the produce of the seed, spun by their own hands, supplied them with all the linen they used, and often enabled them to make presents to their mothers or sisters.

In this cold climate woollen garments are requisite in winter, and, in order to provide so necessary a comfort, she completed her bounty by three or four sheep apice, the fleeces of which afforded an ample supply for stockings, petticoats, gowns, &c. so that the whole wardrobe of these bonny Scotch lassies, their shoes excepted, was the work of their own industrious hands, and much better adapted to their situation in life than the frippery of London servants, which confounds all distinctions.

The employments, in Scotland, of farm-house servants, are not confined to mere household work: they spin and knit for the whole family; and, particularly in hay and corn harvest, assist the out-door labourers to get in the crops.

In return for the kind protection of such a mistress as Mrs. Grant, there seems to have been a strong attachment, on the part of her servants, towards her, which probably arose from the gentleness of her manners, as well as from the habits of the people. As they enter into service when very young, and remain in the same family many years, without an idea of roving from place to place, for the sake of novelty or an additional guinea, a mutual attachment is formed, of unspeakable benefit to both parties. The servant finds a sure friend, at all times, in their master or mistress; whilst they, on the other hand, feel a confidence in the probity and

good intentions of their domestics. When I compare such a happy connexion, with the distrust and suspicion that too frequently subsists between the same classes in this part of the world, I regret our inferiority, and ám led to inquire into the causes of it. The false pride and luxurious habits of our gentry, prevent them from taking such an interest in the concerns of their servants as must attach them, if they are capable of being won by kindness; and this is a principal cause of their indifference towards those whom they serve. Both parties are guided by self-interest. The master is too often satisfied, if his work is done and his caprices gratified, without any consideration for the morals, health, or permanent establishment of his servants. Late hours, bad example, dissipation in the parlour and in the kitchen, are too frequent amongst the great. The servants easily adopt the errors of their superiors, and, if innocent, when first introduced into irregular families, almost unavoidably become profligate, wasteful, and unprincipled.

The middle class of families presents a more agreeable picture. The servants are not so numerous, nor the distance between them and their employers so great, but they are well known to each other. The amiable qualities of each gain notice, and the daily intercourse that passes between them, unavoidably forms a degree of regard, unless there be great defects of temper or conduct to prevent it.

The train of gentle virtues that peculiarly belong to women, qualify them to win the hearts of their domestics, and improve their characters by useful instruction;

given, not as formal lectures, but by the harmonious arrangement of every department in their household, by the strict example of their own conduct, and by a sincere concern for their welfare in every respect.

The misconduct of servants is a common subject of complaint, but many excuses are to be made for their defects. They mostly arise from ignorance, want of instruction, early prejudices, and the influence of lowminded associates, to which they have been subject from their birth.

Such a plausible apology cannot be made for those of superior rank, who treat their dependents with haughtiness or ill-humour, unmindful that there are some services that money cannot repay.

The benevolent Fenelon has drawn a charming portrait of a young woman exercising domestic authority with mildness and discretion, in the beautiful character of Antiope.

"The good order of her father's house," says he, " is her glory, and a greater ornament to her than her beauty. Although she has the care of every thing, and authority to reprove, to refuse, to retrench (the exer cise of which makes almost all women odious) yet she is beloved by the whole family for they do not find in her, passion, obstinacy, levity, petulance, as in many of her sex. By a single look she can make herself understood, and every body fears displeasing her. She gives exact orders; requiring nothing of any but what they are capable of performing. She reproves with kindness, and encourages while she reproves. The heart of

her father reposes on her; as a traveller, exhausted by the violent heat of the sun, reposes under a shade on the

tender grass.

"Thus Antiope, without assuming any authority, or availing herself of her charms, will one day temper the heart of her husband, as she now fingers her lyre, when she would draw from it the most ravishing notes. What a model for imitation! and, however amiable its features, there is nothing unattainable in it. Self-government, gentle manners, and due consideration for others, are the basis on which the character of a good mistress must stand; and were they more generally the principles by which heads of families guided their conduct, a new order of servants would arise, honest, diligent, and faithful."

VIRTUE THE VOICE OF NATURE.

NOTHING is more grateful to a generous mind, than to see the influence of a virtuous action upon men in general, and especially upon those whose interest or prejudices warp them against the person who has performed it. It is a demonstration, that a sense of what is right and just is implanted in every human breast, which, though stified by vicious inclinations, can never be extinguished; and whenever it is called forth, by admiration for that excellence in another which the owner has not courage to practise, it bursts out in loud applauses.

Times of difficulty and disturbance call into action the magnanimous virtues of patriotism, disinterestedness, and generosity, which would have been unknown in the tranquility of a happier period.

It happened, whilst he was

The object of the Scotch rebellion, in 1745, was to place Charles, the son of James the Second, on the throne; who, by his ill-conduct, lost the affections of his people, and he with his descendants, were declared by the public voice incapable of reigning. This unfortunate young man received the name of the Pretender, and being unsuccessful in his attempt to regain the crown his father had so foolishly abandoned, underwent great hardships and dangers before he could find an opportunity of returning to France. He was often obliged to conceal himself in the humblest cottages, and sometimes to lie hid in woods and morasses, without any shelter from the weather. a wanderer and a fugitive, driven from haunt to haunt, that he was received with humanity at the house of a gentleman of good family, though reduced to a narrow situation. The circumstance soon became known, and involved the host in some trouble for his hospitality. He was apprehended as a disloyal person (though he had taken no part in the rebellion) and was obliged to answer for his conduct in a court of justice. The judge demanded, in an austere voice, how he dared to give assistance to the king's greatest enemy; and whether he could urge a substantial reason why, as one who had always conducted himself with loyalty, he had not delivered up the pretender, for which he would have re

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