many friends, it the temper be good; if circumstances be favourable; and if it need them. If otherwise, its grasp will probably be that of a vice; firm, but contracted. Enjoying, however, a variety of intercourse, it will be inclined to love whatever and whoever is true; and this extension will not diminish the force of friendship; though it will prevent any of those absorbing intimacies, which, not bringing along with them the duties of the closer tie of marriage, are rarely advantageous; and seldom survive the period of very early youth; although, indeed, a succession of them may sometimes, to the great injury of her character, continue throughout the whole of an unoccupied woman's life. Undesirable, however, as are, in general, these all-absorbing alliances, an ardent and true friendship, unselfish as the love which should subsist between two brothers or two sisters, is among the best blessings of life; but such a friendship supposes sound religious principle; warm affections; and that bearing of each other's burdens, both as it respects the actual trials of life, and the individual infirmities of each, which, while it draws the union very close, and renders it very precious, destroys all romantic illusion, and balances the pleasures of friendship by its pains; securing, at the same time, the mutual exercise of tender sympathy; and a due consideration, on the part of each, of separate relative duties; private family circumstances; and individual responsibilities. And thus, even its most beautiful and blessed form, is earthly friendship but an imperfect good; a broken type of that state for which it is a preparation; even of that eternal communion of all who shall " die in the Lord," with their Saviour and with each other, in that world where change and death, doubt and disappointment, shall be no more. AN OBSERVER. THE RIVERS OF ENGLAND! BY MRS. HENRY LYNCH. THE Rivers of our England! Where mountain shadows fall, Where nature, 'midst her hidden flowers WOMAN: HER POSITION AND DUTY. No. III. HE period of early womanhood, which we have viewed in its general aspect, is one, in most cases, so distinct from that which has preceded and from that which follows it, that we pause to consider more in detail its peculiar avocations and duties; arranging these under four branches; the first relating to the ordinary and inevitable claims of private, domestic, and social duties; the second, to a further class of duties which the dispensations of Providence may indicate, and which a desire to promote the glory of God may suggest; the third, to those elegant accomplishments, and literary pursuits, which this period of life may afford leisure to carry forward on the groundwork of earlier attainments; and the fourth, to the pleasures and recreations which the opening of adult life may preEach of these branches will furnish to the young female many engagements to occupy the time at her disposal, and herein she is called upon for the exercise of sound judgment, so to adjust the several claims upon her treasury of hours and days, that each may hold its due proportion; that things trivial, but obtrusive, may not usurp the place of higher avocations; yet that the highest duties may be performed with a view to the collateral fulfilment of those, also, which have apparently a lower place in the scale of morals and religion. sent. Some of the occupations that devolve upon a woman, may seem trivial in their nature, and unimportant in their results; but the Christian will be slow to consider any claim upon her time or her exertions, as unworthy of her attention, if the dispensations of Providence, and the directions of Scripture, place it in anywise within the rank of duties. The nature of a woman's daily duties must depend upon her particular circumstances. In some cases these duties may be multiplied and onerous; in others, they may scarcely seem to make any demand upon her thought, her diligence, or her skill. As a Christian, however, she is not at liberty to let her powers lie dormant, or her talents unemployed; and if their exercise be not called for by the immediate pressure of obvious duty, she is by that very circumstance required to seek out other methods of turning them to account, and of using them efficiently in the service of God. If, on the other hand, the stringency of domestic claims allow but little scope for choice, little leisure for extraneous employment, the servant of God may rejoice in the thought that the daily, hourly expression of His will, which is conveyed in the indications of His providence, is but a continued stream of blessing; a supply of that guidance and discipline, which are designed to lead the soul onward in the path of holiness; to prepare it for the abode of an indwelling peace; and to qualify it for eternal purity and bliss. A woman's immediate duties are of two kinds; personal and relative: the first includes the maintenance of a religious life; the acquisition of divine knowledge, and holy wisdom; the discipline of habits, tempers, and dispositions; the nurture of spiritual graces and gifts; and the general regulation of the whole character; it involves also the disposing of the several elements and acts of her outward life and conversation, in accordance with the will of God, and the spirit of holiness; and as conflicting purposes and adverse passions are subdued, and judgment, taste, and feelings, are gradually assimilated by the growing influence of heavenly principles, the same principles will also extend to the care and attention which are required by even the petty details of dress and demeanour; of occupations and expenses; of the words and deeds of ordinary life; these otherwise trivial cares will in design be elevated; in aim be concentrated; and will contribute to the formation, in the narrowest range of home-duties, of the consistent habits of a Christian character. The requirements of relative duty do not interfere with those of personal duty; the fulfilment of the latter being the basis on which should be maintained the due performance of all the offices and functions which our relative position may demand; and at the same time the claims and exactions, the contrarieties and difficulties, the irritations and mistakes, which are liable to arise in human intercourse, afford the most valuable correction, exercise, and test, of personal character. Neither human nature nor Christian graces were intended exclusively for solitude. Solitude affords them neither scope for development, nor for healthy exercise; and the murmuring voice, which is too frequently raised against the demands of social and domestic duties, might often be changed into the tones of penitent acknowledgment and humble thankfulness, if the guiding staff and correcting rod were duly rocognized in the hand of Him who hath appointed them; then would it be perceived that temptation is wisely permitted to humble, and to prove, and to show what is in the heart; that the trials which arise in our |