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THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.
illegality of such a proceeding, and quite a fuss was made about it, but nothing resulted. No other woman took the law course, and the noble girl, who had a right to the profession she had chosen, was obliged to give it up, though privately she works in the law office of her brother, who considers her a most useful aid. As medical doctors women could have a large practice and a most important field of action; but here again prejudice is against them, although our Queen gave her moral support to the profession, naming as her honorary medical attendant a Turinese lady, Miss Mary Valeda Farne. This learned and well-known woman would have a brilliant career anywhere else, as she was also appointed medical assistant at the principal hospital in Rome by one of our greatest doctors, Bacelli; but she could not overcome public prejudice and she must be satisfied with her small, though very select, practice.
Music is a profession allowed to women in Italy, and several struggle on as music- teachers, and a few rise to the summit of art as opera singers or concertists. I may name as one of the leading concertists Miss Castellani, and also a sweet young girl just at the threshold of her career, Margaret Brambilli, who promises to rise high. We have in Italy very good conservatories, where, besides music and singing, a proper literary education is given. The most noted of our conservatories are at Naples, Rome and Milan.
In Italy women may occupy positions in the post, telegraph and telephone offices, but the competition for these positions is so strong that they are most difficult to obtain.
So the highest public position a woman may hope to obtain in Italy is something connected with the educational work, the highest position therein being inspector or principal of the highest government schools. These positions are much sought after notwithstanding that at the very best they seldom pay more than one thousand dollars per year.
However, we have now a remarkable number of women who are fairly struggling for economic independence by their own work. The larger number of these are writers, some of whom succeed in making a living, though a very modest living at the best. Publishers seldom pay more than from one hundred dollars to fourhundred dollars for a book, which they sell in no less than a thousand copies in one edition, thus receiving about eight hundred dollars for it, even when the book has little or no success; but when three or five thousand copies are sold, the publishers’ profits are immense. Printing is not costly in Italy, and so we have rich publishers, but I know r of no writers who have made a fortune with their pen. My esteemed and dear friend, Miss Alice Howard Cady, of New York, who came to Italy last year, worked hard to induce our lady writers to send their books to the World’s Fair. They thought their productions did not deserve such honor, for one of the characteristics of my charming country-women is a remarkable modesty or shyness. So several of them wrote to Miss Cady in that sense, that they were flattered and interested to be considered worthy of notice, and felt grateful to Miss Cady, etc., etc. The latter succeeded, however, in gaining her point and winning their confidence and friendship. Only to aid Miss Cady in her noble efforts, I published an appeal to Italian women employed in literary, scientific, artistic and educational work, explaining their patriotic duty to join in an exhibition wherein women from the world over would send their intellectual productions. However, lately, in my tour through Italy, I found that many women had not sent their books, simply because of that timidity which they could not overcome. Still many others gave me their books, which I had the honor to present to the beautiful library in this building. Because of the fact that the productions of Italian women are not as fully represented as they might have been in this great international exhibition, you must not judge us by our display. Besides, woman’s intellectual work is not encouraged in Italy, not even by those who should regard it as a duty, and so, without encouragement or organization to that end, one band of distinguished, cultivated women could not manage to send all their intellectual productions.