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theft. But it is to be apprehended, that there are very few indeed, who have never, in all their lives, borne false witness against a neighbor, in some degree or manner, either by unwarrantably spreading ill reports, or else by giving too willing an ear to slander and defamation. It is the evil which most easily besets us; of which we are least apt to be aware; and which many men and women practise, without compunction, and almost with out thought, although apparently of estimable characters in other respects.

SEMPRONIA, is such a very fury in the cause of virtue and decorum, that, first or last, nearly the whole sisterhood of her acquaintance has been lampooned by her tongue. So far from showing partiality to her own sex, nothing heats her temper and throws her into a fit of boiling rage, like the faults of women. Not to men

tion the abhorrence with which she ever speaks of the wretched victims of seduction, she is of purer eyes than to behold, in a female especially, even the least aberration from the path of propriety, without emotions of indignation and expressions of reproach. Frugal of praise, and liberal of censure, she speaks but little of those whose characters furnish no topics for scandal; whilst all her eloquence is employed in expatiating on faults, frailties, and follies. The truth of it is, there are very few whose garments are so white that she can discover on them no spots; and it is on the spots, rather than the fair parts, that she fixes her attention and bestows her remarks.

Yet, after all, Sempronia is remarkably perpendicular in much of her conduct. Not for the world would she tell a downright, wilful, lie. She means to speak the truth and nothing else; but the truth she spices with a vengeance. Sour in nature, elated with an extravagant opinion of herself, jealous of qualities that threaten to eclipse her, and thinking her own excellencies will show to best advantage by displaying them in contrast with the foibles of other women, she no sooner finds that a female acquaintance has said or acted a little awry, than her passions are let loose, and she talks herself into a sore throat. In the meanwhile she mistakes her fastidiousness of humor for delicacy of taste,

and her censorious, irritable temper, for extreme sensibility.

Were one to admit the old absurd notion of our being born under some particular planet, or constellation, one could hardly help exclaiming, "What a pity that the birth of Sempronia, a woman of some very respectable qualities, instead of the constellation of the crab, had not been under the sweet influences of Pleiades!"

In an old Asiatic tradition it is storied, that while Adam and Eve were in the blissful bowers of Eden, there were sent down to them twelve baskets of chit chat, which was scattered about the garden: that Adam, being in a thoughtful mood and neglecting to exert himself in season, gathered up the contents of only three, while his fair partner nimbly collected, and carefully laid away for her use, the whole of the other nine; and that, by natural consequence, the stock of small talk belonging to women is, in proportion to that of men, as three

to one.

This tradition, though apocryphal, is not unapt. Women have naturally a greater volubility of tongue than men; whether that their organs of speech are more flexile, or that their animal spirits are more volatile, they begin to speak at an earlier age, and are more generally fluent in conversation. They have besides, a more ample fund of small talk, which, so far from any defect or blemish, is a real boon, bequeathed to them for several valuable and obvious purposes. But though good in its kind, it has an aptness to the evil of petty scandal: an evil that cannot be too carefully guarded against in female education.

It would be passing no imposition upon a young miss at school, to tell her, along with more solemn dehortations, that the feelings and dispositions from which spring calumny and backbiting would deform her face. For what is that beauty in the female face which pleases all beholders? It consists chiefly in the aspect that indicates good affections. Every indication of candor, gentleness, and benignity, is a beauty: on the contrary, every feature, or aspect of countenance, that indicates pride, envy, or malignity, is a deformity. Nor does it need proof that, in frequent instances, the face

becomes at length the index of the passions which one babitually harbors, whether they be of the benevolent or the malignant kind.

One remark more, and no trifling one; there scarcely can be a more attractive feature in the character of a woman, than her veiling, or treating with a sisterly candor, those petty blemishes in her female acquaintance, from which she is happily exempt herself.

CHAP. LXVIII.

Of enjoying Independence without possessing wealth.

INDEPENDENCE, in regard to worldly condition, is an object of worldly desire and laudable pursuit. But the word Independence must here be understood in a qualified and very limited sense. Strictly speaking, no man living is independent. For not to mention, that all depend alike on Him in whom we live and have our being; there is among mankind, a mutual dependence, from the lowest even up to the highest point in the scale of society so that the rich man needs his poor but industrious neighbors, as much as they need him. Should they refuse to sell him their labor, he would be fain to work for himself, notwithstanding the vastness of his wealth. This mutual dependence is a salutary restraint both upon the rich and the poor; it curbs the pride of the one and the envy of the other, and even tends to link them together in mutual amity.

That independence of circumstances which should be made the object of general desire and pursuit, does in no wise imply large possessions. So far otherwise, one possessed of but barely competent means of support, provided he lives within his means, is hardly less independent than if he were in the enjoyment of a fortune. Does the possessor of an ample fortune enjoy personal independence? So also does the possessor of a small farm, which furnishes him with only the necessaries of life and so also does the useful laborer, whose labor affords a supply to his real wants. But if the small

If any worldly happiness is enviable, it is that of such a mind. They only are truly rich, who are sensible they have enough, and have no disquieting desires after more; a happy condition which does not necessarily imply large possessions, nor is often the consequence of them.

CHAP. LXIX.

Of giving in Marriage.

MARRIAGE, which is the first and most important of social institutions, is, in civilized societies, generally regulated by law; but giving in marriage is a matter of custom. And, upon this last point, custom is very diverse, in different parts of the world.

In the simple patriarchal ages, a father was as it were a sovereign and independent ruler over his own household. His daughters especially, were quite at his disposal. Yet, in giving a daughter in marriage, it was the custom, to consult her own inclination, as appears in the 24th chapter of the book of Genesis, with respect to the case of Rebekah. In process of time, however, it seems to have become customary in Asia, for fathers to betroth their daughters with little or no apparent regard for their preferences or wishes. In that enslaved country, where women are held in a condition of extreme debasement, a girl is compelled to accept the husband assigned her by family authority, how much soever she may detest him in her heart.

Not that it is quite so, all over the vast continent of Asia. For there are in it, some nations simple in their manners, that still retain the primitive custom of allowing their females the privilege of a negative upon such of their suitors as are not fortunate enough to find favor with them.

In Dr. Clark's description of the manners of the Calmuck Tartars, resident in Asiatic Russia, is an instance in point, respecting their conjugal rites. "Calmuck women" (he says) "ride better than the men.

A male Calmuck on horseback looks as if he was intoxicated, and likely to fall off every instant, though he never loses his seat; but the women sit with more ease, and ride with extraordinary skill. The ceremony of marriage among the Calmucks is performed on horseback. A girl is first mounted, who rides off in full speed. Her lover pursues; and if he overtakes her, she becomes his wife, and the marriage is consummated on the spot; after which she returns with him to his tent. But it sometimes happens, that the woman does not wish to marry the person by whom she is pursued, in which case she will not suffer him to overtake her; and we are assured that no instance occurs of a Calmuck girl being thus caught, unless she had a partiality for the pursuer"

Somewhat similar to this account of the Calmucks, is the following fabulous story of ancient date:-" Atalanta had many admirers, but the only condition of obtaining her hand was to beat her in running a race. At last Hyppodemus ran with her, and dropping some golden apples, which she stopped to pick up, he won the race and married her."-How much or how little this old fable, so obvious in its meaning, is illustrative of the female heart in the present age, is a delicate question that 1 shall not take upon me to decide.

Western Europe, from which we ourselves have borrowed the most of our customs, allows women a rank unprecedented and unknown in the eastern world. This is owing greatly to its superior civilization, but primarily and chiefly to the influence of christianity, to which also indeed, in no inconsiderable degree, its superior civilization is to be attributed. But even in western Europe, the females of the highest rank are disposable property, as respects giving in marriage. In a matter so deeply interesting to their comfort and happiness, there is denied them all liberty of choice. A royal maid is disposed of in marriage upon the principle of state-policy altogether, and she must accept the husband that is selected for her, or else draw down upon herself an intolerable weight of scorn and indignation. Moreover, among the several ranks of nobility, giving in marriage is conducted on a principle of

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