1825.], 
created only to be Happy, and seék the 
abodes'of pleasute:A8 disposition or dim 
cumstarice sifgpest: “Phe ills we'so lately 
endiveW are ‘then ‘forgotten, or reniem- 
bered-ofly to°eive'a zest to present en- 
jopment) (“Weare satisfied with our- 
selves; “and Ut peace’ with others. | Na- 
turerwears: a! livelier robe; the sun 
seems to laugh in his brightness, and 
the clouds’are'tiiged with an imagina- 
tive Histre the light of paradise s¢ems 
tobe openiig through them, as they re- 
flect to our excited senses the glow of 
loveiand the golden smile of joy. 
cobpewasthis* simple ‘consciousness of 
existence; mingled with the delight de- 
rived fromthe observation and conteni- 
plation of nature, that caused the wisest 
ofvkings® to exclaim,’ “Truly the light 
is*sweéetj\ and ‘a’ pleasant thing it is for 
theveyds toy behold the sun.” And I 
think there*is not’a reflecting being in 
the world whovhath not felt, though he 
may not have expressed the same. 
That the love of life should beget the 
ideavof immortality, is notin the least 
degree ssurprisingy ‘We naturally wish 
to continue whatever’ affords’ us plea- 
surescandfrom thence the opinion of 
immaterial» existence has originated : 
for we are-convineed by experience of 
the destruction of the body, and are con- 
sequently, impelled to consider the mind 
as a separate and independent being. 
Whether the idea of a life hereafter be 
merely«a visionary ‘delusion of the wish 
—a~recoiling from “ the secret dread 
awd fiwatd™ horror of falling into no- 
thing”—or whether it be an emanation 
of 40nie innate’ principle, or intuitive 
cons¢iousiiess;of the human mind, I 
will not-presume either to affirm or to 
disengs.\« My»belief is in the latter opi- 
niong and certam Iam that such a be- 
liefsis»oindividually. consolatory, and 
aniversall{ beneficial. 
coMilton, in his immortal poem, gives 
us the following advice from 
the angelMichael 
‘* Norlove thy life, nor hate : but what thou 
yilenfivest, "nye 31 
Live well. how long or short, permit to 
reel Meawene? sow coos 
To. liye,well, we must live virtuously : 
which is our interest ‘as well as our duty, 
knowing that real andJasting happiness, 
»which is ‘our -“ being’s end and aim,” is 
sincompatible with aught but virtue. Our 
\wery-love, of life should be in-proportion 
»pnly.to our means. of rendering benefit 
-to, others ; whichis indeed. the truest 
é 3, of gratification to ourselves, (For 
4 _ sclish, pleasure ‘is equal, to the 
»s)Montuty Mac. No, 404. 
Manners, Condition, &c: of Women in South America. 
the lips of © 
slippers, the :trailing waste, of, fold- 
35 
497 
exertise of charity and goodwill? indeed, 
what luxury to that of doing good ? The 
pompous’ ‘tributes’ even’ of universal 
fame and flattery, are nothing ‘in compa- 
rison with the’ silent applause* of the 
heart. °°! @) 1803 
St. Alban’s, 23d Sept. 1824.0) 809% 
Manners, Conprrion, and Cmaracriin, 
of Women in Sour AMERICA. (90 
/&°S there are three distinct: tribes in 
South America, the usages, eus- 
toms, and manners, as well as the fea+ 
tures, of the women, must’ differ’ most 
materially. Perhaps there is more 'simi-+ 
larity in the mode of treatment adopted 
by the Spaniard, the African negro, and 
South American Indian, towards’ their 
women, than in any other part:of their 
characteristics, —as the women are more 
properly slaves to them than’ -compa- 
nions. The Spaniard leaves “all the 
drudgery of his House to his wife, while 
ech 
He lolls at ease in his hammock; smoking. 
The negro, if he’ may be suffered’ to re- 
main idle, cares not'swhat labour ‘his 
wife is put to; and the Indian looks ‘on 
woman as ofa species inferior to hitw in 
every respect, and, if he chance to lose 
her, gives himself very little'trouble to 
find her again, unless she has any of his 
children with her.’ Happier in this than 
either the Spaniard or the negro, he is 
not plagued by the demon of jealousy. 
As their treatment by the* men must 
influence the conduct of womien, sonie 
of the disgusting usages and custonis 
among them may properly be placed to 
this account. The Spanish women, ‘by 
nature graceful in person, and endearing 
in native disposition, regular in feature, 
and expressive in countenance; from 
contemptuous neglect, become slovenly, 
disregardful,' and inanimate: so that 
there is, at present, very little affinity 
between the ladies of Old Spain ‘and 
those in South America, either°m per- 
son or manners. Perhaps their inter- 
course with negroes and people of colour 
may in some degree account for this. 
As the Spanish children are nursed by 
negresses, they necessarily imbibe some 
portion. of their» character. || The first 
feeling of an Englishman, in coming in 
contact with the South American wo- 
men, is disgust, Contrasted with the 
elegant neatness of his own fair country- 
women, he views the stiff, stately, trans- 
atlantic females, as) beings almost, of 
another order. |A want) of taste and 
fitness. in their apparel, au awkward gait, 
owing, perhaps, to, the, constant use,of 
ing 
