There are one or two customs of the Quakers, which I shall notice before
I conclude this chapter.
It is one of the fashions of the world, where people meet in company,
for men and women, when the dinner is over, to drink their wine
together, and for the women, having done this for a short time, to
retire. This custom of the females withdrawing after dinner was probably
first insisted upon from an idea, that their presence would be a
restraint upon the circulation of the bottle, as well as upon the
conversation of the men. The Quakers, however, seldom submit to this
practice. Men and women generally sit together and converse as before
dinner. I do not mean by this that women may not retire if they please,
because there is no restraint upon any one in the company of the
Quakers; nor do I mean to say, that women do not occasionally retire,
and leave the men at their wine. There are a few rich families, which,
having mixed more than usual with the world, allow of this separation.
But where one allows it, there are ninety-nine, who give wine to their
company after dinner, who do not. It is not a Quaker-custom, that in a
given time after dinner, the one should be separated from the other sex.
It is a pity that the practice of the Quakers should not have been
adopted by others of our own country in this particular.
Pages:
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346