have seen it stated, that, during the last four -years, twenty thousand women have entered printing-offices. I do not -know the basis of this calculation; but, judging from my local -statistics, I should think it must be nearly correct. - -To the Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature on the eight-hour -movement, the following towns report concerning the wages and labor of -women, in 1866:-- - - BOSTON.--Glass Company, wages from $4.00 to $8.00 a week. - Domestics, from $1.50 to $3.00 per week. Seamstresses, $1.00 a day. - Makers of fancy goods, 40 to 50 cents a day. - - BROOKLINE.--Washerwomen, $1.00 a day. - - CHARLESTOWN and NEW BEDFORD are ashamed to name the wages, but - humbly confess that they are very low. - - CHICOPEE pays women 90 per cent the wages of men. - - CONCORD pays from 8 to 10 cents an hour. - - FAIRHAVEN gives to female photographers one-third the wages of men. - - HADLEY pays three-fourths; to domestics, one-third; seamstresses, - one-quarter to one-third. - - HOLYOKE, in its paper-mills, offers one-third to one-half. - - LANCASTER pays for pocket-book making from 50 to 75 cents a day. - - LEE pays in the paper-mills one-half the wages of men. - - LOWELL.--The Manufacturing Company averages 90 cents a day. The - Baldwin Mills pay 60 to 75 cents a day. - - NEWTON pays its washerwomen 75 cents a day, or 10 cents an hour. - - NORTH BECKET pays to women one-third the wages of men. - - NORTHAMPTON pays $5.00 a week. - - SALISBURY, for sewing hats, $1.00 a day. - - SOUTH READING, on rattan and shoe work, $5.00 to $10.00 a week. - - SOUTH YARMOUTH, half the wages of men, or less. - - TAUNTON, one-third to two-thirds the wages of men. - - WALPOLE pays two-thirds the wages of men. - - WAREHAM pays to its domestics from 18 to 30 cents a day; to - seamstresses, 50 cents to $1.00. - - WILMINGTON pays two-thirds the wages of men. - - WINCHESTER pays dressmakers $1.00 a day; washerwomen, 12 cents an - hour. - - WOBURN keeps its women to work from 11 to 13 hours, and pays them - two-thirds the wages of men. - - On the better side of the question, FALL RIVER testifies that - women, in competition, earn nearly as much as men. - - LAWRENCE, from the Pacific Mills, that the women are _liberally_ - paid. We should like to see the figures. The Washington Mills pay - from $1.00 to $2.00 a day. - - STONEHAM gives them $1.50 per week. - - WALTHAM reports the wages of the watch-factory as very - _remunerative_. In 1860, I reported this factory as paying from - $2.50 to $4.00 a week. Here, also, we should prefer figures to a - general statement. - - BOSTON has now many manufactories of paper collars. Each girl is - expected to turn out 1,800 daily. The wages are $7.00 a week. In - the paper-box factory, more than 200 girls are employed; but I - cannot ascertain their wages, and therefore suppose them to be low. - I know individuals who earn here $6.00 a week; but that must be - _above_ the average. - -The best-looking body of factory operatives that I have ever seen are -those employed in the silk and ribbon mills on Boston Neck, lately under -the charge of Mr. J.H. Stephenson, and those at the Florence Silk Mills -in Northampton, owned by Mr. S.L. Hill. The classes, libraries, and -privileges appertaining to these mills make them the best examples I -know; and this is shown in the faces and bearing of the women. - -We are always referred to political economy, when we speak of the low -wages of women; but a little investigation will show that other causes -co-operate with those, which can be but gradually reached, to determine -their rates. - -1. The wilfulness of women themselves, which, when I see them in -positions I have helped to open to them, fills me with shame and -indignation. - -2. The unfair competition, proceeding from the voluntary labor, in -mechanical ways, of women well to do. - -For the first, we cannot greatly blame the women whom employers choose -for their _good looks_, for expecting to earn their wages through them, -rather than by the proper discharge of their duties. Their conduct is -not the less shameful on that account; but I seem to see that only time -and death and ruin will educate them. - -For the second, we must strive to develop a public sentiment, which, -while it continues to hold labor honorable, will stamp with ignominy any -women who, in comfortable country homes, compete with the workwomen of -great cities. There are thousands of wealthy farmers' wives to-day, who -just as much drive other women to sin and death as if they led them with -their own hands to the houses in which they are ultimately compelled to -take refuge. Still further, it has come to be known to me, that in -Boston, and I am told in New York also, wealthy women, who do not even -do their own sewing, have the control of the finer kinds of fancy work, -dealing with the stores which sell such work, under various disguises. I -cannot prove these words, but they will strike conviction to the hearts -of the women themselves, and I wish them to have some significance for -men; for, if these women had the pocket-money which their taste and -position require, they would never dream of such competition. One thing -these men should know, that such women are generally known to their -employers, and their domestic relations are judged accordingly. - -The recent investigations into factory labor in England concern rather -the condition than the wages of the women. At _flower-making_, 11,000 -girls are employed from fourteen to eighteen hours daily. In _hardware_ -shops and factories, they work, from six years of age, fourteen hours -daily. In _glass_ factories, 5,000 women are employed, from nine years -of age and upwards, eighteen hours daily. In _tobacco_ factories, 7,000 -women are employed, under conditions of great physical suffering. As -_knitters_, from six years old, they work fourteen hours daily for 1s. -3d. a week! - -This terrible state of things is partly owing to competition with the -labor of French machinery. A great deal of ignorant prejudice against -machines is one of its results. In Sheffield, _files_ are still made by -_hand_; while here, in America, we make _watches_ by _machinery_! The -disposition of the whole community, both here and in Great Britain, -towards this labor question, is kindly. It has become a momentous social -problem. During the fifteen years that my attention has been riveted to -this subject, I have seen a great change in public feeling. - -I have received the Sixth Annual Report of the Society for the -Employment of Women, of which the Earl of Shaftesbury is President, and -Mr. Gladstone a Vice-President. This society has trained some -hair-dressers, clerks, glass-engravers, book-keepers, and telegraph -operators; but its greatest service consists in the constant issue of -tracts, to influence developing public opinion. Such an association -should be started in New York. - -I should have been glad to inaugurate in Boston, during the last six -years, several important industrial movements. The war checked the -enthusiasm I had succeeded in rousing; and I have not been able to pause -in my special work of collecting and observing facts to stimulate it -afresh, or to solicit personally the necessary means. How easy it would -be for a few wealthy women to test these experiments! - -I would first establish a mending-school; and, having taught women how -to darn and patch in a proper manner, I would scatter them through the -country, to open shops of their own. As it is, I do not know a city, in -which a place exists to which a housekeeper could send a week's wash, -sure that it would be returned with every button-hole, button, hem, -gusset, and stay in proper condition. These mending-shops should take on -apprentices, who should be sent to the house to do every sort of -repairing with a needle. - -I would open another school to train women to every kind of trivial -service, now clumsily or inadequately performed by men. If, for -instance, you now send to an upholsterer to have an old window-blind or -blind-fixture repaired, his apprentice will replace the entire thing at -a proportionate cost, leaving the old screw-holes to gape at the gazer. -I would train women to wash, repair, and replace in part, and to carry -in their pockets little vials of white or red lead to fill the gaping -holes. Full employment could be found for such apprentices. - -At Milwaukee, in October, 1866, I found a young woman well established -as a hair-dresser. She belonged to a superior class of society, and -encountered great opposition in carrying out her plan. "People would -treat her much better," said a resident clergyman to me, in detailing -her struggles, "if she were the willing mistress of a rich man." She had -no taste for teaching, but I found in her a cultivated and pleasant -companion. Since the war began, a good many women have been employed as -clerks in the public offices at Washington. There is now some talk of -their removal. If this should occur, it would be in consequence of unfit -appointments, and the habits and annoyances which demoralized women have -imposed upon the departments. The proper place to begin removals is -obviously with the corrupt men, who have pensioned their mistresses out -of the public coffers. - -In Chicago, I found Fanny Paine, a girl of thirteen, acting as paymaster -to the Eagle Works Manufacturing Company. She will, in one year, pay out -a quarter of a million of dollars. She keeps the time-sheets, pay-roll, -and account-book of each of the four hundred men employed. She receives -about five thousand dollars a week from the bank, and makes the proper -balances with the cashier, after paying her men. She knows every man, -earns six hundred and twenty-five dollars per annum, and is represented -as perfectly robust. It gave me no pleasure to find so young a girl in a -position so exposed. I would have her uncommon faculties mature in -quiet. The "London Athenæum" lately said, "A phenomenon worthy of -consideration is the increasing number of female players on stringed -instruments in France. At the examination of the conservatory this year, -Mademoiselle Boulay gained a first, Mademoiselle Castellan a second -prize. The violoncello has its professional students among the gentler -sex. Madame Viardot is about to turn her experience to account, by -editing a classical selection of music." - -A very dear friend of mine,--Charlotte Hill, of West Gouldsborough, in -Maine,--born a farmer's daughter, too deaf to teach, and too delicate to -sew, had an intense love for music. She taught herself the violin. She -then made a profession for herself by offering to play it at rustic -parties; and one year, in the pursuit of this profession, she travelled -more than eight hundred miles, and laid by three hundred dollars. This -money was not spent on jewelry, but on the best books that our best -publishers could furnish. It takes a genius to do a thing like -that,--trust in one's self, and a far deeper trust in God; but there are -multitudes of women whom suggestion and sympathy would lead into such -thriving ways. - -I have heard recently of a young girl in Shirley, who supports herself -and her father by gunning. She not only sends game to market, but -prepares the breasts of birds for ornamental purposes. She has bought -her own house by her profits. - -When I was at Florence, Mass., in the summer of 1865, I drove over to -the famous button-factory at Easthampton. This great industry was -founded by a woman; and, as I had often heard mythical stories about it, -I wished to get at the facts. I found Samuel Williston, a very good -specimen of a fine old English gentleman. He is a man between sixty and -seventy, with hair and beard as white as snow. I found him in a blue -coat with bright buttons, a buff waistcoat, and white pants, and very -willing to tell his wife's story, if it would "encourage other women." - -"My wife's father," he went on to say, "was a Mr. Graves. He was a poor -man, with a large family of children. His wife and daughters used to go -over to Northampton to get knitting from the stores. One day, all the -knitting had been given out; and Mrs. Graves showed her disappointment -so plainly that the shopman asked her to take some buttons to cover. In -those days, all our buttons came from England, where they were made by -hand; but our tailor had got out, and wanted some for coats and vests in -a hurry. Mrs. Graves made about a gross, all her daughters helping, and -did it so well that the work was continued. Then my wife took it up. She -got some of the work from her mother. That was in 1825-26,--forty years -ago. I had invested in merino sheep. I had ninety ewes and a large farm; -but I was a young man, and found it hard to get along. It looked as -though this business would help. My wife wanted to control the work. She -hired girls to help her, and took all the orders that came. J.D. Whitney -and Hayden & Whitney sold all she could make. When she had had the -business a year, I went to Boston, Providence, Hartford, New Haven, New -York,--in short, I went _all round_,--with samples. I got my orders at -first hand, and from that the business began. - -"When we heard that machine-made buttons had been introduced into -England, we sent over to buy the right to make them, and Mr. Hayden -introduced them here. - -"Every man must have his small beginnings," added Mr. Williston, with an -embarrassed blush; "but, when a man has such a wife as mine, he is -lucky." - -It is said that nearly a million of dollars is invested in this button -business at Easthampton. The Willistons are Congregational Christians; -and the "Round Table" stated lately, that the wealth thus accumulated, -besides being of great local value in developing the resources of the -State, had established one seminary, built three churches, and assisted -colleges and schools without number. - -It is very rare that the labor of women becomes consolidated into -capital; but there is no reason why it should not. The mother of James -Freeman Clarke, whose name I use here in compliance with her own -expressed desire, was a wonderful illustration of what common sense and -determination will accomplish. The petted darling of a wealthy family, -Madame Clarke found herself summoned, by her husband's illness and early -death, to retrieve, almost unaided, the fortunes of six children. The -first money which she could lay aside, at the head of a boarding-house, -lifted the mortgage from a small property which she knew she was to -inherit, and which she felt sure would increase in value. For this -property she ultimately received her own price, being, to the great -amazement of applicants, her own "man of business" in all negotiations. -The small sum it yielded she put out at interest in new States, where -money was scarce, and multiplied it tenfold before she died, not by -careless speculation, but by investing it wisely in the heart of the -great cities of Chicago and Milwaukee, by buying what she saw with her -own eyes to be valuable. "I want women to know how to manage their own -concerns as I did," she would say. "It only takes a little common sense. -Women ought not to give up their property to men, or even ask their -advice about it. The best men will prop up their shaky plans with a -woman's money; but women should watch men, see where shrewd men put -their money, and do as they _do_, not as they _say_." - -I am sorry that the purpose of this volume does not permit me to show -how this noble woman used the money she made for the profit, the -religious advancement, and the bodily comfort of those who seemed to -need its aid. - -One other woman, whose name I am not permitted to mention, deserves to -be spoken of in this connection. She was an orphan, and began life as a -factory girl with twelve cents and a half. Her father had never dreamed -of any need to educate a daughter. She took a sister into the factory -with her; and, while one worked, the other went to school,--my friend -opening a dressmaker's shop, at times, to speed the process. While in -the mills, she secured, by a wise firmness, many privileges for the -girls. She married, and, after the death of an only child, sought to -make herself happy, by being of use; and opened, for the girls whose -wages had been reduced, a Protective Union shoe-store, taking all that -one man and eight apprentices could make daily. At last, she borrowed a -hundred dollars, and went to Lynn,--the first woman that ever bought -goods there. She soon controlled the prices of the trade, opened a -second store, and finally bought out the Union. - -Part of her store she devoted to fancy goods, and, for seven years and a -half, did all the buying in Boston. She then went to Philadelphia, -leaving the stores in her husband's charge, and took her degree at -Pennsylvania College. After this, she lectured on Physiology throughout -New England, being often profitably employed by the corporations to -lecture to the girls. By this time, she owned her horse and carriage, -her house, and twenty thousand dollars, beside having a good practice in -a country town. Circumstances then carried her to California, where, in -three years and a half, she made thirteen thousand dollars, partly by -her profession, and partly by buying up Government vouchers, in which -the men at the Navy Yard were paid. She gave gold, and received -greenbacks. Before she left the State, one of its most eminent -physicians came to her to know by what secret she cured patients whom he -had given up. She showed him the errors of his own practice; and, when -she returned to New England, left, with perfect faith, her patients in -his hands. - -If this woman were not still living, I should wish to record the details -of her life; but they suggest so much, that I have not thought it right -to suppress them altogether. - -Mr. Thayer and two ladies have lately attempted, in Boston, at No. 28, -Ash Street, a small experiment in the way of a lodging-house for girls. -This was first suggested to the ladies, by the misfortunes of a young -woman who came under their notice. They tried to hire a house, but found -it cheaper to buy; Mr. Thayer being responsible for half the expense, -and each of the ladies for one-quarter. The house was furnished at the -cost of friends. It has gas and water in nearly every room, and shelters -29 girls. They pay for light, rent, lodging, and fire, repairs and -service, $1.50 per week, and $1.25. There are two single beds in most of -the rooms. The matron keeps an exact account of her expenditure; and -each week the stores are weighed by one of the ladies, the waste being -charged, as well as the marketing, to the girls. - -The board, so managed, costs each girl $1.75 a week. Some of the girls -wash for themselves in the evening, and a woman is hired for the house -once a week. They take care of their own rooms. The matron employs a -cook. There are only two rules,--that every girl shall be in at 10 P.M., -and that a week's notice shall be given when any inmate desires to -leave. No supervision is exercised except of the stores and the matron's -accounts. The house was opened Dec. 15, 1866, and is a success according -to its plan. - -Grateful as I am to see this attempt made, I cannot feel that this plan -should be followed for the future. Girls do not wish to receive charity, -nor can any experiment be thoroughly successful, which does not pay, in -the long-run, a fair percentage on the cost of house and furniture. Now, -$4.00 a week is, in my estimation, only the fair cost price of the style -of board and living which these girls receive; and it could not be kept -at that under average management. - -I do not know the cost of the house, but it would certainly rent for -$600. The taxes upon it would be, at least, $120. - -Now, let us suppose that 30 girls occupy it, each paying the highest -rent, of $1.50 per week, which is $45 a month. In 13 months, they would -pay $585;--a sum less than the rent alone; the house and water taxes, -light, lodging, fire, repairs, and service, being thrown in gratis. I am -sure my estimate of the rent and taxes is beneath the real value of -both; and it is evident, that no efforts to benefit this class, on a -large scale, will succeed, unless made to pay better: companies will -undertake only profitable work. I want to see girls unite to furnish -themselves, in a still more modest way, with what they need; and I wish -to see a system of cooking-houses established, which shall simplify the -whole matter. - -In New York, a Working-women's Home is about to be established, the plan -of which was long since submitted to the public. A building has been -purchased on Elizabeth Street, which will afford accommodations for four -hundred persons. For this, $100,000 has been paid, and $25,000 more will -be expended in fitting it up. Half the amount has already been raised; -and the managers are making strong efforts to collect the remainder. Of -its objects, the "Evening Post" says,-- - - "In this Home will be found clean, well-ventilated rooms, wholesome - food, and facilities for education and self-improvement. Girls - exposed to the temptations of a city life will be surrounded by - both moral and Christian influences. - - "The institution is intended to benefit a class of women who now - find it impossible, with their slender means, to procure - comfortable homes, and are forced to live where moral purity, as - well as health, is endangered. - - "It is well known that families and boarding-house keepers almost - always object to female boarders, and that many thousands of - sewing-women find it difficult to obtain quarters. Artificial - flower-makers, book-folders, hoop-skirt manufacturers, packers of - confectionery, &c., are compelled, if deprived of parental shelter, - to accept such homes and accommodations as their very limited - resources will command. - - "It is not intended to make this a charitable institution; but the - prices will be made so moderate as to be within the means of those - who are to be benefited by it, while, at the same time, the - establishment will be self-sustaining." - -Mr. Halliday says of it,-- - - "The whole expense of first purchase, alterations, and furniture, - will be about $140,000. Messrs. Peter Cooper, James Lenox, James - Brown, Stewart Brown, William H. Aspinwall, E.J. Woolsey, and Mrs. - C.L. Spencer, have, unsolicited, each contributed one thousand - dollars. Twenty thousand dollars has been appropriated on condition - that we obtained a like amount in donations. We expect to have - accommodations for nearly five hundred, and the charge for board - and washing will be from three dollars and a quarter to three and a - half per week. - - "There will be parlors, reading room and free library, and ample - bathing rooms. None of good reputation will be refused admission; - no others can become members of the family." - -It is hoped to open the institution by the first of June. - -A Young Women's Christian Association was organized in Boston in May, -1866, under the auspices of Mrs. Henry F. Durant. Furnished rooms have -been provided at 27, Chauncy Street, where young women can obtain -information in regard to employment, boarding-houses, and so on. The -applications average one hundred a month; and the association seeks to -establish a home, where there will be a restaurant for furnishing meals, -at cost, to _young women only_, a free reading and library room, -evening schools, rooms for social purposes, and temporary lodging-rooms. -This is a most desirable thing to do; but it will not be of permanent -benefit, if it puts into a false position any girls capable of -self-support. The funds of wise and kind people must start all such -movements; but, to be useful, they must be, not only in appearance, but -in reality, self-supporting. - -During the summer of 1866, Octavia Hill, of London, a grand-daughter of -the celebrated Dr. Southwood Smith, reports that, after conferring with -John Ruskin, she had hired houses for poor tenants. She put them into -good order, and kept them in it. She would allow, in her tenants, -neither overcrowding nor arrears of rent. She had no middle-men. The -experiment was wholly successful, and paid at once five per cent. - -Mr. Ruskin's lodging-houses, as they are called, are the best that have -ever been established in London. They furnish the cheapest and cleanest -lodgings for the poor, yet pay a good dividend. They are entirely in the -hands of Miss Hill, as Mr. Ruskin himself is more skilful to remedy any -social excrescence than patient to bear with it. He forgets, I think, -what he once wrote concerning the soul that denies itself an encounter -with pain. - -I have mentioned, in the body of this book, the great number of women -who have entered printing-offices since 1860. I have thought that it -might help women in some other departments of labor, to understand how -some of these changes were effected, and in what manner advantages have -been secured, which might easily have been lost. In a town that I know -of, a weekly religious paper was printed by eight women. The most -experienced acted as foreman; and when, in the second year of the war, -strikes began in the printing-offices, a friend directed her attention -to the fact, and showed her how to meet a strike should it come, as it -did, into her own town. As soon as she heard of it, she consulted with -the rest of the hands. Seeing a possible though by no means a certain -advantage, they agreed to be bound by her action in such an event. At -last, the hands employed on the daily evening paper of the town struck, -and the publisher knew not what to do. The girl went to him, told him -she would bring seven able hands with her, and was accepted at once. He -was mean enough to offer half-pay, which she peremptorily refused. The -eight women entered the office on full pay. They had not been there a -week, before every body rejoiced in the change. There was no swearing -and no drinking, but a quiet workroom. At the end of a month, the -disappointed men offered to return: their services were declined, but -the publisher was mean enough to go to his foreman. "My men are ready to -come back," said he: "I have no fault to find with _you_, but I can no -longer give you full wages."--"Do as you please," replied the girl: "you -cannot have us for any less;" and, as the whole seven said amen, the -publisher had nothing to do but to keep them. The advantage that flowed -from union and good sense in this case are evident, and could easily be -imitated in many directions. During the past winter, Miss Stebbens, of -Chickasaw County, Iowa, has been appointed notary public; such -appointments being still so rare as to make the fact worth recording. - - -LAW. - -The "British Medical Journal" was lately reported to have said that more -English women seek for admission to the bar than for entrance into -medical practice. If this be true, it is in marked contrast to the state -of things in this country. Some women have studied law here; many have -written in lawyers' offices; but, so far as I know, not one has desired -to be admitted to the bar: and, in England itself, so far as I know, -Miss Shedden remains the single example of a woman pleading in a court -of law. - -The number of laws passed the last six years, affecting the condition of -women, has been very small. - -The New-York Assembly in February, 1865, passed a law putting the legal -evidence of a married woman on the same basis as if she were a _feme -sole_. The Massachusetts Legislature have legalized marriage ceremonies -performed by an ordained woman; and in January, 1866, Mr. Peckham, of -Worcester, moved for a joint special committee "to consider in what way -a more just and equal compensation shall be awarded to female labor." On -the 4th of April, just past, Samuel E. Sewall and others petitioned for -leave to appoint women on school committees. It is difficult to -conceive on what ground such petitioners had leave to withdraw. These -things are only valuable as indicating that public attention is still -alive. - -In Richmond, Va., recently, a charge of stealing was sustained against a -woman, who was afterwards acquitted, by appeal, on the ground that no -married woman could own her own clothing, and the consequent flaw in the -indictment. In consequence, a bill to secure the rights of property to a -married woman, as if she were a _feme sole_, has been offered in the -House, to the horror of members who gravely assert that there can be no -marriages, if a man does not own his wife's wardrobe! - -In Missouri, the new Constitution confers on women the right to make a -will; and the Legislature is considering the subject of introducing -women to the State University. - -In England, a curious decision has recently been made, in the case of a -clergyman, of the Church of England, who left his children to the -guardianship of his wife, without expressing any opinion as to their -religious education. Joint guardian with the wife was a brother -clergyman, who brings action to have it decided by the Court where the -children shall attend church. The mother, and a son of thirteen, desire -to attend a dissenting chapel; but Sir J. Stuart, Vice-Chancellor, -decided that the _father's_ religious faith must decide the matter for -the children! Such absurdity will do more than any argument to secure -the future freedom of woman. The family history of Madame de Bedout, -recently dead at Paris, furnishes, also, a remarkable illustration of -the absurdity of the old laws. - -The will of Francis Jackson, of Boston, has been recently brought before -our courts to obtain instructions as to its construction. Mr. Jackson's -bequest for the purpose of creating an antislavery sentiment has been -sustained; but the decision reads, February, 1867:-- - - "The gift in the sixth article, to create a trust, unrestricted in - point of time, to secure the passage of laws granting to women - different rights from those belonging to them under the existing - Constitution and laws, does not constitute a legal charity, and is - therefore void, and is remitted to the testator's heirs-at-law." - -The gift in question was intended to aid the publication of such books -as the reader now holds in his hand. - -A very important convention came together at Leipsic, in September, -1865. One hundred and fifty women assembled, pledged to assert the right -to labor, and to bridge the gulf between the compensations of the two -sexes. Madame Louise Otto Peters opened the conference in an able -speech. She stated that there were five millions of women in Germany, -who could each earn, if allowed, three thalers a week. A thousand women -might find employment as chemists, on salaries of one hundred and fifty -thalers a year, exclusive of board and lodging. Another thousand might -be employed as boot-closers. The foundation of industrial and -commercial schools was urged. The weak point of the speech, as reported, -appeared to be, that it took no cognizance of the fact, that an influx -of five millions of laborers must necessarily lower the current rate of -wages she proposed. I mention this convention in a legal connection, -believing that it was intended to remove some local legal barriers. - -A petition from sixty women of Potter County, Penn., has just been -presented to the Legislature of that State, praying for the passage of -an act to enable widows, on the death of a husband, to control the -property acquired by joint labor, in the same manner as the husband does -on the death of the wife. - -When Freeman Clarke was Comptroller of the United-States Currency, he -decided that a woman, not being a _citizen_, could not be a bank -director. I consider this logical and satisfactory. I wish more -decisions of this kind could be made. If the position that woman is not -a citizen were pushed to its extreme, it would become untenable, her -property could not be taxed, and the necessary remedy would be applied. -One bank remonstrated against the comptroller's decision, desiring to -retain the services of women "hitherto satisfactory." I see, by a -Washington paper, that another national bank desires leave to diminish -the number of its directors; so many of its shares being held by women, -that nine men could not be found to fill the office. - -Now, let some bright women buy up, through a broker, all the shares of -such a bank, elect their own president and directors, and see what the -Government can do. The absurdity of such a position, practically, is -evident to all who know how business is done in our country towns. - - -SUFFRAGE. - -Dr. Hunt and a few other women have continued their annual protests, -without intermission. In somewhat the same way have petitions recently -been sent to Congress in behalf of universal suffrage. We had no -expectation that any favorable reception would await such petitions; but -it was a duty to put them on record, if we could do it without -perplexing public business. What fate they met in Congress, you have so -recently heard, that I have no occasion to record it. Minnesota, New -York, and other States, have petitioned their Legislatures to the same -effect. - -On the 7th of February, 1867, the House of Representatives in Kansas -decided, in concurrence with the Senate, to amend a resolution for the -amendment of the Constitution, by striking out the words "white" and -"male," and making intelligence the basis of suffrage after 1870. This -action has been since rescinded in some way, only the word "_white_" -being stricken out. In Congress, Mr. Noel, of Missouri, offered a series -of resolutions in favor of extending suffrage to women, and authorizing -the calling of a convention to amend the Constitution in the State of -Missouri. The acting Vice-President, the Speaker of the Senate, in -recording his protest against the Suffrage Bill of the District of -Columbia, said, "Make it _intelligent_ suffrage, and I will not only -vote for that, but for _women_ also." - -At the recent election of officers for the Philadelphia Mercantile -Library, the female stockholders were admitted to the ballot. - -The "New-York Express" says:-- - - "The exercise of the elective franchise for women was practically - illustrated in the election of officers for the Mercantile Library, - Philadelphia, on Tuesday. A poll was opened for the female - stockholders, who, to the number of a hundred and fifty-six, cast - their votes. Both sexes voted together; and the proceedings were - conducted with the utmost propriety, there being no confusion or - disorder, as is too often the case where men vote alone. The ladies - walked up, and deposited their ballots with as much _sang froid_ as - if they were accustomed to the privilege. As illustrating how the - thing _might be done_, this voting at the library election should - be noted." - -Some doubts having been expressed as to the fact of women having voted -in New Jersey, first published by me, on information given by Thomas -Garratt, in my lectures upon Law, I append here a history of the -Constitution of New Jersey in that regard, which has been gathered by -Lucy Stone and Antoinette Blackwell, as well as an account of my own -recent interview with a member of the House of 1807, which finally -repealed the obnoxious clause. - -During the recent important discussion in the Senate upon the -proposition to extend the ballot to the women of the District of -Columbia, New Jersey was alluded to as a precedent. The precedent being -disputed, the following statement was published in the "Newark Daily -Advertiser:"-- - - "In 1709 a provincial law confined the privilege of voting to 'male - freeholders having one hundred acres of land in their own right, or - fifty pounds current money of the province in real and personal - estate;' and, during the whole of the colonial period, these - qualifications continued unchanged. - - "But on the 2d of July, 1776 (two days before the Declaration of - Independence), the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, at - Burlington, adopted a Constitution, which remained in force until - 1844, of which sect. 4 is as follows: 'Qualifications of Electors - for Members of Legislatures. _All inhabitants of this colony_, of - full age, who are worth fifty pounds proclamation-money, clear - estate in the same, and have resided within the county in which - they claim a vote for twelve months immediately preceding the - election, shall be entitled to vote for representatives in Council - and Assembly, and also for all other public officers that shall be - elected by the people of the county at large.' - - "Sect. 7 provides that the Council and Assembly jointly shall elect - _some fit person within the colony_ to be Governor. This - Constitution remained in force until 1844. - - "Thus, by a deliberate change of the terms 'male freeholder' to - 'all inhabitants,' suffrage and ability to hold the highest office - in the State were conferred both on women and negroes. - - "In 1790, a committee of the Legislature reported a bill regulating - elections, in which the words '_he or she_' are applied to voters; - thus giving legislative indorsement to the alleged meaning of the - Constitution. - - "In 1797 the Legislature passed an act to regulate elections, - containing the following provisions:-- - - "Sect. 9. 'Every voter shall openly, and in full view, deliver _his - or her ballot_, which shall be a single written ticket, containing - the names of the person or persons for whom _he or she votes_,' &c. - - "Sect. 11. 'All free inhabitants of full age, who are worth fifty - pounds proclamation-money, and have resided within the county in - which they claim a vote for twelve months immediately preceding the - election, shall be entitled to vote for all public officers which - shall be elected by virtue of this act; and no person shall be - entitled to vote in any other township or precinct than that in - which he or she doth actually reside at the time of the election.' - - "Mr. William A. Whitehead, of Newark, in a paper upon this subject, - read by him in 1858 before the New-Jersey Historical Society, - states that, in this same year (1797), women voted, at an election - in Elizabethtown, for members of the Legislature. 'The candidates - between whom the greatest rivalry existed were John Condit and - William Crane, the heads of what were known, a year or two later, - as the "Federal Republican" and "Federal Aristocratic" parties, the - former the candidate of Newark and the northern portions of the - county, the latter that of Elizabethtown and the adjoining country, - for Council. Under the impression that the candidates would poll - nearly the same number of votes, the Elizabethtown leaders thought, - that, by a bold _coup d'état_, they might secure the success of Mr. - Crane. At a late hour of the day, and, as I have been informed, - just before the close of the poll, a number of females were brought - up, and, under the provisions of the existing laws, allowed to - vote. But the manoeuvre was unsuccessful; the majority for Mr. - Condit in the county being ninety-three, notwithstanding.' - - "The 'Newark Sentinel,' about the same time, states that 'no less - than seventy-five women were polled at the late election in a - neighboring borough.' In the presidential election of 1800, between - Adams and Jefferson, 'females voted very generally throughout the - State; and such continued to be the case until the passage of the - act (1807) excluding them from the polls. At first, the law had - been so construed as to admit single women only: but, as the - practice extended, the construction of the privilege became - broader, and was made to include females eighteen years old, - married or single, and even _women of color_; at a contested - election in Hunterdon County in 1802, the votes of two or three - such actually electing a member of the Legislature. - - "That women voted at a very early period, we are informed by the - venerable Mr. Cyrus Jones, of East Orange, who was born in 1770, and - is now ninety-seven years old. He says that 'old maids, widows, and - unmarried women very frequently voted, but married women very - seldom;' that 'the right was recognized, and very little said or - thought about it in any way.' - - "In the spring of 1807, a special election was held in Essex County, - to decide upon the location of a court-house and jail; Newark and - its vicinity struggling to retain the county buildings, - Elizabethtown and its neighborhood striving to remove them to - 'Day's Hill.' - - "The question excited intense interest, as the value of every man's - property was thought to be involved. Not only was every legal voter, - man or woman, white or black, brought out; but, on both sides, gross - frauds were practised. The property qualification was generally - disregarded; aliens, and boys and girls not of full age, - participated; and many of both sexes 'voted early, and voted often.' - In Aquackanonk Township, thought to contain about three hundred - legal voters, over eighteen hundred votes were polled, all but seven - in the interest of Newark. - - "It does not appear that either _women or negroes_ were more - especially implicated in these frauds than the white men. But the - affair caused great scandal, and they seem to have been made the - scapegoats. - - "When the Legislature assembled, they set aside the election as - fraudulent; yet Newark retained the buildings. Then they passed an - act (Nov. 15, 1807), restricting the suffrage to white male adult - citizens twenty-one years of age, residents in the county for the - twelve months preceding, and worth fifty pounds proclamation-money. - But they went on, and provided that all such whose names appeared - on the last duplicate of State or county taxes should be considered - worth fifty pounds; thus virtually abolishing the property - qualification. - - "In 1820, the same provisions were repeated, and maintained until - 1844, when the present State Constitution was substituted. - - "Thus it appears, that, from 1776 to 1807,--a period of thirty-one - years,--the right of women and negroes to vote was _admitted and - exercised_; then from 1807 to 1844--by an arbitrary act of the - Legislature, which does not seem to have been ever contested--the - constitutional right was _suspended_, and both women and negroes - excluded from the polls for thirty-seven years more. The extension - of suffrage, in the State Constitution of 1776, to 'all - inhabitants' possessing the prescribed qualifications, was - doubtless due to the Quaker influence, then strong in West Jersey, - and then, as now, in favor of the equal rights of women. - - "Since 1844, under the present Constitution, suffrage is conferred - upon 'every white male citizen of the United States, of the age of - twenty-one years, who shall have been a resident of this State one - year, and of the county in which he claims a vote five months next - before the election,' excepting paupers, idiots, insane persons, - and criminals. - - "This Constitution is subject to amendment by a majority of both - Houses of two successive Legislatures, when such amendment is - afterward ratified by the people at a special election. - - "LUCY STONE, - H.B. BLACKWELL." - -In a recent visit to Perth Amboy, a friend directed my attention to a -figure in a broad-brimmed hat, very much like that which used to adorn -the cover of Poor Richard's Almanac. "That man is ninety-five years -old," said he. "He spent his youth in preventing the New-Jersey people -from running their slaves off South. A prospective emancipation act had -been passed, which made the young negroes a poor investment; but our -friend Parker, there, looked after them without any fee. We think he -looks like Benjamin Franklin." The next day, I took a drive with Mr. -Parker himself, and I found he possessed another claim on my interest. -The original Constitution of New Jersey, adopted in 1776, left women -free to vote, by leaving out the word "male." In 1790, when the -Constitution was revised, a Quaker member, "Friend Hooper," rose to say -that among his people the women were allowed their natural share of -influence. At his instance, the matter was made clearer by the insertion -of the words "he or she." In 1807, after an election contested with -singular virulence, these words were expunged, and the word "male" -inserted. I had never expected to see a member of the Legislature who -repealed this phrase; but Friend Parker was there, and helped do it. He -assured me that the women were not at that time anxious to retain the -privilege; but that, if they had been, the Legislature was so irate, -that the change would have taken place. Lads, both white and colored, -and under age, had dressed in women's clothes, to swell the ballot, -which was more than double what it should have been; the irritating -question being the possible removal of the county buildings. - -A few days since, I cut from the paper the following paragraph:-- - - "In the Kentucky House of Representatives, on Friday last, an - address was received by the Speaker, from Mrs. ----, of New York, - and read by the Clerk, asking the Legislature of the Southern - States to grant suffrage to white women in the South, so as to give - the Democratic party the advantage over the negro votes, if - Congress passes a general negro-suffrage law. By following out this - plan, Mrs. ---- thinks the South can govern the country, as in the - days of Jefferson." - -I suppress the name, which was printed in full, in this paragraph, -because it is the name of a woman I respect; and I earnestly hope the -whole charge is false. If women seek to advance their own cause by mean -and meretricious tricks,--such as those which have dishonored the policy -of men,--may God for ever disappoint their hope! I would rather be -defeated with the friends of liberty than crowned with its foes. It is -because I believe woman strong enough to withstand the low and loose and -degrading temptations of public life that I would lead her towards it. -If she cannot enter it as an inspiration, may she be for ever shut out! - -Mrs. Stanton and Miss Anthony, assisted by Lucy Stone and Antoinette -Blackwell, have been busy in agitating all legal questions, and -especially the right of suffrage, ever since the formation of the -Equal-Rights Association, in New York, in May, 1866. Wherever there is -any prospect of a convention to change a State Constitution, it would -seem wise to agitate the matter; but here, in Massachusetts, almost -every thing has been done that should be to protect women, except to -give them the right of suffrage. That question we are too wise to -agitate, until the country recovers somewhat from the anxieties and -perplexities of the war. We have no desire to win from an unjust judge, -for our importunity's sake, a right which could never be useful, unless -it were accorded with the hearty sympathy of the best part of the -community. On March 16, 1867, a motion was made in the Massachusetts -House to instruct the Judiciary Committee to report an amendment to the -State Constitution, granting the right of suffrage to women. The yeas -and nays were taken, and the motion was lost: yeas 44, nays 97. - -In New York, Illinois, and Michigan, the question is to be brought -before the Constitutional Convention. Wisconsin is our banner State, -both branches of her government having concurred, April 4, 1867, in a -resolution to submit it to the people. In New York, last year, Mrs. -Stanton proposed herself as a candidate for Congress, and received, I -think, thirty votes. It was so well understood that her election was -impossible, that her card excited neither ridicule nor discussion. No -one cared to turn aside from more pressing interests to consider it. It -was therefore a waste of strength. I saw, with pain, that some women -did not shrink from employing last year a politician's trick, and sent -to Democratic members of the Senate and House the petitions for the -right of suffrage for women, with which they knew them to possess no -sympathy. Had these petitions been sent to Republican members of either -House, they might have been overlooked in the press of graver anxieties. -Mischievously sent to men like Cowan, women must have known that the -petition would be produced, if it was only to annoy and perplex our -honest friends of the Republican party. In what would our influence upon -politics be better than that of men, if we resort to such measures? -During the past year, I drew up, and forwarded to the Hon. Charles -Sumner, a petition for the right of suffrage, and afterwards sustained -it by two or three letters. I think Mr. Sumner never brought it forward; -but I gladly defer to his judgment as to that. It was my duty to keep -the subject in mind, and see that we did not appear, even in the tumult -left by civil war, to lose sight of our claim. I am glad to offer public -thanks to the Hon. George Thompson, who, in the meeting of the -Equal-Rights Association, held in Philadelphia on Jan. 17, 1867, -defeated a resolution of thanks to Mr. Cowan, and condemnation to Mr. -Sumner, on precisely these grounds. "To thank men like Cowan, who did -not _desire_ to enfranchise woman any more than the negro, was to -stultify ourselves," he said. "To condemn Sumner, because he did not -think _this_ the time to push the claims of woman, was not honorable to -the long-tried friend of human progress." - -Abroad, such things look better. The clean hands of John Stuart -Mill--which no noble woman need fear to touch--have presented to -Parliament the petition of fifteen hundred women for the right of -franchise. This petition is so moderate and sensible, that it deserves -to be preserved. - - "The humble petition of the undersigned showeth,-- - - "That it having been expressly laid down by high authorities, that - the possession of property, in this country, carries with it the - right to vote in the election of representatives in Parliament, it - is an evident anomaly, that some holders of property are allowed to - use this right, while others, forming no less a constituent part of - the nation, and equally qualified by law to hold property, are not - able to exercise this privilege; that the participation of women in - the government is consistent with the principles of the British - Constitution, inasmuch as women in these islands have always been - held capable of sovereignty, and women are eligible for various - public offices. - - "Your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray your honorable House to - consider the expediency of providing for the representation of all - householders, without distinction of sex, who possess such property - or rental qualification as your honorable House may determine. And - your petitioners will ever pray. - - "Mrs. W.B. CARPENTER, 56, Regent's Park Road, London, N.W. - C.M. CLARKSON, Hatfield Road, Wakefield. - FRANCES POWER COBBE, 26, Hereford Square, London, S.W. - ELIZABETH GARRETT, L.S.A., 20, Upper Berkeley Street, London, W. - MARY ANN GASKELL, Plymouth Grove, Manchester. - MATILDA M. HAYS, Great Malvern. - MARY HOWITT, West Hill Lodge, Highgate, N. - M.S. KINGLAKE, 50, Upper Brunswick Place, Brighton. ISA CRAIG - KNOX, 14, Clyde Terrace, New Cross, S.E. S.J. LEWIN, Birkenhead. - HARRIET LUPTON, St. Asaph. ELIZABETH MALLISON, Camp Cottage, - Wimbledon. HARRIET MARTINEAU, The Knoll, Ambleside. JANE MARTINEAU, - 21, Tariton Street, London, W.C. JANE MOXON, 1, Cundall's Yard, - Leeds. MRS. ELIZABETH PEASE NICHOL, Huntly Lodge, Edinburgh. BESSIE - R. PARKES, 15, Wimpole Street, London, W. ELIZABETH PROCTOR, Polam - Hall, Darlington. C. STURCH, Cumberland Terrace, Regent's Park, - London, N.W. MRS. THOMAS TAYLOR, Aston House, Oxfordshire. SARAH - UNWIN, Hale Lodge, Edgeware, Middlesex. ANNA MARY HOWITT WATTS, 24, - Grove Terrace, Highgate Road." - -I append to the above petition a few of the fifteen hundred names, which -will serve to give it identity, and interest in this country. We miss, -among the names, many names of the beloved dead; and many would -doubtless be there that we know, could it be signed by any save -property-holders. - -A very powerful influence was brought to sustain this petition in -Parliament; and among its advocates were James Martineau, Herbert -Spencer, Professor Huxley, and Goldwin Smith. Mr. Mill seems to have -presented a second petition, headed by Lady Goldschmid, and signed by -three thousand persons; and another was offered, at the same time, by -Mr. Russell Gurney. On April 11, 1867, the subject of female suffrage -was first discussed in the House of Commons without being greeted with a -laugh. A petition presented by Mr. Duncan Maclaren, from Edinburgh, was -signed by eight university professors, six doctors of law, eighteen -clergymen, eight barristers, ten physicians, ten officers, and two -thousand other persons. Two women are said to have been lately elected -parish overseers: Mrs. Slocomb for Brittadon, and Mrs. Craig for Bratton -Fleming. The step-daughter of John Stuart Mill, Miss Helen Taylor, -contributed to the January number of the "Westminster" an article which -worthily sustained the far more comprehensive statement of her mother in -1851. It would be difficult to imagine a paper, however, that would -appeal more forcibly to the English people. There is in England a -Woman-Suffrage Association, which proposes to circulate that article as -a tract. Mrs. P.A. Taylor and Frances Power Cobbe are among its most -active members. Mrs. Bodichon has recently brought out two pamphlets on -this subject. They contain one instance, which is not familiar, of the -inconvenience of withholding the franchise from English women. Owners of -estates seek to further their own interest through the voting power of -their tenantry, and frequently eject women from farms, to replace them -by men who have a freehold. On one Suffolk farm, seven women have been -ejected. Among the instances which Mrs. Bodichon adduces to show the -need of female votes are the neglect of female education; the refusal of -leases, or the ejection of old tenants; the want of proper public -spirit, which women might be expected to infuse into affairs; and the -condition of workhouses, and charitable appropriations in general. In -Austria, information furnished to one of Mrs. Bodichon's papers seems to -show that the women have the same electoral rights as men, only that in -a few cases they are compelled to vote by proxy. They vote as nobles, in -their corporate capacity as nuns, and as tax-payers or merchants; but I -need not say that there is much uncertainty in the Austrian -administration of such a law. - -In connection with the name of Fredrika Bremer, I have mentioned the -great changes in Swedish law, mainly due to her influence. An indirect -right of suffrage was further granted to women in 1862; but in December, -1865, the Reform Bill gave the election of members of the Upper Chamber -to municipal and county bodies. In the election of these bodies, women -take part. They must be unmarried or widows, be twenty-five years old, -and have more than four hundred rixdollars per annum. - -Article 15 of the Italian electoral law provides "that the taxation paid -by a widow, or by a wife separated from her husband, shall give a vote -to whichever of her children or near relatives she may select." - -A curious petition has been lately presented to the Hungarian Diet. It -is signed by a number of widows and other women who are landed -proprietors, and asks for them the same equality of political rights -with the male inhabitants of the country, as they possessed in 1848. -These ladies represent that they have much more difficulty in bringing -up their children, and attending to the estates, than men; that they -have to bear the same State burdens; that they are not allowed to take -part in the communal elections; and that, although many of them possess -much more ground than the male electors, they have no political rights. - -In 1848, these women were, for the first time, excluded from the -franchise. - - -PROGRESS. - -The real gain of a reform, starting from the heart of the family, must -necessarily be very slow. I remember, that some years ago, when I -printed my book on Labor, one of my kindest critics congratulated the -public, that, of my nine lectures, I had published only these. He -thought it was useless to contend for more book-learning for women, and -the subject of civil rights still disgusted his sensitive ear. The -common sense of the book on Labor ought to have shown him how I should -treat the subject of education. He could not understand how the woman -who gets an education which does not make her a "bread-winner," is -essentially defrauded, nor how a woman, well paid for her labor, is -essentially wronged, when she is denied the privilege of protecting it -by her vote. There is, however, a surely growing sense of this, shown in -the substantial advance of her civil rights. - -1. In the early part of 1865, the people of Victoria, in Australia, -assembled to elect a member of Parliament, were surprised to find the -whole female population voting. Some quick-sighted woman had discovered -that the letter of the new law permitted it; and their votes were -accepted, and wisely given. The "London Times," in the month of May, -says, that, in a _country like Australia_, it can easily believe that -such an extension of the franchise will be a _marked improvement_, and -thinks that the precedent will stand! - -2. The government of Moravia has also, within the past year, granted the -municipal franchise to widows who pay taxes. - -3. In January, 1864, the Court of Queen's Bench in Dublin, Ireland, -restored to woman the _old right_ of voting for town commissioners. The -justice (Fitzgerald) desired to state that ladies were entitled to sit -as town commissioners as well as to vote for them; and the chief-justice -took pains to make it clear that there was nothing in either duty -repugnant to womanly habits. - -4. The inhabitants of Ain (or Aisne), in France, lately chose nine women -into their municipal council. - -5. At Bergères, the whole council consisted of women; and the mayor, not -being prepared for such good fortune, resigned his office. - -6. Our cause has found able advocates in John Stuart Mill, the "New-York -Evening Post," and Theodore Tilton. If I were asked, whether, in -connection with this gain, we have lost any ground, I should reply that -we have decidedly lost it in connection with the daily press. I do not -know any newspaper, if I except the "Boston Commonwealth," which will -print a letter touching civil rights, from any woman, precisely as it is -written. I think what we need most is to purchase the right to a daily -use of half a column of the "New-York Tribune." - - -RECORD AND OBITUARIES. - -I have been accustomed to connect with reports of this kind some -honorable mention of distinguished women obscure or recently dead. I -cannot do this at any length, after a pause of so many years; but a few -names must be mentioned, a few facts recorded. - -I had occasion, some years ago, to commemorate the services of Maria -Sybilla Merian, painter, engraver, linguist, and traveller, who -published, at Amsterdam, two volumes of engravings of insects and sixty -magnificent plates, illustrating the metamorphoses of the insects of -Surinam. I did not, at that time, know that some of her statements had -been held open to suspicion. In the first place, she asserted, that a -certain fly, the Fulgoria Lantanaria, emitted so much light, that she -could read her books by its aid; still further, that one of the large -spiders, called Mygale, entered the nests of the humming-bird in -Surinam, sucked its eggs, and snared the birds. To all the contention -which arose over these statements, Madame Merian could oppose only her -word. Men who knew that her statements in regard to Europe were -indisputable decided that her word could not be taken in Asia. A very -common folly; but two hundred years have passed, 1866 arrives, and her -justification with it. An English traveller, named Bates, has recently -rescued quite large finches from the Mygale, and poisoned himself with -its saliva, in preparing them for his cabinet. - -I do not know how many years Madam Baring, the mother of the great -banker, has been dead. It is only recently that I have heard, that to -her prudence, activity, and business habits, the family attribute the -sure foundation of their fortunes. Matthew Baring came to Larkbeare, -near Exeter, from Bremen. His wife superintended, in his day, the long -rows of "burlers," or women who picked over the woollen cloth he made. -Her sons, John and Francis, sought a wider field for the fortune their -father left, but did not forget to erect a monument to their mother's -industry. - -About a year since, Eliza W. Farnham laid down her weary head. I did not -know her, nor did I sympathize in her theories. They were sustained by -her imagination rather than her reason; by her impulses rather than any -practical judgment. No moral superiority can justly be conferred on -either sex of a being possessed of intellect and conscience. God has -conferred no such superiority; yet I gladly name Mrs. Farnham here as a -woman whose life--a bitter disappointment to herself--was useful to all -women, and whose books, published since her death, show a marvellous -mental range. - -During the last year, Madame Charles Lemonnier died in Paris. She -devoted her life to the professional education of women. For six years -she found it so difficult to raise the necessary funds, that she had to -content herself with sending her pupils to institutions in Germany. In -1862 the Society for the Professional Instruction of Women was at last -constituted, and opened a school in the Rue de Perle. Two other schools -have since been opened,--one in the Rue de Val Sainte Catherine; the -other, in the Rue Roche. The morning is occupied in these schools with -general studies; the afternoon, with industrial drawing, wood-engraving, -the making-up of garments, linen, &c. She died after initiating a -thoroughly successful work. - -In July, 1865, there died at Corfu a Dr. Barry, attached to the medical -staff of the British army. He was remarkable for skill, firmness, -decision, and great rapidity in difficult operations. He had entered the -army in 1813, and had served in all quarters of the globe, with such -distinction as to ensure promotion without interest. He was clever and -agreeable, but excessively plain, weak in stature, and with a squeaking -voice which provoked ridicule. He had an irritable temper, and answered -some jesting on the topic by calling out the offender, and shooting him -through the lungs. In 1840 he was made medical inspector, and -transferred from the Cape to Malta. He went from Malta to Corfu; and, -when the English Government ceded the Ionian Islands to Greece, resigned -his position in the army, and remained at Corfu. There he died last -summer, forbidding, with his latest breath, any interference with his -remains. The women who attended him regarded this request with the -shameless indifference now so common; and unable to believe, that an -officer, who had been forty-five years in the British service, had -received a diploma, fought a duel, and been celebrated as a brilliant -operator, was not only a woman, but at some period in her life a -_mother_; they called in a medical commission to establish these facts. -A sad, sad picture, which those of us who inquire into the fortunes of -women can readily understand. - -Last November deprived us of Mrs. Gaskell and Fredrika Bremer, of whom a -fuller record will be found in the body of this work. - -In Paris recently died Mrs. Severn Newton. She was the daughter of the -artist Severn, the friend of Keats, who is now British Consul at Rome. -About five years since, she married Charles Newton, Superintendent of -Greek Antiquities at the British Museum. She was a person in whom power -and delicacy were singularly blended. Ary Scheffer was accustomed to -hold up her work as a model for his pupils. Her renderings of classic -sculpture were so true that they were termed translations; and she had -recently devoted herself to oil painting with great success. She died of -brain fever at the early age of thirty-three, one of the most honored of -female English artists. - -The common sense of society accepts the need of education for women. It -begs that they may be permitted to earn their bread; but let society -once grant the suffrage to woman, and she will take care of her own -interests. She will found colleges, distribute opportunities, and -protect vocations. - -Education must, in time, earn independence for most women. Independence, -taxed and made a citizen of, will insist, in the course of years, upon -its suffrage; but whoso will help to reverse the process, and grant -suffrage, so that woman may herself indicate what education she wishes -to receive, and what labor she wishes to perform, will speed the process -by scores of years. - -It was pleasant to see four hundred young women, of the highest health, -the best breeding, of good social standing, and abundant means, -blossoming like so many tulips, at Vassar,--we must add, also, of good -ability, and more than average education; for only good scholars could -pass the rigid examination required of those who enter. It was pleasant -to see, that between the ages of seventeen and twenty-two, when society -offers its greatest allurements, four hundred wealthy girls could be -found, ready to devote themselves in seclusion, and without even the -stimulus existing at Oberlin or Antioch, to higher things. And then, if -the want of public sympathy makes it a painful work to be always pushing -the interests of women, such teachers and officers as one finds at -Vassar compensate one for any amount of struggle. Miss Hannah Lyman, who -is now the principal; Miss Mitchell, the astronomer; Dr. Avery, the -resident physician; and Miss Powell, the professor of gymnastics,--it -is only necessary to name to Eastern ears: but, besides these women, -Vassar employs twenty others, in whom it would be hard to find a fault, -and some of whom, we were glad to see, had taken their degree at -Oberlin. Going westward to Antioch, it was pleasant to find other women -who had taken their degrees, and were now teaching Greek and Latin. One -of the graduates, employed as a teacher of mathematics, had won her own -education in the college by teaching one year,--sometimes in distant -district-schools,--and studying the next. At Oberlin, the picture was -still more inspiring: for Oberlin has, I suppose, more pupils than any -college in the land, if we except Michigan University; and one-half of -them are girls and women. The practical working of this college is -beautiful to see. It has been fortunate in the magnificent faith -communicated to it by Dr. Finney. Most of the women who were its early -students, and stamped its character, so that no scandal dared invade its -borders, are now the wives of its professors, and many of them are still -engaged in teaching. Mrs. Dascomb, who is the wife of the professor of -chemistry, has been with the college from the beginning: she is as fine -a person for her position, as lady-principal, as Miss Lyman; yet how -differently have the two been trained! Mrs. Dascomb, by isolation, -persecution, contact with the rudest elements in Western life, yet -keeping, through all, a noble faith in manhood and womanhood; Miss -Lyman, starting from the most distinguished social circle in -Northampton, holding a high place among what Dr. Holmes would call the -"Brahmins" of Montreal, and finally polished by a European tour, and -holding control with a power as imperceptible as it is firm. At -Milwaukee, beside Dr. Ross, to whose ten years of successful practice I -have alluded, I found another physician, in happy partnership with one -of the _brothers_ of the craft, a Dr. Glass. He has lately moved from -Minnesota to Wisconsin, where he has been several years in partnership -with Miss Fairchild, and testifies that he has never seen her superior -as a practical physician. Here, also, a young lady, of one of the best -families, has lately opened a hair-dresser's store. Dr. Ross gives her -sweet sympathy and cheer; but, as a proof that the world still needs -converting, she has had a good deal of that insolence to subdue which -pains just as much as if it were _worth_ minding. Any thing like the -number of female lecturers which I heard of in Illinois, I had never -imagined. The medical women are readily accepted in most places, even -without proper vouchers; and it is astonishing, how far common sense -contrives to supply the place of education. But the want of vouchers is -a serious evil, which must soon be met. In Chicago I heard wonderful -stories of the business capacity of certain women. One lady, very well -known on Michigan Avenue, brought one hundred thousand dollars' worth of -Chicago City bonds to Boston and New York, and safely sold them for her -husband. A farmer's wife, from the centre of the State, came up, while I -was there, to speculate in corn. She said her husband had lost money -several years in succession, and now _she_ was going to try. By her -first speculation, she made five thousand dollars; and this she put into -competent hands, for re-investment. It gained her twenty thousand -dollars. The Chicago merchants thought that she would go on speculating -until she lost it all; but I do not. I think our Pleasant-street -Hospital has proved that women are more cautious than men, and are -willing to bear a good deal of obloquy rather than permit rash ventures -to be made. - -In the country, everywhere, I heard charming anecdotes of the vigor and -self-sacrifice women showed in the early settlement of the States. - -It happened one spring, that, when the ice broke up on the Fox River, a -terrible storm of wind and sleet and rain came with it. Not a man in the -State, however great the emergency, would have thought that he could -cross. In this state of things, a woman was taken in childbirth, some -two or three miles from the ferry. Just as the ferry-woman was going to -bed, in the "outer darkness" of that terrible storm, she heard her name -shouted from the opposite bank. She listened, and a grievous story was -shouted across. She went to the stable and saddled her mare, and, all -alone, forded the stream: the floating ice, heaped into walls, struck -the sides of the faithful beast, and tore the woman's skirt to tatters. -Now and then a flash of lightning showed her what progress she had made. -At last, she struggled to the bank, and gave the needful help. Nobody -ever asked how she got back. On the grass about Elgin, a whole ship's -load died of cholera, nearly forty years ago. All the neighborhood stood -back in dread; but I saw one aged woman, who closed the eyes of nine, -and received the foreign blessing, which she felt, although she could -not understand. In Quincy, I found two ladies just establishing a high -school for girls, whom I have previously mentioned as having pushed -through the endowment, for women, of the State University at Lawrence, -and having opened a class in modelling in clay, under Professor Volkers. -At the Cooper Institute I found more women at work than ever before, and -to better advantage. A large class had just been formed to color -photographs on glass, porcelain, and paper. Under such circumstances, we -need not be disheartened because an ignorant woman, in a man's costume, -has found the way to attract some attention in Europe and some contempt -from Tom Hughes. Neither need it dismay us that the "Boston Advertiser" -thinks the Equal-Rights meetings, in New York, have not been largely -attended. There are those who want the suffrage, who do not care to -encourage women to offer themselves for Congress before public opinion -can accept them, and who are sufficiently disgusted by what looks like a -mannish coalition with Democrats, to keep away from public meetings. - -Meanwhile, the women of Parma clamor for the right to vote for Victor -Emanuel. A freedwoman, Charlotte Scott, proposes a monument, on behalf -of her emancipated race, to President Lincoln; and the noble -inspiration of Harriet Hosmer carries out the thought. - -But the very things we turn from force the necessary issues on the -world. Wise action would never have brought the recent debate in -Congress; nor prudent measures have secured thirty votes for Mrs. -Stanton, and nine senatorial ballots for female suffrage. Once agitated -in these quarters, the matter draws nearer to a final test. - - "Ride on! the prize is near." - - -FOOTNOTES: - - [47] These have been supplied since my return to Boston. - - [48] The application is declined, as we go to press, on the ground - that no provision has been made at Cambridge for women. - - [49] I believe I am indebted for some of these items to Miss Howitt's - book, but I have not yet seen it. - - [50] This word distinguishes a peculiar Unitarian Church, something - like the Methodist. - - [51] I wish to say in advance, that while the statistics in "The - College" and "The Market" are based on a gold value, and are wholly - reliable, I place no reliance on those furnished in this Appendix. The - varying price of gold, and of the cost of provision and clothing, at - the time the tables are made, are nowhere given, and are important - elements in a sound calculation. - - - - -L'ENVOI. - - - My Song, I do believe that there are few - Who will thy reasoning rightly understand, - To them so hard and dark is thy discourse. - Hence, peradventure, if it come to pass - That thou shouldst find thyself with persons who - Appear unskilled to comprehend thee well, - I pray thee, then, my young and well-beloved, - Be not discomforted; but say to them, - "Take note, at least, how _beautiful_ I am!" - - DANTE, _from the_ "_Banquet._" - - - Art thou not beautiful, my new-born Song? - Then thou art piteous, and shalt go thy way. - - _Rime Apocrife_, G.G. - - - +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ - | | - | Transcriber's notes: | - | | - | | - | P.139. 'not vegetables' changed to 'nor vegetables'. | - | P.142. 'before a a Liverpool', removed extra 'a'. | - | P.151. 'househeepers' changed to 'housekeepers'. | - | P.175. trade 'of' her changed to 'off'. | - | P.307. within 'tha' time changed to 'that'. | - | P.364. 'gods' changed to 'goods'. | - | P.497. 'neigborhood' changed to 'neighborhood'. | - | Fixed various punctuation. | - | Some inconsistent hypens are found in this text and left as in | - | the original. | - | Emphasis Notation: _Italic_ and =Bold=; | - | | - +-----------------------------------------------------------------+ - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The College, the Market, and the Court, by -Caroline H. 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