Ghastly and sunk, his rayless eye With no human look, with no human breath, "In the lighted hall, where the dancers go, When thy fair arms glance in their stainless white, And not one star in the holy sky Hath a clearer light than thine own blue eye, "O, then, even then, he will follow thee, As the ripple follows the bark at sea; In the softened light, in the turning dance, The chill of his breath on thy cheek shall linger, Our climate is so variable, that its changes should be carefully guarded against. Warm and comfortable clothing, and shoes impervious to dampness, if not recommended by the Graces, good sense and prudence will insist upon. English ladies, in this respect, are perhaps more imprudent than any in the wide world, since our climate calls for greater care than perhaps almost any other. It is a ridiculous vanity to expose life itself for the sake of exhibiting a pretty foot in the most becoming attire-a papersoled kid or satin shoe upon a cold or damp pavement ! So much has been said upon the subject of tight-lacing, that little need be added here. The tocsin of alarm has sounded through every land where the preposterous fashion reigns. You have seen the Venus de Medici contrasted with a modern belle; which did you most admire? Undoubtedly the latter, for thus fashion blinds to true symmetry and perverts the taste. Physicians have been faithful in reporting the deaths occasioned by these unnatural contortions, and surgeons have dissected the miserable victims. What more can be done? Forewarned thus, no more can be said. As rational beings-as accountable ones-abstain from a practice so deleterious, so wicked. With regard to diet; a caution is necessary against cake, sweetmeats, and confectionary. A surfeit of sweets deranges the system, and should be carefully avoided. A healthful, wholesome appetite should be desired, and an indulgence in these articles at every hour in the day will soon destroy it. There is a morbid delicacy in regard to eating, which is absurd; because Byron in his squeamishness could not bear to see a woman eat, some ridiculous coxcombs affect the same antipathy, and many a young lady has gone fasting in their company, rather than be thought so vulgar as to be hungry. Really, it would seem too absurd to mention such a thing, were it not a fact that some young ladies seem quite troubled if they have a good appetite, and make many apologies for indulging it. It may be gratified without the gusto of a gourmand. A refined and delicate manner of eating is expected, of course, in every young lady. Among the means of preserving health, Franklin, in his letter to a young lady “On the Art of procuring Pleasant Dreams," mentions "having a constant supply of fresh air in your bed-chamber. It has been a great mistake, the sleeping in rooms carefully closed, and in beds surrounded by curtains. No outward air that may come in to you is so unwholesome as the unchanged air, often breathed, in a close chamber. 66 Physicians, after having for ages contended that the sick should not be indulged with fresh air, have at length discovered that it may do them good. It is therefore to be hoped, that they may in time discover, likewise, that it is not hurtful to those in health; and that we may then be cured of the arophobia that at present distresses weak minds, and makes them choose to be stifled and poisoned, rather than leave open the window of a bed-chamber, or put down the glass of a coach." Frequent bathing is another means of preserving health. Happily it is ceasing to be thought that neither the cold nor the warm bath should be used, unless prescribed by a physician. The water should be slightly warmed, so as not to produce a chill, yet not warm enough to relax the system. Ten or fifteen minutes is long enough to remain in the bath. CHAPTER XIII. POLITENESS. "There is nothing so difficult to learn, as the kind of politeness which is neither ceremonious nor familiar; it seems a trifle, but it requires a foundation in ourselves, for no one acquires it, if it is not inspired by early habit or elevation of mind."-MADAME DE STAEL. TRUE politeness has its origin in the heart; but the external expression of it is what is commonly called good manners. Who has not acknowledged its charm, and yielded to its influence? 1. It is necessary to understand the customs of the place where you are, to avoid any departure from conventional good manners. In going into company, a young lady should learn the mode of entrée. In our country it is customary to take the gentleman's arm who accompanies you, and walking up to the lady of the house, to drop a courtesy -very gracefully, of course. If this is the custom, she should take his left arm, and in walking and riding the left side, thus leaving his right arm free. These things seem trifling; but by understanding them, much embarrassment may be escaped. At a dinner-party, be sure to know, before you leave the drawing-room, whether the first seat at the table belongs of right to yourself; if so, never decline it; if it does not, you will find yourself very awkwardly situated, if some gentleman, not knowing his own place, interfere with the arrangements of the lady of the house, and place you at her right hand. A quick and observant eye will soon give you a knowledge of any local peculiarities in etiquette, to which you can readily conform. A truly well-bred lady is such everywhere; she would handle an ivory chop-stick in China as gracefully as a silver fork at home, or a steel one, if she happened to be where they used no other. Even if it should have but two prongs, and incommode her not a little, she would take no notice of it; for true politeness avoids giving E pain. We have seen young ladies assume such airs-on occasions where they had met with things different from what they had been accustomed to see at home-such airs as made them quite ridiculous. 2. A well-bred woman should be perfectly self-possessed. To acquire this, a young lady must overcome that natural diffidence, or rather, the mauvaise honte, that will otherwise follow her like her shadow. The fashionable nonchalance, so much admired, cannot be acquired without sacrificing much that is interesting in female character. Everybody repeats, "When a girl ceases to blush, she has lost the greatest charm of beauty;" yet many of these very persons insist upon that imperturbable self-command in a young lady, which cannot be attained without some loss of truthfulness and natural modesty. Novelty and beauty must call forth, in the unsophisticated mind, wonder and admiration; there is no need of the vociferous exclamations of ignorance and vulgarity, nor the gaping wonder of a rustic; but it is unjust to compel the young to suppress entirely their enthusiasm, and practise the nil admirari. From practising this show of indifference, they come at last to feel it, and half the pleasure of the spring-time of life is crushed, and the mind and heart hopelessly injured. Even the attentive and observing habit of mind, upon which so much depends, is destroyed, and those tame, unmeaning characters are formed, who move about like automata-the mindless puppets of the ball-room, the pretty "wall-flowers" of the drawing-room. Every well-educated woman should be self-controlled. This comes more properly under moral discipline; yet it should form the foundation of that self-possession which is to be desired-very different from that self-satisfied and self-confident manner, which is so disagreeable in a young lady. The opposite extreme from the retiring diffidence of a young lady, which is pardonable, is that noisy, hoydenish freedom of manner, which is not, inasmuch as it is extremely troublesome, as well as contrary to good taste. The dull monotony, arising from the system of bringing everybody to the same standard of quiescence, can be borne with more patience than the din of these romps, or the hue and cry of sentimentalists, like Dr. Syntax, in search of the picturesque. The quiet, unpretending dignity of a perfectly polite lady, is as far removed from one extreme as the other. 3. Gracefulness of motion is delightful, especially where it springs from an innocent and free spirit retained from childhood. A voice "sweet and low," and a manner courteous and gentle, are indeed "excellent in woman," but they should flow from the law of kindness written in the heart. These pleasing expressions of politeness should not be neglected; they are like the beautiful colour and rich perfume of the flower, or the graceful meandering of the rivulet, which add so great a charm to both. 4. Due deference to age and superiority. The primness of boarding-school misses has called forth sufficient animadversion and ridicule. There is little danger that these manners will continue long after their emancipation from the stocks and back-board; there is commonly excitement and pleasure enough in recovered freedom, to overcome the temporary formality which has been thus produced. At public places young ladies cannot be too quiet, nor too reserved; here, indeed, "silence is gold." Their whispering and giggling, at concerts and other places, where some people go to hear, are intolerable. It is not only illbred, but actually unjust, thus to deprive our neighbour of his rights. Who does not dread the neighbourhood of a reigning belle on such occasions? It is a grievous fault for a young lady to be so exclusively occupied with gentlemen in society, as to pay no attention to the ladies; not a very uncommon fault, either. A beautiful and admired lady, the centre of attraction, appears truly lovely when she endeavours to make others appear to the best advantage, and when, seeking out some modest, retiring girl, who has retreated to a corner, she forgets herself in contributing to the enjoyment of another. The older ladies, too, have a claim upon your attention; they, be sure, do not like to be neglected; doubtless they often forego their own pleasure to oblige you, and it is ungrateful to |