

WOMAN'S LONG STRUGGLE 97 



Higher studies for their daughters were regarded by the 

 generality of men, the same writer tells us, "as great a 

 profanation as the clergy would do if the laity would pre- 

 sume to exercise the functions of the priesthood." 



Eeferring to the handicaps suffered by the women of 

 England in the pursuit of knowledge, the same writer de- 

 clares: "We are educated in the grossest ignorance, and 

 no art is omitted to stifle our natural reason; if some few 

 get above their nurses' instructions, our knowledge must 

 be concealed and be as useless to the world as gold in the 

 mine. ' ' 



Lord Chesterfield, in His Letters to His Son, expresses 

 the opinion of his contemporaries when he writes on the 

 same subject as follows: "Women are only children of a 

 larger growth ; they have an entertaining tattle, sometimes 

 wit; but, for solid reasoning, good sense, I never in my 

 life knew one who had it, or who reasoned or acted conse- 

 quentially for twenty-four hours together. ... A man of 

 sense only trifles with them, plays with them, humors and 

 flatters them as he does a sprightly forward child ; but he 

 neither consults them about nor trusts them with serious 

 matters, though he often makes them believe he does both, 

 which is the thing in the world which they are proud of; 

 for they love mightily to be dabbling in business, which, 

 by the way, they always spoil, and, being distrustful that 

 men in general look upon them in a trifling light, they 

 almost adore that man who talks to them seriously and 

 seems to consult and trust them." 1 



i Letter XLIX, London, Sept. 5, O. S., 1748. 



Walpole, writing in 1773, makes the following curious declaration : 

 "I made a discovery Lady Nuneham is a poetess, and writes with 

 great ease and sense some poetry, but is as afraid of the character, 

 as if it was a sin to make verses." And Lord Granville tells us of 

 an eminent statesman and man of letters who, in the early part of 

 the last century, was so troubled on discovering in his daughter 

 a talent for poetry that he "appealed to her affection for him, and 

 made a request to her never to write verses again. He was not 



