have not a hundred pounds a year; yet are reared in idleness. More of the same sort of calumny of abuse occurs in the letters on the Education of Daughters. What relates to the daughters of farmers is totally common place. They are clothed, not as their homely mothers are, in serge petticoats and the like; and therefore the confessionalist rails against boardingschools. One girl, he makes to have run away, whilst yet young, with an old rake. This young lady, the confessionalist informs ns, on being asked (which she was jocularly) when she intended to return to school with the additional observation, that "she would be a knowing scholar," archly replied, "O, there are many in the school as knowing as I am." Dick is further made to arraign this unknown lady on conduct so bad, that she was shunned by all decent ladies, who not only avoided her society in private, but likewise procured her utter expulsion from all the ball-rooms in the country towns of the neighbourhood of Dick and Mr. Lackington. Friends of Dick's have taken away their daughters from those schools of boarding where this corruption had been acquired: and if Dick had never been suffered to have revealed his knowledge of the facts, pressed on our notice by the confessionalist, both Mr. Lackington and Richard Thrifty would have enjoyed a fairer fame, than they will be thought to enjoy as the result of their confessions. We are told that people have set up for educators of the young of the other sex, who have had no design but that of compassing the ruin by the seduction of their boarders. We hope this has never happened. To be sure, Dick insists that it has, and gives his facts. We will not cast the odium of having followed his example on this our narrative. We hate such slanders. They poison who would have otherwise remained sound. Does any one think that that unhappy, betrayed female, Mrs. Lee, has not, from the publicity of her story, much contributed to weaken that force of moral obligation requisite to be sustained, to sustain virtue. It is the example of Mr. Lackington which Mr. Gordon has followed; but we will follow a better example, we follow the example of the Author of our Faith, we will breathe the breath of calumny on no one. And with this emotion of a sentiment, the noblest that man can feel, we close these labours. FINIS. J. Swan, printer, 76, Fleet St: eet.. 73 WIS. JAN '53 |