page of history; and if the question be asked, why these men towered above their contemporaries in their virtuous achievements, the answer may be found in the expression, Cornelia was their mother. But a more brilliant illustration meets us in the character of the "father of his country." Those high intellectual and moral qualities, which imparted splendor and renown to his deeds, were not the sudden or fitful flashes of impulse or passion-that patriotism which blazed brightest amid the perils of the darkest hour-that devotion which deepened as dangers thickened, and those commanding virtues, which temptations only fortified, were the product of those principles which were mingled with the lessons of his childhood. As we gaze upon the brilliant specimen of merit and distinction, we learn the secret of his greatness in the simple but expressive inscription, "Mary, the mother of Washington," which marks the tomb-stone of the American matron. Such were the noble endowments which characterized this female, and such her acknowledged influence in moulding the character of her son, that it was remarked by a British officer, that it was not strange that America_produced great men, since she could boast of such mothers. If such be the high vocation of woman, of what unspeakable importance is her education! Is any magnificent work of architecture to be erected, which shall outvie, in taste, splendor, and durability, the noblest specimens of its kind-which may be looked upon as a splendid embodiment of the taste and refinement of its founders, to whom but to the educated and skilful artisan is such a work committed? And shall there be less importance attached to the skill and education of an architect, whose high and holy office is to sketch the plan, lay the foundations, and rear the columns of a mighty intellectual and spiritual edifice, whose outer walls may crumble into dust, but whose inner and nobler frame shall remain imperishable as the throne of God? If we would have patriots, whose love of country will become a passion, pure as the breath of heaven, and interwoven with the elements of the soul-statesmen who shall tower, as the sons of Anak, in intellectual and moral stature and Christians, who shall be mighty in the impulses of a benevolence which, as a bright zone, will belt the globe, we must educate her who will mingle with the music of the cradle the spirit-stirring sentiments of liberty and love, whisper in the ear those high and holy principles which will expand with the forming heart and intellect, and open up to the windows of the soul that brighter light which ever wakes up "longings after immortality." Another consideration in favor of the importance of female education is, the influence which educated females may exert in creating and sustaining a purified public sentiment. We are constituted with susceptibilities to woman's influence, strong as are our tendencies to some form of religion; and it is as necessary, for the moral dignity of man, and the consecration of society, that this influence should be ennobled by education, as is a pure system of theology for the excellence and lofty aspirations of the soul. The fact that mankind will sink into the basest idolatry and most grovelling superstition, where the light of revelation is unknown and unfelt, is not more strikingly depicted on the page of history, than the kindred fact, that licentiousness and every species of moral abomination will riot with unrebuked violence where error and ignorance mark female character. I need not tell my audience that this influence, as it may be ennobled or debased, is omnipotent for weal or wo. It has a power which overmatches all authority-a terror which arms cannot inspire, and a persuasiveness more immediate and touching than the thrilling eloquence of the world's best orators. This was the influence which brought the haughty and imperious Cæsar, at whose voice armies quaked, a willing captive to the power of Cleopatra. It was this which caused Mark Antony to forget his conquests, and to prefer a woman's smiles to the dreams of glory and homage of thousands. And who, that has read the tale of the days of chivalry, has not recognized a revolution, produced by the same power which pervaded the manners, customs, and institutions of Europe! Yes, so resistless was woman's sway at that period, that, had she been educated in heart and intellect, she might have originated and consummated a reformation which would have girdled the globe with results as extensive and brilliant as followed the deeds of Martin Luther. This is the influence which may and must, by education, become the strongest palladium of the morals and institutions of our country. Even now, comparatively undeveloped as are her proper and peculiar energies, her controlling power and moral superiority are distinctly recognized in the standard of character which public sentiment has established for the sexes. Vice in a female is like a "stain on an angel's robe." When she falls from virtue, she falls, like Lucifer, never to rise again. The abandoned man, who wantonly snaps the tenderest ties, may walk abroad unhurt and unrebuked, tossing his guilty head in contempt and derision; whilst the poor agonized victim of his wickedness is even torn from the hiding-place which she sought to weep over the desolation of her hopes, that she may be crucified afresh by the ridicule of the world. We ask not that this standard of character may be lowered, but we ask (and if we mistake not, the signs of the times indicate the speedy approach of the happy day) that the moral power which the female possesses may be so nerved, by high intellectual and moral culture, that around all her associations shall be thrown a sanctity and energy which will, as the lightning's glance, rive his inmost soul, who, reeking with the impunity of unrepented crime, would seek her society. But there is another view in which this influence, as it mingles with and controls the tide of public sentiment, may perhaps be more strikingly exhibited. Contemplate that young man. Yesterday he was in the haunts of dissipation, scoffed at the claims of Christianity, pointed the finger of derision at those who pleaded virtue's cause, and gloried in the shame of his ungodliness. To-day he visits the female circle. How changed his appearance-how graceful and decorous his actions-how he padlocks his lips as the profane sentiment rises to his tongue-how he casts his eyes around as if danger lurked in his path-how he trembles as the tone that tells of yesterday falls upon his ears! Ah! he feels the overawing influence of female purity and intelligence. There is no heart so sunk and stupified, none so debased, that the felt presence of a nobler heart will not influence -none that can withstand the stern rebuke of a pure-minded lady-a rebuke which, as the voice of an earthquake, sends a thrill of terror into the darkest bosom. Educate the female, and this chastening energy will become universal as the flow of the atmosphere; and, like a flame of holy fire, it will settle upon the manners and morals of the world. Now it is hidden as a light under a bushel-then it will become as a city set upon a hill; now it merely falls upon the tongue-then it will speak from the pen, and on the wings of the press be borne to the eye of every individual; now it is uttered in the feeble notes of the uneducated-then, clothed with argument, eloquence, and appeal, like the omnipresent energy of nature, it will "Live through all life-extend through all extent Spread undivided-operate unspent." Let educated ladies but combine and concentrate this influence, which is their peculiar native endowment, and let the exalted sentiments of a high intellectual and spiritual education, as inscribed upon a bright banner, ever float before their minds, warm their hearts, and inspire their actions, and they will do more for the glory of their country, than "lofty battlements, moated gates, or cities proud, with spires and turrets crowned;" and, like the vestal virgins of antiquity, they will keep alive the sacred fire of patriotism and religion-not merely upon one altar, or in one temple, but in the hearts of all people, and wherever the power of knowledge, harmonizing with purity of affection, extends. The importance of female education is better understood as it comes in contact with our most interesting associations. Home is the palace of the soul; and who does not wish to see that not only hallowed by affection, but illumined with those lights which constitute the glory of the moral universe? Is she not lovelier, whose heart is mellowed with the modesty of true science-whose eye kindles with the mingled fire of elevated thought and pure feeling, and whose countenance is invested with those radiant lines of thought, which, like stars on the broad canopy of heaven, tell of a bright spirit within? Is that not a happier paradise, where the educated wife, mother, or sister, may lead the mind to fountains, at which it may quaff pleasures adapted to its immortal capacities-where she may point to flowers and fruits that never grow old-open up the world's magnificence and variety to the astonished vision and aspiring intellect, and breathe over the brilliant scenery the rich fragrance of deep, devout feeling? The presence of such a female, to the cultivated mind, like the presence of God to the saint, will never become irksome-the more frequent the communion, the more varied will be the delight; and the admiring heart, as it contemplates the movements and manner of such an one, can well adopt the poet's language "With goddess-like demeanor, forth she went, How blessed a refuge does a home, watched by such ministering spirits, become, when desolation reigns without, and the pining heart sighs for enjoyment! The rill, the rivulet, the meadow, the lawn, the grove, the forest, and all the rich variety of nature's magnificence which surrounds the earthly paradise, may regale the mind, and captivate its tastes and sympathies. How tame such scenery, compared with the grand panorama, all adorned with the discoveries and utilities of science, the magnificence and splendor of art, the treasures and luxuries of literature, and, above all, the cheering anticipations and enjoyments of religion, which spread out before the delighted heart, as by the magic of enchantment, at the bidding of educated females! What son, educated amid all the thrilling associations of a home, enriched with all that can refine the sensibilities, expand the intellect, and ennoble the heart, will ever be found a prodigal in a far country, recreant to the hopes and anticipations of his bygone and better days, his mother's name forgotten, and her example unfelt? What husband, blest with the affection and communion of a wife who has linked him, in sympathy and noble purpose, with the loftiest achievements of intellect-introduced him to a companionship with master-spirits of all ages, will ever become so debased as to exchange the birth-right of such an inheritance for the miserable pottage of this earth's low and degrading pursuits? But the importance of female education appears more prominently, in its influence, in elevating, intellectually and morally, its possessor. Some may not understand the various and extensive power of educated mind, in its multiplied relations; but all, either by observation or experience, appreciate education as a rich source of enjoyment. There are intellectual joys to which the possessor clings as the Christian to the altar of his God, and after which the uneducated sigh as for the light of immortality. Contemplate that lady, whose mind has been illumined with the light, and enriched with the stores of varied knowledge. She has no sympathy with the vain and frivolous amusements which charm the untaught; for she has exchanged the gay wings of the butterfly for nobler pinions, by which she may soar to the skies. She is undisturbed by the jealousies, suspicions and calumnies which torture the vacant mind, and poison the springs of social and domestic life;—these come over her as harsh discord upon the ear attuned to harmony, and her spirit, like the peaceful dove, seeks a purer atmosphere. She has no talent for unriddling the dark insinuations which fall upon her ear, and no taste for interpreting the dreams and predictions of the busy prophetess. She quits the narrow sphere of prejudice and passion, and is borne aloft, by the impulses of a new and sublime life, to a loftier theatre, where a range opens up adequate to the aspirings of a nobler spirit. She watches the tide of emigration that rolls over the land-contemplates the rising grandeur of her country-meditates upon the enlarged plans of philanthropy and religion-unrolls the map of the world, and, as from an observatory, looks abroad upon the various moral conflicts which are agitating its interests sees kingdoms rising and falling-scans the discoveries of science-surveys those moral enterprises which are spreading the brightness of a better day around the depravity and darkness of earth's multitudes, and in the spirit and practice of a kind instructress, interprets to her family and friends the varied signs of the times, and the mighty events which cluster around the movements of the age. Nor is she confined to the present in the sources of her gratification; for the same power which confers the privilege of a delightful participation in the movements of this age, lifts the curtains which shroud the past from view, and secures a rich inheritance in its choicest possessions. The scenes of other days rise at the bidding of her will, and memory throws them before her vision. She walks over the ground consecrated by the deeds of divinity, and the announcement of eternal life to fallen humanity-visits every spot hallowed by interesting associations; and as she |