pernicious and expensive meats and drinks, and hurtful enervating luxuries. They may do without fine clothes, fine houses and furniture, and fine jewellery and equipages. They can go back to primitive times as emigrants, to plain households, and provi sions, plain home spun clothing, and even to sheep skins and goat skins, as the wanderers in desolate places, of whom the world was not worthy.

But this system would not generally appear comportable with a supposed wealthy, and highly civilized state; and therefore it is of little avail to moralize upon such a subject. No doubt the present course or things has been wisely designed, in order to induce the rich to part with their superfluous wealth, and for promoting the dispersion and circulation of the medium of exchange, and at the same time to teach mankind by experience the vanity of all sublunary things. "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun, (said Solomon,) and behold, all is vanity, and vexation of spirit." And how many will repeat the same, by the time they have seen and experienced as much?

SECTION X.

DECORATIONS.

Beyond a due supply of the main articles of creature comfort, the greatest expenses seem to be subsequently incurred in the exterior, ornamental and decorative departments; especially in those articles that are destined for show, and outward display; or, in other words, to gratify, and please the eye, extending almost to every article of furniture placed in a position to be seen in the house, and the house itself externally decorated. The same applies to outer garments. The various textile fabrics to be made up into raiment destined for outside wear, are generally got up with greater attention, and expense, being rendered highly ornamental, by means of figured patterns, either woven, or obtained by printing, in various styles and colours.

This system of ornamenting fabrics has been greatly extended to various other articles besides linen drapery; as to paper hangings for rooms, printed druggets for

The

carpets, printed oil cloth for passages, halls, and table covers, printed fustians for shooting jackets, some woollen cloths, and to printed calicos of all sorts, for window-blinds, bedcurtains, including india-cotton chintz. intention of all these, and other embellishments, being to render persons' outward garb, as well as every visible article of furniture, in and about the house, and its whole establishment, exceedingly smart, neat, elegant, and stylish in appearance, and every way pleasing to the eye.

The art of printing having been entirely unknown to the ancients, both Greeks and Romans contented themselves with simply dying their fabrics for robes, and external apparel, either with the famous Tyrian purple, or with crimson and scarlet, and other uniform and showy colours.

The same might be observed of the natives of this country, in more primitive times, not long since, before fortunes were made by calico printers; when home spun, and home manufactured articles, for the dress of both men and women, were likewise home dyed,

and home made up. A somewhat similar display of decorative taste, more pleasing, and less capricious, and variable as to fashion, may be annually observed, as having been elaborately applied, more or less, to almost every interesting object in the natural world, by way of high and picturesque finish. We may instance the feathered tribes, both diurnal and nocturnal. The diurnal being in numerous instances the most conspicuous, for the brilliancy of their colours, and plumage; whilst the colours and plumage of the nocturnal birds, evidently in consequence of their being not intended to be viewed except very rarely, are generally plain and sombre. The same great difference in brilliancy of colours, applies to the insect world, especially to the Lepidoptera, both diurnal and nocturnal. The colours of the diurnal being the most showy and vivid, whilst the colours of the nocturnal lepidoptera are generally sombrous.

But why this difference between the colouring of the diurnals and nocturnals? Evidently, because the former more frequently meet the eye of the admirer man, and the latter seldom.

We see evidences of the same decorative display in the tasteful, beautiful, most chaste, elegant, and infinitely varied and diversified arrangements of colours, as exhibited by the flowers of the field, of every hue, according to their genera and class. In themselves beautiful specimens of matchless artistic skill, chastely designed as to pattern, and softly blushing like the rose as to colour, and some sweetly perfumed. They also serve to decorate every little nook and corner, grassy glade and sunny bank, where they prettily and sweetly grow. They are also universally diurnal, like true children of the light, and of the sun, invariably unfolding their charming blossoms, and petals to the warmth-giving beams during the day, and closing them up at night.

The animal creation is also adorned, and beautified, and twice annually furnished by Him who made them, with a new, sleek and cool dress, for the summer season, as well as a warmer one for the winter.

In the summer this general and annual outfitting, and decoration, is most conspicuThe birds, beasts, and insects, have all

ous.