See that she springeth of a wholesome stock, that thy little ones perish not before thee:

For many a fair skin hath covered a mining disease,

And many a laughing cheek been bright with the glare of madness.

MARK the converse of one thou lovest, that it be simple and sin

cere;

For an artful or false woman shall set thy pillow with thorns.

Observe her deportment with others, when she thinketh not that thou art nigh,

For with thee will the blushes of love conceal the true color of her

mind.

Hath she learning? it is good, so that modesty go with it:

Hath she wisdom? it is precious, but beware that thou exceed;
For woman must be subject, and the true mastery is of the mind.
Be joined to thine equal in rank, or the foot of pride will kick at

thee;

And look not only for riches, lest thou be mated with misery: Marry not without means; for so shouldst thou tempt Providence ; But wait not for more than enough; for marriage is the DUTY of

most men;

Grievous indeed must be the burden that shall outweigh innocence and health,

And a well-assorted marriage hath not many cares.

In the day of thy joy consider the poor; thou shalt reap a rich harvest of blessing;

For these be the pensioners of One who filleth thy cup with pleas

ures;

In the day of thy joy be thankful: He hath well deserved thy praise:
Mean and selfish is the heart that seeketh him only in sorrow.
For her sake, who leaneth on thine arm, court not the notice of the

world,

And remember that sober privacy is comelier than public display. If thou marriest, thou art allied unto strangers: see they be not such as shame thee:

If thou marriest, thou leavest thine own; see that it be not done in anger.

BRIDE and bridegroom, pilgrims of life, henceforward to travel to

gether,

In this the beginning of your journey, neglect not the favor of

Heaven;

And at eventide kneel ye together, that your joy be not unhallowed. Angels that are round you shall be glad, those loving ministers of

mercy,

And the richest blessings of your God shall be poured on his favored children.

Marriage is a figure and an earnest of holier things unseen,
And reverence well becometh the symbol of dignity and glory.
Keep thy heart pure, lest thou do dishonor to thy state;

Selfishness is base and hateful; but love considereth not itself.
The wicked turneth good into evil, for his mind is warped within
him;

But the heart of the righteous is chaste; his conscience casteth off sin.

If thou wilt be loved, render implicit confidence;

If thou wouldst not suspect, receive full confidence in turn:
For where trust is not reciprocal, the love that trusted withereth.
Hide not your grief nor your gladness; be open one with the
other;

Let bitterness be strange unto your tongues, but sympathy a dweller in your hearts:

Imparting halveth the evils, while it doubleth the pleasures of

life,

But sorrows breed and thicken in the gloomy bosom of Reserve.

YOUNG wife, be not froward, nor forget that modesty becometh thee.

If it be discarded now, who will not hold it feigned before?

But be not as a timid girl, there is honor due to thine estate;

A matron's modesty is dignified: she blusheth not, neither is she bold.

Be kind to the friends of thine husband, for the love they have for

him:

And gently bear with his infirmities; hast thou no need of his forbearance?

Be not always in each other's company; it is often good to be alone; And if there be too much sameness, ye cannot but grow weary of

each other:

Ye have each a soul to be nourished, and a mind to be taught in wisdom,

Therefore, as accountable for time, help one another to improve it. If ye feel love to decline, track out quickly the secret cause;

Let it not rankle for a day, but confess and bewail it together:
Speedily seek to be reconciled, for love is the life of marriage;
And be ye copartners in triumph, conquering the peevishness of
self.

LET no one have thy confidence, O wife, saving thine husband;
Have not a friend more intimate, O husband, than thy wife.

In the joy of a well-ordered home, be warned that this is not your rest;

For the substance to come may be forgotten in the present beauty of the shadow.

If ye are blessed with children, ye have a fearful pleasure,

A deeper care and a higher joy, and the range of your existence is widened:

If God in wisdom refuse them, thank him for an unknown mercy :
For how can ye tell if they might be a blessing or a curse?
Yet ye may pray, like Hannah, simply dependent on his will:
Resignation sweeteneth the cup, but impatience dasheth it with
vinegar.

Now, this is the sum of the matter:- - if ye will be happy in marriage,

Confide, love, and be patient; be faithful, firm, and holy.

OF EDUCATION.

A BABE in a house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love:

A resting-place for innocence on earth; a link between angels and

men;

Yet is it a talent of trust, a loan to be rendered back with interest; A delight, but redolent of care; honey-sweet, but lacking not the

bitter;

For character groweth day by day, and all things aid it in unfold

ing,

And the bent unto good or evil may be given in the hours of in

fancy:

Scratch the green rind of a sapling, or wantonly twist it in the

soil,

The scarred and crooked oak will tell of thee for centuries to

come;

Even so mayst thou guide the mind to good, or lead it to the marrings of evil,

For disposition is builded up by the fashioning of first impres

sions;

Wherefore, though the voice of Instruction waiteth for the ear of Reason,

Yet with his mother's milk the young child drinketh Education. Patience is the first great lesson; he may learn it at the breast; And the habit of obedience and trust may be grafted on his mind in the cradle :

Hold the little hands in prayer, teach the weak knees their kneel

ing;

Let him see thee speaking to thy God; he will not forget it after

ward;

When old and gray will he feelingly remember a mother's tender

piety,

And the touching recollection of her prayers shall arrest the strong man in his sin.

SELECT not to nurse thy darling one that may taint his innocence, For example is a constant monitor, and good seed will die among the tares.

The arts of a strange servant have spoiled a gentle disposition: Mother, let him learn of thy lips, and be nourished at thy breast. Character is mainly moulded by the cast of the minds that surround it:

Let, then, the playmates of thy little one be not other than thy judgment shall approve;

For a child is in a new world, and learneth somewhat every mo

ment;

His eye is quick to observe, his memory storeth in secret,

His ear is greedy of knowledge, and his mind is plastic as soft

wax.

Beware, then, that he heareth what is good, that he feedeth not on evil maxims,

For the seeds of first instructions are dropped into the deepest fur

rows.

That which immemorial use hath sanctioned, seemeth to be right

and true;

Therefore, let him never have to recollect the time when good

things were strangers to his thought.

Strive not to centre in thyself, fond mother, all his love;

Nay, do not thou so selfishly, but enlarge his heart for others;

Use him to sympathy betimes, that he learn to be sad with the

afflicted;

And check not a child in his merriment, — should not his morning

be sunny?

Give him not all his desire, so shalt thou strengthen him in hope; Neither stop with indulgence the fountain of his tears, so shall he fear thy firmness.

Above all things, graft on him subjection, yea, in the veriest trifle; Courtesy to all, reverence to some, and to thee unanswering obedi

ence.

READ thou first, and well approve, the books thou givest to thy

child;

But remember the weakness of his thought, and that wisdom for him must be diluted;

In the honeyed waters of infant tales, let him taste the strong wine of truth:

Pathetic stories soften the heart; but legends of terror breed midnight misery;

Fairy fictions cram the mind with folly, and knowledge of evil tempteth to like evil;

Be not loath to curb imagination, nor be fearful that truths will

depress it;

And for evil, he will learn it soon enough; be not thou the devil's

envoy.

Induce not precocity of intellect, for so shouldst thou nourish van

ity;

Neither can a plant, forced in the hotbed, stand against the frozen breath of winter.

The mind is made wealthy by ideas, but the multitude of words is a clogging weight:

Therefore be understood in thy teaching, and instruct to the measure of capacity.