ding to the prevailing customs of each nation.

Opinions with regard to the qualifications which ought to be possessed
by a woman to fit her for marriage--which were, in fact, considered
indispensable--were as various as the nations or the rites; and, truth
to tell, are about as conflicting now as they were centuries ago. In all
the ages, and in every country, one thing seemed to be agreed upon,
however, and sedulously kept in view; namely, _woman's inferiority_. Let
her be free-born or a slave, to be married or bought, she must still be
a bondwoman--a creature subject to guardianship.

After men began to desire wives who were not altogether drudges, women
began to be esteemed in proportion to their beauty, not their wisdom or
good judgment. A fine figure, delicate hands, and handsome face, with
fascinating manners, a graceful carriage, and such accomplishments as
were the fashion, quite regardless of the accomplishments of head or
heart, were all that were required by the class of men who could afford
to keep such dainty wares. But love, inspired by such attractions as
these and nothing else, is ever fickle as the wind. When health declined
and beauty faded, the fire of passion, misnamed love, died out; and the
hapless wife frequently found herself deserted--if not openly, none the
less shamefully--for a younger rival, whose eye was brighter and whose
cheek more plump. Then shrewd women began to study artifice. Deception
is wrong, without doubt; but before we too severely censure these women,
let us remember how deeply they were wronged, how great their
temptations, how much they had at stake. In order to retain any thing
like a comfortable or respectable position in their husband's houses,
the waning beauties resorted to flattery and to the invention and
skillful use of various articles which would conceal the declension of
beauty or artfully counterfeit it. The ways and means by which
attractiveness of face and figure might be enhanced, preserved, or
simulated, became the subject of serious study--something neither to be
sneered at nor laughed at. The happiness of a life-time often depended
upon it. The sex, taught by a bitter experience, learned that men, as a
rule, were more easily influenced by blandishment and show than by good
sense and genuine worth, and, with a few exceptions, strove somewhat to
better their condition by practicing the lesson so learned. If, in the
long run, women became frivolous, brainless,