Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-06-14

jmonso an0 polite literature seem 70 DO
he only end Of her education. Those
things that sdorn her youth aud add bril-
lisncy to her attractions, that serve to
please and dazzle, desert her in retire
,nent, are forgotten in the domestic cir
Gle, and extinguished in age, unless
moro solid wisdom than is generally
taught turns them to blessings. They
ought not to be neglected, however, for
they contribute great deal to ease the
load of life, or to make il delightful
burthen. But they should not be the
sole nor the principal object Of instruc-
ton; they should be grated upon the
soft and tender virtues Of the heart they
should be entwined az ornaments around
the female character, and not themselves
constitute the character. They should
not be the business Of life, but the means
Of relaxation, and Of pleasing and profit
able retirement. In infancy no cruel
instruction should teach her to sacrifice
the lives ard feelings Of animals or in
sects to an unnatural amusement. She
should not be taught to feel pleasure at
the agonies Of any sensitive being, and
thus have the natural elements o! kind
ness and benevolence to all living crea-
lures eracicated from her tender mind.
A foundation thus laid may support NAL
ice, uncharita tableness, and envy in future
years. The first Impressions she re-
ceives ought TO lead her instinctively to
social virtue, to promote general benev-
olence. As she advances to years Of
discretion, her views being we'll directed
and fixed upon her exalted duty in the
several stations she may 6Il, and being
taught that social happiness is the end of
life, she will turn auxiliary accomplish
ments to their proper use, and study
them with view to their proper end
At this romantic age, when hopes, and
fears, and attachments take alternate
possession Of her heart, the station she
10 about to fill in the circle of society
the merit that exal's-the virtues that
endear-and the manners that sweeten
intercourse, should be carefully Impress
ed upon her mind. The influence Of ro-
nance and fable, though not to be dis
cardcd, should always be regulated. As
matter Of polite and improving informa-
ton, conveyed in a pleasing form, they
deeply engage the attention and leave a
lasting Impression. When this impress
sion is laid as the foundation for the his
tory Of fable, there is solid and attrac-
tive basis for the knowledge of real his
tory. There are also the elements of
magnanimity, generosity, heroic resolu-
ton in virtue, and all the gentle impulses
Of the heart, deeply infused into the
mlnd. These, under proper direction,
with proper explanation, and proper as-
sociation, will be deprived of all their
injurious Influences. The honey will be
purely extracted and the poison left be-
hind. Without these advantages they
are often the cause of visions and fan
cies that do not belong to our condition
that give false ideas of real life-that
bewilder the mind with fancied happi-
ness-with fancied scenes Of romantic
bliss and pain, the heart with fictitious
and unnatural desires. There is at
present no knight-errantry in the world,
nor any lovers who live because their
mistresses live. There are no enchant-
ed groves, nor any vast and dreary cas-
ties 10 immure the fair amid the gloom
and hollow resounding vacuity of dark
and dismal chambers, from whence they
might be relieved by the daring chivalry
Of some unknown wandering knight
These scenes existed only in the imag-
ination, and they were suggested by the
history of those times when rudeness and
barbarity gave a licence to power to
commit what ravages and wrongs it
pleased; when feudal barons were little
restrained by the supremacy Of king;
when they had their own castles and for
tresses, and set him at defiance, and
when they imprisoned and punished their
captives according to their resentments
or caprices. To look back through the
history Of those times is an instructive
aud useful employment, and when it is
Sweetened by the imagination, the profit
is increased by the pleasure. But when
these scenes are believed to have been
real, and that nothing but tho degenera-
cy Of mankind prevents them from ex-
listing again, the mind, the manners, and
the feelings, must be injured by the in
Auence of such an erroneous imagina-
tiou. To point the direction of such
studies, ought to be much attended to in
female education. Some disapprove Of
them altogether, because they may do
harm, but the same kind Of reasoning
would induce them to take no food, nor
rest, nor exercise, neither TO be asleep,
nor to be awake, for fear Of the danger
that might snsue. The injury arising
from any thing, ID from its excess, not
fom its proper use. That there may be
q proper use made Of fictitious history is
doubtlsss, indeed there is no sursr source