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THE CONGRESS OF WOMEN.
The charge has been made upon all lines of industry; the defective stones in the walls of society have been assailed; and more beautiful than all else, women are standing by one another, while the spirit of kindness beams on every face and pervades every meeting. History presents no more striking contrast than is seen in the conditions, aims and ambitions distinguishing the women of the old South and those of the new. The former were educated principally with an eye to the beautiful, but the intervening change has forced the latter to devote more attention to the useful. The women of the old South no doubt possessed, in a latent state, the same energies, but the times and conditions did not call them forth. No matter how active their minds, or how willing their hands, they were not permitted to enter the field of useful labor. In the new South the bars of all professions and industries are thrown down, and women roam at will the pleasant fields of all forms of activity.
In the old time the young girl looked to matrimony as the only condition to save her from a life of dependence. The girl of today basks in the rays of an age of relief from such helplessness, and while she considers the life of the woman who is happily married a beautiful one, at the same time she realizes that there is no wail on earth so pitiable, no cry so hopeless, as that which arises from the wives of unhappy homes.
How I wish it were in my power to picture, as she should be pictured, the ideal woman of tomorrow. I can only say that I would have her given the fullest development of which she is capable. I would see her have the most complete equipment, the broadest and best training that the strongest institutions in the country can afford. I would have her realize that this is an age of individual achievement. I would place in her hand a banner bearing the inscription: “Success. Eternal Vigilance. Devotion to Duty.” And then, not waiting for others to command, let herself give the order to advance. Thus panoplied, let her invade the realms of learning, seize its choicest treasures, destroy the fortifications erected by wrong, build in their place the stronghold of the right, and fight the best fight of which she is capable for herself, her country and her God.
Let her be a woman who will strive, who will persevere, who will persist and gain strength from every lost endeavor. Let her be able to grapple hand to hand with destiny, to laugh at defeat, to be undaunted by opposition and strong enough to brave tht darkest hours of adversity Teach her to hold fast, to hold hard, and to look upon poverty and misfortune as ordeals sent to test the sublimity of her soul. Such are the examples which the Nation needs—such the light that will electrify her people.