in its effects upon herself, and upon those who reverence her as its possessor; and he who voluntarily corrupts it, for any base purposes of his own, is a moral murderer; and will assuredly be called to account, for his crime. "Not less valuable in itself, is that faculty of dissembling, which pertains to woman, in a degree far beyond any that is imagined, or can be attained by man. This dissimulation must not be confounded with simulation or selfish cunning; it is not the power of assuming qualities, or emotions, foreign to her disposition; but that of concealing her profoundest feelings, when the revelation of them might involve the peace or safety of herself or others, with which woman is pre-eminently gifted. It is this power which enables her to hide, or outwardly modify, the all-absorbing sentiment that prompts her continually to seek communion with, and influence over man; by it she is enabled to soothe angry and wayward feelings; to humour such peculiarities as may have nothing of actual evil in them; to act as a peace-maker, and an adviser for good; to adopt habits of congeniality with whomsoever she may be called upon to associate; and to keep harmony in her family and social circle; and surely such dissimulation may be esteemed as born of love." This latter attribute of the feminine soul is judiciously illustrated by several striking incidents in the lives of well-known characters, and no less interesting than any is the Bible story, introduced here, of the stratagem of the Hebrew mother to save her infant Moses, and of the sagacity and self-command of her daughter Miriam. In fact, every prominent feature in the subject—and there are many which are perfectly new to the most of men-is confirmed by appropriate historical facts, favourable testimony from poets and philosophers of all ages, or apt allusions to events which have happened within the writer's own extensive observation of social life. It may be thought by some that the power of secretiveness or cunning in man may be equal to, if not precisely the same as, this faculty of "dissimulation," which is claimed by the authoress as peculiarly feminine. But here is one characteristic of her sex upon which opinion will be less divided :— "We now, however, come to a third attribute of the Feminine Soul; in which there is nothing to contemplate but what is beautiful; we mean the faculty of Perception, or rather, as it may be denominated, Intuition, finely defined by an admirable writer, as that lofty power of the mind, which, acting independently of experience, and the slow process of reason, pronounces at once, by a noble foresight. Every one knows, from his own experience, that the mind acts sometimes by instinct, sometimes by deliberation: the mental character of the sexes, indicates the difference between these two faculties; intuition predominates in woman, while man takes leisure to reflect. The off-hand judgment of an intelligent woman is fully as valuable as the reasoning conclusion of a man, and even more so." "Frequently when doubtful how to act in matters of importance,' said the poet Rogers, 'I have received more useful advice from women than from men. Women have the understanding of the heart, which is better than that of the head.' Lord Bolingbroke pays the same compliment to female good sense; 'Whenever,' says he, 'I am about to undertake a matter of importance, I like to consult a sensible woman.' Need we add, he was a sensible man? "Lord Brougham, speaking, in his Lives of British Statesmen, of Charles James Fox, says, 'he possessed a preternatural quickness of apprehension, which enabled him to see, at a glance, what cost other men the labour of an investigation.' This quickness of apprehension, which struck Lord Brougham as something preternatural, might be deemed so in a man, but in a woman, it is perfectly natural; part and parcel, indeed, of her very nature. . Her rapid mind decides, while he debates, She feels a truth that he but calculates.' "If she does not so accurately trace effects to their causes, she yet, to use a phrase of common parlance, 'jumps to a conclusion,' with a readiness and precision which often astonishes masculine logic. This intuitive perception of the good, the right, and the beautiful, which requires no argument, but which is the remains of a paradisaic nature, has been termed by metaphysicians, 'the pure reason,' and is justly esteemed by them the highest faculty of the mind." A whole host of great celebrities are here made to do honour to the pre-eminence of this feminine attribute. Among the number are Homer, Tacitus, William Von Humboldt, Milton, and many others of modern time. In fact, "It would, indeed, be easy to trace the universal belief in female Occult knowledge, and female agency, from the earliest histories of the earliest nations; from the Witch of Endor, bringing up Samuel, by 'her familiar spirit,' at the command of Saul, to the Weird Sisters, 'So wither'd and so wild in their attire,' who startled 'brave Macbeth' on his way to Forres. From the veiled Isis of mysterious Egypt, to the rag-wrapped Fortune-teller of the Gipsey tribe; from impassioned Greece, throughout Etruria and Rome; the fervid India, and the frozen North; nay, we might say, in every habited country on the face of the globe; from the most refined and intellectual people, to the most benighted and oppressed, may be read the history of woman's endeavour after hidden knowledge, and her supposed attainment of it." - It must not be inferred, from these short extracts, which give but an imperfect idea of the amount of agreeable information the book con tains, that the authoress is imbued with, or seeks to promulgate in this country, the trans-atlantic notions of "woman's rights." Her opinions are of a thorough English stamp, though modified, enlarged, and corrected by a personal familiarity with the habits and sentiments of other countries. She earnestly desires to improve the condition of her sex, but is no advocate for training women to obviously masculine professions and occupations. With, perhaps, but one exception, there is universal consistency in the work; and its object being to exhibit the entire and eternal difference in the male and female mental constitution, the conclusions to be drawn from it are necessarily at utter variance with the teachings of those zealous and talented ladies of America, who are pleading for an impartial and unrestricted infusion of women into all the branches of science and art. Mrs. Child, in her Autumnal Leaves, just issued, says, in the well-told tale of "The Brother and Sister," "The boy, in the eagerness of brotherly love, had started ideas which he was too ignorant to follow. But in his simple question lies the germ of thoughts that will revolutionize the world. For as surely as there is a God of harmony in the universe, so surely will woman one day become the acknowledged equal and co-worker of man, in every department of life; and yet be more truly gentle and affectionate than she now is. . . . . Again the question returned, 'Why cannot women go abroad, and earn their own way in the world, as well as men ?' The coming ages answered him, but he did not hear the prophecy." "The God of harmony" has ordained that the fleshly heart which beats beneath man's ribs, shall perform its present functions there forever; nor ever envy, nor execute the offices of respiration; and no prophecy has ever ventured to cast a doubt upon its future destiny, or wisdom question the divine order of this arrangement. Co-workers" the heart and lungs must always be; their mutual dependence and importance are united and felt in their ultimate and equally essential uses; but their individual departments of operation, which can never be amalgamated, is a law irrevocably fixed. "An amiable and virtuous woman," says Mrs. Strutt, "will, in general, find a right and sufficient guide to her actions, in her impulses; but man has, more frequently, to combat his with the sterner motives of duty: hence is a greater degree of moral strength bestowed upon him, commensurate with the claims continually made upon it. Even parental affection assumes a very different aspect on the paternal, from what it does on the maternal side. . . . . So in the common business of life, a man will take views very different from those of a woman, of the same occurrences. The man will base his upon principle, formed by just ideas of right and wrong: the woman's will be swayed by feel .... ing; by her sympathy, her pity, or perhaps her prejudices. . . . These different feelings and perceptions all work together for good, in their appropriate places. It must be evident, that if men were to be carried away by that tenderness of feeling which is so amiable and attractive in women, it would be the cause of much additional suffering and misery to society at large. . . . . The same remarks will apply to legal decisions, and, in fact, to all cases where strict impartiality and rigid sense of justice are indispensable. We can, indeed, conceive no character in civilized society, so awfully misplaced as a female would be, robed in the garb of a judge, summing up the evidences, in criminal cases, to a jury, on whose decision the life of a fellow-creature might depend; and, placing the black cap on her head, preparatory to passing upon him the sentence of death, consequent upon the verdict which her summing up may have influenced. "That there are duties and offices proper to man, which principally take him abroad, and duties and offices proper to woman, which principally keep her at home, is indeed a truth so evident that they must be very visionary theorists, who can maintain that the pursuits proper to each could be undertaken, without disadvantage, by either. In the duties proper to man, the primary agents are wisdom, understanding, thought, firmness, and decision. In the duties proper to woman, the primary agents are love, patience, consideration, self-denial: hence it is plain that the duties of each are diverse and separate; though they must eventually blend together, in order to constitute an orderly and happy household. "And what rational being need wish for more than a moiety of attributes, which, so blended, become a whole; a common property; forming at once the preparation for, and the foretaste of heavenly felicity, unchanging, perfect, and eternal ?" Notwithstanding the obvious collision into which we have brought the sentiments of two, whose aims are so praise-worthy, and so nearly alike, the Feminine Soul will do more than the best treatise yet published on the mission and proper sphere of woman's industry, to lay the foundation in the heart of at least British society, by creating a higher and more just appreciation of the female character and capabilities, whereon a future system shall be built, which shall extend to women their due rights, honours, and chances of moral and intellectual development, which have long been denied them. The very deficiencies here admitted-of a masculine kind, and therefore not to be regretted -give greater weight and value to the superiority of the powers of her sex, which the writer does not fail to present, and establish beyond all question. Domestic and social duties are not omitted in the extensive field of observation which the volume includes; suitable branches of study; the departments in literature in which she is naturally adapted to excel; and all the accomplishments which would give a modest dignity and gracefulness to her manners, a purity to her heart, common-sense use in her life, are enforced, illustrated, and clearly defined, with unmistakeable earnestness, and yet with a cheerfulness and charm of style which never flags. The book will be an especial favourite with ladies; they will feel it to be true, and that more might perhaps have been added, if man could bear it now. Men must believe it, and be bound to confess that sometimes they, in "their turn, must be contented to drink from the reservoir of imitation; for the spring,-the pure well-spring undefiled,' of all these excellences has its origin in the female breast, and not in theirs." A work which places the relative position of the two sexes in so just a light-which demonstrates their equality, and yet essential distinction -which does so much to promote a better understanding between them, to allay jealousies, correct common prejudices, and to facilitate their mutual well-being-which exhibits marriage as a sacred and holy union, and, by opening up the hitherto generally unknown and inexplicable qualities of the feminine soul, advancing the knowledge and appreciation of that religious bond-and which consequently will greatly aid in curing some of the worst moral evils in society, and in establishing some of its best virtues-we hail with sincere delight. M. A. N. THE GOOD MAN's PORTRAIT. REFINED Intelligence-an eye serene— His actions just, impelled by Christian Love, Prepare his ransom'd soul for bliss above. In brief-he lives for use, his neighbour strives to bless, L. NO. IV.-VOL. I. 12 |