LETTER-WRITING FOR GIRLS A CENTTTRY AGO.

IN the matter of letter-writing women have always held their own, and not a few of the great letter-writer's have been women; which may be understood when we consider that for a long time letter-writing would seem to have been one of the few intellectual diversions open to women, who were encouraged to exercise themselves in it long before education, as we have it now, was open to them. The other day the present writer came across a quaint little book, written at the beginning of last century, and apparently intended as a " complete letter-writer " for the young of both sexes. The title-page reads as follows :—" The Juvenile Correspondent, or Scriptural and Moral Instructor for the Use of Schools. By a Clergyman and Preceptor of Youth. London : Printed for Laskington, Allen, and Co., Temple of the Muses, Finsbury Square. 1813." We do not know where the "Temple of the Muses" is, or if it still exists, but presume it to have been a publishing house of repute in those days. Besides models of letters, the book contains an address given in a school " on the occasion of the Execution of two men for having Robbed and Wounded Mr. N.," and an address to officers in the Army and Navy, the latter of which contains sentences that might have been written yesterday, so applicable are they to the present. But the model letters presented for the use of the young could only have been written in the time of Mrs. Sherwood, and present a faithful picture of customs and manners in the beginning of the nineteenth century. Take, for example, the following :— " MY Dxen Nizcz,—Mr. Markham informs me that he is going to York on Wednesday; and the occasion of writing to you is too pleasing to be neglected. I have indeed long waited to send the miniature you so affectionately requested, by some friendly con- veyance. He has obligingly offered to deliver it. Our friends say it is a very correct likeness : I heartily wish that you may think it such; and hope that it will afford some remembrance, when I shall be no more, of an aunt who - has the sincerest affec- tion for you. The only circumstance that has occurred, worth mentioning, since you left us, is the establishment of a service, at our parish church, every Sunday evening. This was long a most desirable object, and will, I doubt not, produce very excellent effects, especially on the lower class of inhabitants, who are often prevented from attending in the day time. All your friends in this town are well, except Mrs. Larkins, who still languishes under her long and painful disorder. Pray remember me very kindly to Mr. and Mrs. Forster, and accept yourself the most cordial wishes of, My dear Caroline, Your ever affectionate AUNT."

The strictness of the regime under which girls were brought up in those days is shown in the following :—

"DEAR ALICIA,—With much concern I find myself obliged to decline your kind invitation, and it is with great reluctance that I mention the reason ; but Mamma has desired that you may know it. You cannot but remember the displeasure she evinced when you favoured me with a visit ; we were, undoubtedly, riotous; though I very readily confess, that my vivacity encouraged your's; of course, I was most to blame. We are, therefore, for this time, deprived of the pleasure of being together : but I shall endeavour, by my future behaviour, to convince Mamma that I am sorry for having offended her. I have already acknowledged, in words, a sense of my misconduct; I hope to prove it by my actions. She is so affectionate, that the present disappointment will, I am sure, be the only mark of her dissatis. faction I shall experience.—Your's sincerely.

(This letter requires an apology from Alicia to the young lady's mamma.) " - - We cannot help wishing that Miss Alicia's letter• of apology had been printed.

Our great-grandmothers seem to have dealt very faithfully with each other as far as faults of disposition, are concerned, as this next delightfully frank epistle goes to show :- "Did you, dear Charlotte, notice the behaviour of Miss Spenser last night? It could hardly escape your observation. To be dis- composed for a very trifle, and then to be sullen for the rest of the evening ! This incident has made me reflect on so unhappy a dis- position: how uncomfortable it must make every one who is exposed to its baneful influence; how miserable must be the person possessed of so gloomy a temper; for certain it is, that, if others are distressed by its exertion, the party on whom it preys is considerably more so. I have faults enough, Heaven knows, and dare not, like the proud Pharisee in the Gospel, exalt myself above my neighbours; yet I hope and trust that this morose quality forms no part of my character, as I am confident it does not of your's. Were I conscious of having a grain of it in my composition, its eradication would be the constant object of my prayers and my efforts. Say candidly your opinion in this respect, and do not spare me.—Most affectionately your's."

We can only hope that Charlotte's answer was in as austere a vein !

The letters addressed to parents —or rather, to mothers, for the good man who compiled the series does not seem to have contemplated the possibility of young ladies wishing to write to their fathers—are just what we should expect from the tone of Mrs. Sherwood's books. We can quite well imagine Lucy Fairchild penning the following :—

"Howounsn Mankm,—Corresponding with you is such a source of gratification that I seize with eagerness every occasion which offers of writing, and this pleasure is increased by the flattering idea that my honoured parent will read that which I write with equal satisfaction. My pen glides on without fear, from a con- sciousness that every error will be viewed through the medium of parental tenderness only ; and that any feeble attempt at excel- lence will receive the most ample praise. Having, however, written so lately and so fully, I should have deferred scribbling again some time longer, had not my uncle just sent word that a basket of game will be forwarded to you this evening. I could not miss so favourable an opportunity of again repeating how sincerely I am, with the most respectful and affectionate senti- ments, Honoured Madam, Your ever dutiful DA17GHTER."

We have before mentioned the frankness of the young ladies of that generation with regard to each other's faults, but cannot forbear quoting the following gem :—

"DEAR Haamgr,—In a former letter I mentioned Miss N.'s expulsion from school; we have since lost Miss T. With a dis- position somewhat less hurtful, indeed, to others, she was equally miserable herself. The failing of this young lady was, as you know, not malice, but envy ; she could not endure the superior talents of her companions, at the same time she made no efforts to equal their acquirements. So just is the remark of a favourite poet,—

Base Envy withers at another's joy.

And hates that excellence it cannot reach!

This unhappy vice, like that of Malice, preys on its own vitals ; views every accomplishment, whether personal or mental, through a distorted medium. With a mind too circumscribed for the residence of emulation, it admits only of detraction. Even virtue itself is too often exposed to its pestiferous breath. It was peculiarly unfortunate to have two such characters as Miss N. and Miss T. in one seminary. Happily, however, both have left us ; and we who remain congratulate one another on being freed from such unamiable companions. We flatter ourselves that you will soon again join our agreeable society, which is the sincere wish of, My dear Harriet, Your affectionate Friend."

This frankness is only equalled by the thoroughness with which the mothers dissect the characters of young relations for the edification of their own daughters. For forcibleness of expression and severity of judgment we have never seen anything to equal this letter from a mother to her daughter:— "DEAR Es a,—If I write with a portion of acrimony you must not attribute my unusual style to any change of affection towards you, but to my present disposition. Mary and I have undergone near a fortnight's punishment, which may account for a little spleen against the author of our punishment. Your cousin Anne has just left us. She came on Friday se'nnight, in consequence of my invitation. When she arrived, your aunt's chariot was filled with band-boxes, of every size and shape; together with so many small volumes that the carriage appeared like a travelling book- case. Encircled with these appendages, it was some time before room could be made for Anne to get out. I formed no other opinion than that my sister had sent you girls a literary present; judge then my surprise when I found the whole to be a collection of greasy, dog's-eared novels, from the polluted spring of a circulating library. What a reflection on the taste of our sex ! You know that I had not seen Anne for some years. She was at that time an amiable, modest girl, and perfectly rational: now she is constantly in heroics; and, I am sorry to add, can read, with great satisfaction, a monotony of colloquial nonsense. Work was too vulgar an employment for her sublime ideas; therefore, from civility, while we plied our needles, she was indulged in spouting and whining. We are heartily glad that she is gone. I was not only completely tired of her company, but began to be alarmed, as she was twice in love during her visit. One of her favourite swains was the postman, whom she actually conceived to be some gentle youth of noble blood in disguise What a pity that so rational an amusement as reading should be per- verted! Mary and you are, I trust, free from your cousin's un- fortunate predilection. May you ever continue so ! Accept our love, and remember us very kindly to Mrs. Bathurst.—Believe me to be, at all times, my dear Emma's Affectionate Mamma."

We will conclude these extracts from a most entertaining little book with the following dreadful warning of the perils of education, which we hope any young ladies who are con- templating a residence at Newnham or Girton will carefully peruse :—

" DRAB JANE,—We have just lost one of our neighbours, Mrs. Craddock, whose name you have heard me mention. She was what the world calls a learned lady : that is, she understood Latin and Greek, together with some of the abstruse sciences. No great harm in that, you will say. True; there cannot be any thing amiss in acquiring knowledge : but the lady in question devoted her whole time to study, and thus neglected the more essential duties of her family. Her husband, disappointed of that society, which he had expected to find in the conjugal state, sought company abroad, became a drunkard, and died early in life; their three children, all girls, were forced to learn all that Mrs. Craddock had acquired, though perfectly contrary to their natural inclinations ; they knew as little the use of the needle as their studious mother, and were equally ignorant of all household affairs For my own part, though very friendly to learning, and honouring its votaries, yet I cannot help thinking that the character of a savante is not quite adapted to our sex. In my opinion, a woman never appears to so great advantage, as when displaying her talents in a family circle. I have ventured to speak my sentiments: tell me, candidly, your's.—I am, your affectionate Friend."

The model letters for young gentlemen are no less enter- taining, but as they do not come within the scope of this article we will not quote any of them, though they are very tempting. Will our great-grandchildren, we wonder, discover with delight our old school-books, and entertain their con- temporaries with them P We cannot tell, but it may be so, therefore we will not say too much about the methods of education in our great-grandmothers' time, except to recog- nise gratefully that we live in other and more genial days.