demonstrate to head workmen, to companies, to manufacturers, to merchants, that women can or ought to fulfil such and such functions; that they ought to be requited proportionately to their services and their labors:—this demonstration will not lead us a single step towards the solution of the problem. Woman obeys equally with man and all other things, the imperious law of Demand and Supply.

It is not wantonly, or with a view to establish the inferiority of the feminine sex, that public and private administrations employ men whom they pay at a higher rate, instead of women whom they might hire at a much lower rate. The very imperfect education of woman, the limited extent of the instruction which is bestowed upon her; the mission which Nature has set apart for her, all concur in giving to man an immense advantage over her in that steeple chase where we are all elbowing each other.

It is therefore necessary, in treating of the question opened tocompetition by the Academy of Lyons, to begin from the beginning, and examine first if the education and the instruction of woman ought not to be modified in accordance with the very numerous functions which she would be suited to fulfil; and afterwards to consider the obstacles which meet her in the truly sacred mission which she has to fulfil in the bosom of the family.

While waiting for serious investigations to be made upon this important subject, we think that all the heads of workshops, manufacturies, or commercial operations of any kind, railroad companies, and enterprises of all sorts, might avail themselves with profit of the competition among women, by reserving to them those functions which they are fitted to fulfil.

An example has been given by the old Company of St. Germain, and by that of the Northern Railroad. Women have been set over the receivers' offices, others have been charged with the care of the barriers of the line, a difficult post which puts them in contact with coarse and uncultivated natures, where they have however rendered useful service precisely on account of their sex.

Such a beginning we desire to see generally adopted. For this, it will be necessary that that generous and truly Christian sentiment which has inspired the Academy of Lyons should penetrate into all minds, and, what will be of more value, into all hearts. Everyone must learn that work given to the woman, to the young girl, not only assures the moral welfare of the family, but, under many circumstances, its material welfare, and that the question of the wages of women is a question of public order, par excellence; a question at once both economic and social, of which the solution is interesting to all. This solution will be without doubt approached in those papers which the Academy of Lyons has just demanded; it would be still more effectually wrought out by all who would or who could follow that example of which we have spoken above, and which has been set by the companies of the Western and Northern Railroads.

Above all, let none say, in speaking of the urgent necessity of bestowing upon woman a suitable position in our economic and industrial organization, ‘it is impossible.' Time was, when all manual labor was a servile occupation, when Plato affirmed that a good constitution ought never to reckon the artizans among the ranks of citizens; when Cicero said, "that the workman would never rise to the knowledge of true wisdom;" when Aristotle, speaking of field labor, wrote, "those who devote themselves to it, live a degraded existence in which virtue has no place."

What has become of these predictions, these lofty affirmations of ancient wisdom. That which was impossible in the eyes of Plato, Aristotle and Cicero, and in those of the entire Pagan world, is now a consoling reality.

It will be the same with all that we regard as impossible to day, and especially with the solution of that grave question which the Academy of Lyons has just proposed under such favorable auspices.

From the "Siècle" of June 16, 1858.

LX.-OPENING OF THE SWIMMING BATH FOR

LADIES.

A Metropolitan Swimming Bath for ladies is at last un fait accompli: long deemed a thing to be desired rather than hoped for, it has now passed from the world of wishes to that of reality, and amidst dusty London pavements has sprung up a new fount of health and enjoyment. On Wednesday, July 14th, this newly erected department of the St. Marylebone Public Baths was first thrown open to the feminine public, and the most sanguine expectations that had been formed respecting it were then found to be amply fulfilled.

Entering the flower-decked portal of the very respectable edifice in the Marylebone Road, and passing along various lengthy corridors, we reach a large and lofty sky-lit room, rejoicing in all the purity of new-laid paint of fairest tint just relieved by a scroll-work band of blue. At one end the orthodox lion's head projects from the wall, the supply of water gushing from it into a font-like shell beneath and thence flowing over into the area of the room, which is more than forty feet in length. The water is of crystal clearness, the temperature most agreeable (seventy-five degrees) and the depth such as to preclude all idea of danger, while it is quite sufficient for every needful purpose. The bath is filled to the level of the shoulder of a lady of ordinary height. The doors of a range of duly furnished little dressing closets open upon a platform which runs along one side of the room, and thence emerging, clad in appropriate garb, either hired at the establishment or provided by themselves, the fair visitors descend a short flight of steps, seize one end of the rope attached

and plunge at once into the refreshing element. And oh! what a delight for the dweller in city confines, just passing from the hot and dusty streets, to leap into this clear flood, and feel that sense of exhilaration which free exercise in the water always bestows, and which before could only be gained at the cost of a country journey, or at least was utterly unattainable for aught of womankind, within the bounds of this vast metropolis. How different from the only bath hitherto within their reach, the solitary stepping into a narrow box of water merely to lie prone for a few minutes in listless inaction, is this dash of sparkling drops over the head, this expanse of ambient fluid buoying up the frame, with space for the free play of every limb, and with pleased friends and companions around, sharing and heightening the enjoyment.

To some this item of companionship may present itself as possibly objectionable, but there need be no fear on this score, for though the cost of admission is very moderate, being only eight-pence, this is a higher price than is charged for any other bath in the establishment, and therefore quite sufficient to keep it select. We have certainly no wish that St. Marylebone should ever present such a scene as was customary, not so very long since, at Bath, where, as Anstey describes it,

"T'was a glorious sight to see the fair sex,

All wading with gentlemen up to their necks:"

but it would only be an unreasonable prejudice in any lady to demur at being in the water in the society of respectable individuals of her own sex, even though strangers; for albeit a denser medium than air, yet the space here is so much greater, that, in reality, the atmosphere would be far less vitiated by her neighbours than when sitting in close contact with them in a well filled omnibus. On the continent, where such institutions have been long in vogue, ladies of high rank do not scruple to enter the bath with their fellow citizenesses, and in Frankfort the Baroness Rothschild may often be seen in the crowded water with her little one in her arms, teaching it to take part in her natatorial pastime.

But, however interesting to women is the fact of this new bath being opened to them, there is another ground for drawing attention to it; for the means by which so desirable an end has been accomplished merit also some comment in these pages, since it is mainly by feminine exertions that it has been effected. Some articles written by a woman in a paper at that time conducted by the staff of the English Woman's Journal, were by them brought under the notice of the Committee of the St. Marylebone Baths; and though the suggestion of throwing open this part of the building to such unwonted visitants was so novel as to be rather startling, such an idea having never before presented itself, a promise was at once given that it should be taken into consideration; and as it happened most opportunely that it was just then in contemplation to erect a new additional bath of the kind, hopes were held out that if a

sustained interest were shewn in the scheme, it would probably be allowed a trial. Finding the ladies were in earnest in the matter, as soon as occasion offered, it was fully discussed; and, as the propriety of affording to those equally liable with themselves to watery perils, an equal opportunity of acquiring the means of self-preservation, could not but be obvious to intelligent men,-when once the subject was fairly brought before them, it was decided that the new bath should be so arranged as to permit of its being reserved, at least on one day in the week, for the exclusive use of womankind; on condition that those who had first prompted the undertaking would do all in their power to promote it by endeavoring to interest their sisterhood in it, and induce them to avail themselves of the privilege conceded. Whatever thanks be due to these gentlemen, and we gratefully acknowledge that they have conferred a boon upon us, we believe they are by no means singular in the spirit they have shewn, but that men in general will always be found willing to help us, if we will only do what we can to help ourselves; and that in many cases wherein they enjoy privileges from which we are excluded, though our needs be as great and our desires the same, it is rather owing to their not being aware of our wants and wishes, than to any disinclination to comply with them. To make these known, and not only to draw attention to them, but, whenever possible, to suggest to whoever may have it in their power to supply them, how best they may be supplied, is one of the chief objects for which this Journal was instituted, and the success which has attended such a course in the present instance is most encouraging to future effort.

But though much has been achieved in thus securing a fair trial of the experiment, it must not be forgotten that it is an experiment, and the important question yet remains of whether it will eventually prove a successful one. Entrusted as they are with the disbursement of public funds, the St. Marylebone Committee, however liberally disposed, cannot conscientiously continue to exclude its ordinary visitors from this bath during a sixth part of each week, unless a sufficient number of ladies attend to balance the loss thereby sustained, and for this purpose it is necessary that the weekly average should amount to at least thirty bathers on each Wednesday. It rests now, therefore, with the women of London themselves to decide whether the privilege shall be continued to them or not, and it would be sad indeed, if apathy on their part should not only cause it to be withdrawn, but tend, as it inevitably would, to bring discredit on the sex in general, as indifferent to their own real welfare, and ungrateful towards those who shew anxiety to promote it. But this will surely not be the case when so slight an effort will suffice to secure such great benefits, for not only does the bath present a means of health and source of pleasure, but it has yet more important claims to consideration, since the advantage of possessing a knowledge of swimming must commend itself to every judgment; and for the acquirement of this life

preserving art, extraordinary facilities will be afforded, as an efficient female teacher will attend to give instruction at a moderate charge in what we hope will be considered ere long an indispensable branch of feminine education; and as the younger the pupil the more easily it is learned, the attention of parents and school-mistresses is specially invited to this branch of the subject. In conclusion, we cannot but recommend every woman who has it in her power to do so, to visit this bath, though it be but for a visit of inspection, having sufficient confidence in its powers of attraction to believe that once seen it will send forth its own best invitation, and that those who came to see will remain to swim.

July 15, 1858.

ELLERET.

LXI.-NOTICES OF BOOKS.

Memoirs of Rachel. By Madame de B

Hurst & Blackett.

THE life of an actress such as Mademoiselle Rachel might have been written in two ways, and from two points of view: either looking upon her as the great artist, startling and electrifying two nations by her genius, and so giving the chronicle of her triumphs, noting the effects and striving to describe how they were produced, tracing year by year how characters and emotions, which had seemed out of her range, were conquered and made her own:-or, if admitted to her intimacy, her biographer might have shewn the woman in her real character; the springs of her talent, under what influences it dawned and increased, and how far it affected her private life or her domestic relations.

The best biography would have been a combination of the two. Madame de B has attempted both, and failed signally in both. And yet it was no mean subject she had to deal with,—what Rachel did, and what she had to work upon and against: cold and bloodless was the material into which she infused life and fire;—either heavy declamatory passages of eighty or a hundred lines, which from other actors are simply null, if not tedious; or mere words and phrases which having in themselves no point, gained all from the depth of passion or the intense bitterness of denunciation which she transfused into them. How poorly too was she supported by her fellow actors, who, not content with mere stilted and wearisome recitation, even made the scenes where she was not, ludicrous, and when on the stage with her, so far from supporting her, did all that could be done to mar the reality and truth of her acting. Truly with these obstacles, and an angular frame which had in itself neither grace nor majesty, save what her spirit gave it, and was so fragile that it seemed at times half shattered by the tempest of scorn and emotion within,-truly her