Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 46.djvu/642

624 which must be cultivated and emphasized in this "new era" It is an emotional superiority, a God-given essence, which we can not afford to lose, in our new grasp upon the intellectual forces within us. If every intelligent mother in this land could bring herself to an accurate realization of these truths—a realization of the power for broad yet conservative advancement which lies merely in her position in the plan of society—what an immediate uplifting of womankind there would be! And beyond this, too, reaching away off into the future, is the influence she exerts upon her children, and through them upon an ever-widening circle. She has great power for good in this never-ending, ever-expanding influence, which must go out to the world from her, through her children, as well as in the strong and right expression of her individuality.

Mutual understanding and sympathy, both so potent in the relation of parent and child, must be established before the woman, as mother, can, through her children, do her part in this progressive age. With that much accomplished (it is the first step, a difficult but a necessary one), let us, then, in our strength, as mothers, push on to this important expression of our work for woman's advancement—the emancipation of our daughters from the slavery of half-developed bodies and unhealthful clothing. There exists to-day a painfully small number of women who have the physical endurance necessary for the right living of any life, whether domestic or professional. All women who have felt the hampering influence of weak bodies would cry out if it would help them, "Give us strong backs and good circulation, and we can do the rest ourselves." Whatever life we contemplate for our girls, whether in college halls or kitchen—whether as lawyers, teachers, doctors, or mothers—in every work, they need physical endurance, and with us, their mothers, rest the opportunity and ability to give them great help or hindrance. It is indisputable that a good circulation and fine digestion have much to do with a normal, healthful, mental development; and no one will deny that a well-developed body, with all its possibilities of symmetry and beauty, with all its suggestions of noble appropriateness, can, and frequently does, have a material effect on the character. The buoyancy, the feeling of mastery over all problems, the exaltation mental and spiritual, which come with perfect health, are not only helps but inspirations in any work. And even if we can not attain perfection, is not an approximation worth striving for? It is a rare case where the watchful care of a mother can not do much, by prenatal as well as postnatal influence, to counteract inherited weakness, cultivate desirable qualities, and bring her child to a full fruition of its physical possibilities. This branch of the mother's work, including as it does the development of a