pose. That man or woman whose life is marked by the faithful performance of the social and relative duties, will ever be esteemed more highly, by all whose approbation is worth securing, than they who are deficient in these particulars, though endowed with every natural and acquired grace that even the heart of a Chesterfield could desire.

In conclusion, therefore, I would remind my young readers of every description, that the claims of parents to the respect, the gratitude, and the affection of their children, originate in a higher source than the accidental acquisitions of art or science; and that the possession of those accomplishments which fashion and a highly polished state of society have rendered essential in a modern education, does not authorise children to treat those persons with unkindness and neglect, to whom they are not only indebted for these very qualifications, but even for life itself. -An authority, to whose dictates it may be unfashionable to appeal, but which, I hope, all who read this paper respect, has expressly enjoined" Honour thy father and thy mother." My young readers will please to observe, that this command is general, and that it allows of no exception with regard to those children whose parents may happen neither to be acquainted

with the rules of politeness, nor know how to speak grammatically, nor have any taste for music, nor understand French.

NUMBER 32.

Permit, ye Fair, your idol form,

Which e'en the coldest heart can warm,
May with its beauties grace my line.-GREEN.

TO THE INSPECTOR.

SIR-I have long regretted the abusive language which has been lavishly bestowed on the fair sex, in consequence of the present fashionable mode of dressing, or rather of undressing, prevalent in the metropolis and other parts of the kingdom; and as you have frequently joined in propagating the popular clamour, I hope you will be candid enough to give my defence of them a place. I am induced to take this liberty because I have my reasons for believing that even you, Mr. Inspector, secretly prefer a continuance of the present fashion, to the revival of the obsolete method of incumbring the body with a load of useless clothing, whatever you may aver or insinuate to the contrary.

The principal design of dress, I conceive, Sir, is to display the beauties of the person to the greatest advantage; and not, by an old-fashioned attention to what goes under the name of modesty, to conceal those exquisite graces and perfections which nature has so lavishly bestowed on the female sex. If experience, therefore, has proved to the satisfaction of the ladies, that an unreserved disclosure of their charms ensures to them a greater degree of admiration and homage, it would be arbitrary, in the highest degree, to endeavour to oblige them, either directly or indirectly, to adopt a different line of conduct.

Many unanswerable arguments might be urged in support of the above fashion; and, in point of economy, in particular, it seems to deserve universal encouragement. But a still more honourable motive has been assigned for its prevalence. My friend, Jack Rattle, who is intimately acquainted with several leaders of the mode, assures me that they are actuated solely by a desire to relieve the wants of their distressed fellow-creatures, by a sacrifice of their own superfluities; and that they thus voluntarily discard the parade and expense of clothing, in order that their inferiors may be enabled to perceive its inefficacy and inutility. Although, fully persuaded, without any irony, of the

benevolence of our fair countrywomen, I am scarcely inclined to credit my friend's account; yet surely the bare possibility of its being accurate, ought to put a stop to the licentious declamations of their enemies.

If we view the subject in another light, we may consider the conduct of the ladies as an incontestable proof of their candour, and detestation of hypocrisy. Personal defects are very frequently hidden from the world, by means of artificial disguises: and nothing, in my opinion, more evinces the fortitude and noblemindedness of our females, than their contempt of the sneers and sarcasms of the world, at their publicly exposing blemishes of this kind, when put in competition with the benefits likely to result from their conduct to society at large.

It has long been a general complaint, that mankind have degenerated from the virtues of their forefathers; and the heroes and heroines of preceding ages have been pointed out as fit patterns for our imitation, and objects of our regard. Our ladies, in particular, have been frequently reminded of the transcendent virtues of Lucrece, Portia, Cornelia, and other famous Roman and Grecian characters; and she has been most applauded who has been thought to approach nearest to the standard of these celebrated perK k

sonages of antiquity. For my own part, Mr. Inspector, I have long thought that our countrywomen were endeavouring to copy after these illustrious models, particularly from the similarity between their dresses and those of the young ladies of Sparta; but I now think they are stimulated by a desire to attain to a still greater degree of excellence; they appear resolved to emulate the perfections of our first mother Eve, even when in her purest state of innocence; and from the success of their past exertions, I think we may entertain the most sanguine hopes of their final success; and that they will soon be enabled to appear like Eve, naked, and not ashamed! From the acknowledged influence which the ladies possess over the male part of the species, the most important effects may be expected to result from this circumstance. The integrity, simplicity, and patriotism of the ancient Romans, may, perhaps, soon be eclipsed by our superior attainments; and probably be regarded, in the next generation, with the same contempt which these personages would bestow on the present race of mankind, were they permitted to re-visit the land of the living. Who knows but that the spirited efforts of our ladies may be the means of restoring us to that situation which our modern philosophers have long