The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-07-24
Written for the State Journal
The Right of Suffrage.
THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN.


has his cyclopaedia, so all must have q
mental reference book of certain rules and
theories but the great purpose of seeing,
hearing, reading, is not that we may store,
but that we may think.
The fourteenth and fifteenth amendments
settled, and the excitement of the European
and our railroad wars on the wane, scarce
day passes without some allusions to
'sWoman's Rights.v Yet this, "the high
est question of the hour" instead of being
treated with any degree of seriousness, or
any intensity and genunenes of sympathy,
the more forcibly discovered, and the real
motives clearly understood, all hope of
respectful hearing is sckened by ribald jest
and shallow, ill-timed sarcasm. There is
no species of innuendo or unmitigated CEN
sure which has not met the advocates of
reform and their efforts to induce women to
''accept the situation" and acork for better
times.
This prejudice is stronger South than
North; vet we believe that no persuasion,
however subtle, and no sarcasm, however
bitter. can silence the doctrine that women
should acquire habits of self-dependence.
There is no surer lease on fortune than
astrous calamity of war, and seen 70 niles
of wealth stripped of the last shred and
forced to become menials, or, what is
worse, pensioners on the bounty of relatives
and former friends, it is too late to attach
loss of caste to any honest endeayor to ac-
quire skill in genial and profitable occupa-
tons.
We boldly denounce prejudice which
Al. Il "a. tpn IN
to save every cent from necessity to make
dollars for luxuries simply that deceptive
appearances may be preserved, and that
she may affect a life of fashion and foolery
which, at heart, she despises, and longs
for some substantial common.sense occupa-
ton to give adefinite aim to existence. Mrs.
Caudle vociferates, "As say, only wish
| had any money of my own. IL there Is
anything that humbles poor woman, It is
coming to a mans pocket for every far
thing. It's dreadful ~ How many OF us
have laughed over this sentence of Douglas
Jerrolds? But how many more have wept
its sentiment in anger or IN anguish
Outcasts and neglected wives and sisters
can answer.
72 The age of chivalry for men and idleness
for women is as dead as slavery. We ac-
expand our limited range of employment,
and in the name and for the salvation OF
INDECENT females, we demand more
thorough system of education and liberal
compensation for our work. Htt
They who live III the sunlight forget that
there are those who have never seen the
stars but if you would keep. the women
doomed to overtasked, misjudged, narrow
81, IN IN, inf Z
blacker than the pits of He'll, this will dc
more real GOOD than all the sentiinentality
and "homes for lost women in Christen
dom 1t will avert evil in its incipiency
and disseminate the germs of time ambition
among class now so ignorant, neglected
and drudged, that it is not to be wondret
SO many fall, but rather that so many
stand. i fu2 9EgFAAfgA
Deep down in the human heart and apar
from all the seoff and scorn, burlesque ant
business of everyday life, there is an I'M
no, tunate yearning for seriousness that vii
not j,ss, and for ove'that cannot fail, Ed
ucation industry is serious, and God
Love- !,
Women arr, not and have never been tn
silly playthings which they seem, and TIN
underyaluation is the fault neither OF hatur
or of them selves ; 1t IS the fcrce o
education. /.
A vast majority have never learned =
think, and III proportion to a dehciency
arithmetic and in those pursuits wnch IL
quire reasoning, memory and Thought, yo,
will find them vapid, frivolous and incapaoi
of reciting sound argumentr-eertahly OF az
yancing any. The average girl leaves scnoe
at an early age, and the idea prevails
crowd her time with the attalnmeh,s OF ST
perficial accomplishments, instead OF Sc
berer studies. True, she may be lnsiruc'e
in the latter. but the love OF APPROPRIATION
an all-poweriil influence with lmlnatul
minds, and, in regard to females, the soci'
circle is more at fault than the sctool-roCh
Thus you praise a boy for the rehearsal
asr exercise in Latin composition or an exam
ple in primary arithmetic, and by ana Dy
he is able to construe Latin verses, OF SOW
the sublime problems of Euclid. Inc nut
girl performs memorlzed preiude iso'
Bertini, or displays neat sketch, ana yG
delight her with caresses and trnKets. \
time she rewards this encouragement VII
san Italian aria or clever drawing ana y
the chances are that you have cogel
thinker on one hand and an incorrgloie
the other.
Inc exercise ol tic pVyo hin'~, -
onset, was much more complicated;
could not advance word or figure wltho
understanding, and being compelled TO 81
IA reason why but the girl may have
resort to tmislations for her knowledge
Tasso, Dante, Ariosto, etc., while tracil
saper or pentagraph ON her part, san,d.,
1aaishng touch Of the waster is ike
secret Of the picture.
1t is far from our purpose to dlspara
accomplishments or deny their aesthe
influence, nevertheless, we do not wa
them paramount, since, without gra
work of thorough comprehension a
originality, such system can degener II
s.gjrl of very tolerable capacity into a s.
tiinentally helpless ornament for the ORA
ing-roonl, but a degree above the butter
in the conservatory, canary in the cage
LUCY TERRILB
sa4 Goodall, Va, July 20, 1871.
GOOD Manners. Young folks should