Women and the Alphabet - A Series of Essays by Thomas Wentworth Higginson
page 95 of 269 (35%)
page 95 of 269 (35%)
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And he adds, still speaking in the interest of men:--
"Most men have a period in their career when they might do something great, a period when nothing seems impossible. The ignorance of women spoils for the human race this magnificent opportunity: and love, at the utmost, in these days, only inspires a young man to learn to ride well, or to make a judicious selection of a tailor."[1] Society, however, discovers by degrees that there are conveniences in every woman's knowing the four rules of arithmetic for herself. Two and two come to the same amount on a butcher's bill, whether the order be given by a man or a woman; and it is the same in all affairs or investments, financial or moral. We shall one day learn that with laws, customs, and public affairs it is the same. Once get it rooted in a woman's mind, that for her, two and two make three only, and sooner or later the accounts of the whole human race fail to balance. [Footnote 1: _De L'Amour_, par de Stendhal (Henri Beyle). Paris, 1868 [written in 1822], pp. 182, 198.] A MODEL HOUSEHOLD There is an African bird called the hornbill, whose habits are in some respects a model. The female builds her nest in a hollow tree, lays her eggs, and broods on them. So far, so good. Then the male feels that he must |
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