Alexandria Daily Advertiser

FROM THE BALANCE.
THE LIMNER.
MR. EDITOR.
HAVING a little leisure, one day last week, I concluded that it could not be better employed, than in drawing my own likeness. I therefore instantly seated myself before my glass--not my Reflector, Mr. Editor: for to own the truth, I have no inclination to lay my heart open to the view of every inquisitive spectator. "There is" every reader will be ready to exclaim-- "there is a dissembling knave for you-- this same Peter Pallet, who is so fond of censuring others for their aversion to being transparently painted, is himself afraid to shew his heart." Hold, gentle reader-- judge not too hastily. There is a vast difference between exhibiting one's own heart. and having it exhibited by others. I once had the pleasure of knowing a man--- (Alas! he has recently left this, for "another and a better world,") who, as it were, "carried his heart in his hand." who "wore a window in his breast.".. And the consequence was, (I say it with pain) that heart was stung by the poisonous shaft of calumny; it was drained of its blood by a wound inflicted by the hand of envy; it was torn and mangled by the fangs of unfeeling vultures, even after it had become the tenant of the tomb. Therefore, reader, I say, judge not too hastily.-- Learn to discriminate between the heart that involuntarily shrinks back from the stare of the multitude, and that which lies concealed behind a specious mask, from the eye of intimacy and friendship. I admire, but I also pity the man who unbosoms himself to every body. It is a melancholy truth, that such a man is sure to meet with more enemies, more persecution, and more injustice, than the most egregious hypocrite on earth.
I had but just finished my own likeness, (a description of which the reader will undoubtedly dispense with) when the penny post handed me the following letter:
TO THE LIMNER.
Mr. Pallet,
'This is not a letter of complaint; for though when I went to your shop for a full length portrait, I was not aware that you was a (self taught) writer, as well as painter, still, I am not, on the whole much displeased with the account of me, which you thought fit to send to the press. Indeed, Mr. Pallett, after you had declared that I was an excellent figure, handsome," &c. you might well suppose that a little severity might be exercised with perfect safety. But give me leave to tell you Sir, that your flattery and your censure are alike indifferent to me. The sole object of this letter is to defend fashionable female dress, and if I don't satisfy you that you are altogether mistaken in your notions on the subject, I will consent to put on and wear any old fashioned dress which the most squeamish limner in the country shall direct.
In the first place, you complain of the present mode of wearing the hair: and intimate that it is a shade to the countenance. This is precisely what might be expected from one who knows nothing of female modesty. A young lady must be possessed of an uncommon stock of impudence, to appear amongst people, with her face wholly unveiled, while her bosom is uncovered, and her body and limbs but little better. When we expose nothing else, we are very willing to shew our faces; but in proportion as we reduce the patterns of our gowns, you may rely upon it, we shall thicken our veils and lengthen our locks. In illustration of this opinion, I will merely mention, that the modest delicacy of the female sex is such, that if a young lady should unluckily happen to be exposed in a state of nudity, her first object would be to conceal her blushes by hiding her face.
You next complain of what you conceive to be an improper exposure of the bosom. and in the same breath, acknowledge what effect this exposure had upon yourself. If the effect was so great upon you, that your pallet hung carelessly upon your thumb. and your pencil fell from your fingers, how must it operate upon our simple young beaux, who anticipate---and anticipate no Though I confess that a naked elbow does by no means make a comely appearance; yet, I contend, that such an essential joint ought not be confined in the tight sleeve of a gown. On the score of convenience, therefore, this fashion may be defended.
As to the transparency and scantiness of gowns I have only to desire, that every person who finds fault with them, may be compelled, to swelter through one hot summer, under an ample burthen of muslin, chintz and dimity.
FANNY FANCIFUL.
Peter Pallet, A. M.