PREFACE. THE substance of the following chapters, was delivered by the author in a course of sermons which followed a series of expository lectures on the Epistle to the Ephesians. The consecutive method of preaching, which he principally uses, is attended, he thinks, with this, among many other advantages, that it brings under the review of a minister, many subjects which would otherwise be overlooked: affords an opportunity for the introduction of some topics, which, from their peculiarity, seem to require such a way of access to the pulpit; and also furnishes an apology for the discussion of others, which the fastidiousness of modern delicacy has almost excluded from the range of pastoral admonition. On entering upon the first branch of relative duties, the author was so much under the influence, perhaps improperly, of this excess of refinement, and felt so much the difficulty of making a public statement of the duties of husbands and wives, that he had determined, at one time, to relieve himself from the embarrassment, by merely reading large extracts from Mr. Jay's beautiful sermon on this subject. After he had preached two discourses, and thus discharged, as well as he was able, this rather perplexing task, he received a numerously signed petition from many husbands and their wives, belonging to his congregation, requesting that they might be permitted to read in print, the statement of their mutual obligations, which they had heard delivered with so much fidelity and impartiality from the pulpit. Instead of being limited by this request, the author has gone beyond it, and sent forth the whole series of relative duties, thus furnishing a manual of advice, in which all the members of the household may find something appropriate to the peculiarity of their circumstances. It is an unquestionable truth, that if a man be not happy at home, he cannot be happy any where; and the converse of the proposition is no less true, that he who is happy there, need be miserable nowhere. "It is the place of all the world I love most," said the interesting author of the Task, when speaking of home. And he may be felicitated who can say the same. Any attempt, however feeble, to render the domestic circle what it ever should be, a scene of comfort, is at least benevolent. Nor is this a hopeless effort; for he who has the Bible in his hand, and speaks as the oracles of God, can disclose at once, and in a few words, the important secret. The principles of greatest consequence to mankind, whether we refer to science or to morals, lie not buried deep in gloom and mystery, but are to be found, like the manna of the Israelites, upon the surface of things. The secret of happiness lies folded up in the leaves of the Bible, and is carried in the bosom of religion. The author knows of no other way to felicity, and therefore does not profess to teach any other. Let the two parties in wedded life, be believers in Christ Jesus, and partake themselves of the peace that passeth understanding; let them, when they become a father and a mother, bring up their children in the fear of God; and as a master and a mistress, be diligent and successful in instructing their servants in the principles of religion, and if happiness is to be found upon earth, it will be enjoyed within the hallowed circle of a family, thus united by love, and sanctified by grace. The author does not deny, that much of worldly comfort may be, and often is, enjoyed in some families, which neither possess nor profess a serious regard to the claims of religion; while it must be acknowledged on the other hand, that there are to be found professors of religion, whose households are any thing but happy ones. In reference to the former, it may be affirmed, that piety, while it would raise their enjoyment to a sublimer kind, and a higher degree of happiness in this world, would also perpetuate it through eternity; and in reference to the latter, it may be remarked, that their disquietude is not produced by religion, but occasioned by the want of it. A mere profession of the Christian faith is rather a hinderance to felicity than a help: nothing short of real religion can be expected to yield its joys. In the following pages there will be found numerous and long extracts from an incomparably excellent work, by the Rev. Christopher Anderson, of Edinburgh, entitled "The Domestic Constitution." Of that volume, the author feels that his own is not worthy, in any instance, to be the harbinger; but should he find that he has introduced any families to an acquaintance with a treatise, so well worthy of their most serious attention, he will be thankful for that measure of benefit, and rejoice that he has not labored in vain. Edgbaston, September 13, 1828, THE FAMILY MONITOR. CHAPTER I. of which it is formed, it is the good condition of families that constitutes the cement which holds it to THE DOMESTIC CONSTITUTION, AND THE MUTUAL DUTIES gether, and gives to its fine form, solidity and dura 'By Thee Founded in reason, loyal, just and pure, Relations dear, and all the charities Of father, son, and brother, first were known. Far be it that I should write thee, sin or blame, Or think thee unbefitting holiest place, Perpetual fountain of domestic sweets!"-MILTON. A FAMILY! How delightful the associations we form with such a word! How pleasing the images with which it crowds the mind, and how tender the emotions which it awakens in the heart! Who can wonder that domestic happiness should be a theme dear to poetry, and that it should have called forth some of the sweetest strains of fancy and of feeling? Or who can be surprised, that of all the sweets which present themselves in the vista of futurity, to the eye of those who are setting out on the journey of life, this should excite the most ardent desires, and engage the most active pursuits? But alas! of those who in the ardor of youth, start for the possession of this dear prize, how many fail! And why? Because their imagination alone is engaged in the subject: they have no definite ideas of what it means, nor of the way in which it is to be obtained. It is a mere lovely creation of a romantic mind, and oftentimes, with such persons, fades away, "And like the baseless fabric of a vision, It may be of service, therefore, to lay open the sources of domestic happiness, and to show that these are to be found, not in the flowery regions of imagination, but amidst the sober realities of piety, chaste love, prudence, and well-formed connections. These precious springs are within the reach of all who will take the right path that leads to them; and this is the way of knowledge. We must make ourselves acquainted with the nature, designs, and importance of the family compact; we must analyze this union to ascertain its clements, its laws, and its purposes. Who can be a good member of any state, without knowing the nature of its constitution, and the laws by which it is directed? And it is equally vain to look for domestic happiness, without a clear insight into the ends and laws which Providence has laid down in the formation of the household. In the discussions which have been agitated, to settle the question, as to the form of civil government best adapted to secure the welfare of the human race, the FAMILY CONSTITUTION has been too much overlooked. Speculation has been indulged, and theories proposed by their respective authors, in reference to the greater aggregations of society, with all the confidence of oracular authority; while at the same time, it is evident they have forgotten, how much the well-being of states is dependant on the well-being of the families of which all states are composed. If there be any truth in the figure, by which a nation is compared to a pillar, we should recollect, that while individuals are the materials bility. Let this be wanting, and however inherently excellent the materials, however elegant the shape, however ornamented the base, the shaft, or the capital may be, it contains in itself a principle of decay, an active cause of dilapidation and ruin. The domestic constitution is a divine institute.God formed it himself. He taketh the solitary, and setteth him in families; and like all the rest of his works, it is well and wisely done. It is, as a system of government, quite unique; neither below the heavens, nor above them, is there any thing precisely like it. In some respects it resembles the civil government of a state; in others, the ecclesiastical rule of a church; and it is there that the church and the state may be said to meet. "This meeting, however, is only on a very small scale, and under very peculiar circumstances." When directed as it should be, every family has a sacred character, inasmuch as the head of it acts the part of both the prophet and priest of the household, by instructing them in the knowledge, and leading them in the worship of God; while at the same time, he discharges the duties of a king, by supporting a system of order, subordination, and discipline. Conformably with its nature, is its design; beyond the benefit of the individuals which compose it, and which is its first and immediate object, it is intended to promote the welfare of the national community to which it belongs, and of which it is a part: hence every nation has stamped a great value on the family compact, and guarded it with the most powerful sanctions. Well instructed, well ordered, and well governed families, are the springs, which, from their retirements, send forth the tributary streams that make up by their confluence, the majestic flow of national greatness and prosperity; nor can any state be prosperous, where family order and subordination are generally neglected; nor otherwise than prosperous, whatever be its political form, where these are generally maintained. It is certainly under the wise instruction, and the impartial sceptre of a father, and within the little family circle, that the son becomes a good citizen; it is by the fire-side and upon the family hearth, that loyalty and patriotism and every public virtue grows; as it is in disordered families, that factious demagogues, and turbulent rebels, and tyrannical oppressors, are trained up to be their neighbor's torment, or their country's scourge. It is there that the thorn and the briar, to use the elegant similie of the prophet, or the myrtle and the fir tree are reared, which are in future time, to be the ornament and defence, or the deformity and misery of the land. But has the domestic constitution a reference only to the present world, and its perishable interests ?— By no means. All God's arrangements for man, view him, and are chiefly intended for him, in his relation to eternity. The eye of Deity is upon that immortality to which he has destined the human race. "Every family has, in fact, a sacred charac ter belonging to it, which may, indeed, be forgotten or disdained; but the family is constituted, and ought, therefore, to be conducted with the prospect of the rising generation following that which precedes it, not only to the grave, but to eternity." Every member of every household is an immortal creature every one that leaves the circle by death, goes into an eternity of torment or of bliss. Now, since all the institutes of God look to another world as their chief and ultimate reference, surely, surely, that institute which is the most powerful of all, in the formation of character, must be considered as set up with a special intention to prepare the subjects of it for "glory, honor, immortality, and eter-know not God, and the wicked who shall be turned nal life." pany of the redeemed in heaven, this cannot be looked for, where the father and the mother are destitute of true religion. Oh, how many interesting households are to be found, where all the mere social virtues are cultivated with assiduity, where the domestic charities all flourish, and public excellence is cherished, but which, on account of the want of vital godliness, are still losing the highest end of their union, are carrying on no preparatory course of education for the skies, and are destined to be swept away with the wreck of the nations that into hell. Alas, alas! that from such sweet scenes, such lovely retreats of connubial love and domestic peace, to which learning, science, wealth, elegance, have been admitted, religion should be excluded; and that while many wise and interesting guests are continually welcomed to the house, He only should be refused, who blessed the little family of Bethany; who, wherever he goes, carries salvation in his train, and gives immortality to the joys which would otherwise perish for ever. Precious, indeed, are the joys of a happy family; but, oh, how fleet! How soon must the circle be broken up, how suddenly may it be! What scenes of delight, resembling gay visions of fairy bliss, have all been unexpectedly wrapt in shadow and gloom, by misfortune, by sickness, by death. The last enemy has entered the paradise, and by expelling one of its tenants, has embittered the scene to the rest; the ravages of death have been in some cases followed by the desolations of poverty, and they who once dwelt together in the happy enclosure, have been separated and scattered to meet no more. But religion, true religion, if it be possessed, will gather them together again, after this destruction of their earthly ties, and conduct them to another paradise, into which no calamity shall en No one judges aright of this household compact, nor can any be in a capacity rightly to perform its duties, who does not consider this double relation which it bears to the state and to the church, and who does not view it as a preparatory system, for training up the good citizen and the real Christian. And for these objects, how great is the power which it really possesses: how considerable is the mutual influence of husbands and wives, in moulding each other's tastes, or modifying each other's dispositions; of parents, in forming the character of their children and servants; and of brothers and sisters, in stimulating and guiding each other's pursuits. The power of other constitutions is remote, occasional, and feeble; but this is close, constant, and mighty. With other systems, the character is only casually brought into contact; but this always touches us. We live, and move, and have our being, in the very centre of it. So powerful is the influence of this association on its members, that it has preserved them, by the blessing of God, in the possession of piety and morality, in times and places of the greatest corruption of manners. "On what vantage ground does the conscientious Christian parent here stand! The springs of public and social life may be greatly corrupted; the nation in which he dwells may degene-ter, and from which, no joy shall ever depart. rate into licentiousness, into idolatry, or into the Happy then would it be, for all who stand related most daring infidelity. Retiring then to this sacred by these household ties, if the bonds of nature were enclosure, he may entrench himself, and there, lift- hallowed and rendered permanent by those of diing up a standard for God, either wait the approach vine grace. To found our union on any basis which of better days, or leave a few behind him, on whom does not contain religion in its formation, is to erect the best blessings of those days, will certainly de-it on a quicksand, and to expose it to the fury of a scend. Though the heavens be shut up and there thousand billows, each of which may overturn the be no dew, the little enclosures which he cultivates, fabric of our comfort in a moment: but to rest it like the fleece of Gideon, will discover evident upon religion, is to found it upon a rock, where we marks of the Divine favor. It actually seems as shall individually still find a refuge, when the nearthough in the wide scene, where the vices of the est and the dearest relations are swept away by the age may, and can reign triumphant, this were some tide of dissolution. secure and sacred retreat, into which they cannot, dare not enter." + It must be evident, however, that the great ends of the domestic economy, cannot be kept in view, nor the moral power of it displayed, unless the heads of it rightly understand their duty, and have a disposition properly to perform it. They must be Christians in reality, or no Christian government can be maintained. Where religion is wanting as the basis of their union, these happy fruits of it cannot be expected. The inferior and secondary object may be accomplished in the absence of parental piety, though neither so certainly, nor so effectually; but as to the more sublime and permanent end of the family constitution, which connects its members with the church of God on earth, and the com It is a pleasing reflection, that the domestic constitution depends not for its existence, its laws, its right administration, or its rich advantages, either upon family possessions, or the forms of national policy. It may live and flourish in all its tender charities, and all its sweet felicities, and all its moral power, in the cottage as well as in the mansion; under the shadow of liberty, and even under the seorching heat of tyranny. Like the church of which it is in some respects the emblem, it accommodates itself to every changing form of surrounding society, to every nation and to every age.Forming with the church the only two institutions ever set up by God, as to their frame work; like its kindred institute, it remains amidst the ruins of the fall, the lapse of ages, and the changes of human affairs, the monument of what has been, the standing prediction of what shall be. Tyrants that + Mr. Anderson, in support and illustration of crush the liberties of a state, cannot destroy the this beautiful sentiment, brings forward the fami- constitution of the family: and even persecutors lies of the Kenites, and the Rechabites, whose his- that silence the preacher, and scatter the congregatory he traces, and shows it to be like a pure and tion, cannot hush the voice of parental instruction, vigorous stream, urging its course through a turbid or extinguish parental influence. Religion, hunted lake, with the waters of which it refuses to blend, and driven by human power from the place of puband maintaining its own characteristic, amidst sur-lic concourse, would still find a retreat, as it often rounding impurity. has done under such circumstances, in the house * Anderson. hold of faith; and there would keep alive upon the | in due place, is specially enjoined on the husband, family altar, that holy fire, with which the sacrifices of the temple, under happier auspices, shall be offered. Neither families nor the church of the redeemed, shall ever be entirely lost, whatever changes the world may yet have to pass through: "but blessing and being blest, will of themselves alone one day introduce the millennium."* To all, therefore, who are united in the bonds of this relationship, I offer the consideration of these pages which prescribe duties, and present advantages, belonging alike to all. Domestic happiness, in many respects, resembles the manna which was granted to the Israelites, in the wilderness; like that precious food, it is the gift of God which cometh down from heaven; it is not to be purchased with money; it is dispensed alike to the rich and to the poor, and accommodates itself to every taste; it is given with an abundance that meets the wants of all who desire it; to be obtained, it must be religiously sought in God's own way of bestowing it; and is granted to man as a refreshment during his pilgrimage through this wilderness, to the celestial Canaan. belongs equally to the wife. It must be mutual, or there can be no happiness; none for the party which does not love, for how dreadful the idea of being chained for life to an individual for whom we have no affection; to be almost ever in the company of a person from whom we are driven back by revulsion, yet driven back upon a bond which prevents all separation and escape; nor can there be any happiness for the party that does love; such an unrequited affection must soon expire, or live only to consume that wretched heart in which it burns. A married couple without mutual regard, is one of the most pitiable spectacles on earth. They cannot, and, indeed, in ordinary circumstances, ought not to separate, and yet they remain united only to be a torment to each other. They serve one important purpose, however, in the history of mankind, and that is, to be a beacon to all who are yet disengaged, to warn them against the sin and folly of forming this union, upon any other basis than that of a pure and mutual attachment; and to admonish all that are so united, to watch with most assiduous vigilance their mutual regard, that nothing be allowed to damp the sacred flame. noticed, and trivial faults and oppositions first occur, they should not be allowed to produce an unfavor able impression upon the mind. The remarks of Bishop Jeremy Taylor in his inimitably beautiful sermon, entitled, "The Marriage Ring," are so much in point, that I shall introduce a long extract in reference to this idea. MARRIAGE IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE DOMESTIC CONSTITUTION: this, says the apostle "is honorable As the union should be formed on the basis of in all;" and he has condemned, as "a doctrine of love, so should great care be taken, especially in devils," the opinions of those by whom it is forbid- the early stages of it, that nothing might arise to den. It is an institute of God, was established in unsettle or loosen our attachments. Whatever Eden, was honored by the personal attendance of knowledge we may obtain of each other's tastes Christ, and furnished an occasion for the first of and habits before marriage, it is neither so accurate, that splendid series of miracles, by which he prov- so comprehensive, nor so impressive, as that which ed himself to be the Son of God, and the Saviour we acquire by living together; and it is of prodiof the world. But there is another mark of dis-gious consequence, that when little defects are first tinction put upon it by the Holy Ghost, where it is said, "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." Eph. v. 32. Many commentators, I am aware, consider the term mystery as having no allusion to the nuptial tie, but as applying exclusively to the union of Christ and the church. If this be the case, it seems difficult to account for the introduction of this union at all, or "Man and wife are equally concerned to avoid to explain what bearing it has upon the subject in all offences of each other in the beginning of their hand. Besides, the two-fold reference to the medi- conversation; every little thing can blast an infant atorial undertaking of Christ, which is made by blossom, and the breath of the south can shake the the apostle, when he enforces the duties of husband little rings of the vine, when first they begin to curl and wife, seems to confirm the opinion, that he re- like the locks of a new weaned boy; but when by presents the conjugal union, as a type or symbol of age and consolidation they stiffen into the hardness the close and endearing relation in which the of a stem, and have by the warm rays of the sun, church stands to its divine Redeemer. Nothing can and the kisses of heaven, brought forth their clusthrow a higher sanctity over this connection, nor ters, they can endure the storms of the north, and invest it with greater honor than such a view of it. the loud noises of a tempest, and yet never be broDistinguishing, as it does, man from brutes; pro- ken: so are the early unions of an unfixed marviding not only for the continuance, but for the com- riage; watchful and observant, jealous and busy, fort of our species; containing at once, the source inquisitive and careful, and apt to take alarm at of human happiness, and of all those virtuous emo- every unkind word. For infirmities do not manitions and generous sensibilities, which refine and fest themselves in the first scenes, but in the succesadorn the character of man, it can never as a ge- sion of a long society; and it is not chance or weakneral subject be guarded with too much solicitousness when it appears at first, but it is want of love vigilance, nor be contracted, in particular instances, with too much prudence and care. In proportion to the importance of the connection itself, must be a right view and a due performance of the obligations arising out of it. First. THERE ARE DUTIES COMMON TO BOTH PAR TIES. Secondly. THERE ARE DUTIES MORE PARTICULARLY ENJOINED UPON EACH. MY FIRST object will be to state those duties WHICH ARE COMMON TO BOTH HUSBAND AND WIFE. 1. The first which I mention, and which is the ground of all the rest, is LOVE. Let this be wanting, and marriage is degraded at once into a brutal or a sordid compact. This duty, which, though for reasons which we shall consider See Anderson and Dwight. or prudence, or it will be so expounded; and that which appears ill at first, usually affrights the inexperienced man or woman, who makes unequal conjectures, and fancies mighty sorrows by the proportions of the new and early unkindness. It is a very great passion, or a huge folly, or a certain want of love, that cannot preserve the colors and beauties of kindness, so long as public honesty requires a man to wear their sorrows for the death of a friend. Plutarch compares a new marriage to a vessel before the hoops are on, every thing dissolves its tender compaginations; but when the joints are stiffened and are tied by a firm compliance and proportioned bending, scarcely can it be dissolved without fire, or the violence of iron. After the hearts of the man and the wife are endeared and hardened by a mutual confidence and experience, longer than artifice and pretence can last, there are a great many remembrances, and some things present, that | are more accurately known to each other in this dash all little unkindnesses in pieces. connection, than either to the world, or even to our "Let a man and wife be careful to stifle little own servants and children. The privacies of such things, that as fast as they spring, they be cut down a relationship lay open our motives, and all the inteand trod upon; for if they be suffered to grow by rior of our character; so that we are better known numbers, they make the spirit peevish, and the so- to each other than we are to ourselves. If therefore, ciety troublesome, and the affections loose and un- we would be respected, we should be respectable.— easy by an habitual aversion. Some men are more Charity covers a multitude of faults, it is true; but vexed with a fly than with a wound; and when the we must not presume too far upon the credulity and gnats disturb our sleep, and the reason is disquiet-blindness of affection; there is a point beyond ed, but not perfectly awakened, it is often seen that which, even love cannot be blind to the crimson cohe is fuller of trouble than if in the day light of his loring of a guilty action. Every piece of really sinreason he were to contest with a potent enemy. In ful conduct, the impropriety of which cannot be the frequent little accidents of a family, a man's mistaken, tends to sink us in each other's esteem, reason cannot always be awake; and when his dis- and thus to remove the safeguards of affection.courses are imperfect and a trifling trouble makes Perhaps this has not been sufficiently thought of in him yet more restless, he is soon betrayed to the wedded life, the parties of which have been someviolence of passion. It is certain that the man or times anxious merely to cover their delinquencies woman are in a state of weakness and folly then, from the world, forgetful that it is a dreadful thing when they can be troubled with a trifling accident; to lose their mutual respect. It is delightfully strikand therefore it is not good to tempt their affections, ing to observe, how some pairs, of eminent moral when they are in that state of danger. In this case worth, regard each other; what reverence is blendthe caution is, to subtract fuel from the suddened with their love, and how like to angel forms of flame; for stubble, though it be quickly kindled, heavenly excellence they appear to one another. yet it is as soon extinguished, if it be not blown by In all the conduct of the conjugal state then, there a pertinacious breath, or fed with new materials. should be the most marked and unvarying mutual Add no new provocations to the accident, and do respect even in little things: there must be no not inflame this, and peace will soon return, and searching after faults, nor examining, with microthe discontent will pass away soon, as the sparks scopic scrutiny such as cannot be concealed; no refrom the collision of a flint; ever remembering, proachful epithets; no rude contempt; no incivility; that discontents proceeding from daily little things, no cold neglect; there should be courtesy without de breed a secret undiscernable disease, which is ceremony; politeness without formality; attention more dangerous than a fever proceeding from a without slavery; it should, in short, be the tenderdiscerned notorious surfeit." ness of love, supported by esteem, and guided by politeness. And then, we must maintain our mutual respectability before others; strangers, friends, servants, children, must all be taught to respect us, from what they see in our own behavior. It is in the highest degree improper, for either party to do an action, to say a word, or assume a look, that shall have the remotest tendency to lower the other in public esteem. 3. MUTUAL ATTACHMENT TO EACH OTHER'S SOCIETY, is a common duty of husband and wife. If they would preserve love, let them be sure to study most accurately each other's tastes and distastes, and most anxiously abstain from whatever, even in the minutest things, they know to be contrary to them. The ancients in their conjugal allegories, used to represent Mercury standing by Venus, to signify that by fair language, and sweet entreaties, the minds of each other should be united. If they would preserve love, let them most carefully avoid all curious and frequently repeated distinctions of MINE and THINE: for this hath caused We are united to be companions; to live together, all the laws, and all the suits, and all the wars in to walk together, to talk together. The husband is the world; let them who have but one person, have commanded "to dwell with the wife according to also but one interest. Instances may occur in which knowledge." "This," says Mr. Jay, "intends nothere may and must be, a separate investiture of thing less than residence, opposed to absence and property, and a sovereign independent right of dis- roving. It is absurd, for those who have no prospect posal in the woman; in this case, the most anxious of dwelling together, to enter this state; and those care should be taken by the husband not to attempt who are already in it, should not be unnecessarily to invade that right, and by the wife, neither osten- abroad. Circumstances of various kinds will doubttaciously to speak of it, nor rigidly to claim it, nor less render occasional excursions unavoidable; but selfishly to exercise it. In ordinary cases, "they let a man return as soon as the design of his absence should be heirs to each other, if they die childless; is accomplished, and let him always travel with and if there be children, the wife should be with the words of Solomon in his mind, As a bird that them a partner in the inheritance. But during their wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wanderlife the use and employment is common to both eth from his place.' Can a man while from home, their necessities, and in this there is no other differ-discharge the duties he owes to his household? Can ence of right, but that the man hath the dispensation of all, and may keep it from his wife, just as the governor of a town may keep it from the right owner; he hath the power, but not the right to do So." 2. MUTUAL RESPECT is a duty of married life; for though as we shall afterwards consider, especial reverence is due from the wife, yet is respect due from the husband also. As it is difficult to respect those, who are not entitled to it on any other ground than superior rank or common relationship, it is of immense consequence, that we should present to each other, that conduct which deserves respect and commands it. Moral esteem is one of the firmest supports, and strongest guards of love; and a high degree of excellence cannot fail to produce such esteem. We he discipline his children? Can he maintain the worship of God in his family? I know it is the duty of the wife to lead the devotion in the absence of the husband; and she should take it up as a cross, if not for the time as a privilege. Few, however, are thus disposed, and hence one of the sanctuaries of God for weeks and months together is shut up.I am sorry to say, that there are some husbands who seem fonder of any society than the company of their wives. It appears in the disposal of their leisure hours. How few of these are appropriated to the wife! The evenings are the most domestic periods of the day. To these the wife is peculiarly entitled-she is now most free from her numerous cares, and most at liberty to enjoy reading and conversation. It is a sad reflection upon a man when he is fond of spending his evenings abroad.— |