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of mind and heart in which he was deficient.

This com

panion, this twin soul, God made out of man himself, bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh." Woman sup

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plied what was necessary for the propagation of the race; she was intended to meet what was lacking in the physical and mental constitution of man; she was formed to discharge offices which he could not discharge, to do for him what he could not nearly so well do for himself, to fill in parts of his life which else would be wanting, to strengthen, intensify, and brighten the whole of his character and existence; her life was to be the woof of which his was the warp; she was to be what the gold threads are to the robe of the Oriental, they not only make it shimmer with beauty, but they add greatly to its durability and worth. Her life and his life together were to be what neither separately could possibly become. Our poet-laureate has well sung,

"The woman's cause is man's. They rise or sink
Together. Dwarfed or God-like, bond or free

If she be small, slight-natured, miserable,
How shall men grow?

Let her be

All that not harms distinctive womanhood;

For woman is not undeveloped man,

;

But diverse. Could we make her as the man,
Sweet love were slain, whose dearest bond is this,

Not like to like, but like in difference :

Yet in the long years the liker must they grow;

The man be more of woman, she of man;

He gain in sweetness, and in moral height,

Nor lose the wrestling thews which throw the world;
She mental breadth, nor fail in childward care,

More as the double-natured poet; each;

Till at the last she set herself to man,

Like perfect music, unto noble words."

From what has been advanced the true place and mission of woman will be apparent. She was designed by the allwise and benevolent Creator to be the help, companion, and partner of man.

In the family relation God has assigned the first place to the man. Every family must have a head; authority must rest somewhere. When two claim to be the head, there will be the clash of authority, if not indeed strife. Such a state of relations is neither desirable nor advantageous. On the contrary, it is detrimental to the wellbeing of the whole household. There must be one head in a family, and that head must be the husband. The word of God is plain and decisive on this point. What saith the Scripture? "The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church." "As the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." These declarations show that by Divine appointment the husband, and not the wife, is the head. God's appointments are fixed by infinite wisdom; and are those which are best adapted to secure the wellbeing of men and women individually, and of the race at large. They cannot be contravened with advantage. Neither man nor woman can improve upon God's arrangements. The duty and the wisdom of the latter is not to usurp authority over the man, but to submit, and in all lawful things obey. Her constitution shows that this is her proper position. Her happiness is never found in striving to command. That some do usurp such authority is well known. There are instances in which the wife's mind and judgment are superior

to the husband's; there are other instances in which it is not so, but in which the wife has striven for the headship, and the husband has yielded, rather than struggle day by day against her persistent and harassing assumptions. Sometimes the authority is yielded, it is thought, temporarily (if thought about at all), before marriage, and is never regained afterwards. But whatever be the cause, usurped authority can never secure the advantages which rightful authority possesses. The proper order of things is inverted, the truest and best relations between man and wife are hindered, conjugal happiness is not in its highest development enjoyed. The family, children, and servants alike feel that things are not in their due order. Household affairs do not work so smoothly as they otherwise would. To a greater or less extent the family is disorganized and rendered unhappy by the disarrangement. Whilst woman was made the equal of man, she was made dissimilar, and was formed to be subject to him, and not for him to be subject to her. "Neither was the man created for the the man." Wherever on the authority over the man it is recognised proper relations, and enjoyment of conjugal life.

woman, but the woman for one hand the woman usurps contrary to the universally is a hindrance to the fullest Wherever on the other hand

the woman is the servant and drudge, instead of the companion and helper of man, it is a degradation to the woman, it is a shame to the man, and it is subversive of the best interests of both.

The true sphere of woman is home, and a grand sphere for her consecration and usefulness it is. This is her proper

domain, it is exceptional when she has to go out of that realm for any other work. In the agricultural districts of our own country, and still more of the continent, women may be seen at work in the fields, often in a pitiable condition. That they should leave the proper duties of home to endure the exposure and fatigue of such labour, is neither desirable nor beneficial. In the manufacturing districts wives. and mothers leave their children in the care of others, and put off home duties to the hasty discharge of evening hours, that they may work in the factory during the day. Circumstances in many cases necessitate this, but it is to be regretted; such a state of things is not conducive to the wellbeing of society and of the nation at large. It is also to be regretted that amongst those who have no such call away from home, many give the training of their children to others, to nurses and servants and teachers, in order that they may escape the trouble of caring for them, or may spend their evenings in amusement.

The school has its work; the boarding-school has its place; servants have their work; but none of these can ever take the place of a mother. No one can ever be to a child what its own mother can be. If from any cause, whether from necessity to earn the daily bread, or from indolence, or from desire for company, children are deprived of a mother's care and instruction and influence, it is an incalculable loss. Children are sometimes sent in tender years to a boarding school before home affections have had time to grow and strengthen. Circumstances render it desirable, but the circumstances are to be regretted. A modern writer of much discrimination has said,

"I have always, from fond experience, held that child to be the happiest who never had a nursery-maid, only a mother." It is certainly true that there is no stranger love like a mother's love, no hired care like a mother's care; and when that mother's love and care are wise and judicious, the more a child can know of them the better.

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Woman not only fills but she creates the sphere of home. We sing in strains which touch every heart of the delights of Home, sweet, sweet home;" but who and what is it that makes home, home? whence arises its peculiar charm? Ask that little child where home is; and if he can express the feelings of his heart he will say, "home is where mother is." It is the love and joy and presence of mother that make any place or any house "Home, sweet home" to a child. Ask a man where his home is; and his reply will be in substance, if not in words:

"That is not home where day by day

I wear the busy hours away;
That is not home, where lonely night
Prepares me for the toils of light;
'Tis love, and joy, and memory give
A home in which the heart can live."

Home is not mere board and lodgings, not mere residence, though it be our own house. Without hearts there is no home. The love and care and presence of mother, wife, sister, or daughter make the home. It is her influence and genius which transforms a house into a home; and make what would otherwise be a mere dwelling place to be "the sweetest, dearest spot on earth."

And is it not a high vocation to make homes, like gardens,

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