THE DIAMOND.

WOMAN ACCORDING TO INSPIRATION.

HER ER husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and

come.

eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously; but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Scriptures.

THE

MEARY WEDDED.

HE sun can sink, the stars may rise, An' woods be green to shining skies; The cock may crow to morning light, And work-folks sing to falling night; The birds may whistle on the spray, And children leap in merry play: But ours is now a lifeless place, For we've a-lost a smiling face,

Young Meary Mead o' merry mood;
For she's a-wooed and wedded.

The dog, that oonce was glad to bear
Her fondling fingers down his hair,
Do lean his head against the floor,
To watch, wi' heavy eyes, the door;
An' men she sent so happy home
O' Saturdays, do seem to come
To door wi' downcast hearts, to miss,
Wi' smiles below the clematis,

Young Meary Mead o' merry mood;
For she's a-wooed and wedded.

When they do draw the evening blind,
And when the evening light's a-tined,

The cheerless fire do throw a glare
O' light against her empty chair;
And wordless gaps do now make thin
Their talk, where once her voice came in :
So lonesome is her empty place,

And blest the house that has the face
O' Meary Mead o' merry mood,

Now she's a-wooed and wedded.

The day she left her father's hearth,
Though sad, was kept a day of mirth;
And dry-wheeled wagons' empty beds
Were left within the tree-screened sheds;
And all the horses, at their ease,
Went snorting up the flowery leas,
But one, the smartest for the road,
That pulled away the dearest load,
Young Meary Mead o' merry mood,
That was a-wooed and wedded.

William Barnes.

MAN WITHOUT WOMAN.

THE soul of a man, as well as his body, is incomplete without his wife. He has strength; she has beauty. He combats the enemy, and

labors in the fields; but he understands nothing of domestic life: his companion is waiting to prepare his repast and sweeten his existence. He has crosses, and the partner of his couch is there to soften them: his days may be sad and troubled; but, in the chaste arms of his wife, he finds comfort and repose. Without woman, man would be rude, gross, and solitary. Woman spreads around him the flowers of existence, as the creepers of the forests, which decorate the trunks of sturdy oaks with their perfumed garlands. Finally, the Christian pair live and die united; together they rear the fruits of their union; in the dust they lie side by side; and they are re-united beyond the limits of the tomb.

Chateaubriand.

THE LOVE OF CONTRARIES.

SHOW

HOW me one couple unhappy merely on account of their limited circumstances, and I will show you ten who are wretched from other

causes.

You may depend upon it, that a slight con

THE DIAMOND.

trast of character is very material to happiness

in marriage.

Sympathy constitutes friendship; but, in love, there is a sort of antipathy, or opposing passion. Each strives to be the other, and both together make up one whole.

Coleridge.

1

THERE

INSUFFICIENCY.

HERE is no one beside thee, and no one
above thee:

And

Thou standest alone, as the nightingale sings!
my words that would praise thee are im-
potent things;

For none can express thee, though all should
approve thee.

I love thee so, dear, that I only can love thee.

Say, what can I do for thee? weary thee? grieve thee?

Lean on thy shoulder, new burdens to add? Weep my tears over thee, making thee sad? Oh, hold me not! love me not! let me retrieve thee.

I love thee so, dear, that I only can leave

thee.

Mrs. Browning.