"BRAVE MEN." BY MRS. CAROLINE A. BRAVE MEN. SOULE. "There was a time-we almost blush to confess it now, but there was a time, when the thought of having a babe born in Iowa, made us nearly insane and quite, quite wretched. It was not, that we did not love the State of our adoption, that we were not proud of its prairies and its forests, its rivers and its mines, its virgin beauty and its brilliant promises. We did love it, we had loved it from the hour the that our foot first pressed its soil on banks of the Mississippi; we were proud of it too, so proud of it that we extolled it wtih our lips and fought for it with the only weapon God has made us fit to use, our poor but honest pen. And yet, we did not want our babe born here. It was bad enough and hard enough we thought to have it born in a log cabin, still we had comfort in that fact, bare and dreary as it seemed at first, for our historic records tell us that nearly all the truly great have have had an humble birth-place, and in time we were brave enough to say, if our cabin were but in New England or New York, we would be reconciled. But to have it here, to have our babe come into the world a native Hawkeye-it was too much! We had been so proud of the birthplaces of our other five-New York, its very capital, the banks of the Hudson itself; Massachusetts, glorious old Cape Ann, the shores of the Atlantic; and Connecticut, one of its capitals, the banks of its grandest river! Birthplaces of which any one might be proud, so crowded with historic associations, the homes of brave men, free men, glorious men! But Iowa, what history had Iowa, save records of Black Hawk's wars and Keokuk's skirmishes! It was too bad, we said it ever and over again. We were willing and glad to live here, we expected to die and be buried here, but to have a babe born here! Poverty is omnipotent though. We are, sometimes, the creatures of circumstance and our babe was born here. We comforted ourself with the thought that his veins were filled with Yankee blood and to make him more of a 229 Yankee still, we named him Sumner and White, the first after, everybody knows whom, the latter after, nobody knows perhaps unless we tell them, our own sainted father. Years have passed, four, and the fifth almost, and now, now at this day and hour, there is nothing of which we are prouder, gladder than that our little boy was born in Iowa. The Indians called it "the land of the beautiful," the white man shall call it hereafter the land of the brave. an May we not well be proud of it, when Editor in a neighboring State, a State cursed yet by that sin, of which, thank God, "Columbia" is free,-speaks thus of the gallant Iowans :— "Iowa is a young State, but it is the home of heroes. With the present struggle she has began a war history that yields in splendor and honor to that of no State in the Union, and no country on the globe. Her soil is the birthplace of new chivalry; and she has become the mother of a race of heroes. Her soldiers boast little, and she has no industrious penny-a-liner "But when the storm of blood begins, they are the guiding and governing heroes of the tempest. Where the harvest of death is to be reaped, they are the foremost of the reapers. Where a perilous assault is to be made, somehow or other there is always an Iowa regiment, or the wasted form of an Iowa regiment to lead it. It was so at Wilson's Creek; it was so at Belmont; it was so at Fort Donelson; it was so at Shiloh; it will EVER be so throughout the war. "All our Western troops have been heroes, but the Iowa troops have been heroes among heroes. The Iowa First," 'Iowa Second,' 'Iowa Fourth,' and 'Iowa Seventh," are bodies of men who would have given an additional lustre even to Thermopyla, Marathon, Austerlitz, or Wagrain. Iowa may be proud of her sons, and all Americans may be proud of Iowa." This is a glowing tribute, and we felt like shouting Amen, Amen, when we read it; but we have seen another recognition of her soldier's valor, which moved us unto tears. In a private letter received here from one who was in the "perilous" and victorious assault, which the Iowa Second made upon Fort Donelson, occurred this touching sentence: "As we entered the entrenchments, one of the wounded Rebels put out his hand to us and exclaimed, Brave men O, if I were only a poet-I would embalm those words -they should live in a lyric undying as the stars. "Brave men!" Yes, and thank God, even our own county, fierce as it has ever been for Secession politics, even it has sent four hundred out of eight hundred voters to this holy yet terrible crusade. The blood of some of our own townsmen helped te orimson the soil of Tennessee at Pittsburg Landing, and there is a shadow on the heart of our community as it thinks of the friends and neighbors buried there without funeral rites or mourner's tears. One of them, a husband and the father of four precious little ones, had been in the four bloodiest battles of the Mexican war, Cherubusco, Molino del Rey, Chepultepec, and City of Mexico, and through all escaped unhurt-escaped to fight under his own flag in his own land and die as patriots die. The struggle had but begun, when the brave and lamented Lyon exclaimed, with lips even then whitening in death, "Iowa boys, you are noble fellows." His words have been prophetic. Do you wonder that I am proud of being an Iowa mother -proud of having an Iowa boy! ONE day, walking over a barren and stony piece of ground, I came upon a little patch of verdure starred all over with yellow flowers of the later summer, and as it opened upon me so fresh and beautiful, as though it were spread out there simply to touch the sense of joy, and to add to the measure of boundless life, for the time it seemed to me as glorious as the firmament; and the majesty of God was as palpable there, in that little, unconsidered plot, as among the splendors of the morning, or in the sparkling tent of midnight.-Chapin's Living Words. In a former article in this monthly I spoke of physical culture, or the proper care of the body; I now invite the attention of the reader to mental culture, or the proper care of the mind. Dr. Flemming, in his Vocabulary of Philosophy, says: "The mind is the recording power, the preserver of impressions, the storer of deductions, the nurse of knowledge, and the parent of thought."* The difficulties which we encounter when we attempt to fathom the mysteries of the human mind, grow out of the fact, that in attempting to understand the mind, we are attempting to understand ourselves-the mysterious nature and workings of our inner life. And yet, no study is so important as that of the mind, for the mind is by far the most important gift our Creator has bestowed upon us. Its capacities and powers may be improved to a wonderful extent. The difference among men as to ability, is not so much a difference of actual talent, as a difference in application. If it be said, that the of application is but a part of what may be called talent; I answer, very true: but this, like every other faculty of the mind, may be strengthened by cultivation. You may train yourself to industry, and by dili ent effort you may develop marvellous powers of application. In this way, you may strengthen "the recording power of the mind," increase its capacity to receive and retain "impressions ;" and thus you may store the mind with useful "knowledge," and teach it to originate and multiply "thoughts" of its own. power A great intellect consists not alone in good native gifts, but in a thorough mental training. When such an intellect dwells in a sound body, and is guided by a generous and a virtuous purpose; it commends itself not only to the esteem of men, but to the highest favor of God. There is no crown for whose authority and honors, a mind so blessed, need wish to exchange its rich treasures. Before such men, Kings-who are kings alone by inheritance and empty titles-are but Vide p. 475. Mind. tyroes. The true kings among men are those who have the best thoughts with which to enrich our minds. The dominion of such is boundless, extending its influence often generations upon generations beyond the years of natural life. There are a few simple and important rules by which we should be guided in training our minds, to which I wish to direct your attention. are to us? And how can they be a help to us, unless we make them and their wis dom our study, that we may profit by their knowledge and example? Why do men write books on Medicine, on Law, on History, on Science, on Morals and Religion, if it be not to assist others in getting from them in the easiest way, the facts and principles involved in these subjects? Why do we listen to Lectures or Sermons, if it be not to get from them the inspiration and the knowledge they are designed to impart ? The culture of the mind is that discipline which imparts to it a commanding influence, and makes it a source of power. It is the process by which the habits of youth are formed, by which the mind is filled with knowledge, and "men are prepared to enter with capacity and usefulness to themselves and the world, their fu- It is an important fact, well worth re ture stations in life." A man needs spe-membering, that in making others your cial training for the vocation in which he study, though the dead and the unknown expects to act, but he also needs a general may speak to you through books and the training for society and the world. What- press, and speak to you very profitably, ever attention your special vocation may they never leave the impression on your claim at your hands, you should always mind that comes with the real voice and find enough time outside of that, to give the living presence. There is a reality to to the proper acquisition of that knowledge the latter which the former does not poswhich is useful to all men. sess. The laws of mnemonics explain this fact. When the living teacher appears, the mind takes hold not only of the thought, but the attending circumstances -the place, the manner of the man, the audience, the voice, the impressive utterance-all these assist in impressing upon the mind what is thus appropriately conveyed. The most effectual method of teaching, always has been and always will be, that which comes to us through a living teacher. For he, by his action, vitalizes his instruction. It is, therefore, well for you to make those men in your time your study, to some extent at least, who have attained to great renown. Hear, as often as convenient, their thoughts from their own lips. Try to discover how they express themselves, why they thus express themselves, and in what spirit they express their thoughts. Seek, so far as you can, to find out the sources whence they draw their mental wealth, that you may apply yourself to the same fountains, and drink from the springs whence they drank before you. - 1. You must cultivate a taste for the best models, not only among the living, but among the dead. Absolute originality is a fiction. No man possesses it. We are pensioners on each other's bounty. Every man is, more or less, an imitator. The ignorant learn from the wise, and the wise learn from the ignorant. But we should beware, lest we be guilty of servile copying of ungainly mannerism; for nothing is more disgusting than for an intelligent being to become a mere puppet, to select some one man as a model master, and to imitate him with a slavish servility. Accept help from whatever source it may come to you; but try to incorporate every thing good into your habits and character to such a degree, as to make it your own. To be independent and true to your own nature, does not preclude the necessity of studying the lives and labors of other men. In making ourselves acquainted with the way in which others have attained to great results, we may gather up many hints, that we may turn to a good account. Why do we call men great, if it be not because of the great help they To retain facts, and to acquire the true grace in action, it is best to see and to hear the living model. To perfect yourself in your style of expression, to acquire the talent of putting your thoughts into the shortest and the most effective form, to make your words fit into the right place, and to give compactness, solidity, and power to your sentences, you must study your models in print. In that form you can best analyse their sentences, see how they are constructed, and find out what it is that gives them their potency. To acquire a good command of language, it is an excellent practice to analyse your own as well as the sentences of others, to throw the words into as many different forms as possible. If you have never tried this, you will be surprised to find how much versatility there is in language. How variously a thought may be expressed. How the forms of a sentence may be changed, and the perspicuity of language be diminished or increased. I speak of this, because exercise of this nature exerts the best possible influence in strengthening and developing the mind. It will be of the utmost benefit to you to write even your ordinary letters to your friends with something of this sort of care. Write, and rewrite; rewrite frequently. Cut out useless words. Put your poorest thoughts into the best possible dress; and thus impart to them pith and power. Never waste your time in talking or writing drivelling nonsense. See to it that everything that proceeds from your lips or your pen, is marked by a sterling common sense. Give weight and gravity to your thoughts; and your mind will acquire strength, and your conceptions will clothe themselves in a living dress. Avoid dull ness in thought or action. Do not suffer your mind to become sluggish, or your thought logy. Be earnest and truthful, and give all the pungency to your thought you possibly can. In this way you can make your thought entertaining and instructive. sented, a well trained mind will see at a glance what properly belongs to it, and what is irrelevant and inconsistent. In conversation you can frequently detect how deficient some men are in this respect, and how little coherency, or consistency, their is in their thought. There are minds so loosely put together, that you can never long confine them to one subject. They are wild and rambling. They are like a bird in a forest, hopping from branch to branch, and flitting from tree to tree. They never stop long enough on any giv en thought, to follow it through its proper relations or various connections. This fault is a sort of mental dissipation, that gives proof of weakness. To avoid this you must become a thinker. Your mind must be occupied, not only while you are listening to the thoughts of others, or while you are reading books; but you must con these subjects over for yourself, and so far as may be, you should seek to master every important subject. Educated minds are not those who have heard or read the most, but those who by profound thought succeed best in making themselves complete Masters of the subjects they do hear or read. A reader of books is not necessarily a student-I mean a student in the highest sense of that word. To be a real student, you must think much and think profoundly-you must thoroughly digest whatever you hear or read. The great men of the world have all been great thinkers. Some of them, indeed, have read but few books; but through earnest thought and constant reflection upon all important questions, they have made themselves Masters of their time and situation. A mind can never be said to be well and thoroughly trained on any given sub2. You must also adopt good mental ject, unless it completely circumscribes habits. There is nothing like systematiz- the subject, and understands all its bearing, in your mind, every important sub-ings and its parts. To acquire this sort ject. You should seek out the connect- of mental grasp, or mind-power, you must ions, and try to understand the true relations of thought. Every subject is related, and has its bearings upon every other subject; but it has its own trunk and branches that are distinct, and that should not be confounded with what does not belong to them. Whenever a subject is pre not waste your time upon the trifling questions-the "fiddle faddle" of the thoughtless; but you must think often and deeply of the graver questions, that engage the attention of the good and the great among mankind. 3. Last, but not least in importance; to cultivate your mind, you must make your self acquainted with human nature. You must make yourself familiar with the laws by which the human mind is governed. You must not only, in a general way, make the temper and disposition of other men your study; but, in a particular sense, you must watch the operations of your individual mind and heart. This is by far the most important work in which we can engage. There is no study more interesting, none more profitable than the study of human nature. In this way, alone, can we make ourselves familiar with those hidden processes by which the true culture of the human mind is secured. All philosophers who have written upon the human mind, as well as all experience, teach us, that there are some things imprinted upon our minds "in their very original"-things, therefore, that are instinctive and natural. There are other things in regard to which we are left in ignorance, and to the proper knowledge of which we can only come through the process of education. In the study of human nature, we must find out what those things are in which we can thus be improved; that we may turn our attention to their cultivation. Dr. Reid says:-"There are powers of which nature hath only planted the seeds in our minds, but hath left the rearing of them to human culture. It is by the proper culture of these, that we are capable of all these improvements in intellectuals, in taste, and in morals, which exalt and dignify human nature; while on the other hand, the neglect or perversion of them, make its degeneracy and corruption."* culture, that you cannot do at any other periods. If you wish to bud a plant, you must do it at that particular time when the sap is in the right condition. You can graft easily at some periods, but only with difficulty, or not at all at others. You can transplant at some seasons, but not at others. And so it is with men. There are certain periods of human life in which particular things, if done at all, must be done. Youth, for instance, is that period in which, if you would educate men, they must be educated. If they are not educated then, they will not be educated, and no repentance can change the fact. When the plates are prepared for steel engravings, the steel is made soft; and then the engraver works out the picture; and then the plate is put into a furnace and brought to great hardness, so that impressions can be taken off by the hundreds without wearing it. "Now the time to engrave men is youth, when the plate is soft and ductile. Manhood is hard, and cannot be cut easily, any more than tempered steel. Many men waste and trifle with their youth, and do not seem to think that when they have thrown away that period they cannot call it back again. Let me see the man that can bring Spring in October or November. Who can reverse the seasons of the year? But to do that would be easier than to recall periods of life that are gone. Once thrown away, they are thrown away forever." Is there not something in the fact so clearly presented, that touchingly appeals to the young; urging them to lay it to heart, and to profit by the suggestion. The mere presentation of these facts There is no Egyptian task-master placed should be an incentive, and should arrest over us, who asks us to make brick withand engage our attention. These reflec-out straw. God has favored us in every tions are important to all, but of the ut- particular, and gives to this generation most importance to the young. Youth is opportunities, seldom, perhaps never, acthe season which is allotted to us for our corded to any other. We have minds as proper cultivation. It has been said, by good, perhaps better, than the average onet who has a wonde: ful facility for illus- minds of former generations. trating and bringing truth home to the a Literature of the rarest value and the conscience and the heart :-"Every gar- richest variety. dener knows that there are periods at your reach. which you can do certain things in horti *Inquiry, Ch. 1, Sec. 2. tH. W. B., in Ser. in Ind. We have Its treasures are within We have schools of the highest order. We have weekly and daily journals filled with better and more accurate information on all subjects, than |