‘MY DEAR GIRLS—You had the misfortune to be deprived of your Mother at a time of life when you were insensible of your loss, and could receive little benefit either from her instruction or her example. Before this comes to your hands, you will likewise have lost your Father. I have had many melancholy reflections on the forlorn and helpless situation you must be in if it should please God to remove me from you before you arrive at that period of life, when you will be able to think and act for yourselves.... I have been supported under the gloom ... by a reliance on the Goodness of that Providence which has hitherto preserved you, and given me the most pleasing prospect of the goodness of your dispositions, and by the secret hope that your Mother’s virtues will entail a blessing on her children.’ This was the spirit in which the book was written, and though it is a type of book which has entirely passed out of fashion, it is interesting to read it and remember that in the days of our great-grandmothers it had its place on every girl’s table. Dr Gregory had a very observant way of watching girls, he knew life, and his advice was shrewd and tender. In the chapter on Conduct and Behaviour there are many quaint observations as to what gifts are attractive in a girl. ‘Wit,’ he says, ‘is the most dangerous talent you can possess, it must be guarded with great discretion and good nature, otherwise it will create you many enemies’.... ‘Be even cautious in displaying your good sense. It will be thought you assume a superiority over the rest of the company—But if you happen to have any learning, keep it a profound secret, especially from the men’.... ‘Beware of detraction, especially when your own sex are concerned. You are generally accused of being particularly addicted to this vice—I think unjustly—Men are fully as guilty of it when their interests interfere. As your interests more frequently clash, and as your feelings are quicker than ours, your temptations to it are more frequent. For this reason, be particularly tender of the reputation of your own sex, especially when they happen to rival you in our regards.’ Later on, there is a pathetic feeling of how little he can foretell his daughters’ tastes. ‘I do not want to _make_ you anything, I want to know what Nature has made you, and to perfect you on her plan.’