Swift was never the same after the death of Stella. So profound was his grief for the loss of her that it could be extinguished only by the complete wreck of his great mind. Neither Beatrice, nor Laura, nor Leonora, nor any other of the immortalized beloved ones of genius, was mourned with deeper sorrow and anguish than Stella. And far be it from us to deny that the lady deserved to be loved in life, and lamented in death, as much as any of her illustrious sisters. What we do deny, and most emphatically, is, that Swift was the heartless, relentless speculator in the affections of woman which he has been portrayed by men who, one and all, are grossly misrepresented by those who knew them best, if, with all their boasted intellectual power and fascination, they were ever be loved by any woman—even by a Becky Sharp or an Amelia Sedley. And we think that every impartial reader will admit that, hurried as our remarks have necessarily been in replying to our contributor, while preparing for press, we have shown that our denial is well founded. To this we can only add, that were we permitted to give advice to those who periodically evince a fondness for abusing Swift, we would direct. their attention to that part of his Latin epitaph, written by himself, and which is inscribed on a plain black marble slab in St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, where he tells the passer-by to imitate him, if he be able, as the inflexible vindicator of human liberty:

Abi viator

Et imitare si poteris,

Strenuum pro virili libertatis vindicem.

ART. V.-1. Historical Collections of South Carolina. CARROLL.

2. Hand Book of the Cotton Trade. BY THOMAS ELLISON. London. 1858.

3. De Bour's Review.

4. Speculations on the Future of Cotton Supply. By HENRY G. MILLER. London. 1873.

Ir has been frequently asserted by different writers that no mention is made of the cotton plant earlier than the writings of Herodotus, four hundred and fifty years before Christ; but by referring to the ancient literature of India it will be found particularly noticed. The Institutes of Menu, a very ancient digest of law, written eight hundred years before Christ, contains many allusions to cotton and cotton cloth, under the Sanscrit names of Kurpasa and Kurpasum, with occasional allusions to cotton seed under the Sanscrit Karpus Asthi. In the second volume of Menu, page 44, the very frequent mention of the plant leads to the inference that it had been in use for an indefinite period.

In the Bible, also, Book of Esther, chapter 1, verse 6, we find in the description of the hangings which decorated the court of the Persian palace, at Shushan, another mention of cotton cloth or calico formed into curtains. The description has reference to the occasion of the great feast given by Alhasuerus, and the word "carpus" is employed. Herodotus next refers to this subject, 450 years before Christ; when writing of India, he says: "The wild trees of that country bear fleeces as their fruit, surpassing those of sheep in beauty and excellence, and the Indians use cloth made from these trees."

For upwards of three thousand years India has been celebrated for the marvellous beauty and excellence of her calico and muslin fabrics. Hindoo chronology being somewhat unreliable, it is impossible to ascertain the exact period

when cotton was first wrought into clothing; it would seem natural to suppose, however, that the "dazzling whiteness of its bursting fruit" must have attracted attention at a very early day; nor could its silky filament, when once seen, remain long ungathered. The impulse to twist this into thread would appear naturally to follow, as the next step towards the art of spinning.

The Hindoo fabrics of the present day can scarcely be excelled in delicacy and perfection of workmanship, though spun in the rudest manner. Tavernier, a French traveller, in speaking of the muslins and calicoes of Surat, says, they are "so fine that you could hardly feel them in your hand, and the thread when spun is scarcely discernible."

The muslin made in Bengal is so extremely thin, that "when spread upon the grass and moistened with dew, it is scarcely discernible without careful examination," and a single pound of this thread was spun out to the length of a hundred and fifteen miles. This, however, has been excelled by the work of English machines, which produced, for the great Exhibition of 1851, thread so fine, that a pound could reach a thousand and twenty-one miles. The famous Decca muslins, sometimes called "webs of woven wind," are manufactured from a cotton which grows near Calcutta. It is of extreme fineness, but so short that it cannot be used where machinery is employed; yet this muslin is fabricated by the Indian with his distaff and fingers.

From India cotton was introduced into Southern Europe. Verres used it for awnings in Sicily, and Cæsar and Lentulus for similar purposes in Rome. Columbus found cotton abundant in the West Indies. The early Spanish historians describe it as forming the chief clothing of the Mexicans. Fernandez de Cordova, in 1517, while exploring the northern coast of Yucatan, was surprised to find, instead of naked savages, a people decently clad in cotton garments. Cortez, when invading Mexico, was made the recipient of presents from Montezuma consisting of cotton fabrics of the most exquisite workmanship. Charles V. obtained similar presents

from Cortez. Magellan saw cotton among the Brazilians, and it was discovered in the most ancient Peruvian tombs, in patterns similar to some now in use.

Considering the geographical position of India, as well as the fact that the plant is indigenous to her soil, also the exceeding fineness of her cotton fabrics, which are celebrated throughout the world, it would appear that a large amount of very superior cotton might be grown in that country. This, however, has not proved to be the case, as the result of the English efforts in India will show. Cotton growers of experience, having all the advantages of the best American seed, as well as the necessary implements and machinery, have done all in their power to overcome certain obstacles, but without success. The season there being uniformly divided into the wet and the dry periods, the sudden transition from one to the other was found altogether unfavorable to the growth of the plant, and after a trial of six years the undertaking was relinquished, under the conviction. that neither climate nor soil favored the growth of a superior quality of cotton in any considerable quantity.

In 1821 the culture of cotton was introduced into Egypt, where the climate and soil have proved peculiarly favorable to the production of a superior grade of cotton; but as there the success of a crop depends on the inundations of the Nile, the amount of yield must ever remain a matter of uncertainty. In Africa experiments have been made similar to those conducted in India, though on a smaller scale. The western shores and region of Sierra Leone, as well as Yoruba, have been found capable of producing a staple which is superior to that of India, though too coarse for the manufacture of the finer fabrics. In Brazil the manufacture of cotton was successfully introduced as early as the commencement of the present century, and for a number of years the annual yield was second only to that of the United States. Since 1843, however, the increase has been by no means rapid. The West India Islands, which, at the close of the last century, relinquished the culture of cotton for that of sugar-cane, possess

unequalled natural advantages for the growth of the highest grades of Sea Island cotton, and furnished at the close of the last century three-fourths of the annual cotton supply.

We are informed in Purchas's "Pilgrim" that cotton seed was first planted in South Carolina in 1621, and that their "plentiful coming up" was an object of interest in America and England. The staple does not appear, however, to have been much cultivated except as a garden plant previous to the Revolution. In Macgregor's "Commercial Statistics" it is stated that," among the provincial trade returns, we find that among the exports of Charlestown, from November, 1747, to November, 1748, were seven bags of cotton wool, valued at £3 11s. 5d. per bag." In 1754 some cotton was exported from South Carolina; in 1770 there were shipped for Liverpool three bags from New York, four bags from Virginia and Maryland, and three barrels full of cotton from North Carolina. In 1784 eight bales of cotton, shipped from the United States to England, were seized, on the ground that "so much cotton could not be produced in the United States."

The two circumstances which gave the first impulse to cotton culture in America were, first, the invention of machinery in England by Wyatt, Hargreaves, and Arkwright, from 1739 to 1769, which resulted in the establishment of the factory system in 1785; and, secondly, the invention of Whitney's saw gin in 1793. The demand produced by the former could never have been supplied by all the countries.combined, without the assistance of the latter. Thus it may be seen that the secure basis upon which the American trade was established was due entirely, in the first instance, to the fortunate conjunction of an extensive demand with the means of supplying it. When the cotton gin was invented, in 1793, England received from America one bag in every one hundred and twenty-six. At the beginning of the present century one-eighth of her supply was from America; in 1820, about two-thirds of her entire importation was from this source; and by the commencement of the war the export from this country to England amounted to about two-thirds of her whole supply.