you will inspire her with confidence, without which education becomes a formal and irksome restraint.

Let young ladies be taught to read and write correctly. It is disgraceful, but not uncommon, to see ladies not wanting in wit and politeness, who are yet unable to pronounce well what they read; they either hesitate, or, they read with a disagreeable tone, instead of pronouncing with firmness and smoothness, in a simple and natural manner. They fail still more grossly in chirography; they should at least be accustomed to make their lines straight, that what they write may be neat and legible. They should also understand the grammar of their own language; I do not mean that they should learn it as boys learn Latin at school; only teach them without affectation, to avoid taking one tense for another, to use proper terms; to communicate their thoughts with perspicuity, conciseness, and precision; you will thus put it in their power one day to teach their children the art of speaking well

without formal study. We know that in ancient Rome the mother of the Gracchi contributed much, by a good education, to impart grace and power to the eloquence of her sons, who afterward became so distinguished.

They should likewise understand the four rules of arithmetic; you can bring their knowledge of this into practice with great advantage by making them keep accounts. This is to many persons a very difficult occupation; but a habit formed in infancy, united with the facility of performing, by the aid of rules, a variety of difficult calculations, will very much diminish this distaste. Nothing is more certain than that good order in families is often dependent on exactness in calculation.

It would also be well for them to know something of the fundamental principles of justice; for instance, the difference between a legacy, and a donation; the nature of contracts; the principal laws and customs of the country in which they reside, a compliance

with which is necessary to the validity of these acts; the nature of civil society; and the distinction between real and personal estate; if they marry, their most important concerns will be dependent on these.

But at the same time show them the difficulties connected with the administration of justice; that through the weakness of the human understanding, justice itself is full of obscurities and doubtful rules; that jurisprudence is various; that every thing dependent on judges, however clear it may seem, becomes uncertain; that the tedious delays of the best causes are often ruinous in their consequences. Show them the agitation of the courts, the fury of chicanery, the pernicious arts and subtleties of pleading, the immense expense which it involves, the misfortunes of those engaged in litigation, the industry of attorneys and registers, in enriching themselves, while they are impoverishing the parties concerned; inform them likewise of the means by which the administration of justice is counteracted by the forms of law, and by arraying the deci

sions of one tribunal against those of another; -if your case comes under the cognizance of one court, it is decided in your favor; if referred to another, it is lost. In fine, do not forget to notice the differences among attorneys and judges on the same affair; in consultation you gain the cause, but when the verdict is finally announced, it is against you.

All this information appears to me valuable to females, to preserve them from precipitation in business, and from blindly abandoning themselves to counsels inconsistent with peace, when they are widows, or, in a different situation, mistresses of their own property; they should listen to those who superintend their business, but never trust themselves implicitly to their direction. They should distrust their counsel when they advise them to engage in litigation, and should consult persons whose minds are more enlarged, and who are more sensible of the advantages resulting from an accommodation; and, in fine, they should be convinced that skill in the management of

business consists in foreseeing the approach of evils, and in knowing how to avert them.

Young ladies of birth and fortune need to be instructed in the peculiar duties of proprietors of land. Point out to them, therefore, the means that can be employed to hinder the abuses, the violence, the chicanery, and deceit, so common among those who have the management of estates in the country. Direct their attention to the methods of establishing little schools, and charitable associations for the assistance of indigent sick persons. Show them how trade can sometimes be established in certain regions to diminish poverty; but more particularly in what manner useful instruction and the principles of religion may be diffused among the people; all this would require details too minute for admission here.

After these instructions, which should hold the first place, I believe that it is not without advantage to indulge young ladies, as they have leisure, and as their taste directs, in the