material influence over the formation of the character; and though
it operates by a silent process, yet it is invariably found to have
a pernicious tendency. It induces habits of expenditure, which are
often beyond the resources of the individual; saps the foundation
of morals, and involves in inextricable difficulties. Bills are
left unpaid, and every excuse and apology which ingenuity and
artifice can devise, is employed to silence the remonstrances of the
creditor--whom the debtor avoids with an instinctive dread, no less
sensitive than the child does the place supposed to be haunted by an
evil spirit.
But, if the resources are sufficient to satisfy the demands of
justice, has benevolence no claim on the female sex? "The fact
is, that an unguarded fondness for ornament has been known, in
a multitude of examples, to overpower the natural tenderness of
the female mind, and to prevent the growth and establishment of
dispositions pronounced in the gospel to be indispensably requisite
to the Christian character. If the purse be generally kept low by
the demands of milliners, of mantua-makers, dealers in trinkets, and
of others who bear their part in adorning the person, little can be
allotted to the applications of charity. But charity requires, in
common with other virtues, the fostering influence of habit. If the
custom of devoting an adequate portion of the income to the relief
of distress be long intermitted, the desire of giving relief will
gradually be impaired. The heart forgets, by disuse, the emotions in
which it once delighted. The ear turns from solicitations now become
unwelcome. In proportion as the wants and the griefs of others are
disregarded, the spirit of selfishness strikes deeper and stronger
roots in the breast. Let the generous exertions of kindness be
tempered with discretion: but let a disposition to those exertions
be encouraged on principles of duty; and confirmed, in proportion
to the ability of the individual, by frequency of practice. Before
the world has repressed, by its interested lessons, the warmth of
youthful benevolence, let experience establish a conviction that
the greatest of all pleasures is to do good. She who has accustomed
herself to this delight, will not easily be induced to forego it.
She will feel, that whatever she is able, without penuriousness
or improper singularity, to withdraw from the expense of personal
ornament, is not only reserved for much higher purposes, but for
purposes productive of exquisite and permanent gratification.
"Another, and a very important benefit which results from fixed
habits of moderation as to dress, and all points of a similar
nature, will be clearly discerned by adverting to the irreparable
evils into which young women are sometimes plunged by the contrary
practice. The lavish indulgence in which they have learned to seek
for happiness, becoming, in their estimation, essential to their
comfort, is able to bias their conduct in every important step.
Hence, in forming matrimonial connections, it exercises perhaps a
secret, but a very powerful influence. The prospect of wealth and
magnificence, of the continuance and of the increase of pleasures
supposed to flow from the pomp of dress and equipage, from sumptuous
mansions, showy furniture, and numerous attendants, dazzles the
judgment, imposes on the affections, conceals many defects in moral
character, and compensates for others. It frequently proves the
decisive circumstance which leads the deluded victim to the altar,
there to consign herself to splendid misery for life.
"There are yet other consequences which attend an immoderate passion
for the embellishments of dress. When the mind is fixed upon objects
which derive their chief value from administering to vanity and the
love of admiration, the aversion, which almost every individual of
either sex is prone to feel towards a rival, is particularly called
forth. And when objects attainable so easily as exterior ornaments
occupy the heart, there will be rivals without number. Hence, it is
not uncommon to see neighbouring young women engaged in a constant
state of petty warfare with each other. To vie in ostentatiousness,
in costliness, or in elegance of apparel--to be distinguished by
novel inventions in personal decoration--to gain the earliest
intelligence respecting changes of fashion in the metropolis--to
detect, in the attire of a luckless competitor, traces of a mode
which for six weeks has been obsolete in high life--these frequently
are the points of excellence to which the force of female genius is
directed. In the meantime, while the mask of friendship is worn,
and the language of regard is on the tongue, indifference, disgust,
and envy are gradually taking possession of the breast; until, at
length, the unworthy contest, prolonged for years under habits
of dissimilation, by which neither of the parties are deceived,
terminates in the violence of an open rupture.
"The Scriptures have spoken so plainly and so strongly respecting
solicitude about dress, that I cannot quit the subject without a
special reference to their authority. Our Saviour, in one of his
most solemn discourses, warns his followers against anxiety as to
'wherewithal they should be clothed,' in a manner particularly
emphatic, classing that anxiety with the despicable pursuits
of those who are studious 'what they shall eat, and what they
shall drink;' and by pronouncing all such cares to be among the
characteristics by which the heathens were distinguished. It
ought to be observed, that these admonitions of Christ respect men
no less than women. The apostle Paul speaks pointedly concerning
female dress, saying--'I will, in like manner also, that women adorn
themselves in modest apparel, with shame-facedness and sobriety:
not with broidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but,
which becometh women professing godliness, with good works.' In
another passage, St. Peter also speaks expressly of the female
sex: and primarily of married women, but in terms applicable with
equal propriety to the single--'Whose adorning, let it not be that
outward adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold, and of
putting on of apparel. But let it be the hidden man of the heart'
(the inward frame and disposition of the mind), 'in that which is
not corruptible; even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit,
which is in the sight of God of great price.' It would be too much
to assert, on the one hand, that it was the intention of either
of the apostles, in giving these directions, to proscribe the use
of the particular kinds of personal ornament which he specifies;
but, on the other hand, it was unquestionably the design of both,
to proscribe whatever may justly be styled solicitude respecting
any kind of personal decoration; and to censure those who, instead
of resting their claim to approbation solely on the tempers of the
soul, in any degree, should ambitiously seek to be noticed and
praised for exterior embellishments, as deviating precisely in
that degree from the simplicity and the purity of the Christian
character."
The young ladies of the Holmes family, were allowed a stated income
to meet their current expenditure, besides receiving occasional
presents. One custom prevailed in this family, which the writer
hopes will never become extinct amongst us, as it belongs so
appropriately to the English character. The birthdays, especially
those of the parents, were duly celebrated, and an interchange of
presents made between the members of the family. On the occasion
of the recurrence of Mr. Holmes' birthday, which took place a few
weeks after the party referred to in the foregoing chapter, the
usual compliment of presents was made in the morning; and in the
afternoon, after the old gentleman's health, and many happy returns
of the day, had been drunk with due honours, he presented to each of
his daughters an envelope, containing a bank note for £20.
In the evening, as the young ladies were taking their walk, their
conversation turned on the unexpected liberality of their father,
when Emma asked her sisters what they intended to purchase.
"I intend," said Jane, "to purchase my freedom."
"Your freedom, my dear!" said the facetious Emma; "I did not know
that you were in bondage to any man; but if you are, surely you do
not think of offering to pay him for your liberty?"
"I am not," replied Jane, "in bondage to _any man_."
"No! To whom then?"
"To woman kind!"
"Woman! What! Woman enslave her own sex!"
"Even so."
"What woman are you in bondage to?"
"The mantua-maker! Here are the fetters of my captivity (exhibiting
the undischarged bills), which I will now go and break asunder, and
hope never more to wear them."
"You are to be commended, my dear," said Miss Holmes, "and I hope
Emma will follow your example; for, with our liberal allowance, and
the presents we receive, we ought to have something to spare to the
claims of religion and benevolence, rather than have the disgrace of
unpaid bills lying in our drawers."
"Indeed," Emma replied, "I think Papa gives away quite enough
to purchase our redemption from the taxes of charity. When I am
settled in life, it is my intention to appropriate a regular sum to
charitable purposes, but now I cannot afford it. We must be just
before we are generous."
"On that maxim I shall act," said Jane; "I will discharge my debts
as an act of justice, and then I shall have it in my power to be
generous to the poor and needy."
"I have no doubt, Emma," remarked Miss Holmes, "that you are
sincere in your proposed intentions respecting your future
charities; but I suspect, if you go upon the principle of waiting
till you are rich, you will never have anything to give. You must
know, dear Emma, if you reflect on the subject, that you are
now forming your habits for life--giving to your principles and
propensities a fixed and changeless tendency; and is it not of great
importance that you should begin now to cultivate the virtues of
charity and self-denial?"
"It may be so, but there is no rule without an exception; and as
your habits and mine, dear sister, are so dissimilar, you cannot
expect that I can follow your example in all things."
"Then, my dear, follow the example of Jane, and you will feel more
at ease; and you will have the satisfaction of knowing that those
you are indebted to are not distressed by the want of the money you
owe them."
"Indeed, I am at ease. They charge enough, for the few articles I
purchase, to allow me to take a long credit."
"That is very true. They charge in proportion to the length of
credit they give; and hence, you pay such an exorbitant price for
your dress. You impoverish yourself by the very method you employ in
expending your money; and never have the satisfaction of being free
from the pressing claims of dress-makers and milliners. Thus you
deny yourself the noble gratification of relieving the necessities
of others; for when an appeal is made to your benevolence, you are
obliged to resist it, because you have previously exhausted your
resources."
"You reason admirably, dear sister, and I shall not forget your
observations; but I must get a new dress, as I have worn my old one
so long. I will spare something out of the next present Papa gives
me. I hope this will satisfy you, as you know I always keep my word."
It is, generally, in the more private occurrences of domestic life,
that the peculiarities of the human mind are developed; and events,
trivial in themselves, often acquire a degree of importance from
the indications of character which they exhibit. The bestowment
of a birthday present, was an expression of paternal regard, but
what different dispositions and tendencies did it call forth, and
what a different moral effect did it produce!--Miss Holmes devoted
a portion of her present to the claims of charity and religion, and
with part of the remainder, she purchased a silver snuff-box, which
she presented to her father, with a few appropriate verses. Jane,
who had been enticed into extravagance by following the example of
her sister Emma, went and discharged her debts; while Emma, after
ordering her dress, and paying a sum towards her previous account,
took a fancy to a beautiful shawl, and ordered it to be sent to the
Elms, and in this way got deeper in debt than she had been before.
AMUSEMENTS.
Miss Orme, the friend of Emma Holmes, accepted an invitation to
spend a few weeks at the Elms, and being aware of the religious
habits of the family, she resolved to conform to them with the
most scrupulous exactness. When she played, she generally selected
sacred music, as a compliment to the taste of her pious friends; and
even condescended to accompany them to chapel, though she avowed
her decided preference for the forms and ceremonies of the Church.
She was naturally of a very pliable disposition, and had she been
under a different course of moral training, she might have devoted
her attention to the claims of religion; but being surrounded by
the fascinations of gay life, and taught to regard the pursuit of
pleasure as the chief end of her existence, she became one of the
most zealous devotees that ever bowed down at the shrine of fashion.
She possessed an intelligent mind; but the books she read, and
the subjects on which she generally conversed, had a tendency to
impair its strength, and to keep it from ranging in the field of
useful knowledge. She was rather shrewd, and would sometimes make a
reply, or give a turn to an observation with considerable effect;
but her resources were soon exhausted, and she would fall back into
a state of ennui, unless the conversation related to the fashions
or the amusements of the day, and then she would speak with great
fluency and animation. In her disposition, she was so good-natured
and amiable, that she would bear reproof with the utmost degree of
mildness, but never thought of amending her ways; would acknowledge
herself in the wrong, when it was pointed out to her, yet persisted
in its practice; and often confessed that she had no doubt but
a religious life was most acceptable to our Maker, yet as often
expressed her astonishment that any young person could think of
becoming religious.
As Mr. Holmes could not conscientiously suffer his daughters to
attend any of the public amusements to which society devotes such a
considerable portion of its time, he endeavoured to compensate for
the loss of such sources of gratification, by making them happy in
their home; and by treating them with occasional excursions, where
they might enjoy a change of air and of scenery, without running the
risk of sustaining any moral injury. To gratify her friend, Emma had
persuaded her father to take them to Windsor, where they were to
spend one night, and return the following day; but there had been
so much rain in the early part of the morning, and it continued to
descend in such torrents, that they were obliged to postpone their
visit. This disappointment was borne with great cheerfulness by all
but Miss Orme, who felt it to be a most irksome burden, and said
more than once during the day, "What a misfortune that Providence
should allow it to rain to-day, when, I suppose, he knew we were
going to Windsor!"
"Why, perhaps," said Mr. Holmes, "he has sent the rain to prevent
some calamitous accident."
"Dear Sir, do you think he ever pays any attention to us, and such
little things as a pleasure excursion?"
"Yes, most certainly. Our Saviour says--'Are not two sparrows sold
for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall to the ground without
your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.'"
"Then of course it is so, but it never struck me before. I always
thought that God looked after other worlds and their inhabitants,
and that he left us to our fate."
"You forget the first petition in the Lord's Prayer--'_Our Father_,
who art in heaven.' A kind father--and God is love--pays great
attention to his children."
"Exactly so, Sir, but it never struck me before."
As she was sauntering up and down the house, leaning on the arm of
Emma, bitterly deploring the continued descent of the rain, which
precluded the hope of their getting out of doors, she broke in upon
Miss Holmes, busily engaged in finishing a dress for a poor woman,
who was daily expecting the birth of her firstborn.
"I beg your pardon, Miss Holmes, for this act of intrusion. We are
sauntering away dull time."
"Walk in, and I will give you some employment."
"Indeed, I am not fit for work. This is one of the dullest days
of my life. I wish the rain was over and gone. Is it not a great
misfortune that it should come to-day?"
"Perhaps, my dear Miss Orme, it is sent by our heavenly Father to
prevent some greater misfortune."
"That's what your Papa has just been telling us. What a striking
coincidence between his sentiments and yours! They are new ideas to
me. Very devout and proper."
"Sister is Papa's living echo," remarked Emma.
"As you two idlers," said Miss Holmes, "have nothing to do but
saunter away time, perhaps (addressing Miss Orme) you would have no
objection to read, it may prove a little relief to your dulness."
There were several books lying on the table, which she carelessly
examined and closed, when Emma said, "Here is one which you have
not seen." She took it, read the title--_An Inquiry into the Duties
of the Female Sex_. "A learned dissertation, I have no doubt, on
woman. I wonder what he says. He has, I see, a chapter on the
employment of time; shall I read that, Miss Holmes?"
"If you please."
"Time is a sacred trust consigned to us by the Creator of the
universe. To use it well is a lesson which duty and reason concur
to suggest. The duration of the period to be confided to our
management, though predetermined in the counsels of Omniscience,
is undisclosed to the individual concerned, and is placed beyond
the reach of calculation; that uncertainty respecting the future
may operate as a continual and powerful admonition wisely to employ
the present hour. Would you perceive the ingratitude and folly of
squandering so precious a deposit? Reflect on the gracious purposes
for the accomplishment of which it is committed to you. Reflect how
plainly incompatible a habit of squandering it is, with the frame
of mind which is the fruit of Christianity. Reflect on the infinite
importance which you will hereafter attach to time past, when the
consequences flowing from the right or wrong use of it, will be
discerned and felt by you in their full extent."
"This is too grave a subject for me," said Miss Orme. "It will just
add to the load of melancholy on my mind, which is already oppressed
beyond endurance by the horrid gloom of the weather. I am fond of
reading, but I prefer the lighter productions of the press." She
closed the book and was taking up another, when Miss Holmes said,
"You will oblige me by reading another paragraph in that chapter,
which may prove advantageous to you, even though it may not exactly
accord with your present taste."
"Certainly, if you wish it."
"To every woman, whether single or married, the habit of regularly
allotting to improving books a portion of each day, and, as far
as may be practicable, at stated hours, cannot be too strongly
recommended. I use the term _improving_ in a large sense; as
comprehending all writings which may contribute to her virtue,
her usefulness, and her innocent gratification--to her happiness
in this world and in the next. She who believes that she is to
survive in another state of being through eternity, and is duly
impressed by the awful conviction, will fix, day by day, her most
serious thoughts on the inheritance to which she aspires. Where the
treasure is, there will her heart be also. She will not be seduced
from an habitual study of the Holy Scriptures, and of other works
calculated to imprint on her mind the comparatively small importance
of the pains and pleasures of this period of existence; and to
fill her with that knowledge, and inspire her with those views and
dispositions, which may lead her to delight in the present service
of her Maker, and enable her to rejoice in the contemplation of
futurity. At other seasons, let history, let biography, let poetry,
or some of the various branches of elegant and profitable knowledge,
pay their tribute of instruction and amusement. But let whatever
she peruses in her most private hours be such as she needs not to
be ashamed of reading aloud to those whose good opinion she is most
anxious to deserve. Let her remember that there is an all-seeing
eye, which is ever fixed upon her, even in her closest retirement.
Let her not indulge herself in the frequent perusal of writings,
however interesting in their nature, however eminent in a literary
point of view, which are likely to inflame pride, and to inspire
false notions of generosity, of feeling, of spirit, or of any other
quality. Such, unhappily, are the effects to be apprehended from
the works even of several of our distinguished writers, in prose
and in verse. And let her accustom herself regularly to bring the
sentiments which she reads, and the conduct which is described in
terms, more or less strong, of applause and recommendation, to the
test of Christian principles. In proportion as this practice is
pursued or neglected, reading will be profitable or pernicious."
"Now, really, my dear Miss Holmes," said Miss Orme, stopping short,
"I cannot go on with such reading. Have you nothing in the shape
of a novel? I can take an interest in _that_. You object to such
compositions, I believe?"
"Yes."
"But why, when they display so much ingenuity, are so delightful,
and have such a good moral tendency?"
"I cannot reply to your present remark in more forcible language
than the writer has done, whose book you hold in your hand, and if
you will permit me I will read an extract."
"Very well," replied Miss Orme, with a yawn.