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The Moral Punishment Instinct
Perspectives on Justice and Morality
Carolyn Hafer
Series Editor

Books in the Series

Unequal Foundations: Inequality, Morality, and Emotions Across Cultures
Steven Hitlin and Sarah K. Harkness

The Moral Punishment Instinct

Jan-​Willem van Prooijen
The Moral Punishment Instinct

J A N - ​W I L L E M V A N P R O O I J E N

1
1
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers
the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education
by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University
Press in the UK and certain other countries.

Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press

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© International Society for Justice Research 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in

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address above.

You must not circulate this work in any other form

and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Prooijen, Jan-Willem van, 1975– author.
Title: The Moral Punishment Instinct / Jan-Willem van Prooijen.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2018. | Series: Perspectives
on justice and morality | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017029613 | ISBN 9780190609979 (hardback)
Subjects: LCSH: Punishment (Psychology) | Criminology—Psychological aspects. |
BISAC: PSYCHOLOGY / Social Psychology. | SOCIAL SCIENCE / Criminology. |
PHILOSOPHY / Ethics & Moral Philosophy.
Classification: LCC BF319.5.P8 P76 2018 | DDC 303.3/6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017029613

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed by Sheridan Books, Inc., United States of America
 CONTENTS

PREFACE vii

1. Introduction 1

2. Motives for Punishment 31

3. Reason or Intuition? 69

4. Origins of the Moral Punishment Instinct 95

5. Punishment and Cooperation 125

6. When Punishment Backfires 151

7. Black Sheep versus In-​Group Favoritism 175

8. Punishing Dangerous Outsiders 201

9. Revenge, Gossip, and Restorative Justice 225

10. Conclusions and Implications 247

NOTES 263
REFERENCES 271
INDEX 285
 PREFACE

It is hard to imagine the world without punishment. Judges send criminals

to prison for breaking the law. Cyclists are expelled from competitions for
using performance-​enhancing drugs. Managers deny employees a much-​
wanted promotion for poor performance. Teachers discipline their stu-
dents for not doing their homework. Spouses give each other the silent
treatment for being inconsiderate. And parents send their children to bed
early for breaking the rules. It is fair to say that we all have punished, and
have been punished, on multiple occasions in our lives. Furthermore, pun-
ishment strongly influences what people think, feel, and do. What are the
common features of all these different examples of punishment? Where
does the strong drive to punish offenders originate from? How effective is
punishment in changing the behavior of (potential) offenders? More gen-
erally, why do people punish?
In modern societies, punishment often takes place via formal insti-
tutions such as courts of law, or through leaders who have some sort of
legitimate punitive capacity. Throughout the ages, communities have
developed complex punishment systems to reduce rule-​breaking and dis-
courage selfish behavior in large states. But punishment is not unique to
our modern age. It is easy to find examples of punishment in the most
ancient of texts, including the holy scriptures of all the world’s major reli-
gions, as well as the writings of ancient Greek and Roman historians and
philosophers. Furthermore, punishment occurs quite frequently in tribes
that still live like hunter-​gatherers, much like ancestral humans used to
viii Preface

live for millennia. In such tribes, punishment is effectively enforced by a

set of well-​established norms that stipulate whether or not offenders will
be excluded, subject to disciplinary sanction, or target of public ridicule.
Punishment seems to be a basic aspect of the human condition.
One core feature of punishment is that it is strongly rooted in feelings
of justice. People punish when they believe that an offender conducted
actions that are illegitimate or unfair, and offenders therefore often
seem deserving of punishment. This relationship with a concern for jus-
tice suggests that punishment is inextricably linked to human morality.
Nevertheless, one cannot find a satisfactory answer to the question why
punishment is so pervasive among humans in the available social science
books that broadly focus on human morality. There is something unique
about punishment that warrants a more specific discussion. Punishment
is not exclusive to humans: In fact, scientists have observed punishment-​
like behaviors in a range of nonhuman animals, including eusocial insect
species and fish—​animals for which one can legitimately doubt the extent
to which they possess any sense of morality. This raises questions not only
as to how the human punishment instinct evolved, but also why human
beings experience punishment as a moral issue.
The main proposition that I argue for in the book is that moral pun-
ishment is a universal human instinct: a hard-​wired tendency to aggress
against those that violate the norms of the group. People evolved such a
moral punishment instinct due to its power to control behavior by lim-
iting selfishness and free-​riding. Ancestral humans banded together in
small groups of hunter-​gatherers as adaptive strategy in a challenging nat-
ural environment, and punishment provided the incentive that was nec-
essary to protect one’s interests and stimulate the mutual cooperation that
the members of these groups needed to survive. In order to examine this
idea, I draw from the rather rich social science literature on punishment.
The question why people punish is a popular topic of investigation in a
large range of disciplines, including (but not limited to) social, organiza-
tional, and educational psychology; criminology; behavioral economics;
cultural anthropology; and evolutionary biology. My aim in this book was
to integrate all these sources of evidence to examine the question if, and
why, people have a moral punishment instinct.
Preface ix

Writing a book is a challenging task that rarely, if ever, occurs in isola-

tion. First and foremost, I would like to thank Abby Gross, who embarked
with me on this project, as well as various of her colleagues at Oxford
University Press. Also thanks to Carolyn Hafer, the International Society
for Justice Research (ISJR) book series editor of Perspectives on Justice and
Morality, for her help. Furthermore, I thank Mario Gollwitzer and one
anonymous reviewer for the excellent, extensive, and extremely helpful
comments on a previous draft of the book. Finally, thanks to Paul van
Lange for his feedback on the original book proposal.
I strongly appreciate my professional relationships throughout the years
with colleagues and (former) students. Many of them have directly or
indirectly contributed to some of the ideas discussed in this book, through
collaborative projects, and regular discussions on topics related to pun-
ishment, morality, or evolutionary psychology. These scholars include
Mark van Vugt, Daniel Balliet, Josh Tybur, Reinout de Vries, Francesca
Righetti, Flore Bridoux, Kees van den Bos, André Krouwel, Andrea
Pereira, Jean-​Louis van Gelder, Iris van Sintemaartensdijk, Peter Strelan,
Jennifer Coffeng, Marjolijn Vermeer, Emiel Kerpershoek, Marcello
Gallucci, Gaby Toeset, Jerome Lam, Marco van Bommel, Nils Kobis, Niels
van Doesum, Meta Aurelia, Xiaoyue Tan, Mengchen Dong, Joris Beijers,
Catrien Bijleveld, Henk Elffers, and Tomas Ståhl. Also, I thank the ISJR
community for providing a professional forum for the scientific study of
social justice.
Finally, I thank my wife, Claudia, who encouraged me to write this
book and supported me throughout the process. I feel privileged to have
you in my life!
Jan-​Willem van Prooijen
Amsterdam, May 2017
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The Moral Punishment Instinct
 1

Introduction

O
n May 6, 2013, Charles Ramsey was headed home to his house
on Seymour Avenue, in Cleveland, Ohio. As he was quietly eat-
ing a Big Mac, he suddenly heard a strange noise coming from
inside the house of his next-​door neighbor, Ariel Castro. The noise turned
out to be a woman screaming for help. Outside was a man, named Angel
Cordero, already trying to figure out what was going on—​but Cordero did
not speak English, and Ramsey started to talk to the woman. Much to his
surprise, Ramsey discovered that the woman behind the locked front door
was Amanda Berry: a young woman, who had lived just a few blocks away
before she had gone missing 10 years ago. Berry explained that Castro
had held her hostage for all those years. Cordero and Ramsey did not hes-
itate, and together they kicked a hole into the front door. Berry and her
six-​year-​old daughter—​who had been conceived and born during Berry’s
captivity—​crawled out, and together with Cordero and Ramsey, she called
the police. Ariel Castro was arrested shortly afterward. This rescue marked
2 M oral P unishment I nstinct

the end point of the suffering of not only Amanda Berry, but also of two
other young women who were trapped inside the house, Michelle Knight
and Gina DeJesus.
To many people living in the neighborhood, the discovery of the three
missing women at Castro’s house was hard to imagine at first. Castro gen-
erally was a well-​liked person. He never caused any trouble; he had a nor-
mal job, and mostly kept to himself. In retrospect, there were a few “odd”
features about Castro: all of his windows were boarded with plastic, and
there were no air-​conditioning units attached to his house. Moreover,
although Castro did visit the occasional neighborhood barbecue, he rarely
had guests inside or outside of his house. But all of this was insufficient
evidence for anyone to suspect what was going on inside.
Once out of sight from his neighbors, Castro turned into a true mon-
ster towards Berry, Knight, and DeJesus. After their abduction, these
women were held in captivity—​sometimes they were chained to the wall
in a darkened room for long periods of time. They were regularly beaten,
abused, starved, tortured, and raped; essentially, Castro kept these women
as animals and subjected them to sexual slavery. They received one meal a
day, and were allowed to shower no more than twice a week. Repeatedly,
Castro threatened to kill them. Through all the raping, Berry got pregnant,
and gave birth to a baby daughter (upon their discovery, DNA evidence
indeed proved that Castro was the biological father of her child). Knight
got pregnant, too, at least five times, but Castro enforced a miscarriage
each pregnancy through beatings and starvations. It truly was the “house
of horrors,” and it is hard to imagine what these women had to endure for
ten long years.
In the court trial that followed, it was a realistic option for the prosecu-
tion to pursue the death penalty. One of the charges on Castro was aggra-
vated murder, given that he forced several miscarriages upon Knight—​and
in the state of Ohio, this might be punishable by death. If the prosecution
would pursue this, however, it would mean that all three women’s night-
mares would have to be extended by having to testify in public, something
that both the prosecution and the defense attorneys were keen on avoid-
ing. The prosecution and the defense came to a plea agreement: Castro
Introduction 3

would plead guilty on most charges, and the prosecution would not pur-
sue the death penalty. Now that the death penalty was no longer an option,
it seemed pretty clear what would follow next: Castro would spend the rest
of his life in prison. No sane judge would ever grant a parole opportunity
to an offender as dangerous as Castro. Still, the verdict that followed on
August 1, 2013, came as a surprise.
Castro was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole opportunity,
a fine of $100,000, plus an additional 1,000 years of imprisonment.
An additional 1,000 years in prison, on top of a life sentence? What
was the judge thinking—​was he worried that Castro might get excep-
tionally old? Did he attribute some superhuman quality to Castro that
stops him from aging? Or perhaps there was some practical legal reason
behind this—​maybe the judge was trying to avoid some legal loophole
that would enable Castro to go on parole anyway after a few years. But if
this was the case, then why 1,000 years, and not, say, 50 years—​Castro was
already 52 years old, surely he did not have more than a maximum of 30
to 40 years left at that point. Or, perhaps the judge was just being mechani-
cal: maybe he was, in a bureaucratic fashion, counting the estimated num-
ber of felonies, and punishing each one with a proportionate sentence. But
would such a cold calculation add up to exactly 1,000 years—​and does a
life sentence without parole opportunity not already capture the essence
of the punishment, which is that Castro had to spend the rest of his life in
prison? Was there any logic to be found in the judge’s decision?
In fact, the judge knew exactly what he was doing. He had not gone
mad, nor was he building in extra legal safeguards to further ensure that
Castro would stay locked in prison for the rest of his life. He was also not
applying the law in a rigid, mechanistic fashion. The judge was being sym-
bolic. He sent a message to Castro, to his victims, and to the world, that
might read along the following lines: “What this man has done to these
women is of such a horrendous, heinous nature, that no prison sentence is
good enough. Even if he were to live for another 1,000 years, Castro would
still have to be in prison.” The judge literally made sure that Castro under-
stood this by telling him: “You will not be getting out, is that clear?” It was
a powerful message indeed, and Castro certainly got it. Castro did not live
4 M oral P unishment I nstinct

to complete his sentence—​one month after the verdict, Ariel Castro com-
mitted suicide in his prison cell; with still another 999 years, 11 months,
and life to go.
The Ariel Castro verdict illuminates an important insight about punish-
ment. For punishment to be satisfactory, it does not need to be rational;
it needs to “feel right.” Punishment is closely linked with a deep-​rooted,
innate concern for justice: An offender has violated commonly embraced
norms, values, or rules, and people seek punishment to restore balance in
the scales of justice. Punishment puts the offender back into place, and
acknowledges the fate of the offender’s victims. In the pursuit of justice,
punishment can be considered too severe (the medieval practice of chop-
ping off a hand for stealing a loaf of bread is not considered fair anymore
by most people living in modern societies); but punishment can also be
considered too lenient. What people want when confronted with offend-
ers like Castro is a punishment that is fair in the sense that it is propor-
tionate to the harm done, and to the evilness of the offender’s actions. In
Castro’s case, this meant that only a life sentence did not fully establish
justice in the eyes of many people—​and the judge found a creative way
to sentence Castro more severely than life, even if this would not actually
lead to an objectively longer incarceration time.
Likewise, it feels unfair and unsatisfactory when an offender manages
to escape punishment. This is not always so self-​evident as it seems. The
former Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic died of natural causes in his
prison cell, while standing trial for crimes against humanity at the United
Nations’ International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the
Hague, the Netherlands. One might say that dying in a prison cell is a
lonely way to go, and very remote from the glorious, heroic ending that a
narcissist dictator like Milosevic probably had in mind. Easily, having to
die alone in a cold prison cell could be conceived of as a form of punish-
ment. But to many of his victims, the premature death of Milosevic felt
like a tremendous disappointment. Milosevic had not received a verdict
yet; and even though he had been in prison for five years already, and
would certainly be convicted, many people felt that through his death he
managed to escape justice. Milosevic and Castro both died in their prison
Introduction 5

cell, but there was much less public outrage about the death of Castro
than about the death of Milosevic. There was an important, symbolic dif-
ference: Castro had been given a formal punishment, and hence, justice
had been served—​even though he had spent only a few months in prison
when he died. Milosevic had been in prison much longer, but he not been
given a formal punishment yet; and hence, in the eyes of many people,
justice had not been served.
Punishment is thus intimately connected to feelings of justice. In the
remainder of this book, I refer to the desire to punish offenders out of a
concern for justice as “moral punishment.” The main proposition of this
book is that moral punishment is a basic human instinct: a hardwired,
innate response tendency towards offenders that violate group rules. This
proposition has a lot in common with the frequently voiced insight that
people are moral creatures, as people are predisposed to develop a sense
of morality.1 But I believe that there are many issues worth highlighting
that give punishment a unique status in moral psychology. How does the
punitive motivation to make an offender suffer relate to the motivation to
control behavior, such as deterring others from offending? What are the
evolutionary roots of the moral punishment instinct, and how can we still
see these roots today in our modern society? Why is punishment con-
nected to feelings of justice in the first place? And how is the moral pun-
ishment instinct related to other basic human behaviors and motivations,
such as the human tendency to cooperate, to be altruistic and caring, to
trust others, and to their need to belong to valuable social groups? These
are questions that the present book seeks to answer.
The idea that moral punishment is an instinct is not new, and not some-
thing that I can take credit for. In fact, as early as 1918, George Herbert
Mead published an article in the American Journal of Sociology in which he
argued for an instinctive basis of the human tendency to punish offenders.2
One set of instincts at the root of punishment is what Mead very generally
referred to as “hostile instincts,” which manifest themselves in destructive
reactions towards organisms that pose a threat to one’s existence or to one’s
kin. These hostile instincts exist next to a range of other instincts, some
of them more benevolent (e.g., parental instincts). According to Mead,
6 M oral P unishment I nstinct

human nature consists of an organization of basic instincts that mutually

influence each other, and that together can produce complex social acts
such as punishment.
Punishment can be a complex social act indeed. It takes years of legal
study to fully understand the sophisticated criminal justice system within
a country; and even after such careful study, it will be hard to understand
all the subtle differences in how offenders are treated by the legal systems
of different cultures. Also, outside of the legal realm, people have many
social arrangements in place that ensure punishment of rule-​breakers,
and throughout the centuries, these arrangements have only increased in
numbers and in complexity. Only 200 years ago, there were no referees
giving red cards to soccer players for foul play, nor were cyclists being
expelled from competitions for using performance-​ enhancing drugs.
There is an endless list of possible punishments in our modern age, as well
as of formal or informal forms of social organization that utilize punish-
ment to enforce rules. But all of these different manifestations of punish-
ment can be traced back to a very rudimentary instinct that has been with
the human species for a very long time: the tendency to aggress against
those who violate the rules of the group.
Mead also displayed excellent insight into the reasons why people
evolved a punishment instinct, decades before empirical research started
proving him right. According to Mead, there is one instinct of particu-
lar importance in human nature as it is central to many other instincts,
and that is the herding instinct: the human tendency to bond and form
social groups. Particularly in ancestral times, when early humans all lived
like hunter-​gatherers, people needed social groups for survival. For these
social groups to be successful, however, cooperation between group mem-
bers was necessary. Early humans needed to work together towards com-
mon goals (such as finding food and shelter), and they needed to give the
long-​term group interest priority over their immediate self-​interest. By
reducing the selfish behavior of group members, by establishing rules of
conduct, and by enforcing the kind of behaviors that are in the interest of
the group, punishment was, and still is, instrumental in establishing coop-
eration. Mead, for instance, remarked the following (1918, p. 578):
Introduction 7

Back of all this type of organization lies the social life within which
there must be cooperation of the different individuals, and therefore
a continual adjustment of the responses to the changing attitudes of
the animals that participate in the corporate acts.

Consistent with this insight, a central proposition of this book is that

the moral punishment instinct evolved because it was functional in pro-
moting cooperation in groups. Both the “moral” and the “punishment”
aspects are important for that purpose. Morality, for instance, implies that
people have a conscience that prompts them to care about the well-​being
of other group members, and to evaluate through a moral lens the extent
to which others are cooperative. Punishment implies that group mem-
bers expect negative outcomes for themselves if they refuse to cooper-
ate, and they expect such negative outcomes for non-​cooperative other
group members, too—​which installs trust that these others will cooper-
ate. Through various influences on how people relate to each other, moral
punishment installs cooperation. Such cooperation was essential in the
small groups of hunter-​gatherers that all humans descend from. This
punishment–​cooperation link has implications for modern humans, as
punishment still has a substantial influence on behavior, and on people’s
willingness to act in the group interest.
It is well known that punishment exerts an influence on behavior.
Classic studies on operant conditioning reveal that the strategic use of
incentives can increase the likelihood that organisms will learn.3 Behavior
can be positively reinforced through rewards, and negatively reinforced
through punishment. Behaviors that are followed by rewards are further
encouraged; behaviors that are followed by punishments are discouraged,
and replaced with behaviors that are either unpunished, or rewarded. If
you give children praise (a reward) for doing their homework, it stimu-
lates them to do their homework more often; if you punish children for
not doing their homework, it can also stimulate them to do their home-
work more often. Both types of incentive can teach children to display
the desired behavior of doing their homework. These simple principles of
operant conditioning suggest that people can learn or unlearn many sorts
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Exploring the Variety of Random
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 To Miss HARRIOT HENLY.
Beverly.
DEAR HARRIOT,

I sincerely thank you for your affectionate letter, by the last post,
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breast of your affectionate
MATILDA FIELDING.
 To Miss MARIA WILLIAMS.
BOSTON.
MY DEAR MARIA,

Since I wrote you last, I have made an agreeable visit to my good

friend Sylvia Star. After rambling in the fields and gardens till we
were fatigued, we went into her brother’s library. He was in a
studious attitude, but gave us a polite reception. We are come,
Amintor, said I. Be so kind as to furnish us with some instructive
page, which combines entertainment and utility; and while it informs
the mind, delights the imagination. I am not happy enough to know
your taste respecting books, said he; and therefore, may not make a
proper selection. Here, however, is an author highly spoken of by a
lady who has lately added to the number of literary publications;
handing me Sterne’s Sentimental Journey. I closed and returned the
book. You have, indeed, mistaken my taste, said I. Wit, blended with
indelicacy, never meets my approbation. While the fancy is allured,
and the passions awakened, by this pathetic humourist, the
foundations of virtue are insidiously undermined, and modest dignity
insensibly betrayed. Well, said he, smilingly, perhaps you are
seriously inclined. If so, this volume of sermons may possibly please
you. Still less, rejoined I. The serious mind must turn with disgust
from the levity which pervades these discourses, and from the
indecent flow of mirth and humour, which converts even the sacred
writings, and the most solemn subjects of religion, into frolic and
buffoonery. Since such is your opinion of this celebrated writer, said
he, I will not insult your feelings by offering you his Tristram Shandy.
But here is another wit, famous for his “purity.” Yes, said I, if
obscene and vulgar ideas, if ill-natured remarks and filthy allusions
by purity, Swift undoubtedly bears the palm from all his
contemporaries. As far as grammatical correctness and simplicity of
language can deserve the epithet, his advocates may enjoy their
sentiments unmolested; but in any other sense of the word, he has
certainly no claim to “purity.” I conceive his works, notwithstanding,
to be much less pernicious in their tendency, than those of Sterne.
They are not so enchanting in their nature, nor so subtle in their
effects. In the one, the noxious insinuations of licentious wit are
concealed under the artful blandishments of sympathetic sensibility;
while we at once recoil from the rude assault which is made upon
our delicacy, by the roughness and vulgarity of the other.
Choose then, said Amintor, for yourself. I availed myself of his offer,
and soon fixed my eyes upon Dr. Belknap’s History of New
Hampshire, and American Biography; both of which I have since
read with the greatest satisfaction.
By this judicious and impartial historian, we are led from its first
settlement to trace the progress of the infant colony. We accompany
its inhabitants in their enterprizes, their dangers, their toils, and their
successes. We take an interest in their prosperity; and we tremble at
the dreadful outrages of the barbarous foe. Our imagination is again
recalled to the gradual advance of population and agriculture. We
behold the wilderness blooming as the rose, and the haunts of
savage beasts, and more savage men, converted into fruitful fields
and pleasant habitations. The arts and sciences flourish; peace and
harmony are restored; and we are astonished at the amazing
contrast, produced in little more than a century.
When we return to the American Biography, gratitude glows in our
bosoms towards those intrepid and active adventurers, who
traversed a trackless ocean, explored an unknown region, and laid
the foundation of empire and independence in this western
hemisphere. The undaunted resolution, and cool, determined
wisdom of Columbus, fill us with profound admiration. We are
constrained to pay a tribute of just applause to the generosity of a
female mind exemplified in Isabella, who, to surmount every
obstacle, nobly consented to sacrifice even her personal ornaments
to the success of this glorious expedition.
The daring spirit of Captain Smith, and the prudence, policy and
magnanimity of his conduct to the treacherous natives, and to his
equally treacherous and ungrateful countrymen, exhibit an example
of patriotism and moderation, which at once commands our
applause, and interests our feelings. While we tremble and recoil at
his dreadful situation, when bending his neck to receive the
murderous stroke of death, the native virtues of our sex suddenly
reanimate our frame; and with sensations of rapture, we behold
compassion, benevolence, and humanity, triumphant even in a
savage breast; and conspicuously displayed in the conduct of the
amiable though uncivilized Pocahontas! Nor are the other characters
in this work uninteresting; and I am happy to find that the same
masterly pen is still industriously employed for the public good;[6]
and that a second volume of American Biography is now in press.

6. How vain are our expectations! While the types were setting
for this very page, Dr. Belknap suddenly expired in a fit.—
Printer.
In reviewing this letter, I am astonished at my own presumption, in
undertaking to play the critic. My imagination has outstripped my
judgment; but I will arrest its career, and subscribe myself most
affectionately yours.
SOPHIA MANCHESTER.
 To Miss ANNA WILLIAMS.
Boston.
DEAR ANNA,

I retired, after breakfast this morning, determined to indulge myself

in my favorite amusement, and write you a long letter. I had just
mended my pen and folded my paper, when I was informed that
three ladies waited for me in the parlor. I stepped down and found
Lucinda P——, Flavia F——, and Delia S——. They were gaily
dressed, and still more gaily disposed. “We called,” said they, “to
invite you, Miss Maria, to join our party for a shopping tour.” Loath to
have the ideas dissipated, which I had collected in my pericranium,
for the purpose of transmitting to a beloved sister, I declined
accepting their invitation; alleging that I had no occasion to
purchase any thing to day; and therefore begged to be excused from
accompanying them. They laughed at my reason for not engaging in
the expedition. “Buying,” said their principal speaker, “is no
considerable part of our plan, I assure you. Amusement is what we
are after. We frankly acknowledge it a delightful gratification of our
vanity, to traverse Cornhill, to receive the obsequious congees, and
to call forth the gallantry and activity of the beaux, behind the
counter; who, you must know, are extremely alert when we belles
appear. The waving of our feathers, and the attractive airs we
assume, command the profoundest attention, both of master and
apprentices; who, duped by our appearance, suffer less brilliant
customers to wait, or even to depart without notice, till we have
tumbled over and refused half the goods in the shop. We then bid a
very civil adieu; express our regret at having given so much trouble;
are assured in return that it has been rather a pleasure; and leave
them their trouble for their pains.”
A most insignificant amusement this, said I to myself! How little can
it redound to the honor and happiness of these unthinking girls, thus
to squander their time in folly’s giddy maze! They undoubtedly wish
to attract eclat; but they would do well to remember those words of
the satirist, which, with the alteration of a single term, may be
applied to them.
“Columbia’s daughters, much more fair than nice,
Too fond of admiration, lose their price!
Worn in the public eye, give cheap delight
To throngs, and tarnish to the sated sight.”

Viewing their conduct in this light, I withstood their solicitations,

though I palliated my refusal in such a manner as to give no
umbrage.
Of all expedients to kill time, this appears to me, as I know it will to
you, the most ridiculous and absurd.
What possible satisfaction can result from such a practice? It
certainly fatigues the body; and is it any advantage to the mind?
Does it enlarge the understanding, inspire useful ideas, or furnish a
source of pleasing reflection? True, it may gratify a vitiated
imagination, and exhilarate a light and trifling mind. But these ought
to be restrained and regulated by reason and judgment, rather than
indulged.
I wish those ladies, who make pleasure the supreme object of their
pursuit, and argue in vindication of their conduct, that
“Pleasure is good, and they for pleasure made,”

would confine themselves to that species which

“Neither blushes nor expires.”

The domestic virtues, if duly cultivated, might certainly occupy those

hours, which they are now solicitous to dissipate, both with profit
and delight. “But it is time enough to be domesticated,” say they,
“when we are placed at the head of families, and necessarily
confined to care and labor.”
Should not the mind, however, be seasonably inured to the sphere of
life which Providence assigns us?
“To guide the pencil, turn th’ instructive page;
To lend new flavor to the fruitful year,
And heighten nature’s dainties; in their race
To rear their graces into second life;
To give society its highest taste;
Well-ordered home man’s beet delight to make;
And, by submissive wisdom, modest skill,
With every gentle care eluding art,
To raise the virtues, animate the bliss,
And sweeten all the toils of human life;
This be the female dignity and praise.”

A proper attention to these necessary duties and embellishments,

would not only correct this rambling disposition, but happily leave
neither leisure nor temptation for its indulgence.
I intended to have given you some account of my agreeable visit
here; but the chit-chat of the ladies I have mentioned, has occupied
a large portion of my time this morning, and an engagement to dine
abroad claims the rest.
I hope soon to embrace you in our beloved retirement, and again to
enjoy the sweets of my native home.
“Had I the choice of sublunary good,
What could I wish that I possess not there?
Health, leisure, means t’ improve it, friendship, peace.”

My most dutiful affections await mamma; and my kind regards

attend the young ladies residing with her. How great a share of my
ardent love is at your command, need not be renewedly testified.
MARIA WILLIAMS.
 To Miss SOPHIA MANCHESTER.
Newburyport.
The extracts which you transmitted to me in your last letter, my dear
Sophia, from your favorite author, Dr. Young, corresponded exactly
with the solemnity infused into my mind by the funeral of a neighbor,
from which I had just returned.
I agree with you that the Night-Thoughts are good devotional
exercises. It is impossible to read them with that degree of attention
which they merit, without being affected by the important and awful
subjects on which they treat. But Young, after all, is always too
abstruse, and in many instances too gloomy for me. The most
elaborate application is necessary to the comprehension of his
meaning and design; which when discovered often tend rather to
depress than to elevate the spirits.
Thompson is much better adapted to my taste. Sentiment, elegance,
perspicuity and sublimity are all combined in his Seasons. What an
inimitable painter! How admirably he describes the infinitely
variegated beauties and operations of nature! To the feeling and
susceptible heart they are presented in the strongest light. Nor is the
energy of his language less perceivable, when he describes the Deity
riding on the wings of the wind, and directing the stormy tempest.
 “How chang’d the scene! In blazing height of noon,
The sun oppress’d, is plunged in thickest gloom,
Still horror reigns, a dismal twilight round,
Of struggling night and day malignant mix’d,
Far to the hot equator crowding fast,
Where highly rarefy’d, the yielding air,
Admits their stream, incessant vapours roll,
Amazing clouds on clouds continual heap’d;
Or whirl’d tempestuous by the gusty wind,
Or silent, borne along, heavy and slow,
With the big stores of streaming oceans charg’d:
Meantime, amid these upper sea’s condens’d
Around the cold aerial mountain’s brow,
And by conflicting winds together dash’d,
The thunder holds his black tremendous throne,
From cloud to cloud the rending lightnings rage;
Till in the furious elemental war
Dissolve the whole precipitated mass,
Unbroken floods and torrents pours.”

Conscious of our own weakness and dependence, we can hardly fail

to adore and to fear that Divine Power, whose agency this imagery
exhibits to our minds. Nor are the devout affections of our hearts
less excited, when we behold the same glorious Being arrayed in
love, and accommodating the regular succession of summer and
winter, seed time and harvest to our convenience and comfort.
When nature, obedient to his command, revives the vegetable
world, and diffuses alacrity and joy throughout the animal, and even
rational creation, we involuntarily exclaim with the
 “Hail, source of being! Universal soul
Of heaven and earth! Essential Presence, hail!
To Thee I bend the knee; to Thee my thoughts
Continual climb; who, with a master hand,
Hast the great whole into perfection touch’d.
By Thee various vegetative tribes,
Wrapt in a filmy net and clad with leaves,
Draw the live ether, and imbibe the dew.
By Thee disposed into cogenial foils,
Stands each attractive plant, and sucks, and swells
The juicy tide; a twining mass of tubes.
At Thy command, the vernal sun awakes
The torpid sap, detruded to the root
By wintry winds; which now in fluent dance,
And lively fermentation, mounting spreads
All this inumerous-colour’d scene of things.”

Aided in our observations by this pathetic and pious writer, our

hearts beat responsive to the sentiments of gratitude, which he
indirectly, yet most forcibly inculcates in that devout address to the
Supreme Parent:
“——Were every faltering tongue of man,
Almighty Father! silent in thy praise,
Thy works themselves would raise a general voice,
Even in the depth of solitary woods,
By human foot untrod: proclaim the power,
And to the quire celestial Thee resound,
Th’ eternal cause, support, and End of all!”

By this beautiful poem we are allured to the study of nature, and to

the contemplation of nature’s God. Our hearts glow with devotion
and love to the sovereign Lord and benefactor of the universe; and
we are drawn, by the innumerable displays of his goodness, to the
practice of virtue and religion.
You may, possibly call me an enthusiast. Be it so. Yet I contend for
the honor, but especially for the privilege, of being a cheerful one.
For I think we dishonor our heavenly father by attaching any thing
gloomy or forbidding to his character. In this participation of divine
blessings, let us rather exercise a thankful, and contented
disposition.
I remain your’s most affectionately.
CAROLINE LITTLETON.
 To Mrs. WILLIAMS.
Boston.
DEAR MADAM,

By her desire in conjunction with my own inclination, I inform you

that Harriot Henly, is no more——Yesterday she gave her hand, and
renounced her name together; threw aside the sprightly girl we have
been so long accustomed to admire, and substituted in her place the
dignified and respectable head of a family, in Mrs. Farmington.
Have I not lost my amiable friend and associate! Will not her change
of situation tend to lessen our intercourse, and alienate our
affections?
When I contemplate the social circle, so firmly cemented in the
bands of friendship, at the boarding school, where the most perfect
harmony, ease and satisfaction presided, I recoil at the idea of
becoming less dear, less interesting, and less necessary to each
other. It is with the utmost reluctance that I admit the idea of rivals
to that affection and benevolence which we have, so long, and so
sincerely interchanged.
The charm however is broken. Harriot is already married; and my
friends are extremely solicitous that I should follow her example. But
in a connexion which requires so many precautions, before it is
formed, and such uninterrupted circumspection and prudence
afterwards; the great uncertainty of the event inspires me with
timidity and apprehension.
Harriot put into my hands, and I read with pleasure, the book which
you recommended to her on the subject. But still we wished for your
instruction and advice. The sentiments of a person so dear and
interesting to us, are particularly calculated to engage our attention,
and influence our conduct. Relying, too, on your judgment and
experience, your forming pen may render us more worthy objects of
attachment.
We, however, unite in assuring you of our gratitude for all past
favours; and in presenting our sincere regards to the young ladies.
I am, with great respect, your affectionate and grateful
LAURA GUILFORD.
 To Miss LAURA GUILFORD.
Harmony-grove.
DEAR LAURA,

The obligations under which you lay me, by your generous

confidence, and affectionate expressions of regard, induce me again
to assume the Preceptress towards you, and to gratify your wishes,
by imparting my sentiments on your present situation and prospects.
I am told by my daughter, who had the honor of bearing your letter,
that you are what I always expected you would be, an object of
general admiration. Yet, I trust, your good sense will enable you duly
to distinguish and treat the several candidates for your favor.
It is, indeed, my young friend, a matter of the most serious
consequence, which lies upon your mind, and awakens your anxiety.
Your friends are studious of your welfare, and kindly concerned that
the important die on which the happiness of your life depends,
should be judiciously cast. You doubtless remember, that I
discoursed upon this subject in my concluding lessons to your class.
Disparity of tempers, among other things which were then
suggested, and which you will doubtless recollect, was represented,
as tending to render life uncomfortable. But there are other
disparities which may be equally hostile to your peace.
Disparity of years is very apt to occasion the indulgence of passions
destructive of conjugal felicity. The great difference between the
sprightly vivacity, and enterprise of youth, and the deliberate
caution, phlegmatic coldness, and sententious wisdom of age render
them very unpleasant companions to each other. Marriage between
persons of these opposite descriptions is commonly the result of
pecuniary motives, with one party, at least: the suspicion of this, in
the other, must necessarily produce discontent, uneasiness, and
disaffection.
Age is naturally jealous of respect, and apprehensive of being
slighted. The most trifling and unmeaning inattentions will therefore
be construed amiss. For an excessive desire of being objects of
supreme regard is almost invariably accompanied with a strong
persuasion of being the reverse. Hence accusations, reproaches and
restraints, on the one side, produce disgust, resentment and
alienation on the other, till mutual and unceasing wretchedness
ensue. Indeed, where interest alone, without this inequality of years,
is the principal inducement, marriage is seldom happy. Esteem and
love are independent of wealth and its appendages. They are not to
be sold or bought. The conjugal relation is so near and interesting,
the mind as well as the person is so intimately concerned in it, that
something more substantial and engaging than gold is requisite to
make it a blessing.
Marriage, being the commencement of a domestic life, beside the
many agreeable circumstances attending it, has its peculiar cares
and troubles which require the solace of a companion actuated by
better principles, and possessed of more amiable endowments than
outward splendor and magnificence can afford. In the hour of
sickness and distress, riches it is true, can bestow bodily comforts
and cordials; but can they be made an equivalent for the tender
sympathy, the endearing kindness, and the alleviating attention of a
bosom friend, kindly assiduous to ease our pains, animate our
prospects, and beguile the languid moments which elude all other
consolations? The sorrows as well as the joys of a family state, are
often such as none but a bosom friend can participate. The heart
must be engaged before it can repose with ease and confidence. To
a lady of sensibility, the confinement of the body, without the
consent and union of according minds, must be a state of
inexpressible wretchedness.
Another situation, not less to be deplored, is a connexion with the
immoral and profane.
How shocking must it be, to hear that sacred NAME, which you
revere and love, constantly treated with levity and irreverence! And
how painful the necessity of being constrained, for the sake of
peace, to witness in silence, and without even the appearance of
disapprobation, the most shameful outrages upon religion and
virtue! May you never taste the bitterness of this evil.
Intemperance is a vice, which one would imagine no lady would
overlook in a suitor. But, strange to tell! there are those even among
our own sex, who think and speak of inebriation in the other, at the
jovial and well furnished board, as a mark of conviviality and good
fellowship.
How degrading and how dreadful must this enormity appear to an
interested, affectionate and virtuous wife! What agonizing pangs of
mortification and anguish must she endure, when she meets him, in
whose society she delights; whose return she has anticipated with
impatience, and whose happiness and honor are the moving springs
of her life, intoxicated with wine; the powers of his mind suspended
by the poisonous cup, and every faculty absorbed in the deadly
draught! What a perpetual source of dread and apprehension must
hence arise; and how often must the blush of indignant virtue and
wounded delicacy be called forth.
The gamester is an equally dangerous companion. His family is
robbed, not only of his company and his talents, but of that
property, to the benefit of which they have an indisputable claim. His
earnings are squandered among worthless and profligate associates
abroad; while the fruitful partner of his life, and perhaps, too, a
rising offspring, languish at home for want of bread!
How fatal is the tendency of such examples! How can that father
inculcate the duties of piety, virtue and decency, who exhibits the
reverse of each in his own conduct? And under what an unspeakable
disadvantage, must that mother labor, in the instruction and
education of her children, whose admonitions, counsels, and
directions are practically counteracted by him who ought to bear an
equal share of the burden! The government and superintendence of
a family are objects of such magnitude and importance, that the
union and co-operation of its heads are indispensably necessary. It is
a little commonwealth; and if internal feuds and dissentions arise,
anarchy and confusion must ensue.
Domestic happiness is the foundation of every other species. At
times, indeed, we may enjoy ourselves abroad, among our friends—
but a good heart will return home, as to the seat of felicity.
“——Home is the resort
Of love, of joy, of peace and plenty, where
Supporting and supported, polish’d friends
And dear relations mingle into bliss.”

Since so much, then, depends upon a judicious choice, how

important is it, that you examine well before you decide; and that
you dispense with no quality in the man to whom you shall give your
hand, which is essential to the virtue and happiness of your life. For
this purpose, consult your judgment rather than your fancy; and
suffer not superficial accomplishments, but solid merit to
preponderate.
I have now endeavored to point out the most apparent and
threatening dangers to which you may be exposed. But though
these are avoided, many unforeseen accidents will doubtless occur
to cloud your sanguine hopes. These, when there are no vices to
produce them, may arise from follies, and from the indulgence of
erroneous expectations. Little misunderstandings sometimes
occasion disagreements which terminate in coldness and
disaffection, and plant a root of bitterness which can hardly be
eradicated.
Let prudence, therefore, be your pole-star, when you enter the
married state. Watch with the greatest circumspection over yourself;
and always exercise the tenderest affection, the most unwearied
patience, and the most cheerful acquiescence in the treatment of
your companion. Guard especially against being affected by those
little inattentions and foibles, which too often give pain and umbrage
without design; and produce those remonstrances, criminations, and
retorts, which are the great inlets of strife, and bane of love.
You must bear with calmness, every thing that the sincerest desire
of peace can dictate; and studiously avoid every expression, and
even look, which may irritate and offend. Your own happiness, you
will consider so intimately connected with that of your husband, as
to be inseparable; and consequently, that all your hopes of comfort
in this life, and perhaps too, in the next, depend upon your
conducting with propriety and wisdom towards him.
I take the liberty, through you, to convey my congratulations to Mrs.
Farmington. May her change of condition be happy, to the full extent
of our most sanguine expectations, and benevolent wishes. I fully
intended writing her on the subject, but having unwarily bestowed
so much time upon you, that for the present, I must forego the
pleasure. Some things in this letter, which you will doubtless
communicate, are applicable to her case. These she will receive as
friendly hints from me; and I am confident that her known discretion
will continue to shed a benign and engaging influence upon her
whole deportment and render her uniformly respected and beloved.
The bearer is waiting, and I can only add, that I remain your sincere
and affectionate friend.
MARY WILLIAMS.
 To Miss CLEORA PARTRIDGE.
Boston.
DEAR CLEORA,

The pleasing hope with which you inspired me, when we parted last,
of receiving a visit from you in town, has been constantly cherished.
I have anticipated your arrival with the utmost impatience; but have
endeavored, notwithstanding, to beguile the slow-paced hours by a
useful and pleasing occupation; the revision of my geographical
studies.
My papa has kindly procured me Doctor Morse’s last and much
improved edition of Universal Geography, which with the assistance
of a pair of globes he possessed, has afforded me the most
delightful entertainment. When at school, I thought this the most
agreeable study allotted me; never deeming it a task, but an
amusement.
It affords me, as it must every true American, the sincerest pleasure
to be furnished with the means of acquiring this favorite science, by
my own countryman; and the spirit of Columbian independence
exults in my bosom, at the idea of being able to gain an accurate
acquaintance with my own and other countries, without recourse to
the labors of foreigners.
I think the present generation are under special obligations to the
active industry of Dr. Morse, in providing us with that necessary and
rich fund of information, which his Geography and Gazeteer contain.
From these sources we may derive a sufficient knowledge of the
world we inhabit, without departing from our domestic sphere.
Come then, my dear Cleora, and without fatigue or expense, we will
make the tour of the globe together. After investigating the local
situation of different and distant climes, we will turn to the historic
page, and examine the manners, government, character and
improvements of their inhabitants. We will traverse the frozen
wastes of the frigid zones, and the burning sands of the equatorial
region; then return and bless the temperate and happy medium in
which we are placed; and casting an eye around, exult in our
peculiar advantages of soil and situation, peace and good
government, virtue and religion.
The fine mornings of this season afford many delightful hours,
before the heat of the day relaxes the mind and enervates the body.
Come, then, enjoy and improve these, in concert with your faithful
and affectionate friend,
JULIA GREENFIELD.
 To Miss MATILDA FIELDING.
Harmony-Grove.
DEAR MATILDA,

Last Thursday, after having concluded the usual occupations and

sedentary amusements of the day, I walked out, towards evening, to
enjoy the benefit of a cool and fragrant air, and the serenity and
beauty of those rural scenes which have a powerful tendency to
soothe and tranquillize the mind. When I had rambled in the fields to
a considerable distance, I crossed into the road, to return home free
from the inconvenience of the dew, which had begun to fall.
I had not proceeded far, when I observed a female, who had the
appearance of youth and misfortune, sitting by the wall in a pensive
attitude, with an infant in her lap. When I approached her, she
arose, and in the most humble and pathetic accents, besought me to
direct her to some shelter, where she might repose her weary limbs
for the night. The aspect and language of distress awakened my
compassion. To know she really needed charity, was a sufficient
inducement with me to bestow it, without scrupulously inquiring
whether she deserved it or not. I therefore told her to follow me,
and I would conduct her to a lodging.
As we walked on, I questioned her respecting the place of her
nativity, her parentage, and the reason of her being reduced to the
situation in which I had found her. She informed me that she was
born in Ireland: that her parents brought her into this country before
her remembrance; that while she was very young, they both died,
and left her to the protection and mercy of strangers; that she was
bandied one from another, in the village where Providence had cast
her lot, till she was able to earn her own living: “and since that
time,” said she, “I believe the character of an honest and industrious
girl will not be refused me.” How then, said I, came you by this
incumbrance? pointing to the child. “In that,” replied she, “I am very
guilty. Brought up in ignorance of those principles of decency, virtue,
and religion, which have kept you innocent, Madam, I was ruined by
a deceitful man, who, under the mask of love, and with the most
solemn promises of marriage, betrayed my confidence, and left me
to reap the bitter fruits of my credulity. The woman where I lived,
when she discovered my situation, ordered me to leave her house
immediately. It was no matter, said she, how much I suffered, or
what became of me. On my own head, she told me, my iniquity
should fall; she would not lighten the burden, if it were in her power.
“Some of the neighbors informed me, that she had reason to be
severe upon my fault, being once in the same condemnation herself.
“Having no friend who could assist me, I applied to the selectmen of
the town, who provided for me till I was able to work, and then told
me I must shift for myself; offering, however, to keep the child,
which I refused, being determined that it should never suffer for
want of a mother’s care, while I had life.
“I am now wandering in pursuit of employment, that the labor of my
hands may support myself and little one. This has been often denied
me, either for fear my child should be troublesome, or because my
character was suspected. I have sometimes suffered so much from
fatigue and want, that I have despaired of relief, and heartily wished
both myself and babe in the grave.”
On examination, I found her knowledge confined entirely to
domestic drudgery; that she had never been taught either to read or
write. She appears, notwithstanding, to have good natural sense;
and a quickness of apprehension, and readiness of expression,
seldom equalled in her sphere of life.
I conducted her into the kitchen, and desired she might have supper
and a bed provided for her. My mamma, whose benevolent heart
and liberal hand are always ready to relieve the necessitous, was
pleased to approve my conduct; and having kept her through the
next day, and observed her disposition and behaviour, hired her as a
servant; and we have reason to believe, from her apparent fidelity
and grateful exertions, that our kindness will be well repaid. I have
even extended my charity further, and undertaken to teach her to
read. She is very tractable; and I expect to be amply rewarded for
my labor, by her improvements.
Indeed, Matilda, it is melancholy to see our fellow-creatures reared
up, like the brute creation; neither instructed how to live above their
animal appetites, nor how to die as Christians, when they have
finished their toilsome career!
This girl is only seventeen. Her age, therefore, as well as her docility
and submissiveness, encourage the pleasing hope of restoring her to
the paths of rectitude and peace. I shall endeavor, as opportunity
offers, to instil into her susceptible mind, the principles of virtue and
religion; and, perhaps, I may lead her to the love and practice of
both, and render her a useful member of society. Her fate impresses
more forcibly than ever, on my mind, the importance of a good
education, and the obligations it confers. Had you or I been
subjected to the same ignorance, and the same temptations, who
can say that we should have conducted better? How many fall for
want of the directing hand of that parental love and friendship, with
which we are blessed! Contrasting our situation with hers, how much
have we to account for, and how inexcusable shall we be, if we
violate our duty, and forfeit our dignity, as reasonable creatures.
That extreme bitterness and acrimony, which is sometimes indulged
against persons who are unhappily seduced from the way of virtue,
may operate as a discouragement to all designs and endeavors to
regain it; whereas, the soothing voice of forgiveness, and the
consequent prospect of being restored to reputation and usefulness,
might rouse the attention, and call forth the exertions of some, at
least, who through despair of retrieving their characters, abandon
themselves to vice, and adopt a course, alike disgraceful to their sex,
and to human nature.
But though I advocate the principles of philanthropy and Christian
charity, as extending to some very special cases, I am far from
supposing this fault generally capable of the least extenuation.
Whatever allowance may be made for those, whose ignorance
occasions their ruin, no excuse can be offered for others, whose
education, and opportunities for knowing the world and themselves,
have taught them a better lesson.
I need not, however, be at the pains to enforce this truth upon you:
and, as my head is so full of the subject, that I have no disposition
to write upon any thing else, I will put an end to this incoherent
scroll, by annexing the name of your sincere and faithful friend,
MARIA WILLIAMS.
 To Miss CAROLINE LITTLETON.
Boston.
DEAR CAROLINE,

Happening to be in my chamber, this morning, the maid came

running up stairs in such violent haste, as to put herself fairly out of
breath. Will you be so kind, Miss Sophia, said she, as to lend me a
quarter of a dollar? I put my hand into my pocket, and found I had
no small change. I have nothing less than a dollar, Susan, said I; but
if it is a matter of consequence to you, I will go to my mamma, and
procure it for you. She was loath to give me that trouble; but, if I
would, it would really oblige her very much indeed. Her solicitude
excited my curiosity. Will you inform me what you want it for? said I.
O yes; she believed it was no harm—But there was a woman in the
wood-house who told fortunes; and she wished to know hers, but
could not without the money. A woman who tells fortunes! said I.
What fortunes? the past or the future? The future, to be sure,
Ma’am, replied she. Ay, how does she know them? said I. Has she
been let into the secret designs of Providence? or can she divine the
mysteries of fate? She tells fortunes by cards, Ma’am, said she; and I
really believe she tells true. Can you imagine, said I, that a
knowledge of your destiny in life, is to be gained from any possible
arrangement of a pack of cards? Why not Ma’am? Many people have
been told exactly what was to happen. You may depend on it,
Susan, said I, you are deceived. The Almighty who disposes all
events according to his sovereign pleasure, does not unveil futurity
to mortals, especially to such mortals, who by an idle, vicious course
of life, counteract his laws, and disregard his authority. I would
willingly give you the money, twice told, if you needed it; but I
cannot consent to your being imposed on by this worthless vagrant,
who has no other design than to pick your pocket.
The girl departed at these words; and though I felt an emotion of
regret at refusing to gratify her, yet my reason and conscience
forbad my being accessary to the fraud.
This curiosity to explore the hidden counsels of the Most High,
prevails not only among servants, but even many from whom better
things might be expected, are under its infatuating influence.
The Supreme Being has, for wise and benevolent reasons, concealed
from us the future incidents of our lives. A humble reliance on his
power and goodness, accompanied with a cheerful submission to the
dispensations of his providence, is what the Lord our God requireth
of us.
I have heard my mamma relate an anecdote of a particular friend of
hers, who was imposed on very seriously in this way.
A gentleman, whom I shall call Sylvander, was very deeply in love
with her; but his person, and, much more, his disposition and
manners, were extremely disgusting to her. Averse to the very idea
of a connexion with him, she accordingly refused his addresses. Yet
he had art sufficient to interest her friends in his behalf; who, pitying
his situation, endeavored to soften the heart of the obdurate fair. But
in vain they strove to conciliate her affections.
In defiance of all opposition, however, he intruded his visits, till she
reluctantly admitted them; and being somewhat coquetish, she at
times received him more benignly; which flattered his hopes of
ultimately accomplishing his wishes. Finding his ardent suit of but
little avail, and perceiving that he made but small progress towards
gaining her favor, he had recourse to art. Surprising her one day in
close confabulation with a fortune-teller, the idea immediately struck
him, that he might effect, through this mean, what all his assiduity
and solicitations could never insure. He communicated his plan to a
female friend, who was equally the confident of both parties.
Directed by him, she conversed with Sylvia on the subject; professed
her belief in the skill of these jugglers; and appeared desirous of
taking this measure to learn her fate. Sylvia joined in her opinion
and wishes; and away they tripped together on the important
errand. Meanwhile, Sylvander had been to the fellow who was to
reveal their destinies? and, bribing him to favor the design, left him
instructed what answers to make to their interrogations.
They arrived and proposed their business. The mediums of
information, a pack of cards, were brought forth, and mysteriously
arranged. Sylvia’s curiosity was on tip-toe. She listened with
profound attention to his oracular wisdom; and believed him really
inspired when he told her that her former lover, for-whom she had a
great regard, was gone to a foreign country. This she knew to be
true and therefore gave him a full credence, when he added, that he
would never live to return; and when he proceeded still further to
observe that another gentleman of great merit now courted her;
that she was not fond of his addresses, but would soon see his
worth and her own error, and give him her hand, and be happy.
In short, he so artfully blended the past and present, which she
knew, with the future which Sylvander wished, and had therefore
dictated, that she was firmly persuaded that he dealt with some
invisible power, and that fate had indeed predestined her to the
arms of Sylvander. Convinced of this, she attended to his overtures
more placidly, contemplated his person and endowments with less
aversion, and endeavored to reconcile herself to the unavoidable
event.
This she effected; and not long after, he obtained her in marriage,
and triumphed in the success of his duplicity.
In process of time her other lover returned. Disappointment and
despair presided in his breast. He saw Sylvia, upbraided her with her
inconstancy, and declared himself utterly ruined. Pity and returning
love operated in her mind, and rendered her completely wretched.
She most severely condemned her own folly, in listening to the
dictates of a misguided curiosity; and acknowledged herself justly
punished, for presuming to pry in the secret designs of Heaven.
These strolling pretenders to foreknowledge are peculiarly
dangerous to the weak-minded and credulous part of the
community; and how it happens that they are encouraged, is to me
inconceivable. Did they actually give the information they promise,
how much reason should we have to avoid them! How many sources
of grief would be opened, by the anticipation of future evils, of
which now we have no apprehension! and how often should we be
deprived of the consolatory hope of a speedy deliverance from
present sufferings.
With every sentiment of respect and affection, I am most sincerely
yours.
SOPHIA MANCHESTER.
 To Miss ANNA WILLIAMS.
Boston.
DEAR ANNA,

A most melancholy and distressing event has spread a gloom over

the face of the metropolis. Every heart heaves the sympathetic sigh,
and every eye drops the tear of regret. The very sudden death of
Doctor Clarke, who was seized with an apoplectic fit, in the midst of
his sermon, yesterday afternoon, and expired this morning, is a
subject of universal lamentation.
Not only we, who had the happiness to sit under his ministry, and to
enjoy his particular friendship and attention, but the whole town;
and, indeed, the public at large have sustained a great loss in his
departure. Amiable in his disposition, engaging in his manners, and
benevolent in his whole deportment, he conciliated the affections of
every class. His talents as a scholar, philosopher, and divine,
commanded the respect of the most judicious and learned; while the
elegance, perspicuity and delicacy of his style, joined with the
undissembled seriousness of his manner, rendered him uniformly
acceptable to the devout. In every condition and relation of life, he
was exemplary as a Christian; and as a preacher, an air of
persuasion invariably accompanied him, which arrested the attention
of the most heedless auditors.
 ——“By him, in strains as sweet
As angels use, the gospel whisper’d peace.
Grave, simple and sincere: in language plain:
And plain in manner. Decent, solemn, chaste
And natural in gesture. Much impress’d
Himself as conscious of his awful charge,
And anxious mainly that the flock he fed
Might feel it too. Affectionate in look,
And tender in address, as well becomes
A messenger of grace to guilty men.”

He was particularly attractive to young people. While he charmed

their ear, he convinced their understanding and excited them to the
love and practice of virtue.
A striking example of this occurred some years ago, which I will take
the liberty to relate. He preached in a neighboring church on these
words, “She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.”[7] In this
discourse he painted those allurements of pleasure which surround
the young and gay; more especially of our sex, in the most just and
lively colours. He represented, in pathetic, engaging and refined
language, the snares to which they are exposed, and the most
probable means of escaping them. He exhibited with all their
attractions, the native charms of virtue, and portrayed vice in its true
deformity. He described in the most animating terms, the
respectability, usefulness, and happiness of those who undeviatingly
adhere to the path of rectitude and innocence; and with the most
energetic and affectionate tenderness, warned the youth to avoid
the devious walks of vice and dissipation.

7. 1 Timothy, v. 6.
A number of young ladies, who had been his hearers, happening to
be together in the evening, united in the wish to express their
gratitude to him; but not having a personal acquaintance with him,
could devise no better method than writing.
The following anonymous letter was accordingly penned by one of
the company, and privately conveyed to the Doctor, at the request of
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