Work Of Single Women

The highest possible encouragement to success is the example of the successfuL In no department of biographical Hterature is there more abundant cause for inspiration and enthusiasm to women than in that devoted to the brave deeds and painstaking labors of their own sex. To read over the names of noted single woraen is snftieient to arouse any soul which is conscious of undeveloped power, and stir to action dorrnant talent In a long list of such honored names the difíiculty lies in making' a choiee of those most worthy of notice. There is one name which every American boy and girl, with thousands of other nations, has long since learned to love. But not because Miss Louisa Alcott wrote Little Women, and all little and big women have laughed and cried over its pages, is her name an inspiration to t-ffort. The story of her life, as written by Mrs. Cheney, is far more eloquent and fascinating than any of her bright Btories. Because of her brave battle with poverty and adverse fate, her devotion to parents and sisters, her touching sacrifice of her own tastes and wishes that the beloved "Meg," "lïeth," "Amy," or the beloved "Marmee"' might have a treat, and the silent, uncomcorapláininjj life in which so much mental and physical pain washidden - these weave the charm which binds the hearts of the multitude, and especially of womankind, to Louisa Alcott Her life is a story wliieh every single woman especially should read for the inspiration that breathes f rom every chapter. Miss Alcott did not dash gloriously into fame at a single effort, as Minerva appeared, fully equipped, from the head of Jove. We read of the petty sums offered for her first stories, of the courage with which she toiled as cook and laundress, yet always faithfully, and how, in spite of hard work, meagre support, and the temporary crushing out of cherished ideáis, she accepted her fate, and never shrank from the burden of supporting the family at home until the weary hand cold no longer hold the pen. As daughter and sister she fiuet excelled. The day of her fame was more bright and sunny because she had first won success in the homely household cares, and learned the principies . which made success in other lines posBible. In the world of science ot our own Maria Mitchell is worthy of mention beside Caroline Hersehel, the farnous astronomer, the gifted sister of a gifted brother. The fact that scientific research demands ceaseless observation and close logical thought deters many from following in this path. "Ad astra," in its literal sense, is a difficult motto, but Miss Herschei, a gentle, delicate, modest little Germán woman, and Maria Mitehell, the bright Nantucket girl, each of whom first bccame known by the discovery of a cornet, solved many difficult astronomical problems, made valuable discoveries, lived to advanced age, Miss Ilerschel dying at the are of ninety-eight, and both lived singularly happy, cnthusiustie lives, devotod to science, and yet not forgetful of womanly virtues. "lïorn of only ordinary capacity, but of extraordinary persistency," says Miss Mitchell of herself, "I did not quite take this to myself until I came to minglc with the best girls of our college, and to be aware how rich their ïnines are, and how little they have been worked." Florence Nightingale, Dorothea Dix, and Sister Dora were not more brave, nor more truly devoted to tho cause of suffering humanity, than are thousands of their sisters all over the world. Itut to the record of their unselfish lives and beautiful character the world is indebted for the success of thousands uf other uursas, prison reformers, and philanthropists of every name. Had any of these women followed the usual lot of woman, and in some sheltered home worked out the problem, the sweet problem of family life, their success would, no doubt have been as sure and as blessed, but the world would have missed the heart-stirring examples which have helped many a woman since, and nerved her hands to noble deeds. In every time of war or pestilence or special need some Florence Kightingale, another Sister Dora, is found equal to the emergency, and more easily found because these have lived and wrought. And the single woman, by reason of ter freedom from family ties, can often go where her married sister is unable to follow. The world of art, of rausic, and of literatura is rich in the names of single womCQ whoso work is honored. Bosa Bonheur is a happy woman as she seizes her brush and transfors to canvas some rare, beloved form of animal life. Anne Whitney, Harriet Hosmer, and many lesser names represent the work of woman in enduring marble. Io the literary world, notable names of famous single women are numerous. Francés Power Cobbe and Harriet Martineau in England, and Miss Grace Dodge in our own country, are simply types of those who have moved the -.torld to a sense of needed reforms. Mary Lyon, Catherine Beecher, and Mary Hrigham are names glowing with the influence of strong, loving, enthusiastic teachers whose life work was but a beginning, and a small beginning of their power, and whose good deeds can never, in this world, be traced to their finality. In the medical world the tribute of all women physicians of to-day is honestly paid at the shrine of Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell, who, with her sister Emily, established a medical school and an infirinary for women in the city of New York, and gave generous aid to those of their sex who sought medical training. In the early days of English literature, Joanna Baillie, Hannah More and her five sisters, Miss Mitford, and Maria Edgeworth were names of note. Grace Darling, Joan of Are, the sisters Alice and Phcebe Cary, Angélica Kauffman. with" her noble motto, "Genius is patience," Amelia B. Edwards, are names at whose utterance rises a a visión of power cultivated, genius exercised, or strong purpose faithfully pursued. Diligence, fidelity, sincerity, an aim have characterized all these women. In Phoebe Cary's "A Woman's Conciusions" is found the secret of her