noted, and interpreted into an omen of esteem or dislike.
Excite their jealousy by the thoughtless caresses of their
more favoured rivals, and you turn the whole current of
their affections into bitterness.

When step-children, whom you have nursed with care
and fidelity, have grown into maturity, and carefully ap-
preciate your kindness to them in early years, then will
they pour out their souls in love and gratitude. And it is
not unfrequently the case that they are more grateful to
their foster-parents, than their immediate descendants.
What the latter regard only as parental duty, the former
are willing to acknowledge as disinterested kindness, and
their grateful hearts makes a rich return of all the good
they have heretofore received.

Christian parents! if you have assumed the title of stepfather or mother, let it be your constant and most earnest endeavour, to make it one that will be venerated, not only by your children, but all with whom you are associated! Do not forget your duties to the deceased, whose offspring may be under your control, and remember that God is continually watching over you. In the hour of death, you will be consoled by those whom you made happy through life-they will kneel at your grave in their loneliness and sorrow, and offer up their prayers for your eternal beati tude.

1

her husband.

to claim its

Hard, indeed, in this life, may be the fate of man, there is no misfortune-no burthen so great, but friends Without sympat has the power to sooth his sorrows.

pain is more poignant; and pleasure is diminished, when participate in it alone.

Matrimony is the holiest, and most enduring bond friendship, consecrated alike, by nature and religion. change of circumstances; difference of opinions; a co flicting interest; an inequality of rank or wealth; a chan of residence; a long absence; a thousand things, in sho may lessen the confidence and respect of friends and ass ciates, or render the heart cold and indifferent; but m and wife forever remain the same; inseparable; undi ded; actuated by the same motives, and sharing in the san joy or misery. Their union can only be severed by the u relenting hand of death, whose blighting and witherin touch destroys all earthly ties. Accustomed, as they ha been, to live continually in each other's presence, the would otherwise be unhappy; and when they are surround ed by a prattling and cheerful offspring, who witness wit delight, their devotion and love to each other, there seem to be a new and uncontrollable sympathy that links thei hearts and affections still more closely together.

f man, yet t friendship sympathy, ed, when we

ing bond of religion. A

ons; a con

lth; a change
gs, in short,

nds and asso-
nt; but man
able; undivi-

g in the same

ed by the un-
d withering
s they have
sence, they
surround-
tness with

here seems
links their

Who protects the timid and unresisting wife with the
same firmness and resolution as the husband, who, for her
sake, gives forth in his strength, and manfully contends
with the billows and storms of life? Who, but the faithful
husband, regards her with the same pure and undiminished
love, when the bloom has departed from her cheeks? or
who places a higher estimate upon her still existing virtue
and gentleness? And who rewards him for his anxieties,
his troubles, his sacrifices, with the same fondness and zeal
as the amiable wife, when she looks upon him as her only true
friend and protector? Who knows better how to console or
comfort him, when he has been scorned or satirized by
the world? For whom does she strive to be economical?
For whom is she always endeavouring to increase the order
and regularity of her house? For whom does she invent new
sources of pleasure, if not for him, without whom she her-
self would be joyless and forsaken? For what does the
husband struggle for wealth, reputation, or the respect of
the world, if it is not to share them with a being, who de-
lights in his prosperity as much as her own?
Who can so

calmly endure the weakness and infirmities of age, as those
who shared their happiness with each other in the buoyancy
of youth? If sickness comes upon us, what hand admin-
isters so faithfully to our wants, as that which we received
at the alter? A stranger may endeavour to console us, but
his eye
does not beam with the same tenderness and com-
passion. He may, indeed, mourn for our sufferings, but he
cannot feel the sympathy of a husband or wife. The mat-

rimonial state, therefore, where harmony exists, is the most

It affords a rapture; a de enviable of all others. which neither wealth, nor honor, nor power can give. But why is it that we observe so many unfortunate riages? Why is it that there is so much domestic ca ty and discord? or why is there so many divorces and untary separations? The cause of these evils has its or chiefly, in the injudicious choice of consorts. Often are hurried by the heat and phrenzy of passion, into the con mation of their nuptial vows, without ever reflecting a each others faults. They see the delights but not the a eties of a matrimonial life. But when the fountain their imagined bliss are broken up, then follows satiety disgust. At first, they used every effort to create an pression in their favour; now, they stand before each o without attempting to conceal a single imperfection. T expectations are mutually deceived. Their bad quali hitherto veiled by artifice, now become more glaring odious. Their fancied pleasures, have given place to in ference. They accuse each other of deception, when the same time, they foolishly deceived themselves. proaches ensue, which terminate in gainsaying, obstina and aversion.

There are others who engage in matrimony with r tives of a more studied and less imperious character. Th think only of wealth or family distinction, and not the vi or virtues, by which their long journey through life is to made painful or agreeable. Their union is consummate Their avarice has not been disappointed in its aim; the ambition for ancestral honors has been gratified. But the wealth of the world will avail but little, when existen

e; a delight; can give.

fortunate mar
mestic calami
orces and vol

has its origin,
ften are they
the consum

Hecting about
not the anxi
fountains of
s satiety and
create an im-
ore each other
fection. Their
bad qualities,
e glaring and
place to indif-
ion, when at
mselves. Re
ng, obstinacy

y with mo-
acter. They
not the vices

life is to be
onsummated.
s aim; their

But all

is rendered intolerable, or life a burthen. Proud or titled . connexions, cannot atone for the sufferings of an anguished heart, which can only terminate with public ignominy or death.

Riches are at all times desirable, yet there is no happiness more enviable than that of the poor man, who has gained nothing at the alter but a pure and devoted heart. Is a tear of sorrow and despair the less agonizing, because it is shed in a palace? Is not wealth compared with a tranquil mind, a paltry; a worthless bauble? Or can reputation or splendor, heal the wounds of a lacerated and bleeding heart?

A discordant, matrimonial life, is perhaps, the most deplorable of all others. The remedy which we would choose in other situations, is denied us in this. Nothing but death can break the shackels that bind us to the object of our hatred. Each day brings with it some new grievance or chagrin, and one avoids the other as they would a leprosy.

These evils, however, are not always attributable to an imprudent choice of consorts. They may have been fitted to render each other happy, had they not permitted themselves to grow careless and indifferent, or give way to some trifling resertment, which, indeed, the eye of a stranger may not discern, but which is ultimately destructive of family peace.

If domestic happiness is a desirable object, let it be the first endeavour of a man and wife, to divest themselves of every trait of character, which may be displeasing to each

other. The husband will not require that perfection in his wife which he does not possess himself. He will not con