The examiner. [volume] (Louisville, Ky.) 1847-1849, 1849-02-03
From the American metropolitan Magazine.
Hurnl Life.
BY MISS cArHARINE NJ. sEDewIcK.

DO0tleSs I0uOle taken IN Tue Cndsc dllcl
happiness with the excitements that are
sought, the pleasures that are contrived anc
pursued, and all ending in miserable
waste Of time, money, and labor. HaPpl
ness, pure happiness. ever which there Is
no shadow OF imperfechon, We suppose is,
with the exception Of few bTlef moments
of life, reserved for another state Of being,
There is Just enough of il here to stimulate
our faith, our hope, our struggles for the
hereafter. But what is nearest TO haPpl-
ness, tranquility, contentment, cheerfulness,
serenity, are attainable, are TO be had by a
wise use of the means most Of us possess; by
cherishing what we have, and not TegTetting
or desiring what we have not. One OF the
evils Of the unparalleled activity Of our
young country is a restless desire OF change
Our men are 'young Rapids. /" "Dash on
keep moving" are the watchwoTds; and
the mass Of the social world seems playing
the game of toilet, changing places with no
effect but change.
There is a comfortable exception to this
general passion in a certain community we
know, doubtless there are many like it IN
known 10 us, where an order Of out-ofdoor
vestsls dwell, with no conventual walls oil
mans masonry, but surrounded not impris-
oned BY piles of marble, whose sides are
bristled with naples, elms, beeches, pines,
and the glowing mountsin ash. Their
gates are not guarded by angels with flaming
swords, turning every way, but tended by
smiling hospitable spirits. Nor, whatever
splenetic travellers may have said or written,
is there inscribed upon them those words Of
insolent defiance,
'Lasciate ogni speranza vol ch'entrate-'
On the contrary, their lay-brothers enter
with hope and depart without despair, and
not always alone! Nothing can be more
liberal than the laws OF the sisterhood.-
They are only severe against the 6endlsh
vices of hate, envy, calumny, jealousy, and
all the brood OF discord. Such common
infrmities as vanity, folly, and dizziness,
are, in moderate degree, tolerated. for these
are wise virgins, and aim at nothing unat-
tainable, General friendliness, and every
day kindness, are the cement Of their asso-
ciation. Detraction is held by them as a
crime-murder in the first degree; and
gossip is only endured, when there are found
natures too weak for its absolute prohibition.
However, there is such a general diffusion
Of light and moral health in the atmosphere
that il dies OF itself, or is hunted down as
vermin are by clearly housekeepers.
The superiors, leaders, or rather elect
ladies Of this community, are those who
have performed the pilgrimage Of married
life, a pilgrimage that indeed most Of our
vestals perform, sooner or later-a pecu-
liarity Of their order These superiors use
no enforcement but the gentle one of ex.
ample. They do not appoint the duties OF
the vestals, nor watch over their perform
ance. Il is eminently Stree soil, free Ia
Dor, free speech" order. The supervision
Of the ladies elect is confined to the festal
rites. Fog these, daily and nightly they
open their saloons. and from their lovely
gardens and teeming store-rooms provide
the material elements TO sustain them
They have no syb:lline warning or croak-
ing, no weird prophecy, no duenna vigilance,
no conventional maneuvring. There is
no call for these old world appliances,
where purity and innocence are watch and
warder.
Our fine young lady readers, il such we
have, may think this all very well, insipid
though it be, for ladies Of certain age, Or
sleepy danes in the sober decline Of life;
but TO the young and lovely, it must be a
dismal blank. No--let the young and
lovely bide their time. IL ioiu COME
Meanwhile the whole occupation and in.
terest Of life are not cast ON one die
There are social duties to be done; new
studies to be followed; pleasant books to be
read; new mysteries of the needle to be
expired; and life goes on cheerily, without
the continualexcitement Of the sentimental
relations, or the uninterrupted presence OF
the nobler-nol rarer sex. When the
evening sets in, and neither lecture, party.
opera, nor play, in perspective, the mail
che event. in country life) arrives. Then
there are letters, perchance from India.
London, Paris, or at worst, there is the
morning paper from town; and even the
Young vestals, who have pursued their dry
studies in Herodotus and Rollin, during the |
day, have yet some interest in the whirling
political wheel of Europe, and lend docile
ear when their elders tell them that il is
quite as important to know something Of
the crumbling thrones Of to-day, as Of the
doubtful dynasties Of three or four thousand
years ago. IL clouds lower without, and
outdoor exercise is impracticable. a romP-
ing cotiIlion occupies the twilight, or polkas
and wsltzes part Of the evening, the dan
cling. it may be, not quite as prolonged as
when the ''rarer sex" are present. Some
Zines, but rarely, there is recourse to loud
reading. Social enjoyment is the order Of
the evening" and the minds Of the commu-
nifty are too various for one book to unite
all tastes and sympathies. So reading is
set apart for the day, and there are social
plays, plenty Of talk. conundrums and
charades, improvised or remembered. DC.
casionslly whist psrty is formed for
charming elderly friend, who puts up with
the irregularities of feminine playing, Cor
the sake OF his fayorite game, never failing
to remark 70 bis coadjulors, that the acOrst
playing makes no more than FIVE per cent.
difference Ia the long run, and indicating
BY invincible good humor. that he is content
70 suasr the tariff. for his Iavorite recrea-