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Android Accessibility by Tutorials Android Accessibility by Tutorials

Android Accessibility by Tutorials

Victoria Gonda

Copyright ©2022 Razeware LLC.

Notice of Rights
All rights reserved. No part of this book or corresponding materials (such as text,
images, or source code) may be reproduced or distributed by any means without
prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Notice of Liability
This book and all corresponding materials (such as source code) are provided on an
“as is” basis, without warranty of any kind, express of implied, including but not
limited to the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and
noninfringement. In no event shall the authors or copyright holders be liable for any
claim, damages or other liability, whether in action of contract, tort or otherwise,
arising from, out of or in connection with the software or the use of other dealing in
the software.

Trademarks
All trademarks and registered trademarks appearing in this book are the property of
their own respective owners.

raywenderlich.com 2
Android Accessibility by Tutorials

Table of Contents: Overview

Book License ................................................................................................ 8
Before You Begin ................................................................... 9
What You Need ........................................................................................ 10
Book Source Code & Forums ............................................................. 11
Section I: Android Accessibility by Tutorials ............. 15
Chapter 1: Why Accessibility ................................................. 16
Chapter 2: Hello, Accessibility! ............................................. 30
Chapter 3: Testing & Tools ...................................................... 48
Chapter 4: Perceivable — Layout & Labeling ................... 68
Chapter 5: Perceivable — Time-Based Media & Cues . 86
Chapter 6: Perceivable — Colors ....................................... 101
Chapter 7: Operable — Navigating the Screen ............ 117
Chapter 8: Operable — Movement & Timing ................ 141
Chapter 9: Understandable ................................................. 154
Chapter 10: Robust ................................................................. 176
Chapter 11: Designing for Neurodiversity .................... 190
Chapter 12: Getting Your Team on Board ...................... 203
Conclusion .............................................................................................. 212
Section II: Appendix ........................................................ 214
Appendix A: Accessibility Checklist ................................. 215

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Android Accessibility by Tutorials

Table of Contents: Extended

Book License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
What You Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Book Source Code & Forums . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
About the Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Section I: Android Accessibility by Tutorials . . . . . . . 15

Chapter 1: Why Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Caring About Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Experiencing Your App. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Key Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Where to go from here?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Chapter 2: Hello, Accessibility! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Introducing Taco Tuesday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Improving Accessibility Through Linters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Defining WCAG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Choosing Universal Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Key Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Where to Go From Here? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Chapter 3: Testing & Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Setting Up Your Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Using Accessibility Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Testing for Accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Knowing How Much To Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Key Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

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Android Accessibility by Tutorials

Chapter 4: Perceivable — Layout & Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

Defining Perceivable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Understanding Screen Readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Including Effective Text Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Hiding Decorative Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Writing Clear Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Creating Adaptable Layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Supporting Text Scaling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Key Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Where to Go From Here? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Chapter 5: Perceivable — Time-Based Media & Cues . . . . . . . 86
Displaying Time-Based Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Giving Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Where to Go From Here?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Chapter 6: Perceivable — Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Measuring Color Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Understanding Vision Impairments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Improving Color Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Introducing Dark Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Where to Go From Here?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Chapter 7: Operable — Navigating the Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Traversing Using a Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Navigating Your App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Considering Touch Targets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Chapter 8: Operable — Movement & Timing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Considering Adjustable Timing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

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Android Accessibility by Tutorials

Giving Auto-Update Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144

Managing Interruptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Identifying Time Limits in Your App . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Mitigating the Risk of Adverse Reactions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Where to Go From Here?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Chapter 9: Understandable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
Increasing Readability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Creating Predictability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
Chapter 10: Robust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Relying on System Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Indicating a View’s Role . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Building Custom Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Seeing Service Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189
Chapter 11: Designing for Neurodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Reducing Time Stress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Communicating with Clarity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Providing Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Achieving Consistency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Minding Your Phrasing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Giving Alternatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Supporting Configurability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Where to Go From Here?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202
Chapter 12: Getting Your Team on Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Recognizing a Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Getting Buy-In . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204

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Android Accessibility by Tutorials

Expecting Pushback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207

Scaling Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Tracking Improvement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
Key Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Where to Go From Here?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Section II: Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Appendix A: Accessibility Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Quick Peek Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215
Thorough Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216

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L Book License

By purchasing Android Accessibility by Tutorials, you have the following license:

• You are allowed to use and/or modify the source code in Android Accessibility by
Tutorials in as many apps as you want, with no attribution required.

• You are allowed to use and/or modify all art, images and designs that are included
in Android Accessibility by Tutorials in as many apps as you want, but must include
this attribution line somewhere inside your app: “Artwork/images/designs: from
Android Accessibility by Tutorials, available at www.raywenderlich.com”.

• The source code included in Android Accessibility by Tutorials is for your personal
use only. You are NOT allowed to distribute or sell the source code in Android
Accessibility by Tutorials without prior authorization.

• This book is for your personal use only. You are NOT allowed to reproduce or
transmit any part of this book by any means, electronic or mechanical, including
photocopying, recording, etc. without previous authorization. You may not sell
digital versions of this book or distribute them to friends, coworkers or students
without prior authorization. They need to purchase their own copies.

All materials provided with this book are provided on an “as is” basis, without
warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the warranties
of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and noninfringement. In no event
shall the authors or copyright holders be liable for any claim, damages or other
liability, whether in an action of contract, tort or otherwise, arising from, out of or in
connection with the software or the use or other dealings in the software.

All trademarks and registered trademarks appearing in this guide are the properties
of their respective owners.

raywenderlich.com 8
Before You Begin

This section tells you a few things you need to know before you get started, such as
what you’ll need for hardware and software, where to find the project files for this
book, and more.

raywenderlich.com 9
i What You Need

To follow along with this book, you’ll need the following:

• An Android device: While it is possible to follow along using an emulator,

emulators don’t support all accessibility features and the features they do support
can be challenging to use.

• Kotlin 1.6 or later: This book uses Kotlin 1.6 throughout. The examples may work
with an earlier version of Kotlin, but they are untested.

• Android Studio Chipmunk or later: Android Studio is the main development

tool for Android. You’ll need Android Studio Chipmunk or later for the tasks in this
book. You can download the latest version of Android Studio from Android’s
developer site here: https://developer.android.com/studio.

If you haven’t installed the latest version of Android Studio, be sure to do that before
continuing with the book. The code covered in this book depends on Android 12,
Kotlin 1.6 and Android Studio Chipmunk — you may get lost if you try to work with
an older version.

raywenderlich.com 10
ii Book Source Code &
Forums

Where to Download the Materials for This

Book
The materials for this book can be cloned or downloaded from the GitHub book
materials repository:

• https://github.com/raywenderlich/acca-materials/tree/editions/2.0

Forums
We’ve also set up an official forum for the book at https://
forums.raywenderlich.com/c/books/android-accessibility-by-tutorials. This is a great
place to ask questions about the book or to submit any errors you may find.

raywenderlich.com 11
 ”It’s the support of many people that made this book possible.
My computer science professors first showed me what I could
do to help people through software. My peers supported me as
I learned more about tech, accessibility, and writing. The
editing team on this book has been incredible in building this
together. Finally, I couldn’t have done this without the
support of my husband, Tyler, encouraging me every step of
the way. Thank you, all.”

— Victoria Gonda

raywenderlich.com 12
Android Accessibility by Tutorials About the Team

About the Author

Victoria Gonda is the author of this book. They are a software
engineer who primarily works with Android. After having studied
both dance production and computer science, they focused their
career on software because of its potential to help people in a
meaningful way. This is visible in their passion for accessibility. In
their spare time, Victoria enjoys playing board games and curling
up with a good book. You can connect with them on Twitter at
@TTGonda.

About the Editors

Gabriela Kordić is the tech editor of this book. She is a tech
enthusiast with a master’s degree in Computer Science based in
Osijek, Croatia. She got into programming during college and has
been developing Android and iOS apps for several years. Her
passion for sharing knowledge drives her to contribute to the
developer community through books and tutorials. In her spare
time, Gabriela attends tech talks and invests time in learning new
things from the programming world. When she’s not crushing it in
the tech world, she enjoys spending time with her husband and cat,
going into the forest with her horse and playing the piano.

Ellen Shapiro is an iOS and Android developer currently working

at Gusto. She helped bring songwriting app Hum to life, worked
extensively on the Apollo GraphQL iOS SDK, and has been a writer
and tech editor for RayWenderlich.com and its associated books
since 2013. She’s also developed several independent applications
through her personal company, Designated Nerd Software. When
she’s not writing code, she’s usually tweeting about it at
@DesignatedNerd, playing sous-chef to her wife Lilia, or
relentlessly Instagramming her two cats.

raywenderlich.com 13
Android Accessibility by Tutorials About the Team

Jennifer Bailey is a former software engineer who is now a full-

time professor for Aims Community College in Colorado where she
teaches mobile app development for Android and iOS. She also
teaches courses in Python, Java, C++, and .NET platform utilizing
C#. She is the lead organizer of Google Developer Group of
Northern Colorado. She enjoys various Android meetups and
conferences around the United States. In her spare time, Jenn
enjoys rollerblading, horseback riding and spending time with her
teenage daughter, dogs and cats.

raywenderlich.com 14
Section I: Android
Accessibility by Tutorials

Begin your journey into learning about building, testing and customizing accessible
apps on Android using WCAG through hands-on, step-by-step tutorials.

raywenderlich.com 15
Other documents randomly have
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of Female affection
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Title: Female affection

Author: Basil Montagu

Release date: May 13, 2022 [eBook #68068]

Language: English

Original publication: United Kingdom: J. Bohn, 1815

Credits: Turgut Dincer and the Online Distributed Proofreading

Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced
from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FEMALE

AFFECTION ***
FEMALE AFFECTION.
BY
BASIL MONTAGU.

LONDON:
J. BOHN, KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND.
MDCCCXLV.
 LONDON:
WILLIAM STEVENS, PRINTER, BELL YARD,
TEMPLE BAR.
 TO HIS DEAR EDITH, FROM HER
AFFECTIONATE GRANDFATHER.—B. M.
 PREFACE.

There are certain properties of the female mind upon which doubt
has existed, and may, possibly, long exist.
1. Women are said to be fond of ornament—an evil against which
they were thus warned by St. Paul—“I will that women adorn
themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety,
not with embroidered hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array, but
which becometh women professing godliness, with good works.”
2. Women are said to be fond of gaiety:
“Some men to business, some to pleasure take,”—
but the ruling passion of woman is not the love of business.
3. It is said that women act more from impulse than from foresight:
“Men have many faults, women have only two,—”
of which the want of foresight is one.
4. Women, it is said, are variable:
——“Varium et mutabile semper
Fœmina.”
Women are fond of intellect, of courage, of virtue; and are capable of
the most heroic acts.
Such are properties of the female mind, upon which doubt may be
entertained; but there is one property upon which doubt cannot exist
—it is the nature of woman to be affectionate.
B. M.
 FEMALE AFFECTION.

THE PLEASURES OF AFFECTION.

The pleasures of the affections are Love, Friendship, Gratitude, and
general Benevolence.
“For the pleasures of the affections,” says Lord Bacon, “we must
resort to the poets, for there affection is on her throne, there we may
find her painted forth to the life.”
Instead of referring us to the poets, he might, according to his own
admonitions, have referred us to the certain mode of discovering
truth, by observing facts around us, and particularly by observing the
nature sought, where it is most conspicuous.
In searching, for any nature, observe it, he says, where it is most
conspicuous; as, in inquiring into the nature of flame, observe the
sudden ignition and expansion of gas—these are what he calls
“glaring instances.”
The glaring instance of affection is Female Affection; there indeed
she is on her throne, there we may find her painted forth to the life. It
is the nature of woman to be affectionate.
 § I.
FEMALE AFFECTION IN GENERAL.
MUNGO PARK.
When stating the miseries to which he was exposed in Africa,
Mungo Park says, “I never, when in distress and misery, applied for
relief to a female, without finding pity,—and if she had the power,
assistance.” And he thus mentions one instance,—“I waited,” he
says, “more than two hours for an opportunity to cross that river, but
one of the chief men informed me that I must not presume to cross
without the King’s permission; he therefore advised me to lodge at a
distant village, to which he pointed, for the night. I found to my great
mortification that no person would admit me into his house;—I was
regarded with astonishment and fear, and was obliged to sit all day
without victuals in the shade of a tree; and the night threatened to be
very uncomfortable, for the wind rose, and there was great
appearance of a heavy rain; and the wild beasts are so very
numerous that I should have been under the necessity of climbing up
the tree and resting among the branches. About sunset as I was
preparing to pass the night in this manner, and had turned my horse
loose that he might graze at liberty, a woman, returning from the
labours of the field, stopped to observe me, and perceiving that I was
weary and dejected, inquired into my situation, which I briefly
explained to her; whereupon, with looks of great compassion, she
took up my saddle and bridle, and told me to follow her. Having
conducted me into her hut, she lighted a lamp, spread a mat on the
floor, and told me I might remain there for the night. Finding that I
was hungry, she gave me a very fine fish for my supper; and pointing
to the mat, and telling me I might sleep there without apprehension,
she called to the female part of her family, who had stood gazing on
me all the while in fixed astonishment, to resume their task of
spinning cotton, in which they continued to employ themselves great
part of the night. They lightened their labour by songs; one of which
was composed ex-tempore—for I was, myself, the subject of it: it
was sung by one of the young women, the rest joining in a sort of
chorus. The air was sweet and plaintive; and the words, literally
translated, were these:—
“The winds roared, and the rains fell,—the poor white man, faint and
weary, came and sat under our tree,—he has no mother to bring him
milk,—no wife to grind his corn.—Chorus—Let us pity the white man,
—no mother has he!” &c.

GRIFFITH.
“On the northern side of the plain we had just entered, was a large
encampment of these people. Being in absolute want of milk, I
determined to solicit the assistance of these Turcomans.
Approaching their tents, with gradual step, and apparent
indifference, I passed several, without observing any probability of
succeeding: children, only, were to be seen near the spot where I
was, and men with their flocks, at a certain distance; advancing still
farther, I saw a woman, at the entrance of a small tent, occupied in
domestic employment. Convinced that an appeal to the feelings of
the female sex, offered with decency, by a man distressed with
hunger, would not be rejected, I held out my wooden bowl, and
reversing it, made a salutation according to the forms of the country.
The kind Turcomannee covered her face precipitately, and retired
within the tent. I did not advance a step; she saw me unassuming,—
my inverted bowl still explained my wants. The timidity of her sex,
the usages of her country, and, even the fear of danger, gave way to
the benevolence of her heart: she went to the tent again; returned
speedily with a bowl of milk, and, advancing towards me with a
glance more than half averted, filled my bowl to the brim, and
vanished.”

LEDYARD.
“I never addressed myself in the language of decency and
friendship to a woman, whether civilized or savage, without receiving
a decent and friendly answer. With man it has often been otherwise,
—in wandering over the barren plains of inhospitable Denmark,
through honest Sweden, frozen Lapland, rude and churlish Finland,
unprincipled Russia, and the wide-spread regions of the wandering
Tartar, if hungry, dry, cold, wet, or sick, woman has ever been friendly
to me,—and uniformly so; and to add to this virtue, so worthy the
appellation of benevolence, these actions have been performed in so
kind a manner, that if I was dry, I drank the sweet draught,—and if
hungry, ate the coarse morsel with a double relish.”

PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER.
“And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a
daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and
when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three
months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him
an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put
the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink. And
his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him. And the
daughter of Pharaoh came down to the river; and her maidens
walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among
the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it. And when she had opened it,
she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had
compassion on him, and said,—This is one of the Hebrews’ children.
Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, ‘Shall I go and call to
thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for
thee?’ And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, ‘Go.’ And the maid went
and called the child’s mother. And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her,
‘Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy
wages.’ And the woman took the child, and nursed it.”
 § II.
DIFFERENT FORMS OF FEMALE
AFFECTION.
The nature of female affection may be seen in a variety of forms,—in
Infancy, in the sweet love of Youth, of a Wife, of a Mother, of a
Daughter, of a Widow.

INFANCY.
The following is an account which I somewhere read of Nell Gwynn,
when a child:—“My first love, you must know, was a link-boy,”—“A
what?”—“’Tis true,” said she, “for all the frightfulness of your what!—
and a very good soul he was, too, poor Dick! and had the heart of a
gentleman; God knows what has become of him, but when I last saw
him he said he would humbly love me to his dying day. He used to
say that I must have been a lord’s daughter for my beauty, and that I
ought to ride in my coach; and he behaved to me as if I did. He, poor
boy, would light me and my mother home, when we had sold our
oranges, to our lodgings in Lewknor’s Lane, as if we had been ladies
of the land. He said he never felt easy for the evening ’till he had
asked me how I did, then he went gaily about his work; and if he saw
us housed at night, he slept like a prince. I shall never forget when
he came flushing and stammering, and drew out of his pocket a pair
of worsted stockings, which he brought for my naked feet. It was
bitter cold weather; and I had chilblains, which made me hobble
about ’till I cried,—and what does poor Richard do but work hard like
a horse, and buy me these worsted stockings? My mother bade him
put them on; and so he did, and his warm tears fell on my chilblains,
and he said he should be the happiest lad on earth if the stockings
did me any good.”
When the Commissioners visited the Penitentiary at Lambeth, where
the prisoners are punished by solitary confinement, they found in
one cell a little girl, between eleven and twelve years of age. This
child must have spent many hours every day in the dark; was poorly
clad, and scantily fed, and her young limbs were deprived of all the
joyous modes of playful exercise, so necessary and so pleasant to
that age: she asked neither for food, nor clothes, nor light, nor liberty,
—all she wished for was “a little doll, that she might dress and nurse
it.” Her innocent and child-like request put an end to this cruel
punishment for children.
“I yesterday took my dear grand-daughter to see Westminster Abbey.
She is between seven and eight years of age, and is one of the
sweetest angels that ever existed on earth. It was a bitter cold
morning: on the tomb of Mrs. Warren, who was a mother to poor
children, there is a beautiful statue of a poor half-clothed Irish girl,
with her little naked baby in her arms;—my dear little child looked up
at me, and, through her tears, earnestly said, ‘How I should like to
nurse that little baby!’”

YOUTH.
Of the influence of love upon youth and inexperience, it can scarcely
be necessary to adduce any instances. I must, however, mention
one fact which occurred during the rebellion in ’45.
“When I was a young boy, I had delicate health, and was somewhat
of a pensive and contemplative turn of mind: it was my delight in the
long summer evenings, to slip away from my companions, that I
might walk in the shade of a venerable wood, my favourite haunt,
and listen to the cawing of the old rooks, who seemed as fond of this
retreat as I was.
“One evening I sat later than usual, though the distant sound of the
cathedral clock had more than once warned me to my home. There
was a stillness in all nature that I was unwilling to disturb by the least
motion. From this reverie I was suddenly startled by the sight of a tall
slender female who was standing by me, looking sorrowfully and
steadily in my face. She was dressed in white, from head to foot, in a
fashion I had never seen before; her garments were unusually long
and flowing, and rustled as she glided through the low shrubs near
me as if they were made of the richest silk. My heart beat as if I was
dying, and I knew not that I could have stirred from the spot; but she
seemed so very mild and beautiful, I did not attempt it. Her pale
brown hair was braided round her head, but there were some locks
that strayed upon her neck; altogether she looked like a lovely
picture, but not like a living woman. I closed my eyes forcibly with my
hands, and when I looked again she had vanished.
“I cannot exactly say why I did not on my return speak of this
beautiful appearance, nor why, with a strange mixture of hope and
fear, I went again and again to the same spot that I might see her.
She always came, and often in the storm and plashing rain, that
never seemed to touch or to annoy her, looked sweetly at me, and
silently passed on; and though she was so near to me, that once the
wind lifted those light straying locks, and I felt them against my
cheek, yet I never could move or speak to her. I fell ill; and when I
recovered, my mother closely questioned me of the tall lady, of
whom, in the height of my fever, I had so often spoken.
“I cannot tell you what a weight was taken off my spirits when I learnt
that this was no apparition, but a most lovely woman; not young,
though she had kept her young looks,—for the grief which had
broken her heart seemed to have spared her beauty.
“When the rebel troops were retreating after their total defeat, a
young officer, in that very wood I was so fond of, unable any longer
to endure the anguish of his wounds, sunk from his horse, and laid
himself down to die. He was found there by the daughter of Sir
Henry Robinson, and conveyed by a trusty domestic to her father’s
mansion. Sir Henry was a loyalist; but the officer’s desperate
condition excited his compassion, and his many wounds spoke a
language a brave man could not misunderstand. Sir Henry’s
daughter with many tears pleaded for him, and promised that he
should be carefully and secretly attended. And well she kept that
promise,—for she waited upon him (her mother being long dead) for
many weeks, and anxiously watched for the first opening of eyes,
that, languid as he was, looked brightly and gratefully upon his
young nurse. You may fancy, better than I can tell you, as he slowly
recovered, all the moments that were spent in reading, and low-
voiced singing, and gentle playing on the lute; and how many fresh
flowers were brought to one whose wounded limbs would not bear
him to gather them for himself; and how calmly the days glided on in
the blessedness of returning health, and in that sweet silence so
carefully enjoined him. I will pass by this, to speak of one day, which,
brighter and pleasanter than others, did not seem more bright or
more lovely than the looks of the young maiden, as she gaily spoke
of ‘a little festival, which (though it must bear an unworthier name)
she meant really to give, in honour of her guest’s recovery;’—‘and it
is time, lady,’ said he, ‘for that guest, so tended and so honoured, to
tell you his whole story, and speak to you of one who will help him to
thank you—may I ask you, fair lady, to write a little note for me,
which, even in these times of danger I may find some means to
forward?’ To his mother, no doubt, she thought, as with light steps
and a lighter heart she seated herself by his couch, and smilingly
bade him dictate: but, when he said ‘My Dear Wife,’ and lifted up his
eyes to be asked for more, he saw before him a pale statue, that
gave him one look of utter despair, and fell (for he had no power to
help her) heavily at his feet. Those eyes never truly reflected the
pure soul again, or answered by answering looks the fond inquiries
of her poor old father. She lived to be as I saw her,—sweet, and
gentle, and delicate always, but reason returned no more. She
visited, ’till the day of her death, the spot where she first saw that
young soldier, and dressed herself in the very clothes he said so well
became her.”

THE WOMAN IN WHITE.

“In walking through a street in London, I saw a crowd of men women
and children hooting and laughing at a woman, who, looking neither
to the right-hand nor to the left, passed through the midst of them in
perfect silence; upon approaching her, I saw that all this derision was
caused by her dress, which, equally unsuited to the weather and her
apparent rank in life, was from head to foot entirely white,—her
bonnet, her shawl, her very shoes were white; and though all that
she wore seemed of the coarsest materials, her dress was perfectly
clean. As I walked past her, I looked stedfastly in her face. She was
thin and pale, of a pleasing countenance, and totally unmoved by the
clamour around her. I have since learnt her story:—The young man
to whom she was betrothed died on the bridal-day, when she and
her companions were dressed to go to church: she lost her senses,
—and has ever since, to use her own words, been ‘expecting her
bridegroom.’ Neither insult or privation of any kind can induce her to
change the colour of her dress; she is alike insensible of her
bereavement by death, or of the lapse of time,—‘she is dressed for
the bridal, and the bridegroom is at hand.’”
Such is the nature of Woman’s Love—continuing in imagination,
when reality is no more:
“As once I knew a crazy Moorish maid,
Who dressed her in her buried lover’s clothes,
And o’er the smooth spring in the mountain’s cleft
Hung with her lute, and played the selfsame tune
He used to play, and listened to the shadow
Herself had made.”—Coleridge.
Such is the tenderness, such the intensity of the love of innocence. It
has for ever existed, and will for ever exist,—from Eve, on the first
day of her creation, to the many whose hearts at this moment beat
with affection and love:
“All thoughts, all passions, all desires,
Whatever stirs this mortal frame,
All are but ministers of Love,
And feed his sacred flame.”

WIFE.
Let us now consider affection where it appears in one of its sweetest
forms,—in the love of a wife,—love, in the strength of which, hoping
all things, she does not hesitate to quit her father and her mother
and all dear to her to share the joys and sorrows of her husband. In
prosperity she delights in his happiness, in sickness she watches
over him, feeling more grief than she shows.
A young soldier, thus speaks of the affection of his wife:—
“For five campaigns
Did my sweet Lucy know
Each hardship and each toil
We soldiers undergo.
Nor ever did she murmur,
Or at her fate repine,
She thought not of her sorrow,
But how to lessen mine:
In hunger, or hard marching,
Whate’er the ill might be,
In her I found a friend,
Who ne’er deserted me:
And in my tent when wounded,
And when I sickening lay,
Oft from my brow with trembling hand,
She wiped the damps away.
And when this heart, my Lucy,
Shall cease to beat for thee,
Oh! cold, clay cold,
Full sure this heart must be.”

THE ROBBER.
“A friend of mine who had long struggled with a dangerous fever,
approached that crisis on which his life depended, when sleep,
uninterrupted sleep might ensure his recovery;—his wife, scarcely
daring to breathe, sat by him; her servants, worn out by watching,
had all left her; it was past midnight,—the room door was open for
air; she heard in the silence of the night a window thrown open
below stairs, and soon after footsteps approaching; in a short time, a
man came into the room—his face was covered with a black crape:
she instantly saw her husband’s danger; she pointed to him, and,
pressing her finger upon her lip to implore silence, held out to the
robber her purse and her keys: to her great surprise he took neither;
he drew back, and left the room,—whether he was alarmed, or
struck by this courage of affection cannot now be known; but, without
robbing a house sanctified by such strength of love—he departed.”

SENECA.
How well did the artist to whom we are indebted for the celebrated
picture of the Death of Seneca, understand this deep feeling of
female affection! It may be said of Seneca, as he said of a friend, “I
have applied myself to liberal studies, though both the poverty of my
condition, and my own reason might rather have put me upon the
making of my fortune. I have given proof, that all minds are capable
of goodness; and I have illustrated the obscurity of my family by the
eminency of my virtue. I have preserved my faith in all extremities,
and I have ventured my life for it. I have never spoken one word
contrary to my conscience, and I have been more solicitous for my
friend, than for myself. I never made any base submissions to any
man; and I have never done any thing unworthy of a resolute, and of
an honest man. My mind is raised so much above all dangers, that I
have mastered all hazards; and I bless myself in the providence
which gave me that experiment of my virtue: for it was not fit,
methought, that so great a glory should come cheap. Nay, I did not
so much as deliberate, whether good faith should suffer for me, or I
for it. I stood my ground, without laying violent hands upon myself, to
escape the rage of the powerful; though under Caligula I saw
cruelties, to such a degree, that to be killed outright was accounted a
mercy, and yet I persisted in my honesty, to show, that I was ready to
do more than die for it. My mind was never corrupted with gifts; and
when the humour of avarice was at the height, I never laid my hand
upon any unlawful gain. I have been temperate in my diet; modest in
my discourse; courteous and affable to my inferiors; and have ever
paid a respect and reverence to my betters.”
Such was the man whom the tyrant murdered. He is represented by
the artist, bleeding to death, the punishment to which he was