PjtV(i'-i
m--"--" -"-'"
mmm
no. :i.
N0TK8.
55
AiMBii
talents of a Lady Mary Montague, vcttliu
chnracleristios of tlielr letters are grace,
ease, vivacity of narration, and simplicity
ami purity of diction. Each woman's
missive is a true mirror of lierself, and
you at once recognize and identify all the
characteristics and trails of any friend on
the written page. By route sarcasm says
of woman1? letters: "The earth has noth
tug like a she-epistle, and hardly heaven,
because it never ends. I love the mystery
of a female missile, which, like : creed,
ne'er says all it intends. But full of outi
nlng as Ulysses' whistle when lie allured
poor Dolan: you had belter take care
what you reply to such a letter."
The greatest fault of letters is for them
to be composed; while their greatest
charm is in tiic ease, facility, and natural
manner in which they are expressed. They
should ilow spontaneously from the heart
art! then they will be truly "the monitors,
the comforters, and the only true heart,
talkers." I think with Roscoc that it is a
sin to convert a letter into either a gazette
or a sermon, and one had much better
make himself, his own affairs and experi.
ences the subjects of discussion, about
which he naturally knows the most, than
to weary the reader witli philosophical
and metaphysical discussions or unimpor
tant gossip that is of no interest. The sa
credness of letters of true friendship
and the delight one experiences in re.
reading them lias always made it seem a
sacrilege to destroy these " Remcmbran
ces of the heart." Yet many, in circum
stances that make probable the future dis.
interment of all their communications,
prefer that their productions should all be
destroyed. This is conducive to perfect
freedom of intercourse in mind and
heart, and there is no restraint felt. Some
one, in bitterness of spirit, says of letters
of the past:
'Toar, burn, destroy, but keen tlioin not;
I bntu, I dread tboxo loving wltncseca
Of varying self, of good and 111 forgot,
Of allured boneo, and vvltbured kindncsHON."
L'lXCONNUE.
N0TE8.
Why some men of genius receive no
profit from their literary works is probab
ly because there are few persons who
can sufllcienlly appreciate their specula,
lions.
Those philanthropists who prophesy
that a reign of universal peace is soon to
come, should remember that wars increase
in number as they become popular rather
than princely.
If Communism would be prevented
from spreading in our midst, something
beyond the mere writing of magazine ar
ticles is required. Men are guided more
by earnestness and confident activity
than by argument or reason.
History proves that religion is the most
potent of all the powers that move and
govern human action. Then, on the prin
ciple that even a leaky house is better than
none, society owes no thanks to the athe
istic uceptio who would tear down Christ,
ianity without offering in its place a sub
stitute which has already proved to be
bettor.
Not the least significant of the ques
tions brought before the Berlin Congress,
was that of forbidding the sate of arms
to the Mongol population of Central Asia;
a measure suggested by Count Schouva
loff, tho Russian diplomat. The Tartars
were once the scourge of Russia, and if
placed on a par with the Muscovite in the
possession of modern fire-arms, may yet
prove a serious obstacle to the encroach
meats of the latter.
Though the bill betore Congress for
the restraining of Chinese immigration is
unjust, a large inllux of that nationality
would be a good cause for apprehension.
It is doubtful if the American could long
maintain himself against the Chinaman
should the latter retain his old mode of
life. Otherwise the American would have
to come down to the level of the Mongo
linn by accepting as low wages and living
as cheaply.
