If that pleasant song is forgotten, it is to be learnt no more:

Yet often will thought look back, and weep over early affection;

And the dim notes of that pleasant song will be heard as a reproachful

spirit,

Moaning in Æolian strains over the desert of the heart,

Where the hot siroccos of the world have withered its one oasis.

OF MARRIAGE.

SEEK a good wife of thy God, for she is the best gift of his providence; Yet ask not in bold confidence that which he hath not promised.

Thou knowest not his good-will:-be thy prayer then submissive there

unto;

And leave thy petition to his mercy, assured that he will deal well with thee.

If thou art to have a wife of thy youth, she is now living on the earth; Therefore think of her, and pray for her weal; yea, though thou hast not seen her.

They that love early become like-minded, and the tempter touches them not: They grow up leaning on each other, as the olive and vine.

Youth longeth for a kindred spirit, and yearneth for a heart that can commune with his own;

Ile meditateth night and day, doting on the image of his fancy.

Take heed that what charmeth thee is real, nor springeth of thine own imagination;

And suffer not trifles to win thy love; for a wife is thine unto death.
The harp and the voice may thrill thee,--sound may enchant thine ear,
But consider thou, the hand will wither, and the sweet notes turn to dis-
cord:

The eye, so brilliant at even, may be red with sorrow in the morning;
And the sylph-like form of elegance must writhe in the crampings of pain.

( happy lot, and hallowed, even as the joy of angels,

Where the golden chain of godliness is entwined with the roses of love: But beware, thou seem not to be holy, to win favour in the eyes of a crea

ture,

For the guilt of the hypocrite is deadly, and winneth thee wrath elsewhere. The idol of thy heart is, as thou, a probationary sojourner on earth; Therefore be chary of her soul, for that is a jewel in her casket.

Let her be a child of God, that she bring with her a blessing to thy house,—
A blessing above riches, and leading contentment in its train:

Let her be an heir of heaven; so shall she help thee on thy way;
For those who are one in faith, fight double-handed against evil.
Take heed lest she love thee before God; that she be not an idolater:
Yet see thou that she love thee well: for her heart is the heart of woman:
And the triple nature of humanity must be bound by a triple chain,
For soul and mind and body—godliness, esteem, and affection.

How beautiful is modesty! it winneth upon all beholders :

But a word or a glance may destroy the pure love that should have been for thee.

Affect not to despise beauty; no one is freed from its dominion :

But regard it not a pearl of price :-it is fleeting as the bow in the clouds. If the character within be gentle, it often hath its index in the countenance : The soft smile of a loving face is better than splendour that fadeth quickly. When thou choosest a wife, think not only of thyself,

But of those God may give thee of her, that they reproach thee not for their being ;

See that he hath given her health, lest thou lose her early and weep; 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 sincere ;
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 colour of her mind flath 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 narvest of

blessing;

For these be the pensioners of One who filleth thy cup with pleasures; 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 together,
In this the beginning of your journey, neglect not the favour 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 favoured
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 dishonour 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 forward, 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 honour due to thine estate;

A matron's modesty is dignified: she blusheth not, neither is she bold.
Be kind to the friends <f thine husband, for the love they have to 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 co-partners in triumph, conquering the peevishness of self.

Let no one have thy confidence, O wife, saving thy 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 an 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 unfolding,

And the bent unto good or evil may be given in the hours of infancy⚫
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 impressions:
Wherefore, though the voice of Instruction waiteth for the ear of reason,
Yet, with his mother's milk the young child drinketh Education.
Patiencce 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 kneeling;
Let him see thee speaking to thy God; he will not forget it afterward:
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 moment,

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 furrows. 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.