present circumstances, a special training in some one thing by
which she can render society service, not amateur but of an expert
sort, and service too for which it will be willing to pay a price.
The number of families will surely increase who will follow the
example of an eminent banker whose daughters have been given
each her specialty. One has chosen music, and has gone far with
the best masters in this country and in Europe, so far that she
now holds a high rank among musicians at home and abroad. Another
has taken art, and has not been content to paint pretty gifts for
her friends, but in the studios of New York, Munich, and Paris,
she has won the right to be called an artist, and in her studio at
home to paint portraits which have a market value. A third has
proved that she can earn her living, if need be, by her exquisite
jellies, preserves, and sweetmeats. Yet the house in the mountains,
the house by the sea, and the friends in the city are not neglected,
nor are these young women found less attractive because of their
special accomplishments.

While it is not true that all girls should go to college any more
than that all boys should go, it is nevertheless true that they
should go in greater numbers than at present. They fail to go
because they, their parents and their teachers, do not see clearly
the personal benefits distinct from the commercial value of a
college training. I wish here to discuss these benefits, these
larger gifts of the college life,--what they may be, and for whom
they are waiting.

It is undoubtedly true that many girls are totally unfitted by
home and school life for a valuable college course. These joys
and successes, these high interests and friendships, are not for