beginning of their course, and will, I hope, learn how to make
use of the past, as well as to aspire for the future, and to
be true in the present moment.

'My position as a woman, and the many private duties which
have filled my life, have prevented my thinking deeply on
several of the great subjects which these friends have at
heart. I suppose, if ever I become capable of judging, I shall
differ from most of them on important points. But I am not
afraid to trust any who 'are true, and in intent noble, with
their own course, nor to aid in enabling them to express their
thoughts, whether I coincide with them or not.

'On the subject of Christianity, my mind is clear. If Divine,
it will stand the test of any comparison. I believe the reason
it has so imperfectly answered to the aspirations of its
Founder is, that men have received it on external grounds. I
believe that a religion, thus received, may give the life
an external decorum, but will never open the fountains of
holiness in the soul.

'One often thinks of Hamlet as the true representative of
idealism in its excess. Yet if, in his short life, man be
liable to some excess, should we not rather prefer to have
the will palsied like Hamlet, by a deep-searching tendency and
desire for poetic perfection, than to have it enlightened
by worldly sagacity, as in the case of Julius Cæsar, or made
intense by pride alone, as in that of Coriolanus?

'After all, I believe it is absurd to attempt to speak on