I always dreſs myſelf before breakfaſt, and expect you to follow my example, if there is not a ſufficient and obvious excuse. You, Mary, missed a pleaſant airing yeſterday; for if you had not forgotten the reſpect which is due to me, and hurried down to breakfaſt in a ſlovenly manner, I ſhould have taken you out with me; but I did not chooſe to wait till you were ready, as your not being ſo was entirely your own fault.
Fathers, and men in general, complain of this inattention; they have always to wait for females. Learn to avoid this fault, however inſignificant it may appear in your eyes, for that habit cannot be of little conſequence that ſometimes weakens eſteem. When we frequently make allowance for another in trifling matters, notions of inferiority take root in the mind, and too often produce contempt. Reſpect for the underſtanding muſt be the baſis of conſtancy; the tenderneſs which flows from pity is liable to periſh inſenſibly, to conſume itſelf—even the virtues of the heart, when they degenerate into weakneſs, ſink a character
