ive her the offer of it.

First, he should do it for her own sake, namely, as before, that she may
make her advantage of it, either for disposing herself and the shop
together, as is said above, or for the more readily disposing the goods,
and getting in the debts, without dishonouring herself, as I have
observed, and marrying her 'prentice boy, in order to take care of the
effects--that is to say, ruining herself to prevent her being ruined.

Secondly, he should do it for his children's sake, if he has any, that
if the wife have any knowledge of the business, and has a son to breed
up to it, though he be not yet of age to take it up, she may keep the
trade for him, and introduce him into it, that so he may take the
trouble off her hands, and she may have the satisfaction of preserving
the father's trade for the benefit of his son, though left too young to
enter upon it at first.

Thus I have known many a widow that would have thought it otherwise
below her, has engaged herself in her husbands's business, and carried
it on, purely to bring her eldest son up to it, and has preserved it for
him, and which has been an estate to him, whereas otherwise it must have
been lost, and he would have had the world to seek for a new business.

This is a thing which every honest affectionate mother would, or at
least should, be so willing to do for a son, that she, I think, who
would not, ought not to marry a tradesman at all; but if she would think
herself above so important a trust for her own children, she should
likewise think herself above having children by a tradesman, and marry
somebody whose children she would act the mother for.

But every widow is not so unnatural, and I am willing to suppose the
tradesman I am writing to shall be better married, and, therefore, I
give over speaking to the woman's side, and I will suppose the
tradesman's wife not to be above her quality, and willing to be made
acquainted with her husband's affairs, as well as to be helpful to him,
if she can, as to be in a condition to be helpful to herself and her
family, if she comes to have occasion. But, then, the difficulty often
lies on the other side the question, and the tradesman cares not to lay
open his business to, or acquaint his wife with it; and many
circumstances of the tradesman draw him into this snare; for I must call
it a snare both to him and to her.

I. The tradesman is foolishly vain of making his wife a gentlewoman,
and, forso