For fhe was fair Fair as the forms, that, wove in fancy's head. [loom, What then fhall confole me when this boafted grace and elegance shall be no more,-when time hall gather the perishable flower of beauty, when it fhall languifh and fade, never to revive?—No; I will build my self-esteem on a more folid foun. dation. I will cultivate the facul With a heart overflowing with felf-complacence and exultation in the confcioufnefs of her charms, the power which beauty bestows, and the admiration it excites, flie walk-ties of my mind, I will exercife my ed forth into the garden, and enter ed a hermitage which was there, where fhe found a fcull which had been placed there as appropriate to the character of the place. She took it up; fhe furveyed it, the huddered; the recollected that the was mortal, time precipitately rapid, and every thing in this world tranfient, vain and illufory, except virtue and genuine piety. Her reflec-. tions took another courfe: the fug geftions of vanity were repelled by the dictates of reafon; and thus fhe. -moralised on the object chance had prefented to her eyes-- Alas! what is a human creature, that it fhould be vain ?-How clearly does this melancholy relique of a fellow-mortal evince that " pride ,was not made for man"-nor wo-man neither! What is that beauty in which I fo lately prided myfelf, what its power, what its luftre, fince to this complexion it must come at Jaft-But it is not death alone which destroys beauty; illness, the forerunner of death, may fpare life, but irrecoverably confume beauty. Life is tranfient, life is vanity; but beauty is still more fragile, ftill more an unfubftantial bubble even than life. Age, which must arrive, fhould life continue, will dry up this fhallow fource of pride long before death fhall terminate the fcene. The tints of beauty arc fugitive and evanefcent as the hues of the bow of Iris. Short is the duration of the delicate fymmetry of the faireit, forms: They live a rofe, as rofes live, reafon and reflection; I will refilt vanity; I will practise benevolence, and lay up, for the day when Beauty fhall be departed and life departing, the invaluable treasures of useful knowledge and a good conscience.” A LETTER from a QUAKER to his Little Dale, the place of the refi I dence of my fleshly tabernacle, the 19th of the 9th month, in the year of the outward Christ, 1759, where thou mayeft be welcome to fuch as I keep. FRIEND JOSEPH, DESIRED Chriftopher Hop 'kins, who fells the dead letter, and gains much by trading in fuch books, to bring to thee an erroneous movement, called a watch, to give it thy friendly correction and reproof. She has long been guilty of lying, and feldom speaks the truth; by her lofing I have often been led into mistakes; he has been twice at thy fchool for amendment, but as yet has profited little at thy hands. I fear her inward principles are not right, for fhe is very apt to lie; nor dare I trust to her outward indications I with thee would caft the fpirit of untruth out of her, and inftruct her to point to that which is right: plainly, friend, I confide very much in tky ability and outward skill; and hope thy integrity is equal to them. If the fault prove from any defect in the outward man, the fpring,. or any other caufe, b : muft muft defire thee to rectify them. Evil principles, thee knoweft, feldom produce good effects. I fear there is fome latent root of evil in her, otherwife fhe would not deceive both thee and me. Thee tells me thee has filed her, yet all her defilements continue ftill: thee fays thee has turned her canter-wheel right, yet the whole machine goes wrong: thee fays thee has taken out her crevices, yet her old fores remain: thee fays thee turned the laps of her teeth, yet the remains unconverted to the truth: and thus, in the literal fenfe, O watchman, thou watcheft in vain!--Thee demands the fifth part of a pound fterling, as the world calls it, for thy labour. I own thee art worthy of a recompenfe when thy labour doth profit me; but he has been wound up regularly ever fince he came to my hands, and yet the errs and fails in her duty. I have once again fent her unto thee; I pray thee enter into a friendly conference with her, and reform this vice of lying; I will board her with thee for a few days, and pay thee for her fare, if thee requires or defires it; for I would not be too troublesome to thee. I defired our friend Hopkins to content thee for thy pains. Thus, leaving her to thy friendly care and correction, I remain thy friend, countries; we may fay, farther, which make the fate of wedlock much more dreaded than defired. The denunciations of the law a gainst those who offend in this are terrible. Whoever feduces the wife of another is put to death; and the fame punishment is generally inflicted on the perfon who debauches a young woman. It is true, that in both thefe circumftances, the precautions dictated by univerfal cuftom tend greatly to fupport the law, and often render it fuperfluous. The Chinese women are almost condemned to perpetual imprifonment within the precincts of their own houfes; and what is ftill more in its favour, a Chinese enters into the married ftate without ever having feen the woman whom he efpoufes: he knows nothing of her looks or perfon but from the account of fome female relation or confident, who, in fuch cafes, acts the part of match-maker. true, if they impofe upon him cither with respect to her age or £gure, he can have recourfe to a divorce. Here the law, in its turn, ferves to correct the abuses of cuftom. It is The fame matrons who negotiate a marriage, detern.ine alfo the fum which the intended husband muit pay to the parents of the bride: for, in China, a father does not give a dowry to his daughter: it is the hufband who gives a dowry to his wife, or, we may fay with equal propriety, who purchases her-She ACCOUNT of the MARRIAGES of becomes his property, and by a MA the CHINESE. double title. The parents of the bride fix the ARRIAGE,—that bond fone-day for folemnifing the marriage; ceffary, fo favourable to good and they always take care to conorder, recommended and encourag fult the calendar, in order that they ed by all great legillators,-is parti- may make choice of one that is cularly protected in China. Rarely lucky; for they confider fome as does marriage there give rife to thole favourable, and others unfavourable fcandalous intrigues that fo often to every great undertaking. Dur embitter its sweets, and datab the ing this interval, the two families domeftic peace of families, in other itend prefents to one another, and the the bridegroom purchafes for his intended fpoufe fome jewels, fuch as rings, pendants, or bracelets. Frequent letters pafs between the parties; but they are not permitted to fee one another: the whole treaty is carried on by the means of other people. are treated in the like manner by the hufband. The fame form prevails among the Chinese at all their grand feafts: the women amufe themfelves feparately; and the men do the fame in another apart ment. A Chinese is permitted to have only one lawful wife; but he may at the fame time purchafe feverál concubines. Thefe are indeed the fervants of the wife, much more than rivals in authority. She has the fame power over them as over the meaneft domeftic in the family: their children are even fuppofed to belong to her, and to be her own; but they have alfo a right to share with those born of her in their paternal fucceffion. If the happens to die, they are obliged to wear mourning for three years. When the day appointed for the ceremony arrives, the bride is placed in a chair, or clofe palanquin. Every thing that compofes her portion is borne before and behind her, by different perfons of both fexes, while others furround her, carrying torches and flambeaux, even in the middle of the day. A troop of muficians, with fifes, drums, and hautboys, march before her chair, and her family follow it behind. The key of the chair in which he is hut up is committed to the care of a trufty domeftic, who must deliver it to no one but to the husband only. The husband, richly dreffed, waits at his gate for the arrival of the proceflion. As foon as it ap-anly, and difmifs her as foon as their proaches, the key is put into his wishes are accomplished: they then hands he eagerly opens the chair, give her permiffion to efpoufe whom. and, at the firit glance, he may learn foever the chufes, and often they his fortune, and perceive whether even provide a husband for her thofe he employed have ferved him themselves. with fidelity. It fometimes happens, that the husband, difcontented with his intended fpoufe, fuddenly fhuts the chair, and fends her back to her relations. To get rid of her, it only cofts him a fum equal to that which he gave to obtain her. If the hufband is contented, fle defcends from her chair, and enters the houfe, followed by the relations of both, where the new married couple falute the Tien four times in the hall, and afterwards the parents of the husband. The bride is then committed into the hands of the women who have been invited to the ceremony, and who, together with her, partake of an entertainment, which continues the whole day: the male part of the guests Other husbands, defirous of hav ing a male child, which their lawful wife cannot, perhaps, give them, take a concubine from this motive A husband who becomes a widower, raifes fometimes his favourite concubine to the rank of lawful wife. He is not then obliged, as in the former cafe, to examine whether the rank of her whom he espouses approaches near to his own; and he is alfo freed from the preliminary formalities which have been before defcribed. Thefe concubines are almost all procured from the cities of Yangthean and Sou-tcheon, where they are educated, and taught finging, dancing, and mufic, and every accom pliment fuitable to women of quality, or which can render them. agreeable and pleafing. The greater part of them are purchafed in other places, to be again difpofed of. This This is the principal branch of trade caufes which may authorise a dicarried on by these two cities. The right which individuals of ordinary rank affume to themselves of keeping a concubine, is merely tolerated by cuftom, and not authorised by any law. This privilege is granted only to the emperor, to princes of the blood, and to mandarins; and none but the emperor is permitted, in ftrictuefs of law, to have more than one. A widow, of any rank above the common, feldom enters a fecond vorce. A woman, however, cannot be repudiated, on any account, if the lofes her parents after her marriage, or if he has worn a three years' mourning for the death of her hufband, father, or mother. ACCOUNT of APICIUS, the celebrated EPICURE. time into the tate of marriage when (From Dr. Thomson's Translation of fhe has children. Some carry their delicacy to a much greater length: Suetonius.) 10 the writers of the reign of were they only betrothed, it is fuf-Tiberius we muft add Apicius ficient to make them renounce every other engagement, if their intended husband happens to die before the celebration of the nuptials. Widows of ordinary rank, who have children, generally avail themfelves of the liberty which is granted them, and unite themselves to another hufband. The Chinese women,, even thofe of the greatest rank, feldom quit their apartment. It is fituated in the most retired part of the house, where they live fecluded from all fociety but their domeftics. The book of Ceremonies requires, that there fhould be two apartments in every houfe,-the exterior for the hufband, and the interior for his fpoufe. They muft even be feparated by a wooden partition, or a wall; and the door must be carefully guarded the husband is not at liberty to enter the inner apartment, nor muft the wife ever quit it without a fufficient caufe. "A wife," adds this book, "is not mistress of herself; fhe has nothing at her own difpofal; she can give no orders but within the precincts of her own apart ment, to which all her authority is confined." It will appear, no doubt, extraordinary, that the fame book of Ceremonies ranks the prattling and loquacity of a woman among those Cælius, who has left a book De Re Coquinaria, of Cookery. There were three Romans of the name of Apicius, all remarkable for their gluttony. The first lived in the time of the republic, the laft in that of Trajan, and the interme diate Apicius under the emperors Auguftus and Tiberius. This man, as Seneca informs us, wafted on luxurious living fexcenties feftertium, a fum equal to 484,375 pounds fterling. Upon examining the ftate of his affairs, he found, that there remained no more of his eftate than centies feftertim, 80,7291. 35. d. which feeming to him too finall to live upon, he ended his days by poifon. wait upon her to take the air, and | majefty's good houfewifery; who, to treat her with fome little collation as her fervant. The queen faid the weather was very cold, yet fhe was very willing to bear hine company after the English mode. With the queen were Woolfeldt, Tott, and five of her ladies. WhiteJocke brought them to his collation, which he had commanded his fervants to prepare in the beft manner they could, and altogether after the English fashion. to exprefs her contentment in this collation, was full of pleafantnefs and gaiety of fpirits, both in fupper time and afterwards; among other frolics the commanded Whitelocke to teach her ladies the English falutation; which, after fome pretty defences, their lips obeyed, and Whitelocke most readily. She highly commended Whitelocke's music of the trumpets, which founded all fupper-time; and her difcourfe was all of mirth and drol voured to anfwer her, and the rest of the company did their parts. It was late before the returned to the caftle, whither Whitelocke waited on her; and fhe difcourfed a little with him about his business and the time of his audience, and gave him many thanks for his noble treatment of her and her company. At the table with the queen fatlery, wherein Whitelocke endeala belle comteffe, the countefs Gabriel Oxenstierne, Woolfeldt, Tott, and Whitelocke; the other ladies fat in another room. Their ineat was fuch fowl as could be gotten, dreffed after the English fashion, and with English fauces, creams, puddings, cuftards, tarts, tanfeys, English apples, bon chreftien pears, cheese, butter, neat's-tongues, potted wenifon, and fweet-meats brought from England, as his fack and claret alfo was; his beer was alfo brewed, and his bread made by his own fervants, in his own house, after the English manner; and the queen and her company feemed highly pleafed with this treatment : fome of her company faid, fhe did eat and drink more at it, than the ufed to do in three or four days at her own table. The entertainment was as full and noble as the place would afford, and as Whitelocke could make it, and fo well ordered and contrived that the Queen faid he had never feen any like it; the was pleafed fo far to play the good houfewife, as to inquire how the butter could be fo fresh and fweet, and yet brought out of England? Whitelocke, from his cooks, fatisfied her majesty's inquiry; that they put the falt but ter into milk, where it lay all night, and the next day it would eat fresh and fweet as this did, and any butter new made, and commended her Our author informs us that two days after this entertainment, Monf. Woolfeldt, being invited by Whitelocke, told him that the queen was extremely pleased with his treatment of her. Whitelocke excused the meannefs of it for her majesty." Woolfeldt replied that both the queen and all the company efteemed it as the handsomeft and nobleft that they ever faw; and the queen, after that, would drink no other wine but Whitelocke's, and kindly accepted the neat's tongues, potted venifon, and cakes, which, upon her commendation, Whitelocke fent to her majefty. |