nge. Yet it
must be confessed that in South America the march of feminine progress
has thus far been very slow and is still confined, as already said, to
individuals rather than manifested in national or racial movement. It
may yet broaden into this; but the omens are hardly propitious. The
restraining and clogging influence is rather of racial than masculine
nature; it is less that the men look upon the advanced woman as a _lusus
naturae_, though this also is broadly true, than that the women are not
racially capable of working out their own salvation in this line. Thus
far the movement has been almost entirely productive of leaders only;
there is no rank and file to give it strength and continuity. There is
ardent enthusiasm; but it is confined within narrow limits. Yet he would
be a rash prophet who should foretell that these circumstances will
continue to prevail, and it may well be that the signs may develop into
conditions and South America prove a close follower, if not a pioneer,
in the march of feminine advancement and culture.

CHAPTER IV

THE PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT

We have now reached the point in our consideration of the women of our
own land where we are free to turn to the story of the American woman as
she is generally known the woman of the United States. Of course
scientific ethnology recognizes no such nomenclature, giving the title
of "American" only to the aborigines of this continent; but we who write
and read this work are not concerned to be scientific but rather
perspicacious on the one side and perspicuous on the other, and the
generally accepted nomenclature will be adopted here and the woman of
the United States and the mother-colonies spoken of as being, by right
as well as acceptation, the American woman to all other lands and ages.

Before entering upon the history of the woman of our country, it seems
needful to cast a glance upon some general conditions which must be
reckoned with in our estimate and appreciation of the women of America
and their history. As a preliminary, the story of the Blue Fairy will be
related,--a story so old that it may be new to most of the readers of
this volume and which, fairy story though it be, has yet a meaning in
the study of the history of women, if we will but seek it out. Here is
the story, as told by Stahl:

"One day the Blue Fairy descended to earth with the courteous intention
of distributing to all the young girls of in the different nat