The politics are base, The letters do not cheer, And ’tis far in the deeps of history, The voice that speaketh clear. Yet there in the parlor sits Some figure in noble guise,— Our Angel in a stranger’s form; Or Woman’s pleading eyes. * * * * * “Lo, when the Lord made North and South, And sun and moon ordained he, Forth bringing each by word of mouth In order of its dignity, Did man from the crude clay express By sequence, and, all else decreed, He formed the woman; nor might less Than Sabbath such a work succeed.” COVENTRY PATMORE. WOMAN Among those movements which seem to be, now and then, endemic in the public mind,—perhaps we should say, sporadic,—rather than the single inspiration of one mind, is that which has urged on society the benefits of action having for its object a benefit to the position of Woman. And none is more seriously interesting to every healthful and thoughtful mind. In that race which is now predominant over all the other races of men, it was a cherished belief that women had an oracular nature. They are more delicate than men,—delicate as iodine to light,—and thus more impressionable. They are the best index of the coming hour. I share this belief. I think their words are to be weighed; but it is their inconsiderate word,—according to the rule, ‘take their first advice, not the second:’ as Coleridge was wont to apply to a lady for her judgment in questions of taste, and accept it; but when she added—“I think so, because—” “Pardon me, madam,” he said, “leave me to find out the reasons for myself.” In this sense, as more delicate mercuries of the imponderable and immaterial influences, what they say and think is the shadow of coming events. Their very dolls are indicative. Among our Norse ancestors, Frigga was worshipped as the goddess of women. “Weirdes all,” said the Edda, “Frigga knoweth, though she telleth them never.” That is to say, all wisdoms Woman knows; though she takes them for granted, and does not explain them as discoveries, like the understanding of man. Men remark figure: women always catch the expression. They inspire by a look, and pass with us not so much by what they say or do, as by their presence. They learn so fast and convey the result so fast as to outrun the logic of their slow brother and make his acquisitions poor.[201] ’Tis their mood and tone that is important. Does their mind misgive them, or are they firm and cheerful? ’Tis a true report that things are going ill or well. And any remarkable opinion or movement shared by woman will be the first sign of revolution.