be mentioned before a Hindoo auditory, without awakening feelings of horror and disgust, and shutting the gates of conviction for ever against men who could commence their attempts at conversion by describing scenes so revolting to their pre-conceived notions. On the other hand, the faithful but injudicious teacher conceived that he ought not to disguise, but rather to teach, the history of the expiatory sacrifices, forgetting that some of the animals mentioned were sacred to every child of Brahma, whilst all were so to the believer in the metempsychosis. Thus, each party, fortified in previous opinions, and unable to enter into the causes of the diversity, saw only in the other a disposition at variance from all that each deemed holy; and the cause of conversion proceeded so slowly, that the Abbé Dubois, an intelligent and zealous missionary of the Romish persuasion, assures us, after a service of fifteen years, that he does not believe he made as many converts, nor does he think the cause of Christianity likely to make its way in India. Though he is wrong in his conclusions, from having, like many others, begun his work at the wrong end, yet it should teach, and it has taught, subsequent missionaries which is the right end. The errors and the absurdities in Hindoo belief must be exposed and refuted upon their own ground, and not with reference to the introduction of a new religion; and when the ground is clear, fresh seed may be planted. The access which is now obtained to an intimate knowledge of that belief, of those manners and of their origin, through the acquaintance with the sacred books, will not only give an additional stimulus to zeal, but an additional and confidential guide to the end; and, to crown all, at the very period when the road is becoming plain, the turnpikes are taken away.

It has always been objected against the Hindoos, that they are passive under argumentation; that they listen attentively and respectfully throughout a discourse; but that finally they depart without enabling the preacher to know the effect of his arguments. Be it so. It is something, however, to have an attentive listener. Let but the preacher be careful in adapting his discourse so that he shall not attempt too violently to rend asunder pre-conceived notions,-let him sap and mine the follies which have existed for generations,-let him release their minds from thraldom, as the mouse released the lion from the net, knot by knot,—and, although he may not discover instantaneously the extent to which conviction may have reached, he may rest assured that, in quarters to which he has not much access, in quarters where Europeans have no inclinations to enter-in the recesses of the Hindoo habitations-he will not be without faithful commentators. But, once again, let him always remember, that prejudices, follies, and absurdities, when they are not individual, but national-not of the moment, but permanent-not of late introduction, but established during a long series of centuries, are not to be met, hand to hand, in the field, but are to be destroyed by silently shaking the foundations.

P.

MAN-ASSIMILATION.

(SOMETHING NOT TO BE READ BY THE LADIES.)

"BESHREW my heart, but it is wondrous strange!
Sure there is something more than witchcraft in them,
That masters e'en the wisest of us all."

ROWE'S JANE SHORE.

It is said, that the latest investigations of travellers and antiquarians have proved, most conclusively, that no such race of people as the Amazons ever existed. Whether this be an authentic discovery or not, I am well assured, that if certain influences which are now at work in society are suffered to continue, we shall one of these days behold a race of modern Amazons, who will wrest from our sex the palm of supremacy, in all matters which have been hitherto considered manly. I have been a careful observer of the "signs of the times," and have been compelled to witness, with feelings of the utmost alarm, the encroachments which the ladies have for many years been making upon the habits, privileges, and prerogatives, of our peculiar sex. I refer not only to the ladies of America, but to those of the other hemisphere.

As some proof of their designs, I need but point the reader to a few of their imitations in dress. In the first place, in their blushing girlhood, they assume the pantalettes, or little pantaloons-an augury of their disposition to make further strides at a future period. As they increase in ambition and stature, they don the spencer or bob-tailed coat, the ladies' waistcoat, ladies' stock, sometimes "false bosoms;" and in many instances the hat takes the place of the bonnet.

Again. Observe their ordinary exercises. What are boarding-school calisthenics, but exercises to afford the ability for future boxing? Do not the ladies mount the prancing steed to accomplish themselves in field sports? To say nothing of the Hester Stanhopes, the Lady Thorntons, and Madame Blanchards, of other climes, was not the handsome regiment of Colonel Stevens, lately encamped at Hamilton Square, in New-York, reviewed by troops of lady-cavalry, whose bearing and spirit were such as completely to subdue their fellow-soldiers in the infantry? Did not that charming ornament of her sex-the touching actress, and the gifted writer-a short time since surprise the military establishment at West Point, by her unprecedented energy in riding, rowing, rambling, and cannon-firing, in which she accomplished in a single day the work of three ordinary men? Is not a lady well nigh ashamed now-a-days to acknowledge her dependence, by taking the arm of a gentleman on the fashionable promenade? And what, let me ask, can have a more masculine, or rather a more man-assimilating effect, than the graceful, close-linked, eye-rivetted sympathy of soul, body, and movement, in the entrancing and much admired waltz?

I do not, however, mean to confine myself to such evidences, in my endeavors to show the man-assimilating disposition of the ladies. I have facts to offer which shall furnish confirmation strong. Already, in

the other hemisphere, have the women obtained the upper hand in the pursuits of industry. In the late contests of Greece, many a female soldier

"buckled to her slender side

The pistol and the scimetar,"

and gloried in exposing herself in the front of the battle, where the death-blows fell thickest and fastest. On the Alps, many a sturdy Miss "drives the team afield," while her lazy lord is off among the mountains, risking his neck for a lean chamois. In France, what a world of lady shop-keepers beguile a man of his small change, while monsieur le mari is shaving himself down upon soup maigre. But what of all this? In our own country, we are informed, from many sources beside the excellent letters of Mr. HOFFMAN, that the women are among the best of our back-woodsmen. We understand they sometimes" bob for whales" in the vicinity of Nantucket. We have heard them "discourse most eloquent music" from the pulpit. Mrs. Royall is universally allowed to be the American Sir Walter Scott, and Mrs. Barneywith all respect be it spoken-is a part of her father, the Commodore.

In France, the ladies have always taken a conspicuous part in politics. I need hardly distinguish, from amidst the host, Madame De Stael, the Duchesse d'Angouleme, and the Duchesse de Berri. The oracles of the Drawing-room have frequently spoken to the nation through the automatons of the Chambers; and who can tell whether the impulse, which has often started ten thousand swords from their scabbards, may not have been originally given by the motion of a female fan!

In England, it is well known that the Queen has been oftentimes the better man in the government. Indeed, it is clearly indicated by several most conclusive caricatures, that Queen Adelaide exercised too much influence, lately, over William IV., her husband, in dissuading him from certain measures of reform. It would, however, take up too much space to present all the testimony that can be adduced to show this gradual intermingling, on the part of the ladies, with the pursuits and characteristics of the other sex. As the newspapers, however, are the unquestionable oracles-the "brief abstracts and chronicles of the times,"I have taken some pains to collect from these authorities a number of fragments, which I shall present in the order in which I have clipped them from veritable journals. I begin with the Liverpool Albion, of August 1, 1833:

"REFORM. In the House of Commons, on Tuesday night, Mr. Severn gave notice of the following motion:-That all unmarried females, duly qualified, shall be entitled to vote in elections for knights, citizens, and burgesses to serve in Parliament."

On which the editor remarks:

"The next step, after giving the power of voting, must of course be eligibility to serve in Parliament themselves."

This attempt was followed up, at a subsequent period, by a motion that females should be allowed to serve on juries. There was, how

ever, a majority of Vandals in the House, and the subject was cruelly and indecorously laughed down.

The House should have been beset by a fair army from Saint Giles's, and its members severally compelled to argue the question with the syrens from Billingsgate, who acquire much nervous eloquence in "chanting eulogies upon deceased mackerel."

The ladies, however, were far from being discomfited by this illiberality, and it is understood that they are secretly and irresistibly going on in their reform. The hidden machinery of Almacks, the Races, Card Parties, etc., are fast enabling them to throw off their undesirable feminine characteristics. It is well known that they have a prominent representation in the capers of the circus. The opera-dancing is theirs altogether. I subjoin the evidence of an attempt to drive the other sex off the stage. I find it in the London Times, of November 9th, under the department of THE Drama:

"HAYMARKET THEATRE.-This house, we announce with regret, will close on Friday next, we have every reason to believe, a comparatively successful season; and if it is not so, all we can say is, that the manager has not obtained his deserts: for, in point of novelty and talent, his catering has been of the first order, and in the best taste. Five nights yet remain to enjoy the attractions of Mr. Morris's company, and we are persuaded the opportunity will not be lost by those who possess judgment sufficient to appreciate opera, comedy, and farce, in perfection. We see Mrs. Glover has fixed Tuesday for her benefit, and is to sustain the part of Falstaff in propria persona, in' The Merry Wives of Windsor.' We have no doubt in this, as well as in every thing else she undertakes, she will acquit herself with credit."

A subsequent paper states:

"At the Haymarket Theatre, London, a Mrs. Glover has made her début as Sir John Falstaff, with success.'

The following is from Switzerland. wind blows:"

"Straws show which way the

"The annals of duelling afford no such extraordinary instance as the following from a Swiss journal: A woman of robust frame, aged sixty-six, residing at Chenes Bougerie, had been upon terms of animosity with a baker for twentyeight years, and had frequently challenged him to meet her sword in hand. They had, in fact, two several combats, from which the Amazon retired both times wounded. But, nothing daunted, she again forced her adversary to meet her a third time; and they had a rencontre, a few days since, at Villette, when the fair Armida was so severely hurt, that for three days her life was despaired of. She is, however, now fast recovering, and avows her determination to enter the field again as soon as she has recovered her strength.""

I shall confine myself, in my remaining remarks and proofs, to our own country, where so much liberality of sentiment prevails, that the ladies might be expected to come in for their share of "equal rights.” That an appeal will soon be made to Congress, on the subject of an extension of the right of suffrage, I feel well assured. I heard strong regrets expressed, on the part of many ladies in New-York, at the time of the late charter election, that they were not allowed to vote; and hopes were at the same time openly indulged, that the sex might not be

always debarred from this just privilege. Yes-I am fearful that the seeds, destined to produce fruit, by which the Eve may again be enabled to overcome the Adam, have already been sown. It is time to be on our guard. I have given some proofs of their attempts to rival our own sex in many particulars. Let me offer a few more. I have no dispo

sition to theorize. There is no eloquence like that of fact!

First in importance in the work of assimilation, have we not our female colleges? There is the Collegiate Institute, in a neighboring city, which was originally designed to afford its fair studentesses all the advantages usually obtained by the best educated of the other sex. Ladies were invited to go forward, under the pure sky and in the free atmosphere of republicanism, to prepare themselves for future honors and privileges, by becoming Latinized, Græcised, mathematicized, and at length diplomatized. How must the black-letter volumes in the hands of our fair young fellow citizenesses have glowed with mystic promise of future glory! How many Corinnas must have dreamed of future triumphs over contending Pindars-of wielding the maiden sceptre over free and applauding millions-the glorious Queen Besses, the Lady Presidentesses of our republic! With what music must their clear and bird-like voices have come back to their own ears, reverberated from the legislative halls that spread before them in vision! With what expansion of soul must they have beheld themselves sitting, with Justinian-like gravity and dignity upon the bench of jurisprudence, with their ancient sister Justice at their side, arrayed like themselves, most becomingly, in bag sleeves instead of bag wigs! But, to return from this digression. The Brooklyn College still holds out its advantages in the cause of assimilation and equal rights, and it does not stand alone, as the subjoined notice, taken from the New England Farmer, attests:

"A FINE CHANCE FOR THE LADIES.-Heretofore, with the single exception, we believe, of the princess Dashkoff, Doctorates have been only conferred upon males, but females are now about to participate in these learned distinctions. The Legislature of Indiana has chartered a new College, called 'The Christian College,' at New Albany, alike open to males and females, with power to confer degrees. In the female department, they have established the degrees of Doctress of Natural Science, of English Literature, Belles Letters, the Fine Arts, and of Arts and Science-so that, in a few years, Doctresses will be made as rapidly as our medical schools make Doctors of Medicine. Our young men had better be on the look out, or they will be completely overshadowed by the learned Doctresses who will issue from this College."

I readily coincide in the opinion that "the young men had better be on the look out." I do not, however, so much approve of the term Doctresses, as applied to the lady graduates of the Indiana Institution. In all the states, gentlemen collegians receive with their diplomas the degree of Bachelors or Masters of Art. The ladies should accept of nothing less than the fair title of Maidens or Mistresses of Art.

Perhaps I have suffered myself to be too far carried away by my subject. I shall therefore speedily conclude. There are few of us who are not aware that ladies in America are frequently appointed PostMasters. I once knew a lady who transacted all her husband's busi