266 
Who can doubt that the mind of a female 
is open to the same influences, and that girls 
at school are just as susceptible of early 
impressions as boys? Why, then, should a 
different system be observed ? and why, ina 
family, should the boys be sent to school to 
become useful members of society, and the 
girls kept at home to be turned into pretty 
ornamental toys ? 
I am aware that in thus discouraging the 
“manufacture ”’ of governesses, some other 
opening ought to be found for female occu- 
pation. One great—perhaps the greatest 
impediment to this, is the employment of men 
in situations which ought to be exclusively 
filled by women. This is in some measure 
also the fault of the description of education 
I have been condemning; forit is not easy 
to find women sufficiently grounded in rudi- 
mental education to qualify them for such 
situations. If, however, an opening were 
afforded them for the exercise of such quali- 
fications, their natural quickness would soon 
prevent this from being an excuse. But 
whilst so many thousands of young men are 
allowed to usurp situations which I have 
always considered degrading to manhood 
(and which ought to be exclusively filled by 
females), so long will the present imperfect 
education of females continue. 
In all our light businesses, young women 
are far better adapted to officiate behind the 
counter than men. It is a most disgusting 
anomaly to see (so called) “men” measuring 
yards of tape, and descanting upon the fall 
of a lady’s  dress!—over-grown fellows 
(perhaps six feet high), who look as though 
nothing but their dainty fingers prevented 
them from lifting a plough; but who lend 
themselves to the inculcation of lectures upon 
the “fascination of a Moire Antique, and 
the splendid effect of a French brocade.” — 
Ugh!! C. Goopwyn. 
TIME AND LOVE. 
Aw artist painted Time and Love ; 
Time with two pinions spread above, 
And Love without a feather ; 
Sir Harry patronised the plan, 
And soon Sir Hail and Lady Ann 
In wedlock came together. 
Copies of each the dame bespoke : 
The Artist, ere he drew a stroke, 
Reversed his old opinions ; 
And straightway to the fair one brings 
Time in his turn devoid of wings, 
And Cupid with two pinions. 
“ What blunder’s this?” the lady cries ; 
“No blunder, Madam,” he replies, 
**T hope I’m not so stupid— 
Each has his pinions in his day, 
Time, before marriage, flies away ; 
And—after marriage, Cupid.” 


KIDD’S OWN JOURNAL. 
VULGAR ERRORS,—No. I. 
That man is a public benefactor, who dares to declare 
“‘ things as they are,” and who seeks to set ‘‘ crooked 
things straight.’’ FRANKLIN. 
IT IS CURIOUS TO OBSERVE, how Old 
Wives’ Fables and Sayings prevail through- 
out succeeding generations. They become 
household words; and are handed down 
from family to family as truths which must 
not be argued against or disputed. 
‘Blind as a Mole,” is one of these vulgar 
errors of speech. We have exposed it at 
much length, in one of our earlier numbers ; 
and now append a very interesting article, 
bearing on the same question, which appears 
in one of the better class of cheap periodi- 
cals.* We may observe, en passant, that 
we wish these said cheap periodicals were 
(all of them) more wholesome in their 
tendency,—more impressed with the import- 
ance of rightly directing the minds of our 
rising youth—more free from religious in- 
tolerance and sectarian taint. . 
We understand that the aggregate number 
of “cheap” weekly periodicals sold, may 
be counted by millions. What a fearful 
power then rests in the hands of their re- 
spective proprietors !— Editors, of course, 
there are none. We very frequently glance 
at some of them; and amongst much that 
is good, we find, znvariably, that the EVIL 
largely preponderates,—not overtly but 
covertly. The poisoned barb lurks beneath 
the tempting bait. Intolerance, infidelity, 
indelicacy, and grossness, are veiled by what 
is called ‘‘ innocent amusement.”’ 
~The articles consist, for the most part, of 
love-tales, romances, Newgate Calendar 
details of crime, seduction, murder, &c., &c. 
The miscellanies are made up of good and 
bad; the latter are usually inthe proportion of 
at least two to one. ‘Then, the “ Notices to 
Correspondents,”—what filthy, impure, and 
immodest “answers” are there given about 
courtship, &c., to maids, wives, and widows! 
This, every week, in one of the penny 
periodicals! Thus are our domestic servants 
corrupted, our ladies’-maids irretrievably _ 
ruined in principle, and other members of 
our household demoralised,—in thought, if 
not in action. By the way, the Morning 
Post has been lately very eloquent on this 
subject. 
Many a father, and many a mother, may 
be heard in Manchester, Liverpool, and other 
large towns, cursing with a loud voice the 
proprietors of these cheap penny periodicals. 
They have been the means of breaking 
thousands of hearts, and of causing the 
transportation of children innumerable. At- 
tracted by the wood engrayings—a deep lure 
* The Leisure Hour. 

