Page:Advice to young ladies on their duties and conduct in life - Arthur - 1849.djvu/34

26 ships have been lost. With wise forethought, he provides himself with boats, in case his ship should be wrecked; he has all his rigging in such perfect order, that his sails can be furled at a moment’s warning, on the approach of a storm, so that nothing but spars and ropes can be exposed to its fury. By such wise precautions, he is able, if a tempest arise, in most cases, to save his ship and the lives of all in it.

Life is a voyage, and to most of us a rough and stormy one. In commencing this voyage, let each one emulate the wisdom, prudence, and forethought of the sailor. The weaker we are, and the less able to endure the shock of a tempest, the more careful should we be that every thing is right before we push off from the shore.

It is clear, then, that, in the beginning of life, a woman who has less ability to contend in the world, and is more exposed to evils and hardships, should reverses come, ought to furnish herself thoroughly with the means of self-sustenance and self-protection. This she can only do by acquiring some knowledge or skill, the exercise of which will enable her to supply not only her own wants, but the wants of all who may be dependent upon her. There is no time in which this can be done so well as in the few years which succeed the period of a young lady’s