there cannot be an entire seclusion from the society of others; and if this were possible, it would scarcely be desirable, for those who are to live in the world, and yet to live above its influence; to be courteous towards all men, and yet not to be imbued with their spirit. The grand thing, is to be always mindful, that the spirit of the world is at enmity with God; and that it is frequently erroneous in its judgment, hasty and unjust in its decisions, inadequate in its conceptions, prejudiced in its ideas as to the real nature of right and wrong; that its views are often the result of adopting a false standard of right; that its system is too frequently a mass of contradictions; that its opinions are very generally the hasty results of passion, and prejudice, and circumstance, and occasion; and that its maxims are often the spontaneous consequence of the operation of a system of expediency. Here, the important lesson of wisdom, is to recollect, that there can be no contradiction in truth; and that the only pure source of doctrine is the revealed word of God; that this is the sole test of opinion, removed far above the influence of every inferior consideration; and that this alone contains the maxims of the truest wisdom, to be at variance with which,aye more, to do less than which, is to be found wanting, to be declared unprofitable, and to be wandering from the narrow way which leads to life. The Bible is the religion of the just; and to it alone must be referred every part of thought, and feeling, and action: all that is consistent

with it may be safely indulged: all that contravenes its spirit, must be studiously, invariably opposed.

This will be the only sure guide in the choice of companions; and intimacy, but above all, friendship will be shunned with those who do not acknowledge, though they may not feel, the influence of vital Christianity, as an active principle of faith and obedience. Companions should be carefully, aye, even fastidiously selected from among the children of those whose views of divine truth, and of its obligation on the heart and life, are congenial with our own; who are profoundly impressed with similar caution and anxiety, on the great subjects of physical and intellectual, moral and religious education; who are particularly influenced in practice, by the deeply founded belief of their opinions; and who are equally concerned for the eternal welfare of their offspring. In such society, our efforts may be strengthened; at all events they will not be counteracted. Let it be ever recollected, that this selection must be rigidly made, not from among those who profess largely, but from those who actually and practically do attend to the moral education of their children; not from among those who make a parade of their devotion, but from the pupils of the simple, humble, unobtrusive, sincere instructor, whose object is to do, not to be talked of; whose design is to produce an effect upon the heart, not to make a shew of religious acquirement, or of that inope

rative knowledge, which floats on the surface of the understanding, but never sinks deep into the heart.

And even then, caution is demanded, lest the child should acquire that degree of relish for mixed society, which will produce an undue attachment towards it, or make it indispensable for its amusement. Children should be brought up with few wants and desires; and this is one, which they should be taught to do without; and to find in their own minds those ample resources, which will stand in the place of " a kingdom" of companions, and yet will fit them for profitable society whenever they may be thrown into it.

The intercourse of children, should have an instructive tendency; not that they are to be constituted a tribe of little sages, and philosophers; not that their natural bias to hilarity, and cheerfulness, and buoyancy of spirits, the gambol of health, and the festivities of a mind at ease, delighting in every thing around it, and without a single anxiety for to-morrow, is to be opposed; but only that the great end of assembling together in society, should not be forgotten, viz. to enlarge the understanding by the collision of varied talent and intellect; to develop the affections of the heart; and to afford opportunities for the exercise of those sentiments and passions, which will constitute the society of children, an epitome in miniature of human life. Hence, the importance of always having a prudent and in

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terested adult, to enter into the amusements of youth, to regulate their conduct, to repress evil passion, and to give them an opportunity of becoming wiser and better, from that intercourse, which was " divinely bestowed upon man," and without which the love of society, will degenerate into a mere taste for visiting, and dress, and trifling, and dissipation.

Before we proceed to some concluding observations on society in general, it will be right to notice shortly, that form of connexion which is termed friendship; a liaison founded on the principle of sympathy, of that mysterious affinity between individuals, which leads to union, and which is daily and hourly cemented, by the desire of participating in all the painful and agreeable sensations, which in their turn, agitate, or calm and soothe the bosom of each. The object of friendship, is an analogous individual, or at least one in whom there exists a fancied resemblance, so considerable, that it may be placed in the room of the real principle. This analogy, like every other, is frequently formed in sensitive and imaginative minds, upon the slightest and the most incongruous grounds; a heated fancy discovers resemblances, where none really exist; and imagines affinities in the most discordant elements; and hence it is, that the web of friendship, woven by these airy nothings, is destroyed like the film of the gossamer, by the passing gale of the slighest opposition, by the autumnal sigh of the coming storm of adversity;

or even by the transient cloud of absence. Yet such is only fancied friendship, not the genuine principle, which is founded in esteem, in reciprocity of kind actions, in congeniality of taste, in identity of pursuit, in similar views, feelings, and conduct; which is cemented by time, deepened by affliction, is unimpaired by absence, and stands a monument of principle, amidst the ruin of this world's goods, in despite of change of circumstances, and notwithstanding all the buffetings and contentions of life.

Friendship is a noble, pure, and amiable principle; and it has this peculiar excellence above all the ties of immediate relationship, that it is valued for itself, and is not depending upon personal interest. Selfishness forms no part of its history; and the recollection of past services is only instrumental, in stimulating the desire for more extensive usefulness to its object. That it is a disinterested principle, is strongly proven, by the kind of individuals it selects for its agency; not the rich or the powerful; not those possessed of large patronage, and who may probably have it in their power, to aggrandize their favourites; but perhaps the poor and the indigent; at least the choice is made irrespective of the more favourable circumstances, and is often characterized by a thoughtlessness of generosity, which prudence forbids; for there is a degree of devotion in friendship, which would induce it to forego present and contingent advantages of an