St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1870-03-18
For the Caledonian.
IN 4ppedi.
BY ONE OF '.TIIE WOMEN OF vrRvo

r railing accusations against their hui
bands, fathers, and brothers in any {
these lhlng-, nor will they" No, ne
'co"H we. How could we, with til
memory still warm in our heart of ths
best OF fathers, he whose love knew n
distinction in his children, whose silve
hairs now lie So low on the wind SVEN
hill SIDE. When we think of brothers
strong and brave, whose daily life seem
to US one of losing self sacrifice? w
can not ''bring railing accusations"
And every true woman who has expe
rlenced in her daily intercourse the kindl,
courte-ies of civilized society, who ha
known the blessing OF christian home
and felt from childhood the shielding o
paternal ard iratcrnai love, or has know
that other love deeper, perhaps, and pur
er than ali others, that of a devoted hus
b1"d, will say, ''rather let my tongue
cleave TO the roof of my mouth :" Will
gratitude we acknowledge to them oul
manifold obligations.
We know too well that woman ha.
not always held her present social place.
and that it has iIccn the strong arm OF
man. Chri>iamizcd man, that has raised
her from the place of an abicct slave to
be 80 nearly his companion and equal
The old common law 50 unjust to wO-
man, SO tyrannicai and cruel, an out
growth OF the barbarcus principle that
''might max ; light has been CONSTANT
ly changing and modify inn, till we hard
" know OF its underlying principles of
injustice. And if il so, only in hieo,y
while around US has ever been cast. by
fathers and brothers, the protection Of
their shielding love.
Even in matters which we feel and
know to BE- wrong and oppressive we do
not LLHne Mem But we have not. rs
some would claim ''aH the rights we
want You say, ''when they, the wo-
men, ask for privileges and immunities
not now possessed by them, and which
thc'r Good sense may approve, they will
undoubtedly be granted by those who
have ihc power OF bestowing them"
We rejoice IN this assurance. And let
us mention one privilege which we do
want. and have 50 Iona w,nteR, the right
/" a higher. better e,tac.HlOH! We feel
Ihat ii is our right, our duty to make the
most of ourselves, not only morally and
physically, but intellectually. This we
cannot now d., for the higher institu-
tionS of learning are closed agains! Us.
We may not, and perhaps never shall
even with equal opportunities be able TO
compete intellectually with our brothers,
but must we therefore be denied the |
privilege of cul,ivating what intellect we
have?
At the recent ''woman suffrage con-
ventiun' held in your village, while the
sweet, womanly Lucy Stone won our
hearts, and we admired her energy and
eluquencr, it was the thoughts advanced
by Henry {. Idc which struck the key
note OF our feelings and to which thev
responded with an interest almost pain
tul in its .nten~iry. Right hcre on this
subject of cducaiion the iron has deepest
entered our soul
When we came as students to the
acad,my, situated in your midst, where
that goo! man Prof. Colby then presid-
ed, and We telt The inspiration of his
g'owlrg words. life as it stretched before
us in Its Loundle>s possibilities, seemed
thing 30 noble.
IIcrc we longed in broader fields TO
try the capacity OF the expanding minds,
which seemed 10 gather Strength with
each new effort With our class stand
ing as hiah ; theirs We did not think
till the time came for Us to leave the
dear old Academy, that our chances
were not equal with those OF our broth
ors Oh the bitterness of that awak-
rnirg, when they left for four years
course at Dartmouth, and from there
" ent to schools of especial training else
where; and we, ace staid behind with
the consoling assurance that we had
education enough for girls
We did not Jd,me our brothers, they
would gladly had US accompany them.
They did not know the hurt Of those
fetters which bound our souls in compul-
sorry ignorance.
Our fathers were not to blame, for it
wa, not the lack of means which kept
IL, at home. Not to blame, further than
this, that they did not utterly trompIe
upon and de>trCy that 'rjcked, FrctaHe
of society which presumes to
lttter that which God created free, and
t. The mind which He formed with It's
all boundIess and unlimited TO
say ''lhus far shalt thou 60 and no fur
ther.''
And now in behalf of others for whom
the same bitter experience waits, we
pray, grant or withhold the ballot as
,-nn snn ft hnt rr;,o Il - A.