neglected, that the celebrated Petrarch could not in Italy, nor France, find one perfon capable of instructing him in it: the Latin was known in a rude and imperfect manner only to a few; and hardly was there to be found a woman, who could read the language of her own country; and if fuch a one was here and there to be met with, she was reckoned a kind of prodigy. When the men, who before had spent their days in tournaments and feats of arms, began to turn their attention towards the arts of peace, the women were like wife laid under the neceffity of varying their mode of education: as they found that the fame arts which effectually captivated a Knight clad in armour and igno. rance, were in vain practifed upon the enlightened scholar and philosopher. Ambitious ftill to retain the power they already poffeffed, and conscious that the way to please the men was to feem fond of what they approved of, and diflike what they disliked; they applied themselves to letters and to philofophy, hoping to keep poffeffion by their talents, of what they had gained by their charms. Though thefe measures were not calculated to infpire love, and attract the heart, and confequently did not produce the effects which the Ladies intended, yet they raised them in that period to a pitch of learning unknown in any other. They preached in public, fupported controverfies, published and defended Thefes's, filled the chairs of philofophy and law, harangued the Popes in Latin, wrote Greek, and read Hebrew: nuns became poeteffes, women of quality divines, and young girls, with a loftnefs of eloquent enthusiasm, publicly exhorted the Chriftian Princes to take up arms for the recovery of the Holy Land. The learned languages were now considered as indifpenfably neceffary; they were taught not only to men, but to women of almoft all ranks and conditions; who, not con› tent with Latin only, often read the Old Teftament in Hebrew, and the New in Greek. In this manner was female genius turned into a wrong channel; it was diverted from the duties of domeftic life; it was either foured by study, or rendered petulant by learning; and, while it acquired empty words and falfe philofophy, it loft much of its native fprightlinefs, and became daily more an object of admiration, and lefs an object of love. Violent exertions of mind, as well as of body, conftantly leave a languor behind them, in proportion to the efforts' that have been made. This was remarkably the cafe with female literature; every mental power had been for a long time overftretched, and the greatest relaxation foot followed of confequence: from their know. ledge of Hebrew, Greek, and Latin; from their skill in the empty difputations of Ariftotelian philosophy, and of divinity; women began at laft to discover, that they acquired only an empty fame; and that in proportion as they gained the efteem of the head, they became lefs objects of the heart. On this discovery, it was neceffary for them to change their plan; they therefore began by degrees to abandon learning, and attach themselves again to thofe fe male arts, which were more likely to be productive of love, than of fame and ap plaufe. While this change of female manners was taking place, the greatest part of Europe exhibited a fcene of feeming inconfiftency; enthusiasm and gallantry, religion and licentioufnefs, were conftantly practised by the fame persons, and seemed as if perfectly reconciled to each other. Learning, however, declined fo faft, that in a fhort time women became as famous for ignorance of their own language as formerly for their knowledge of others; infomuch that, during a great part of the fixteenth and feventeenth centuries, there was hardly a woman to be found in the politeft countries of Europe, who could dictate a tolerable letter in her own tongue, or spell it with decent propriety: the only little reading which they at this period commonly concerned themselves with, was a few receipts in cookery to bring on, and a few receipts in phylic to take off diseases ; together with the wrangling and unintelligible theology of the times; a science to which women of all ages and countries have been peculiarly addicted, as it greatly interefts their paffions; and, perhaps, confoles them in the many folitary moments in which they are left alone, and as it were excluded frøm business and from the world. But even these favourite ttudies, and every other part of female amusement and ceconomy, not being fufficient to fill up all their vacant hours, they now applied themselves affiduoufly to various kinds of needle-work; and many women of the firft rank were themselves taught, and inftructed their daughters in, the arts of flowering and embroidery; which they practifed fo well in their leisure hours, that much of the furniture of their houfes was decorated with their own hands. After the discovery and conqueft of America, immenfe treasures had been conftantly imported from thence into Europe. From the trade carried on to the East and Weft Indies, to Africa, and other parts of the globe, perhaps ftill greater wealth had been accumulated; thefe at laft beginning to operate, turned the minds of the greatest part of Europe from that fober and œconomical plan of life, to which their poverty and imperfect knowledge of trade and agriculture had fubjected them; and subftituted in its place gaiety, expence, and parade. Numbers of people, who, perhaps, not in the most rigid paths of justice, had acquired immenfe fortunes in the Eaft, tranfported themselves back to Europe, bringing along with them all the arrogance of wealth, effeminacy of manners, and love of pageantry and show, for which the eastern nations have ever been remark able. These, and feveral other caufes combining together, totally changed the manners of Europe; and inftead of fober frugality, and other domeftic virtues of the women, introduced luxury and diffipation; with a taste for all the tinsel glare of unfubftantial trifles. The French, who have always been remarkably diftinguifhed for vivacity and fhow, took the lead in this new mode of life, and foon diffeminated it all over Europe; which, for at leaft thefe two centuries paft, has aukwardly imitated every light fashion and frippery of that volatile people, with little better fuccefs than a bear dances a hornpipe, or a monkey puts on the gravity of an Alderman. In France, were women first introduced to Court; their education, which before that introduction, confifted in reading their own language, in learning needle-work, and the offices of domeftic life, was then by degrees changed to vocal and inftrumental mufic, drawing, dancing, and dreffing in the most fashionable manner; to which we may add the art of cap tivating and governing their men. This flimfy pattern was copied by every other nation: fome ftrokes of improvement were from time to time added by the French; till at last almost every thing ufeful was boldly ftruck out from the plan of female education; and the women of the prefent age thereby robbed of more than half their native excellence, and rendered objects more fought after to divert a melancholy hour, or fatisfy a lawless paffion, than to become the focial partners of a life directed by reafon and religion. We muft, however, allow, that the French Ladies are not all so much devoted to fathion and pleasure as to neglect every thing else. France has produced feveral women distinguished for their judgment and learning; and even in the present diffipated age, while female coteries commonly meet for diverfion, or for gaming, there are in Paris focieties of women, which meet at ftated times to determine the merit of every new work; and happy is the Author who meets their approbation; the French being too polite to fet themfelves in open oppofition to the judgment of their Ladies, whether they may think it right or wrong. Should this imperfect attempt, to write the Hiftory of the fair, furvive the present, and be read in any future generation, when this frivolous mode of female education fhall have given place to a better, that our readers may then have fome idea of what it was towards the clofe of the eighteenth century, we shall juft sketch the outlines of it as now practifed in the politeft countries of Europe. Among the first leffons, which a mother teaches her daughter, is that important article, according to the modern phrafe, of holding up her head, and learning a proper carriage: this begins to be inculcated at the age of three or four at lateft; and is ftrenuously infifted on for many years afterward. When the young Lady has learned imperfectly to read her own language, and sometimes even fooner, fhe is fent to a boardingschool, where the is inftructed in the most flimfy and useless parts of needle-work; while of thofe, which the muft need, if ever the enters into domeftic life, the is left entirely ignorant. While the is here, fome part of her time is also allotted to learning to read either her own language, or the languages of fome of the neighbouring kingdoms; all of which are too frequently taught without a proper attention to Grammar or Orthography. Writing, and Arithmetic, likewife employ a part of her time; but thefe, particularly the laft, are only confidered as auxiliary accomplishments, which are not to be carried into life, and confequently deserve. but little attention; the grand effort is generally made to teach the girl what the woman will relinquifh; fuch as drawing, music, and dancing; thefe, as they are arts agreeable to youthful fprightlinefs, often engage the young Lady fo much as to make her neglect, or forget every thing elfe. To thefe are added the modes or dreffing in fashion, the punctilios of behaving in company; and we are forry to fay, that into fome fchools have been in troduced masters to teach the fashionable games at cards; a diffipation, if not a vice, which already prevails too much among both fexes, and may perhaps ftill gain ground by this early initiation. Such, in general, is the education of female boarding-schools; in fome, indeed, there may be a few other things taught befides thofe we have mentioned; but whatever be taught, or however they be conducted, it is too true, that the girl, after having been there fome years, comes home to her parents quite a modern fine Lady; with her head full of fcraps of French, names of great people, and quotations from romances and plays; and quite difgufted at the antiquated virtues of fober frugality, order, or ceconomy. We cannot calt our eyes on the picture we have now drawn, without a tecret wifh, that it were lefs juft; nor fhall we drop the curtain before it, without mentioning with pleature, that fome parents adopt a better plan; and that fome young Ladies, even thus educated, have had understanding enough to lay afide the greatest part of the abovementioned frippery, and culti vate fuch knowledge, and fuch virtues, as were ornamental to society, and useful to themselves. Such, with a few trifling variations, is the common courfe of European education; a course, which feems almoft entirely calculated to cultivate the perfonal graces, while the care of the head, and of the heart, is little, if at all, attended to; and the useful duties of domeftic life but too often turned into ridicule, as the obfolete employments of fuch filly women as lived a century or two ago, unacquainted with fashion and with pleasure. Women fo educated may be fought after to help in trifling away an idle hour; but whatever progrefs their perfonal charms may make on the paffions, when the hours of trifling and of paffion are over, they must infallibly be neglected, if not deip fed. With the fop and the beau, creatures ftill more infignificant than themselves. they may perhaps expect a better fate, but let them contider, how little pleasure they generally take in the company and converfa tion of their own fex; and that the fop, and the beau, are only women in breeches. Let fuch alfo, as never entertained an idea but of conquefts and admirers, confider, that when youth and beauty shall be no more, when the crowd of flatterers and admirers fhail have ceafed to attend, fomething will then be neceffary to fill up the void, and prevent the previshness and difguft which it fo often occafions; that the natural fource of this fomething is friendhip; and that friendship cannot exift, unleis it is built upon the foundation of reafon and of fenfe... When we take a retrofpective view of thefe ketches of the education of women, it affords matter of aftonishment, that a fex, who are the fharers of our nature, and destined to be the companions of our lives, thould have been conftantly either fhamefully neglected or perverted by what was meant to ferve as inftruction. In Europe, their education feems only calculated to infpire them with love of admiration, of trifling, and of amusement. In most other places of the globe, it goes a Яep farther; it tends to eradicate every moral fentiment, and introduce vice dreffed up in the garb of voluptuous refinement. Scarcely has there ever appeared in any period, or in any nation, a legiflator, who has made it the fubject of his ferious attention; and the men in general, who are greatly interested, that women should be fenfible and virtuous, feem, by their conduct towards that fex, to have entered into a conspiracy to render them other ways. When fuch is the hard fate of women, we cannot wonder that the want of literary knowledge has in all ages marked the female character: there have, however, in all ages, and among all nations, been fone particular women, who either by being endowed with more genius, or by turning it into another channel, have acquired no incompetent share of the learning of the times in which they lived; thus though we have already feen that the Greek women were in general extremely ignorant, there were fome exceptions to that common character. Arete, the daughter of Ariftippus, taught philofophy, and the fiences, to her fon; who, on that account, was called Metrodidactos; i. c. taught by his mother. Corinna, a Theban poetefs, no less than five time bore away the palm in triumph from the cele brated Pindar; and Afpafia, a noble Milefian Lady, inftructed Pericles, the famous Athenian philofopher. We have already mentioned fome of the learned Roman Ladies. France and England have had a Dacier, a Carter, and many others too tedious to mention. In Italy, where poets, a few centuries ago, were revered as divinities, feveral women have arrived at no mean degree of reputation in that art; and our own times have feen the ceremony of a portefs being folemnly crown ed with laurel at Rome. Thefe particular inftances, however, have no influence on the women in gene ral. A genius of either fex will infallibly foar above the common level; but the herd of mankind, who feel not the fame impulfe, nor are actuated by the fame fire, wil till jog on in the ordinary track; while our warmeft wishes are, that female education were an obj Et more confidered by the legislature, and better planned by parents and guardians. We would not have it understood as our opinion, that women fhould pore out their fair eyes in becoming adepts in literature. Nature feems not to have intended them for the more intense and severe ftudies; befides, fhould they proceed fo far as to rival, or even to equal us in learning, we should perhaps grudge them the laurels of fame, as much as we do the breeches: and the gaining of thefe laurels would rob their brows of many of those charms, which to them are more valuable, as they are by us more esteemed. We pretend not to chalk out the plan in which women should be educated; only this we venture to affirm, that it fhould, if poffible, be fuch as to avoid ignorance on the one hand, and pedantry on the other: ignorance makes a female companion contemptible, pedantry makes her ridiculous; nor is it eafy to fay which of the two are moft difgufting. OBSERVATIONS on the Conduct of MILITARY RETREATS: A By THOMAS SIMES, Esq. Retreat is a manœuvre the most de licate, and the propereft to display the prudence, genius, courage, and addrefs of an Officer who commands; the Histories of all ages teftify it; and Hiftorians have never been fo lavish of eulogiums as on the fubje&t of the brilliant retreats of our Heroes. If it is important, it is no lefs difficult to regulate, on account of variety of circumstances, each of which demands a different principle, and almost an endless detail. Hence a good retreat is esteemed, by experienced Generals, that mafter piece of one. In retreats, all military operations prefent a difficulty of choice, and require deep confideration in the perfon to whofe conduct they are entrusted; there are fome more difficult than others, and where the leaft overfight, either in the difpofition of the troops, or the exactnefs of the evolutions, may be productive of an entire defeat. A General certainly difcourages his own troops, and animates his enemies, by retiring out of the field without fighting; yet as this sometimes must neceffarily happen, it will be most proper to consider how to perform it with honour and fafety immediatelty upon you: to avoid which danger, the cavalry are generally potted in the front of the infantry, to conceal their motions and retreat from the enemy. The first divifions are drawn off first, the others following in their torns; the last maintain their ground till the rest have marched off, and then file off themfelves, and join them in a leisurely and regular fucceffion Some Generals have judged it beft to make their retreat in the night, after reconnoitring their routes, and thus gained fo much ground, that the enemy, not discovering their movement till day-break, were not able to come up with them. The light infantry was alfo fent forward to possess the eminences, under which the army might inftantly retire with fafety, and the enemy, in cafe they purfue, be expofed to the light infantry, matters of the heights, feconded by the cavalry. A rafh and inconfiderate purfuit expofes an army to the greatest danger poffible, that of falling into ambufcades, and the hands of troops ready for their reception. For as the temerity of an army is increafed, and their caution leffened, by the pursuit of a flying enemy, this is the moft favourable opportunity for fnares; and the In the first place, your men must not greater the fecurity, the greater the danimagine you retire to decline an action, ger. Troops when unprepared, at their but believe your retreat an artifice to meals, fatigued after a march, when their draw the enemy into an ambuscade, or horfes are feeding, and, in fort, when more advantageous fituation, where you they believe themselves moft fecure, are may easier defeat them, in cafe they fol- generally moft liable to a furprite. All low you; for troops who perceive their Ge- rifks of this fort are to be carefully avoidneral's defpair of fuccefs are prone to ed, and all opportunities taken by diftrefAight. You must be cautious left the ene- fing the enemy by fuch methods. Neiby thould discover you retreat, and fallther numbers nor courage avail in misfor E 2 tunes tunes of this nature. A General if defeated in a pitched battle, though skill and conduct have the greatest share in the decifion, may, in his defence, throw the blame on fortune: but, if he has fuffered himself to be furprised or drawn into the fnares of his enemy, he has no excufe for his fault, because he might have avoided fuch a misfortune by taking proper precautions, and employing fpies, on whose intelligence he could depend. When the enemy begin to to retreat, the following fnare is ufually laid; a fmall body of cavalry is ordered to pursue them the direct road, at the same time a strong detachment is fecretly sent another way, to conceal itself on their route. When the cavalry bave overtaken the infanuy, they make fome feint attacks and retire. The enemy, imagining the danger patt, and that they have escaped the fnare, neglect their order, and march without regularity; when the detachment, privately fent to intercept them, feizing the oppor tunity, falls upon them unexpectedly, and deftroys them with ease. Many Generals, when obliged to retreat through woods, fend forward parties to poffefs the defiles, and difficult paffes, to avoid ambuscades ; * and to ftop up the roads with barricades of felled trees, to fecure themselves from being purfued and attacked in the rear. In fhort, both fides have equal opportunities of furprising or laying ambuscades on the march. The army which retreats leaves troops behind for that purpose, posted in convenient valleys, large brufa wood, or mountains covered with wood, and, if the enemy falls into the fnare, returns immediately to their affiftance. The army that pursues, detaches different parties of light troops to march before, through bye roads, and intercept the ene my, who are thus furrounded and attacked at once in front and rear. The flying army may return and fall on the enemy while afleep in the night, and the purfu ing army may, though the distance is great, furprise the adverfary by forced marches. The former endeavour, at the paffage of a river, to deftroy fuch part of the enemy's army as have already paffed, while feparated from the rest by the channel of the river; and the pursuers haften their march to fall upon those bo. dies of the enemy that have not yet croffed.' Defcription of the Island of ARGENTIERA, and particularly of the Dreffes of the Inhabitants: Illuftrated with an elegant Reprefentation of the Grecian Women of that Island. ARGENTIERA is an ifond of the Grecian Archipelago, formerly known by the name of Cimolis, and which is ftill by the modern inhabitants called Kimoli. The French navigators have named it Argentiere, from the filver mines discovered in it; but these are now shut up, and the natives deny all knowledge of fuch metal being in the island, from an apprehenfion that the Turks might compel them to labour in the mines. It is a barren fpot, deftitute of all water but what can be faved in cifterns; and has but one village in it, fituated in 36 deg. 50 min. north latitude, and 23 deg. 30 min. eaft longitude. There is not a more difmal place in all the Levant than this island, which is covered with rocks that scarcely fuffer a few trees to grow, and in which the land exhibits no verdure Some fields of barley and cotton are indeed to be found round the village, which is only an affemblage of miferable cottages, where the women, children, and cattle all croud promifcuoufly together. The drefs of the women is inconceivably ridiculous, confining of 24 enormous load of linen fufficiently dirty! Their under petticoat is only their short fhift embroidered with red, that leaves their legs exposed; the thickness of which is esteemed a principal article of female beauty: thofe to whom Nature has denied this advantage endeavour to fupply the deficiency by three or four pair of thick ftockings. When the leg is fo uniformly thick all the way, as to be truly perfect according to their ftandard; the Ladies add a pair of half-boots of cut velvet, frequently decorated with small filver buttons. The pirates who infeft the Archipelago pass their winter in Argentiera, and by spending their money among the natives confole them for all their inconveniencies. An ufage is established in this ifland, well known to Eat-India faiiors, of taking a wife for the term of a man's refidence there. The iffue of such occasional adventures are fufficiently handsome to be distinguished among the women, notwithftanding the dress by which they disfigure themselves. The number of inhabitants |