which Constantia had been con- '' said she, "is the source of my language of contending passions || gold, which are commonly se could possibly supply. Having rapidly perused this letter, I endeavoured to console my poor weeping friend, by representing it as the wild effusion of a very worthy but misguided man, whose quins*; thus continually carrying about her the enviable marks of affluence and superiority, while the wretched Calogria follows her as a servant, arrayed in simple homespun brown, and without the most undeserved calamities had impair-distant hope of ever changing her conditiou. Such a disparity may seem intolerable, but what will not custom reconcile? Neither are the misfortunes of the family yet at an end. The father and mother, with what little is left them, contrive by their industry, to accumulate a second little fortune, and this, if they should have a third daughter, they are obliged to give to her upon her marriage, and the fourth, if there should be one, becomes her Calogria; and so on thro' all the daughters, alternately. Whenever the daughter is marriageable, she can by custom compel the father to procure her a husband, and the mother, such is the power of habit, is foolish enough to join in teazing him into an immediate compliance, though its consequences must be equally fatal and ruinous to both of them. From hence it happens that nothing is more common than to see the old father and mother reduced to the utmost indigence, and even begging about the streets, while their unnatural daughters are in affluence; and we ourselves have fre * This species of finery, which prevails through many of the islands, is never worn in Metelin, but when full dress is deemed necessary. quently been shown the eldest daughter parading it through the town in the greatest splendour, while her mother and sister followed her as servants, and made a melancholy part of her attendant train. The sons, as soon as they are of an age to gain a livelihood, are turned out of the family, sometimes with a small present or portion, but more frequently without any thing to support them; and thus reduced, they either endeavour to live by their labour, or, which is more usual, go on board some trading vessels as sailors, or as servants, and remaining abroad till they have gathered together some competency, and then returning home to marry and to be henpecked. Some few there are who, taking advantage of the Turkish law, break through this whimsical custom, who marry their Calogrias, and retain to themselves a competent provision; but these are accounted men of a singular and even criminal disposition, and are hated and despised as conformists to Turkish manners, and deserters of their native customs; so that we may suppose they are few indeed, who have the boldness to depart from the manners of their country, to adopt the customs of their detested masters, and to brave the contempt, the derision, and the hatred of their neighbours and fellow-citizens. Of all these extraordiny particu lars, I was informed by the French consul, a man of sense and of indisputable veracity, who had resided in this island for several years, and who solemnly assured me, that every circumstance was true; but indeed our own observation left us without the least room for doubt, and the singular appearance and deportment of the ladies fully evinced the truth of our friend's relation. In walking through the town, it is easy to perceive, from the whimsical manners of the fe male passengers, that the women, according to the vulgar phrase, wear the breeches. They frequently stopped us in the streets, examined our dress, interrogated us with a bold and manly air*, laughed at our foreign garb and appearance, and shewed so little attention to that decent modesty, which is, or ought to be, the true characteristic of the sex; that there is every reason to suppose they would, in spite, of their haughtiness, be the kindest ladies upon earth, if they were not strictly watched by the Turks, who are here very numerous, and would be ready to punish any transgression of their ungallant laws with arbitrary fines. * In the nineteenth epistle of the first book, Horace applies an epithet to Sap. pho, which might with great aptness be given to her present countrywomen : "Temperat Archilochi Musam pede mascula Sappho." (To be continued.) For the Lady's Miscellany. FROM whom should I have expected such a reply to my remarks on the Bachelor's soliloquy, as is made by a person under the signature of Cupid, but from one over whom Cupid has full controul. Oh, why should'st thou, fabulous god of love, direct the conjugal bonds, when to earth's contracted span thou art bound; when to all felicity thou art a stranger, but to such as from earth's filthy tools may be slip'd,. Oh, thou cunning archer, subtle as Lucifer, and half ás good, at me thy arrows are shot in vain; for are not bonds of matrimony form'd in heaven, whereunto thy arrows cannot reach. To earth, to earth thy destin'd orbe, thou art confin'd, and as other reptiles, perform thy office in thy allotted sphere. Presume not to point inteligent creation the path of matrimonial felicity, when brutes and brutalis'd man, thou canst only teach the scanty sum of sensual love. Never more stain the pages of this useful vehicle of communication by thy insinuations. Morden may take it for granted that a serious answer from him, wil be duly noticed. NUPTIAL TIES. Every one thinks that he has more than his share of brains. For the Lady's Miscellany. Messrs. EDITORS. HAD not H. C. H. so ungenerously excluded widows, from the pleasure of ever hoping to have the honour of bearing his name, this might be considered as an answer; but as I unfortunately come under the prohibited class who are for him doom'd to wander in the willow grove or leap into Rosamond's pond, my following a good example, though it may flatter his judgement, will not his vanity. I am a widow in want of a Husband, to shield me from the storms of life, to participate. its pains and pleasures, joys and griefs, but as I rather suppose few men, would like to take a wife, without having some account of. her person, age, and circumstances, I will candidly confess, I have no fortune either in possession or reversion; I am a thick, short, brown, hard-featur'd woman, and having in my youth (for that is past) been accustomed to weed. the garden, the sun has entirely destroyed that softness in skin, tha beauty-hunters so much admire, nor can I boast of the rose on my cheek, Nor e'en a smile in my eye, Neither blushes or dimples will: make the men sigh: so that my future helpmate will not have the pangs of jealousy to apprehend :-now, having described my age, situation and charms, I must tell you what I can do, I Yours, ete. LAURET TA. me you will receive one favour.Be assured that when next I aim, that if the bow should be as all mine are, favoured by my mother's hand, and off the most elastic limb of our most fragrant tree, the themes are of so singular a nature, that they adhere to the arrow, else where the pain. No, no, thou boasters, since thus you brave my power, not a feather will my inother suffer even to pull from the wings of her favourite bird, to alleviate the pangs; nor will I select a disciple of Minerva's, as the object; she has so long defied me, that all females who inlist under her banners, are by me doomed to apathy. Therefore, if you are not content with youth, beauty, and prirality, abide by the consequence. But experience will teach you to know, that you must gather the thorn with the rose. P. S. All I require in the man I shall know, by making him master of my person, is to be rich, sober, and industrious, and good tempered, as I possess an excellent one myself, and if I always have my own way I'm never out of temper; all candidates are to apply through the medium of this paper, and may expect answers if without hope from me. they merit them. L. N. B. For widows bewitched have long ago declared themselves outlaw'd. Therefore,they lay at the mercy of every tormentor, and are CUPID. |