"Alas, alas, and is there no help--no preventive? Yes, there is. Behold the angelic band; hail, ye virtuous daughters; worthy of your virtuous mothers, come forward and tread in their steps. Snatch these little ones from the whirling vortex; bring them to a place of safety; teach them to know their Father, God: tell them of their Saviour's love; lead them through the history of his life; mark to them the example he set, the precepts he recorded for their observance, and the promises for their comfort. And by teaching them to read, enable them to retrace all your instructions when their eyes see you no more.
"My dear young ladies, the sacrifice you have made shall most assuredly meet its reward: but like your mothers, you will experience much painful banter, you will be styled school-madams. Let it pass; suffer it quietly; when your scheme begins to ripen and the fruits appear, who shall be able to withhold their praise? Only be steadfast, draw not back and justify the prophecies of many.
"A great general, in ancient times, in search of glory, landed his troops on the hostile coast, and then burnt all his ships: they must conquer, or die. You have, ladies, already embarked in this design; there is no remaining neuter now; your name and undertaking are in every mouth; you must press forward and justify your cause: and justified it shall be, if you persevere; it cannot be otherwise. The benevolence you contemplate is as superior to that already in operation, as the interest of the soul is to that of the body; and it is your own--the very scheme originated in a young mind in this company. The society were contemplating mercenary agents, schools for pay, and one is already established.
"But this labor of love; who could have hoped for it? A society of _young ladies,_ in rank the first in the city, in the very bloom of life, and full of its prospects, engaged in those pleasures and amusements which generally engross the mind, and shut out every idea unconnected with self, coming forward and offering--what? not their purses, that were _trash;_ but their own personal services to instruct the ignorant, and become the saviors of many of their sex. It is indeed a new thing, and more strange in this age of dissipation than that institution from which it sprung. May this too become the darling of Providence. May God put his seal upon this also. May he bless and prosper you in this undertaking, bless you, and make you a blessing."