“Well, I do not envy you your social institutions! It seems to me that your men must be insufferable cads, and your women nothing less than fools. Why do they permit such an anomalous state of things? Can they not see that this is only another of the countless meshes with which masculine egotism has woven the net of slavery and oppression? The man who can look upon a true woman’s love for himself with anything but respect and grateful sympathy is nothing better than a cur, who is himself unworthy of the esteem of all honourable people.” The Principal spoke with considerable warmth, and I was so struck with the force of her remarks, that I promised to lay her views before my own countrywomen at no distant date. I had, however, not much confidence in the efficacy of any appeal I might make to womanly pride, seeing that so little has yet been done in England to induce women to think and act for themselves, and to endeavour to break through the multitude of social barriers which have been erected by man’s selfishness, tyranny, and arrogance. Still, it has often happened that the absurdity of a custom has only needed to be demonstrated in black and white for its doom to be sealed, and I introduce this subject to the notice of my countrywomen, in the hope that it may induce some of them to bestow a little more thought upon the anomalies of their position, and use their best endeavours to remove at least some of the partially self-created disabilities they suffer from. By way of diverting the Principal’s attention from a subject which aroused both her anger and contempt, I remarked upon the delightful purity of the atmosphere here, and opined that infectious diseases could not be very prevalent.