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* CHILDREN'S BOOK


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YOUTHFUL FOLLYDETECTED.

WRITTEN FOR THE BENEFIT OFYOUTH, PARTICULARLY THE

FEMALE SEX.The maid that walks in folly's path,Thoughtless and heedless as she goes ;Will land in misery at last,Beset around w ith many foes :But she who minds instruction young,Attentive to her bus'ness stays;In sweetest notes her name is sung,On harps of gold, where virtue plays.

WALPOLE, N. H.HUNTED AT THE OBSERVATORY PRESS,BY DAVID JVEWHALL.1804,


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ADVERTISEMENT.THE following hints were originally de-

signed for the benefit of a few individuals,for whom the author had a particular re-gard, and also felt himself under obligationsto give them all that instruction which mightbe deemed necessary to guide them in thepaths of virtue and morality, and to shun,those vices which often ruin the female sex,and are too predominant in the world.But as all young people are in one pre-dicament, and instructions that are suitablefor one, may be equally applied to thewhole ; therefore, for the benefit of thepresent, and future rising generations, thesefew lines are made public.And although the Author would not blushto own this piece of work, yet, for certainreasons, his name is concealed.


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... ;:^yifc.-:. ,TO

YOUNG FEMALES, &c,THE most critical time ofyouth^

especially of the female sex, is whilethey are in their juvenile years. Atthis age, when they are entering asit were upon the borders of life, toact in some degree for themselves,the greatest care and attention oughtto be paid to them* And from theage of puberty j until they arrive tomaturity, and are settled in tn


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discharged their duty towards theirchildren, and those under their care,in this respect, when they see them,entering on the wheels of time, ex-posed to all the temptations of analluring world,

andscarcely

or nevergive them one check or caution !And as it is to be feared that someparents, &cc. are guilty of too muchneglect on this hand, so others gov-ern with too much restraint on theother. If you mean that your chil-dren should learn to govern them-selves, you must learn it to them byexperience ; that is, by giving thema little lenity, together with yourgood counsel and advice, and accord-ing to their improvement, give them


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restraint, and never let them learfrom experience the different man-ners and customs ofpeople abroad ; ithey should happen to break out oyour reach (as most likely they willat certain times) they will (accordinto the vulgar expression) behavemore like hogs let out ofthe sty ; thanlike ladies ; and not knowing theart of self government, they will belikely to break over all rules of de-cency and decorum.But although parents, See. maypay the strictest attention to theirchildren, &c. unless there is thegreatest degree of caution and cir-cumspection attended to, on the partof the children, it will avail but verylittle.


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until their name is stained with ablot that is

veryhard to wipe away.The wise man has justly observed,

that " A good name is rather to bechosen than great riches, and lovingfavor rather than silver and gold."The reputation of youth, a youngmaiden more especially, may be com-pared to china ware, or transparentglass, which is very easily broken,but impossible to mend, so but whatit will leave a blemish behind.How often does the thoughtlessyouth, in some unguarded hour,fall into some trifling folly or other,which stamps a blur upon their char-acters, and fills their minds withshame and remorse. And it is too

the case, that in order to


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C s ]which only sinks them deeper anddeeper. They then begin to giveup all hopes of recovery, their mindsbecome dissipated, and they givethemselves over to all the vain de^lusions and allurements of time andsense. And as they travel on in thepaths of folly, they become lost toall sense of virtue and morality,consequently happiness is fled, andthey generally become slaves to misvery and discontentment.Such a life as this would be thoughtscarcely worth possessing! yet howoften do we behold those who ap-peared to be very promising whenthey first started in life, and present*edto us the most pleasing prospects,land on these shores at last, and


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hand, it often happens, that thosewho make a small appearance, andare thought but a very little ofwhen they first set out in life ; yetby attending to good instruction, andthe strictest caution and prudence,they have arisen to honor and dig-nity in the world, and are loved andesteemed by all virtuous people.If these are facts, they show theimportance of early attending to in-struction.And that you, my young friend,blooming with virgin beauty, unsul-lied with vice, and unimpaired withage ; that you may shun those per-nicious practices that will lead youin shame and disgrace, and pursuethose paths that will lead you to hon-


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able than silver or gold, I leave youthe followingRULES.

1. Keep a due regard over allyour thoughts, and see that they areintent upon the business in whichyou are employed, that you may paya proper attention to the same.

Nothing is more dangerous thanan absent mind. It is rude to in-dulge the thoughts to rove upon in-different objects, even when you arein company ; but more especiallywhen attending to your domesticconcerns. If your thoughts are notmostly engaged in the business be-fore you, time v/ill steal away faster


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you ought to have attended to, andthat which you have done will b^apt to be slighted, or done to thehalves ; and you will thereby get tyourself rebukes and reproaches,which you might have easily pre-vented, and you will now begin trepent when it is too late to menda bad day's work.By indulging an absent mind,young people are apt to be deaf toall that is said to them, or at least, idoes not make an abiding impres-sion on their minds ; by which meansthey are apt to do their work wrong,have it to undo, and do over again,and sometimes spoil it in the endwhich will make them feel verymuch and also it will fret,


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All this might have been easily a-voided by care and attention ; andnot only so, but you would improvein your business, and thereby makeit become habitual and easy.You cannot expect to becomemaster ofany kind ofbusiness, with-out much care and attention ; andthis ought to make you more studi-ous in the same, for remember, thatthere is no business that you will belikely to be called to attend to, nowwhen young, butwhat (if you shouldever have a family of your own) youmust attend to the same for your-self, or at least, have it attended to ;and therefore it is highly necessarythat you should new become master


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you may be well qualified to be mis-tress of your own family ; and evenif you should never have any fam-ily, this will do you no harm.

2. Never flatter yourself thatyou

know how the business shouldbe done better than your teacherstherefore hear with patience theirinstructions, and always be submis-sive to their directions.Never contradict them in any sensewhatever ; but ifyou think that anyother way, different from what they

direct, would do better, you may in-form them of it, but do it with thegreatest modesty and circumspec-tion ; and if they comply with whatyou say, it is well, but ifthey do not,


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day the first object, and then if youhave any leisure hours, you mayimprove them to the best advantageand for your own profit and satis-faction.

Never allow yourself to be peev-ish and fretful about your work,food, dress, or any thing of the likenature, even if the business doesnot go on to suit you ; for this willonly make the business more irk-some and fatiguing, without anykind of benefit to yourself.

3. Do not expect even from yourbest endeavors wholly to escapewithout censure. For the mind ofyouth is so fickle, it would be verystrange ifyou did not sometimes goastray, and not do so well as you


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ought to take it kindly, and endeav-our to do better for the future.But even ifyou should always do

your best, you must expect that youwill sometimes do wrong, even fowant of knowledge ; and you cannot expect that people will alwaysexercise that patience, so but whatthey will rtiany times chide you,and find fault, even when you havedone your best. All this you oughtto bear with patience without amur*muring word: for if you are conscious to yourself that you havedone as well as you could, evensharp rebuke need not trouble youfor you may gain some knowledge byit, and therefore it may terminate foyour own advantage. Besides, i


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duct that you used your bestdeavors to have every thing doneas it should be, this v/ill have a ten-dency to convince them of their er-ror, and cause them to exercisemore patience for the future.

Always pay a proper respectto your parents, guardians, or mas-ters, and ever be submissive to tcommands. Never try to nrvatethem, even if the old findfault at trifles ; taat is, to treatmatter with a kind cf mdifferen-cy, though you did not c?re to dis-plea : ; fortfretful for the future.

if you are you;

.

it, and endeavour


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.iory, those addresses and com-pliments, that by constant observa-. you may hear drop from thosewhom you deem to be your supe-riors ; and endeavor to make them

lian to yoursei ou mayhem on any occasion,with propriety,&:without tne arrperu-ance of affectation or dissimulai.And as you would avoid a prud-ish disposition on the one hand, soyou must equally avoid a volatile,idle, and wanton disposition on -theother. To faciluat. , giveyourself more to thinking and lessto talking, so that when you dospea^k, you may always spe^k \decency, modesty, and proprie-mind 10


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on your face, without a rude look inyour countenance.But letyour speeches be short andcomprehensive ; and never try toprolong a conversation, unless it beupon topics that are becoming yoursex. But ifthe conversation shouldbe disagreeable and unbecoming,endeavor to turn the attention toto some other object, introduce someother topic, or else find an occasionof absence,

7. Remember that the bloom ofyour youth, your healthy and ruddycountenances, the rose on yourcheeks, and the sparkling vigor cfyour eyes, will gain you more ad-mirers than real lovers. Here pause


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your honor or chastity, neither willhe violently intrude upon the same,although he may endeavour to proveyour constancy.Therefore when you have reasonto believe that any one sincerely res-pects you, and if you also wish tocontinue to be worthy of his esteem ;remember that you cannot do anything more against yourself than togive overyour chastity, or go beyondrales of decency.But if you have reason to believethat any one's pretended love is

/Ing more than mere fancy, whichwill generally shew itself by a v>,ment fondness ; vows, promises; &c.Icani to treat it with a silent neglect ;

his will iv


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company with persons of this des-cription. Eut the wiser method is,to avoid all such company ; for thecharacters ofpersons are ottenjudgedby the company they keep. There-fore, ifyouwouldwish to avoidthe re-proaches of every one, you must notonly abstain from vice yourself, butyou must forsake the company cfthe vicious.

1C. Do not reveal your secrets toany one, unless itwill be as much fortheir interest to keep, as it will be foryours to have them kept ; and neverreveal the secrets of others, when itwill not injure you to keep them.Never make any promiseyou do not mean to perform; ar.dfulfil all


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you made them, and therefore oughtnot to have promised.Never speak ofthe failings of an-other to a third person, but with thegreatest reluctance, especially thoseof your own sex. Ifyou can say nogood of persons, you had better saynothingabout them.For as you wouldnot wish to have your own failingspublished to the world, so you mustbe exceeding careful not to publishthe failings of others.But should you discover a failingin your friend, you may, and oughtto remind him or her of it, betweenyou and them alone, but do it withthe greatest modesty. And ifyourfriends should tell you of a fatilt,take it of them and endeavor


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t 29 ]ny of any one, while in their pres>ence, even if it should be disagreea-ble ; but rather endeavor to find somejust occasion of absence, and avoidtheir company for the future.Treat every one with civility, butuse no flattery nor dissimulation toany one ; but let the words of yourmouthbe the sentiments ofyourheart.

11. Do not try to outvie all oth-ers in dress, ike. but let your dressbe modest, and suited to your circum-nances. Remember that a real char-acter doth not consist in the outwardadornings of the body, but in the::award adornings of the mind andunderstanding.

Although a fop, or a coxcomb,miget be charmed at the sight of


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will look for the more refined beau-ties ; the adornments of the mind.

1 2. But however you may appeain company, and abroad, your reacharacter for lasting reputation andfuture happiness in the world, mustbe formed and established at homeeven in the kitchen, and in attending to your domestic concerns.Here is where you are to formyour character, not only for happi-ness, but also for usefulness in theworld. By attending to industry,cookery, and all the domestic em-ployments, you will qualify yourselfto become the mistress of a familyand not only so, but here you willprepare yourselfto be a worthy com-fora


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pel, or any other character whatever.I am willing to own, that was aflaunting beau or a coxcomb, going

to choose a partner for an afternoonor an evening, he would be likely tomake choice of one that was set outin what they are pleased to call com-plete bon ton, that would please hisfancy for just a moment to pass a-way an idle hour.

But was a virtuous young manabout to make choice of a partnerthrough life ; one with whom he ex-pected to participate, not only in thepleasures, but also in the sorrowsand afflictions oflife ; one to be hisbosom companion and mistress of hisfamily, and to travel wkh him thro*all the scenes of the


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v/as studious in business, well ac-quainted with domestic concerns, ofan unsullied character, with a softand easy temper of mind and one towhom the cares of her family wouldbe her chief delight.Such n companion as this wouldeVer make home agreeable. Andwhether it should be their fortune tobe rich or poor, every thing wouldgo on harmoniously, and the do-mestic affairs would be attended toin season, and all things kept inproper order. And finally, to con-clude, we may join with the poet,

cjay, that' THs m?.r. v/I:'le others ror.rr!,

.'g the sour, of strife ;[>*est. Ife."


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