The Westerly echo, & Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1854-1858, 1855-08-16

FEMALE EpUcATIoN.-Every travel
er from abroad, who comments upou
American manners, customs, &c, speaks
OF the care-worn expression in the coun.
tenances of the people. A hurried way
of doing aud saying things, especially in
New England, is subject often present
ed to us through the writings of straug-
ers. The females, we are told, are thin,
sharp-featured, their muscular systems
imperfectly developed-and prone to
headaches aud pulmonary consumption
vi course there are many exceptions to
this sweeping observation yet physi-
clans know very well, in regard to the
women of the Northern States, that Mr..
Combe was right when be stated, at a
public lecture in Boston, that the edu-
! cation offemales among Us is destruc
tive to their health and happiness.-
Every effort in the school room is to
cultivate their minds at the expense of
their bodies. They consequently have
sicaly y life, # perchancc il is not cut
of in early girlhood they make poor
motlcrs ARE unable TO nurse their chill.
aren, in mary Instances, with a tenaen-
cy to some Of the most distressing com-
plants, and disease is propogatci 10
their children. Much OF TINS arises .rom
the popular mistake that young IN 3scs
must study algebra, chemistry, sclel .idc
botany, Latin, and perhaps Greek an d
Hebrew, by the time they arc fifteen
in order 10 become ladies They have
nc frohtking girlhood--bacadse IL j,
plebian to romp out Of doors with free.
dom, as nature intended, in order tC
strengthen and perfect their delicate or
gan,zation. A knowledge Of domestic
economy IS decidedly vulgar, and belong.
to poor kitchen girls, whose red checks
round arms, splendid busts and fine
health are perfectly contemptibe.- =
There is kind of imagined gentiity ir
always being under the care of doctor
and jaunting through the country III
pursuit of air, water, or expensive med
ical advice. Physicians deplorc thi:
wretched system, without being able to
awaken the public sentiment to its de
structive character. Teachers also arc
aware of it, and exert themselves al
times to counteract the evils which their
everyday lessons exert on the frail, del
icate pupils under their charge; but
alas, the poison and antidote are taken
at once, and they exhibit the effects OF
their bad treatment aided by silk hose
in January, thin shoes, and impure at
mosphere Of crowded rooms and the
cold night air. Parents are the persons
to blame, and not the instructors OF
their children. Young girls are put to
school too early with Us, and worked toe
hard and too long at their studies. Nor,
active play and fewer books, padding
making in the place of algebraical equa
tions, with a free exercise of their feet
which were actually designed for walk
ing, would produce race of women i
our midst, such as cannot now be found
in regard to figure, capacity and beauty
What father has the moral courage +
set the example, by allowing his daugh
ters to become the angelic creature
they were destined to be, bouyant wit
spirit, vigor and health, fit companion
Of man, and the glory of an advances
civilization Let them gambol in tn
open air, and, when within doors, ac
out the governing instincts of their m
ture in manufacturing rag babies, till b
means of bodily health and vigor,
foundation is laid for Intellectual pur
suits, aud then, and not before, ma
they, with safety, begin to be exerclsc
in abstract, educational studies .---Bo
Medical and .Surgical .J0urnaL.