THE SECRET OF A HAPPY HOME. 4. Be Modest in your Mode of Living T is a most natural thing for young people to indulge in the hope that some fine day they will fall in love with some one, and some one will do the same thing in return. This leads to the expectation that the course of true love will run smooth, and, as a matter of certainty, the question will be popped and answered-the wedding-day fixed-the marriage take place, and the honeymoon enjoyed. It is no use for all the old cronies put together to frown and shake their heads as if it were a very wrong thing to do. It will be done, however much some people may be, or profess to be, opposed to matrimony. All the solemn warnings, or even threats, of the dreadful things which will be sure to happen if they dare to do such a foolish thing—all put together will not make the slightest difference. "As it was in the beginning," they were married and given in marriage, so it "is now and ever will be." Of course there will always be a few who have never been tempted by an offer of hand and heart, from various causes; but with these we are not at present concerned. We read of one who, after waiting a long time, was at length successful, and, after the ceremony was over, she asked the minister to close the interest. ing proceedings by singing the familiar hymn beginning"This is the way I long have sought, And mourned because I found it not." Such a case, no doubt, is rare, however earnestly some may try to make it appear. Nor is it difficult to find good reasons. It is so sweet and nice to know and feel that we are loved -to court and to be courted-to marry and to be married; and this is true, notwithstanding what an old bachelor seacaptain once said, "that he always steered clear of one kind of ship, and that was courtship-'cause on that ship there's always two mates and no captain." The fact is, the thoughts of the young naturally revert, more or less, to love, courtship, and matrimony; and yet there is scarcely anything easier than for a man or woman to persuade himself or herself that they are in love, when there is nothing of the kind. Liking is not loving, though people may try to persuade you it is; and yet there does not exist an easier operation than falling in love. We are surrounded from our birth with objects which call forth our love. But of all the gifts bestowed upon us, this capacity for loving one supremely, ranks as the highest and the purest. It is a mighty power for good or for evil. Misapplied it brings a legion of sorrows, but under proper guidar.ce and control, its mission is to bless all for time and eternity. As one has well said, "He who has passed through life without ever being in love has had no spring-time-no summer in his existence-his heart is as a flowering plant which hath never bloomed-never developed itself-never put forth its beauty and its perfume-never given or received pleasure." A bachelor once said that the reason he wasn't married was, "because when he wooed she wouldn't." Yes, the brightest visions which have ever crossed our path have been associated with this delightful experience. It has nerved men and women to make cheerfully the most costly and willing sacrifices, to do the most daring deeds, and to undergo the ordeal of almost impossible tortures to gain their end. Under no circumstances have people been willing to dare or do, or even to dream of doing, what those have done whose actions have been swayed, and whose hopes have been inspired, by the refining, elevating, invigorating, and yet, withal, mysterious influence of a genuine and pure love. As an instance of true devotion and earnestness of purpose in seeking a wife, it is related that a rich saddler, whose daughter was afterwards married to Dunk, the celebrated Earl of Halifax, ordered in his will that she should lose the whole of her fortune if she did not marry a saddler. The young Earl of Halifax, in order to win his bride, actually served an apprenticeship of seven years to a saddler. Do you ask, What is love? Well, Josh Billings says, "Trieing tew define love is like trieing tew tell how yu kum tew brake thru the ice; all you kno about it iz, yu fell in and got ducked." Yes, it is a delicate question-so much so that many would blush in the attempt to answer it. But why blush in trying to define so universal a passion, so widespread an influence, or so mighty a power? All are, or ought to be, liable to love-high or low, rich or poor, wise or unwise. It touches the noblest part of our nature, and gives effect to the grandest aspirations of our being. But, as one says in Chambers's Journal "Love is not made of kisses or of sighs, "Love is not made of broken whispers ; NO! "As separate streams may, blending, ever roll "As molten metals mingle; as a chord Swells sweet in harmony; when Love is lord, "One heart, one mind, cne soul, and one desire, Of thought and passion; these can Love inspire. "This makes heaven of earth; for this is Love." What is the most likely thing to make a man or woman happy? Remember what Adam wanted when he was alone in the Garden of Eden; and if you don't blame Adam for being happy when Eve became his partner, neither can you blame any man for believing that he has, at last, reached the highest point of bliss, when he takes unto himself the wife whom he loves, and hopes to live with for many years. But it may be asked, Is there such a thing as FALLING IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? There are some people in this very practical age who do not believe that this ever takes place. The Cornhill Magazine even says:-" More young ladies, and not a few weak young gentlemen, and some old fools, have made fatal mistakes in life from a superstitious belief in love at first sight, and from supposing that falling in love had controlled them like a fate. Perhaps |