have returned from their wild excursions in the regions of diffipation, as the bird, after fluttering in the air defcends into her neft, to partake and increate its genial warmth with her young ones.

6. Such and so sweet are the comforts of home, when not perverted by the folly and weakness of man. Indifference, and a careleffness on the fubject of pleasing those whom it is our beft interest to please, often render it a scene of dulnes and infipidity.

7. Happy if the evil extended no farther. But the tranfition from the negative state of not being pleased, to pofi zive ill humour, is but too easy. Fretfulness and peevishr ness arife, as nettles vegetate, spontaneously, where no falutary plants are cultivated. One unkind expreffion infallibly generates many others. Trifles light as air, are able to kindle the blaze of contention.

8. By frequent conflicts and unreferved familiarity, all that mutual respect which is necessary to preferve love, even in the most intimate connections, is entirely loft; and the faint affection which remains, is too feeble to be felt amid *the furious operation of the hateful passions.

9. Farewell peace and tranquility, and cheerful converfe, and all the boafted comforts of the family circle. The nest, which should preferve a perpetual warmth by the constancy of paternal and conjugal affection, is rendered cold and joylefs. In the place of the foft down which should cover it, are fubftituted thorns and briars.

10. The waters of strife, to make ufe of the beautiful al allusion of scripture, rush in with impetuous violence and ruffle and difcolor that stream, which, in its natural and uns disturbed current, devolves its waters all smooth and limpid.

II. But it is not necessary to expatiate on the mifery of family dissention. I mean more particularly to fuggeft, fa. mily dissention, befides all its own immediaite evils, is the fruitful parent of moral misconduct.

12. When the several parts, which compose a family, find themselves uneasy in that home which is naturally the feat of mutual enjoyment, they are tempted froin the straight road of common prudence, to pursue their happiness through adevious wild of passion and imagination.

13. The fon arrived at years of maturity, who is treated harshly at home, will feldom fpend his evenings at the domestic fire fide. If he lives in the city, he will fly for refuge to company, and in the end, it is very probable he will form some unhappy connection, which cannot be continued without a plentiful supply of money.

14. Money, it is probable, cannot be procured. What then remains, but to pursue those methods which unprincipled ingenuity has invented, and which. fooner or later, lead to their proper punishments, pain, shame and death!

15. But though the confequences are not always fuch as the operation of human laws produce, yet they are always terrible, and destructive of happiness and virtue.

16. Mifery is indeed the necessary result of all deviation from rectitude; but early debauchery, early difeafe, early profligacy of all kinds, are peculiarly fruitful of wretchedness, as they fow the feeds of misery in the pring of life, when all that is fown takes deep root, and buds and blossoms, and brings forth fruit in profuse abundance.

17. In the difagreements between children and parents, it is certain that the children are usually most culpable. Their violent passions and defective experience, render them disobedient and undutiful. Their love of pleafure operates so violently as often to destroy the fource of filial affection.

. 18. A parent is stung to the heart by the ingratitude of achild. He checks his precipitancy, and perhaps with too little command of temper; for who can always hold the reins? Afperity produces afperity. But the child was the aggreffor, and therefore deferves a great part of the mifery. which ensues.

19. It is, however, certain that the parent is often im. prudent, as well as the child undutiful. He should endeavour to render home agreeable, by gentleness and reasonable indulgence: For man, at every age, leeks to be pleased, but more particularly at the juvenile age.

20. He should indeed maintain his authority, but it fhould be like the mild dominion of a limited monarch, and not the iron rule of an austere tyrant. If home is rendered: pleasing, it will not be long deserted. The prodigal will foon return, when his father's house is always ready to receive him with joy.

21. What is faid of the consequences of domestic difunion to fons, is equally to be applied to daughters. Indeed, as the misconduct of daughters is more fatal to family peace, though perhaps not more heinous in a moral view, particu lar care should be taken to render them attached to the

comforts of the family circle.

22. When their home is disagreeable, they will be ready to make any exchange; and will often lose their characters, virtue and happiness in the pursuit of it. Indeed the female character and happiness, are so easily injured, that no folitude can be too great in their preservation. But prudence is necessary in every good cause as well as zeal; and is found by experience that the gentlest method of ga vernment if it is limited and directed by good sense is the best.

4. 23. It ought indeed to be steady, but not rigid; and every pleasure which is innocent in itself, and in its confequences, ought to be admitted, with a view to render less diagreeable that unwinking vigilence, which a delicate and fenfible parent will judge neceffary to be used in the care of a daughter.

24. To what wickedness as well as wretchedness, matrimonial difagreements lead, every day's history will clearly inform us. When the husband is driven from his home by a termagant, he will seek enjoyment which is denied him at home, in the haunts of vice, and in the riots of intem. perance: Nor can female corruption be wondered at, though it must be greatly pitied and regretted, when, in the heart of a husband, which love and friendship should warm, hatred is found to rankle.

25. Conjugal infelicity not only renders life most uncomfortable, but leads to defperate diffoluteness and carelefsness in manners, which terminates in the ruin of health, peace and fortune.

26. But it avails little to point out evils without recom mending a remedy. One of the first rules which fuggets itself is, that families should endeavour, by often and ferioufly reflecting on the subject, to convince themselves thaz not only the enjoyments, but the virtue of every individual, greatly depends on a cordial unionis

27. When they are convinced of this, they will endea vor to promote it; and it fortunately happens, that the ve

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ry wish and attempt of every individual must infallibly fecure success. It may, indeed, be difficult to reftrain the occafional fallies of temper; but where there is, in the more dispassionate moments, a settled defire to preserve domeftic union, the tranfient violence of paffion will not often produce a permanent rupture.

28. It is another most excellent rule, to avoid a gross familiarity, even where the connection is most intimate. The human heart is so constituted as to love respect. It would indeed be unnatural in very intimate friends to behave to each other with stiffness, but there is a delicacy of manner, and a flattering deference, that tends to preserve that degree of efteem, which is necessary to fupport affection, and which is loft in contempt, when it deviates into excef five familiarity.

29. An habitual politeness of manners will prevent even indifference from degenerating to hatred. It will refine, exalt and perpetuate affection.

30. But the best and most efficacious rule is, that we should not think our moral and religious duties are only to be practised in public, and in the fight of these from whose applause we expect the gratification of our vanity, ambition or avarice: But that we should be equally attentive to our behavior among those who can only pay us by reciprocal love.

31. We must shew the fincerity of our principles and profeffions, by acting confiftent with them, not only in the legisflature, in the field, in the pulpit, at the bar, or in any public afsembly, but at the fire fide.

3.

"D

SELF TORMENTING.

ON'T meddle with that gun, Billy," faid a careful mother, " if it should go off, it would kill you." "It is not charged, mother," says Will. "Well! -But may be," says the good old woman, " it will go off, even if it is not charged."" But there is no lock on it *ma'am," "O dear Billy; I am afraid the hollow thing there, the barrel I think you call it, will shoot, if there is no lock."

2. Don't laugh at the old Lady. Two thirds of our fears and apprehenfions of the evils and mischiefs of this life, are just as well grounded, as hers were in this cafe. 3. There are many unavoidable evils in life, which if becomes us as men and as Christians, to bear with fortitude; and there is a certain period affigned to us all, and yet dreaded by most of us, wherein we must conflict with death and finally lose connection with all things beneath the fun. These things are beyond our utmost power to refift, or fagacity to evade.

4. It is our wifest part, therefore, to prepare to encounter them, in such a manner as shall do honour to our profef fion, and manifest a perfect conformity to that directory on which our profession stands. But why need we anticipate unavoidable evils, and "feel a thoufand deaths in fearing one ?"

5. Why need a woman be everlafting burying her chile dren, in her imagination, and spend her whole time in a fancied course of bereavement, because they are mortal, and must die fome time or other? A divine teacher fays, " fufficient for the day is the evil thereof;" but we put new and unneceffary gall in all the bitter cups we have to drink in life, by artfully mixing, fipping, and smelling-beforehand; like the squeamish patient, who, by viewing and thinking of his phyfic, brings a greater distress and burden on his stomach, before he takes it, than the phyfic itself could ever have done.

6. I would have people be more careful of fire arms than they are: I don't take a gun barrel, unconnected with powder and lock, to me more dangerous than a broomtick.

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7. Sergeant Tremble and his wife, during a time of general health, feel as easy and secure as if their children were immortal. Now and then a neighbour drops off with a confumption, or an apoplexy; but that makes no impression, as all their children are plump and hearty.

8. If there are no cancers, dyfenteries, small-pox, bladders in the throat, and such like things to be heard of, they almost bid defiance to death: but the moment information was given that a child fix miles off, had the throat distemper, all comfort bade adieu to the houfe; and the mifery then endured from dreadful apprehenfions, left the disease should enter the family, is unspeakable.

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9. The old fergeant thought that when the wind blew from that quarter, he could smell the infection, and therefore ordered the children to keep house, and drink worm