'6
THE HESPERIAN
sity 'belong to Triine'tco"n clubs, and leave hor
poor tired h'us'ba'nd to caro for the sick chil
dren while she attends hor committee
'meetings. She is not so silly as to copy the
costume or ape the vices of men ; she has
higher ideals. The country where feminine
cigarette smokers are most numerous is the
one where there are fewest new women. Her
chief demand is not for the right to vote and
!hold office It is for the right to cultivate
'her own powers and do her own "work. She
does not go about the country giving public
lectures for the money or the fame there is
in it. But if she has something to say she
desires the privilege of saying it; and if she
believes it would bo helpful to a larger audi
ence than can bo reached by hor usual
method of spoaking, she sees no logical
reason why she should not adopt the best
moans of roaching them. She is not a. Jin de
aiech woman ready to vanish from sight at
'the stroke of 1900 as ghosts fade away at
'the first cock-crow ; she is here to stay.
It is commonly supposed that she repre
sents a new variety of woman. That is not
'the caso. This variety has appeared many
times in past ages, and for the last century
'has had a continuous existence in this coun
try. It is only very lntoly however that our
'cataloguers have noticed the typo sufficiently
'to 'think a namo necessary. As this namo,
'inappropriate as it is, is the only one at hand
we must use it till wo find a bettor.
The early part of this contury furnishes
several bright oxamplos of the New "Woman;
'but she existed earlier, and the earlior ones
'for the most part have escaped our notice.
Abigail Adams was a New "Woman. No
one reading hor letters can doubt that she
had all the characteristics of the class. She
was a matchlesB housekeeper and manager,
a model mother. She gave unsparingly of
her caro, sympathy and good advice to hor
husband and never permitted anyone to say
Blie was the better man of the two. She
quoted maxims of state for hiaoritertainracnt
and guidance, not forgottin to add occasion
ally such of her own as wore more clearly
adapted to thecase 'in hand. Hor courage
and determination Were a 'constant 'inspiration
to him. In return ho pays Iior the 'unusual
compliment of 'pronouncing lior patriotic sen
timents "worthy the best of women and the
host of men;" and the loss minstml oiie o'f
thanking Heaven for a wife "whoso capacity
onabled hor to comprehend, and wlioso pure
virtue obliged her to approve the views 'of
hor husband.
Prom what we know 'it is too 'little
there is reason to believe that Priscilla, tho
Puritan maiden was a New 'Woman. It 'is
certain that Anne Hutchinson Was. Strip
the wild tales concerning hor of the palpable
falsehoods and the superstitious imaginings
and we have before us the clear record
of a strong-minded, strong-willed and much
enduring woman; one with deep sympathies,
groat ability, perfect conscientiousness. The
annals of Quakerism furnish many names
too many to cito. The Quaker creed was
responsible for several new doctrines not 'the
least important of which is the equality of
human souls.
Sovoral queens must bo excluded from 'the
list, among thorn Queen Elizabeth. :She
gloriod in boing the Old "Woman though
she resented the title. Novella d'Andrrea
and Christine of Pisa were both new womon.
They performed thoir work and 'retained
their womanliness with a success that should
furnish inspirationto nny modorn morribor o'f
the class. The last chapter of Provor'bs
describes the New Woman o'f thnbday, show
ing that her oxistonco was 'recognized 'in
Israel.
There is no time to trace hor dcvolopmorit
through alltho stages markod by even 'r!hoso
few names. "Wnat has oponod this latest
stage the appearance of the Now Woman
in such numbers aB to draw public notico to
her existence? The first groat stop was the
founding of a school for tho higher educa
tion of girls. IPorhaps a preliminary step
had boon 'taken in 1T89, when the school
authorities of 'Boston voted to allow :girls to
attend the ILatin school during the summer
months. Tho keynote of 'tho modern theme
was struck 'however when, in 1819, Mrs.
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