of them as physicians,
reasoners, lecturers, or preachers. Lyttelton has written--

"Seek to be good, but aim not to be great:
A woman's noblest station is retreat;
Her fairest virtues fly from public sight,
Domestic worth, that shuns too strong a light."

Montgomery has said--

"Here woman reigns: the mother, daughter, wife,
Strew with fresh flowers the narrow way of life.
To the clear heaven of her delightful eye
An angel-guard of loves and graces lie;
Around her knees domestic duties meet,
And fireside pleasures gambol at her feet.
Where shall this land, this spot on earth be found?
Art thou a man?--a patriot! Look around;
Oh, thou shall find, howe'er thy footsteps roam,
This land _thy_ country, and this spot _thy_ home."

Shakespeare, too, has described her mission--

"I am ashamed that women are so simple,
To offer war where they should kneel for peace,
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love, and obey;
Why are our bodies soft, and weak, and smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world;
But that our soft conditions, and our hearts,
Should well agree with our external parts?"

It should be borne in mind, however, that a really clever and sensible
woman is able to do many things excellently. Was Mrs. Fry less a good
wife and able mother, because she visited prisons, and saved many of
her sex from desolation and death? She had eight children, and no one
doubts that each one had every care that a devoted mother could bestow
upon him. Was Grace Darling less loving and obedient as a daughter,
because she was so bold as not to be afraid to face death? Certainly
not. And the women of to-day will not fill their humble positions less
satisfactorily if they thankfully take every opportunity of training
themselves, both physically and mentally, for whatever good work may
come in their way. Does not the name of Grace Darling suggest to many
parents, a contrast between her life and that of their own daughters?
And would not many a man be glad to know that the woman who is to sit
by his side, and help or hinder him through life, had similar
qualifications for her position? In a word, can Grace Darling's be
trained? Is there any way of making "the girl of the period" into a
vigorously healthy, sensible, devoted, self-forgetful woman? Is it
impossible, out of the material which is to be found in any of our
schools and seminarie