vigor and elasticity of body and mind, and securing the love and confidence of those around her, without being himself made happier? Nay, more; what husband is there in the world, who is one degree above the brute, who will not love, better than before, the wife who sympathizes with and loves childhood? And this he may do I believe he often does it-without reference to that increase of future domestic comfort and enjoyment of which it is eminently prophetic.

In short, I regard the love of childhood—simple, artless and pure as childhood in itself is-to be an important element of christian character. I have heard of-ay, I have known-persons who disliked children, some of whom were, in other respects, excellent men and women. But such a trait is certainly a great drawback upon human excellence. I will not say that they who hate infancy and childhood cannot be christians; but I may say that they cannot be, in this state of feeling, the perfect men and women they desire to be, nor the perfect children of their Father in heaven which, they ought to be.

For do they not practically forget the affection— I was going to say the reverence-for the infantile nature, which was manifested by Him who said, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven?" Do they not forget, or at least overlook the fact, that our

adorable Lord and Redeemer was a great lover of infancy, childhood and youth? And though they are sometimes tempted to turn aside, almost with a sneer, when they see adults and even old people caressing the young, would they turn away with disgust at the sight of our common Lord with little infants in his arms, and join with the crowd of his half followers and half disciples, to wonder at, if not to rebuke him?

Thus, whether we consider the health and longevity, the social, intellectual, moral and religious improvement, and the present and future happiness of the young wife, or the happiness of him whom she loves and esteems as she does herself, it is her unquestionable interest to strive with all her power, to love and respect infancy and childhood.

But is it possible, I shall be asked, to elicit, by cultivation, the love of childhood and the innocence of childhood, where it is wanting? Most undoubtedly. I have already shown that doing good produces love, in general; and I have incidentally mentioned some facts which bear directly on the point now before us. I have stated a case in which an adult, by cultivating the acquaintance of a child, soon became much attached to her society. Such, there can be but little doubt, would be the almost inevitable and unexceptionable result, in a majority of instances, where a similar

course was attempted and persevered in. It is not in human nature, depraved as it is, to resist wholly the tendency of doing good to produce love in us for the person to whom it is done.

Let her, therefore, who is anxiously desirous of loving children, because she believes it would promote her own and the general happiness, commence a series of kind offices to those around her. Let her converse with them, answer their questions, tell them stories, hear theirs, and manifest an interest in their happiness. Let not this interest in their welfare be assumed-artificial-but sincere. Children will soon discover and detest the hypocrite. They love simplicity, they love sympathy, they return love for love; but they do not so readily return love for mere pretence—for hypocrisy.

Before all this, however—that is, in point of date-there must be faith. She who would bring herself to love childhood, must first believe it to be in her power to do so. She must also believe it to be her duty. Faith will remove mountains of difficulty. But without faith it is impossible-at least almost impossible-to do anything in the way of improvement. Both nature and revelation, for the most obvious reasons, put faith before works the tree, in the order of precedence, before its fruits.

I wish this principle of putting faith before works was better understood. Blair, Addison, and other old fashioned moralists, tell us that we should fix on and pursue those habits which we know to be right and best for us, and custom will soon make them agreeable. Here faith, or the belief that the habit is best for us, is put in its proper place. In the same way, that is, on the same principle, as a general rule, may we bring ourselves. to regard a fellow being, or the form of inanimate objects, or even the qualities of food, as agreeable. As soon as we believe it to be our duty to love childhood and infancy, that is, as soon as we have the faith which is the established pre-requisite, the work is more than begun; it is, prospectively speaking, half accomplished.

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CHAPTER XXXI.

GIVING ADVICE.

Advice of females in regard to business. Why it is often undervalued. Objections answered. How far advice is applicable. Advice in manners and morals. Advice in religion.

Ir an individual has fallen into the society of one of those husbands-for such husbands there unfortunately are—who think it beneath their dignity to ask a wife's advice on any subject whatever, supposing her opinion to be of so little value as to be scarcely worth the trouble of obtaining, then it were better, perhaps, that she should omit this chapter, and only read those chapters which are more particularly adapted to her wants and circumstances.

But there are husbands to whom the advice of a wife will often be of great value; and it is for this reason, among many others, that a wife ought always to be interested in her husband's pursuits. Most sensible men expect this. They do not, indeed, expect them to understand, as intimately as themselves, all the details of their occupation; but