Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-08-07

so wide or so happy as hers. The
character and conduct, the prosperity and
happiness, the health and life, of the
family are chiefly entrusted to her; and
since the family is the fountain of the
church and the state, she stands at the
fountain-head of national as well as indi-
vidual, public not less than private, spir-
itual not less than temporal life. Woman
takes the individual the community, the
state, the church-in word, she takes
every person and every thing in the germ
and at its forming period, molds and
shapes it for good or evil, veal or VICE.
Surely she needs all knowledge for q
work of such unlimited extent and I'M
bounded influence. She needs, above all.
to know herself, her physical and mental
constitution, the laws OF her own being,
health and life, for she is herself to be the
fountain of being, health and life to her
children. As the mother and nurse Of
the family, the first principles, at least, Of
anatomy, pl ysiology and medicine are in
dispensable. AS the housekeeper, and, In
broad sense, the home builder, chemis-
try, botany and natural history, cookery
and domestic economy, the art of build
ing, also, and adorning-all those arts and
sciences which combine to make the
home convenient, the grounds beautiful,
the kitchen clean, the library coy, the
parlor neat, the table wholesome, the fire.
side cheerful, home attractive-all these
branches of knowledge are needful to her:
oil these have more to do with the character
and happiness OF the family than we arc
apt to think. Indeed, they are quite
fundamental; and if they are ever to enter
and bless our homes generally, they must
be introduced by well-trained, educated,
cultivated women. OF course, the mother
must be the teacher and home the school
in which alone those arts that adorn and
bless home can be practically and fully
learned. But the seminary and college
can better teach the sciences which un-
derlie them. And this is not the least i'm
portant department in the higher educa-
ton of women.
Again, it will be universally admitted
that woman must be the center and soul
of all good society. Without her civilizing
and refining presence, society always and
everywhere degenerates into barbarism.
Clubs from which she is excluded tend tn
rudeness, roughness, coarseness, cor
ruption of morals and manners. Gentle
manners come from the gentler sex; pure
morals from purity and propriety i'm
woman. She is the standard of social
customs, the glass of fashion, the rule of
good breeding the law of refinement and
decorum, the regulator of society, the at
mosphere with which public sentiment
rises or sinks like the barometer and the
very element in which public morals and
manners live and move and have their
being. If women were only sufficient
ly enlighted, united and decided
If women would always frOwn
upon those habits of eating, drink
ing and smoking, which lead to intem-
perance and minister to licentiousness---
if women would never walk or ride with
a smoke.stack, or keep company with 4
beer barrel or bottle of champagne-I
repeat il, if women were only sufficiently
enlightened, united and decided never to
SMILE but always to frown, on these and
similar habits, from which they them
selves are the greatest sufferers, banished
from all decent society, they would vanish
and disappear.
Woman, again, is born and divinely-
constituted educator. Hence, she should
be taught the science and art Of cduca-
| ton. The schools for women should be
largely and in a broad sense, normal
| schools, and what the Germans call pro-
npdeutics should be prominent branch
| of higher education. Woman Is also a
born physician and nurse. Her quick
ptICtDtIoHS anu liNCiy nCA
soft hand and nimblc, noiselcss footstep,
fit her pre-cminently to administer as
well as minister to the sick and the suf-
fering, to visit the houses of others as we'll
as to stand by the sick-bed in her own
home, to have charge of hospitals in time
Of peace as well as to extemporizc them
in war and battle. Art, literature, Ian
g,Iage and religion, Is they are all es-
pecally adapted to woman's nature, SO
are they all daily more and more opening
and expanding before her as her sphere
of action. Miss Hosmer and Miss Ed
monson are only the advance guard of q
great company Of sculptors and artists Of
their sex who will breathe new life and
beauty into the marble, touch the canvas
with unknown tenderness and grace, and
make art subsidiary more than it ever yet
has been to truth and goodness humanity
and religion. Uncle Toms Cabin has
shown how woman's pen, moved by a
woman's heart, and guided by woman's
wisdom and wit can stir the nations
to sympathy with an oppressed
and down.trodden race; and sac
ramental host of authoresses have
already set out under her leadership,
and will move on in increasing numbers
and with ever-growng power, overthrow
ing oppression, restraining vice and crime,
reforming morals and manners, enlighten-
ing the public mind, purifying public
sentiment, rcvolutionizing business, soci-
ETY. and government, till every yoke is
broken and all nations are won to the
truth. Woman has the gift of tongues, il
anybody has it in modern times.
There has been much discussion, and
not little sharp contention, between the
advocates of women's colleges and poly
technic schools for women. Why should
there be? Why not have both. as men
have colleges and also professional
schools? / cannot hear Mrs. Livermore
or read Miss Beecher without feeling that
there is a wide field for schools to train
woman for her profession" las wife,
mother, housekeeper, nurse and mistress
of servants" and cannot but agree with
Miss Beecher, that this kind of education
and training is likely to do much more for
the education of her sex than the right Of
suffrage. AT the same time it seems TO me
that no one can look over the whole
ground of woman's nature and sphere and
4. - In q nm