as it is made a sanction to every petty mechanic, to break in upon their joy, and disturb a gentleman's repose at this time by bringing in his bill. Others, who used to be very merry at this season, have within this year or two been quite disconcerted. To put them out of their old way, is to put them out of humour; they have therefore quarrelled with the almanack, and refuse to keep their Christmas according to act of parliament. My cousin Village informs me, that this obstinacy is very common in the country; and that many still persist in waiting eleven days for their mirth, and defer their Christmas till the blowing of the Glastonbury thorn. In some, indeed, this cavilling with the calendar has been only the result of close economy; who, by evading the expense of keeping Christmas with the rest of the world, find means to neglect it, when the general time of celebrating it is over. Many have availed themselves of this expedient and I am acquainted with a couple, who are engaged at the New Style on another account; because it puts them to double expenses, by robbing them of the opportunity of keeping Christmas day and their wedding day at the same time. As to persons of fashion, this annual carnival is worse to them than Lent, or the empty town in the middle of summer. The boisterous merriment, and awkward affectation of politeness among the vulgar, interrupts the course of their refined pleasures, and drives them out of town for the holidays. The few who remain are very much at a loss how to dispose of their time; for the theatres at this season are opened only for the reception of school-boys and apprentices, and there is no public place where a person of fashion can appear, without being surrounded with the dirty inhabitants of St. Giles's, of and the brutes from the Wapping side of Westminster. These unhappy sufferers are really to be pitied; and since Christmas day has to persons distinction a great deal of insipidity about it, I cannot enough applaud an ingenious lady, who sent cards round to all her acquaintance, inviting them to a rout on that day; which they declared was the happiest thought in the world, because Christmas day is so like Sunday. T No. 49. THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1754. Est in consilio matrona, admotaque lanis JUV. SAT. vi. 496. Here ev'ry belle, for taste and beauty known, SIR, TO MR. TOWN. "CONTESTED elections and double returns being at present the general topic of discourse, a subject in which the ladies, methinks, are but little concerned, I have a scheme to propose to you in their behalf, which I doubt not but you, as their professed patron, will use your eloquence to recommend, and your authority to enforce. It has long been a matter of real concern to every well-wisher to the fair sex, that the men should be allowed the free choice of representatives, to whom they can make every real or pretended grievance known, while the women are deprived of the same privilege; when in reality they have many grievances utterly unknown and unthought of by the men, and which cannot be redressed but by a female parliament. "I do not, indeed, pretend to the honour of first projecting this scheme, since an assembly of this nature has been proposed before: but as it appears to me so necessary I would advise that writs be immediately issued out for calling a parliament of women, which for the future should assemble every winter, and be dissolved every third year. My reason for shortening the time of their sitting proceeds from the reflection, that full as much business will be done, at least as many speeches will be made, by women in the three years, as by men in seven. To this assembly every county and city in England shall send two members; but from this privilege I would utterly exclude every borough, as we shall presently see that they can have no business to transact there. But as I would have their number at least equal to that of the other parliament, the deficiency should be supplied by the squares and great streets at the court end of the town, each of which should be represented by one of their own inhabitants. In humble imitation of the Houses of Lords and Commons, the ladies of peers, whether spiritual or temporal, should sit here in their own right, the others by election only; any woman to be qualified, whose husband, or even whose father, for I would by no means exclude the unmarried ladies, is qualified to be chosen into the other. In the same manner, whatever entitles the husband or father to vote at that election, should entitle his wife or daughter to vote at this. Having settled this point, it now remains to adjust the subjects which they are to treat of; and these we shall find to be, indeed, of the last importance. What think you, Sir, of the rise and fall of fashions, of as much consequence to them as the rise and fall of kingdoms is to us? of the commencing a new acquaintance, equivalent to our making a new alliance? and adjusting the ceremonial of a rout or ball, as interesting as the prelimi naries of a treaty or a congress? These subjects, and these alone, will sufficiently employ them every sessions; and as their judgement must be final, how delightful will it be to have bills brought in to determine, how many inches of the leg or neck may lawfully be exposed, how many courtesies at a public place amount to an acquaintance, and what are the precise privileges of birth or fortune, that entitle the possessors to give routs or drums, on week-days or on Sundays. Whoever should presume to transgress against these laws, might be punished suitably to their offences; and be banished from public places, or be condemned to do penance in linsey-wolsey: or if any female should be convicted of immodesty, she might be outlawed; and then, as these laws would not bind the nymphs of Drury, we should easily distinguish a modest woman, as the phrase is, if not by her looks, at least by her dress and appearance; and the victorious Fanny might then be suffered to strike bold strokes without rivalry or imitation. If any man, too, should be found so grossly offending against the laws of fashion as to refuse a member a bow at a play or a salute at a wedding, how suitably would he be punished by being reprimanded on his knees in such an assembly, and by so fine a woman as we may suppose the speaker would be? Then, doubtless, would a grand committee sit on the affair of hoops; and were they established in their present form by proper authority, doors and boxes might be altered and enlarged accordingly. Then should we talk as familiarly of the visit bill as of the marriage bill; and with what pleasure should we peruse the regulations of the committee of dress! Every lover of decorum would be pleased to hear, that refractory females were taken into custody by the usher of the black fan: the double return of a visit would occasion as many debates as the double return for a certain county; and at the eve of an election, how pretty would it be to see the ladies of the shire going about, mounted on their white palfreys, and canvassing for votes. "Till this great purpose is attained, I see not how the visible enormities in point of dress, and failures in point of ceremony, can effectually be prevented. But then, and not before, I shall hope to see politeness and good breeding distinguished from formality and affectation, and dresses invented that will improve, not diminish, the charms of the fair, and rather become than disguise the wearers. “I am, SIR, yours, &c. 66 TIMOTHY CANVASS." I am much obliged to my correspondent for his letter, and heartily wish that this scheme was carried into execution. The liberties daily taken in point of dress demand proper restrictions. The ancients settled their national habit by law: but |