. Every man, no matter how stern, hard, and
unrelenting he may have become in the bitter strife and struggle
of the world, every man was once a little infant, cradled on a
mother's knee, and taking his life from the sweet fountains of
her love. He was a little child, watched by her tender, careful
eye, and so secured from ill. He was a little, inquiring boy,
with a boundless appetite for information, which only his mother
could give. At her knee he found his primary school: it is where
we have all found it. He had his sisters--the companions of his
childhood; he had the little girls, who were to him the ideals of
some wonderful goodness and excellence, some strange grace and
beauty, though he could not tell what it was. With these
antecedents no man on the face of the round world can refuse to
hear woman, when she comes earnestly, but quietly saying, "We are
not where we ought to be;" "We do not have what we ought to
have." I think their demands are reasonable, all of them. What
are they? Occupation, education, and the highest sphere of work
of which they are capable. These I understand to be the three
demands.

1st. Occupation. When your child steals on a busy hour and asks
for "something to do," you feel ashamed that you have nothing for
him--that you can not give him the natural occupation which shall
develop all the faculties of mind and body. Is it not a
reasonable request which women make, when they ask for something
to do? They want to be useful in the world. They ask permission
to support themselves and those who are dear to them. What can
they do now? They can go into factories, a few of them; a few
more can be servants in your homes; they can cook your dinner if
they have been taught how. If they are women of genius, they can
take the pen and write; but how few are there in this world,
either men or women of genius. If they have extraordinary
business talent, they can keep a boarding-house. If they have
some education they can keep school. After this, there is the
point of the needle upon which they may be precipitated--and
nothing else.

We see the gloom that must fall on them, on their children, and
on all they love, when the male protector is taken away. This
demand for more varied occupation is not a new one. Many years