om from the prophetic "woman's poet"
of the sixteenth century.

Whether our school girls and college girls will be injured physically,
mentally or morally, by granting to the boy and man students, in our
high schools and universities, the advantage of fellow-workers of the
other sex, is a question which, though practically settled to a large
extent by experience, ought not perhaps to be passed over here in
entire silence. One very curious feature of this question with regard to
the education of our girls seems to be this: those who are most urgent
that the question should be decided by facts do not bring them forward,
but base their position on general principles assumed, and on theory. As
has been well said by President White, of Cornell, to seek for
information on the real results, so far, of the experiment in our
colleges from the authorities of colleges that have never tried it,
would be to commit the same absurdity as "if the Japanese authorities,
aroused to the necessities of railroads and telegraphs, had corresponded
with eminent Chinese philosophers regarding the ethics of the subject,
instead of sending persons to observe the working of railroads and
telegraphs where they were already in use." Where inquiries were made of
universities which had never tried the experiment, "the majority of
responses were overwhelmingly against the admission of women. It was
declared to be 'contrary to nature,' 'likely to produce confusion,'
'dangerous,' 'at variance with the ordinances of God;' in short, every
argument that a mandarin would be sure to evolve from his interior
consciousness against a railroad or a telegraph which he had never
seen."

I am not forgetful that the high ground of philosophy is the only proper
one from which to settle the question of the sphere of any human being,
and what education will fit her for it; but after this has been done, if
special objections are raised against the possibility or advisability,
in a utilitarian or physiological point of view, such special
assertions, in default, from their very nature, of any other possible
demonstration, must be proved or disproved by experience--and yet these
material facts are not allowed in evidence by those who theoretically
insist most vigorously upon facts.[23] The opponents of higher
education for women, which practically is the same thing as
co-education, have within a few years shifted their ground. At first it
was asserted that woman was not eq