Firm footing after all the weary slips
To hold the cup unshaken at the lips.
The meaning of my life grows clear at last,
And I can smile at all the troubles past;
The clouds put on a glory to mine eyes,
My sorrows were my Saviour in disguise;
And I have walked with angels unawares,
And mounted upward climbing over cares,
A little nearer to the home above:

Here let me rest in the good Father's love,
Embodied in these arms embracing me,
Serenely as the sea-flowers in deep sea.

'Tis true, just as we feel our foreheads crowned

And all so glorious grows the prospect round,

It seems one stride might launch us on heaven's wave,— Thenceforth our steps go downward to the grave.

What then? I would not rest till spirit rust

And I am undistinguishable dust:

And if love bring no second spring to me,
This is the fore-feel of a spring to be;

If no new dawn, yet in the evening hours,
Freshly bedewed more sweetly smell the flowers,
And Autumn hath its glory rich and warm,
A mellower splendor, a maturer charm;
And round my path the glow of love hath made
Gentle illumination for the shade.

Something, dear Lord, thou hast for me to say, Or wherefore draw me toward the springs of day, And make my face with happiness to shine,

By softly placing this dear hand in mine,

Even while I stretch'd it to Thee through the dark?
A something that shall shine aloft and mark
Thy goodness and my gratitude upon
This Mount Transfiguration, when I'm gone.
If Thou hast set my foot on firmer ground,
Lord, let me show what helper I have found.
If Thou hast touch'd me with thy loftier light,
Lord, let me turn to those that walk in night,
And climb with more at heart than they can bear;
Though but a twinkle through their cloud of care.
I ask not that my life should break in bloom,
For flowers to crown my love or wreathe my tomb;

Nor do I ask the laurel for my brow,
But only that above my grave may grow
Some sunny grains of thine immortal seed

For Bread of Life on which poor souls can feed:
Lord! let me have my one supreme desire-
To fill some earthly facts with heavenly fire!
Let me work now, for all eternity,

With its large-seeming leisure, waiteth me!

XIX.

The Model Husband.

Young men, be faithful husbands and good fathers of families. Act so that your wives shall esteem and love you. Read the Word of God industriously; that will conduct you through storm and calm, and safely bring you to the haven at last.-Frederica Bremer.

LOVE AND CONFIDENCE.

HE first duty of the married pair, and one which may be said to comprehend all others, is to love one another. This the true and faithful husband

makes the basis of his intercourse with the partner of his bosom. Realizing that it is his solemn duty to make her as happy as possible, and knowing that confidence in his affection is the chief element of that happiness, he fails not to give constant proof of this affection-an affection that is not lavish in caresses only, as if these were the only demonstrations of love, but of that respect which distinguishes love as a principle from that brief passion which assumes, and only assumes, the name-a respect which consults the judgment as well as the wishes of the beloved object-which considers her as one who is wortly of being admitted into all the counsels of the heart.

"Considering the improvement of his own understanding, and the cultivation of his own taste, as a duty, and one of the most delightful duties of an intellectual being, he does not consider it as a duty or a delight that belongs only to man, but feels it more delightful, as there is now another soul that may share with him all the pleasure of the progress. To love the happiness of her whose happiness is in his affection is, of course, to be conjugally faithful; but it is more than to be merely faithful; it is not to allow room even for a doubt

as to that fidelity, at least for such a doubt as a reasonable mind might form. It is truly to love her best, but it is also to show that love which is truly felt."*

CAREFUL PROVIDING.

A very important, though not a romantic, aspect in which the model husband looks upon his duty to his wife is that of a provider for her material wants and needs. In order to supply her with all the necessaries and comforts of life, and to spare her all the privations and hardships possible, he diligently attends to his business and economically manages his affairs. He is willing to labor to the utmost of his power, if need be, for her support. Jacob, we are told, served seven

years for Rachel before marriage, "and they seemed to him but a few days for the love he had for her." In this respect, at least, he was a model lover; and in every case where true love exists, it will be easy to toil for the support of the loved object.

The model husband believes there should be no separate possessions or clashing interests in marriage. One in heart and mind, the wedded pair should, he thinks, have all things in common-a common purse, a common store, a common estate-a community of interests in everything.

CHARITY.

Recognizing fully his own faults and imperfections, the model husband looks with charity and forbearance upon those that he may discover in his beloved wife. He does not expect her to be free from the common infirmities of humanity. He takes care never to speak of her faults in the presence of other any and if he finds it necessary to person; point them out to her, with a view to an effort at correction, he does it in a kind, considerate, and tender way, so as not to give her pain.

If she be sometimes fretful and ill-humored, he remembers her cares, her tedious round of household duties, the mis

Charles Brooks

doings of servants, and the perpetual watchfulness which her children, if she have any, require at her hands; and he endeavors, by kind and loving words, to soothe and cheer her.

HOME THE DEAREST PLACE.

The model husband does not spend his evenings in barrooms, billiard saloons, and theaters, nor at the club. He finds his highest happiness in the society of his wife and children. When business or the just demands of society call him away from home, he returns as speedily as possible. When he deems it proper for himself to attend any place of amusement, he thinks it proper for his wife to go also, as she has quite as much need as himself of innocent recreation.

He does not allow the cries of the children, nor the occasional disturbances that may arise in the family circle, to deter him from remaining at home after the hours of business are over. "The way wardness and folly, the boisterous mirth, and the mischievousness of the little ones may disturb his equanimity for a while and occasionally provoke him to anger, but he will regard their fretfulness and peevishness with pity, and willingly bear his part of the arduous task of curbing the unruly tempers of the children, and leading his sons and daughters into the paths of piety and peace. Instead of making the boisterous merriment of the children a pretext for absenting himself from home, he will rejoice in it as an indication of their health and happiness. And if the family circle should be invaded by sickness, or affliction of any kind, the presence of the husband and the father is imperatively demanded. Kindness and constant attention in the hour of affliction are, in the estimation of some ladies, the strongest proofs of affection that a husband can give. And it must appear evident to the most careless observer, that no one who habitually leaves his wife at home, and seeks for happiness in other places, can perform his duty in this respect. There is a great difference between the inhabitants of towns and the country in regard to this point; and it may be partly owing to the fact that husbands in the rural districts stay much more at home with their families than they do in towns, that we find more virtue