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none can, by the manner of presentation, so sweeten the bitter draught, none can tempt the sickly appetite, none can move so noiselessly or minister so patiently, none can nurse so efficiently, as they can. Of what unspeakable advantages such nursing has often been, what a comfort and satisfaction it has been to give and receive it, what pain has been alleviated and even precious life saved by it, none can tell; but to do this well requires knowledge and experience. There is no lack of opportunity for acquiring this. If our own homes happily, do not furnish it, the homes of others, the homes of the poor do. None need be without some experience if they really wish for it; and those who desire to be equal to all the claims and crises of home-life, will not willingly be without it.

Woman should be trained to cultivate her mind.

The times in which we live are very favourable to this. Old notions of the inferiority of the feminine mind are now rarely if ever heard. Woman's right to concern herself with every department of knowledge is freely conceded. Much has been said and written on the higher education of women, and active efforts are made to secure it. Stated examinations, under the sanction and directions of the ancient universities of our land, have been established, in order to stimulate and promote it. Vastly improved books, appliances, and modes of tuition are in vogue, opportunities for the education of all classes of society are being multiplied to a great extent. None need now be without the means of mental improvement.

Real education is the formation and training of the mind. The great object to which the efforts of teachers should be directed is, not so much the communication of a certain amount

or

of information on a certain number of subjects, as the awakening of a thirst for knowledge and a delight in reading and study. Interest should be enkindled in intellectual and literary pursuits. The conviction should be formed that knowledge is power and privilege, that the culture of the mind is as necessary to vigorous useful life as food to the body, that the treasures of the mind are more truly enriching and certain than the wealth of property, that the discipline of the mind is essential to the formation of a sterling character, and that the superiority of mental power and attainments is greater than that of rank, social station, or wealth. If these convictions are formed, and these tastes awakened, knowledge is sure to be gained. The thirst will lead to its supply. Delight in study will prompt to its pursuit and exercise, mental culture will be sought for its own sake, and lessons will not be a task, but a means of adding to mental treasures. The idea of finishing education on leaving school will never arise in the mind; if suggested it will only be to be scouted and ridiculed. Education will be regarded as that which is to be progressive with life. Instead of leaving school, proud with the thought of how much she knows, the girl will be humble, that she knows so little; instead of deeming her education complete, she will regard it only as begun; instead of rejoicing that school days are over, there will be a shade of regret that the advantages possessed have not been more improved, and there will be the resolve to make the most of those which may be still available.

Education should embrace the whole nature. All the faculties both of mind and body should receive attention and culture. Every power of the mind-reason, memory, imagination,

reflection, judgment, should be developed and regulated; and the eye, the ear, the voice, the hands, the feet, the body, should be trained and strengthened.

That the view of education indicated is the correct one will appear when you remember the true mission of woman. She was formed to be the twin-soul of man; not the drudge, but the help-meet; not the plaything, but the companion; not the inferior, but the equal of man. In order to be this she must have sympathy with him in his pursuits. Though she may not have the opportunities of becoming as familiar as he is with the literature of the day, the discoveries of science and art, and the great social, political, and ecclesiastical questions of the times, she ought to be able to form an intelligent conception of them when communicated to her, and to take an enlightened and lively interest in them. This is necessary to the idea of companionship, necessary to that constant intercourse out of which ever fresh delight in each other's society will spring. Where there is no reciprocity of interest, of opinion, and of pursuit, companionship, in the true acceptation of the term, is impossible. Where this companionship is wanting, home cannot have the attractions, and will not be the delightful scene it would otherwise become. Similarly with regard to the children receiving their education. There should be an intelligent interest in their studies manifested at home, there should be the ability to render occasional help, there must be the appreciation of the importance of knowledge, if the respect of children is to be secured, and proper influence over them maintained. It were well if our daughters were deeply impressed with the fact that their mental culture is intimately connected with the

full discharge of the relationships of wife and mother, and essential to their creation of such a home as husbands and children will delight in beyond any other spot of earth. Many illustrations might be given of the aid which educated wives and mothers have rendered their husbands and children. The wives of Luther, Jonathan Edwards, Burke, Mill, Hitchcock, and others, were of great service to their husbands in their literary pursuits. The mother of John Quincy Adams was a woman of bright genius and of rare attainments. The mother of Baron Cuvier, the distinguished naturalist, was a great lover of nature, and truly pious. In her walks with her little son she used to point out the interesting natural objects which abounded, and so excited in his mind the passion for the study of the works of God for which he became illustrious.

Woman should be led to keep and cultivate her heart.

Whatever may be her mental endowments, woman is undoubtedly prized most for the affections of her heart. Consider the women who are spoken of in Scripture, consider those who are held up to admiration in the pages of history, biography, and fiction; and you will find that those whom we esteem the most, and to whom we pay the tribute of our affection and our tears, are not those who have been remarkable for their intellectual gifts and achievements, but those who have wrought deeds of noble self-sacrifice and of disinterested kindness. We admire Deborah, but we love Ruth; we extol the writings of Mrs. Barrett Browning and of Mrs. Somerville, but we cherish a sacred affection for Florence Nightingale. The wounded soldiers of the Crimea kissed her shadow as she passed. And in the sphere of home the graces of gentleness, of patience,

of meekness, of generosity, and of self-abnegating love, are far more esteemed and prized than any personal attractions or mental gifts and accomplishments. They contribute more to the happiness of home than any intellectual powers and acquirements. But these graces are not native to the soul, they do not spring up and grow within us without thought and care and culture. Selfishness is not a stranger to the heart of woman; fretfulness and impatience are not foreign to her nature; envy and bitterness are not unknown to her life. She is naturally less stern and cold and ungenerous than man, but that is not to say that she does not love her own way. Has she no conflicts between inclination and duty, between pride and submission, between fretfulness and contentment, between kindness and selfishness? And if the virtues are to be in the ascendant, she must be taught in early life, that in man, but more especially in woman, selfishness, discontent, pride, impatience, bitterness, strife, and malice are hateful; whilst the opposite of these, self-denial, thankfulness, humility, patience, sweetness of temper and speech, peacefulness and charity are most lovely and loved. Much may be done at a very early age to instil aversion to the one class of feelings, and admiration of the other. She may be taught that self-conquest is a higher achievement than the gaining of a prize, or the victory over a competitor; that it is better to be loved for her graces than admired for her accomplishments; that life will be useful and blessed in the measure in which she lives for the good of others, rather than for her own gratification and pleasure. These things need to be learnt, and much, very much, may be done by mothers and teachers instilling these truths early into

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