young student of fancy
needlework, such plain directions, in all things essential to the art,
as cannot fail, if a proper degree of thought and attention is bestowed
upon them, to make her a proficient in this delightful employment. With
one or two additional remarks, we will conclude this portion of our
labors. The young votary of the needle must recollect that, if she
allows her fondness for this accomplishment to draw off her attention
from the more serious or useful business of life, she will act decidedly
wrong and had far better never learn it at all. Another thing to be
especially guarded against, is, not to devote too much time to this, or
any other engagement, at once; the mind and body are both injured, to a
serious extent, by dwelling too long on a single object. Let it never
for a moment be forgotten, relaxation and exercise are indispensible, if
you wish to enjoy good health, or an even and pleasant temper. Again,
take care that you never become so absorbed in the object of your
pursuit, as to allow it to interfere with the calls of friendship,
benevolence, or duty. The young lady who can forget her moral and
domestic duties, in the fascinations of the embroidery frame, gives but
little promise of excellence, in the more advanced stages of life.

Let neatness, and order, characterize all your arrangements.

Cut your silks and wools into proper lengths, and fold them in paper,
writing the color on each, and numbering them according to their shades,
1, 2, 3, &c., beginning with the darkest.

Dispose all your materials so as to come at them without trouble or
inconvenience, and use every possible care to prevent your work from
being spoiled in the performance.

We advise every young lady to pay particular attention to painting and
design; and to render every accomplishment subservient to some high and
moral development of the heart, and of the character.

CHAPTER XII.

KNITTING.

EXPLANATION OF STITCHES.

Before entering upon the immediate subject of this chapter, we wish to
make a few remarks; which, we trust, will be acceptable to our fair
readers.

The art of knitting is supposed to have been invented by the Spanish;
and would doubtless form, in connection with needlework, an agreeable
relaxation, amid the stiff formality and unvarying mechanical movements
which made up, for the most part, the lives of the ancient female
nobility of that peninsula. The Scotch also lay claim to the invent