, 1855-06-08

immortal being or regard her in her re
, lations to man himself, we come to tho
same conclusion in favor of culture, high
and wide, and deep,
! Her education involves, not only The
culture of the intellectual powers but the
attainment Of just views respecting life, its
aim and purpose just habits of selfcon
troll and discipline real, earnest, and prac
teal religion. II involves veI-balanccd
mind, clear in its perceptions Of dnty, and
decided in its course Of action il requires
the possession of those qualities to which
the child ought TO lie trained, so that pre-
cept and practice may not be at variance,
and that the influence exercised may be Of
q nature TO command love and respect, not
as an cxaction, but as a rcsult-thc ncccS-
sary consequence Of the power which the
cultivated, disciplined, and chOsteucd mind,
must exert upon the Que which has still to
undergo the process of cultivation and dis
cipline The common systems of education
for girls have almost all been at fault in
this respect. Music, singing, drawing,
dancing, modern languages, &c, &c, have
been called education and all the best years
Of girls life have been FILTERED away up
on words and forms for in but few instan-
ces is complete knowledge Of these snb-
jects given, while all that constitutes the
preparation and the training for life, all
that would lead the yonng Agirl to reaec-
tion, to a consideration Of her own cnpa-
bilitics and responsibilities, and to selfde-
pendent decision and action, which life
must require, has never been brought into
play.
The force Of example, too, must not bc
lost sight Of. Perhaps no ruth requires to
be more deeply impressed upon the minds
Of mothers and educators, precisely be-
cause it is one generally neglected, both in
principle and practice, than this That The
example cfhe educator is continual education.
Grasses viii not grow of thorts, nor hgs
from thistIcs. If We would trhin our clil-
dren to value truth, 'oe must Carefully re-
spect It /; IL TO habits Of industry, we must
be Industrious If to neainess, we must be
neat If to patient endurance and selfcon-
troll. they must sec such qualities in us.
The child is essentially an initiative being !;
and accordingly, as we place before him
habits of truth or its opposite--be it only
in slight subterfuge or prevarication of
word or action habits Of industry or
idleness Of order or disorder Of selfish
ness or unselfslness, so will integrity Of
mind, good feelings, and good personal
habits, he the probable results To train
n girl properly then, is To render her capa-
bic of wellfulfllmg those high and noble
duties which are essentially woman's sphere
II the true nature of this were better re-
cognised, society would feel the healthy
regenerating influence throughout its exis-
touce. II is an old remark, that talented
and distinguished men have always had tai
euted mothers aud physiological research
has established the fact that the child in
heri's the mental and physical qualities Of
the mother more than those Of the father.
Madam Campan's well known answer 10
Napoleon" that good mothers were wan
ted to ensure good education a
great truth the education of women is
Of more Importance than that of men !;
since that Of men is their work. But true
as these remarks are, and oft repeated as
they have been, they still but lie on the
surface The results of barbarism, of that
state Of things in which woman was looked
upon as the mere working animal, still cling
to her. We see them in the existing laws
Of some countries, which openly declare q
woman to be nameless nothing And
the woman often manifests them herself in
her preference of artificial externals to
sound realities by her pride in beauty,
not as a high gift from the Creator, but as
means of selfish power. She scarcely re-
cognises the elevated position Of her heav-
en-destined sphere, her education is nlsdi-
reeted, and society, struggling under host
of evils, throws away or manacles tho hand
by which the dark catalogue might be
thinned or even cleared away. Women
have many hindrances on their path, but
they have the power to remove them. Pos
sesssing by natures fat oil those Influences
by which childhood is guided, directed and
moulded, they hold the key to the dest-
MES of mankind. But power like this re-
quires IN accurate perception of its i'm por-
tance and value knowledge, selEdiscip-
line. truth, reality, religion-not of forms