seems to be with them, as with bishops and priests, to whom much honour is due, but yet so that if they stand upon it, and challenge it, they become less honourable.'

"It is such an authority as is compatible with religion or the claims of God; for no man has a a right to enjoin, and no woman is bound to obey, any command which is in opposition to the letter or spirit of the Bible. It is such an authority as is consonant with sound reason; its injunctions must all be reasonable, for surely it is too much to expect that a wife is to become the slave of folly, any more than of cruelty. It is an authority that accords with the idea of companionship. It was very beautifully observed by an ancient writer, that when Adam endeavoured to shift the blame of his transgression upon his wife, he did not say, 'The woman thou gavest to me; no such thing, she is none of his goods, none of his possessions, not to be reckoned amongst his servants: but he said, 'The woman thou gavest to be with me,’ that is, to be my partner, the companion of my joys and sorrows.

"Let conjugal authority be founded upon love, be never exercised in opposition to revelation or reason, and be regulated by the idea of companionship, and then there needs no particular rules for its guidance; for, within such limits, it can never degenerate into tyranny; nor can it ever oppress its subjects: to such a power any woman may bow, without degradation; for its yoke is easy, and its burden light. In every society, from that which finds its centre in the father's chair, to that which in a wider circle rests upon the throne,

there must be precedence vested somewhere, and some ultimate authority, some last and highest tribunal established, from the decision of which there lies no appeal. In the domestic constitution, this superiority vests in the husband: he is the head, the lawgiver, the ruler. In all matters touching the little world in the house, he is to direct, not indeed without taking counsel with his wife; but in all discordancy of view, he, unless he choose to waive his right, is to decide; and to his decision the wife should yield, and yield with grace and cheerfulness. No man ought to resign his authority as the head of the family; no woman ought to wish him to do it; he may give up his predilections, and yield to her wishes, but he must not abdicate the throne, nor resign his sceptre. Usurpation is always hateful; and it is one of the most offensive exhibitions of it, where the husband is degraded into a slave of the queen-mother. Such a woman looks contemptible even upon the throne. I admit, it is difficult for a sensible woman to submit to imbecility, but she should have considered this before she united herself to it; having committed one error, let her not fall into a second, but give the strongest proof of her good sense which circumstances will allow her to offer, by making that concession to superiority of station, which there is no opportunity, in her case, for her to do to superiority of mind. She may rea

son, she may persuade, she may solicit; but if ignorance cannot be convinced, nor obstinacy turned, nor kindness conciliated, she has no resource left but to submit. And one of the finest scenes ever to be presented by the domestic economy, is that of

a sensible woman employing her talents and address, not to subvert, but to support the authority of a weak husband: a woman who prompts, but does not command; who persuades, but does not dictate; who influences, but does not compel ; and who, after taking pains to conceal her beneficent interference, submits to the authority she has both supported and guided. An opposite line of conduct is most mischievous; for weakness, when placed in perpetual contrast with superior judgment, is rarely blind to its own defects: and as this consciousness of inferiority, when united with office, is always jealous, it is both watchful and resentful of any interference with its prerogative. There must be subjection then, which, where it cannot be yielded to superior talents, because there are none, must be conceded to superiority of station. But let husbands be cautious not to put the submission of their wives to too severe a test. It is hard, very hard, to obey a rash, indiscreet, and silly ruler. 'If you will be the head, remember the head is not only the seat of government, but of knowledge. If you will have the management of the ship, see that a fool is not placed at the helm. Shall the blind offer themselves as guides?'

"Another duty enjoined upon a wife is reverence. This duty is nearly allied to the last, but is still somewhat different. By reverence, the apostle means nothing of slavish or obsequious homage, but that respect and deference which are due to one whom we are commanded to obey. Your reverence will be manifest in your words: for instance, in your manner of speaking of him, you

will avoid all that would tend to lessen him in the esteem of others, all exposure of his faults or minor weaknesses, all depreciation of his understanding or domestic rule. Such gossip is detestable and mischievous; for can anything tend more to irritate him, than to find that you have been lowering him in the esteem of the public? Reverence will be displayed in your manner of speaking to him. 'Even as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.' All flippant pertness, everything of contemptuous consciousness of superiority, of dictation and command, of unnecessary contradiction, of pertinacious and obtrusive disputation, of scolding accusation, of angry reproachful complaint, of noisy and obstreperous expostulation, should be avoided. Almost all domestic quarrels begin in words; and it is usually in a woman's power to prevent them, by causing the law of kindness to dwell upon her lips, and calming the gusts of her husband's passion, by those soft answers which turn away wrath. Especially should she be careful how she speaks to him, or even before him, in the company of her family or of strangers; she must not talk him into silence, nor talk at him, nor say anything that is calculated to wound or degrade him; for a sting inflicted in public is doubly charged with venom. She must not endeavour to eclipse him, to engross the attention of the company to herself, to reduce him to a cipher which is valueless till she stands before him: this is not reverence. On the contrary, she should do all in her power to sustain his respectability and dignity in public esteem; and her very mode of addressing him, partaking at

once of the kindness of affection and the deference of respect, is eminently calculated to do this.

"Her reverence will extend itself to her conduct, and lead to a constant desire to please him in all things. It is assumed by the apostle as an indisputable and general fact, that the married woman careth how she may please her husband.' All her conduct should be framed upon this principle, to give him contentment, and to increase his delight in her. Let her appear contented with her lot, and that will do much to render him content with his while, on the other hand, nothing is more likely to generate discontent in his heart, than the appearance of it in her. Let her, by cheerful good humour, diffuse an air of pleasantness over his dwelling. Let her guard as much as possible against a gloomy and moody disposition, which would cause her to move about with the silence and cloudiness of a spectre; for who likes to dwell in a haunted house? She should always welcome him across his threshold with a smile, and ever put forth all her ingenuity in studying to please him, by consulting his wishes, by surprising him occasionally by those unlooked for and ingenious devices of affection, which, though small in themselves, are the proofs of a mind intent upon the business of giving pleasure. The greater acts of reverent and respectful love are often regarded as matters of course, and as such produce little impression; but the lesser acts of attention, which come not into the usual routine of conjugal duties, and into the every-day offices, which may be calculated upon with almost as much certainty as the coming of the hour which