New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-04-23
The Agitated Eighties
When Wonen's Colleqes
Were Very Solemn Affairs

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: 1t is hopeful sign of the times
that women are becoming moro willing
every day to take their privileges and
let their rights go. But in the agitated
eighties quite the contrary was the case.
Womens colleges were so new a thing
IN this country that they attracted only
-, a
the most courageous, and courage in
those days seemed to be a quality whose
defect was seriousness For this was the
heyday of Victorianism; and Queen
Victoria, you will remember, was the
Queen whose comment on a funny story
told her by member of her court was
1--WE are not amused"
There are two queens in history who
have had tremendous personal nfiu-
ence-Cleopatra and Victoria; the for
mer on the men of her time, the latter
on the women. About the time when
the British Queen was having her Dia-
mond Jubilee there were two types of
women--the first we may roughly.
though not too roughly, we hope, desig-
nate as the eyes, DEAR" variety; their
mission in life was to answer, Eyes,
DEAR to every opinion expressed by
their husbands; and one of the best
things the Victorian husband did was to
stand on the hearthrug with his feet
we'll apart and say, "There is only one
opinion in this house and that is mine"
The other type of woman had the cour-
age to do little thinking for herself
occasionally, and was labeled strong.
minded" for her pains.
1t is rather difficult for us in this day,
when women's minds are so nearly nor
NAL as to excite little, If any, comment,
to realize the difficulty of being strong
minded in the Victorian era The first
women who went in for higher educa-
ton got so excited about it that we must
confess they neglected a good many
other important things, among which
men were not the least. But il they
admitted for an instant the importance
OF men they would have had to work so
hard to overcome the prejudice against
the college which was felt by all right
minded men in those, days that they
wouldn't have had time to learn their
A C's. When Sophia Smith. an 1871
(the thirtyfourth year of Queen Vic
toria's virtuous reign, founded Smith
College, the presidents Of Harvard, Yale
and Amherst all denounced her as
person embarked on hazardous, per-
nicious and unfortunate project" and
the students IN those colleges probably
took their cue from the presidents. anc
would have broken the record for the
mile sprint if a college girl had come
within that distance OF them.
But college for women was new
invention then. and it takes time to per-
feet all inventions. The graduates OF
early years of women's colleges proba-
bly, bore about as much resemblance to
the college girl of to-day as the frss
automobile, in which the intrepid chsuf-
feur lighted the engine with match
bears to a Rolls Royce
Women have since ',arned to take
their education little less as the Eng
ish take their pleasures. and the tango
and trigonometry now lie down together
without a murmur. Women's colleges
have taught women much, but they have
taught men more, and the most consst'
vative of the sex have been known !"
marry women whose initials incluoe
B. A. And college women. to rewslo
men for this amenGe honorable for tne's
former attitude, have demonstrated tnss
n woman may take an equal interest "
the principles Of Plato and Poiret-~ns
DO woman still. a..
SUSAN GRANT SMITH
New York, April 81, 1890. {,