ferently, blessing all the children of its care.

"If we look into the female mind, we shall find virtues of a brighter hue, though not of the same colors, of which we boast. If we have a greater depth of investigation, they have greater acuteness of perception. Our strength of mind is compensated by their liveliness. If we have more courage to brave danger, they have far more fortitude to meet distress. Our eloquence has more force-theirs more persuasion. Their virtues are feminine, but substantial and useful as ours."

History is full of instances where women have not only equalled, but frequently excelled men, both in natural talents and in intellectual attainments. Has woman filled a throne? In almost every instance, her reign has reflected honor and fame upon herself, and lasting benefits upon her subjects. What reader of ancient history is not familiar with the name of Semiramis? Although of humble origin, yet, by the splendor of her intellect, she attracted the attention of Ninus, the son of Nimrod, founder of the Assyrian Empire, who made her his wife. At his death she assumed the government of the empire, and for forty-two years reigned Queen of Assyria, with unexampled success. She founded, or at least greatly enlarged and embellished, the mighty city of Babylon, in which she employed two millions of men. She headed her own armies, and received several wounds in battle. Semiramis and Alexander the Great are the only monarchs who have ever dared to push their con

quests in the East beyond the river Indus. I have only to mention the names of Nicotris, wife of Nabonadius, the Evil-merodach of Scripture, who exhibited great wisdom and strength of mind-of Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, Syria, and the East, one of the most remarkable among Asiatic women, whose genius struggled with and overcame all the obstacles presented by oriental laws and customs; who became versed in the Latin, Greek, Syrian, and Egyptian languages, and reigned upon the throne for years, with great wisdom and prudence and, in later times, of Philippa, wife of Edward III.; Jane, Countess of Montfort; Joan of Arc; Elizabeth of England; Maria Theresa of Germany; Catharine of Russia, and Isabella of Spain-to prove that woman, when placed in favorable circumstances, can purchase fame by the power, and strength, and vigor of her intellect. I cannot forbear recording the encomium bestowed upon his wife by Brutus, the noble Roman :"I must not answer Portia in the words of Hector, 'Mind your wheel, and to your maids give law,' for in courage, activity, and concern for her country's freedom, she is inferior to none of us."

There have not been wanting instances where females have arisen to eminent distinction by their acquirements in the most profound sciences. They have supported controversies with success, and have filled professorships of Philosophy and Law. "Hypatia, daughter of Theon of Alexandria, succeeded her father in the government of the Platonic

school, and filled with reputation a seat where many philosophers had taught. The people regarded her as an oracle, and magistrates consulted her in all important cases."—"In the 13th century, a young lady of Bologna pronounced a Latin oration, at the age of twenty-three.-At twenty-six, she took the degree of Doctor of Laws, and began publicly to expound Justinian. At thirty, she was elevated to a professor's chair, and taught the law to a crowd of scholars of all nations."

In what department of literature have not women resplendently shone? In history, in romance, in poetry, in moral and political economy, they have scarcely been surpassed by man. And the reader has but to call to mind the bright galaxy of female authors of the present day, who are to be found in both hemispheres, to perceive abundant proof of my assertion.

These allusions to celebrated women of ancient and modern times, are made for the purpose of impressing the conviction upon the mind of the reader, and especially upon the mind of the husband, that the intellect of woman is not so much inferior to that of man, as many would fain believe; and also to support the position, that, aside from the fascinations of personal beauty, and all the feminine graces with which she is endowed, she is to be respected and valued for her high mental and moral capabilities and attainments. Hence it is highly improper to denominate females "weaker vessels," in the low and opprobrious sense which has been

attached to that apostolic phrase.-Weaker they are in physical strength (which is all that the words of Peter imply)-weaker they may be, as a class, in attainments. But I am not prepared to subscribe to the assertion, that the Creator has not given them capabilities equally as strong, equally as susceptible of cultivation and improvement in the highest walks of knowledge, as those bestowed upon men. And I repeat my conviction, that the small number of women who have arisen to distinction, in comparison to the other sex, is to be attributed to the prejudices against their talents, and to the nature of the studies and pursuits to which their attention has been directed, and not to natural inferiority of intellect. Shall man, then, arbitrarily assume a high intellectual superiority over a being so richly gifted ?-shall he place in a lower mental rank, in a degraded class, a creature formed like himself, in the image of God, and possessing such high and noble capabilities? It is an assumption unsanctioned alike by truth, honor, and generosity!

There is a certain rank to which the wife is justly entitled by her relationship, by her worth, and her abilities. It is not the rank of a slave, or a servant, or a dependant, but it is the rank of a companion! And in this light should she be estimated by the husband. In giving him her hand, she no more bartered away her identity, or those distinct, inalienable rights, which were be stowed upon her by the Creator, as a separate and

independent being, than does a commercial man in entering into a business copartnership. In one sense, marriage is a copartnership formed for life. Two individuals who were before entirely separate, possessing distinct rights and privileges, agree to form a union for mutual advantage and happiness. As in all human compacts for mutual good, the parties in matrimony voluntarily surrender certain minor rights, before possessed, that they may secure the greater benefits which flow from cooperation in producing inrocal enjoyment. Hence it is manifest that in a compact of this nature, formed voluntarily by beings before independent, in which each is obligated to discharge certain duties for the benefit of both, it is as improper for the husband to look upon the wife as his servant or dependant, as for the wife to view the husband merely as a drudge made to toil and labor to support her in idleness and extravagance. Each has a distinct sphere of duty. The husband to go out into the world, and engage in business, or laborious occupation, for the maintenance of the family-the wife to superintend the domestic affairs of the household, to advise and counsel her husband in his doubts and perplexities, and by her presence, her affection, and her smiles, to make home an Elysium, to which he can flee and find rest from the stormy strifes of a selfish world. These benefits, these enjoyments, the husband can no more secure without the wife, than the wife without the husband. Hence their dependance is