retty art was
first created by woman, no one, we think, will disallow; and that it
was first practised, as it has been subsequently perfected, by her, is
a fact of which we feel the most perfect conviction.

This conviction has been forced upon us by a train of reasoning which
will so readily suggest itself to the mind of all our readers, that we
content ourselves with naming the result, assured that it is
unnecessary to trouble them with the intervening steps. One only link
in the chain of "circumstantial evidence" will we adduce, and that is
afforded by the ancient engraving to which we have before alluded in
our remarks upon Eve's needle and thread. There whilst our "general
mother" is stitching away at the fig-leaves in the most edifying
manner possible, our "first father," far from trying to "put in a
stitch for himself," is gazing upon her in the most utter amazement.
And while she plies her busy task as if she had been born to
stitchery, his eyes, _not_ his fingers,

"Follow the nimble fingers of the fair,"

with every indication of superlative wonder and admiration.

In fact, it is no slight argument in favour of the original invention
of sewing by women, that men very rarely have wit enough to learn it,
even when invented. There has been no lack of endeavour, even amongst
the world's greatest and mightiest, but poor "work" have they made of
it. Hercules lost all the credit of his mighty labours from his
insignificance at the spinning wheel, and the sceptre of Sardanapalus
passed from his grasp as he was endeavouring to "finger the fine
needle and nyse thread."

These love-stricken heroes might have said with Gower--had he then
said it--

"What things she bid me do, I do,
And where she bid me go, I go.
And where she likes to call, I come,
I serve, I bow, I look, I lowte,
My eye followeth her about.
What so she will, so will I,
When she would set, I kneel by.
And when she stands, then will I stand,
_And when she taketh her work in hand_,
Of _wevyng or of embroidrie_.
Then can I _only_ muse and prie,
Upon her fingers long and small."

Our modern Hercules, the Leviathan of literature, was not more
successful.

_Dr. Johnson._--"Women have a great advantage that they may take up
with little things, without disgracing themselves; a man cannot,
except with fiddling. Had I learnt to fiddle I should have done
nothing else."

_Boswell._--"Pray, Sir, did