You cannot separate woman’s rights and her responsibilities.  In all ages of the world she has had a certain limited work to do, and has done that well.  All that is needed, when new spheres are open, is that she should carry the same fidelity into those.  If she will work as hard to shape the children of her brain as to rear her bodily offspring, will do intellectual work as well as she does housework, and will meet her moral responsibilities as she meets her social engagements, then opposition will soon disappear.  The habit of thoroughness is the key to all high success.  Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well.  Only those who are faithful in a few things will rightfully be made rulers over many.

LITERARY ASPIRANTS

The brilliant Lady Ashburton used to say of herself that she had never written a book, and knew nobody whose books she would like to have written.  This does not seem to be the ordinary state of mind among those who write letters of inquiry to authors.  If I may judge from these letters, the yearning for a literary career is now almost greater among women than among men.  Perhaps this is because of some literary successes lately achieved by women.  Perhaps it is because they have fewer outlets for their energies.  Perhaps they find more obstacles in literature than young men find, and have, therefore, more need to write letters of inquiry about it.  It is certain that they write such letters quite often; and ask questions that test severely the supposed omniscience of the author’s brain,—­questions bearing on logic, rhetoric, grammar, and orthography; where to find a publisher, and how to obtain a well-disciplined mind.

These letters may sometimes be too long or come too often for convenience, nor is the consoling postage-stamp always remembered.  But they are of great value as giving real glimpses of American social life, and of the present tendencies of American women.  They sometimes reveal such intellectual ardor and imagination, such modesty, and such patience under difficulties, as to do good to the reader, whatever they may do to the writer.  They certainly suggest a few thoughts, which may as well be expressed, once for all, in print.

Behind almost all these letters there lies a laudable desire to achieve success.  “Would you have the goodness to tell us how success can be obtained?” How can this be answered, my dear young lady, when you leave it to the reader to guess what your definition of success may be?  For instance, here is Mr. Mansfield Tracy Walworth, who was murdered the other day in New York.  He was at once mentioned in the newspapers as a “celebrated author.”