denote a thorough practical acquaintance with the arts and duties of domestic life. And this is a matter of so great importance, that there can be no substitute for it. A woman who is destitute of the virtues of industry and economy, or who knows not how to preside over the family, and "guide the house" with prudence and skill, is entirely unfit for the station for which the Creator designed her. Whatever other attainments she may possess, if she is deficient in this, she will soon find that she lacks what is indispensable to the comfort and prosperity of a family, and to her own peace of mind, respectability and usefulness. There is no apology for an indolent woman, or for one who knows not how to manage the concerns of a family, or, in homely phrase, how "to keep house." There are none so rich or so elevated as to be exempted from the law of industry which was ordained in Paradise, and has never been repealed, in respect to any of the daughters of Adam. The wealthiest, the happiest, the most exalted in station, know not what is before them for a single day; but may, at any time, by a sudden reverse of fortune, such as has befallen thousands within a few years, be thrown into circumstances where habits of industry, economy and skill in domestic affairs will be found indispensable to obtain for them the means of subsistence. The female who disregards the law of industry, or who lives in idleness and ease only to be flattered, and caressed, and taken care of by others, is sure to suffer the penalty of transgression, by the loss of health and cheerfulness, by sinking into a state

of mental inaction, and of morbid sensibility and sloth, as little consistent with her own respectability and happiness, as it is with the true dignity and excellence of her sex. It is, I know, a common sentiment, and it has the sanction of a distinguished writer, that a great care of household affairs generally spoils the free, careless air of a fine lady. But what of truth is contained in this sentiment is more than counterbalanced by the following observation of Dr. Witherspoon, a sage observer of human affairs; "Men may talk in raptures of youth and beauty, wit and sprightliness, and a hundred other shining qualities; but after seven years' cohabitation, not one of them is to be compared to good family management, which is seen at every meal and felt every hour in the husband's purse." Indeed, that husband is ruined, who does not find his house a respectable, social, neat, and happy home; and such a home he will never find it, if his wife is a slattern, or is indolent, and unskilled in domestic affairs.

That the virtuous woman had a cultivated and well-furnished mind is evident from the whole description which is given of her character. It might seem from the measure of attention she is represented as devoting to domestic duties, that she would find no time to cultivate and store her mind with useful knowledge. But she appears to have been a woman of order, system, and of strict economy in the use of time. She spent no hours in unnecessary sleep or in vain amusements; but rose, it is said, while it was yet night, to give meat to her household and a portion to

her maidens. This early and seasonable disposal of household affairs would secure for her much leisure for mental improvement, and she appears to have made the best use of this advantage. She may have enjoyed very few of the privileges of education possessed at the present day; she may never have spent an hour in a fashionable boarding-school, nor have known the names of even a fiftieth part of the studies, which enter into a course of modern female training. Still, she was well educated, perhaps self-educated ; at any rate, so educated, as to know how to think, observe, compare, reason and converse, and to perform, with propriety and usefulness, the duties of her station. And this, after all, is the proper idea of education. It is not to fill the mind with notions, or to pass a great number of studies under the eye, which never find their way to the understanding and the heart; but it is, rather, to discipline the mind, to draw forth and strengthen its faculties, to form just habits of observation and reflection, and thus to qualify one for a right and successful discharge of the duties of life. This was an inestimable trait in the character of the virtuous woman. She had an intelligent wellcultivated mind. She opened her mouth in wisdom, and in her tongue was the law of kindness. She had good sense; she knew when to speak and what to say; her conversation was kind, instructive, edifying, such as drew around her pleasant and useful companions, and secured the respect and confidence of all who enjoyed her society.

I need not stop here to show how great an orna

ment, and how rich a blessing to a female is a wellcultivated mind. It is an endowment which all should covet and strive to possess. It imparts respectability and usefulness to its possessor; qualifies for the duties of life, whatever they are, and opens innumerable sources of pure and lasting enjoyment. A woman who has a well-disciplined and well-furnished mind, possesses a power of influence which nothing else can give her. She may have wealth, she may have rank, she may have beauty and every outward accomplishment; but all are not worthy to be mentioned in comparison with a rightly educated and richly furnished mind. Nor do I believe that a woman in the possession of a mind, thus educated and trained, is ever less disposed or less qualified to perform her proper, domestic duties. Such certainly was not the effect in the case of the virtuous woman. Her mental endowments, far from unfitting or indisposing her to look well to the ways of her household, or to regulate with ease and readiness the affairs of the family, seem to have qualified her for a more cheerful, systematic and successful discharge of this part of her duties; and such, I have no doubt, is always the case, where the mind has been disciplined and trained under a judicious and well-conducted system of education. If ever the opposite effect is experienced, it must result, I am sure, from that showy, superficial, fashionable education, of which, it must be confessed, we have too great an abundance in our day.

I pass to notice another trait in the character of the virtuous woman; I refer to her neatness, elegance,

and taste. These are excellent qualities in the female character, and it is no part of true religion to neglect or disparage them. Certainly they were not disregarded by the woman whose character we are considering. It is said of her, that all her household are clothed in scarlet; that she maketh herself coverings of tapestry, and that her clothing is silk and purple. And when it is said, she considereth a field and buyeth it, and with the fruit of her hands she planteth a a vineyard, I cannot but think that she had a taste for a fine garden, that she loved flowers and shrubbery, and whatever might impart neatness and pleasantness to her habitation, and to the grounds around it. The things here referred to, though not of the first importance, are not always justly valued. There are some who would almost deem it a sin to gratify a taste for the neat, the elegant and the beautiful ; and who, excluding attention to all that is refined and ornamental, would restrict our enjoyments to what is necessary for our subsistence. But if this is right, I know not why the Creator has implanted the principle of taste within us; nor why he has attired his whole creation in such countless forms of elegance and beauty, for the gratification of that taste; why he has painted the flower and given the rose its fragrance, and tipped the wing of the bird with gold, and filled the air with music. I read in this a proof of the Creator's goodness; and I find in it, an argument to justify and require a proper attention to neatness and taste in matters of dress and furniture, and whatever contributes to the beauty and comfort of