Carroll free press. [volume] (Carrollton [Ohio]) 1834-1861, 1846-09-11
VOLUME 12----NUMBER IS


cation which all admit to be necessary for their
own good and the welfare Of the State. lis Ger.
tainly happy thought which thus blends in one
the interests of women and children, and opens
before us the prospect of intellectual and moral
elevation to both. The causes which operate to
the disadvantage of women are presented with
great clearness and force, and arc briefly these:
|. The principle of caste arrayed against health
lul and productive labor; 2. The excess of le-
male population in tho older States caused by the
dlspropOrtionate emigration to the west of the 9TH
er sex; 3. The absence Of any profession for
women of education and high position, which,
like law, medicine and theology, opens the way
TO competence, influence and honor, and presents
motives for cxertion; 4. The contempt, neglect,
or utter Indifference, which has belallen the noble
profession of teacher. On the subject of caste
as opposed to labor, her remarks are so impor-
ant that we cannot resist the temptation to grati-
iy our readers by quoting them:
"To understand the power of the principle,
see what sacrifices men and women make, and
what tolls they endure, to save themselves from
whatever sinks them in station and estimation.-
And this is a principle which is equally powerful
in high and low, rich and poor. To observe how
it bears against heathiul and productive labor, let
any woman, who esteems herself in the higher
grades of society, put the case as her own, and
imagine that her son, or brother is about to mar
ry young lady, whose character and education
are every way lovely and unexceptonablc, but
who, it appears, is a SeamStreSS, or a nurse, or a
domestic, and how few are there, who will not be
conscious of the opposing principle of CASTE
But suppose the young lady to be one, who has
been earning her livelihood by writing poetry and
love stories, or who has lived all her davs in ut
ter idlcness, and how suddenly the feelings are
changed! Now, all the comfort and happiness of
society depend upon having that work properly
performed, which is done by nurses, seamslress-
es, chamber-mads, and cooks; and so long as
this kind of work is held to be degrading, and
those who perform it are allowed to grow up TO-
norant and vulgar, and then are held down by the
! prCludlces OF caste, every woman will use the
greatest efforts, and undergo the greatest priva-
tons, to escape from the degraded and discrcdit-
able position. And this state of society is now,
by the natural course Of things, bringing a just
rctrbution on the classes who cherish it. Do
mestics are forSaking the kitchen, and thronging
to the workshop and mandatory, and mainly un-
der the influence of the principle of caste; while
the family state suffers kecnly from the loss.-
Meantime the daughters of wealth have their in
teleCtual faculties and their sensibilities develop
ed, while all the household labor, which would
equally develop their physical powers, and save
from ll-health, is turned off to hired domestics
or shaving mother The only remedy for this
evil is, securing proper education for all classes,
and making productive labor honorable, by hay
ing all classes engage in it,"
Passing over much that wewould like to quote
if we could find room, we will now present pas
sage containing the germ of Miss Boecher's plan
for removing the evils which she so graphically
describes:
"Another cause of depression to our sex is
found in the fact that there is no profession for
women Of education and high position, which,
like law, medicine, and theology, opens the way
to competence, influence, and honor and pre-
sents motives for eXertion. Women ought never
TO be led to married life except under the prompt
ings of pure affection. TO marry for an estab-
lishment, for position, or for something TO do,
is deplorable wrong. But how many women,
for want of high and honorable profession to
engage their time, are led to this melancholy
course. This is not so because Providence has
not provided an ample place for such profession
for woman, but because custom or prejudice, or
a low estimate of its honorable character, pre-
vents her from entering it. TReeducatiOnof chill
dren, that is the true and noble profession of
woman-that is what is worthy the noblest pow
ers and affections of the nobest minds.
"Another cause which deeply affects the best
interests of our sex is the contempt, or utter neg
lect and Indifference, which has befallen this only
noble profession open to woman. There is no
employment, however disagreeabe or however
wicked, which custom and fashion cannot render
elegant, interesting, and enthusiastically sought.
A striking proof of this is seen in the military
profession. This is the profession of killing our
fetLOw-CreGtHreS, and is attended with every thing
low, brutal, unchristian, and Disgusting and yet
what halos of glory have been rung around it.,
and how the young, and generous, and enthusi-
astic have been drawn into it! If one-half the
poetry, fiction, oratory, and taste thus misem-
ployed had been used to embelsh and elevate
the employment of training the mind of child
hood, in what an altered position should VIC find
this noblest of all professions!
GAS it is, the employment of teaching children
is regarded as the most wearying drudgery, and
few resort to it except from necessity and one
very reasonable cause of this aversion is the ut
ter neglect of any arrangements for preparing
teachers for this arduous and difficult profession
The mind of young child is like a curious in
strument, capable of exquisite harmony when
touched by skillful hand, but sending forth only
annoying harshness when unskilfully addressed
To teacher is committed collection of these
delicate contrivances; and, without experience,
without instruction, it is required not only that
each one should be turned Alright, but that all be
combined in excellent harmony: as if young
girl were sent into splendid orchestra, all gno-
rant and unskllul, and required to draw melody
from each instrument, and then to combine the
whole in faultless harmony. And in each case
there are, here and there, individual minds, who,
without instruction, are gifted by nature with apt
ness and skill in managing the music either of
matter or of mind; but that does not lessen the
folly, in either case, of expecting the whole pro-
lession, either of music or of teaching, to be pur