knowledge and adorned with the accomplishments of art. But there is another branch of education more necessary and important still, the theory and practice of domestic philosophy. A knowledge of letters, skill in music and drawing, indeed, the most accomplished education, will go but a little way towards making a young lady what she should be, unless she knows, like the patriarch's wife, how to knead bread and bake a loin of veal. The beauty of Sarah, for which she was distinguished, and any display which she might have made of her jewels and wealth, would have been to Abraham and his guests a poor substitute for the substantial repast which her own hands provided. Home is the peculiar sphere of woman. It is her presence and her charms which give it existence; her wisdom and skill which show forth its worth. Females should, therefore, be thoroughly instructed in everything that pertains to the necessities and welfare of a wellregulated household. In the light of our subject, we also discover the folly of those who would draw forth woman from the retirement of home, and have her participate in all the scenes of public life. Suppose the doctrines of some should prevail, and law and custom become such that females should attend and take part in all school, parish and town meetings. Suppose the various offices in the gift of the town, the state and the nation, were filled promiscuously with males and females; that they were found in equal numbers at the bar, on the bench, in the jurybox, and in all the spheres of active life. What would be the result? We should have no ladies. That delicacy and refinement which are the charm of the female character would be destroyed in the toils and conflicts of public life, and all our women would be merely female men! We should have no homes worthy of the name. The whole world would be like the troubled sea that cannot rest. There would be no quiet haven to which we could flee and cast anchor, and be secure from the storms which are ever raging on the sea of life. "Me let the tender office long engage To rock the cradle of reposing age! With lenient arts extend a mother's breath, Make languor smile, and smooth the bed of death, Explore the thought, explain the asking eye, And keep at least one parent from the sky." TRIAL IN YOUTH. EDITORIAL. THE desire of happiness is strongly implanted in every human heart. An eager thirst for enjoyment is an almost unfailing characteristic of youth. And so natural is this desire, and so pleasant it is to see the spring-time of life bright with sunshine and gay with flowers, that, when it is clouded by misfortune, or encumbered with difficulty, we are almost ready to call in question the goodness of God, and to accuse Providence of injustice. The mother's heart leaps with joy when she beholds her young daughters blooming with health and gay with pleasure, and she would gladly take all care, all effort, all sickness and sorrow, upon herself, if, by this means, she could insure a long, unbroken holiday for her children. But is this extreme anxiety to save the young from all pain, labor and difficulty, to clear their path from every obstruction, to surround them constantly with the means of enjoyment, wise? It might be so, if we were still inhabitants of Eden, or if we lived in a world where, according to the idea of a celebrated New England divine, play is our highest vocation and our only business. But that is far from being the case with any inhabitant of this poor, present earth. Here we have characters to form; we have long years of life before us in which duties are to be performed; we are to prepare while young for usefulness, and happiness, and contentment in age; we are to fit ourselves for a higher and more important state of being. What does inspired wisdom say? It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Of the instances of early piety and preparation for death, by far the greatest number are those who have been led by affliction, by loss of dear friends, or some other calamity, to remember their Creator in the days of their youth, and to secure an interest in that world where sorrow never enters. Can that be called a misfortune which secures the greatest possible good a human soul can possess, a treasure worth more than worlds, the happiness of eternity? But, leaving those higher interests out of the question, and confin ing our views to this life, shall we not find that some of the early sorrows we so much deplore are, in reality, our greatest helps and blessings? A higher object in youth than mere present enjoyment is the formation of character, and those influences are most valuable which tend most to beautify, enrich and strengthen, the heart and the mind. No truly superior character was ever formed without trial. Strength comes by struggle and effort. A woman who has learned patiently and courageously to bear has secured a foot-hold where she can calmly and firmly await the evils of life. It is sweet and pleasant to be wafted gayly along on the surface of society, drinking in the honey-dew of admiration, and constantly looking forward to new pleasures and new triumphs; but let not those whose lot is differently cast look with longing or with envy on these apparent favorites of fortune. Not always, but often, very often, emptiness of mind and barrenness of heart, and a useless, discontented after-life, are conditions which attend the coveted distinction of being a belle. Beauty and the gifts of fortune are not to be despised; and, when accompanied by generosity of soul, by sweetness of temper and cultivation of mind, by a reasonable estimate of our own importance, of the rights of others, and of the true objects of life, we acknowledge their charm, and congratulate the favored beings who possess them. But this is not that training of circumstances to which we should look with most confidence, when we aim at a noble character; or, indeed, taking into view the whole of life, a successful or happy career. Let not her courage fail who is deprived of the active and alluring pleasures of youth by long-continued, delicate health; who feels that she is losing the bloom of her spring in seclusion and loneliness; who fears that life will have lost its charm, before she is able to mingle in its active pursuits and pleasures. Look up, dejected one! Life is long, and thousands, by care, prudence and judicious self-management, correct the evils of a frail and delicate youth, and become healthy and robust. Lose not the present in repining and complaint. If you cannot work and study, you can observe and meditate. There is often a beautiful world of thought and feeling developed by deep, silent reflection. If you cannot acquire new treasures of knowledge, you can arrange and digest what you already possess. You can study and practise magnanimity, unselfishness and kindness to others. You can learn calmly and cheerfully to bear. You can learn one great secret of happiness; and that is, to value small pleasures, to be thankful for small kindnesses, to cherish the sweet treasure of home affections and home virtues. And, when health comes, you will find it no disadvantage that you have preserved a freshness of feeling which is generally lost by great contact with society; that reflection has given you discretion to pursue your onward course. You will enter upon the active duties of life with fresh vigor, and a pleasant surprise will await you when you find that for those who are true to themselves life has deeper enjoyments and richer treasures in her summer harvest-fields than in the gayest gardens of her spring. Perhaps the trial is not sickness, but detraction and obloquy. Some hasty word has been misrepresented, some thoughtless imprudence exaggerated. Envy and malice may have exerted their baleful influence, and cold distrust and suspicion may have taken the place of cordial respect and kindness. Life To the sensitive heart of youth, this is, indeed, a trial hard to bear. The young live so much in the esteem of others, their need of sympathy and kindness is so strong, -- that when the support derived from the good opinion of those around them is taken away, their very hearts fail them. They know not what to do. Surprise, sorrow, indignation and wounded pride, cause a tumult of painful agitation. Hope is, for the moment, almost annihilated. appears dark and dreary, and full of difficulty. The heart seems made only to ache. But yield not too much to these dark feelings. Fear is the most paralyzing and depressing of the passions. It is natural and right to desire the good opinion of others; we cannot help it, nor should we. But too great fear of opinion checks the growth of the noble and generous qualities and leads to timidity, weakness and disingenuousness. In the moment of trial, strive to rise superior to the bad influences which may be active around you. Trust not only in God, but trust yourself. Strive for self-reliance, for strength, not to return wrong for wrong, but to possess your soul in peace and calmness, till time and circumstance shall show the right. Think not too meanly of your own individuality. It is expedient, as well as just, that you are true to yourself. The mean and injurious are far less likely to invade your rights and trample on your feelings, if they perceive in you a strength of soul which raises you above their power. Few are exempt from early trials of this kind; and if the struggle is successfully made, a firmness is obtained which is one of the most invaluable elements of character, and which, if accompanied by tenderness, gentleness and justice, makes a truly admirable woman. And surely, when we suffer in this way, tenderness and justice to others should be one of the fruits of our experience. We should not only strive for strength, but we should pray, with Gray in his beautiful hymn to Adversity, "The generous spark extinct, revive; Exact, my own defects to scan, What others are to feel, and know myself a man." If we are taught to feel in this way, adversity will not prove to us a hard, "relentless power," but the "benign, propitious" deity the poet calls her. But suppose the trial to lie in early disappointments, in straitened circumstances, or in disgrace brought upon us by the ill conduct of others. Still, do not despair. Remember that human life is a battle, and that she who perseveres, and strives under all circumstances to do the best she can, will, in the end, come off victorious, and win for herself probably honor and respectability; certainly selfrespect, and peace of mind, and love of friends, and the power of sustaining, and helping, and encouraging others. Life is full of compensations. We live but from day to day, and who shall say which is happiest at evening, she who has strengthened and ennobled her nature by strenuous exertion to fulfil an arduous duty, by patient submission to an inevitable evil, by throwing the light of love and joy over even the poorest home, or she whose faculties sleep from want of motive to arouse them, whose sense of enjoyment palls from over-indulgence, who cannot even gratify a wish because the affluence of fortune has left her nothing to wish for? Do not, then, ye afflicted, ones, weakly repine, or unworthily sink under difficulties. Let improvement in character and the fulfilment of duty be the first object. Let us remember that everything comes from God. Those who strive with pure motives generally succeed, in this world. But, suppose we should not be able to work ourselves free from difficulty while life lasts, that we finally go down to the grave unappreciated, unfriended, in sickness, in trouble, in poverty, if we do the best we can, we shall have great rejoicing |