Date: 1777

"To an injudicious and superficial eye, the best educated girl may make the least brilliant figure, as she will probably have less flippancy in her manner, and less repartee in her expression; and her acquirements, to borrow bishop Sprat's idea, will be rather 'enamelled than embossed'."

— More, Hannah (1745-1833)

Date: 1791

"In the rich realms of polished taste, / Where judgment penetrates to find / The treasures of the unwrought mind, / Where conversation's ardent spirit / Refines from dross the ore of merit, / Where emulation aids the flame / And stamps the sterling bust of fame."

— West, Jane (1758-1852)

Date: 1792

"They bade retentive memory on their mind / Impress each image, in distinctive lines / That mock'd erasure."

— Polwhele, Richard (1760-1838)