her more dissatisfied with him than in the
former. And yet his behaviour before her was too specious to have been
very exceptionable to a woman who had a less share of that charming
delicacy, and of that penetration, which so much distinguished her.

In obedience to the commands of her gloomy father, on his allowing her to
be my guest, for that last time, [as it most unhappily proved!] she never
would see him out of my company; and would often say, when he was gone,
'O my Nancy! this is not THE man!'--At other times, 'Gay, giddy creature!
he has always something to be forgiven for!'--At others, 'This man will
much sooner excite one's fears than attract one's love.' And then would
she repeat, 'This is not THE man. All that the world says of him cannot
be untrue. But what title have I to call him to account, who intend not
to have him?'

In short had she been left to a judgment and discretion, which nobody
ever questioned who had either, she would soon have discovered enough of
him to cause her to discard him for ever.

She was an admirable mistress of all the graces of elocution. The hand
she wrote, for the neat and free cut of her letters, (like her mind,
solid, and above all flourish,) for its fairness, evenness, and
swiftness, distinguished her as much as the correctness of her
orthography, and even punctuation, from the generality of her own sex;
and left her none, among the most accurate of the other, who excelled
her.

And here you may, if you please, take occasion to throw in one hint for
the benefit of such of our sex as are too careless in their orthography,
[a consciousness of a defect which generally keeps them from writing.]--
She was used to say, 'It was a proof that a woman understood the
derivation as well as sense of the words she used, and that she stopt not
at sound, when she spelt accurately.'

On this head you may take notice, that it was always matter of surprise
to her, that the sex are generally so averse as they are to writing;
since the pen, next to the needle, of all employments, is the most
proper, and best adapted to their geniuses; and this, as well for
improvement as amusement: 'Who sees not,' would she say, 'that those
women who take delight in writing excel the men in all the graces of the
familiar style? The gentleness of their minds, the delicacy of their
sentiments, (improved by the manner of their education, and the
liveliness of their imaginations, qualify them to a high de