“Yes,” answered the doctor, “their intuitive perceptions appear to be more developed than those of men, probably because they use them more. A man may reach a certain conclusion by a course of reasoning, while a woman will often arrive at the same point much quicker by intuition. That is, a man will tell you why he knows a thing, when a woman simply knows it because she knows it.” “Is that faculty akin to anything else with which you are acquainted?” “Yes, we call it instinct in animals.” “Is not the possession by woman of that quality a silent but powerful suggestion to you of the fact that she was treated like an animal in the dark days of her inthrallment?” “I had not thought of it,” returned the doctor, “but it certainly may be looked upon as a sad commentary on that rude age.” “Do you consider this instinct an advantage to woman?” asked Zenith. “Certainly; it is a great help to her, often serving with much success in place of other faculties.” “Would it be a valuable quality to add to man’s mental equipment?” “Yes, indeed, if he could retain all his other powers of mind.” “Well, now let me ask you what would come to pass if the women of the earth, possessed already of that quickness of thought, that ability to discern the truth by direct apprehension, should, by thorough education and many years of patient training, acquire the power of reasoning, the judgment, the strength of mind, and all the intellectual powers now held by your men?” “That is a very large ‘if,’ and I cannot tell you what would happen,” answered the doctor. “I have only described,” continued Zenith, “what actually took place on our planet. When the movement for giving woman a higher education began, men looked at the subject just as you do now. Women were supposed to be of inferior mental capacity, and it was thought to be a foolish thing to attempt to educate them. ‘Better educate the boys,’ men said, ‘and let the girls learn to cook and sew and to play the piano; that is all that will ever be required of them.’ But, in spite of every discouragement, the girls improved their opportunities so well that they were soon taking the prizes away from the boys. Broadminded philanthropists of both sexes endowed schools for them, and the highest institutions of learning opened their doors to them. When the young women, almost from the start, began to be successful in competitive contests in different departments of scholarship, it was generally thought that such cases were exceptional and would not be apt to be repeated very often. But this was a great mistake. These instances proved to be no exception. It was found that woman’s facility of thought and native acuteness gave her an immense advantage over the masculine mind in mastering any ordinary course of study. But this was surface education. The reasoning power and the solidity of mind for which men were distinguished in mature life came later, but they came.