1

grains, and there must be 44 cubic feet of air. The quantities of light produced in these different modes of illumination are nearly in the ratio of the numbers 11, 14 and 100. These results enable us to calculate the quantity of air which must be furnished per hour to an inhabited apartment, when we know the number of persons it contains and the number and nature of the lights employed. When the apparatus for heating a room is supplied by the air it contains, it will be sufficient to attend only to the greater quantity of air required either for the combustion or for the ventilation, and not for both; because the air which is partially destroyed by the presence of a certain number of persons is still fit for combus

tion.

LESSONS IN READING AND ELOCUTION.

No. XVIII.

EXERCISES ON EXPRESSIVE TONE-continued.
EDUCATION OF FEMALES.

of life, command his respect, as much as their talents excite his admiration.-Story.

CUSTOM OF WHITEWASHING.

My wish is to give you some account of the people of these new States; but I am far from being qualified for the purpose, having as yet seen little more than the cities of New York and Philadelphia. I have discovered but few national singularities among them. Their customs and manners are nearly the same with those of England, which they have long been used to copy. For, previous to the revolution, the Americans were from their infancy taught to look up to the English as patterns of perfection in all things. I have observed, however, one custom, which, for aught I know, is peculiar to this country: an account of it will serve to fill up the remainder of this sheet, and may afford you some amusement.

When a young couple are about to enter the matrimonial state, a never-failing article in the marriage treaty is, that the lady shall have and enjoy the free and unmolested exercise of the rights of whitewashing, with all its ceremonials, privileges advantageous connexion, and even disappoint the warmest and appurtenances. A young woman would forego the most wish of her heart, rather than resign the invaluable right. You would wonder what this privilege of whitewashing is :-I will endeavour to give you some idea of the ceremony, as I have seen it performed.

IF Christianity may be said to have given a permanent elevation to woman, as an intellectual and moral being, it is as true, that the present age, above all others, has given play to her genius, and taught us to reverence its influence. It was the fashion of other times to treat the literary acquirements of the sex, as starched pedantry, or vain pretension; to stigmatise There is no season of the year in which the lady may not them as inconsistent with those domestic affections and virtues, claim her privilege, if she pleases; but the latter end of May which constitute the charm of society. We had abundant is most generally fixed upon for the purpose. The attentive homilies read upon their amiable weaknesses and sentimental husband may judge by certain prognostics when the storm is delicacy, upon their timid gentleness and submissive depend-nigh at hand. When the lady is unusually fretful, finds fault ence; as if to taste the fruit of knowledge were a deadly sin, and ignorance were the sole guardian of innocence. Their whole lives were "sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought;" and concealment of intellectual power was often resorted to to escape the dangerous imputation of masculine strength. In the higher walks of life, the satirist was not without colour for the suggestion, that it was

"A youth of folly, an old age of cards; "

with the servants, is discontented with the children, and complains much of the filthiness of every thing about her, these are signs which ought not to be neglected; yet they are not decisive, as they sometimes come on, and go off again, without producing any further effect. But if, when the husband rises in the morning, he should observe in the yard a wheelbarrow with a quantity of lime in it, or should see certain buckets with lime dissolved in water, there is then no time to be lost; he immediately locks up the apartment, or closet, where his papers or his private property are kept, and, husband, however beloved, becomes a perfect nuisance during this season of female rage; his authority is superseded, his commission is suspended; and the very scullion, who cleans the brasses in the kitchen, becomes of more consideration and importance than he. He has nothing for it but to abdicate, and run from an evil which he can neither prevent nor mollify.

and that, elsewhere, "most women had no character at all," beyond that of purity and devotion to their families. Admirable as are these qualities, it seemed an abuse of the gifts of provi-putting the key in his pocket, betakes himself to flight; for a dence, to grant to mothers the power of instructing their children, to wives the privilege of sharing the intellectual pursuits of their husbands, to sisters and daughters the delight of ministering knowledge in the fireside circle, to youth and beauty the charm of refined sense, to age and infirmity the consolation of studies which elevate the soul, and gladden the listless hours of despondency.

These things have, in a great measure, passed away. The prejudices, which dishonoured the sex, have yielded to the influence of truth. By slow, but sure advances, education has extended itself through all ranks of female society. There is no longer any dread, lest the culture of science should foster that masculine boldness, or restless independence, which alarms by its sallies, or wounds by its inconsistencies. We have seen that here, as everywhere else, knowledge is favourable to human virtue and human happiness; that the refinement of literature adds lustre to the devotion of piety; that true learning, like true taste, is modest and unostentatious; that grace of manners receives a higher polish from the discipline of the schools; that cultivated genius sheds a cheering light over domestic duties, and its very sparkles, like those of the diamond, attest at once its power and its purity.

The husband gone, the ceremony begins. The walls are in a few minutes stripped of their furniture; paintings, prints, and looking-glasses, lie in a huddled heap, about the floors; the curtains are torn from the testers, the beds crammed into the windows; chairs and tables, bedsteads and cradles crowd the yard; and the garden fence bends beneath the weight of carpets, blankets, cloth cloaks, old coats, and ragged breeches. Here may be seen the lumber of the kitchen, forming a dark and confused mass: for the foreground of the picture, gridirons and frying-pans, rusty shovels and broken tongs, spits and pots, and the fractured remains of rush-bottomed chairs. There, a closet has disgorged its bowels, cracked tumblers, broken wine-glasses, phials of forgotten physic, papers of unknown powders, seeds and dried herbs, handfuls of old corks, tops of teapots and stoppers of departed decanters; no place remains unrummaged. It would seem as if the day of general doom was come, and the utensils of the house were dragged forth to judgment. In this tempest, the words of Lear naturally present themselves, and might, with some alteration, be made strictly applicable:

There is not a rank of female society, however high, which-from the rag hole in the garret, to the rat hole in the cellar, does not now pay homage to literature, or that would not blush, even at the suspicion of that ignorance, which, a half century ago, was neither uncommon, nor discreditable. There is not a parent, whose pride may not glow at the thought, that his daughter's happiness is, in a great measure, within her own command, whether she keeps the cool, sequestered vale of life, or visits the busy walks of fashion.

A new path is thus opened for female exertion, to alleviate the pressure of misfortune, without any supposed sacrifice of dignity, or modesty. Man no longer aspires to an exclusive dominion in authorship. He has rivals, or allies, in almost every department of knowledge; and they are to be found among those, whose elegance of manners, and blamelessness

"Let the great gods,

That keep this dreadful pother o'er our heads,
Find out their enemies now. Tremble, thou wretch,
Thou hast within thee undivulged crimes
Unwhipp'd of Justice!-

--Close pent-up Guilt,

Raise your concealing continents, and ask
These dreadful summoners grace!"

This ceremony completed, and the house thoroughly evacuated, the next operation is to smear the walls and the ceilings of every room and closet, with brushes dipped in a solution of lime, called whitewash; to pour buckets of water over every floor, and scratch all the partitions and wainscots with rough brushes, wet with soap-suds, and dipped in stonecutter's sand. The windows by no means escape the general deluge. A servant scrambles out upon the pent-house, at the risk of her neck, and with a mug in her hand, and a bucket within reach, she dashes away innumerable gallons of water against the glass panes, to the great annoyance of passengers in the street.

I have been told, that an action at law was once brought against one of these water-nymphs, by a person who had a new suit of clothes spoiled by this operation; but, after a long argument, it was determined by the whole court, that the action would not lie, inasmuch as the defendent was in the exercise of a legal right, and not answerable for the consequences; and so the poor gentleman was doubly nonsuited: for he lost not only his suit of clothes but his suit at law. These smearings and scratchings, washings and dashings, being duly performed, the next ceremony is to cleanse and replace the distracted furniture. You may have seen a houseraising, or a ship-launch, when all the hands within reach are collected together; recollect, if you can, the hurry, bustle, confusion, and noise of such a scene, and you will have some idea of this cleaning match. The misfortune is, that the sole object is to make things clean; it matters not how many useful, ornamental, or valuable articles are mutilated, or suffer death under the operation; a mahogany chair and carved frame undergo the same discipline; they are to be made clean, at all events; but their preservation is not worthy of attention. For instance, a fine large engraving is laid flat upon the floor; smaller prints are piled upon it, and the superincumbent weight cracks the glasses of the lower tier; but this is of no consequence. A valuable picture is placed leaning against the sharp corner of a table; others are made to lean against that, until the pressure of the whole forces the corner of the table through the canvas of the first. The frame and glass of a fine print are to be cleaned; the spirit and oil used on this occasion are suffered to leak through and spoil the engraving; no matter, if the glass is clean, and the frame shine, it is sufficient; the rest. is not worthy of consideration. An able mathematician has made an accurate calculation founded on long experience, and has discovered that the losses and destruction incident to two whitewashings are equal to one removal, and three removals equal to one fire.

The cleaning frolic over, matters begin to resume their pristine appearance. The storm abates, and all would be well again; but it is impossible that so great a convulsion, in so small a community, should not produce some further effects. For two or three weeks after the operation, the family are usually afflicted with sore throats or sore eyes, occasioned by the caustic quality of the lime, or with severe colds, from the exhalations of wet floors or damp walls.

His

this is generally done; and, though it cannot abolish, it at least shortens, the period of female dominion. The paper is decorated with flowers of various fancies, and made so ornamental, that the women have admitted the fashion without perceiving the design.

There is also another alleviation of the husband's distress; he generally has the privilege of a small room or closet for his books and papers, the key of which he is allowed to keep. This is considered as a privileged place, and stands like the land of Goshen amid the plagues of Egypt. But then he must be extremely cautious and ever on his guard; for should he inadvertently go abroad, and leave the key in his door, the housemaid, who is always on the watch for such an opportunity, immediately enters in triumph, with buckets, brooms, and brushes; takes possession of the premises, and forth with puts all his books and papers to rights, to his utter confusion, and sometimes serious detriment. For instance:

A gentleman was sued by the executors of a tradesman, on a charge found against him in the deceased's books, to the amount of thirty pounds. The defendant was strongly impressed with the idea, that he had discharged the debt, and taken a receipt; but, as the transaction was of long standing, he knew not where to find the receipt. The suit went on in course, and the time approached when judgment would be obtained against him. He then sat seriously down to examine a large bundle of old papers, which he had untied, and displayed on a table for that purpose. In the midst of his search, he was suddenly called away on business of importance ;-he forgot to lock the door of his room. The housemaid, who had been long looking out for such an opportunity, immediately entered with the usual implements, and, with great alacrity, fell to cleaning the room, and putting things to rights. The first object that struck her eye was the confused situation of the papers on the table; these were without delay bundled together, as so many dirty knives and forks; but in the action, a small piece of paper fell unnoticed on the floor, which happened to be the very receipt in question; as it had no very respectable appearance, it was soon after swept out with the common dirt of the room, and carried in the rubbish-pan into the yard. The tradesman had neglected to enter the credit in his book; the defendant could find nothing to obviate the charge, and so judgment went against him for the debt and costs. A fortnight after the whole was settled, and the money paid, one of the children found the receipt among the rubbish in the yard.

There is another custom, peculiar to the city of Philadelphia, and nearly allied to the former. I mean, that of washing the pavement before the doors every Saturday evening. I, at first, took this to be a regulation of the police; but, on further and is, I believe, the only religious rite in which the numerous inquiry, find it is a religious rite, preparatory to the Sabbath; about sunset, and continues till about ten or eleven at night. sectaries of this city perfectly agree. The ceremony begins It is very difficult for a stranger to walk the streets on those evenings; he runs a continual risk of having a bucket of dirty much accustomed to the danger, that he avoids it with surwater thrown against his legs; but a Philadelphian born is so prising dexterity. It is from this circumstance that a Philadelphian may be known anywhere by his gait. The streets of washed; but the dirt is so thoroughly swept from before the New York are paved with rough stones; these indeed are not doors, that the stones stand up sharp and prominent, to the great inconvenience of those who are not accustomed to so rough a path. But habit reconciles every thing. It is diverting enough to see a Philadelphian at New York; he walks the streets with as much painful caution as if his toes were covered with corns, or his feet lamed with the gout; while a New Yorker, as little approving the plain masonry of Philadelphia, shuffles along the pavement, like a parrot on a mahogany table.

I know a gentleman who was fond of accounting for every thing in a philosophical way. He considers this which I have called a custom, as a real periodical disease, peculiar to the climate. His train of reasoning is ingenious and whimsical; but I am not at leisure to give you the detail. The result was, that he found the distemper to be incurable; but, after much study, he conceived he had discovered a method to divert the evil he could not subdue. For this purpose, he caused a small building, about twelve feet square, to be erected in his garden, and furnished with some ordinary chairs and tables; and a few prints of the cheapest sort, were hung against the walls. hope was, that, when the whitewashing frenzy seized the females of his family, they might repair to this apartment, and scrub and smear and scour to their hearts' content; and so spend the violence of the disease in this outpost, while he enjoyed himself in quiet at head-quarters. But the experiment It must be acknowledged, that the ablutions I have mendid not answer his expectation: it was impossible it should,tioned are attended with no small inconvenience; but the since a principal part of the gratification consists in the lady's women would not be induced, on any consideration, to resign having an uncontrolled right to torment her husband, at least their privilege. Notwithstanding this, I can give you the once a year, and to turn him out of doors, and take the reins strongest assurances that the women of America make the of government into her own hands. most faithful wives, and the most attentive mothers, in the There is a much better contrivance than this of the philo-world; and I am sure you will join me in opinion, that, if a sopher, which is, to cover the walls of the house with paper; married man is made miserable only one week in the wholə

Ρ. αγγελ-ουμεθαι

αγγελ-οιμεθα

ε-τίλ-αμην

ε-συρ-αμην

ε-μολῦν·αμην

αγγελ-οῖσθε

ε-τιλ-θην

Αor. 2. εστάλην

σταλοθησομαι Fut. 2. σταλ-ησομαι.

Verb. Adj. ἱμερ-τος, ἱμερ-τεος ; σταλ-τος, σταλ-τεος.

The inflexions of the Perfect middle or passive follow those οι ηγγελ-μαι.

3. With i and u in the Future.

(α) τιλλ-ω, I pluck, συρ-w, I pull, μολύν-ω, I bcdaub.

σύρω
σύρομαι

σε συρ-κα

σε συρομαι

συρῶ
συρ-οῦμαι

μολύν-ω μολύνομαι (με-μολυγ-κα)

με μολυσμαι μολύν ω μολυν-οῦμαι

αγγελ-εῖσθε

αγγελούνται

αγγελ-οῖντο.

Aor. 1. Ind. ηγγειλ-αμην, Subj. αγγειλ-ωμαι, Opt. αγγειλαίμην, Imp. αγγειλ-αι, Int. αγγειλ-ασθαι, Part. αγγειλ-αμενος. Aor. 2. Ind. ηγγελ-ομην, Subj. αγγελ-ωμαι, Opt. αγγελοιμην, Imp. αγγελ-οῦ, Int. αγγελ-εσθαι, Part. αγγελ-ομενος.

Passive.

Aor. 1. Pass.

Fut. 1. Pass. τιλ-θησομαι

ε-συρ-θην ε-μολυν-θην

συρ-θήσομαι μολυνθήσομαι

Aor. 2. and Fut. 2. Pass. ε-συρ-ην, συρ-ησομαι.

Verb. Adj. τιλ-τος, τιλ-τεος; συρ-τος, συρ-τεος; μολυντος, μολυν-τεος.

The inflexions of the Perfect middle or passive τε-τιλ-μαι, σε-συρ-μαι, follow ηγγελομαι; those of με μολυσ-μαι follow

Aor. 1. ηγγελ-θην, Αor. 2. ηγγελ-ην. Verb. adj. αγγελ-τεος. πε-φασομαι, and those of ᾔσχυμ-μαι (from αισχυν-ω, I am Fut. 1. αγγελ-θήσομαι, Fut. 2. αγγελ-ησομαι. ashamed), follow ε-ξηραμ-μαι.

(3) κλίνω, I bend, πλῦν-w, I wash; the v drops.

Active.
Middle.
κλίνω κλίνομαι
κεκλίκα κε-κλί-μαι
κλιν-ῶ

Fut.
Aor. 1. ε-κλίν-α

Aor. 1. ε-κλί-θην.

κλιν-οῦμαι

Active. Middle. πλύνω πλυν-ομαι πεπλύ-κα πε-πλύμαι

πλυνω πλυν-οῦμαι

ε-κλίν-αμην ε-πλύνα επλῦν αμην.

Passive.

Fut. 1. κλίθησομαι; ε-πλύθην, πλυθησμαι Aor. 2. ε-κλίνην. Fut. 2. κλίν-ησομαι.

Verb. Αdj. κλι-τος, κλι-τεος; πλυ-τος, πλυ-τεος.