wning his
employment; and as she may upon occasion of his death be left to value
herself upon it, and to have at least her fortune and her children's to
gather up out of it, she ought not to profess herself so unacquainted
with it as not to be able to look into it when necessity obliges her.

It is a terrible disaster to any woman to be so far above her own
circumstances, that she should not qualify herself to make the best of
things that are left her, or to preserve herself from being cheated, and
being imposed upon. In former times, tradesmen's widows valued
themselves upon the shop and trade, or the warehouse and trade, that
were left them; and at least, if they did not carry on the trade in
their own names, they would keep it up till they put it off to
advantage; and often I have known a widow get from L300 to L500 for the
good-will, as it is called, of the shop and trade, if she did not think
fit to carry on the trade; if she did, the case turned the other way,
namely, that if the widow did not put off the shop, the shop would put
off the widow; and I may venture to say, that where there is one widow
that keeps on the trade now, after a husband's decease, there were ten,
if not twenty, that did it then.

But now the ladies are above it, and disdain it so much, that they
choose rather to go without the prospect of a second marriage, in virtue
of the trade, than to stoop to the mechanic low step of carrying on a
trade; and they have their reward, for they do go without it; and
whereas they might in former times match infinitely to their advantage
by that method, now they throw themselves away, and the trade too.[36]

But this is not the case which I particularly aim at in this chapter. If
the women will act weakly and foolishly, and throw away the advantages
that he puts into their hands, be that to them, and it is their business
to take care of that; but I would have them have the opportunity put
into their hands, and that they may make the best of it if they please;
if they will not, the fault is their own. But to this end, I say, I
would have every tradesman make his wife so much acquainted with his
trade, and so much mistress of the managing part of it, that she might
be able to carry it on if she pleased, in case of his death; if she does
not please, that is another case; or if she will not acquaint herself
with it, that also is another case, and she must let it alone; but he
should put it into her power, or g