over all, by day and by night! And then will she impress upon him that he also may one day become a happy angel, if he strives to be good, and obey his parents, and please his heavenly Father in all things. This is the hour and the manner, in which the foundation is laid in the young heart, of the kingdom of heaven.
Marriage, then, is a holy thing. Heaven itself, indeed, is compared in the Scriptures to a marriage; and the Lord Himself is called the Bridegroom and Husband of His Church. True conjugial love, therefore—such love as is derived from a union of spirits in the bonds of goodness and truth,—is a holy affection; and if so, whence can it be derived but from Him who is essential Holiness? Acknowledging this, we may at once perceive, that this universal sentiment, this deep passion of the soul, Love,—this affection which is one of the chief joys of youth, as well as the happiness of manhood and the solace of old age,—is in its origin, a gift, a precious gift, from the Source of all good. When, then, the happy youthful pair are rejoicing in their mutual affection,—when, taking their summer evening walk, locked closely arm in arm, and conversing together in the low soft tones of love, they lift their eyes to the peaceful heavens, and behold the "dewy star of eve" glittering in the West, or the silent moon, the lovers' lamp, pouring down her soft light upon the earth,—then, let them think, for a moment, of that unseen One who is the Author of all their blessings, and let them lift up their hearts together in gratitude for His Divine goodness. Let them think that it was He, who brought them into that happy union; who, when they were in their cradles, infants, and perhaps
