; the
light of his home, if there be any light in his home; the solace of
his life, if his life have solace; the mother of his children, if
children there be. Now, as then, woman, in her natural state, before
she makes the attempt to unsex herself, and render herself a monster,
finds it in her nature to look to man as lawmaker, and expects to
submit to his rule in the home. We do not say that all women submit
cheerfully to this rule, for there are some who do not. But when this
is the case, from the nature of things, happiness takes its flight,
the marriage-bed is defiled, woman becomes an outlaw in her heart, and
the two bound together by a chain rather than by the silken cord of
love, are candidates for a peaceable divorce or a continuous battle.

The advocates of the ballot for woman hope through its aid to secure
an overthrow of this rule, or escape from this so-called bondage. They
demand a change in public sentiment regarding the sphere woman is to
fill, securing to her an equality before the law, in representation,
in privileges, and in wages.

In other words, there are women who hope and expect to do away with
the disabilities incident to the female portion of the community, and
by education and culture, obtain for woman this same strength, this
same ability to study, to think, to work, and to plan, that is enjoyed
by man. In short, some believe that a woman can be so changed that
she can, for all practical purposes, get on without man's help or
protection.

Against this revolutionary scheme we protest, because, by a reference
to the Word of God,[A] we find reasons for believing that it is in the
constitution and nature of woman, with some slight modifications, to
occupy the place assigned her in this land, where Christian influence
unites with the better instincts of humanity in lightening her
burdens, smoothing her pathway, and filling her lap with the tributes
of manly regard.

[Footnote A: I am aware that this sneer is often made: "The same class
oppose us who defended the divine right of slavery." This is untrue
so far as I am concerned. I was second to no man in condemnation of
slavery, because the Bible condemned it. That one utterance, "God hath
made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face
of the earth," was the seedling out of which liberty, equality, and
fraternity grew. Liberty was won because of the faith, and prayers,
and efforts of a God-believing and a Christ-loving churc