"When I consider the clinging drapery of our grandmothers, and compare it with the spreading coats of this assembly, I do not so much wonder at the rudeness of the former as I am astonished at the politeness of the present age. They crept along, as it were in fetters; and a woman with her head poking out of a sack could hardly be more confined or make a more grotesque figure. On the other hand, the capula-coat allows all the freedom of motion, the graceful walk, the majestic step—not to mention the beauty and splendour of the foot, which plays visibly within the circle and ravishes the eyes of the watchful beholder.
"When I survey the structure of this silken dome, and contemplate the convex or concave of the building, I am struck with admiration at the ingenuity of mankind; a fabric so ample, and withal so portable, is stupendous; and after-ages, who perhaps may see this contrivance in the paintings of some great master, shall with pain believe what the justice of the pencil represents.
"Were I to enumerate the conveniences and ornaments which accrue to the sex from the use of the hoop, the tapers would require snuffing before my
