Page:Vindication Women's Rights (Wollstonecraft).djvu/224

218 a ublime gloom of tender melancholy, that allows the mind for a moment to tand till and enjoy the preent atisfaction, when a conciounes of the Divine preence is felt—for this mut ever be the food of joy!

As I have always been fond of tracing to its ource in nature any prevailing cutom, I have frequently thought that it was a entiment of affection for whatever had touched the peron of an abent or lot friend, which gave birth to that repect for relicks, o much abued by elfih priets. Devotion, or love, may be allowed to hallow the garments as well as the peron; for the lover mut want fancy who has not a ort of acred repect for the glove or lipper of his mitres. He could not confound them with vulgar things of the ame kind. This fine entiment, perhaps, would not bear to be analyzed by the experimental philoopher—but of uch tuff is human rapture made up!—A hadowy phantom glides before us, obcuring every other object; yet when the oft cloud is graped, the form melts into common air, leaving a olitary void, or weet perfume, tolen from the violet, that memory long holds dear. But I have tripped unawares on fairy ground, feeling the balmy gale of pring tealing on me, though November frowns.

As a ex, women are more chate than men, and as modety is the effect of chatity, they may deerve to have this virtue acribed to them in rather an appropriated ene; yet, I mut be allowed to add an heitating if:—for I doubt whether chatity will produce modety, though it may propriety of conduct, when it is merely a repect&ensp;