It has often &longs;urpri&longs;ed me to find that people who
have, with unbounded genero&longs;ity, educated, cloathed,
and fo&longs;tered an infant in childhood, indulging
it to an extravagant degree, never &longs;uffering it to be
contradicted, but bringing it up in ea&longs;e aud luxury,
&longs;hall, when that infant arrives at years of maturity,
when it has attained &longs;en&longs;e and rea&longs;on &longs;ufficient to
enable it to judge what will mo&longs;t conduce to its
own happine&longs;s, for the mo&longs;t trifling mi&longs;demeanor,
nay, for only daring to think contrary to its benefactors,
or pre&longs;uming to choo&longs;e a companion for
it&longs;elf, &longs;purn from them, with indignity, the object
they once cheri&longs;hed, and drive it out defencele&longs;s to
brave tho&longs;e &longs;torms of adver&longs;ity which the education
they have be&longs;towed on it renders it totally unable to
combat with—it has often puzzled me to determine
whether &longs;uch people have ever been actuated by true
genero&longs;ity. Pure philanthropy will lead us rather
to &longs;tudy the happine&longs;s of a human being, when it
is capable of receiving real &longs;atisfaction from our
kindne&longs;s. So far from evincing our affection to
children by unlimited indulgencies, we are acting
with cruelty toward them, &longs;ince we are laying up
a fund of di&longs;content and unea&longs;ine&longs;s for hereafter.
How hard is it for tho&longs;e darlings of families, who&longs;e
every de&longs;ire has been complied with, who never

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wi&longs;hed for a toy or bauble but it was procured,
though at the mo&longs;t exorbitant price, who was always
fed with the greate&longs;t dainties, to find, when
arrived at maturity, that they are journeying thro'
a world where they will unavoidably meet with
di&longs;appointments, vexation, and trouble—for my
part, I would never indulge my children in a wi&longs;h
which I thought might tend hereafter to render
them unhappy; I would teach them to confine
their de&longs;ires within the bounds of moderation, not
by moro&longs;ely oppo&longs;ing all their little fancies, but by
in&longs;en&longs;ibly drawing off their attention to any other
objects.

As they advanced in years, I would, by example,
teach them that forbearance and &longs;elf-denial,
which precept alone will ever fail to effect. If
they have affluence, let them enjoy every rea&longs;onable
wi&longs;h of their hearts; and no one need inquire what
is to be done with the overplus.

Oh! ye &longs;ons and daughters of pro&longs;perity, look
around you; &longs;ee, in you little man&longs;ion lies a mother;
a few hours &longs;ince made her the parent of her
&longs;eventh child; &longs;he is in a &longs;ituation, of all others
the mo&longs;t de&longs;erving pity; &longs;he has &longs;carcely the means
to &longs;upport life; &longs;he is on a bed of pain and weakness;
pain, my lovely country women, from which
none of you are exempt, and which, no doubt, you
think almo&longs;t in&longs;ufferable, though you are surrounded
with all the comforts and ble&longs;&longs;ings of life—that
poor woman has no comfort—her hu&longs;band is at
&longs;ea, labouring, watching, toiling for a &longs;mall pittance,
which he hopes to bring home to his wife
and children—&longs;he has angui&longs;h of mind added to
the &longs;ickne&longs;s of her frame—have you no trifle to
&longs;pare, Madam, which might, in &longs;ome mea&longs;ure,

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alleviate that poor creature's &longs;ufferings? Two or
three of tho&longs;e guineas will never be mi&longs;&longs;ed by you,
and they will be a trea&longs;ure to her.—You cannot
&longs;pare them—you had rather lay them out in an hobby
hor&longs;e for ma&longs;ter, or a wax baby for mi&longs;s—if
the dear creatures are di&longs;appointed, they will fret
and &longs;poil their pretty faces with crying; and what
mother can refu&longs;e her little darlings any thing they
a&longs;k for?

Oh! &longs;hame on thee, woman; thou ha&longs;t not one
&longs;park of genuine maternal tenderne&longs;s in thy composition,
or thou woulde&longs;t prefer ea&longs;ing the pangs
of a wretched mother who&longs;e heart is pierced by the
cries of her children wanting bread, rather than by
gratifying the caprice of thy own children—lead
them to &longs;et no farther value on the wealth which
Providence has entru&longs;ted to their care, than as it
may &longs;erve to purcha&longs;e plea&longs;ure, di&longs;&longs;ipation, and folly.

Your wealth was certainly given you to purcha&longs;e
plea&longs;ure; but plea&longs;ures far, very far different from
tho&longs;e you are &longs;o eager in the pur&longs;uit of—Go wipe
the tear from the eye of affliction; cloathe the
poor naked wretch who, nightly unhou&longs;ed in &longs;ome
&longs;ad lonely place, braves &longs;torms and tempe&longs;ts, heats
and pinching cold—go relea&longs;e the unfortunate
trade&longs;man, who through the inattention, folly, or
villainy of others, has lo&longs;t his property, and now
&longs;ighs out his long, long hours in a pri&longs;on—Go &longs;eek
the wretched mortals, who, by dire misfortune reduced,
oppre&longs;&longs;ed by the iron hand of affliction, &longs;it
&longs;tarving in ob&longs;curity, and, rather than a&longs;k the cruel
world for a&longs;&longs;i&longs;tance, or blazon forth their heart-felt
&longs;orrows, would &longs;ink to the &longs;ilent grave, victims to
famine in the land of plenty.

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I know, Madam, you will &longs;ay I am very dull,
that I have given you the vapours, that the&longs;e are
phantoms of my own creating—would to Heaven
they were! but, alas! the&longs;e things I have &longs;een, and
my heart has bled, that I had not power to relieve
them.

Oh! I could tell &longs;uch tales of woe, drag forth
&longs;uch vile ingratitude to light, that human nature
would di&longs;claim the being who could practi&longs;e it.