ELLIS, SARAH STICKNEY, WAS first known as a writer by her maiden name, Miss Sarah Stickney; one of her early works-"The Poetry of Life"-giving her not only celebrity in her own country, England, but also introducing her favourably to the reading public of America. In 1837, Miss Stickney was married to the Rev. William Ellis, widely known and highly respected for his indefatigable labours, s a Christian missionary, to promote education, and a knowledge of the true God among the people of the South Sea Islands, then just emerging from the most awful idolatry and barbarism. Mr. Ellis was sent out in 1817, by the London Missionary Society, and he it was who established at Tahiti the first printing-press ever erected in the "Green Islands of the Pacific." He devoted ten years to this arduous and effective service, and then returned to London; and some years after the decease of his first wife, who had been his faithful helper and tender comforter in his missionary trials and toils, he found in Miss Sarah Stickney, a second partner worthy to share his home, and aid in the plans, and sympathize in the high hopes of benefiting society which he had cherished. "A good wife is from the Lord;" surely the man who has been thus "twice blest," may well consider the female sex as deserving peculiar honour. That Mr. Ellis does consider woman's education and influence of paramount importance in the progress of true Christian civilization, we infer from Mrs. Ellis's constant devotion to this cause. The wife, doubtless, expresses in her books the moral sentiments, and inculcates the principles which her husband approves, and sees verified in his own family. Such an union of souls as well as hearts and hands, gives the inost perfect idea of the Eden happiness true marriage was designed to confer on the human race, which our fallen world exhibits. Mrs. Ellis, since her marriage, has written many books, almost every year sending forth a new one; among which the series addressed particularly to the women of her own land, is most important. "The Women of England," appeared in 1838, and was followed by "The Daughters of England;" "The Wives of England;" "Hints to Make Home Happy;" "The Iron Rule; "Summer and Winter in the Pyrenees;" "The Sons of the Soil;" "A Voice from the Vineyard;" "Family Secrets;" &c., &c. In considering the writings of Mrs. Ellis, an estimate of praise must be awarded far beyond that which falls to the more brilliant productions of the day. Candid and conscientious, her principles grounded on sincere religion, it seems the aim of this excellent woman, to be humbly useful in her generation, and make the utmost use of her talents in doing good. Madame de Staël has wittily said "good intentions are nothing in respect to fine writing." In respect to fine writing this is true; but in respect to useful literature, a very earnest wish to do good, added to moderate abilities and untiring industry, will produce much fruit. There are very many of the half-educated, and wholly untrained, whom Mrs. Ellis's works will improve, and whom they have improved. To such persons, the eloquence and originality of a higher flight, would be but dazzling, and in no wise illuminating. Nor must it be forgotten, how many need common-places, sensibly and clearly expressed. "The Women of England," and the other manuals of this series, are written professedly to direct the young, the unwise, and the ignorant. Neither metaphysical subtlety nor novelty was required to strike the sage and the philosopher. Well known truths, and the sensible reiteration of useful advice are plainly set forth, and the guide of the whole is Christian doctrine. Such works must do good. The novels of Mrs. Ellis, as novels, are not, certainly, of a high character. According to Rochefoucault, there are two classes of persons unfitted to delineate human nature; those who never look into themselves, and those who never look out of themselves. In a good sense, not an egotistic one, Mrs. Ellis is of this latter class. She has a certain set of characters, framed out of her own fancy, not found in the wide world, and these she fits into her moralities as is convenient for the occasion. Perhaps we underrate her power of observation; but we are loth to believe she pictures truly the condition of her own countrywomen, because, if she does, the character of the men of England must be selfish, sensual hard and coarse! Where women are represented, not only as subordinate but inferior to men, there can be no true progress in Christian morals; where women are constantly reminded that they must prepare for suffering, we know there must be oppression of the worst sortt-even domestio tyranny. Both "Home, or The Iron Rule," and "Family Secrets," leave the impression that, among the middle classes in England, the husband is what Jane Eyre calls Mr. Rochester- the "master" of his wife, as well as his house. Where there is not companionship there can be no sympathy, nor that mutual love and trust which makes the married pair one, as God designed, as Christ directed. Artistically speaking, "The Poetry of Life," is the best work of Mrs. Ellis; without much origin- | ality of thought, or any peculiar beauty of style, it shows refined taste and a well-cultured mind; and, like all the books of this authoress, an attempt at something more than merely pleasing, the wish to inculcate the purest morality based upon the religion of the Bible. From "The Poetry of Life." MAN AND WOMAN. Man is appointed to hold the reins of government, to make laws, to support systems, to penetrate with patient labour and undeviating perseverance into the mysteries of science, and to work out the great fundamental principles of truth. For such purposes he would be ill qualified, were he liable to be diverted from his object by the quickness of his perception of external things, by the ungovernable impulse of his own feelings, or by the claims of others upon his regard or sensibility; but woman's sphere being one of feeling rather than of intellect, all her peculiar characteristics are such as essentially qualify her for that station in society which she is designed to fill, and which she never voluntarily quits without a sacrifice of good taste -I might almost say, of good principle. Weak, indeed, is the reasoning of those who would render her dissatisfied with this allotment, by persuading her that the station, which it ought to be her pride to ornament, is one too insignificant or degraded for the full exercise of her mental powers. Can that be an unimportant vocation to which peculiarly belong the means of happiness and misery? Can that be a degraded sphere which not only admits of, but requires the full development of moral feeling? Is it a task too trifling for an intellectual woman, to watch, and guard, and stimulate the growth of reason in the infant mind? Is it a sacrifice too small to practise the art of adaptation to all the different characters met with in ordinary life, so as to influence, and give a right direction to their tastes and pursuits? Is it a duty too easy, faithfully and constantly to hold up an example of self-government, disinterestedness, and zeal for that which constitutes our highest good-to be nothing, or anything that is not evil, as the necessities of others may require to wait with patience to endure with fortitude to attract by gentleness to soothe by sympathy judiciously applied-to be quick in understanding, prompt in action, and what is perhaps more difficult than all, pliable yet firm in will lastly, through a life of perplexity, trial, and temptation, to maintain the calm dignity of a pure and elevated character, earthly in nothing but its suffering and weakness; refined WOMAN'S DISINTERESTEDNESS. In the natural delicacy of woman's constitution, however, we see only one of the slightest causes of suffering peculiar to her character and station in society; because her feelings are so entirely relative and dependent, that they can never be wholly, or even half absorbed by that which is confined to her own experience, without reference to that of others. There are unquestionably many exceptions to this rule, but the rule is the same notwithstanding; and I desire to be understood to speak not of women individually, but of the essential characteristics of woman as a genius Amongst these characteristics, I am almost proud to name her personal disinterestedness, shown hy the unhesitating promptness with which she devotes herself to watchfulness, labour, and suffering of almost every kind, for, or in lieu of others. seasons of helplessness, misery, or degradation, who but woman comes forward to support, to console, and to reclaim? From the wearisome disquietudes of puling infancy, to the impatience and decrepitude of old age, it is woman alone that bears with all the trials and vexations which the infirmities of our nature draw down upon those around us. Through the monotony of ceaseless misery, it is woman alone that will listen to the daily murmurings of fruitless anxiety, and offer again the cup of consolation after it has been petulantly dashed at her feet. In It is considered a mere duty, too common for observation, and too necessary for praise, when a woman forgets her own sorrows to smile with the gay, or lays aside her own secret joys to weep with the sad. But let lordly man make the experiment for one half hour, and he will then be better acquainted with this system of self-sacrifice, which woman in every station of society, from the palace to the cottage, maintains through the whole of her life, with little commendation, and with no reward, except that which is attached to every From "Home; or The Iron Rule." THE HUSBAND AND WIFE. an impartial judge, a powerful defender of the injured, and, in short, a man who maintained both in his private and public life a character of the most scrupulous integrity and independence. Indeed, this feeling of independence was carried to such an extreme in all his pecuniary affairs, that it became questionable whether money-making was not the primary object of his existence; not certainly for the purpose of hoarding, for he was penurious in nothing but his domestic management. Here the same rule pervaded the kitchen, the parlour, and the school-room, where industrythat is, the industry of turning every effort and every talent into gold, was established as the cardinal virtue. How much will it save,' or 'how much will it cost,' was the universal interlude between every childish petition and its invariable denial; and as the expenses of clothing and education increased with his children's growth, he marked their necessities with as many reproaches as if it had been unnatural to grow, or a crime to learn. Stephen Grey, the father of this promising family, was a man who gravely and thoughtfully studied the laws of his country, its politics, and the religion of his forefathers; he had even obtained a smattering of philosophy under some of its most practical forms; but of the study of the human heart he had scarcely condescended so much as to think. He loved his children because Nor were the religious observances of this they were his own; he determined to make them family more tempered with the leaven of humangood citizens because it was decent and politic to ity. There was no pleasure, no congeniality, no be so; and good Christians, let us hope, for a bet-meeting of the wants and wishes of our weak nater reason. In business, his alacrity, promptness, and ability, were such as to render his influence extensive; while in his household, the will of the master was law. Whatever he chose to plan or put into execution, passed without question or comment, unless behind the scenes; for like Falstaff, he refused to tell his reasons on compul sion. ture, in the religious discipline of Stephen Grey; but public justice for the erring, a sure sentence for the culprit, the strong arm for the rebellious, and the same uniform law of implicit obedience, from which there was no appeal, for all. It may reasonably be asked, how such a man as we have here described could ever stoop to solicit the love of woman-a question which, on the plea of utter ignorance, the writer declines to answer; it having always appeared to her one of the greatest mysteries in life, how men whose very birthright seems to be the inalienable privilege of com He believed that all human beings were to be governed by the same iron rule, and that the errors of all might be corrected by the same chastisement. The principle upon which he main-manding, should humble themselves to the common tained his authority was that of implicit obedience; but he overlooked the most important part of moral government, the necessity of making obedience a matter of choice, and not of compulsion. Had Stephen Grey permitted the good-will he really felt for his fellow-creatures sometimes to appear before the eyes of men, more especially had he occasionally been known to sacrifice his own personal gratification for that of others, he might have won more affection from the warm young hearts around him; but it is not in human nature to love long or consistently the being who never makes any sacrifice of self, or who never exhibits such natural signs of tenderness as create a bond of protection and dependence between the powerful and the weak. Let who would be sick or sorry around the board or the hearth of Stephen Grey, his was the choice portion, and the warmest place. Not but that these privileges would have been willingly conceded to him as a right; but his manner was one that conveyed the idea of seizing rather than receiving; and it is wonderful the difference these two ideas produce in the feelings of the party whose place it is to resign. Yet with all these alarming peculiarities, Stephen Grey was a good neighbour, a lover of peace, language of love; yet that they do actually solicit, and not command, we cannot for the honour of the female sex permit ourselves to doubt. And certain it is, that Stephen Grey did lead to the altar a fair and gentle bride, who found little difficulty in conforming to the very letter of her vow It is true, she was hardly prepared for all that followed; for being considered merely as a piece of domestic machinery, whose office was to keep the rest of the household furniture in order; she was not prepared to have all her womanish wishes thwarted as if for very pastime, or to bring up children whose infantine caresses should never meet a father's tenderness; and for some time she persisted in introducing them occasionally to his notice. When they looked their loveliest, and sometimes when her heart was lightest, she would suffer them to reach so far as the sober page upon which her husband's eye was fixed, while the merry urchins would laugh and crow, and pat the rustling paper, until an angry growl, or a sharp stroke upon the little rosy fingers, sent both mother and children into the nursery, to hide their disappointment and their tears. Here it was that Mrs. Grey learned, like many other weak women, to seek the sympathy she was denied, elsewhere; for with her servants she could converse about her children, and in the society of her humble friends she could freely enjoy their playful prattle. Dangerous as this system of confidence was, it would have been well if the stern discipline of her husband had driven the helpless wife to no other resource; but there was one more lamentable means of escaping the harshness she dared not brook, to which poor Mrs. Grey at last descended, and that was to deceive. It was not her nature, and still less her wish, but she was harassed, frightened, and systematically denied every trifling request, merely because it was a woman's; and though she could have borne all this for her- | self, for her children she thought it not only justi- | fiable, but meritorious, to find some way of escape. Hence followed the forbidden wish secretly indulged; the detected transgression covered with an evasion-perhaps with more; the unlawful treat when papa was gone from home; and all that fatal undermining of domestic comfort, of social union, and of moral rectitude, so sure to follow when the wide field of deception is once thrown open. From "The Daughters and Wives of England." Observation and experience have taught me to believe that many of the secret sorrows of woman's life, owe half their poignancy to the disappointment of not being able to maintain the degree of admiration which has been studiously sought. A popular and elegant writer has said—'How often do the wounds of our vanity form the secret of our pathos!' And to the situation, and the feelings of woman, this observation is more especially❘ applicable. Still there is much to be said for woman in this respect. By the nature of her own feelings, as well as by the established rules of polished life, she is thrown, as it were, upon the good-will of society. Unable to assert her own claims to protection, she must endeavour to ensure it by secondary means, and she knows that the protection of man is best ensured by recommending herself to his admiration. DELICACY. band, when worldly cares and pecuniary disappointments have too much absorbed his better feelings; and what surprise so agreeable to him, as to discover in his farther progress through the wilderness of life, so sweet, so deep a fountain, as woman's perfect love! FLATTERY. To speak of the popular style of conversation used by gentlemen when making themselves agreeable to young ladies, as trifling, is the best thing we can say of it. Its worst characteristic is its falsehood, while its worst tendency is to call forth selfishness, and to foster that littleness of mind, for which man is avowedly the despiser of woman. If intellectual conversation occupies the company, how often does he turn to whisper nonsense to woman; if he sees her envious of the beauty of her friend, how often does he tell her that her own charms are unrivalled; if he discovers that she is foolishly elated with the triumph of having gained his attentions, how studiously does he feed her folly, waiting only for the next meeting with a boon companion, to treat the whole with that ridicule which it deserves - deserves, but not from him. It may be- I would fain believe it is, his wish that woman should be simple-hearted, intelligent, generous, frank, and true; but how is his influence in society exercised to make her any one of these? Woman is blamed, and justly so, for idle thoughts, and trifling conversation; but, I appeal to experience, and ask, whether, when a young girl first goes into society, her most trifling conversation is not that which she shares with men. It is true that woman has the power to repel by a look, a word, or even a tone of her voice, the approach of falsehood or folly; and admirable are the instances we sometimes find of woman thus surrounded as it were by an atmosphere of moral purity, through which no vulgar touch can pene trate. But all are not thus happily sustained, and it seems hard that the weaker sex should not only have to contend with the weakness of their own hearts; but that they should find in this conflict, so much of the influence of man on the side of evil. SINGLE LIFE. Though truth should be engraven upon every thought, and word, and act, which occurs in your intercourse with the man of your choice, there is implanted in the nature of woman, a shrinking had a suitable or unsuitable offer at some time in I imagine there are few, if any, who never have delicacy, which ought ever to prompt her to keep their lives; and wise, indeed, by comparison, are back some of her affection for the time when she those who, rather than accept the latter, are conbecomes a wife. No woman ever gained, but many, very many have been losers, by displaying all at first. Let sufficient of your love be told, to tent to enjoy the pleasures, and endure the son rows of life, alone. Compare their lot for an inIstant with that of women who have married from prevent suspicion, or distrust; and the self-com- unworthy motives. How incomparably more dig placency of man will be sure to supply the rest. Suffer it not, then, to be unfolded to its full extent. nified, more happy, and more desirable in every way, does it appear! It is true there are times in In the trials of married life, you will have ample their experience when they will have to bear what woman bears so hardly the consciousness of need for an additional supply. You will want it for sickness, for sorrow, for all the different exi- being alone; but they escape an evil far more gencies of real experience; but, above all, you will insupportable—that of being a slighted or an un want it to re-awaken the tenderness of your hus-, loved wife. 652 EMBURY, EMMA CATHARINE, WAS born in the city of New York, where her father, Dr. James R. Manley, was a distinguished physician. Miss Manley began to write when very young, her first effusions appearing in the periodicals of the day, under the name of "Ianthe." 66 In 1828, she was married to Daniel Embury, of Brooklyn; and soon afterwards a volume of her youthful compositions was published--entitled Guido, and other Poems." The choice of subjects for the principal poems was unfortunate. The writer had entered the circle in which L. E. L., Barry Cornwall, and other English writers were then strewing their flowers of fancy, sentiment and genius; no wonder the delicate blossoms offered by our young poetess were considered merely exotics which she had trained from a foreign root; imitations in style, if not in thought. It is the natural impulse of poetic and ardent minds to admire the genius and glory of Italy, and to turn to that land of bright skies and passionate hearts for themes of song. Mrs. Embury did but follow the then expressed opinion of all European critics, and the admitted acknowledgment of most Americans that our new world afforded no subjects propitious for the muses. Yet surely, in a land where the wonders of nature are on a scale of vast and glorious magnificence which Europe cannot parallel; and the beautiful and the fertile are opening their treasures on every side; and enterprise and change, excitement and improvement, are the elements of social life, there must be poetry! happily "Gertrude of Wyoming," to say nothing of what American poets have written, has settled the question. We have named this subject, chiefly for the purpose of entreating our American writers to look into their own hearts, not into the poems of others, for inspiration, and to sing, in accordance with nature and human life around them, The beauteous scenes of our own lovely land." Mrs. Embury has a fertile fancy, and her versification flows with uncommon ease and grace. In her later poems she has greatly improved her style - that is, she writes naturally, from her own thoughts and feelings, and not from a model; and some of her short pieces are very beautiful. She is, too, a popular prose writer; many sketches and stories from her pen enrich our periodical literature. She is also warmly engaged in the cause of improving her own sex, and has written well on the subject of "Female Education." Since her marriage, Mrs. Embury has published more prose than verse; her contributions to the various periodicals, amount to about one hundred and fifty original tales, besides her poetical articles, all written within the last twenty years. Her published works, during the same time, are "Constance Latimer, or The Blind Girl;" Pictures of Early Life;" "Nature's Gems, or American Wild Flowers;" "The Waldorf Family;" "Glimpses of Home Life." An eminent American critic remarks of Mrs. Embury's works - "Her stories are founded upon a just observation of life, although not a few are equally remarkable for attractive invention. In point of style, they often possess the merit of graceful and pointed diction, and the lessons they inculcate are invariably of a pure moral tendency." Mrs. Embury has been very fortunate, (we do not say singularly so, because American marriages are usually happy,) in her married life. Mr. Embury is a scholar as well as a banker, and not only has he the taste to appreciate the talents of his gifted wife, but he has had also the good sense to encourage and aid her. The result has been the most perfect concord in their domestic as well as literary life; the only aim of each being to secure and increase the happiness of the other, the highest improvement and happiness of both have been the result. Nor have the pursuits of literature ever drawn Mrs. Embury aside from her duties as a mother; her three children have been trained under her careful supervision, and her daughter's education she has entirely conducted. These traits of character, corresponding so fitly with the principles she has inculcated, increase greatly the value of her works for the young. Consistency is a rare and excellent quality; Mrs. Hannah More placed it high among female virtues. From "Glimpses of Home Life." THE ONE FAULT. I wonder if it ever occurred to a discontented husband that much of the discomfort of his married life might be attributed to this over-estimation which is so general a characteristic of the days of courtship. To man, love is but the interlude between the acts of a busy life-the cares of business, or the severe studies of a profession are the duties of his existence, while the attentions which he bestows on the young and fair being whom he has chosen to share his future lot, are the actual pleasures of his life. He comes to her weary with the sordid anxieties or the oppressive intellectual labours in which he has been engaged, and he finds her ever the gentle minister to his happiness, while the atmosphere which |