uce women to the condition
of a humiliating inaction. Far from it. In the position we would place
them they could never feel, think, or act with greater interest or
vivacity. Whilst it is desirable that every kind of artifice or intrigue
should be interdicted from the interior of their domesticity, it is
quite permissible for them to watch attentively important matters that
may be occurring in public life. To that function they may bring their
care and their solicitude, in order to follow and second continually the
companion of their existence. "Les hommes meme," says Fenelon, "qui ont
toute l'autorite en public, ne peuvent par leurs deliberations etablir
aucun bien effectif, si les femmes ne leur aident a l'executer." Such
was the legitimate influence exercised by the Princess Esterhazy, Ladies
Holland, Palmerston, and Beaconsfield, in our day. It is no secret that
the late lamented Viscountess Beaconsfield took the deepest interest in
every great movement in which her illustrious husband was engaged. Such,
too, was the case with Lady Palmerston, in reference to the great
statesman whose name she bore. The influence of women in the politics of
recent days is something peculiar and new. Our time has seen many women
whose share in the politics of men was frank, unconcealed, and
legitimate, while yet it never pretended or sought to be anything more
than an influence--never attempted to be a ruling spirit. By following
these examples, the women of England may make their power felt, without
demanding to be put upon the same footing as their husbands.

Woman's reign, it has been truly said, "is almost absolute within the
four walls of a drawing-room." It is undisputed in family direction and
in the management of children; but the cases are rare indeed where it
extends to _public questions_ of any kind. The Frenchwoman of the
present day is essentially a woman. Her objects are almost always
feminine; she does not seek to go beyond her sphere; she understands her
mission as one of duty in her house and of attraction towards the world;
she is generally very ignorant of politics and all dry subjects, and
shrinks from any active part in their discussion. Of course there are
exceptions by the thousand; but the rule is that she voluntarily
abstains from interference in outside topics, whatever be their gravity
or their importance. She may have a vague opinion on such matters,
picked up from hearing men talk around her, but the bent