ness is that of a woman of handsome form and face. It is not said of this model woman as it is of Abigail, the noble wife of Nabal the churl, that she is "of a beautiful countenance." Beauty is mentioned, but it is in such a manner as to lead to the belief that the woman whom the writer had in his eye was not beautiful to look upon. In the 30th verse, he says, "Favour, i.e. comeliness, is deceitful, and beauty is vain." Evidently he does not include beauty as an essential characteristic of a model woman. She might be beautiful in addition to other excellencies, as was Abigail, but she might not; on the whole, the probabilities are against it. Beauty is the exception rather than the rule. Personal charms are a dangerous dower, and have been the cause of ruin to thousands. Their possessor is under strong temptation to estimate them above their real worth; they are apt to induce vanity, and to foster neglect of the cultivation of nobler gifts and graces. They are wont to fade with time, and disease may destroy them altogether. They are often associated with and are the signs of constitutional weakness. For these and other reasons "favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain." Not that a beautiful woman may not be noble and good; not that beauty when associated with other graces is not an additional gift and attraction; but beauty is not essential to the highest type of womanhood. A woman may have few personal charms and yet be in the very highest degree excellent. Nay, she may be plain and even deformed, and yet be one of the noblest women who ever blessed a home. Beauty is of different kinds: there is beauty of form, feature, and complexion; and there is beauty of expression, voice, and soul. The latter often fully compensates

for the lack of the former; the former never compensates for the total absence of the latter. Who has not seen a face which in repose was beautiful, distorted by such fierce passion that men have wondered beauty could appear so hideous? and who has not seen many a face with scarce a feature of comeliness, so bright with intelligence and joy that it was aglow with loveliness?

Accomplishments are not one of the characteristics mentioned. The word accomplishments is here used in the modern sense to denote acquisitions ornamental rather than useful. Lemuel, amidst the several occupations he describes, does not speak of her playing the harp or lute, or fashioning with skilful fingers articles of mere beauty and taste. He does not say she did not, in the quiet evening hours, delight her family with music and song, nor that she did not mingle with her useful work other of a lighter and more ornamental kind. He gives not a single indication one way or other, and we should do very wrong to consider his silence as indicating she did nothing of this kind. The woman who made herself "coverings of tapestry, and whose clothing was silk and purple," is more likely than not to have been skilful with her harp and pencil, and addicted to work of ornament as well as of utility. what we have to learn from the want of distinct mention of this, is, that a woman may be in the highest degree excellent who plays on no instrument and has never used a palette. Thank God it is so, otherwise it would be hard for the majority of women. They have great advantages who, in addition to the useful arts, have the opportunity of learning science and languages, music and painting; but this is not to say that as a

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necessary consequence they will reach the heights of womanhood. Many an accomplished woman has had nothing but her accomplishments, and has been of little use and worth, either at home or elsewhere. Many a woman who never had the opportunity of becoming accomplished, has attained the summit of true womanhood, and has been an incalculable blessing to many.

What then are the characteristics of true womanhood? What are the qualities which make a woman invaluable? Perhaps in no previous period of our world's history were women estimated so strictly according to their individual merits, and respected so fully according to the respect they earn for themselves.

Prudence is the first feature to be noticed in this portrait.

By prudence is meant the power and habit of seeing and foreseeing what is necessary and wise in measure and in conduct. Milton defined it as 66 that virtue by which we discern what is proper to be done under the various circumstances of time and place." Abigail is described as "a woman of good understanding," as well as "of a beautiful countenance," by which we understand that she was a woman of good judgment and prudence. The manner in which she acted when she was informed of her husband's churlish treatment of David, amply proves this. The characteristic of prudence is very observable in the portrait before us. We read, "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her." Where prudence is wanting, there can be no safe confidence, no implicit trust. Imprudence is constantly making mistakes, does things which if lawful are not expedient, makes remarks which to say the least are unwise,

fails to perceive the possible and probable results of action and speech, neglects opportunities of advantage, does not make the best of things, in a thousand instances views matters in a wrong light, by so doing makes that which is bad, worse, and despoils that which is good of much of its worth. An imprudent wife often occasions her husband great inconvenience, and compels him to act contrary to his wish, in order to hide her injudiciousness, and make up for her mismanagement. Prudence is just the opposite of all this. In a prudent wife the heart of her husband does safely trust, so that he shall have no need of spoil; i.e., he shall be under no temptation to act in an indirect and unlawful manner, because under her prudent management he will be able easily to supply all things necessary. An imprudent wife has often made "ways and means" the daily heavy burden of her husband's life, has driven him to his wits' end to know how "to provide things honest in the sight of all men," has materially damaged his credit, especially as a young tradesman, and has sometimes caused his name to appear in the list of bankrupts and in the calendar of felons. Not that the husband ought to have yielded to the temptation; but had it not been for the imprudence and improvidence of his wife, the temptation would not have existed, at any rate in such force. A prudent wife, on the other hand, has strengthened her husband to outride many a financial crisis, has enabled him to make provision for seasons of want of employment or diminished trade, and has enabled him to hold on his way, and having clean hands, to grow stronger and stronger. Lemuel's sketch is true to the life in its outlines. "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall

have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.”

Another mark of prudence is, "She is not afraid of snow for the household." Her forethought makes provision for the variations of weather. She provides suitable clothing for the different seasons of the year. The cold of winter and the heat of summer are alike expected, and arranged for. Her family are protected from the one, and prepared against the other. Such provision conduces much to health, as well as to comfort. Great is the suffering as well as inconvenience of the family where the housewife is destitute of forethought. Want of method and prudence, perhaps oftener than want of means, is the cause of unsuitable and insufficient clothing.

Another stroke in this delineation of a prudent womanand it is a master-stroke-is, "She openeth her mouth with wisdom." She knows when to speak, and when not to speak. She has learnt the power of silence. She understands the force of the proverb, "Speech is silver, but silence is golden." She knows that some things are better felt than expressed, that they lose most of their charm if put into words.

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The tones of her voice are not loud, clamorous, and commanding, but soft, gentle, and persuasive; and when she opens her mouth" it is with wisdom. She does not talk to hear the melody of her own voice, or for the sake of talking. She speaks because she has something to say, and that something is always sensible and appropriate. Her observations are judicious, her opinions sound. She speaks less of persons than of things, and does not indulge in foolish talking and jesting, which are not convenient. She endeavours to fulfil