orted.

"As to silks and satins, I am not going to pretend that they are to be
found here. It is true, there are silk manufactories, like that of the
Cheneys in Connecticut, where very pretty foulard dress-silks are
made, together with sewing-silk enough to supply a large demand.
Enough has been done to show that silks might be made in America; but
at present, as compared with Europe, we claim neither silks nor thread
laces among our manufactures.

"But what then? These are not necessaries of life. Ladies can be very
tastefully dressed in other fabrics besides silks. There are many
pretty American dress-goods which the leaders of fashion might make
fashionable, and certainly no leader of fashion could wish to dress
for a nobler object than to aid her country in deadly peril.

"It is not a life-pledge, not a total abstinence, that is asked,--only
a temporary expedient to meet a stringent crisis. We only ask a
preference for American goods where they can be found. Surely, women
whose exertions in Sanitary Fairs have created an era in the history
of the world will not shrink from so small a sacrifice for so obvious
a good.

"Here is something in which every individual woman can help. Every
woman who goes into a shop and asks for American goods renders an
appreciable aid to our cause. She expresses her opinion and her
patriotism, and her voice forms a part of that demand which shall
arouse and develop the resources of her country. We shall learn to
know our own country. We shall learn to respect our own powers, and
every branch of useful labor will spring and flourish under our
well-directed efforts. We shall come out of our great contest, not
bedraggled, ragged, and poverty-stricken, but developed, instructed,
and rich. Then will we gladly join with other nations in the free
interchange of manufactures, and gratify our eye and taste with what
is foreign, while we can in turn send abroad our own productions in
equal ratio."

"Upon my word," said Miss Featherstone, "I should think it was the
Fourth of July; but I yield the point. I am convinced; and henceforth
you will see me among the most stringent of the leaguers."

"Right!" said I.

And, fair lady reader, let me hope you will say the same. You can do
something for your country,--it lies right in your hand. Go to the
shops, determined on supplying your family and yourself with American
goods. Insist on having them; raise the question of origin over every
article