E-text prepared by Barbara Tozier, Julia Miller, and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (https://www.pgdp.net/) Transcriber's Note: Printer's errors from the original book, such as inconsistent hyphenation and missing punctuation, have been retained in this version of the text. A list of these errors is located at the end of the text. THE LADIES' VASE; Or, Polite Manual for Young Ladies. Original and Selected by AN AMERICAN LADY Eighth Edition. Hartford: H. S. Parsons and Co. Stereotyped by Richard H. Hobbs. Hartford, Conn. 1849 PREFACE. So many volumes have already appeared before the public, similar in character to this little work, that it is with feelings of diffidence we bring our humble offering, especially when we consider the rich merit possessed by many of its predecessors. But our apology must be found in the fact that these publications are, from their size, and consequent expense, inaccessible to many of the class whose improvement they are so well adapted to promote. Considering the formation of female character and manners a matter of inestimable importance, especially at the present age, swayed as it is by moral rather than by physical force, we have carefully availed ourselves of the best advice of some of our most judicious writers on female education; and, by presenting our work in a cheaper form than any of this class which is now before the public, hope to render it attainable to all those for whom it is especially designed. _April 16, 1847._ CONTENTS.