The Literary echo, and Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1851-1854, 1853-02-17
Intellectual Women.


These intellectual women are a great
bother. They know so much about
physiology, and constitutional law, and
natural rights, and spirit rappings, and
things of the sort, and they can't find
room for the knowledge necessary to mix
johnny cake or to get out of bed
earlier than nine o'clock in the morn
ing. They don't allow their husbands
the few of them that ever get husbands
to kiss them oftener than once in four
years, and then it must be done by let
ter, in a perfurned envelope, with a
Woman's Rights motto for seal, or it
will shock their nerves. At the same
time they can get along we'll enough in
the dissccting room, and are very anxious
to get into caucus and legislative assem-
bly,. They are very useful creatures,
we suppose, in their way but the Lord
bless the poor fellow who gets yoked to
one of 'em. We would sooner marry a
rod of post fence, or soda fountain, or
clothes line, than one of the real gen
uine articles. - Temperance Advocate.
To the Editors of the Literary Echo -
MIR. Webster, of the Temperance Ad-
rocate, seems to have taken stroug dis
like to intellectual women. He bears
down upon them in a-shall We say gal
liant 3 style, and we can imagine him
feeling, as he laid down his pen after
writing the above article, that he had
annihilatcd, if not the race, at least all
their claims to consideration and indul-
gcnce. But has he told us the whole
matter?
AS to his matrimonial preferences,
they are oflittle consequence in the case,
for even were he not already blessed
with help meet, and did the usages OF
society and the nature Of woman sane
ton her making advances in this direc-
ton, he would lie likely to have little
trouble from the class he talks of; there
! would be small sympathy between him
5 and the intellectual women he SO despises
BY the way, we wonder whether thos,
. women who attended the Temperance
: conventions in Providence in Novem
! Der and January, and those other womcl
q to whose "votes" in last Springs elec
l. ton Mr. Webster attributes so muc
- influence, have any intellect. ...
h But there are some things further W
ID would like to have him explain. w
IS would like to know how the possessio
- :. of high and cultivated intellect operate
q on the domestic cha, acter of men. Per
S haps he can enlighten us on this point
We should judge from his reasoning wit
respect to women, that men of intellec
are bad husbands and fathers, that the
neglect to provide for their families, an
are quite above the ordinary manifesto
tons of affection, that they are sell
concerted, Whimsical, diso5roooblo
wanting in all that tenderness of feelin
= and sympathy for weakness and hcl,
lessness, which commands respect whi
Do it awakens admiration and love. Ifthes
as things be so, it were we'll that womer
y, especially the unmarried portion of then
III who arc liable to become involved i
re such entangling alliances" shoul
" know it, that they may avoid maxim
'n shipwreck of their affections and the
d comforts by uniting themselves with IN
nc tellectuol men. We hope our fricn
'e Webster will give us further light O
III this matter.
az But perhaps he is opposed to intelle,
=" in general. If SO, he talks wisely. w
y, believe it is generally allowed that th
49, worlds great men, those who have rise
" from obscurity to make the natior
quake at the sound of their names,
- who have enshrined themselves in th
- hearts of all ages by their great deco
done for humanity, have owed more
~ their natural greatness to their mother