Chap. IX.] Mechanic Arls. l.j.5 



incomparably greater ease Avith wliieh tlic same 

 amount of comfortable accommodation may be 

 obtained at present, none can hesitate to give a 

 decided preference, in all these respects, to mo- 

 dern times. Perhaps it wouk! not be extrava- 

 gant to say that many of the higher orders of 

 meclianics and day labourers now wear better 

 clothes, and live, not more plentifully, but in 

 some respects more conveniently, more neath', 

 and with more true taste, than many princes and 

 kings w^ere in the habit of doino; two centuries ao-o, 

 and in a manner quite as pleasant as multitudes 

 of a rank far superior to themselves, at a later 

 period. In sliort, the remarkable and unprece- 

 dented union of neatness and simplicity, cheapness 

 and elegance, which has been exhibited in the 

 art of living, within the last thirty or forty years, 

 is, at once, a testimony of the rapid improvement 

 of the mechanic arts, and one of the most unques- 

 tionable points in which we may claim a superi- 

 ority over our predecessors. 



respects true : the full and flowing garments of the Greeks were, 

 probably, more healthful, as well as more graceful ; but in the 

 texture, convenienci/ , and cheapness of dress, it is presumed later 

 fashions have greatly the advantage. 



