ſon is allowed to be the dignified diſtinction which raiſes men above the brute creation, and puts a natural ſceptre in a feeble hand.
Yet, becauſe I am a woman, I would not lead my readers to ſuppoſe that I mean violently to agitate the conteſted queſtion reſpecting the equality or inferiority of the ſex; but as the ſubject lies in my way, and I cannot paſs it over without ſubjecting the main tendency of my reaſoning to miſconſtruction, I ſhall ſtop a moment to deliver, in a few words, my opinion.—In the government of the phyſical world it is obſervable that the female, in general, is inferior to the male. The male purſues, the female yields—this is the law of nature; and it does not appear to be ſuſpended or abrogated in favour of woman. This phyſical ſuperiority cannot be denied—and it is a noble prerogative! But not content with this natural pre-eminence, men endeavour to ſink us ſtill lower, merely to render us alluring objects for a moment; and women, intoxicated by the adoration which men, under the influence of their ſenſes, pay them, do not ſeek to obtain a durable intereſt in their hearts, or to become the friends of the fellow creatures who find amuſement in their ſociety.
I am aware of an obvious inference:—from every quarter have I heard exclamations againſt
