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• Mr. Spec,

'I GREW tall and wild at my mother's, who is a gay widow, and did not care for shewing me, until ' about two years and a half ago; at which time my guardian uncle sent me to a boarding-school, with or'ders to contradict me in nothing, for I had been mis'used enough already. I had not been there above a ' month, when being in the kitchen, I saw some oatmeal ( on the dresser; I put two or three corns in my mouth, ' liked it, stole a handful, went to my chamber, chewed 'it, and for two months after never failed taking toll of 'every penny-worth of oatmeal that came into the house: ́but one day playing with a tobacco-pipe between my 'teeth, it happened to break in my mouth, and spit" ting out the pieces left such delicious roughness on ་ my tongue, that I could not be satisfied until I had champed up the remaining part of the pipe. I for'sook the oatmeal, and stuck to the pipes three months, ' in which time I had dispensed with thirty-seven foul 'pipes, all to the bowls; they belonged to an old gentleman, father to my governess.....He locked up the 'clean ones. I left off eating of pipes, and fell to lick" ing of chalk. I was soon tired of this; I then nibbled all the red wax of our last ball-tickets, and three 'weeks after, the black wax from the burying tickets ' of the old gentleman. Two months after this Iliv'ed upon thṛnderbolts, a certain long round bluish 'stone, which I found among the gravel in our garden. 'I was wonderfully delighted with this; but thunder'bolts growing scarce, I fastened tooth and nail upon our garden-wall, which I stuck to almost a twelvemonth, and had in that time peeled and devoured half a foot towards our neighbour's yard. I now 'thought myself the happiest creature in the world, ' and I believe in my conscience, I had eaten quite through, had I had it in my chamber; but now I be( came lazy and unwilling to stir, and was obliged to 'seek food nearer home. I then took a strange han

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'kering to coals; I fell to scranching them, and had already consumed, I am certain, as much as would 'have dressed my wedding-dinner, when my uncle 6 came for me home. He was in the parlour with my 6 governess when I was called down. I went in, fell ' on my knees, for he made me call him father; and when I expected the blessing I asked, the good gen⚫tleman in a surprise, turns himself to my governess, and asks," whether this, pointing to me, was his "daughter? This, added he, is the very picture of "death. My child was a plump-faced, hale, fresh-co"loured girl; but this looks as if she was half-starv❝ed, a mere skeleton." My governess, who is really a good woman, assured my father I had wanted for 'nothing: and withal told him I was continually eating some trash or other, and that I was almost eaten up with the green-sickness, her orders being never to cross me. But this signified but little with my father, who presently in a kind of pet, paying for ( my board, took me home with him. I had not been long at home but one Sunday at church, I shall never 'forget it, I saw a young neighbouring gentleman that pleased me hugely; I liked him of all men I ever saw in my life, and began to wish I could be as pleas6 ing to him. The very next day he came, with his 'father, a visiting to our house: we were left alone to'gether, with directions on both sides to be in love with one another, and in three weeks time we were 'married. I regained my former health and complexion, and am as happy as the day is long. Now, Mr. Spec, I desire you would find out some name for these 'craving damsels, whether dignified or distinguished under some or all of the following denominations, to wit, trash-eaters, oatmeal-chewers, pipe-champers, chalk-lickers, wax-nibblers, coal-scranchers, wall'peelers, or gravel-diggers: and, good Sir, do your • utmost endeavour to prevent, by exposing this unac

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