The Express.
London, England, 1864-12-24 00:00:00

MEXICO.

Private letters from Vera Cruz state that prepa-
rations are already being made for a lengthened ex-
cursion which the Emperor and Empress of Mexico
intend to make in January. Their Majesties will
visit the maritime provinces of Yucatan, Tabasco,
_ _

Vera Cruz, and Tamaulipas, which Kara recentl;

ra2aLsza.

FCNDAT. oititommis MONDAY.
B.W. to S.K.. =decide COMM al. to S.W. and S.W..
to fresh, One. tread; some snow or
rain In places.
Z.N.E. to S.S.W., Imo. WIIIIMIL E. to L. and to &W.,
dente, line. moderate to strong,

some rain or Ulu* 41

---
Easterly, fresh to mis. 601711Mi11. E. toed moderate to
dente, line. strong, generally One.
S. to E. and N.E , fresh 2.121721/11. Y.E.to S.K. and is. W.
to moderate, fine variable, moderate to.
generally. trash, generally Sue.
Narthernmeootland. Wastaraadralastl. Wale,, and ea*
esayka. aaatheramEaglisi Casual aad Bay at limay. Lamm
laiaatwaTct lraglaad aad North Sea.

LETTER OF DVEZ FREDERICK OF AFOFSTENBORG.
—Duke Frederick of Anguateoburg boa given the following
reply to a ooneratolatory address upon the coeclusion of
woos forwarded to him by the local authorities la North
110ithmarachen i—" I return my thank, to the load authori-
ties in North Dithniareclien for the address forwarded to
me in their names upon the conclusioe of peace. This new
expression of your devotion Rod confidenee hi. filled me
with joy. For it is only the coosciousores that the country
sees its own rights in mine, and the condition of its prospe-
rity in their realisation, that permits me still to pursue the
object of our common desires without deviation. With
you, I deplore deeply that the country hu only been
allowed to take a small ahem in its liberation. But
although it wee neither possible for it to strive for the
right in arms, nor to uplift its voles at the peace negotia-
tions, no one will yet deny that the unanimous, manly
vindication of its right by the country, sad its firm &dim-
resoe to what was recognised Lobe that right, have imparted
to events the direction they have taken. We may look with
eaelideoc• to further developments. The two allied
monarch' of Austria and Prussia, who waged a glorious war
for the right of the country, and concluded a pesos which
establishes the independence of the Duchies of Denmark for
ever, will crown their labour of peace by brio;ieg about the
solution which alone corresponds to the cones:Ake of right
entertained by the country and the interests of Genimay.—
(fiegned)--Faspairica."

MIDNIGHT MEETINGrfi.
-.--

Once in every fortnight throughout the winter
the promoters of this movement hold a meeting, to
whioh fallen women of every degree are invited. A
large room is hired, now in the vicinity of the Hay-
market, now in Broad-street, Westminster, now in
the Euston-road, or other part of London, where
the evil it is sought to grapple with is known to
flourish in rank luxuriance ; cards and tracts are
distributed during the early portion of the same
evening, and from eleven o'clock all female appli-
cants are admitted without question at the door.
The meeting of last Thursday was held at the St.
James's-hall, and was numerously attended by pros-
titutes of a certain grade. The room began to fill
shortly before midnight, and the clergymen and
others who had issued the invitations opened the
proceedings with prayer after which a hymn was
sung, and earnest exhortations given. Out of the
100 or 150 women who availed themselves of the
cards of invitation which had been diligently given
to the casino-frequenters and street-walkers of the
vicinity, it was confidently expected that some
twelve would be led to seek the aid of the society,
and that out of that number nine would be perms-
nently reclaimed. These figures are merely given
as the expectations of the promotere—expectations
founded not on the observation of the right, but
derived from long experience and a careful study
of the averages of preceding meetings. It would,
indeed, be hazardous in the extreme to venture a
positive opinion upon the effect of the ministra-
tions of a particular evening from mere external
observation, for it is only in the days following
thereupon that the influence exerted can
bear palpable fruit. A card printed thus "Dear
friend, if you will call on Mr. Stabb, 5, Red Lion-
square, Holborn, W.C., any day between ten and
four, he will advise with you, and if possible assist
you for the future," was given to each woman as
she left the hall, and it is only after the presentation
of these cards that even an approximate estimate of
the good wrought can be formed. The common
course is to oiler the women who come an asylum
for a time in one or other of the homes of the
society, and it is confidently stated that seventy-five
per cent. of the number thus sheltered remain in
the situations ultimately obtained for them, and
never resume their immoral life.

It is painful to say aught which may seem to
reflect, however remotely, upon efforts which merit
the gratitude of the nation, but it would be
idle and foolish to conceal that the proceedings
of last Thursday did not strike us as
satisfactory. The women were not so well
behaved as might have been fairly expected.
There was less attention, more frequent interrup-
tions, greater levity, and far more palpable indif-
ference than some published accounts had led us to
expect. The poor, worn out, battered creatures,
with ruddled cheeks and lacklustre eyes, who sat
stolid, silent, and immoveable, as if content to
enjoy without trouble the physical comforts of
warmth and light, who swallowed their hot coffee
with an eagerness which showed them to be both
hungered and athirst, were well behaved enough ;
that is, they made no sign. Moody and torpid,
they neither betrayed animation nor displayed dis-
approbation or assent at any stage of the proceed-
ings ; but, if appearances were to be trusted, heard
the earnest pleadings of the speakers with as little
iuterest as if they bad been couched in an unknown
tongue. But many of the younger women treated
the whole affair with undieguised contempt.
There was laughing, chatting, and elbow
nudging during singing and prayer,and the noise
rather increased than diminished when the
minister of the evening delivered his address.
Nothing could be more feeling or more broadly
charitable than the tone adopted by this gentleman.
There was neither assumption of superiority to his
hearers, nor an offensive ostentation of speaking
down to their level. Perhaps, however, the view
taken of the antecedents of the people before him
was of too ideal a character to be thoroughly effective.
The broken-hearted father, the vacant seat in the
chimney-corner, the sad thoughts of the missing
one at the family gathering on the coming Christ-
mas-day, and the hearty welcome back of the poor
prodigal to the fold, are, it is to be feared, strangely
unfamiliar images to the low prostitute of real life.
These are the associations of sentiment ; but if we
could really draw aside the veil, and see the wretched
surroundings and utterly demoralised associations
of the childhood of a large proportion of such people
as were assembled at St. James's-hall, we should
too often find that the degradation of to-day is not
an abyss into which they have suddenly fallen,
but rather the natural sequence to • hide-
ously perverted iufaucy and a besotted home.
There were not a dozen of the ordinary dashing
West-end prostitutes among the women we saw,
though here and there in the ranks of the old, and
haggard, and miserably shabby ones, might be seen
a face which had figured in satins and lace at
no very distant day, while its owner was pointed
out as one of the fashionably notorious women of
her hour. The common, vulgar, brazen creature,
whose shame sits lightly on her shoulders was,
however, most numerously represented of all, and
thoughout the evening she tittered and giggled,
regardless of looks of remonstrance, and in defiance
of expostulations more openly expressed. Nor did
this seem to proceed from the bravado often simu-
lated to hide deep feeling. The proceedings were
apparently held to be jocoee, and the tone of the
younger women present was uniformly ribald.
In one instance, and one instance only during our
stay, did we note an exhibition of feeling. The
pictures of the bereaved parents and the deserted
home affected one young creature so deeply that
she retired in hysterics, and remained sobbing
violently at the foot of the stairs, declining all
attempts at consolation on the part of the pro-
moters of the meeting. But against this we heard
the loud laugh and the low jest at the very
instant the most solemn appeals were being made ;
we heard "don't tell lies as a parting sally
from one of the best dressed of the women as she
retired ' • and we noted such a general absence of
per feeling, as to raise a doubt whether these
large assemblages do not in some measure defeat
the very ends they are designed to bring about.
It is certain that the predominant sentiment of a
crowd is contagions, and that when the majority
are not merely disposed to scoff, but are deter-
minedly bent on scoffing, the small minority
whose hearts incline to repentance and reformation
have a serious additional impediment to overcome.
On the other hand, the committee urge, and with
reason, that they have no means of reaching the
class they seek to elevate, save by some such meet-
ings as these, and fraught with difficulty as any
plan of house to house visiting must be, it is not
easy to suggest an improvement upon their present
scheme. Still, when we see callous indifference on
the one hand, and careless jesting frivolity on the
other, and when we find that rescues are happily
made in spite of such frightfully opposing influ-
ences, we cannot refrain from hoping that the
admirable efforts of the Midnight Meeting
Society will yet find some more favourable
channel for their dsvelopment, and will conse-
quently meet with a yet higher average of success.
That they have done so much already is an interest-
ing testimony both to their earnest zeal and to
the deep and crying want they have supplied.
But whatever may be the effect of such an evening
as that of Thursday on the minds of those accus-
tomed to deal with fallen women in the mass, to a
stranger it must have been depressing and dire
couraging In the extreme. If the shallow natures
of the people exhorted were really being impressed
at the very time they were passing flippant com-
ments and coarse jests, the inference is that the
latter were provoked by the presence and contiguity
of their companions in evil. But as these poor
women flocked out, many of them lcng before the
address was at an end, their wild talk and reckless
bearing "poke sadly of the searing hardening in-
fluence of their shameless lives. All honour then
to the band of philanthropists who are earnestly,
and, in spite of the unfavourable examples we saw
the other evening, successfully endeavouring to
lessen the number of fallen women in our streets.
The operation of these midnight meetings may not
be so clearly beneficial at the moment as might be
wished, but the committee have a practical answer

to all criticism in the Homes they are tilling and
have filled, in the young lives they have rendered
happier and more pure, and in the proofs they
furnish of the abiding influence effected by their
counsels.