ht of women to act. She has a right to
think,--has she a right to practice? May she vote, or sit upon
committees in matters pertaining to local or National interests?
It is this question which is under discussion now. It seems wild
and wandering to many, but not more wild and wandering than
fifteen years ago, to the great majority of our citizens, seemed
the question of woman's right to public speech. I venture to say
that within the fifteen years next coming it will seem strange to
the great mass of the people that it should have been considered
of doubtful propriety for woman to exercise the privilege, or, I
should rather say, the duty of suffrage.

And so within the last few years this question has risen up, to
the suppression, I may say, of everything else; for everything
else is conceded. I don't know what advanced step may be next
proposed. If I did, I should propose it to-day--for this reason,
that I notice that each advance becomes the acceptance of the
disputed question immediately in its rear. When the doctrine of
physiognomy--Lavater's doctrine--was first propounded, men
laughed it to scorn, and contemned the idea that there could be
anything true or noble in it, until phrenology came and asserted
that the brain's proportional parts could be known, and that the
mind could be outwardly ascertained, and then men said: "Oh,
this phrenology is a humbug! Physiognomy is rational; we can see
how a man can judge that way; there is something in physiognomy."
So they swallowed physiognomy in order to be strong enough to
combat phrenology. Animal magnetism, I believe, came up next; and
the people ridiculed it as they had ridiculed those that had gone
before. They now thought that there might be some sense in
physiognomy and phrenology, but animal magnetism was
preposterous. Then came mesmerism. "Why," people said, "this is
nothing in the world but animal magnetism, in which, of course,
there is some reason." Then came spiritualism. "Oh," people said,
"that is nothing but mesmerism." So they admitted each anterior
heresy for the sake of refuting the new one. And now, may a woman
be an artist? May she sing in public? May she speak in public?
"Well," said people, "she can sing, if she has the gift; there is
no harm in that; but this delivering an