troubles, renewing us with its strength, urging us ever onward and upward-it is the zephyr breath which fans our fevered and emaciated forms in sickness, refreshing as the dew-drop to parched and drooping nature-it is the tear that falls upon the cold, still corpse-it is the wreath of flowers with which gentle hands bedeck our last resting place-it is the inscription which places upon the icy stone that marks the spot where our dust is laid the record that we once have house; tiltercens and the Grecian bend are her especial abhorrence-at least, she says that they are; but an impudent friend, upon stumbling upon her in private, while practicing that bewitching classic curve, adorned with a tiltereen, incurred her eternal enmity by suggesting her similarity to a giraffe. The dreamy and the romantic damsels are her detestation. Miss Primstarch criticises them upon all possible occasions, and when gathered like a dry stick to the dust from whence she sprung is herself a most striking illus-lived-it is the power which raises us from tration of the fact that a little romance, a little dreaming is the salt of the lives of frail, erring, toiling human beings. You see, young ladies, that I have endeavored to portray extreme cases of each of the classes into which I have divided your sex. Each of them has its good points, each its bad; use the winnowing fan; appropriate the desirable as your own, avoid the unpleasant as chaff. the chilly grave to life everlasting. A prophet of love unfolded the fate of Belshazzar, which the mysterious hand had inscribed upon the wall in characters terrible to behold, and great Babylon fell; the kingdom of the Medes, with its inevitable laws, has passed away; the pyramids, under the shadow of which Pythagoras and Plato have pondered over their deep philosophy, and Alexander and Napoleon have marshaled their armed hosts, alone teach of the power and splendor of the Pharaohs whose ashes they protect. Thou land of Judea, the promised land, selected by Divine forethought for His people, Israel, where is now thy nation Mest noble, most exalting are the ends to be obtained by the two societies I am addressing. The cultivation of literature in this time of frenzy, of passion and of excitement is the great hope of our struggling land. In the volumes which adorn your shelves you find the wise experience of en-ality? Where is the people over which the lightened men and women of the past, who have suffered as we are suffering, who have toiled as we are toiling, and who did not prove themselves unworthy to be held forth as examples to coming generations. The women of our country exercise a most controlling influence in shaping its destiny, and you are now preparing to take your places in society, where you will wield the sceptre of your power. Your greatest protection will be your gentleness-your most potent arms the love and admiration which you inspire. Who can measure the strength and influence of love? It is the guardian spirit which hovers with its rustling wings over our infancy-it is the profecting shield of our childhood, framed by the angels in Paradise, from mercy and charity, at Divine command -it is the inspiration which holds temptingly forth to our aspiring gaze, when buoyant with the hopes of youth, the exalted and eminent stations of the great and good who have gone before, but have left to posterity the inviting and ennobling sentiment of duty performed-it is the vine which twines itself around life's meridian, supporting us in our warlike but fickle Saul, the grand and heroic David, and the prince of wisdom, Solomon, ruled? Buried in the great cemetery of nations! Classic Greece, with all its former grandeur and might, the home of Demosthenes, of Aristides, of Pericles, of Socrates, of Leonidas-Greece, which carried literature, science and the arts to an eminence never before attained, exists only in memory. And Rome, proud mistress of the world, canst thou now define thy boundary lines? Has Virgil sung the history of Æneas and the little Julus in vain? Where is the glory of which great Horace tells? Has Tiber rolled red with the blood of contending factions to no purpose? Where are the grand institutions about which the statesman Cicero thundered in words of burning eloquence? Where is the Senate which listened to the great Cato in his repeated annunciation of the doom of Carthage? Where is the nation which the patriot Brutus loved better than his friend-the land of poetry, of oratory, of science, of art, of power, of wealth? Passed away; majestic Rome lives only in thought. Casting our minds over the great In war he mounts the warrior's steed; For love is Heaven, and Heaven is love." In the preparation of each of the exercises which your societies impose upon you, the recollection should be cherished that you have your duties to perform as women, and that you are now struggling to place yourselves in a condition in which you can discharge those obligations. Education is not the amount of knowledge or learning that can be stored in the mind, but rather the high state of cultivation to which the mental faculties can be brought by continued exercise. To wield your great influence you must command the respect and love of the sterner sex; and to do this, that sex must be made to realize that you are not but idle playthings to be caressed and then cast aside. "Life is real-life is earnest" is not a maxim to be applied only to man; its truth is as potent when used in reference to woman. Cannot the young mother, as she bends in earnest prayer to her Maker over her first-born, teach you of the reality of life?-prayer as sincere as that of the weary pilgrim kneeling to his patron saint-prayer so pure that her wreck of nations, we find that power and wealth do not indicate permanent strength. Let us turn our thoughts, weary with ruin and destruction, to the great Republic, whose corner-stone is love-the Christian Republic. Eighteen hundred and sixty-eight years ago Divinity became incarnate, and the Son of our great Creator, who was born in a manger, who had not where to lay his head, who died upon the Cross, established His government. His laws were the laws of love, His obedience the submission which love teaches. With divine eloquenee He gave forth from the mount the principles which were to govern His people-principles which, like the rain of Heaven, fell with refreshing power upon the rich and the poor, the high and the low-principles which the humblest may comprehend, which no human statesman has ever fully appreciated, which won for Him the Cross, for us immortality; and the controlling power of them all was love. Two thousand years have nearly rolled by, with their many changes-nations have risen as meteors above the horizon of our existence, and have passed away, leaving but a rapidly fading ray of light to mark their course; but the Christian Republic is still unshaken. Unshaken did I say? The grand and gloomy Mont Blanc, the pride of the Swiss, with its snow-crested peaks, Like fumes of sacred incense o'er the clouds, with its thousand glaciers, reflecting back And wafted thence on angels' wings, thro' ways the light of Heaven, does not present a firm- Of light, to the bright source of all?" er spectacle of immobility. Unshaken? Cannot the devoted wife, as she watches by Since its foundation it has increased from an the sick bed of her husband, suffering more earnest few to countless thousands-from an than he in the thought of his pain, tell you of organization the chief of which was born in the earnestness of life? The devotion of wopoverty and died in poverty to one of incal- man to the object of her affection is a pleasculable wealth and power; it has extended ant and refreshing oasis in the desert of our its divine influence into every department of existence, to which we can always turn with life, making its impress upon each; it is the joy-a devotion kindred, though not approxbalm which calms our struggling spirits-imating, to the emotion exhibited by Divinthe oil which soothes our many contentions ity in the Garden of Gethsamene. -the glorious ambition to which our better self teaches us to aspire-our consolation in sickness—the hope which plucks from our wandering minds the terrible thought of annihilation; it comforts the dying by removing the sting of death, and, like the rainbow of Heaven, 'midst the rolling clouds, is the divine attested emblem of the most sacred of all covenants-the covenant between God and man. Such is the power of love. "In peace love tunes the shepherd's reed; "Thoughts are borne Among the many pernicious results of the late war, we find the almost entire demoralization of our society. Woman can raise its tone, and restore its former refinement; but, to accomplish this, she herself must be cultivated. The social waters are troubled, disturbing elements are creating unnatural convulsions, and your sex, rising in its purity and grace, bedecked with gentleness, and crowned with love, alone has the influence and control to say to the troubled waters, "Peace, be still." Cultivate yourselves while now you may; the rough stone is valuable, the polished diamond is invaluable. The learned and accomplished Madame De Stael, of modern days, has demonstrated the fact that you can aspire to any position in the world of letters and of thought; Madame Mundt, better known as Miss Mulbach, has established the reputation of woman as a historian and a novelist; Mrs. Hemans has handed down her name to immortality as a poetess, and perhaps I am even now addressing some fortunate maid who is destined to earn a high reputation in the world of science -perhaps some happy one who will be distinguished as the queen of arts. But whether the intellectual improvement through which you are passing gives to you a national reputation or not, yet your impress and influence is felt upon society; you heighten its tone, you purify its laws, and you replace the many barbarous relics of the fearful struggle through which it has lately passed, and is even now passing, by refinement and elegance. Cherish your literary taste; letters have done much for this world. Attica, with soil sterile and unproductive, became the rich garden which was so fruitful in the cultivation of science, art and literature; beautiful Athens, with its Parthenon, with its Propyloa, and its many grand and magnificent marble edifices, owed all its wealth, all its power to its love for letters. Athens, the home and school of the philosopher, of the orator, of the historian, of the poet, of the artist, of the man of science, of the warrior, has passed away, but the world of thought still retains the rich teachings of Socrates, the polished and convincing cloquence of Demosthenes, the invaluable labors of Thucidides, the dramatic poems of Eschylus, the works of Phidias, and the great achievements of Miltiades, of Leonidas, and of Pericles. What gave to Rome the pre-eminent position which she occupied in her palmy days? Was it not the culture and enlightenment of her people? The mere power of arms is not capable of exalting a nation. The great city, in her decline, was overrun by barbarian hordes-did they acquire wisdom from their captives? What became of literature, of science and of the fine arts under their regime? Lost in the universal night which the dark ages cast over what had been the civilized world, and the power and glory of Rome is marked alone by the magnificent ruins of the Coloseum, of the Pantheon, by the superb and chaste specimens of the fine arts which the chiseled marble retains, and by the many volumes of history, of poetry, of oratory, of philosophy and of law which have been handed down to us through that dark and dismal period by the labor of the inmates of the monasteries, who were protected alone from the rude hands of the barbarians by the superstition which attached to them. Mark but the rise and fall of Rome, and you will find that as literature flourished the eternal city grew. In the Augustan age the world of letters gave forth to the human race more invaluable productions than at any former period; authors deteriorated, and Rome declined. At the fall, literature lived only in the past. Young ladies, cultivate a devotion to your societies; the lessons you learn in your discussions will tend to awaken you to the realities of lite. Reason among yourselves, for reason, like the lightning of Heaven, purifies the atmosphere of thought. The great Creator of the Universe has furnished you with abundant subject matter for reflection, which the philosophy of the past has been unable to ravel. Whence are you? What are the objects of your creation? You know that we tread upon a sphere which is called the earth; from what was that earth formed? What was the object of its formation? Why was man made subject to all the sufferings, ills and cares to which human nature is heir? "Through weary life this lesson learn- That man was made to mourn." Your finite minds cannot comprehend the objects and ends of the infinite; human reason cannot evolve solutions of the many problems which surround us; thought be comes weary of the task of realizing even the facts which we see exist. There is a book in which you will find the Divine revelation as to our existence, as to the creation of matter, and the objects to be attained thereby. This revelation extends as far as a wise Providence has deemed it proper that man should be informed. I have spoken of literature, its objects, its beauties, its advantages to mankind. I would add, that you will find the life-springs of all true thought contained in the volume we term the Bible. As you trace the majestic stream which courses its way to the sea, hearing the rich freight upon its bosom, back to the little brook on the mountain slope, bubbling forth its praise to the Creator, so you can find the elements of all that is good, is pure, is beautiful upon its sacred pages. I would urge upon you, young ladies, to make that book your especial study; but few can conceive of the wealth of thought which it contains. If you wish poetry, it is there-the poetry of Divine inspiration; if your mind yearns for philosophy, you will find within it teachings far richer, far more glorious, and filled with a much more enlivening hope than the lessons which you draw from Socrates and Plato; if you wish a code of morals, you will there learn principles which will purify, and, if followed, will lead to the perfection of the moral nature; if you desire to realize much more clearly than I can impress upon you that "Life is real-life is earnest," unclasp the golden band which holds its sacred leaves, and read! Follow its precepts, obey its mandates, and it will not only lead you to honor in this world, but will be "the rod and the staff" that will comfort you as you pass" through the valley of the shadow of death." the sea. It has pleased the author of this book to call the River Plate, and also the book he has written about it, by this unfamiliar title of Parana, and he is perhaps right; for in our day plate is by no means invariably made of silver, and when one hears that the nation which dwells upon this river is called the Argentine Republic, there is an irresistible tendency to suggest that Brummagem Republic would be a more appropriate title. We do not, however, mean to imply that these republicans are shams or humbugs; for, to do them justice, they have not usually pretended to be any better than they are. Englishmen have chosen to assume that semi-barbarians were civilized, and, going into the thick of promiscuous stabbing and shooting, have lost their lives. The risks of colonization are various. At Sierra Leone you are likely to die of fever. On the River Plate you are liable to come out of your front door at the moment when a party of patriots or brigands are firing free with re It might be interes ing to inquire how many persons there are in London, not especially concerned in the subject, who know what the South Americans are fighting about, or where is the scene of their operations. The most remarkable fact about this contest is that what are in effect sea-fights take place far inland. In a country where all the features of nature are on a grand scale, the rivers are so broad and deep that war-ships can ascend them to co-operate with armies; and accordingly we find that a squadron of Brazilian ironclads has been employed in the late attack upon the Paraguayan fortress of Humayita, which is situate upon the river Paraguay, just above its confluence with the Parana. This river Parana, after it receives another confluent, the Uruguay, is called the Rio de la Plata. It may be as well to place ourselves on familiar terms with this lastnamed river, and call it, as it is called by commercial people, the River Plate. The name Rio de la Plata, or River of Silver, was given by the Spaniards to the lower por-volvers. The Welsh colony which occution of that mighty stream which was called by a native tribe of Indians Parana,or like pied, at the invitation of the Argentine Government, a place called Chupat in Patagonia The allied forces of Brazil, and the Argentine and Uruguayan Republic, have been engaged during the last three years in a contest with "the little Republic of Paraguay." So far as we can understand, the little Republic began the war. It seems that there had been war between Brazil and Uruguay, and Paraguay had offered its mediation. But Brazil still carried on the war without condescending to take notice of the offer. “This," says President Lopez of Paraguay, in a message to his Senate, "outraged the national honor and dignity, as well as compromised the security and integrity of the Republic." Thereupon the Senate made Lopez a Field-Marshal. The grievance alleged against the Argentine Republic was that Paraguay had asked permission to pass through Argentine territory "when events might oblige," or, in words, when Paraguay should desire to attack Brazil; and permission was refused, while facility was granted to Brazil to attack Paraguay. The next thing was that Paraguay sent a force, by land and water, and took possession of Corrientes; and having thus made war against the Argentine Republic, it proceeded to declare war. The people of Buenos Ayres, when they heard of the attack on Corrientes, proceeded in the usual fashion of their race. They paraded their own streets with bands of music and shouting; but their President, General Mitre, told them to work first and shout afterwards. He appealed to the "glorious antecedents" of the Republic, and Lopez, in addressing the Paraguayans, doubtless did the same. Indeed, when we consider that fight had, however, no cause of complaint, except that the land on which they settled would produce nothing whatever for them to eat. In a philological point of view it was a happy idea to add Welsh to the thousand and one languages which are spoken in South America already; and this colony was pure Welsh, for when they got into trouble they could hardly muster among them sufficient English to write to the Governor of the Falkland Islands for relief. The prevailing language of the country is of course Spanish, but some critics say that the language is as corrupt as the religion. That one language may be affected by another which prevails near it may be inferred from the example of this author, who has lived in South America until he has learned to write a curious kind of English. His style occasionally partakes of that grandeur which is suitable to the country of which he writes, and he sometimes displays a curious half, or less than half, recollection of lessons which he may be supposed to have learned in youth. Thus he says that Rosario, where he fills the post of H. B. M. Consul, is the second city in the Argentine Republic, and “far before Buenos Ayres in its topographical and geographical position, as in its hydrographical advantages." Rosario is on the River Plate or Parana, above the confluence of the Uruguay. Buenos Ayres, as everybody knows, is at the mouth of the River Plate. Perhaps a place has" bydrographical advantages" when it is situated upon a sea or river, and, accordingly, Weston-super-Mare would be called, if its inhabitants had an adequate perception of the value of a resounding ti-ing has gone on within or among these Retle," Weston of hydrographical advantages." The author, in describing an Indian marriage ceremony, says, "The smitten Daphne proposes to the father of his Phillis," A revising barrister was lately reminded that in some countries Maria is a man's name, and perhaps Daphne may be also, but it was not formerly. In speaking of the bigness of certain Patagonian Indians whom the author saw at Buenos Ayres, he says that they were men of colossal mould, but not at all approaching to what one would call gigantic." Perhaps when he publishes a new edition of his book, he will add to the table of Argentine measures at the end of it a statement of how many colossi make a giant. 66 publics for about fifty years, and that, when a battle has been fought, both sides have usually claimed the victory, we shall see that the accumlation of" glorious antecedents " must have become stupendous. Entre Rios is a province of the Argentine Republic, and in it dwells or governs General Urquiza, who overthrew the tyranny of Rosas, of which the seat was Buenos Ayres. The battle of Caseros was fought between two partics in the same Republic, but not the less it take its place among "glorious antecedents" Of course Urquiza, like Mitre and Lopez, issued a proclamation, for in these countries nothing can be done without one. The allies agreed that they were going to walk into |