to pull with him, and it soon came over with the greatest

ease.

66

"There," said he, as the line fell from the roof, you see how impossible it was to get the rope over when we pulled in opposite directions, but how easy and pleasant when we pulled together. It will be so, my dear, as we go through

life. If we oppose one another, it will be hard and unpleasant work; if we act together it will be easy and pleasant. Let us therefore always try to pull together and help each other. One alone can never make the home as happy as it ought to be, but the two doing all they can, are sure to

attain a blessedness which can never come to those who are not willing to help and to do what they can, to secure the desirable possession of a happy home."

"Good words are worth much and cost little," is a motto which can be seen on the title of one of our popular magazines. Would it not be worth while to have it inscribed in every home? Why should not every husband and every wife try and get into the habit of using good, loving, considerate words to each other? Every husband has a right to consider he is a gentleman, however humble in life his lot may be, and he ought to be ready to treat his wife as a lady though her position may be among the very poorest. Title-deeds do not by any means give nobility to character, though they are often supposed to be essential. A gentleman or a lady is one who, by manners, motives, and deeds, acts in harmony with such a position. It is not broad acres, a large and costly mansion, or even expensive clothes, which make the lord or lady; but it is the genuine spirit, the lofty purpose, the noble life, and these can be manifested as fully in a cottage as in a palace. None are so humble as to be below the elevating influence of these, and none are too high to be degraded by their influence.

II. Every husband should be careful to sympathise with and also to protect his wife.-Be as thoughtful for your wife, yea, even more so than when she was your sweetheartmore willing to pick up her scissors, carry her packages, fetch her what she wants, than if she was only "your young lady." It is such little attentions which beget much love. Let it be a settled thing with you never to neglect such things. It is still true that

"There's nothing sets the sympathies to pining
Like a complaining woman, uncomplaining."

Never let the trustful tenderness of thy wife be less pleasing than when she was thy sweetheart. Show her that you are still the same considerate, kind, loving man in whom she was led to trust so confidently. At the same time, be ready

to recognise that she has her tastes and wishes to gratify, and often perhaps in a way that you did not expect. Be attentive and courteous to her. Show your love by quietly giving her the most comfortable seat at the fireside, and the daintiest titbit at the table. Don't be afraid of praising her cooking, making, or mending. Be especially mindful of her if she has had a particularly hard day's work. Let her see and hear that you like the room to be clean and the fire bright. Never allow her, when you are near at hand, to carry a pail of water or lift a heavy weight. You can do it with less loss of power than she can. Encourage her if downhearted. Be glad when she is happy. Remember, as one says

"You married men-there's many in my view-
Don't think your wife can all wrap up in you;
Don't deem, though close her life to yours may grow,
That you are all the folks she wants to know;
Or think your stitches form the only part

Of the crochet-work of a woman's heart.

Though married souls each other's lives may burnish,
Each needs some help the other cannot furnish."

Truly does Smiles say that-" Woman was not meant to be either an unthinking drudge, or the merely pretty ornament of man's leisure. She exists for herself as well as for others; and the serious and responsible duties she is called upon to perform in life, require the cultivated head as well as the sympathising heart. Her highest mission is not to be fulfilled by the mastery of fleeting accomplishments, on which so much useful time is wasted; for though accomplishments may enhance the charms of youth and beauty, of themselves sufficiently charming, they will be found of very little use in the affairs of real life.”

If you are wise you will take up your abode in the beginning of your married life in Thanksgiving-street instead of Grumbling-street. You will be astonished at the difference in the very air you will breathe, as well as at the character of the neighbours and the condition of their homes. In the

former you will come across Mr. and Mrs. Pliable, who are always on the look-out to see how they can accommodate themselves to each other, and in what way they can yield to one another's wishes. In the latter street you will not only see, but often hear in an unmistakable way, Mr. and Mrs. Stubborn trying to settle who is to have their own way, and generally ending by making the breach wider than when they began. They need to learn the first lessons in what is called tact. But you ask

"What is tact ?-'tis worth revealing.

'Tis delicacy's finest feeling;

It is to scan another's breast,

To know the thought ere half-expressed;
If word or tone should waken pain,

To drop the subject or the strain;

To mark each change, each shade to know,
From care's cold brow to pleasure's glow;
To read in the averted eye

Refusal now or sympathy;

Now catch the sigh, the timid tone,

And make the speaker's thought your own.

To twine around, with winning art,

And gently steal away the heart."

Some women-yes, and even some men-are very clever in the art of making cares. They are always on the lookout to make a fresh supply as soon as one lot is used; and, what is still more true, they find that cares are easily made, and so they can speedily have some ready for use. It is astonishing how little material is needful to make them sometimes. Indeed, some people have a wonderful knack of making them out of anything nearest to hand-fidgety, anxious, worrying at all times, "sure of something going to happen," "I told you so, ""There never was any one so put upon as I am," and so on. Those who look for squalls are the first to catch them. They are bad enough when they come without inviting, as they often do by growling and fretting. Strive with all your might against this kind of spirit. It eats out the joy and happiness of any home where

it enters. Remember the old saying, "Never cross a bridge till you come to it," and the other equally true remark, "Troubles come soon enough without going to the door to fetch them."

III. Try to make the best of everything you have.-In everything that happens to you, and everybody around you, look out for what is the best, and set your face and heart steadily against a grumbling, peevish, complaining spirit, A clear conscience will help you very much to bear many little troubles and trials that may turn up, so try and live above the reproach of having brought needless sorrow upon yourself or your home. Beware of the hasty word, the impatient spirit, the loud voice, the unkind word. Patience and kindness will always answer better than harshness and worry. Guard your temper from rising, and keep down the angry expression. Love is the only power to make an end of strife. Make every effort, therefore, to avoid a quarrel rather than have the sorrow which it is sure to bring. Love works wonders in driving away evil thoughts, bad passions, and unkind actions, while hasty people drink the wine of life scalding hot, and become angry at the burning. A creaking door and a stiff lock can be easily cured with an oiled feather, and in like manner an evil habit may be overcome with a kind word and a loving heart.

Wisely does the Mother's Friend say, "Life, and particularly the married life, is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindnesses and little attentions are the things that win and preserve the heart and secure comfort. Little attentions are the heralds of affection-units they are which lead to mighty products. They are often laid aside after marriage; but when this is the case there is some danger of the decline and fall of love's empire." It is here where we think so many make a sad and serious mistake; for it is only by the steady continuance of those kindly acts and words which made the courting days so sweet that the married life will