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under the influence of Associative and Attractive Industry.' They are then divided into 'Series,' which are subdivided into 'Groups.' These groups and series are arranged by classes of occupations, so that a person about to enter may choose the one which falls in with his taste, either as to the object of industry or sympathy of character. group chosen by the free voice of the Association chooses for itself an occupation; it may be scientific, mechanical or agricultural. Suppose the latter; it rests with the members to decide what branch of agriculture they will adopt; of course they will take that to which they are impelled by their attractive affinities; it may be horticulture, in which case the seeker after the absolute may go to the onion group, or he may be attracted toward the squash; he may have a leaning toward beets, or be smitten with pumpkins; all is free, according to the bent of his mind. A person may also vary his occupation according to the seasons; but it is recommended that each adhere to the pursuit first chosen, so that he may become perfect in one branch; in which case he remains an onion, a squash, a beet or a pumpkin, during the time of his stay as a member. This is peaceful, pastoral and primitive.

These and other pursuits are the occupation of the male portion of the community; the females, or as they are termed the feminalities, are to be attracted to industrial habits, such as suit their tastes and sex. They will be distributed in like manner as the men, into series and groups, and be employed as cooks, seamstresses, laundresses, house-keepers and above all as nurses. In the latter capacity it will be their duty to give infants the first rudiments of education; to form their minds, mould their inclinations, watch over their 'instinctual movements,' their moral propensities and hydropathic habits; in short, by the development of industrial tastes or instincts, fit them to become useful members of the Association.

The Reformers consent to sustain the marriage tie as it now exists, especially as it is found not easy to dissolve it; but they do object to the confinement of an isolated household, or the living of one man and one woman in one house; indeed there are not wanting others, of ardent zeal, who to hasten the blessings they promise, would dissolve the marriage state altogether; and they attribute many domestic evils to the existence of this union. Nevertheless the main body of the Associationists deem it advisable, under all the circumstances of the case, to uphold the connection.

While the body and mind are thus provided for, it is intended to have religion; indeed a good deal of it; but according to their views, it must be of the genuine, or what they term the integral' kind, which is the more to be cherished as it inculcates order and harmony, the two main pillars on which Association rests. Beside receiving as much as is necessary to aid in the new scheme of temporal happiness, it is made the ground-work of a novel theory to prove the immortality of the soul, which one of the head-men asserts he has established by a scientific process. He begins by presenting a scale of seven proofs, derived principally from Attraction Proportional to Destinies,' Universal Analogy, Harmonic Transi

tions,' with others equally intelligible; thence he comes to radical, primary, and pivotal attributes, which last typifies Unity of System,' or in other words, Association itself, a subject I am trying with all my might to make you understand. Each of these divisions is subjected to a critical analysis, from which the proof of his position is adduced; but in order that mankind may not feel too secure, by which pride may be engendered, we are told the lot of the two worlds is linked together, the happiness and misery of both are reciprocal, and the souls of the departed remain in an inferior condition, in which ours will participate after this life, until the social world shall have been elevated from its state of discord and subversion to one of harmony and unity.'

Now I hold this to be unfair toward the dead, who after toiling and sweating in this life, in the hope of enjoyment hereafter, are now told they are to rest in an inferior condition in the next, until the Association shall have accomplished the great work of destroying the present system of society, and have built up one much better. This is cold comfort; and then what a length of time in which the departed are left in suspense! In mercy to those who wait, I hope these gentlemen will quicken their motions. Depecher vous, de pecher vous; je vous en prie.'

In after life the soul will be placed under three conditions; the simple and infra-mundane,' 'the compound or mundane,' and 'the super-compound or super-mundane;' the first of these states goes by the vulgar name of sleep, the second that of watchfulness, and the third is the ultimate or future life: when arrived at this last point, the bodies of our souls will be Ether-Aromal, formed of two subtle elements, air and aroma. How beautiful! And can any thing be more clear? We are to live, in another sphere, in perfumed vapor, being made of and inhaling an ethereal substance, as we now do on earth when we smoke and drink our coffee. Our holy prophet, (on whom be blessings!) must have foreseen all this when he permitted these two essences to form essential elements of comforts in this life, and means of enhancing the joy of that which is to come.

I might greatly enlarge upon many topics connected with this subject, to prove the advantages the world would derive by adopting the plan of these Reformers. Space will not allow me to continue; but in this very brief outline I have said enough to give you an insight into the happiness these benevolent people propose to bestow upon the human race; and I leave you to reflect on the perfectibility to which mankind may arrive by adopting a system that removes all misery from the world by a quicker process than was ever thought

of before.

I cannot but rejoice, dear Ahhmad, that you and I are brought up under a dispensation that teaches full and entire dependence on the wisdom of Providence in the government of the world. We have no need of systems of unity, of attraction, of radical, primary or pivotal attributes, or any other scheme of visionary men to regulate our community or prescribe rules of doctrine. Our holy law is a sure guide, that leads us safely through the devious path of life, and

a firm support to all those who obey its sacred precepts; neither is gracious Allah slow in exhibiting on proper occasions on earth the extent of his power in favor of those who are true believers, as is well proved by recurrence to our historical records.

In the year of the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs, Amr Ibn ElA's, the Arab general, was told that the Egyptians were accustomed at the period when the Nile began to rise, to deck a young virgin in gay apparel and throw her into the river as a sacrifice, to obtain a plentiful inundation. This barbarous custom he abolished; in consequence, the Nile did not rise during the space of three months. The people were greatly alarmed: Amr therefore wrote to the Kaliefeh, to inform him of what he had done, and the consequence. Omar returned for answer that he approved, and desired him on receipt of the letter to throw into the river a note which it enclosed. The purport of the note was as follows: From Abd Allah Omar, Prince of the Faithful, to the Nile in Egypt. If thou flowest of thine own accord, flow not: but if it be GOD, the One, the Mighty, who causeth thee to flow, we implore GoD, the One, the Mighty, to make thee flow.' Amr did as he was commanded, and the Nile rose sixteen cubits in the following night.

New-York, fifth day of the Moon

Zoo'l Hheggeh: Hegira, 1260.

}

HUMAN

LIFE.

HUMAN life is like a river, constantly passing onward, and constantly coming on.

SOME time less than a thousand years ago, a motley group stood upon the banks of the Alatamaha river, in the city of Darien. It was a lovely spring afternoon. The majestic live-oaks stretched out their lofty arms, and as the sun-light quivered through the leafy branches, disclosing the rainbow-hued nonpareil, as it flitted from limb to limb, and the beautiful red-bird that nestled among the foliage, a vision of loveliness was presented that none but a dweller in a southern clime can well imagine. The gentle wind moved the long moss that hung suspended from the noble oaks, and caused it to wave as gracefully as a banner borne by gallant knight; the yellow jessamine twined itself around the trunks or hung in festoons from branch to branch; the mocking-bird poured forth its multitudinous notes; and as you gazed upon the crystal stream, and saw the light canoes of the merry slaves as they glided along, you would have thought that if but one evil were removed, you could sit there forever and look upon the scene.

But every body has said, (and for once common report has not been proved to be a common liar,) that to every enjoyment, every condition in life, there is some draw-back; some evil, great or insignificant, but which nevertheless serves to detract from what would otherwise be unmitigated pleasure. And that one evil we had; small in one sense, very great in another. Ten thousand myriads of that species of gnat called the 'sand-fly,' that infinitesimal vampyre of the sea-coast, hovered around us, nestled in our bosoms, intruded into our throats, buzzed in our ears, and blinded our vision. Miss Landon has said, that 'the little things of life are the terrible;' she must surely have had some experience of the 'sand-flies,' or she could not have combined so much truth with so much poetry. The session of our Superior Court had just ended; to use a vulgar expression, Court had broke,' A case of great importance had gathered in that city, at that term, many of the leading members of the Georgia bar from different sections of the state. There you might have seen a distinguished member of congress, who had recently returned from his legislative duties, and now reappeared in the professional arena; and there too you might have beheld the tall and manly form of a grave counsellor from the far-off and farfamed Cherokee Country of Georgia, whom not to know would argue yourself unknown. Generals who had done the state some service, (how much, I cannot say,) presidents of banks, judges and ex-judges, attorneys of talent and of standing, all were there. The sun never shone on a more dignified, manly and courteous set of men, as they stood there awaiting the arrival of the steam-boat that was to bear them away from that spot to the city of Savannah. But the cloak of dignity, albeit a graceful mantle, is sometimes as

heavy and tiresome as the armor of the ancient crusader, and the weary frame longs to throw it off, that it may put on the fustian jacket of ease and rest; and as we remained there, annoyed to death by the incessant stings and buzzings of our countless foes, some one of the group proposed that the afternoon should be made a saturnalia, and that dignity should be thrown aside for a season, and fun and light-heartedness should take its place. And so it was voted unanimously, only one young gentleman, who had been recently clothed with the judicial ermine, and who had not yet felt its weight too heavy, making the least objection; but his scruples having been overcome, the reign of liberty, equality and democracy commenced in right earnest.

And lo! what a change from a few moments before! On the top of a huge pile of light-wood sat a judge, whistling Yankee-Doodle to a new tune; that is, it was intended for Yankee-Doodle, but like most things in this world, the execution fell short of the intention, and sometimes the merry strain seemed mingled up in such a way as to make it difficult to determine conclusively whether YankeeDoodle or Roslin Castle had 'the better of it.' A few steps from him a merry set of lawyers were throwing stones at thistle-flowers, making the welkin ring when any one hit the thorny mark; two of the most (quondam) dignified were angling for cat-fish, and had just succeeded in drawing one to the surface, which was nearly as large and quite as respectable-looking as his captors. A little farther on, a gentleman, who had been almost governor, was amusing himself by making oyster-shells skip along the stream; and still farther, a yery modest-looking advocate, who had at one time been hung up as a judicial luminary, and had passed in some sections of the country, especially among the juvenile misses, as a poet, was making better use of his legs than he had ever done with his brains, or the wings of his fancy, and was leaping successfully, despite the vain competition of some of the ragged sovereigns of the land, who had entered the lists against him. The congress-man sat whittling a shingle with a pen-knife, and enjoying with undisguised emotion a battle between a soft-shell turtle (which one of our number had purchased and was carrying home as a bonne-bouche,) and a terrier puppy, which another of our gang had half begged, half stolen from his landlord; two generals meanwhile superintending the combat between the belligerents; thus exhibiting at the present time their ruling passion, and giving strong promise of future usefulness when their country should call them to the bloody fields of Mexico or Patagonia. The staid and lofty lawyer from the Cherokee circuit was bargaining with an old African woman for a lot of sea-terrapins, which he persisted in designating as chickens,' to the great amusement of the vendor, who finally went off into a series of short convulsions' when Maussa Buckra' (the name they use to designate the whites,) proposed to purchase half of one of her funny chickens.' The only melancholy face in the whole group was the respected owner of the soft-shell turtle; who, having read in one of his boyhood's books that care had once killed a cat, was