condemned, and they were not executed. All those who were not tried in January, were discharged by order of the governor, and never, says Mr. Hutchinson, has such a jail delivery been known in Newengland. And never was there given a more melancholy proof of the degree of depravity always to be counted on when the public passions countenance crime."

FOR THE PORT FOLIO.

DUTCH CLEANLINESS AND FEMALE INFLUENCE.

THE cleanliness of the Dutch in their houses is proverbial, and is sometimes curiously contrasted with the neglect of their persons. I have heard of a gentleman, who being introduced into one of their very clean rooms, and having occasion to spit, declared that he saw no place fit for that purpose but the person of the landlord.

Sir William Temple, in his memoirs, during a residence in Holland, relates the following anecdote:

"Dining one day at monsieur Haeft's (at Amsterdam) and having a great cold, I observed every time I spit, a tight handsome wench (that stood in the room with a clean cloth in her hand) was presently down to wipe it up and rub the board clean: somebody at table speaking of my cold, I said the most trouble it gave was to see the poor wench take so much pains about it: Mr. Haeft told me 'twas well I had escaped so, and that if his wife had been at home, though I were an ambassador, she would have turned me out of doors for fouling her house; and laughing at that humour, said, there were two rooms of his house that he never durst come into, and believed they were never open but twice a year to make them clean. I said, I found he was a good patriot, and not only in the interest of his country, but in the customs of the town, where that of the wife's governing, was, I heard, a thing established. He replied, 'twas true, and that all a man could hope for there was to have an easy governess, and that his wife was so. Another of the magistrates at table, who was a graver man, said, monsieur Haeft was pleasant, but the thing was no more so in their town than in any other place that he knew of. Haeft replied

very briskly, it was so, and could not be otherwise, for it had long been the custom; and whoever offered to break it would have banded against him, not only all the women in the town, but all those men too that were governed by their wives, which would make too great a party to be opposed. In the afternoon upon a visit, and occasion of what had been said at monsieur Haeft's, many stories were fold of the strange and curious cleanliness so general in that city, and some so extravagant that my sister took them for jest; when the secretary of Amsterdam, that was of the company, desiring her to look out of the window, said, why madam, "there is the house where one of our magistrates going to visit the mistress of it, and knocking at the door a strapping North Holland lass came and opened it; he asked whether her mistress was at home? she said yes, and with that he offered to go in; but the wench, marking his shoes were not very clean, took him by both arms, threw him upon her back, carried him across two rooms, set him down at the bottom of the stairs, pulled off his shoes, put him on a pair of slippers that stood there, and all this without saying a word; but when she had done, told him he might go up to her mistress, who was in her chamber."

The descendants of the Dutch in this country retain the same fondness for scrubbing. It is said, that in Albany they have their firewood piled in heaps with the smooth ends outwards, which are regularly rubbed and kept clean and bright in the same manner as articles of furniture. Many other stories are told whether true or not, of their " strange and curious cleanliness." This rigid cleanliness, however, is not confined to the Dutch, and I am credibly informed, that there are in this city many worthy gentlemen, who, like Mr. Haeft, are rarely if ever adınitted into certain apartments, which are opened only to be cleaned.

It is curious to remark in sir Wm. Temples' Dutch story, as well as in other instances, what a close connexion there appears to be between this virtue of cleanliness, and a certain arbitrary power in the wife. Whether this being among the severer virtues, is naturally allied to sternness of temper and love of rule, or whether the love of dominion be not the cause of this extreme cleanliness, I cannot determine; the latter opinion seems to have been adopted by an ingenious author of an Essay upon Whitewashing, written several years ago, in which he ventures to suggest, that the prac

tice originated in a scheme of the wife to get possession of the house, and to turn the husband out of doors. He observes, that luckily for the rights of man, this practice did not prevail so extensively as formerly, and that the paper-makers had caused a considerable revolution in this matter. However that may be, I rejoice in the belief, that in all the changes of modes, there has been no diminution of female power, and that if their prerogatives have been lessened, their influence has increased. X.

EVENING SOCIETY,

[THE following communications, which, for the sake of perspicuity, we place together, represent a grievance in our society, of which, we understand, all are disposed to complain, though none will exert themselves to remedy it. It is in truth a sad and unnatural state of things, when the only hours devoted to what is termed social intercourse should be precisely those when we are most occupied, and that in our moments of leisure, we shut ourselves up churlishly and will not admit our acquaintances. We much fear that such habits will render our society very dull and insipid, As the matter stands at present, in the morning a whole family is disturbed to argue the weather with visiters who are running against time, and measuring their conversation by a stop-watch, or else, which is the happier alternative for both parties, we must "speak by the card," as Hamlet says. But let that unhappy wight beware, who, trusting to the usages elsewhere, ventures to ring an evening bell in Philadelphia. Him no smiling footman welcomes -but dark inquisitive looks are upon him to ascertain whether he be of the kindred, or of sufficient intimacy to have admission to the mysteries of the fireside, and instead of meeting the fate of Acteon for looking upon these sanctities, he is more likely to have a reception the very reverse of being turned into any thing. An evening visit is, in fact, almost deemed downright housebreaking. "He that by night," says lord Coke, " breaketh and entereth into a mansion-house with intent to commit a felony," is guilty of a high

crime, for which he may be hanged or transported: and grave judges have thereupon declared, that even, " to knock at a door, and upon opening it to rush in with a felonious intent," brings an offender in the way of heavy penalties. From the complaint of our friend Calebs, it seems too that a felonious intent is always presumed on these occasions, for no one could be found prowling about after dark, without suspicion of designing to steal an heiress, or purloin some unguarded heart in the parlour. On the whole we would recommend to our friends, young as well as old, to unbend somewhat of this severity-to open their doors even after sunset-and to receive company in the evening without fear or reproach. Having long since abandoned drawing rooms and confined our acquaintance to a few old folks, we cannot speak of things passing, but from what we hear from our grandchildren; but if there be any truth in their complaints, the present age has much cause to lament that the reign of social firesides, snug parties, and petits soupers has been superseded by morning calls, and yawning crowds in the evening.]

From the letter-box.

MR. OLDSCHOOL,

HAVE you forgotten the interests of the ladies in the more important concerns of your magazine? Your gallantry I am sure will not suffer you to plead this excuse: but at all events your aid is wanted to redress various grievances which prevail among us. In the first place then, you must know that there is, and has long been a most lamentable deficiency of beaux in our society. What the cause of this calamity is, I know not; but the evil is too palpable. At a tea-party, for example, it often happens that there are twenty ladies assembled, and not more than two or three gentlemen. At a dance the proportion of gentlemen to the ladies is so small, that many unhappy females are absolutely deprived of this favourite amusement, and remain a whole evening without stirring from their seats, whence they have received the name of wall-flowers, from the impertinent coxcombs. The consequence of this scarcity is, that many of these personages, the men, I mean, feeling their importance, take great airs upon themselves, forsooth, and have adopted habits of carelessness and indifference, that call for immediate

correction.

Sometimes they do not make their appearance at

a party until towards the end of the evening. Sometimes they collect in heaps in the middle of the room, utterly regardless of the presence of the ladies, and if the weather is cold take care to place themselves exactly in such a situation as to deprive the ladies of all benefit from the fire. Many of them affect not to dance at all, while others do it in such a manner, that it looks like the effect of compulsion. It would be endless to repeat all the enormities that are committed on these occasions.

But, sir, there is another complaint that I have to make of a more extensive application. We have heard that in the times of our mothers, gentlemen visited them frequently, and that their evenings were spent in social and agreeable parties of both sexes. But at present, except at large and formal parties, we never see the gentlemen, unless it be in a morning visit of about five minutes, which is thought to be a necessary return for a dance or a tea-party, and which is paid annually. I will acknowledge, to the credit of several of my male visitants, that they are very punctual in the observance of this anniversary, and that I generally see them or their cards (which is the same thing) at my house once a year. As to social evening parties, collected without ceremony or invitation, the custom has long been extinct in Philadelphia. By the way, sir, does not our custom of morning visits occasion a great waste of time by breaking in upon the other occupations of the day, and would it not be better to reserve our visits for the evening, except on particular occasions, and when strangers are to be seen? One advantage would certainly attend such an arrangement; it would accommodate the leisure of those gentlemen whose talents are most desirable in society. But, alas! men of this description seem for the most part to have abandoned society. What wonder if teaparties are frivolous and tiresome, when men of sense desert them: but give me leave to say, at the same time, whatever these gentlemen may think in their dignified retirement, of female society, they may be assured that they would be benefited by it.

This unsocial, ceremonious manner, which is said to be peculiar to Philadelphia, is the more remarkable, because no persons appear better qualified for social intercourse by education, talents, and manners, than a very large portion of the society in this city.