Since I have called out for help in my catalogue of a lady's library, I
have received many letters upon that head, some of which I shall give an
account of. In the first class I shall take notice of those which come
to me from eminent booksellers, who every one of them mention with
respect the authors they have printed, and consequently have an eye to
their own advantage more than to that of the ladies. One tells me, that
he thinks it absolutely necessary for women to have true notions of
right and equity, and that therefore they cannot peruse a better book
than Dalton's _Country Justice_: another thinks they cannot be without
_The Compleat Jockey_. A third, observing the curiosity and desire of
prying into secrets, which he tells me is natural to the fair sex, is of
opinion this female inclination, if well directed, might turn very much
to their advantage, and therefore recommends to me _Mr. Mede upon the
Revelations_. A fourth lays it down as an unquestioned truth, that a
lady cannot be thoroughly accomplished who has not read the _Secret
Treaties and Negotiations of Marshal d'Estrades_. Mr. Jacob Tonson,
junior, is of opinion, that _Bayle's Dictionary_ might be of very great
use to the ladies, in order to make them general scholars. Another,
whose name I have forgotten, thinks it highly proper that every woman
with child should read Mr. Wall's _History of Infant Baptism_: as
another is very importunate with me to recommend to all my female
readers _The Finishing Stroke: Being a Vindication of the Patriarchal
Scheme_, &c.
In the second class I shall mention books which are recommended by
husbands, if I may believe the writers of them. Whether or no they are
real husbands or personated ones I cannot tell, but the books they
recommend are as follow. _A Paraphrase on the History of Susanna._
_Rules to keep Lent._ _The Christian's Overthrow prevented._ _A
Dissuasive from the Playhouse._ _The Virtues of Camphire, with
Directions to make Camphire Tea._ _The pleasures of a Country Life._
_The Government of the Tongue._ A letter dated from Cheapside desires me
that I would advise all young wives to make themselves mistresses of
Wingate's _Arithmetic_, and concludes with a postscript, that he hopes I
will not forget _The Countess of Kent's Receipts_.
I may reckon the ladies themselves as a third class among these my
correspondents and privy-councillors. In a letter from one of them, I am
advised to place _Pharamond_ at the head of my catalogue, and, if I
think proper, to give the second place to _Cassandra_. Coquetilla begs
me not to think of nailing women upon their knees with manuals of
devotion, nor of scorching their faces with books of housewifery.
Florella desires to know if there are any books written against prudes,
and entreats me, if there are, to give them a place in my library. Plays
of all sorts have their several advocates: _All for Love_ is mentioned
in above fifteen letters; _Sophonisba_, or _Hannibal's Overthrow_, in a
dozen; _The Innocent Adultery_ is likewise highly approved of;
_Mithridates, King of Pontus_ has many friends; _Alexander the Great_
and _Aurengzebe_ have the same number of voices; but _Theodosius_, or
_The Force of Love_, carries it from all the rest.--J. ADDISON.
_Spectator_, 92.