TRUE MANHOOD. FROM R. H. DANA. OUR sins our nobler faculties debase, - 't is man, not earth 'Tis thou, poor self-starved soul, hast caused the dearth. The earth is full of life: the living Hand Touched it with life; and all its forms expand With principles of being made to suit Man's varied powers, and raise him from the brute. And shall the earth of higher ends be full? Earth which thou tread'st! and thy poor mind be dull? Thou "living dead man," let thy spirits leap Forth to the day; and let the fresh air blow Through thy soul's shut up mansion. Woulds't thou know Something of what is life? shake off this death; Have thy soul feel the universal breath With which all nature's quick! and learn to be REAL GLORY Springs from the conquest of ourselves; THOUGHTS ON FASHION. BY A LOOKER-ON. ONE can hardly find, or even imagine, a stronger contrast than that which exists between the rigid fixedness of customs and fashions among the nations of the East, and the restless fluctuation of our own. And it is difficult to say which of the two extremes is the more absolutely absurd and ridiculous- the entailing of the particular cut of the coat, or the size of the hat, upon generations yet unborn, by laws of penal severity, or the equally arbitrary dictate of that invisible phantom, Fashion, which leads us, in a short time, through almost every imaginable change of form and style in our apparel. Ridiculous as both appear, however, there is one point of view in which the condition of things with us is incomparably preferable. Where novelties and changes of every kind, even for the better, are illegal and contraband, the mind stagnates; and the course of centuries is but like the turning of a wheel on an immoveable axle, which, let it revolve ever so swiftly, makes no advances, leads to no new or better prospects. But where change is the order of the day, improvement may always at least be hoped for, and will, almost as a matter of course, sometimes be realized. Apparently, indeed, the inventors and retailers of styles and modes have aimed, for the most part, at mere novelties - sometimes going even so far as to sacrifice a better style for a worse, simply because the latter was new; and though professing to have a regard for the graceful and the becoming in their inventions, it cannot be denied, that a large part of them owe the beauty they seem to have to an artificially created taste, to which we become so absolutely lost, as the fashion goes out of date, that what we before hesitated not to pronounce charming, begins to be considered unsightly, and even hideous. The existence of a pure taste, and a love of true beauty, is a mark of a kind of goodness and simplicity of mind which, if not itself actually spiritual, contains a germ of spirituality; and the cultivation of those qualities is the true means of attaining to it. Real beauty is an angel's garment; and though often assumed as a cloak by vice, the theft usually soon becomes manifest; the cloven foot of the demon can hardly escape being seen peeping out from beneath. Let us then learn to love chaste and simple beauty; and in the effort, shall we not find that we have made at least some advances towards the realization of that purity of spirit which alone can bear the company of the angels of beauty? Pervert and invert the order of things as we will, we cannot destroy, nor fairly lose sight of, the connection existing between beauty and utility. If those who take it upon themselves to dictate the fashions and customs of society, would be willing to cultivate and be guided by a pure and refined taste, the step would be short, and easily taken, to the consultation of true utility and substantial improvement. Then might each change of fashion be made an occasion of some actual advance towards what nature would teach us is fit, becoming, comfortable, advantageous, useful. Then would science more fully unfold her arcana also, to instruct us as to what the best health and well-being of the body require, in the form, quality and construction of our houses, our apparel, and whatever else concerns the good regulation, not only of the mere bodily life, which is much, but of those mental conditions to the orderly preservation of which a correct external is requisite. That the changes of fashion have sometimes brought about real improvements is freely and cordially admitted. Such instances, however, seem often rather to have happened than to have been intended. At best, the idea of improvement has been a secondary rather than a primary motive, for the change. Exalted conceptions of philanthropic reform have as yet had little influence upon the minds of the marchands des modes, on whom we have been accustomed to depend for the regulation of our outward appearance; and the natural consequence of things-I mean of things as they have been, and still to a great extent are is, to leave this business in the hands of the more vain and frivolous portion of society, who look upon men and women as butterflies in the sun, among whom those adorned with the gaudiest wings attract the most devoted attention. The strong and manifest tendency of the better part of the mind of society, however, now is, to rise above this condition of things, and to submit to no dictate which is not based on principles of reason and true utility. The folly of estimating men and things by the external appearance, is more deeply realized; and those who look upon the mere outside are perhaps fewer in number, and certainly less respected. The truths of physiology have begun to shed light on some of the more common pathways of life. The body is ceasing to be regarded as a thing which Fashion has a right to torture to her perverted liking, and begins to be seen as a house constructed with divine art, and all-perfect adaptation to the residence. of an immortal spirit and with whose wonderful and inscrutable operations we may not dare to trifle. When that most difficult step of all is taken - the choosing to obey the genuine laws of life, in preference to our perverted appetites, which are constantly striving to close our eyes and ears to all truth then shall we see the mind of the world at large more deeply and heartily pervaded by principles of correct thought and wise action, and Fashion herself seated as a learner at the feet of Truth. FREEDOM'S BANNER OF PEACE. BY LOUIS RINGE -from the Essayist. RAISE the banner of the free; Let it float upon the breezes, Over earth, and over sea, Where the breath of heaven pleases. Let it flash amid the light, Like a friendly angel's pinions, On its folds of stainless white, Bearing peace to earth's dominions. Let the flag of war be furled, Slaughter's herald, rank and gory; None but demons build their glory. Tyranny demands a shroud Wrap its bloody ensign round it; Freedom with her ffag has crowned it. |