624 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



whicli must be cultivated and emphasized in this " new era/' It 

 is an emotional superiority, a God-given essence, which we can 

 not afford to lose, in our new grasp upon the intellectual forces 

 within us. If every intelligent mother in this land could bring 

 herself to an accurate realization of these truths a realization 

 of the power for broad yet conservative advancement which lies 

 merely in her position in the plan of society what an immediate 

 uplifting of womankind there would be ! And beyond this, too, 

 reaching away off into the future, is the influence she exerts upon 

 her children, and through them upon an ever-widening circle. 

 She has great power for good in this never-ending, ever-expand- 

 ing influence, which must go out to the world from her, through 

 her children, as well as in the strong and right expression of her 

 individuality. 



Mutual understanding and sympathy, both so potent in the re- 

 lation of parent and child, must be established before the woman, 

 as mother, can, through her children, do her part in this progress- 

 ive age. With that much accomplished (it is the first step, a 

 difficult but a necessary one), let us, then, in our strength, as 

 mothers, push on to this important expression of our work for 

 woman's advancement the emancipation of our daughters from 

 the slavery of half-developed bodies and unhealthful clothing. 

 There exists to-day a painfully small number of women who 

 have the physical endurance necessary for the right living of any 

 life, whether domestic or professional. All women who have felt 

 the hampering influence of weak bodies would cry out if it would 

 help them, " Give us strong backs and good circulation, and we 

 can do the rest ourselves." Whatever life we contemplate for our 

 girls, whether in college halls or kitchen whether as lawyers, 

 teachers, doctors, or mothers in every work, they need physical 

 endurance, and with us, their mothers, rest the opportunity and 

 ability to give them great help or hindrance. It is indisputable 

 that a good circulation and fine digestion have much to do with a 

 normal, healthful, mental development ; and no one will deny 

 that a well-developed body, with all its possibilities of symmetry 

 and beauty, with all its suggestions of noble appropriateness, 

 can, and frequently does, have a material effect on the character. 

 The buoyancy, the feeling of mastery over all problems, the ex- 

 altation mental and spiritual, which come with perfect health, are 

 not only helps but inspirations in any work. And even if we 

 can not attain perfection, is not an approximation worth striving 

 for ? It is a rare case where the watchful care of a mother can 

 not do much, by prenatal as well as postnatal influence, to coun- 

 teract inherited weakness, cultivate desirable qualities, and bring 

 her child to a full fruition of its physical possibilities. This branch 

 of the mother's work, including as it does the development of a 



