352 MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND [PART II. 



to feast whether you be hungry or not. And, 

 though the manner and style are widely different 

 in different houses, the abundance every where 

 prevails. This is the strength of the govern 

 ment: a happy people: and no government 

 ought to have any other strength. 



354. But, you may say, perhaps, that plenty, 

 however great, is not all that is wanted. Very 

 true: for the mind is of more account than the 

 carcass. But, here is mind too. These repasts, 

 amongst people of any figure, come forth under 

 the superintendance of industrious and accom 

 plished house- wifes, or their daughters, who all 

 read a great deal, and in whom that gentle 

 treatment from parents arid husbands, which 

 arises from an absence of racking anxiety, has 

 created an habitual, and even an hereditary 

 good humour. These ladies can converse with 

 you upon almost any subject, and the ease and 

 gracefulness of their behaviour are surpassed 

 by those of none of even our best-tempered 

 English women. They fade at an earlier age 

 than in England; but, till then, they are as 

 beautiful as the women in Cormvall, which 

 contains, *to my thinking, the prettiest women 

 in our country. However, young or old, bloom 

 ing or fading, well or ill, rich or poor, they still 

 preserve their good humour. 



