walls, and
luxuries scattering themselves hither and thither, till she felt the
spirit of the boy within her, and seemed equal to the deeds he would
have done. Then she used to open her eyes wide to the fact of her
girlhood and have little seasons of despair.

This had been going on a long time, the visions, their destruction
by facts, and the consequent despair; for, of course, she had always
believed there was nothing to be done. And now here was one telling
her that something could be done--that she, even she, the little girl
Mollie, had equal rights with boys, and that it was not only her
privilege but her duty to claim them. Here was one exhorting her to
throw off the yoke of her girlhood, talking of a glorious career that
might be hers, of emancipation and liberty, of a womanhood grand as
manhood itself. And how the tremendous sentiments, so beautifully
uttered, thrilled through Mollie from the crown of her hat to the toes
of her boots! She would have given worlds for one glance from that
bravest of her sex who had thrown off the yoke, and for a chance to
ask her just how she did it. For while Mollie had fully made up her
mind to wear her yoke no longer, she did not know exactly by what
means to become an emancipated creature. As she walked home with her
hand in that of the fat gentleman who had treated her to the lecture,
she reached the conclusion that no special instructions had been given
because it was taken for granted that each woman's nobler instincts
would guide her. She entered the gate a champion of freedom, a
believer in the equality of the sexes--a girl bound to be a boy, and
trusting to her nobler instincts to teach her how.

No trembling and glancing back over her shoulder for goblins and
burglars to-night as she put the key into the door! No scared
chattering of teeth in the dark hall! No skipping three steps at a
time up the stairs pursued by imaginary hands that would grip at her
ankles! She faced the darkness with wide-open eyes, instead of feeling
her way with lids squeezed down as had been her custom; and when eyes
seemed to look back at her from the darkness, her boyhood laughed at
her girlhood, and she did not quicken her pace. But--Mollie was glad
to step into the room where the light burned. Her mother had gone to
bed early with one of her tired-out headaches, and she only half woke
to see that her little girl was safely in. Mollie kissed her softly
(for boys may kiss their mothers soft