A DOMESTIC PROBLEM

_Work and Culture in the Household_

by

MRS. A. M. DIAZ

AUTHOR OF "THE SCHOOLMASTER'S TRUNK, " ETC. 

1895

CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER I. 

TAKING A VIEW OF THE SITUATION. 

CHAPTER II. 

ONE CAUSE OF THE SITUATION. --A PART OF "WOMAN'S MISSION" CONSIDERED. 

CHAPTER III. 

CULTURE PROVED TO BE A NEED OF THE CHILD-TRAINER. 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE OTHER PART OF "WOMAN'S MISSION. "

CHAPTER V. 

OTHER CAUSES CONSIDERED. 

CHAPTER VI. 

REASONS FOR A CHANGE. 

CHAPTER VII. 

A WAY OUT. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR LECTURE TOPICS

CHAPTER IX. 

WAYS OF IMMEDIATE ESCAPE

CHAPTER X. 

MEANS OF ESCAPE ALREADY IN OPERATION

CHAPTER XI. 

SUPPLEMENTARY

A DOMESTIC PROBLEM

_WORK AND CULTURE IN THE HOUSEHOLD_. 

CHAPTER I. 

TAKING A VIEW OF THE SITUATION. 

Our problem is this: How may woman enjoy the delights of culture, andat the same time fulfil her duties to family and household? Perhaps itis not assuming too much to say, that, in making known the existenceof such a problem, we have already taken the first step toward itssolution, just as a ship's crew in distress take the first step towardrelief by making a signal which calls attention to their needs. 

The next step--after having, as we may say, set our flag athalf-mast--is one which, if all we hear be true, should come easily towomen in council, namely, talking. And talking we must have, even if, as in the social game called "Throwing Light, " much of it is done at aventure. In that interesting little game, after a few hints have beengiven concerning "the word, " different members of the company begin atonce to talk about it, and think about it, and suggest and hazarddescriptive remarks, according to the idea each has formed of it; thatis, they try, though in the dark, to "throw light. " As the interestincreases, the excitement becomes intense. Many of the ideas expressedare absurdly wide of the mark, yet even these help to show what theanswer is not; and often, by their coming in contact, a light isstruck which helps amazingly. And so, in regard to our problem, wehave the hints; then why not begin at once to think about it, and talkabout it, and suggest, and guess, and throw light with all our might?No matter if we even get excited, say absurd things, say utterlypreposterous things, make blunders. Blunders are to be expected. Letthem fly right and left; by hitting together right smartly they maystrike out sparks which shall help us find our way. 

We all have heard of the frank country girl who said to her bashfullover, "Do say something, if it isn't quite so bright!" This, doubtless, is what every thoughtful woman, if she expressed thesincere desire of her heart regarding our perplexing question, wouldsay to all other women; and it is to comply with that wish, partlyexpressed to me, that I have gathered up from chance observation, chance reading, and hearsay, some ideas bearing on the subject. Suppose we begin by looking about us, and making clear to our mindsjust what this state of things is, which, because it hinders culture, many deem so unsatisfactory. After that, we will consider its causes, reasons for changing it, and the way or ways out of it. 

A few, a very few, of our women are able to live and move and havetheir being literally regardless of expense. These can buy of skilledassistants and competent supervisors, whole lifetimes of leisure; withthese, therefore, our problem has no concern. The larger class, theimmense majority, either do their work themselves, or attendpersonally to its being done by others; "others" signifying thatinefficient, untrustworthy, unstable horde who come fresh from theirtraining in peat-bog and meadow, to cook our dinners, take care of ourchina dishes, and adjust the nice little internal arrangements of ourdwellings. 

Observing closely the lives of the immense majority, I think we shallsee, that, in conducting their household affairs, the object they havein view is one and the same. I think we shall see that they allstrive, some by their own labors wholly, the rest by covering over andpiecing out the shortcomings of "help, " to present a smooth, agreeablesurface to husbands and company. This smooth, agreeable surface may becompared to a piece of mosaic work composed of many parts. Of thealmost infinite number of those parts, and of the time, skill, andlabor required to adjust them, it hath not entered, it cannot enter, into the heart of man to conceive. 

I wonder how long it would take to name, just merely to name, all theduties which fall upon the woman who, to use a common phrase, and atrue one, carries on the family. Suppose we try to count them, one byone. Doing this will help to give us that clear view of the presentstate of things which it is our present object to obtain; though theidea reminds me of what the children used to say when I was a child, "If you count the stars you'll drop down dead, "--a saying founded, probably, on the vastness of the undertaking compared with humanendurance. It certainly cannot be called trivial to enumerate theduties to which woman consecrates so large a portion of her life, especially when we remember that into each and all of these duties shehas to carry her mind. Where woman's mind must go, woman's mind orman's mind, should not scorn to follow. So let us make the attempt;and we need not stand upon the order of our counting, but beginanywhere. 

Setting tables; clearing them off; keeping lamps or gas-fixtures inorder; polishing stoves, knives, silverware, tinware, faucets, knobs, &c. ; washing and wiping dishes; taking care of food left at meals;sweeping, including the grand Friday sweep, the limited daily sweep, and the oft-recurring dustpan sweep; cleaning paint; washinglooking-glasses, windows, window-curtains; canning and preservingfruit; making sauces and jellies, and "catchups" and pickles; makingand baking bread, cake, pies, puddings; cooking meats and vegetables;keeping in nice order beds, bedding, and bedchambers; arrangingfurniture, dusting, and "picking up;" setting forth, at their duetimes and in due order, the three meals; washing the clothes; ironing, including doing up shirts and other "starched things;" taking care ofthe baby, night and day; washing and dressing children, and regulatingtheir behavior, and making or getting made, their clothing, and seeingthat the same is in good repair, in good taste, spotless from dirt, and suited both to the weather and the occasion; doing for herselfwhat her own personal needs require; arranging flowers; entertainingcompany; nursing the sick; "letting down" and "letting out" to suitthe growing ones; patching, darning, knitting, crocheting, braiding, quilting, --but let us remember the warning of the old saying, andforbear in time. 

This, however, is only a general enumeration. This is counting thestars by constellations. Examining closely these items: we shall findthem made up each of a number of smaller items, and each of theseagain of items still smaller. What seem homogeneous are heterogeneous;what seem simple are complex. Make a loaf of bread. That has a simplesound, yet the process is complex. First, hops, potatoes, flour, sugar, water, salt, in right proportions for the yeast. The yeast forraising the yeast must be in just the right condition, and added whenthe mixture is of just the right temperature. In "mixing up" bread, the temperature of the atmosphere must be considered, the temperatureof the water, the situation of the dough. The dough must rise quickly, must rise just enough and no more, must be baked in an oven just hotenough and no hotter, and must be "tended" while baking. 

Try clearing off tables. Remove food from platters, care for theremnants, see that nothing is wasted, scrape well every plate, arrangein piles, carry out, wash in soap and water, rinse in clear water, polish with dry cloth, set away in their places, --three times a day. 

Taking care of the baby frequently implies carrying the child on onearm while working with the other, and this often after nights madesleepless by its "worrying. " "I've done many a baking with a child onmy hip, " said a farmer's wife in my hearing. 

But try now the humblest of household duties, one that passes for justnothing at all; try dusting. "Take a cloth, and brush the dustoff, "--stated in this general way, how easy a process it seems! Theparticular interpretation, is that you move, wipe, and replace everyarticle in the room, from the piano down to the tiniest ornament; thatyou "take a cloth, " and go over every inch of accessible surface, including panelling, mop-boards, window frames and sashes, looking-glass-frames, picture-frames and cords, gas or lamp fixtures;reaching up, tiptoeing, climbing, stooping, kneeling, taking care thatnot even in the remotest corner shall appear one inch of undustedsurface which any slippered individual, leaning back in his arm-chair, can spy out. 

These are only a few examples; but a little observation and anexceedingly little experience will show the curious inquirer thatthere is scarcely one of the apparently simple household operationswhich cannot be resolved and re-resolved into minute component parts. Thus dusting, which seems at first to consist of simply a few brusheswith a cloth or bunch of feathers, when analyzed once, is found toimply the careful wiping of every article in the room, and of all thewoodwork; analyzed again, it implies following the marks of thecabinet-maker's tools in every bit of carving and grooving; analyzedagain, introducing a pointed stick under the cloth in turning corners. In fact, the investigator of household duties must do as does adistinguished scientist in analyzing matter, --"continue the process ofdividing as long as the parts can be discerned, " and then "prolong thevision backward across the boundary of experimental evidence. " And, ifbrave enough to attempt to count them, he must bear in mind that whatappear to be blank intervals, or blurred, nebulous spaces, are, inreality, filled in with innumerable little duties which, through theglass of observation, may be discerned quite plainly. Let him alsobear in mind, that these household duties must be done over and over, and over and over, and as well, each time, as if done to last forever;and, above all, that they every one require mind. 

Many a common saying proves this last point. "Put your mind on yourwork. " "Your mind must be where your work is. " "She's a good hand totake hold, but she hasn't any calculation. " "She doesn't know how toforecast her work. " "She doesn't know how to forelay. " "Nancy'sgittin' past carryin' her mind inter her work. Wal, I remember when Ibegun to git past carryin' my mind inter my work, " said an old womanof ninety, speaking of her sixty-years-old daughter. The old couplet, "Man works from rise till set of sun, But woman's work is never done, "--

tells the truth. "Woman's work, " as now arranged, is so varied, soall-embracing, that it cannot be "done. " For every odd moment someduty lies in wait. And it is generally the case, that these multi-formduties press for performance, crowds of them at once. "So many thingsto be done right off, that I don't know which to take hold of first. ""'Tis just as much as I can do to keep my head above water. " "Oh, dear! I can't see through!" "My work drives me. " "I never know what'tis not to feel hurried. " "The things I can't get done tire me morethan the things I do. " Such remarks have a meaning. 

And those who keep "a girl" have almost equal difficulty in alwayspresenting the smooth, agreeable surface just now spoken of. With thegreater ability to hire help comes usually the desire to live in moreexpensive houses, and to furnish the same with more costly furniture. Every article added is a care added, and the nicer the article thenicer the care required. More, also, is demanded of these in the wayof appearance, style, and social civilities; and the wear and tear ofsuperintending "a girl" should by no means be forgotten. At any rate, the complaint, "no time to read, " is frequent among women, and is notconfined to any one class. 

We see, then, that in the present state of things it is impossible forwoman--that is, the family woman, the house-mother--to enjoy thedelights of culture. External activities, especially the twoinsatiable, all-devouring ones which know neither end norbeginning, --housework and sewing-work, --these demand her time, herenergies, in short, demand herself, --the whole of her. Yes, the whole, and more too; there is not enough of her to go round. There mightpossibly be enough, and even something left to spend on culture, wereshe in sound physical condition; but, alas! a healthy woman isscarcely to be found. This point, namely, the prevailing invalidism ofwoman, will come up for consideration by and by, when we inquire intothe causes of the present state of things. It is none too early, however, to make a note of what some physicians say in regard to it. "Half of all who are born, " says one medical writer, "die under twentyyears of age; while four-fifths of all who reach that age, and diebefore another score, owe their death to causes which were originatedin their teens. This is a fact of startling import to fathers andmothers, and shows a fearful responsibility. " Another medical writersays, "Beside the loss of so many children (nearly twenty-five percent), society suffers seriously from those who survive, their healthbeing irremediably injured while they are still infants.... Ignoranceand injudicious nursery management lie at the root of this evil. "

We must be sure not to forget that this prevailing invalidism ofwomen, which is one hinderance to their obtaining culture, can betraced directly back to the ignorance of mothers, for this point hasan important bearing on the solution of our problem. 

CHAPTER II. 

ONE CAUSE OF THE SITUATION. --A PART OF "WOMAN'S MISSION" CONSIDERED. 

The question, How may work and culture be combined? was recentlysubmitted, in my hearing, to a highly intelligent lady. She answeredwith a sigh, "It can't be done. I've tried it; but, as things are now, it can't be done. " By "as things are now" she meant, with theestablished ideas regarding dress, food, appearance, style, and theobjects for which woman should spend her time and herself. Suppose weinvestigate the causes of the present state of things, which, as beinga hinderance to culture, is to us so unsatisfactory. A littlereflection will enable us to discover several. Chief among them all, Ithink, is one which may require close inspection before it isrecognized to be such. It seems to me that the great underlyingcause--the cause of all the other causes--is the want of insight, theunenlightemnent, which prevails concerning, not what woman's missionis, but the ways and means by which she is to accomplish it. Let usconsider this. 

Those who claim the right of defining it never can say often enoughthat the true, mission of woman is to train up her children rightly, and to make home happy; and no doubt we all agree with them. But havewe, or have they, a full sense of what woman requires to fit her evenfor the first of these duties? Suppose a philosopher in disguise on atour of observation from some distant isle or planet should favor uswith a visit. He finds himself, we will say, on a spot not a hundredmiles from New York or Boston or Chicago. Among the objects whichattract his attention are the little children drawn along in theirlittle chaises. 

"Are these beautiful creatures of any value?" he asks of a bystander. 

"Certainly. They are the hope of the country. They will grow up intomen and women who will take our places. "

"I suppose there is no danger of their growing up any other than theright kind of men and women, such as your country needs?"

"On the contrary, there is every danger. Evil influences surround themfrom their birth. These beautiful creatures have in them thepossibilities of becoming mean, base, corrupt, treacherous, deceitful, cruel, false, revengeful; of becoming, in fact, unworthy and repulsivein many ways. Why, all our criminals, our drunkards, liars, thieves, burglars, murderers, were once innocent little children like these!"

"And whether these will become like those, or not, depends on chance?"

"Oh, no! It depends largely on training, especially on early training. Children are like wax to receive impressions, like marble to retainthem. "

"Are they constituted pretty nearly alike, so that the treatment whichis best for one is best for all?"

"By no means. Even those in the same family are often extremelyunlike. They have different temperaments, dispositions, propensities. Some require urging, others checking. Some do better with praise, others without; the same of blame. It requires thought and discernmentto know what words to speak, how many to speak, and when to speakthem. In fact, a child's nature is a piece of delicate, complexmachinery, and each one requires a separate study; for, as its springsof action are concealed, the operator is liable at any time to touchthe wrong one. "

"And mistakes here will affect a child through its whole lifetime?"

"They will affect it through all eternity. " "But who among you daremake these early impressions which are to be so enduring? Who are theoperators on these delicate and complex pieces of mental machinery?"

"Oh! the mothers always have the care of the children. This is theirmission, --the chief duty of their lives. "

"But how judicious, how comprehensive, must be the course of educationwhich will fit a person for such an office!"

"Do you think so? Hem! Well, it is not generally considered that awoman who is going to marry and settle down to family life needs mucheducation. "

"You mean, doubtless, that she only receives the special instructionwhich her vocation requires. "

"Special instruction?"

"Yes. If woman's special vocation is the training of children, ofcourse she is educated specially with a view to that vocation. "

"Well, I never heard of such a kind of education. But here is one ofour young mothers: she can tell you all about it. "

We will suppose, now, that our philosopher is left with the youngmother, who names over what she learned at the "institute. "

"And the training of children--moral, intellectual, and physical--wasno doubt made a prominent subject of consideration. "

"Training of children? Oh, no! That would have been a curious kind ofstudy. "

"Where, then, were you prepared for the duties of your mission?"

"What mission do you mean?"

"Your mission of child-training. "

"I had no preparation. "

"No preparation? But are you acquainted with the differenttemperaments a child may have, and the different combinations of them?Are you competent to the direction and culture of the intellectual andmoral nature? Have you skill to touch the hidden springs of action?Have you, thus uninstructed, the power, the knowledge, the wisdom, requisite for guiding that mighty force, a child's soul?"

"Alas! there is hardly a day that I do not feel my ignorance on allthese points. "

"Are there no sources from which knowledge may be obtained? There mustbe books written on these subjects. "

"Possibly; but I have no time to read them. "

"No time?--no time to prepare for your chief mission?"

"It is our mission only in print. In real life it plays an extremelysubordinate part. "

"What, then, in real life, is your mission?"

"Chiefly cooking and sewing. "

"Your husband, then, does not share the common belief in regard towoman's chief duty. "

"Oh, yes! I have heard him express it many a time; though I don'tthink he comprehends what a woman needs in order to do her duty by herchildren. But he loves them dearly. If one should die he would beheart-broken. "

"Is it a common thing here for children to die?"

"I am grieved to say that nearly one-fourth die in infancy. "

"And those who live, --do they grow up in full health and vigor?"

"Oh, indeed they do not! Why, look at our crowded hospitals! Look atthe apothecaries' shops at almost, every corner. Look at theadvertisements of medicines. Don't you think there's meaning in these, and a meaning in the long rows of five-story swell-front housesoccupied by physicians, and a meaning in the people themselves?There's scarcely one of them but has some ailment. "

"But is this matter of health subject to no laws?"

"The phrase, 'laws of health, ' is a familiar one, but I don't knowwhat those laws are. " "Mothers, then, are not in the habit of teachingthem to their children?"

"They are not themselves acquainted with them. "

"Perhaps this astonishing ignorance has something to do with thefearful mortality among infants. Do not husbands provide their wiveswith books and other means of information on this subject?"

"Generally speaking, they do nothing of the kind. "

"And does not the subject of hygienic laws, as applied to the rearingof children, come into the courses of study laid out for young women!"

"No, indeed. Oh, how I wish it had!--and those other matters youmentioned. I would give up every thing else I ever learned for thesake of knowing how to bring up my children, and how to keep them inhealth. "

"The presidents and professors of your educational institutions, --dothey share the common belief as to woman's mission?"

"Oh, yes! They all say that the chief business of woman is to train upher children. "

(_Philosopher's solo_. )

"There seems to be blindness and stupidity somewhere among thesepeople. From what they say of the difficulty of bringing up theirchildren, it must take an archangel to do it rightly; still they donot think a woman who is married and settles down to family life needsmuch education! Moreover, in educating young women, that which isuniversally acknowledged to be the chief business of their livesreceives not the least attention. "

If our philosopher continued his inquiries into the manners andcustoms of our country, he must have felt greatly encouraged; for hewould have found that it is only in this one direction that we showsuch blindness and stupidity. He would have found that in every otheroccupation we demand preparation. The individual who builds our ships, cuts our coats, manufactures our watches, superintends our machinery, takes charge of our cattle, our trees, our flowers, must know how, must have been especially prepared for his calling. It is onlycharacter-moulding, only shaping the destinies of immortal beings, forwhich we demand neither preparation nor a knowledge of the business. It is only of our children that we are resigned to lose nearlyone-fourth by death, "owing to ignorance and injudicious nurserymanagement. " Were this rate of mortality declared to exist among ourdomestic animals, the community would be aroused at once. 

CHAPTER III. 

CULTURE PROVED TO BE A NEED OF THE CHILD-TRAINER. 

Perhaps some day the community may come to perceive that womanrequires for her vocation what the teacher, the preacher, the lawyer, and the physician, require for theirs; namely, special preparation andgeneral culture. The first, because every vocation demands specialpreparation; and the second, because, to satisfy the requirements ofyoung minds, she will need to draw from almost every kind ofknowledge. And we must remember here, that the advantages derived fromculture are not wholly an intellectual gain. We get from hooks andother sources of culture not merely what informs the mind, but thatwhich warms the heart, quickens the sympathies, strengthens theunderstanding; get clearness and breadth of vision, get refining andennobling influences, get wisdom in its truest and most comprehensivesense; and all of these, the last more than all, a mother needs forher high calling. That it is a high calling, we have high authority toshow. Dr. Channing says, "No office can compare in importance withthat of training a child. " Yet the office is assumed withoutpreparation. 

Herbert Spencer asks, in view of this omission, "What is to beexpected when one of the most intricate of problems is undertaken bythose who have given scarcely a thought as to the principles on whichits solution depends? Is the unfolding of a human being so simple aprocess that any one may superintend and regulate it with nopreparation whatever?... Is it not madness to make no provision forsuch a task?"

Horace Mann speaks out plainly, and straight to the point. "If she isto prepare a refection of cakes, she fails not to examine somecookery-book or some manuscript receipt, lest she should convert herrich ingredients into unpalatable compounds; but without ever havingread one book upon the subject of education, without ever havingsought one conversation with an intelligent person upon it, sheundertakes so to mingle the earthly and celestial elements ofinstruction for that child's soul that he shall be fitted to dischargeall duties below, and to enjoy all blessings above. " And again, "Influences imperceptible in childhood, work out more and more broadlyinto beauty or deformity in after life. No unskilful hand should everplay upon a harp where the tones are left forever in the strings. "

In a newspaper I find this amusingly significant sentence:"Truthfully, indeed, do the Papists boast that the Episcopal Church istraining-ground for Rome. The female mind is frequently enticed bydisplay of vestments and music; and, if the Ritualists can pervert themothers, they know that the next generation is theirs. " This issignificant, because it signifies that, however weak and easy ofenticement the "female mind" may be, it has a mighty power toinfluence the young. 

But we can show not only opinions and prophecies, but the results ofactual scientific experiments. A recent number of "The Popular ScienceMonthly" contains an account of experiments made in Jamaica upon themental capacity for learning of the different races there existing. The experimenter found, he says, "unequal speed, " but saw "nothingwhich can be unmistakably referred to difference of race. The rate ofimprovement is due almost entirely to the relative elevation of thehome circle in which the children live. Those who are restricted tothe narrowest gauge of intellectual exercise live in such a materialand coarse medium that their mental faculties remain slumbering; whilethose who hear at home of many things, and are brought up tointellectual employments, show a corresponding proficiency inlearning. "

This, and the editor's comments, bear directly on our side, that is tosay, the culture side. The editor says it is inevitable "that themedium in which the child is habitually immersed, and by which it iscontinually and unconsciously impressed, should have much greatervalue in the formation of mental character than the mere lessonexperiences of school. Home education is, after all, the great fact;and it is domestic influences by which the characters of children areformed. Where men are exhausted by business, and women are exhaustedby society (or other means), we may be pretty sure that but little canbe done to shape and conduct the home with a reference to the highermental needs of the children who live in it. "

Now, who, more than any one, "shapes and conducts the home"? Whocreates these "domestic influences, " this "medium in which the childis habitually immersed"? Woman. In the name of common sense, then, throw open to woman every avenue of knowledge. Surround her with allthat will elevate and refine. Give her the highest, broadest, truestculture. Give her chances to draw inspiration from the beautiful innature and in art. And, above all, insure her some respite from labor, and some tranquillity. Unless these conditions are observed, "butlittle can be done to shape and conduct the home with reference to thehigher mental needs of the children who live in it. "

I once heard "Grace Greenwood" tell a little story which ought to comein here, for our own object is to make out as strong a case as wepossibly can. We want to prove that mothers must have culture becausethey are mothers. We want to show it to be absolutely necessary forwoman, in the accomplishment of her acknowledged mission. When thisfact is recognized, then culture will take rank with essentials, andreceive attention as such. 

"Grace Greenwood" said that a friend of hers, a teacher "out West, "had in her school four or five children from one family. The parentswere poor, ignorant, and of the kind commonly called low, coarse sortof people. The children, with one exception, were stupid, rough-mannered, and depraved. The one exception, a little girl, showedsuch refinement, appreciation, and quickness of apprehension, that theteacher at last asked the mother if she could account for the strikingdifference between this child and its brothers and sisters. The mothercould not. The children had been brought up together there in thatlonely place, had been treated alike, and had never been separated. She knew the little girl was very different from her brothers andsisters, but knew not the reason why. The teacher then asked, "Wasthere any thing in your mode of life for the months preceding herbirth, that there was not in the corresponding time before the birthsof the others?" The mother at first answered decidedly that there wasnothing; but after thinking a few moments said, "Well, there was one, a very small thing, but that couldn't have had any thing to do withthe matter. One day a peddler came along; and among his books was apretty, red-covered poetry book, and I wanted it bad. But my husbandsaid he couldn't afford it, and the peddler went off. I couldn't getthat book out of my mind; and in the night I took some of my ownmoney, and travelled on foot to the next town, found the peddler, bought the book, and got back before morning, and was never missedfrom the house. That book was the greatest comfort to me that everwas. I read it over and over, up to the day my child was born. "

Also would come in well here that oft-told story of a pauper named"Margaret, " who was once "set adrift in a village of the county ... And left to grow up as best she could, and from whom have descendedtwo hundred criminals. The, whole number of this girl's descendants, through six generations, is nine hundred; and besides the 'twohundred' a large number have been idiots, imbeciles, drunkards, lunatics, and paupers. "

Friends, to say nothing of higher motives, would it not be good policyto educate wisely every girl in the country? Are not mothers, aschild-trainers, in absolute need of true culture? In cases wherefamilies depend on the labor of their girls, perhaps the State wouldmake a saving even by compensating these families for the loss of suchlabor. Perhaps it would be cheaper, even in a pecuniary sense, for theState to do this, than to support reformatory establishments, prisons, almshouses, and insane-asylums, with their necessary retinues ofofficials. Institutions in which these girls were educated might bemade self-supporting, and the course of instruction might includedifferent kinds of handicraft. 

It was poor economy for the State to let that pauper "grow up as bestshe could. " It would probably have been money in the State's pockethad it surrounded "Margaret" in her early childhood with the choicestproductions of art, engaged competent teachers to instruct her in thesolid branches, in the accomplishments, in hygiene, in the principlesand practice of integrity, and then have given her particularinstruction in all matters connected with the training of children. And had she developed a remarkable taste for painting, for modelling, or for music, the State could better have afforded even sending her toItaly, than to have taken care of those "two hundred criminals, "besides "a large number" of "idiots, imbeciles, drunkards, lunatics, and paupers. "

CHAPTER IV. 

THE OTHER PART OF "WOMAN'S MISSION. "--RUFFLES VERSUS READING. --THECULTIVATION OF THE FINGERS. 

Let us leave for a while this matter of child-training, and considerthe other part of woman's mission, --namely, "making home happy. " Itwould seem that even for this the wife should be at least the equal ofher husband in culture, in order that the two may be in sympathy. Whena loving couple marry, they unite their interests, and it is in thisunion of interests that they find happiness. We often hear from a wifeor a husband remarks like these: "I only half enjoyed it, because he(or she) wasn't there;" "It will be no pleasure to me unless he (orshe) is there too;" "The company were charming, but still I feltlonesome there without him (or her). " The phrase "half enjoy" givesthe idea; for a sympathetic couple are to such a degree one that apleasure which comes to either singly can only be half enjoyed, andeven this half-joy is lessened by the consciousness of what the otheris losing. In a rather sarcastic article, taken from an Englishmagazine, occur a few sentences which illustrate this point very well. The writer is describing a honeymoon:--

"The real difficulty is to be entertaining. The one thirst of theyoung bride is for amusement, and she has no idea of amusing herself. It is diverting to see the spouse of this ideal creature wend his wayto the lending library, after a week of idealism, and the relief withwhich he carries home a novel. How often, in expectation, has heframed to himself imaginary talks, --talk brighter and wittier thanthat of the friends he forsakes! But conversation is difficult in thecase of a refined creature who is as ignorant as a Hottentot. Hebegins with the new Miltonic poem, and finds she has never looked into'Paradise Lost. ' He plunges into the Reform Bill; but she knowsnothing of politics, and has never read a leading article in her life. Then she tries him, in her turn, and floods him with the dead chat ofthe town and an ocean of family tattle. He finds himself shut up forweeks with a creature who takes an interest in nothing but UncleCrosspatch's temper and the scandal about Lady X. Little by little theabsolute pettiness, the dense dulness, of woman's life, breaks on thedisenchanted devotee. His deity is without occupation, withoutthought, without resources. He has a faint faith in her finersensibility, in her poetic nature: he fetches his Tennyson from hiscarpet-bag, and wastes 'In Memoriam' on a critic who pronounces itpretty!"

In cases of this kind, the half-joy is strikingly apparent. We seethat a husband possessing culture is likely to be lonesome among hispoets and his poetry, his works of reform, and his lofty ideas, unless--she is there too. 

If it be said that learned women are prone to think lightly of homecomforts and home duties, to despise physical labor, to look down onthe ignorant, let us hasten to reply that learning is not culture, andthat we want not learned mothers, but enlightened mothers, wiselyeducated mothers. And let us steadfastly and perseveringly assert thatenlightenment and a wise education are essential to the accomplishmentof the mother's mission. When the housefather feels the truth of this, then shall we see him bringing home every publication he can lay hishands on which treats intelligently of mental, moral, or physicaltraining. Then shall we hear him saying to the house-mother, "Cease, Ipray you, this ever-lasting toil. Read, study, rest. With your solemnresponsibilities, it is madness thus to spend yourself, thus to wasteyourself. " In his home shall the true essentials assume that positionwhich is theirs by right, and certain occupations connected with thatclamorous square inch of surface in the upper part of the mouth shallreceive only their due share of attention. For in one way or another, either by lessening the work or by hiring workers, the mother shallhave her leisure. 

And what will women, what will the house-mothers, do when they feelthis truth? Certainly not as they now do. Now it is their custom tofill in every chink and crevice of leisure time with sewing. "Look, "said a young mother to me: "I made all these myself, when holding thebaby, or by sitting up nights. " They were children's clothes, beautifully made, and literally covered with ruffles and embroidery. Oh the thousands of stitches! The ruffles ran up and down, and overand across, and three times round. Being white, the garments were ofcourse changed daily. In the intervals of baby-tending, the mothersnatched a few minutes here and a few minutes there to starch, iron, flute, or crimp a ruffle, or to finish off a dress of her own. This"finishing off" was carried on for weeks. When her baby was asleep, orwas good, or had its little ruffles all fluted, and its littlesister's little ruffles were all fluted, then would she seize theopportunity to stitch, to plait, to flounce, to pucker, and to braid. Wherever a hand's breadth of the original material was left visible, some bow, or band, or queer device, was fashioned and sewed on. Thiszealous individual, by improving every moment, by sitting up nights, by working with the baby across her lap, accomplished her task. Thedress was finished, and worn with unutterable complacency. It is thislast part which is the worst part. They have no misgivings, thesemothers. They expect your warm approval. "I can't get a minute's timeto read, " said this industrious person; and, on another occasion, "I'll own up, I don't know any thing about taking care of children. "Swift, speaking of women, said that they "employ more thought, memory, and application to become fools than would serve to make them wise anduseful;" and perhaps he spoke truly. For suppose this young mother hadbeen as eager to gain ideas as she was to accomplish a bias band, aFrench fold, or a flounce. Suppose that, in the intervals ofbaby-tending, instead of fluting her little girls' ruffles andembroidering their garments, she had tried to snatch some informationwhich would help her in the bringing up of those little girls. Thetruth is, mothers take their leisure time for what seems to them to befirst in importance. It is easy to see what they consider essentials, and what, from them, children are learning to consider essentials. The"knowingness" of some of our children on subjects connected with dressis simply appalling. A girl of eight or ten summers will take you inat a glance, from topmost plume to boot-tap, by items andcollectively, analytically and synthetically. She discourses, intechnical terms, of the fall of your drapery, --the propriety of yourtrimmings, and the effect of this, that, or the other. She has aproper appreciation of what is French in your attire, and a properscorn of what is not. She recognizes "real lace" in a twinkle of hereye, and "all wool" with a touch of her finger-tips. Plainly cladschool-children are often made to suffer keenly by the cutting remarksof other school-children sumptuously arrayed. A little girl aged six, returning from a child's party, exclaimed, "O mamma! What do youthink? Bessie had her dress trimmed with lace, and it wasn't real!"

The law, "No child shall walk the street in a plain dress, " is just aspractically a law as if it had been enacted by the legal authorities. Mothers obey its high behests, and dare not rebel against it. Look atour little girls going to school, each with her tucks and ruffles. Who"gets time" to do all that sewing? where do they get it, and at whatsacrifices? A goodly number of stitches and moments go to the makingand putting on of even one ruffle on one skirt. Think of all thestitches and moments necessary for the making and putting of all theruffles on all the skirts of the several little girls often belongingto one family! What a prospect before her has a mother of littlegirls! And there is no escape, not even in common sense. A womanconsidered sensible in the very highest degree will dress her littlegirl like other little girls, or perish in the attempt. How many dothus perish, or are helped to perish, we shall never know. A frail, delicate woman said to me one day, "Oh, I do hope the fashions willchange before Sissy grows up, for I don't see how it will be possiblefor me to make her clothes. " You observe her submissive, law-abidingspirit. The possibility of evading the law never even suggests itself. There is many a feeble mother of grown and growing "Sissys" to whomthe spring or fall dressmaking appears like an avalanche coming tooverwhelm her, or a Juggernaut coming to roll over her. She asks not, "How shall I escape?" but, "How shall I endure?" Let her consoleherself. These semi-annual experiences are all "mission. " All sewing is"mission;" all cooking is "mission. " It matters not what she cooks, nor what she sews. "Domestic, " and worthy all praise, does thecommunity consider that woman who keeps her hands employed, and isbodily present with her children inside the house. 

But her bodily presence, even with mother love and longing to do herbest, is not enough. There should be added two things, --knowledge andwisdom. These, however, she does not have, because to obtain them areneeded what she does not get, --leisure, tranquillity, and the variousresources and appliances of culture; also because their importance isnot felt even by herself; also because the community does not yet seethat she has need of them. And this brings us round to the point westarted from, --namely, that the present unsatisfactory state of thingsis owing largely to the want of insight, or _unenlightenment_, which prevails concerning what woman needs and must have in orderrightly to fulfil her mission. 

CHAPTER V. 

OTHER CAUSES CONSIDERED. --MASCULINE IDEA OF WOMAN'S WORK. 

Another supporting cause, as we may call it, of the existing state ofthings is the ignorance of mankind concerning the cost of carrying onthe family, --not the cost to themselves in money, but the cost towoman in endurance. Of its power to exhaust her vital forces they havenot the remotest idea. Each of its little ten-minute duties seems sotrifling that to call it work appears absurd. They do not reflect thatoften a dozen of these ten-minute duties must be crowded into an hourwhich holds but just six ten-minutes; that her day is crowded withthese crowded hours; that consequently she can never be free fromhurry, and that constant hurry is a constant strain upon her in everyway. They themselves, they think, could do up the work in half thetime, and not feel it a bit. Scarcely a man of them but thinks thedishes might be just rinsed off under the faucet, and stood up to dry. Scarcely a man of them who, if this were tried, would not cast morethan inquiring glances at his trencher; for it is always what is notdone that a man sees. If one chair-round escapes dusting, it is thatchair-round which he particularly notices. In his mind then are twoideas: one is of the whole long day, the other of that infinitesimalundone duty. The remark visible on his countenance is this: "The wholeday, and no time to dust a chair-round!"

 "The painful warrior famoused for fight, After a thousand victories, once foiled, Is from the book of honor razed quite, And all the rest forgot for which _she_ toiled. "

Many a toiling housewife, warring against untidiness, has felt thetruth of these lines, though she may not have known that the greatpoet embodied it in words. 

One mistake of man's is, that he does not look upon the tidy state ofa room as a result, but as one into which, if left to itself, it wouldnaturally fall and remain. We know, alas! too well, that every roomnot only has within itself possibilities of untidiness, but that itsconstant tendency is in that direction, which tendency can only bechecked by as constant a vigilance. Again, husbands do not always seemto understand plain English. There are certain expressions in commonuse among women, which, if husbands did understand plain English, would make them sadder and wiser men. "I'm completely used up;" "Inever know what 'tis to feel rested;" "I'm too tired to sleep;" "I'mas tired in the morning as when I go to bed;" "Every nerve in methrobs so that I can't go to sleep;" "The life has all gone out ofme;" "I am crazed with cares;" "The care is worse than the work;""Nothing keeps that woman about the house but her ambition;" "It isthe excitement of work that keeps her up. " Now, how is it that a womanworks on after she is completely used up? What is the substance, thecapacity of this "ambition" on which alone she lives? A friend ofmine, in answer to a suggestion that she should stop and take a fewdays' rest, said, "I don't dare to stop. If I let down, if I give wayfor ever so little while, I never could go on again. " Think of livingalways in this state of tension! The dictionary definition of"tension" is "a peculiar, abnormal, constrained condition of theparts, arising from the action of antagonistic forces, in which theyendeavor to return to their natural state. " Exactly. There arethousands of women in just this condition, sustained there by thedaily pressure and excitement of hurry, and by a stern, unyielding"must. " In the treadmill of their household labor, breakfast, dinner, and supper revolve in ceaseless course, and they _must_ stepforward to meet them. And, when more of her vitality is expended dailythan is daily renewed by food and rest, woman does, actually andwithout any figure of speech, use herself up. Yes, she burns herselffor fuel, and goes down a wreck, --not always to death; often it is toa condition made wretched by suffering, sometimes to insanity. 

I would not have believed this last had I not found it in print. In anEnglish magazine occurs the following passage: "Some whose eyes followthese lines will recollect disagreeable seasons when their attentionwas distracted by conflicting cures and claims; when no one thing, however urgent, could be finished, owing to the intrusion of one ormore inevitable distractions. A continued course of such inroads onthe mind's serenity could be supported but by few intellects. Mostpitiable is the mind's state after some hours of such distractingoccupation, in which every business interferes with every other, andnone is satisfactorily accomplished. Where there is a tendency toinsanity it is sure to be developed by such an undesirable state ofthings. " This is fitly supplemented by a statement made in an Americanmagazine: "We are told that the woman's wards in the New Englandinsane asylums are filled with middle-aged wives--mothers--driventhere by overwork and anxiety. "

Not long since, I heard Mr. Whittier tell the story of a woman whoattempted suicide by throwing herself into the water. "Discouragement"was the reason she assigned for committing so dreadful adeed, --discouragement at the never-ending routine of household labor, and from feeling herself utterly unable to go on with it. This, withcare, want of recreation, and long confinement in-doors, had probablycaused temporary insanity. 

The "never-endingness" of woman's work is something to be considered. A wide-awake writer, speaking of husbands and wives, says, "Theout-door air, the stir, the change of ideas, the passing word for thisman or that, unconsciously refresh, and lift him from the cankeringcare of work.... His work may be heavier, but it wears him on one sideonly. He has his hours sacred to business to give to his brief, hissermon, his shop. There is no drain on the rest of his faculties. Shehas not a power of mind, a skill of body, which her daily life doesnot draw upon. She asks nothing better of fate than that whateverstrength she has of body and mind shall be drained for her husband andchildren. Now, this spirit of martyrdom is a very good thing when itis necessary. For our part, we see no occasion for it here. " This isthe point exactly. The "martyrdom, " too often, is for objects not ofthe highest importance. The lack of appreciation of woman's work, asshown by man-kind in the newspapers, would be amusing, were it notsaddening. Articles, dictating with solemn pomposity "what everymarried woman should be able to do, " often appear in print, and theseembodiments of (masculine) wisdom editors are eager to copy. "Everymarried woman should be able to cut and make her own, her husband's, and her children's clothes. " The husband reads, --aloud of course, thistime, --and nods approval. "To be sure, that would make a saving. " Thewife hears, and sighs, and perhaps blames herself that on account ofher incapacity money is wasted. What the newspaper says must be true. Perhaps by sitting up later, by getting up earlier, by hurrying more, and by never setting her foot outside the door, she might follow thissuggestion. "Every married woman" whose boys take to reading shouldsnip such newspaper articles into shreds, burn them up, and bury theashes. 

Another cause of the present state of things is the lowness of thestandard which has been set up for woman to attain. We have glanced atsome of the things which are expected of the woman who carries on thefamily. What is not expected is a point of no less significance. Neither husbands nor company claim the right to expect, in thatsmooth, agreeable surface mentioned at the beginning, the results ofmental culture. They may be gratified at finding them; but so long asthe woman is amiable, thrifty, efficient, and provides three goodmeals every day, they feel bound not to complain. Here are the ten"Attributes of a Wife, " as grouped by one of the world's famouswriters: note what he allots to education: "Four to good temper, twoto good sense, one to wit, one to beauty; the remaining two to bedivided among other qualities, as fortune, connection, education oraccomplishments, family, and so on. Divide these two parts as youplease, these minor proportions must all be expressed by fractions. Not one among them is entitled to the dignity of an integer. "

The prevalent belief that woman is in some degree subordinate to man, is rather taken for granted than expressly taught, as witness acertain kind of legend often told to young girls: "Once upon a time ayoung man, visiting a strange house, saw a damsel putting dough intopans, and saw that the dough which stuck to the platter was leftsticking there; whereupon the young man said, 'This is not the wifefor me. '" In another house he sees a damsel who leaves not the doughwhich sticks to the platter; and he says, "This is the wife for me. "Another young man offers to successive maidens a skein of tangled silkto wind. The first says, "I can't;" the second tries, and gives up;the third makes a quick job of it with her scissors; the fourth spendshours in patiently, untangling, and is chosen. Now, what shows thestate of public sentiment is the fact that in none of these legends isit intimated that the young man was fortunate in securing a thrifty ora patient wife. It was the thrifty or patient young woman who wasfortunate in being selected by a young man, --by any young man; for thecharacter of the youth is never stated. There is an inference, also, in the second one given, that the "hours" of a young woman can beemployed to no better purpose than that of untangling a skein of silk. All this is throwing light on our problem, for so long as so much isexpected of woman physically, and so little in the way of mentalacquirements; so long as it is taken for granted that she is asubordinate being, that to contribute to the physical comfort andpleasure of man, and gain his approval, are the highest purposes ofher existence, --it will not be considered essential that she shouldacquire culture. These aims are by no means unimportant ones, orunworthy ones; but are they in all cases the highest a woman shouldpossess?

CHAPTER VI. 

REASONS FOR A CHANGE. --THE EARLY TRAINING OP WOMEN. --COMMONFALLACIES. --THE EDUCATION OF MOTHERS. 

Having glanced at the present state of things, and at some of itscauses, let us show reasons why it should be changed. 

A sufficient reason is, because it dwarfs the intellect, ruins thehealth, and shortens the lives, of so many women. Another reason is, that whereas the husband may keep himself informed on matters ofgeneral interest in literature, art, science, and progress, while thewife must give her mind to domestic activities, there is danger of thetwo growing apart, which growing apart is destructive of that perfectsympathy so essential to the happiness of married life. A certainlibrarian remarked. "If a man wants a book for himself, I pick out asolid work; if for his wife, a somewhat light and trifling one. "Third, because human beings have so much in common, are so closelyconnected, that the good of all requires the good of each, and each ofall. And here is where the shortsightedness of the aristocracy ofwealth and the aristocracy of sex are strikingly apparent. They failto see that the very inferiority of what are called the inferiorclasses re-acts on the superior classes. We all know how it is in thehuman body. An injury to one small bone in the foot may cause distresswhich shall be felt "all over, " and shall disturb the operations ofthe lordly brain itself. So in the body social. The wealthy andrefined, into whose luxurious dwellings enters no unsightly, nouncleanly object, may say to themselves, "Never mind those poorwretches down at the other end, huddled together in their filthytenements. They are ignorant, they don't know how to get along; buttheir condition doesn't concern us, so long as our houses are light, clean, and airy. "

Those poor wretches, however, because they are ignorant, because theydon't know how "to get along, " because they live huddled together infilthy tenements, breathing foul air, starving on bad food, become aready prey to infectious diseases. The infectious diseases spread. Menof wealth, from the refined and cleanly quarters, encounter in theirbusiness walks representatives from the degraded and disgustingquarter, and take from them the seeds of those diseases; or, on somefatal day, a miasma from the corruption of the degraded quarter iswafted in at the windows of the luxurious dwellings, and the idols ofthose dwellings are stricken down. So in the body politic. The wiseand well-to-do enact laws, obedience to which is for the general good. The ignorant and poverty-stricken, because of their unenlightenedcondition, cannot see that obedience is for the good of all, and breakthose laws. Hence crimes, the effects of which the wise and well-to-doare made to feel, and for the punishment of which they are made topay. It is the same with man and woman. Man says, "Let woman manageher domestic concerns, attend to her children, and gain theapprobation of her husband. These are her chief duties, and for theselittle culture is needed. " But woman becomes the mother of sons whobecome men; and the character, condition, and destiny of those sonswho become men are, as we have seen, determined largely by thecondition, pre-natal and post-natal, of the mothers. So that theignorance in which woman is kept by man re-acts on man. 

A fourth reason for a change is, that we live in a republic. In arepublic every man has a voice in public affairs. Every man is first achild; and children, commonly speaking, are what the mother'sinfluence helps to make them. Therefore, if you would have the countrywisely, honestly, and decently governed, give the children the rightkind of mothers. If the community knew its own interests, it would notmerely permit women all possible means of culture, but would force allpossible means of culture upon them. It would say, "We can't affordthat you exhaust yourselves by labor, that you fritter yourselves awayin vanities; for by your deficiencies we all suffer, by your losses weall lose. "

But mark how stupid the community is. It desires that all its membersshall possess wisdom and integrity; it declares that, in regard tocharacter, a great deal depends on early training; it declares thatthis early training is the duty of mothers; and yet it does not takethe next step, and say, _Therefore_ mothers should be qualifiedfor their duty, and have every facility for performing itsatisfactorily. It asserts with great solemnity, "Just as the twig isbent the tree's inclined, " then gives all its twigs into the hands ofmothers, saying, "Here, bend these: it makes a terrible difference howthey are bent, but then it is not important that you have given anyattention to the process. " Or, to vary the statement, the communityvirtually addresses woman in this way: "A fearful responsibility restsupon you. It is the responsibility of training these young, immortalsouls. This is your mission, your high and holy calling. You will, however, get little time to attend to it; and, as for any specialpreparation or knowledge of the subject, none is required. There's agreat deal of delicate and complex machinery to superintend, and amistake will tell fearfully in the result; but, never mind, we'lltrust luck. " "Do we not, " as Horace Mann once asked, "do we not needsome single word where we can condense into one monosyllable themeaning of ten thousand fools?" Some deny the power of early training. "Look!" they say, "there is a family of children brought up justalike, and see how differently they all turn out. " But a family ofchildren should not be brought up just alike. Different temperamentsrequire different treatment. And this is exactly the point whereknowledge is necessary, and a wisdom almost superhuman. That characteris the result of "inherited traits, " as well as of education, does notaffect the case, since children "inherit" from mothers and the sons ofmothers. 

CHAPTER VII. 

A WAY OUT. 

But suppose we leave this part of our subject, and endeavor now tofind a way out of this present state of things. Let us keep thesituation clearly before us. As things are, woman cannot obtainculture because of being overburdened with work and care, and alsobecause of her enfeebled condition physically. To what is this presentstate of things owing? Largely to the unworthy views of both men andwomen concerning the essentials of life, and concerning therequirements of woman's vocation. And these unworthy views of men andwomen, to what are they owing? In a very great measure to earlyimpressions. Who, chiefly, are responsible for these? Mothers. Theyare also, as has been shown, responsible for the larger part of theprevailing invalidism of woman. Let us be sure to bear in mind thatthese evils, these hinderances to culture, can be traced directly backto the influence and the ignorance of mothers; for here is where thewhole thing hinges. Here is a basis to build upon. Child-training isat the beginning. Child-training is woman's work. Everybody says so. The wise say so. The foolish say so. The "oak and vine" man says so. The "private way, dangerous passing" man says so. Very good. If thisis woman's work, _educate her for her work_. If "educate" isn'tthe right word, instruct her, inform her, teach her, prepare her; namethe process as you choose, so that it enables her to comprehend thenature of her business, and qualifies her to perform its duties. Sherequires not only general culture, but special preparation, atechnical preparation if you will. Let this come in as thesupplementary part of what is called her education. Many willpronounce this absurd; but why is it absurd? Say we have in our youngwoman's class at the "Institute, " thirty or forty or fifty youngwomen. Now, we know that almost every one of these, either as a motheror in some other capacity, will have the care of children. The"Institute" assumes to give these young women such knowledge as shallbe useful to them in after life. If "Institutes" are not for thispurpose, what are they for? One might naturally suppose, then, thatthe kind of knowledge which its pupils need for their special vocationwould rank first in importance. And what kind will they need? Stepinto the house round the corner, or down the street, and ask thatyoung mother, looking with unutterable tenderness upon the littlegroup around her, what knowledge she would most value. She will say, "I long more than words can express to know how to keep these childrenwell. I want to make them good children, to so train them that theywill be comforts to themselves and useful to others. But I am ignoranton every point. I don't know how to keep them well, and I don't knowhow to control them, how to guide them. "

"It is said, " you reply, "that every child brings love with it. Is notlove all-powerful and all-sufficient?"

"Love does come with every child; but, alas! knowledge does not comewith the love. My love is so strong, and yet so blind, that it evendoes harm. I would almost give up a little of my love if knowledgecould be got in exchange. "

Here, perhaps, you inquire, somewhat sarcastically, if no instructionon these subjects was given at the "Institute. " She opens wide herastonished eyes. "Oh, no! No, indeed, --surely not. "

"What, then, were you taught there?"

"Well, many things, --Roman history for one. We learned all about thePunic Wars, their causes, results, and the names of the famousgenerals on both sides. "

Now, if a Bostonian were going to Europe, it would do him no harm tobe told the names of all the streets in Chicago, the names of theinhabitants of each street, with the stories of their lives, theirquarrels, reconciliations, and how each one rose or fell to hisposition. Acquiring these facts would be good mental exercise, andfrom a part of them he would learn something of human nature. But whatthat man wants to know more than any thing is, on what day the steamersails for Europe: is she seaworthy? what are her accommodations? isshe well provisioned, well manned, well commanded? are herlife-preservers stuffed with cork or shavings? So, if a man is goingto build a boat, you might show him a collection of fossils, anddiscourse to him of the gneiss system, the mica-schist system, or talkof the atomic theory and protoplasms. Such knowledge would help toenlarge his views, extend his range of vision, and strengthen hismemory, but would not help the man to build his boat. He wants to knowhow to lay her keel straight, how to hit the right proportions, how tomake her mind her helm, how to make her go; and he has been taughtthat the great pachyderms are divided into paleotheria andanoplotheria. The same of our young mother: she wants to know how tobring up her child, and she has been taught "how many Punic wars therewere, their causes, results, and the names of the famous generals onboth sides. "

It may be asked here, in what way, or by what studies, shall the youngwoman's class at the "Institute" be taught the necessary knowledge? Itwould be presumption in one like me to attempt a complete answer tothat question. But the professors, presidents, and stockholders of our"Institutes" are learned and wise. If these will let their light shinein this direction as they have let it shine in other directions, a waywill be revealed. But, while learning and wisdom are getting ready todo this, mere common sense may offer a few suggestions. Suppose theyoung woman's class were addressed somewhat in this way: "It isprobable that all of you, in one capacity or another, will have thecare of young children, and that for the majority it will be the chiefduty of your lives. There is, then, nothing in the whole vast range oflearning so important to you as knowledge on this subject. " This for ageneral statement to begin with. As for the particular subjects andtheir order, common sense would ask, first, What does a young motherwant to know first? First, she wants to know how to keep her childalive, how to make it strong to endure or defy disease. She needs tobe taught, for instance, why a child should breathe pure air, and whyit should not get its pure air in the form of draughts. She needs toknow if it makes any difference what a child eats, or how often, andthat a monotonous diet is injurious. She needs to know something ofthe nutritive qualities of different kinds of food, and why some areeasy of digestion and others not, and in what way each kind builds upthe system. She needs to understand the chemistry of cookery, in orderto judge what kinds of food are calculated to make the best blood, bones, and muscles. She needs to have some general ideas in regard toways of bringing back the system from an abnormal to a healthy state;as, for instance, equalizing the circulations. Learned professors, women physicians, will know how to deliver courses of lectures on allsuch subjects, and to tell what books have been written on them, andwhere these books may be found. And, as for the absurdity of teachingthese things beforehand, compare that with the absurdity of rearing arace to hand over to physicians and undertakers, and choose between. And even apart from their practical bearing, why are not such items ofknowledge as well worth learning, as simply items of knowledge, as thehundreds of others which, at present, no young woman's course can bewithout? There is no doubt that if mothers were given a knowledge ofthese matters beforehand, instead of being left to acquire itexperimentally, the present frightful rate of infant mortality (nearlytwenty-five per cent) would be reduced. Plenty of light has beenthrown on this subject, but the community does not receive it. Here issome which was contributed to one of the Board of Health reports by aphysician. 

"The mother, " he says, "requires something more than her lovinginstincts, her ready sympathies. With all her good-will andconscientiousness, mistakes are made. The records of infant mortalityoffer a melancholy illustration of the necessity of the mother'sprevious preparation for the care of her children. The first-born diein infancy in much larger proportion than their successors in thefamily. The mother learns at the cost of her first child, and isbetter prepared for the care of the second, and still better for thethird and fourth, whose chances of development into full life andstrength are much greater than those of the oldest brothers andsisters. "

Think of the mother learning "at the cost of her first child, " and ofthe absurd young woman learning beforehand; and choose between. Alsoplease compare the "previous preparation" here recommended with themere bureau-drawer preparation, which is the only one at presentdeemed necessary. Another writer, an Englishman, speaking of the highrate of infant mortality, says, "It arises from ignorance of theproper means to be employed in rearing children, " which certainly isplain language. Such facts and opinions as these would make anexcellent basis for a course of lectures at the "Institute, " to begiven by competent women physicians. The advertisements of "Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup" would be remarkably suggestive in thisconnection. A mother of three little children said to me, "I give thebaby her dose right after breakfast; and she goes to sleep, and sleepsall the forenoon. That's the way I get my work done. " We all know whythe baby sleeps after taking its dose. We do not know how many mothersadopt this means of getting their work done; but the fact that theproprietor of this narcotic gained his immense wealth by the sale ofit enables us to form some idea. 

The importance of educating nursery-girls for their calling, and thephysical evils which may arise from leaving young children entirely tothe care of nursery-girls, would be exceedingly suggestive as lecturesubjects. Mr. Kingsley asks, "Is it too much to ask of mothers, sisters, aunts, nurses, and governesses, that they should study thriftof human health and human life by studying somewhat the laws of lifeand health? There are books--I may say a whole literature ofbooks--written by scientific doctors on these matters, which are, tomy mind, far more important to the schoolroom than half the trashyaccomplishments, so called, which are expected to be known by ourgovernesses. "

But, supposing a mother succeeds in keeping her child alive and well, what knowledge does she desire next? She desires to know next how toguide it, influence it, mould its character. She does all these, whether she tries to or not, whether she knows it or not, whether shewishes to or not. Says Horace Mann, "It ought to be understood andfelt, that in regard to children all precept and example, all kindnessand harshness, all rebuke and commendation, all forms, indeed, ofdirect or indirect education, affect mental growth, just as dew, andsun, and shower, or untimely frost, affect vegetable growth. Theirinfluences are integrated and made one with the soul. They enter intospiritual combination with it, never afterward to be whollydecompounded. They are like the daily food eaten by wild game, sopungent in its nature that it flavors every fibre of their flesh, andcolors every bone in their bodies. Indeed, so pervading and enduringis the effect of education upon the youthful soul, that it may well becompared to a certain species of writing ink, whose color at first isscarcely perceptible, but which penetrates deeper and grows blacker byage, until, if you consume the scroll over a coal-fire, the characterwill still be legible in the cinders. "

In regard to inherited bad traits, the question arises, if even thesemay not be changed for the better by skilful treatment given at asufficiently early period. Children inheriting diseased bodies aresometimes so reared as to become healthy men and women. To do thisrequires watchfulness and wise management. How do we know that bywatchfulness and wise management children born with inherited badtraits may not be trained to become good men and women? But themajority of mothers do not watch for such traits. It seldom occurs tothem that they should thus watch. Why not bring the subject to theconsideration of young women "beforehand, " when, being assembled incompanies, they are easy of access? It is too late when they arescattered abroad, and burdened each with her pressing family duties. "Forewarned is forearmed. "

Some are of the opinion that the badness which comes by inheritancecannot be changed. This is equivalent to believing that there is nohelp for the evil in the world. Unworthy and vicious parents arecontinually transmitting objectionable traits to their children, whoin turn will transmit them to theirs, and so on to the end of time. Shall we fold our hands, and resign ourselves to the prospect, whileour educators go on ignoring the whole matter, and leaving those whomight affect a change ignorant that it is in their power to do so?

"But, " says one, "the children of those people who thought so muchabout education, and who started with model theories, behave no betterthan other people's children. " This may be true, and still provenothing. "Those people" might not have thought wisely about education. Their model theories might not have been adapted to the varioustemperaments often found in one family. Their children might have beenexceptionally faulty by nature; unsuspected inherited traits may havedeveloped themselves, and interfered with the workings of the modeltheories. The failure of "those people" shows all the more the need ofpreparation given "beforehand, " and given by those who make thesubject a special study, just as the professor of history, ormathematics, or natural philosophy, makes his department a specialstudy. 

When we consider how much is at stake, it really seems as if learnedand wise professors could not employ their learning and wisdom tobetter purpose than in devising ways of enlightening the "youngwoman's class" upon any and every point which has a bearing on theintellectual and moral training of children. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

SUGGESTIONS FOR LECTURE TOPICS. 

It is not to be supposed that enlightenment on subjects pertaining tothe intellectual and moral training of children can be given to ayoung woman in text-book fashion, cut and dried, put up in packages, and labelled ready for use. But it will be something gained to set herthinking on these subjects, to make her feel their importance, and toinform her in what books and by what writers they have beenconsidered. All this, and more to the same purpose, could be done bylectures and discussions, for which lectures and discussions evenhumble common sense need be at no loss to suggest topics. There are, for instance, the different methods of governing, of reproving, ofpunishing, and of securing obedience; the evils of corporalpunishment, of governing by ridicule, of showing temper whilepunishing. Then there are questions like these: How far should love ofapprobation be encouraged? What prominence shall be given toexternals, as personal appearance, the minutia of behavior, politenessof speech? How may perfect politeness be combined with perfectsincerity? Ways of inculcating integrity. How to teach self-reliance, without fostering self-conceit. How to encourage prudence and economy, and at the same time discourage parsimony. How to combine firmnesswith kindness. Implicit obedience a good basis to work on. How toenter into a child's life, and make it a happy one. How not to becomea slave to a child's whims. The different amounts of indulgence and ofassistance which different temperaments will bear. How shallliberality be inculcated, and extravagance denounced? On deceitfulnessas taught by parents. On lying as taught by parents. On theimpossibility of making one theory work in a whole family of children, or always on a single child. Shall obedience be implicit, and howearly in the child's life shall it be exacted? On marriages. On thetrue issues of life. When shall ambition and the spirit of emulationbe encouraged, and when repressed? The possibility of too muchfault-finding making a child callous. If mere common sense discoversso many subjects, what number may not learning and wisdom discoverwhen their attention shall be turned in this direction?

The "nursery-girl" topic might come up again, and be considered in itsmoral and intellectual aspects. Some mothers see their small childrenonly once or twice a day, while the nurse is with them constantly. This fact might be made strikingly significant by placing it side byside with Horace Mann's words: "In regard to children, all precept andexample, all kindness and harshness, all rebuke and commendation, allforms, indeed, of direct or indirect education, affect mental growth, just as dew and sun and shower, or untimely frost, affect vegetablegrowth. Their influences are integrated and made one with the soul. They enter into spiritual combination with it, never afterward to bewholly decompounded, "--also with a previously quoted assertion, founded on actual experiments, that "it is the medium in which a childis habitually immersed" which helps most in forming the child'scharacter. The kind of reading which falls into the hands of the youngwould be found to be a lecture topic of appalling interest. Strikingillustrations for such lectures could be taken from the advertisementsand statistics of story-paper and dime-novel publishers. Theillustrated papers which can be bought and are bought by youth arecrammed to overflowing with details of vice and barbarity. They havecolumns headed "A Melange of Murder, " "Fillicide, or a Son killing aFather, " "Lust and Blood, " "Fiendish Assassination, " "Particulars ofthe Hanging of John C. Kelly, " "Carving a Darky, " "An InterestingDivorce Case in Boston, " "A Band of Juvenile Jack Sheppards. " And thepictures match the reading, --a jealous lover shooting a half-nakedgirl; a father murdering his family; an inquisitive youth peering intoa ladies' dressing-room. If the contents of these papers are bad forus to hear of, what must they be to the youth who read them? Dimenovels are advertised in these same papers as being issued once amonth, and supplied by all the news companies, "Sensational storiesfrom the pens of gifted American novelists!" "The Sharpers' League, ""Lyte, or the Suspected One, " "The Pirate's Isle, " "Darrell, theOutlaw, " "The Night Hawks, containing Midnight Robbery, Plots dark anddeep, " "The Female Poisoner, " "Etne of the Angel Face and DemonHeart, " "The Cannibal Kidnappers, a Sequel to the Boy Mutineers, ""Life for Life, or the Spanish Gipsy Girl, " "Tom Wildrake'sSchool-days. " Some of these papers are entitled "Boys' and Girls'"weeklies. The old saying is, "Build doves' nests, and doves willcome. " What kind of "nests" are being built by the young readers ofthese publications, of which it may almost literally be said, "no boycan do without one"? The boy at school has one between the leaves ofhis geography; the boy riding, or sailing, or resting from his work orhis play, draws one from his pocket; the grocer's boy comes forward toserve you, tucking one under his jacket. In the way of statistics, itmight be stated that nineteen tons of obscene publications and platesfor the same were seized at one time in New-York City. Shouldrepresentatives of "our best families" ask, "How does this affect usand ours?" it could be answered that catalogues of academies andboarding-schools are obtained, and that these publications are thenforwarded to pupils by mail. 

Topics of this kind would naturally suggest those of an opposite kind, as modes of awakening in children an appreciation of the beauty, thesublimity, the wonderfulness, of the various objects in the world ofnature; also of cultivating in their minds a taste for the beautifuland the refined in art, literature, manners, conversation. Theseconsiderations could be effectively introduced into a lecture orlectures "On the Building of Doves' Nests. " Is it not "essential" thatmothers should have the time, the facilities, and the knowledgenecessary for accomplishing what is here suggested, and that they bemade sensible of its importance? But there is many a busy mother nowwho can scarcely "take time" to look out when her children call her tosee a rainbow, much less to walk out with them among natural objects. 

The object of these lectures should not be to teach any particulartheories on which to act in the management of children, but to soinstruct, so to enlighten young women, that when the time for actioncomes they will act intelligently. With the majority of women themanagement of children is a mere "getting along. " In this "gettingalong" they often have recourse to deception; thus teachingdeceitfulness. They are often unfair, punishing on one occasion whatthey smile at or wink at on another; thus teaching injustice. Theylose self-control, and punish when in anger; thus setting examples ofviolence and bad temper. It is probable that a young woman who hadbeen educated with a view to her vocation would be more likely to actwisely in these emergencies and in her general course of management, than one who had not. There would be more chance of her taking painsto consider. She would not work so blindly, so aimlessly, so "fromhand to mouth, " as do some of our mothers. 

Such enlightenment is an enlightenment for which any good mother willbe thankful. She wants it to work with. She feels the need of it everyhour in the day. Why, then, is it not given to young women as a partof their education, and as the most important part? They areinstructed in almost every thing else. They can give you the areas, population, boundaries, capitals, and peculiarities of far-away andinsignificant provinces; the exact measurements of mountain ranges, lakes, and rivers; statistics, in figures, of the farthest isle beyondthe farthest sea. They are lectured on the antediluvians, on the MilkyWay, on the Siamese, Japanese, North Pole, on all the ologies; on theliterature, modes of thought, and modes of life, of extinct races. They can converse in foreign tongues; they are familiar with deadlanguages, and with the superstitions, observances, and quarrels ofcertain races, barbarous or otherwise, who existed thousands of yearsago. In fact, they are taught, after some fashion, almost every thingexcept what their life-work will specially require. Little will itavail a mother in her seasons of perplexity or of bereavement toremember "what wars engaged Rome after the Punic Wars, and how manyyears elapsed before she was mistress of the Mediterranean. " This andthe following questions are taken from the "Examination Papers" of apopular "Institute" for young ladies. 

"Give names and dates of the principal engagements of the Persianwars, with the names of the great men of Greece during that period. "

"Show cause, object, and result of the Peloponnesian war. "

"Give names and attributes of the seven kings of Rome. "

"After the kings were driven out, what does the internal historymainly consist of?"

"What were the social, and what were the civil wars?"

Common sense might ask why every child born in the nineteenth centurymust go to work so solemnly to learn the minute particulars of thoseold wars! Still common sense would not declare such knowledge to bealtogether worthless; it would only suggest that woman wants the kindwhich will help her in her special department, more than she wantsthis kind. Said a lady in my hearing, --an only child reared in thevery centre of wealth and culture, --"I was most carefully educated;but, when I came to be the mother of children, I found myself utterlyhelpless. "

It is gratifying to know that in regard to these matters common sensehas very respectable learning and wisdom on its side. A celebratedwriter and thinker says, "If by some strange chance not a vestige ofus descended to the remote future, save a pile of our school-books, orsome college examination papers, we may imagine how puzzled anantiquary of the period would be on finding in them no indication thatthe learners were ever likely to be parents. 'This must have been thecurriculum for their celibates, ' we may fancy him concluding: 'Iperceive here an elaborate preparation for many things; especially forreading the books of extinct nations (from which, indeed, it seemsclear that these people had very little worth reading in their owntongue), but I find no reference whatever to the bringing up ofchildren. They could not have been so absurd as to omit all trainingfor this gravest of responsibilities. Evidently, then, this was theschool-course of one of their monastic orders. ' Seriously, is it notan astonishing fact, that though on the treatment of offspring dependtheir lives or their deaths, and their moral welfare or ruin, not oneword on such treatment is ever given to those who will hereafter beparents? Is it not monstrous, that the fate of a new generation shouldbe left to the chances of unreasoning custom, impulse, fancy, joinedwith the suggestions of ignorant nurses and the prejudiced counsel ofgrandmothers? To tens of thousands that are killed, add hundreds ofthousands that survive with feeble constitutions, and millions thatgrow up with constitutions not so strong as they should be, and youwill have some idea of the curse inflicted on their offspring byparents ignorant of the laws of life. With cruel carelessness theyhave neglected to learn any thing about these vital processes whichthey are unceasingly affecting by their commands and prohibitions; inutter ignorance of the simplest physiological laws, they have been, year by year, undermining the constitutions of their children, andhave so inflicted disease and premature death not only on them but ontheir descendants. Consider the young mother and her nurserylegislation. But a few years ago she was at school, where her memorywas crammed with words, names, and dates; where not one idea was givenher respecting the methods of dealing with the opening mind ofchildhood. The intervening years have been passed in practising music, in fancy work, in novel-reading, and in party-going; no thought havingbeen yet given to the grave responsibilities of maternity. And now seeher with an unfolding human character committed to her charge, --seeher profoundly ignorant of the phenomena with which she has to deal, undertaking to do that which can be done but imperfectly even with theaid of the profoundest knowledge.... Lacking knowledge of mentalphenomena, with their causes and consequences, her interference isfrequently more mischievous than absolute passivity would have been. "

This writer, it seems, would also have young men educated with a viewto their probable duties as fathers, and so, of course, would we all;and much might be said on this point, especially of its bearing on thesolution of our problem; still, as Mr. Frothingham said in a recentaddress, "The mother, of all others, is the one to foster and controlthe individuality of the child. " It was "good mothers" which Napoleonneeded in order to secure the welfare of France. "Such kind of womenas are the mothers of great men, " is a significant sentence I haveseen somewhere in print. In fact, so much depends on mothers, thatthere seems no possible way by which our problem can be fully solveduntil the right kind of mothers shall have been raised up, and theirchildren be grown to maturity. 

CHAPTER IX. 

WAYS OF IMMEDIATE ESCAPE. 

But is there no possible way by which mothers now living may escapefrom this present unsatisfactory condition? Yes; but not many willadopt it. Simplicity in food and in dress would set free a very largenumber. A great part of what are called their "domestic" occupationsconsists in the preparation of food which is worse than unnecessary. Agreat part of their sewing work consists in fabricating "trimmings"which are worse than useless, even considering beauty a use, which itis. Let these simplify their cooking and their dressing, and time forculture will appear, and for them our problem be solved. We preachagainst the vice of intemperance, and with reason. Let us askourselves if intemperance in eating and in dressing is not even moreto be deplored. The former brings ruin to comparatively a few: bymeans of the latter the whole tone of mind among women is lowered; andwe have seen what it costs to lower the tone of mind among women. Wemust remember that not only is the condition of the mother reflectedin the organism of her child, but that the child is taught by thedaily example of its mother what to look upon as the essentials oflife. "I feel miserable, " said a feeble house-mother, just recoveringfrom sickness; "but I managed to crawl out into the kitchen, and stirup a loaf of cake. " Now, why should a sick woman have crawled out intothe kitchen, to stir up a loaf of cake? Was that a paramountduty, --one which demanded the outlay of her little all of strength?This is the obvious inference, and one which children would naturallydraw. A lady of intelligence, on hearing this case stated, expressedthe opinion that the woman did no more than her duty. Said this lady, "If her husband liked cake, it was her duty to provide it for him atwhatever sacrifice of health on her own part. "

Now, it seems reasonable to suppose that an affectionate couple wouldhave a mutual understanding in regard to such matters. It seemsreasonable to suppose that an affectionate husband would ratherpartake of plain fare in the society of a wife with sufficient healthand spirits to be companionable, than to eat his cake alone while shewas recovering from the fatigue of making it. 

Speaking of inferences, it is obvious what ones a child will draw fromseeing its mother deprive herself of sleep and recreation andreading-time in order to trim a suit _à la mode_. And theseinferences of children concerning essentials have a mighty bearing onour problem. Some ladies defend the present elaborate style of dresson the ground that it affords the means of subsistence tosewing-girls. There is something in this, but I think not so much asappears. Go into the upper lofts where much of this sewing is done, and what will you find? You will find them crowded with young girls, bending over sewing-machines, or over work-tables, breathing foul air, and, in some cases, engaged in conversations of the most objectionablecharacter. Their pay is ridiculously small, --a dollar and a half fordoing the machine-work on a full-trimmed fashionable "suit. " I learnedthis, and about the conversations, from a worker at one of theseestablishments. Clothes, especially outside clothes, they must haveand will have; consequently the saving must be made on food. Some, toopoor to pay board, hire attic rooms, and pinch themselves in both fireand food. They often carry their dinner, say bread, tea, andconfectioner's pie, and remain at the store all day. They are liableto be thrown among vile associates; they are exposed to manytemptations. They enrich their employers, but not themselves. In dullseasons their situation is pitiable, not to say dangerous. A greatnumber of them come from country homes. Of these, many might livecomfortably in those homes, and others might earn a support by workingin their neighbors' houses, where they would be considered as membersof the families, have good lodging and nourishing food, and wheretheir assistance is not only desired, but in some cases actuallysuffered for. They prefer the excitements of city life. (Of course, these remarks do not apply to all of them. ) Fashionable ladies may notemploy shop-girls directly or indirectly, but their example helps tomake a market for the services of these girls. Another considerationis, that the poor seamstress who is benefited directly by the money offashionable ladies is taught as directly, by their example, falseviews as to the essentials of life; so that what helps in one wayhinders in another. All this should be considered by those who bringforward "sewing-girls' needs" as an argument for an elaborate style ofdress. Even were this argument sound, it fails to cover the case. Avery large proportion of our women have not money enough to hire theirsewing done, and it is upon these that the wearisome burden falls. Tokeep up, to vary with the varying fashion, they toil in season and outof season. Day after day you will see them at their work-tables, theirmachines, their lap-boards; ripping, stitching, turning, altering, furbishing; complaining often of sideache, of backache, of headache, of aching all over; denying themselves outdoor air and exercise andreading-time, --and all because they consider dressing fashionably anessential of life. With them, what costs only time, health, andstrength, costs nothing. 

Think of this going on all over the country. Think of the sacrificesit involves. In view of them, it really seems as if those who canafford to hire their sewing done should give up elaborate trimmingsjust for example's sake. To be sure, this is not striking at thefoundation. To be sure, this is not the true way of bringing about areform. But, while waiting to get at the foundation, would it not bewell to work a little on the surface for the sake of immediateresults? You would refrain from taking a glass of wine if, by sodoing, you made abstinence easier for your weaker brother or sister. Why not consider the weakness of these toiling sisters? It is nottheir fault that they do not see what are the true issues of life. They have not been wisely educated. If the wealthy and influentialwould adopt a simple style of dress, their doing so would be the meansof relieving many overburdened women immediately, and of helping themto solve the problem we are considering. It is not wicked to dresssimply, and no principle would be sacrificed. Neither would goodtaste. Indeed, the latter is opposed to excessive ornamentation, whether in dress, manners, speech, or writing. Long live beauty! Longlive taste! Long live the "aesthetic side"! But simplicity does notnecessarily imply plainness, nor homeliness, nor uncouthness. Therecan be a simplicity of adornment. I am aware that acting for example'ssake is not a sound principle of action; but it is a question if it benot duty in this particular case. A lady physician of large practiceonce said to me, "I see, among poor girls, so much misery caused bythis, "--meaning this rage for excessive trimming, --"that I canscarcely bring myself to wear even one plain fold. " If it be asked, Should we not also relinquish costly fabrics, and the elegantappointments of our dwellings? it may be answered, that "poor girls"commonly give up these as being entirely out of their reach. They buylow-priced material, and call the dress cheap which costs only theirtime, their strength, their sleep, and their opportunities for readingand recreation. 

We all know that the right way is to so educate woman that she will besensible in these matters. The external life is but the naturaloutgrowth of the internal. It is of no use cutting off follies andfripperies from the outside so long as the heart's desire for themremains. This heart's desire must have something better in itsplace, --something higher, nobler, worthier. This something isenlightenment; and to effect the exchange we shall have to begin atthe beginning, and enlighten the mothers. Follies and fripperies, incooking or dressing, will give way before enlightenment, just as dothe skin paintings, tattooings, gaudy colors, glass beads and tinsel, and other absurdities of savage tribes; just as have done the barbariccustoms and splendors of the barbaric ages. Woman is not quite out ofher barbaric stage yet. At any rate, she is not fully enlightened. Thedesire for that redundancy of adornment which is in bad taste stillremains. In the process of evolution, the nose-ring has been cast off;but rings are still hooked into the flesh of the ears, and worn withgenuine barbaric complacency. When women are all wisely educated, ourproblem will melt away and disappear. The wisely-educated woman will, of her own accord, lay hold on essentials and let go unessentials. Shewill do the best thing with her time, the best thing with her means. She may conform to fashion, but will not feel obliged to do so. Infact, when women become enlightened, non-conformity to fashion will beall the fashion. Right of private judgment in the matter will beconceded. All women shall dress as seemeth to them good; and no womanshall say, or think, or look, "Why do ye so?" Those havinginsufficient means and time will be so wise as not to feel compelledto dress like those who have plenty of both. 

Meanwhile, as an immediate measure of relief, suppose a dozen ortwenty mothers in each town should agree to adopt a simple yettasteful style of dress for themselves and their little girls. Thiswould lighten, at once, their heavy burden of work, give them "time toread, " and would be a benefit to those little girls in many ways. 

Another way of immediate escape is by making the present race ofhusbands aware that their wives are being killed, or crazed, with hardwork and care, especially husbands in the small towns and villages, and more especially farmers. In regard to these last, it is noexaggeration to say that their wives in many cases work like slaves. Indeed, this falls short of the truth, for slaves have not the addedburden of responsibility. As things are now, the woman who marries afarmer often goes, as one may say, into a workhouse, sentenced to hardlabor for life. 

When these husbands permit their wives to "overwork, " it is not fromindifference, but from sheer ignorance. They don't know, they don'tbegin to conceive, of the labor there is in "woman's work. " It is truethat neither are merchant-princes aware of what it costs their wivesto superintend the complicated arrangements of their establishments;to see that all the wheels, and the wheels within wheels, revolvesmoothly, and that comfort and style go hand in hand; but let usconsider now the farmers' wives, toiling on, and on, and on, incountry towns, East, West, and all the way between. Their husbands, innot a few cases, are able to hire at least the drudgery done, andwould if they only knew. A young woman from a New Hampshire village, herself an invalid from hard work, speaking to me of her mother, said, "She suffers every thing with her back. When she stoops down to theoven to attend to the pies, she has to hold on to her back, hard, toget up again. " I said, "Why, I shouldn't think your father would lether make them. "--"Oh, " said she, "father don't understand. He's hard. "One day I was sitting in the house of a young woman, --a fragile, delicate creature, scarcely able to lift the baby she washolding, --when her husband came in. He was a working man, tall androbust looking. He walked toward the pantry. "You mustn't cut a pie, "the little wife called out laughing. Then turning to me, she said, with a sort of appealing, piteous glance, "He don't understand howhard it is for me to make pies. " I know a young woman, not a strongwoman, who, with a family of very little children, does her own work, and makes from one to two dozen pies at a common baking, "'cause hubbyloves 'em. " I know another, similarly situated, who gives her husbandpies at breakfast as well as at other meals, because "he was broughtup to them at home. " Now, all these "hubbies" are loving "hubbies, "but--they do not know. A friend of mine, an elderly woman latelydeceased, came to her death (so her neighbors said) by hard work. "Killed with work, " was the exact expression they used. She was a deargood woman; a person of natural refinement, of strict integrity, of aforgiving spirit, intelligent, sweet-tempered, gentle-mannered;everybody loved her. Her husband is a well-to-do farmer. He inheritedmoney and lands, and has them still. His wife, who was every thing tohim, whom he could not bear out of his sight, and for whom, if he hadknown, he would have sacrificed money and lands, is gone. But--he didnot know. "Mother" never complained. "Mother" did the cooking, did thewashing, scrubbed the floors. They had "company forever, " theneighbors said. "Mother" received, with smiling hospitality, all whocame. Help was hard to procure; still help might and would have beenprocured had the husband known the case to be, as it certainly was, acase of life or death. But--he did not know: so "mother" died of workand care. 

You sometimes see a woman, after hurrying through her forenoon's work, sink down entirely prostrated, too tired to speak a loud word, everynerve in her body quivering. The jar of a footfall upon the floor setsher "all a-tremble. " As dinnertime approaches, you see that womanstepping briskly about the house, a light in her eye, a flush on hercheek, vivacity in her motions. She is "living on excitement;" "it isambition which keeps her up. " Her husband, coming in to his dinner, takes her briskness and vivacity as matters of course, regarding her, probably, as a woman who has nothing to do but to stay in the houseall day. He has no more idea of the condition of that woman than herinfant has. 

There are thousands of husbands, who, if they knew, would lift theburden of at least the heaviest drudgery from their wives, thus givingthem longer leases of life. But, as a rule, wives keep their badfeelings to themselves. They know that "a complaining woman" is a termof reproach. They are exhorted in newspaper after newspaper to "makehome happy by cheerful looks and words. " They wish to do so. With alaudable desire to save money, they spend themselves, and "get along"without help. It is truly a getting-along, not a living. Sometimes, however, they are obliged to mention their feebleness, or theirailments, as reasons for neglect of duty. It is astonishing how littleimportance, in many cases, the husband attaches to the facts thusstated. Apparently he considers ailments either as being natural towoman, or as afflictions sent upon her by the Lord. He seems to lookupon her as a sort of machine, which is liable to run down, but whichmay easily be wound up by a little medicine, and set going again. Ifthe medicine does not set her going again, he brings her pastor topray for her; if she dies, he says, "The Lord hath taken her away. "All this because he does not know. When husbands are enlightened onthis important point, this solemn point, they will insist on less workfor women. Less work implies more leisure, and with leisure comes timefor culture. 

Another step towards the immediate solution of our problem is, toestablish the fact that woman stands on a level with man, and isneither an appendage nor a "relict. " Relict, it is true, only meansthat which is left; still we do not hear James Smith called the"relict" of Hannah Smith. Standing on the same level does not imply alikeness, but simply a natural equality, --equality, for instance, inmatters of conscience, judgment, and opinion. It is often said, that, as a barbarous race progresses toward civilization, its women arebrought nearer and nearer to an equality with its men. Thus in thebarbaric stage woman is an appendage to man, existing solely for hispleasure and convenience. She is then at her lowest. As civilizationprogresses, she rises gradually nearer an equality with man. 

When she is all the way up, when her individuality is recognized asman's is recognized, then civilization, in this respect, will havedone its perfect work. Woman among us is almost all the way up, butnot quite. She is still considered, and considers herself, a littlebit inferior by nature. We see at once how this bears upon ourquestion. Just so much as woman is considered inferior, just so muchless importance is attached to the nature of her occupations andacquirements. It is all right enough that an inferior being shoulddevote herself to follies, or to drudgeries, or to catering tofastidious appetites. These duties are on a level with her capacities;for these she was created, and for these culture is unneeded. Whencivilization shall have finished its work, so far as to bring woman upto her true position of equality with man, --equality in matters ofconscience, judgment, opinion, and privileges, --then will man be ableto put off from his shoulders the responsibility of deciding what is, and what is not, proper for her to do. He has carried double weightlong and uncomplainingly, and should in justice to himself berelieved. Equals need not decide for equals. Woman will take up theburden he throws off, and decide for herself. We must proceedcautiously here, for there are lions in the path. Being free tochoose, she may choose to take interest in such kinds of publicaffairs as have a bearing on her special duty. We are interested inthis, remember, because whatever affects her special duty affects thesolution of our problem. 

Now let us ask, under our breaths, what are public affairs? The publicconsists of individuals. If there were no individuals there would beno public. Public affairs, then, are only individual's affairs, managed collectively, because that is the most convenient way ofmanaging them. Their good or bad management affects the comfort ofmen, women, and children. Let us ask, why, simply by being christened"public affairs, " should they be turned into a great, horrid bugaboo, too dangerous for women even to think of? Schools are a part of publicaffairs, and one would suppose it to be a part of woman's vocation toascertain what is the influence of these schools on the children sheis bringing up; to learn whether they are working with her or againsther. Cases might arise concerning choice of teachers, hours of study, kinds of study, ventilation, and so forth, in which it would be herduty, as a child-trainer, to express an opinion: like the followingone, for instance, which comes to us in the newspapers, as "criminalnegligence in the affairs at the Mount Pleasant Schoolhouse, by whichabout a dozen children have died of disease, others passed throughsevere sickness, and not a few, including teachers, made temporaryinvalids, or infected with boils or scrofulous sores, caused bybreathing the polluted air that has infested the building fromneglected earth-closets. The Board of Health officially announced thatthis was the cause of the sickness, and recommended the removal of theearth-closets. The janitor of the building, it seems, is incompetent, and holds his place only because he is also a member of the SchoolBoard; which suggests the query whether men unfit for janitors areusually placed on the Nashua School Committee.... Five of the lads whodied were among the brightest scholars in the public schools. Thebuilding has not yet been properly renovated. "

Shall woman's sons be thus destroyed, and woman be powerless tointerfere?

In urgent cases like this, it might become the duty of the mother toexpress her opinion by dropping a slip of paper with a name written onit into a hat or a box. It would even be possible to conceive ofemergencies in which these slips of paper would so affect some vitalissue, --as, for instance, the choice or removal of the janitor whowill furnish the air for her children to breathe, --that the fatherwould stay with the children while the mother went out to thus expressher opinion. 

Then, indeed, would the climax be reached! Then would that state ofthings so long foretold have come to pass: the husband takes care ofthe children, while the wife goes out to vote! Then would the funnyartist snatch up his pencil, and the funny editor his quill. It hasalways been a mystery to me where the laugh came in on this joke. True, it is not his calling; but what is there so very incongruous ina father's "taking care" of his own children? Fathers love theirchildren, and will toil night and day for them, even for the verysmall ones. Is there any thing ridiculous, then, in their taking themin their arms, and overlooking their childish sports? A man may take alamb in his arms without losing an iota of his dignity, and withoutbeing caricatured in any one of our weeklies. It is quite time thatthese precious little human lambs ceased to be the subjects of scoffsand sneers. 

But we must pass on from this part of our subject, and glance at oneor two other ways of immediate escape from the present unsatisfactorystate of things. See how quickly such escape might be made by a trulyenlightened family. First, they hold counsel together, men and women, all desiring the same object. Question, How shall "mother" find timefor culture? Say the male members, "Mother's work must belessened, --must be: there is a necessity in the case. "--"Buthow?"--"Well, investigate. Begin with the cooking. Let's see what wecan do without. " Three cheers for our side! When man begins to seewhat cooking he can do without, woman will begin to see her time forculture. Dinners are summoned to the bar, examined, and found guiltyof too great variety and of too elaborate desserts. Sentence, lessvariety, and fruit for dessert instead of pies, or even pudding:exception filed here in favor of simple pudding when first course isscanty or lacking. Suppers summoned, tried, and found guilty of toogreat variety and too much richness; sentenced to omit pies for life, and admonished by judge not to cling too closely to work-compellingcake. The time thus rescued from the usurper, Cooking, is handed overto "mother, " the true heir, to have, and to hold. 

Or, suppose the question to be one of health. "'Mother' works toohard. She will wear herself out. "--"She doesn't complain. "--"Thatmakes no difference. She must have help. "--"Where is the money comingfrom to pay the help?"--"Make it; earn it; dig for it; do withoutsomething; give up something; sell something; live on bread and water. Is there any thing that will weigh in the balance against 'mother's'life? We shall feel grief when she is worn out; why not when she iswearing out? We would make sacrifices to bring her back; why not tokeep her with us?" The truth is, that heretofore the wrong things havebeen counterbalanced. Placing simple food in one scale, and daintiesin the other, of course the latter outweighs the former; but place"mother's" needs and "mother's" life in one scale, and dainties in theother, and then will the latter fly up out of sight, and never beheard from any more. Councils of this kind, we must remember, are notto become general until the requirements of "woman's mission" aregenerally understood, and until a great many men are made aware that agreat many women are killing themselves by hard work and care, anduntil academic professors perceive that it is wiser to give a youngwoman the knowledge she will want to use than that which is given forcustom's sake. But how is this general enlightenment to be effected? Idon't know, unless the lecturer makes these subjects the theme of hislecture, or the poet the burden of his verse, or the minister the textof his discourse. --Not proper to be brought into the church? Why not?A great deal about heathen women is brought into the church. AreAmerican women of less account than they? Does not the condition ofour women call for missionary effort? True, American wives do notsacrifice themselves for their deceased husbands, but we have seenthat they are sacrificed. There is here no sacred river into which themother hurls her newborn babe; but it has been shown, that, becauseAmerican mothers are left in ignorance, a large proportion of theirchildren drop from their arms into the dark river of death. 

Should any object that such subjects are below the dignity of thechurch, we might reply that the church is bound to help us for thereason that the present state of things is partly owing to herefforts. The ministers of the church in past times have labored toconvince people that this life for its own sake is of little account;that we were placed here, not to develop the faculties and enjoy thepleasures which pertain to this stage of our existence, but solely toprepare for another. They have taught that we sicken and dieprematurely because God wills it, not because we transgress his laws. To those suffering physically from such transgression they have saidin effect, "Pray God to relieve your pain, for he sent it upon you. "

CHAPTER X. 

MEANS OF ESCAPE ALREADY IN OPERATION. 

Three effective means by which the desired change may be accomplishedare, first, that women meet regularly for the purpose of discussingsuch matters as especially affect them and their mission; second, thatthey have a paper for this same object; third, that representativewomen from different sections of the country come togetheroccasionally, and compare views on these matters. Such means wealready have in the "Woman's Club, " the "Woman's Journal, " and the"Woman's Congress. "

The first of these institutions is not what the uninitiated, judgingfrom its name, might suppose. The writer, though not a club-member, can affirm of her own knowledge, that at the weekly gatheringsquestions are discussed which have a direct bearing on the interestsof the family and household. From these gatherings, members return totheir homes strengthened, refreshed, enlightened. All teachers cantestify that from teachers' conventions they go back to work withawakened interest, fresh zeal, and with newly-acquired ideas. Thecontact of mind with mind has invigorated them. They have all takenfrom each other, yet none have been losers, but all have been gainers. Every school which lost its teacher for a season gained tenfold bythat teacher's absence. So it is with the club meetings. Women leavetheir homes to consider how the standard of those homes may be raised. I happened to be present once when the discussion was upon "The amountand kind of obedience to be exacted from children;" and I said tomyself, Now, this seems the right thing exactly. How natural, howsensible, for women to meet and confer on such subjects as this, eachone bringing her perplexities or her suggestions; the old giving theirexperience, the young profiting thereby! What better could mothers dofor their children than thus to meet occasionally and hold counseltogether?

Still people in general do not take this view of the case. People ingeneral are satisfied if a mother is bodily present with her children, and do not trouble themselves as to her enlightenment. 

Look at the last Woman's Congress, side by side with three other largeconventions held in this country not so very long ago, and compare itspurposes with theirs. The questions which occupied the members of oneof the three related chiefly to articles of belief, and to thoseparticular articles of belief in which they all believed. It wasstated beforehand, that the great object to be attained was unity, andthat no subjects would come up which, by calling out opposingopinions, might mar the harmony of the occasion. 

Another convention occupied much of its time in deciding whether thoseof the denomination who sit at communion with others of thedenomination who have sat at communion with a person who has not beenwholly immersed, shall be fellowshipped by the denomination. 

An enthusiastic member of still another convention publishes a longand glowing account of its proceedings, in which account occurs thefollowing curious paragraph:--

"During the discussions in convention, the presentation of petitionsand memorials and drafts of canons, the reports of the committees oncanons, the amendments and substitutes, the transit of canons back andforth between the two houses, and finally, the conference committee, the slowly developing action of the convention was under suchconfusion and cloud, that it was and may yet be difficult for many, especially those at a distance, to make up their mind as to whatfinally took place. " The object of this paragraph was to account forsome wrong impressions made by the published reports. 

I submit that what humanity wants to know is, how to live rightly, andthat it is suffering for this knowledge. It is not suffering to knowall about "altar cloths" and "eucharistic lights, " and "coloredchasubles" and "the use of the viretta in worship. " It is notsuffering to know if certain persons can partake of the Lord's Supperwith other certain persons who have partaken with other certainpersons. It is not suffering to know that a large number ofindividuals believe exactly alike, and exactly as did their ancestors. How are all these agreements and disagreements to help a poor fellowwho has inherited certain proclivities, and wishes to be rid of them, and that his children may overmaster them?

Humanity does want to know, right away, how to keep itself alive andwell and doing well. It wants brought up for consideration the wrongswhich oppress it, the evils which defile it, the crimes which degradeit; to have their causes investigated, and their remedies suggested. This is live work; and it is such work as this which occupied theattention of the Woman's Congress. No uncertain sound there. Those "ata distance, " those at the very antipodes, might "make up their mind"that its members were asking themselves, what have we, as wives andmothers, to do with these things? While other conventions are"agreeing, " and "fellowshipping, " and wrangling over "altar cloths, "and "virettas, " the Woman's Congress considers matters which have animmediate practical bearing on the welfare of human beings. While thecommunity is working away at the surface, with its prisons, itspolice, its hangmen, its societies for the suppression of vice, itsschools for reform, its homes for the fallen (no doubt often with goodresults), the Woman's Congress strikes at the foundation, and bypointing out "The Influence of Literature upon Crime, " and the tellingeffect of "Pre-natal Influences, " suggests how vice may be prevented, character right-formed, and humanity kept from falling. It inquires, "How can Woman best oppose Intemperance?" It considers those two vastunderlying subjects, "The Education of Women, " and "The PhysicalEducation of our Girls;" while it by no means overlooks thoseunfortunates whom society sets apart, and labels "fallen women. "

In regard to our problem, if any light has been thrown, if, "the word"has been guessed, I should say "the word" is "enlightenment, "--enlightenment of the community as to the requirements ofwoman's mission, enlightenment of woman herself as a preparationfor that mission. What say you, friends? Shall our women receivesuch enlightenment? and shall it come in to the finishing orsupplementary part of their education (so called)?

True, this will cause innovations; but is it _therefore_objectionable? No one will call our present system of education aperfect one; why, then, should there not be innovations? "Why, indeed, " asks a writer in "The Atlantic, " "except that the training oftheir children is the last thing about which parents and communitieswill exert themselves to vigorous thought and independent action? Nomore striking proof of the inertia of the human mind can be found, " hesays, "than the fact... That for many generations the true philosophyof teaching has had its prophets and apostles, and yet thatsubstantially we are training our children in the same old blunderingway. " The fault of this "old blundering way, " it seems to me, is itsone-sidedness. It educates only the intellect. Is this the right way?Surely the moral nature is also educable. Indeed, if the mind istrained to act energetically, so much more should the moral sense betrained to control the workings of that mind. Then, since the world, we hope, is outgrowing battles, why is it considered _essential_that we inform ourselves so particularly, so minutely, sostatistically, concerning battles fought so long, long, long ago? Doesthe process hasten on the time of beating swords into ploughshares?Suppose each generation, as it comes on to the stage, does informitself thus minutely: what, in the long-run, does humanity gainthereby?

But these considerations open up subjects too vast and too importantto be even mentioned in these closing chapters. Will not you who knowthe inevitable influence of the mother upon her children, --will younot see to it that some portion of the time devoted to her educationis spent in preparing her for her life-work? Can you think of anysurer way than this by which good citizens may be raised up for ourcountry? Wickedness abounds. It is omnipresent. Every day, --yes, twicea day, --the newspapers bring us tidings of corruption, fraud, villany, not only in low places, but in high places; in exceedingly highplaces. Crime is on the increase. Public officials, supported andtrusted by the people, hesitate not to defraud the people. Individualsin good and regular standing socially and religiously, church-members, sabbath-school teachers, defraud their nearest friends. 

Nobody can tell whom to trust. If, then, neither church, nor state, nor social position, nor any outside influence, has power to make menhonest, where shall we look for such power? We must look to an insideinfluence. The restraining power, in order to be effective in allcases, must proceed from the character of the individual; and thecharacter of the individual is formed to a very great degree by earlytraining; and early training comes from--women. So here we are againdown to our working ground. 

Let us hope that innovations will be made. Let us hope that at nodistant day it will be thought as important for a young person to bemade a good member of society as to be able to cipher in the "rule ofthree, " in "alligation medial" and "alligation alternate. " A recentwriter, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania, urges "theimportance of incorporating into our public school systems suchstudies and such training as will tend to educate men for their placein the body politic. " He says, "A line of teaching which concernsmatters of more importance to society than all the ordinary branchesof knowledge put together is allowed to have no formal provision madefor it. " This writer recommends the study of biographies. In Locke'ssystem good principles were to be cared for first, intellectualactivity next, and actual knowledge last of all. 

Suppose the young women of thirty years ago had been thoroughlyinstructed in hygienic laws: would not the effects of such instructionbe perceptible in our present health-rates and death-rates? Let usbegin now to affect the health-rates and death-rates of thirty yearshence. And it will do no harm to instruct young men also in suchmatters. Even while I am writing these pages, a State Board of Healthreport comes to me, in which it is shown by facts and figures how ourdeath-rates are affected by ignorance, --ignorance as exhibited in thelocating, building, and ventilating of dwelling-houses, drainage, situation of wells, planting of trees, choice of food and cooking ofthe same, as well as in the management of children. Can any subjectscomprised in any school course compare in importance with these? Forhumanity's sake, let our young people take time enough from theirgeographies and Latin dictionaries to learn how to keep themselvesalive! It is possible too, that, if the young women of thirty yearsago had been enlightened on the subject of moral and mental training, our present crime rates might be less than they are, and dishonestyand dishonor in high places and in low places be less frequent. 

Mr. Whittier tells the story of a man in a certain town, who desiredthe removal of an old building--an almshouse, I think--from a certainlocality. As the quickest way of accomplishing this, he gave a man adollar a day on condition that this man should do nothing else buttalk from morning to night with various people on the subject ofhaving that building moved. And it was moved. The old building we haveto move is made up of prejudices, ignorance, settled opinions, andfirmly-established customs, and it is therefore quite time we werebeginning our work. Remember the tremendous importance of our object. An Englishman, Lord Rosebury, in a recent address, insists on aspecial preparation for the hereditary rulers who sit in Parliament;and, if those who are to rule mind need this, how much more do theyneed it who are to stamp mind, and give it its first direction! HoraceMann shall close this chapter with one of his impressive sentences. Says this truly great man, "If we fasten our eyes upon the effectswhich education may throw forward into immortal destinies, it is thenthat we are awed, amazed, overpowered, by the thought that we havebeen placed in a system where the soul's eternal flight may he madehigher or lower by those who plume its tender wings, and direct itsearly course. Such is the magnitude, the transcendence, of thissubject. "

CHAPTER XI. 

SUPPLEMENTARY. 

Some persons have asked, after hearing or reading the foregoingsuggestions, "Do not _men_ also work too much and read toolittle? Is not the influence of _fathers_ on their children to beconsidered? Should not _fathers_ be educated for their vocation?"To these questions there can be but one answer. Yes! and the yescannot be too emphatic. But the paper which formed the nucleus ofthese chapters was written by a woman at the request of women, to beread before a woman's club assembled to consider the question, "Howshall the mother obtain culture?" The very fact that such a questionhad suggested itself to them, shows that women feel the need of morethan their present opportunities for culture. If men feel this need, there is nothing to prevent them from assembling to discuss theirunsatisfactory condition, to devise ways of improving it, to considertheir responsibilities, and to inquire how they shall best qualifythemselves to fulfil the duties of their vocation. The writer is underthe impression that men's clubs do not meet especially with a view tosuch discussions. 

The following paragraphs comprise the first part of a letter publishedin "The New York Tribune. "

"These letters will speak to the hearts of thousands of women allthrough the country, and particularly to the women "out West, " as theyhave already to my own. This problem has been revolved in my mindagain and again, but no clew has appeared by which to solve it; and Ihave laid it down hopelessly, feeling that there is no alternative butto submit and carry the burden as long as strength endures, and seeingno outlook for the future but in a brief period of old age, when careand labor must come on younger shoulders. 

"I want to speak only of the condition of women with whom I am bestacquainted, --the wives of farmers in this part of Illinois. Manyinstances I have known of women who received in the East an educationin some cases superior to that of their husbands, but a life ofconstant care and drudgery has caused them to lose, instead of gain inmental culture, while the husbands have grown away from them; and itis only in subjects of a lower nature that they have a commoninterest. A man, in his every-day intercourse with other men, and hisbusiness calls into all kinds of places and scenes, must be a fool notto receive new ideas, not to become more intelligent on many subjects. But what can be expected of the wife, almost always at home in theisolated farm-house, in a sparsely settled community, and if poor andstruggling with debt, as many are, with no reading except, one or twonewspapers? If she had a library of books, it would make but littledifference, for she has no time to read them. All through the Westerncountry there is an absolute dearth of women's "help. " "A girl" canhardly be obtained for love or money. Girls in towns or cities willnot go into the country, and country girls are too independent. Ifthey have a father's house, they will not leave it for any length oftime, as actual want is not known here in the country. Within a radiusof five miles in every direction from my home, where I have livedeight years, I have never known or heard of a family or personsuffering for any thing to eat, drink, or wear; and have never had acall for help in that direction. A house-mother of my acquaintance, whose husband owns a "section" farm, suffers much from illness, andhas a large family, yet for months has been without any help in herwork but that of her little girls, --the oldest not overtwelve, --simply because she could not get a servant. The farmersthemselves are under less necessity to labor than in many other partsof the country. Farms are comparatively large, and produce largecrops, and it pays them to hire laborers. Many farmers work in thefield very little, while the wife and mother does the housework notonly for her own family, but for from one to three laborers. Duringthe rush of crop raising and harvesting, from April to August, shemust be up at four in the morning, and she cannot have her supperuntil the farm work is all done; and by the time her children are putto bed, the milk cared for, and dishes washed, it is nine o'clock orafter. It is hard for a woman who is hungry for reading to see howmuch leisure even "hired men" have to read, --their winter and rainydays, their long noonings and evenings, and odd bits of time, whileshe has comparatively none. "

It seems, then, that it is with women as with men: at the West too fewworkers for the work, at the East too little work for the workers. Now, in the case of the men, there is a regularly organized plan tobring the workers to the work. Laborers are taken from the East wherethey stand in each other's way, and carried to the West where theirservices are needed. Why not have some arrangement of this kind forthe women? In the present condition of things, destitute women andgirls congregate in our cities, and in dull seasons depend on charityfor their daily food. In Boston, during the last winter, thischaritable feeding was reduced to a system, and, according topublished reports, immense numbers were thus supplied with food. Itseems a pity that women and girls should starve or live on charity inour cities, while so many families in the West are suffering for theirhelp. Can there not be some concerted plan between these widelyseparated sections of the country whereby at least a portion of ourdestitute ones can be conveyed to the West, and there provided withcomfortable homes?

By private letters received from "Tribune" readers living in differentparts of the country, it appears that many thoughtful people areconsidering our problem, and devising ways of solving it. One of theseletters says, "You sprinkle rose water where you should pouraquafortis. You say husbands '_don't know_' that their wives areoverworked. The truth is, they don't care. " The writer recommends thatthe laws be so altered as to make second marriages illegal, assumingthat, if a man could have only one wife, he would take good care ofthat one. This is an unpleasant view of the case, and would not bepresented here, only that, from the earnest downrightness of theletter, it seems probable that its writer speaks from knowledge, andrepresents a class, --a small one, let us hope. 

Three private letters, coming one from the South, one from the East, and one from the West, declare that woman's present state ofinvalidism and thraldom to labor is occasioned by the too frequentrecurrence of the duties and exhaustive demands of maternity. Thewriters of the letters affirm, that, in these matters, women are oftenmade the slaves of sensual husbands, and earnestly entreat that thisshall be mentioned among the "causes of the present state of things. "

The only sure and lasting remedy for the above-mentioned evils, andothers similar to them, is a wise education. When man is wiselyeducated, and not till then, will he have a proper consideration forwoman.