—not a power to be feared and dreaded, but a power to be admired and loved—not a power which binds with chains of iron, but with slender, silken cords. This power may be hidden in savage life, or crushed out by despots, but in enlightened and refined communities it never ceases to operate. Here woman has her share of influence in society, and when that influence is discreetly exercised, we think no one should complain, although misguided individuals are sometimes clamorous for what they call "woman's rights." We believe that, in refined communities, the influence of the mother in forming the character of the man is greater than that of the father, and that the unobserved influence of the nursery is more potent than that of the college. Abundant examples show that without the softening and refining influence of female society, men become rude barbarians. But this influence, like every other human power, is liable to be perverted or misemployed. Confined to its own appropriate sphere and directed to proper objects, it is salutary. When it promotes moral, Christian and social virtues—when it softens
