EDITOR'S TABLE. 



1M 



specially that of ascertaining their own so- 

 cial status — can justify the alleged wasting 

 of their real powers ! Surely this is a re- 

 versal of his plan for men, threatening a 

 philosophic tyranny in his future scheme 

 over the true instincts of women, which the 

 latter cannot possibly feel to be justice to 

 them. 



Most needfully, then, in the face of such 

 threatened injury on the part of a writer 

 who is daily becoming more and more of de- 

 served weight in social topics, must women 

 look to one another ; that is, for the openly- 

 expressed class-feeling which manifestly is 

 the thing that is now called for. The best 

 thing that has been said for us by Mr. Mill, 

 and that for which I think, for one, we owe 

 him a debt of gratitude never to be extin- 

 guished, is that, after all, women must speak 

 for themselves. Unless they will do so, this 

 most generous of our advocates has said, it 

 must remain " impossible that any man, or 

 all men taken together, should have knowl- 

 edge which can qualify them to lay down 

 the law to women as to what is, or is not, 

 their vocation " (" Subjection of Women," 



p. 48). Let me, however, add, on the other 

 side, that in my own view this demand of 

 self-expression from women by no means in- 

 cludes any equal need of immediate political 

 action. Until the subject has been well 

 thought out between men and women, with 

 much more of careful study than is com- 

 patible with popular agitation, I am con- 

 vinced that any too eager pressing forward 

 toward practical arrangement of it must be 

 dangerously premature. And for this end 

 I believe truly that we need, not only all the 

 instruction that Mr. Spencer can give us, 

 both philosophic and scientific, but all the 

 strenuous mental effort on the part of at 

 least those who must take lead among us, 

 which he seems to condemn. I recognize 

 fully that we can in no way do better than 

 to take him as our teacher — however little 

 he may perhaps himself approve of this — 

 provided always that in learning from him 

 we remain true to ourselves. 



I am, etc., Sara S. Hennell. 



Coventry, January 20, 18*74. 

 — Examiner. 



EDITOR'S TABLE. 



TEE WORK AND INFLUENCE OF TEE 

 MONTELT. 



THE present number closes the sec- 

 ond year and the fourth volume 

 of The Popular Science Monthly. 

 That it met a demand is shown by the 

 fact that it has been better sustained 

 than any other scientific magazine of 

 its class that has been started in any 

 country. That it has fulfilled its early 

 promise in the estimation of the pub- 

 lic, is shown also by the fact that it 

 has been increasingly commended with 

 each succeeding issue. We wish to 

 make it still better, but our power to 

 do so will depend upon the liberality 

 of its patronage ; and we therefore so- 

 licit all who would increase its strength 

 and extend its usefulness, to do what 

 they can to make it more widely 

 known in their respective circles of 

 inquiring and intelligent readers. The 



Monthly is as yet known to but very 

 few of those who would appreciate 

 and prize it, and our friends can do 

 much, as many of them have already- 

 done, by lending their copies to 

 thoughtful neighbors, and inducing 

 them to form clubs. 



In regard to the character of The 

 Popular Science Monthly, we have 

 preferred to let it speak for itself, and 

 have made no parade of the numerous 

 and flattering commendations of it 

 which we have received from eminent 

 sources. But there come a few words 

 regarding the importance of our work 

 from a distant country, which we may 

 be excused for giving to our readers. 



From a letter of Mr. Bancroft, 

 American minister at the court of Ber- 

 lin, to the publishers in New York, 

 we select the following passage : " I re- 

 ceive from time to time your Popular 



