y successfully--to female
skill; and scores of other callings have been also placed at their
disposal: but, strange enough, the more that we do, the more there
remains to be done; and never have the professed advocates of woman's
rights been so loud in their demands as since we have shared with them
many of what we used to regard as the especial fields of man's industry.
Women have taken to the practice of Medicine, and have threatened to
invade the Bar--steps doubtless anticipatory of the time when they shall
"rise in the House" or sit on the Treasury benches. Now, I have very
little doubt that we used not to be as liberal as we might in sharing
our callings with women. We had got into the habit of underrating their
capacities, and disparaging their fitness for labour, which was very
illiberal; but let us take care that the reaction does not cany us too
far on the other side, and that in our zeal to make a reparation we only
make a blunder, and that we encourage them to adopt careers and crafts
totally unsuited to their tastes and their powers.

It is quite clear--in fact, a mere glance at the detail of the
preliminary studies will suffice to show it--that medicine and surgery
should not be shared with them. For a variety of reasons, they ought
not to be encouraged to take holy orders; and, on the whole, it is very
doubtful if it would be a wise step to introduce them into the army,
much less into the navy. Seeing this, therefore, the question
naturally arises, Are women to be the mere drudges--the Helots of our
civilisation? Are we only to employ them in such humble callings as
exclude all ideas of future distinction? A very serious question this,
and one over which I pondered for more than half an hour last night, as
I lay under the influence of some very strong tea and a slight menace of
gout.

Women are very haughty creatures--very resentful of any supposed
slight--very aggressive, besides, if they imagine the time for attack
favourable. Will they sit down patiently as makers of pill-boxes and
artificial flowers? Will they be satisfied with their small gains and
smaller consideration? Will there not be ambitious spirits amongst
them who will ask, What do you mean to offer us? We are of a class who
neither care to bind books nor draw patterns. We are your equals--if
we were not distinctively modest, we might say something more than
your equals--in acquirement and information. We have our smattering
of physical-sci