carried too far, and has led to the dwarfing of women's intellect, must not
lead to a rejection of this important social sphere. It is too strong a
power to be ignored. George Eliot says well that "the commonest man, who
has his ounce of sense and feeling, is conscious of the difference between
a lovely, delicate woman, and a coarse one. Even a dog feels a difference
in their presence." At a summer resort, for instance, one sees women who
may be intellectually very ignorant and narrow, yet whose mere manners give
them a social power which the highest intellects might envy. To lend joy
and grace to all one's little world of friendship; to make one's house a
place which every guest enters with eagerness, and leaves with reluctance;
to lend encouragement to the timid, and ease to the awkward; to repress
violence, restrain egotism, and make even controversy courteous,--these
belong to the empire of woman. It is a sphere so important and so
beautiful, that even courage and self-devotion seem not quite enough,
without the addition of this supremest charm.

This courtesy is so far from implying falsehood, that its very best basis
is perfect simplicity. Given a naturally sensitive organization, a loving
spirit, and the early influence of a refined home, and the foundation of
fine manners is secured. A person so favored may be reared in a log hut,
and may pass easily into a palace; the few needful conventionalities are so
readily acquired. But I think it is a mistake to tell children, as we
sometimes do, that simplicity and a kind heart are absolutely all that are
needful in the way of manners. There are persons in whom simplicity and
kindness are inborn, and who yet never attain to good manners for want of
refined perceptions. And it is astonishing how much refinement alone can
do, even if it be not very genuine or very full of heart, to smooth the
paths and make social life attractive.

All the acute observers have recognized the difference between the highest