If the husband and wife live HARMONIOUSLY together, then indeed will the breath of purity pervade your dwelling, your family affairs will prosper by degrees, and every day your happiness will be extreme! The plan by which such harmony is to be obtained (is none other than this:) Ye must love each other tenderly, and treat each other with respect as if you were strangers. Thus rich and poor must reman tranquil among themselves, noble and base must mutually bear and forbear! you may not depend upon your family having heaped up great wealth, and for that reason be proud and haughty; you may not rely upon your personal appearance being noble and distingué, and therefore insult and abuse people! even when faults occur between husband and wife, both parties must cover these (as with a mantle,) must make allowances, and bear with patience! ye should take great pains to instruct and admonish each other, to cause (the party in wrong) to give ear (to reason,) and to adopt what is right; ye may not give way to your temper, and storm and get angry! The Book of Odes says, "Keep your house in proper order, and your wife and children will be happy!" This is a text which it would be right for HUSBANDS to recite every day. And Mencius says, (“Ye woman!) you must respect (your father-in-law, mother-in-law, etc., etc., etc.) and guard against (doing what is wrong;) oppose not your husbands!

WIVES! ye cannot but impress these words on your memories. For the MALE to be firm, and the FEMALE to be flexible, is what reason points out as a proper rule. But in this world you constantly meet with a class of husbands, who (foolishly) love, and (too much) respect their wives, as if they were more honorable or superior (to them

selves!) if anything occur, they are afraid to go before them; and thus the WOMAN becomes "the roaring lioness of Ho-tung," or "the female fowl that announces the morning! Such is by no means a happy omen in a family.

*This phrase is taken from the SHOO-KING, and applies to the infamous CHOW-WANG, being governed by his no less infamous wife. For the female bird to crow in the morning is, of course, to usurp her consort's prerogative.

EXTRACTS FROM THE THOUSAND CHARAC TER CLASSIC.

This is the second book put into the hands of pupils in the schools. It contains one thousand characters, or words, no two of which are the same.

We borrow from a translation found in the Chinese Repository, Vol. IV.

Now this our human body is endowed with four great powers and five cardinal virtues :

Preserve with reverence what your parents nourished,
How can you dare to destroy or injure it?
Let females guard their chastity and purity;
And let men imitate the talented and virtuous.
When you know your own errors, then reform;

And when you have made acquaintances, do not lose them;

Forbear to complain of the defects of the people; And cease to rely (too much) on your own superiority. your truth be such as may be verified;

Let
And your capacities, as to be measured with difficulty.
Mih, seeing the white silk threads colored, wept :
And the ode praises the pure fleeces of the lambs.

Observe and imitate the conduct of the virtuous; And command your thoughts, that you may become wise.

Your virtue once fixed, your reputation will be established:

Your habits once rectified, your example will be correct.

Sounds are reverberated in the deep valleys;

And are reëchoed through the vacant halls : Even so misery is the recompense of accumulated vice; And happiness the reward of illustrious virtue. A foot of precious jade stone is not to be valued; But for an inch of time you ought earnestly to contend. In aiding a father, and in serving a prince, Are alike required both gravity and respect. The duty of filial piety demands every energy; And fidelity to one's prince extends even to a sacrifice of life:

Be watchful, as though near an abyss or walking on ice, Always rising early to attend to the comforts of your parents;

Then your virtue will rival the Epidendrum in fragrance;

And in rich exuberance, be like the luxuriant pine; In constancy, it will resemble the overflowing stream; And in purity, the waters of the limpid, unruffled lake. Let your deportment be always grave and thoughtful, And your conversation calm and decided :

Close attention at the commencement is truly admirable;

Assiduity to the end is equally becoming and excel

lent:

Such conduct is the basis of every glorious profession; Its praises are great, and without limit.

Excel in learning, and you will ascend to official station,

Obtain rank, and be charged with the affairs of govern

ment:

Then your memory will be cherished like the sweet pear tree;

And when you are gone it will be treasured up in song. Music has distinctions for the noble and the ignoble ; Different rules of decorum mark superiors and inferiors.

Let superiors live in harmony, and inferiors in concord:
As when the husband sings, the wife joins in chorus.
Abroad, let the teacher's instructions be duly heeded;
At home, let maternal counsels be strictly regarded.
All the children of your uncles and aunts

Should be treated as your own sons and daughters.
Ardently love your elder and younger brothers,
Who are of the same blood and lineage with yourself.
Associates must enjoy each other's affections,
Cutting, grinding, and paring off each other's excres-

cences.

Benevolence, tenderness, commiseration, and sympa

thy,

Must not, under any circumstances, be relinquished. Consistency, justice, purity, and humility should not, Even in times of great revolution, be neglected.

If the disposition be gentle, the passions will be tranquil ;

But if the mind is agitated, the spirit becomes exhausted.