The women of England are eminent for many good qualities both of the
head and of the heart. There we meet with that inexpressible softness
and delicacy of manners, which, cultivated by education, appears as much
superior to what it does without it, as the polished diamond appears
superior to that which is rough from the mine. In some parts of the
world, women have attained to so little knowledge and so little
consequence, that we consider their virtues as merely of the negative
kind. In England they consist not only in abstinence from evil, but in
doing good.
There we see the sex every day exerting themselves in acts of
benevolence and charity, in relieving the distresses of the body, and
binding up the wounds of the mind; in reconciling the differences of
friends, and preventing the strife of enemies; and, to sum up all, in
that care and attention to their offspring, which is so necessary and
essential a part of their duty.
A woman may succeed to the throne of England with the same power and
privileges as a king; and the business of the state is transacted in her
name, while her husband is only a subject. The king's wife is considered
as a subject; but is exempted from the law which forbids any married
woman to possess property in her own right during the lifetime of her
husband; she may sue any person at law without joining her husband in
the suit; may buy and sell lands without his interference; and she may
dispose of her property by will, as if she were a single woman. She
cannot be fined by any court of law; but is liable to be tried and
punished for crimes by peers of the realm. The queen dowager enjoys
nearly the same privileges that she did before she became a widow; and
if she marries a subject still continues to retain her rank and title;
but such marriages cannot take place without permission from the
reigning sovereign. A woman who is noble in her own right, retains her
title when she marries a man of inferior rank; but if ennobled by her
husband, she loses the title by marrying a commoner. A peeress can only
be tried by a jury of peers.
In old times, a woman who was convicted of being a common mischief-maker
and scold, was sentenced to the punishment of the ducking-stool; which
consisted of a sort of chair fastened to a pole, in which she was seated
and repeatedly let down into the water, amid the shouts of the rabble.
At Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a woman convicted of the same offence was led
about the streets by the hangman, with an instrument of iron bars fitted
on her head, like a helmet. A piece of sharp iron entered the mouth, and
severely pricked the tongue whenever the culprit attempted to move it.
A great deal of vice prevails in England, among the very fashionable,
and the very low classes. Misconduct and divorces are not unfrequent
among the former, because their mode of life corrupts their principles,
and they deem themselves above the jurisdiction of popular opinion; the
latter feel as if they were beneath the influence of public censure, and
find it very difficult to be virtuous, on account of extreme poverty,
and the consequent obstructions in the way of marriage. But the general
character of English women is modest, reserved, sincere, and dignified.
They have strong passions and affections, which often develope
themselves in the most beautiful forms of domestic life. They are in
general remarkable for a healthy appearance, and an exquisite bloom of
complexion. Perhaps the world does not present a lovelier or more
graceful picture than the English home of a virtuous family.