failed,) but all in vain; for, "behold," he says, "all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun."

The reason of all this, as I conjecture, was the seven hundred wives and the three hundred concubines;-all was vanity and vexation of spirit -as well it might be. These magnificent princes of the East have always treated women in a most preposterous manner; much in the way that a stupid man, when he has got rich, does books. He collects a multitude of the best looking he can find, has them splendidly bound, and then locks them up in a glass case. Certainly our English method is far better-to fix upon some agreeable, sensible composition-one only; write your name in it, and then make it from that time forth your vade mecum. And, so much for the wisest of men in his old age, and in points where, to be sure, wisdom is not always to be found.

The Old Testament, it is well known, as I have already mentioned, is the best means we possess of becoming acquainted with human nature as it existed in the early ages of the world. I appeal to it, as I must repeat on no other account. And it is curious to observe, how similar have been the characters, how uniform have been the pleasures and pursuits of women. Sarah is the representative of the right-hand marriage, Hagar of the left-pretty nearly of the wife and the

mistress, as it ever was, and ever will be; Jezebel, of the impudent and intriguing woman of quality. And when the Prophet Isaiah has to describe the sex altogether as they appeared to his holy mind, in private and public; "Children," says he, "are the oppressors of my people, and women rule over them;" (it was, however, you see, the women that ruled.) "The daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched-forth necks,

....walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: but the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon, the chains, and the bracelets, and the mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the legs, and the head-bands, and the tablets, and the ear-rings, the rings and nose-jewels, (heaven preserve us from this fashion, at least,) the changeable suits of apparel, and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins, the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the vails." Mercy on us! Who shall abuse the ladies of France, or their servile imitators, our own fair country women, with their screwed-up hair, pyramidical heads, and skimping drapery, if such was a description of their race two thousand years ago.

But a word at parting on the general subject of this passion of the sex for ornament and dress. In a state highly corrupted, and sinking fast

in decline, such as that which the prophet here surveyed with the indignation of a patriot, and the terror of an inspired man, certainly the softer sex may partake of the general depravity, and may forget their more important duties and more valuable qualities, in the vain pursuits of decoration and splendour.

There is nothing which may not be caricatured-nothing which may not be carried to excess -the pursuit of wisdom and even virtue itself; but the consciousness of beauty, and the mere desire of ornament and grace are, in themselves, no faults, and are not to be reprehended in the woman as either unnatural or wrong.

Anacreon has observed that the hoof is given to the horse and swiftness to the hare; to every animal its appropriate defence and recommendation -and beauty to the woman-while the man, as distinguished from the woman, supposes (flatters himself at least) that to him nature has given the superiority of understanding. This may be, and certainly he makes rout enough about it; but shall he then blame the woman for giving herself the same airs, and being just as troublesome on the subject of her particular gift, her beauty, and her personal appearance.

What should we say of a young man, who, receiving a strong capacity from nature, was neglectful of this inestimable privilege, and refused

to cultivate his talents for the benefit of himself and the advantage of mankind? We should blame-we should reprobate-and, if possible, despise.

And is not the maiden, then, to be forgiven, or any beautiful woman, while she retains her beauty, is she not to be forgiven, if she discovers her particular gifts from nature also? that there is symmetry in her form, expression in her eyes, and enchantment in her smile; that there is grace in her step, and the light of loveliness around her. Assuredly any being like this is formed to give a charm to existence and to be the ornament and delight of polished society. Assuredly she was intended by a benevolent Creator, (who makes nothing in vain,) to refine and elevate her species above their natural grossness, rudeness, and barbarity; to be the promoter, the representative, and the inspirer of tenderness and elegance wherever she moves: and she is not, therefore, to be indifferent to the attractions by which she is recommended, or to the homage with which she is received. She is only like all other gifted mortals, to know the proper value of her attractions, and turn them to their proper purposes. But this digression being dispatched, from the Jews we now pass on to the Greeks and Romans; for these are, with the Jews, the three great nations of antiquity.

As before, I cannot enter into the details of history, nor would they give you any insight into the manners of the world at that remote period, if I did. The great scholars amongst us, they who assure us that they understand Greek, inform us, that the Greeks endeavoured to manage their women by separating them into two divisions-wives and mistresses;-divide and rule. Such was the only expedient which these lords of the creation could devise to maintain their empire. Divide and rule; that is, one portion of the sex (the mistresses) was to have all the accomplishments; the other (the wives) all the useful qualities. The one portion was to sing for them and to dance, and the other to make their puddings and their children.

In this manner were the poor women to be swindled out of the superiority, which, in every thing but the mere brute quality of physical strength, they possessed. What, then, was the result? Physical strength being with the men, and the laws being always of their own making, (which is the reason, indeed, why they are in general so indifferent) the result was, that among the Greeks the proper pleasures of society were little known; and the women, those of them who were good, passed a very dull time, they and their distaffs; while those of them, who were bad, led very profligate and riotous lives; their talents turned