The Young Woman Away from Home

“Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in al places whither thou goest.” — Gzunzsis xxviii. 16. ‘‘In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and he szall di. ect thy paths.”” — Proverss iii. 6 “Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory,” — PsauMm lxxiii. 24.

Tux hour of separation from parental society, home enjoyments, and the scenes of early history, is in most cases, and ought to be in all, a season of pensive grief. No affectionate daughter can leave the house of her father, and go from beneath the covering wing of maternal love, without passing over “the bridge of sighs.” Even the joys of the bridal morning, when she quits the arms of her hitherto nearest relations, to throw herself into those of one now still nearer, do not prevent her from looking round with something of instinctive regret on the scenes she is leaving, now no longer hers; and amid the smiles of the happy bride, are seen falling the tears of the loving child, like dew-drops sparkling in sunbeams. It would augur ill for the husband, if his wife could part from her parents, even for him, without a momentary pang. it is one of nature’s loveliest sights to see in that scene and season of delight, filial piety blending its luster with conjugal affection, and investing even nuptial charms with new and captivating beauty.

But I now speak of a different kind and purpose of separation from home. I contemplate the young woman, not led out by that right hand, the “cunning” of which is to be employed for her support; nor going away, leaning upon that arm which is to be continually stretched over her for protection, but departing solitarily and mournfully on the journey of life, to meet alone its dangers, cares, and toils. It is sad enough to see a young man quitting his father’s house, and leaving home to earn his daily bread by the sweat of his brow; how much more to see a young female thus go forth to seek her own support. What is it but a lamb venturing out into the wilderness where wolves abound; or a young dove quitting its nest to fly abroad, amid eagles and vultures. How many in the progress of life, and amid its changes, some of which are so melancholy, look back to the hour of separation and exclaim, “Oh, my mother, how sad and certain presages of what awaited me were thuse bitter tears I shed on that morning when I tore myself from thy embrace! My heart then sunk, and the sun of my life then set never tu rise. Every step since then of my dark journey has been one of sorrow; and every change, but of one calamity for another.”

In some vases separation from hor.e is rendered necessary by a change in domestic circumstances, and she who was brought up ever so tenderly amid the luxuries, and with the prospects of wpulence, fs now compelled to quit scenes where she was a stranger to toil and care, to earn her own support. It is a sight to be locked upon with admiration, to behold a young woman in these circumstances, instead of hanging upon parents no longer able to support her without additional privations for themselves, nobly resolving to relieve them of this burden, and instead of sitting down in despairing grief and helpless sorrow, bracing her mind to meet the privations of her altered condition, descending gracefully to her lower level, and going forth with true magnanimity, inspired by religion, to tread life’s stormy wave alone. No morbid sense of degradation; no feeling of false shame, arising from humbled circumstances; no haughty sense of humiliation connected with a situation of subordination and dependence, benumbs her faculties, paralyzes her energies, or renders the duties of her new situation irksome and oppressive; but remembering it is the will of Providence, and thankful for her health, her abilities, and her opportunities to take care of herself, she goes: to her situation without dread, despondency, or reluctance.

Others meet with no such reverse, but are brought up amid circumstances which have always kept before them the probability that they must go out into the world to earn their own support. In these cases, it comes not upon them by surprise, and if they are wise they will endeavor to prepare their hearts, and qualify their minds for this change of residence. A judicious mother’s energies and vigilance, will ever be employed not only in helping her daughters, but in teaching them to help themselves. Wherever there is a probability of their leaving home, and even where there is not, her anxiety, considering the vicissitudes of human life, should be directed to the point of qualifying them to be self-supporting. And it should be a point of ambition with every young woman, whose parents can, with difficulty, support their family, not to be burdens to them, but to take care of herself in some honorable and useful occupation. It is a very beautiful scene to witness a young female not only supporting herself, but endeavoring, by the produce of her diligence, and the savings of her frugality, to minister to the comfort of aged, infirm, or impoverished parents. Many a filial heroine has left home, and endured privations neither few nor small, for this purpose. All her discomfort and labor are endured with patience, under the idea that by this means she is rendering the home of her beloved parents more happy. Here, however, a caution is necessary against a too great eagerness to get away from home. A large family, where there is a straitened income, brings many cares, and some privations, not only upon the mother, but upon the elder daughters. In such a case, for a young woman who can be of essential service to her mother, and whom her mother wishes to retain, to determine or even wish to go out into the world, and leave her mother to struggle and almost faint under the load, isa.

deplorable. want of filial piety. It is delightful to hear a daughter say, “Any where, or in any circumstances, abroad or at home, in single or in wedded life, my beloved and honored parents, I am ready, and willing, and eager to serve you.”

There is another and melancholy occasion, which not unfrequently occurs, for a young woman’s leaving home, and that is, when home itself is broken up by the death of both parents. How frequently does this happen! Ah, how often are families invaded by the last enemy, and scattered hither and thither by his desolating ravages! The grave covers both father and mother. The dear, domestic hearth is forsaken. The family gatherings at prayer, at meals, at festive seasons, are over, and the house of your childhood and youth is deserted. Poor orphans, I pity you; especially ye orphan girls, my heart bleeds for you. Your brothers can shift for themselves better than you can. But even you have no need to despond. Painful I know it is to have no parent no home, no settled place of abode. Often, in your forlorn situation, you must and do say, “Alas for me — I am alone in the world. David’s expression suits my case. I am like a pelican in the wilderness; or like a sparrow, alone, upon the house-top. Other young people, though away from home, have a home to think and talk about; and parents to write to, and occasionally to visit. I have none. I have not a house to dwell in, except that which I may soon be required to leave; nor have I any friends, except those which my own good conduct may secure. My heart is often more desolate than my condition; and though I am in the midst of society, I feel as if I were alone in this great and busy world.” But I remind you there is the-orphan’s unfailing friend still left. God lives, and he is the father of the fatherless. Be it yours, and it may be yours, to say, “When my father and my mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.” Should you be wise and happy enough to become truly pious, you will never be without a friend, and in the absence of an earthly father, will have an omnipotent one in heaven. You may then set forth in life, and go through it, adopting as your motto the reply of Abraham to Isaac, who, when the latter said, “Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering?”’ replied, “God will provide.” Be that your motto, “God will provide,” Fear God, and you may without scruple, and with confidence, adopt this assurance. Permit me now to suggest some topics which apply alike to all these different cases, and which it is important you should dwell upon, either in prospect of leaving home, or when you have left it. Consider it is in the order of Providence you should be thus situated. Your lot is fixed in heaven. It is God’s will, and not chance. Is there nothing consolatory in that? Consider his wisdom, power, and goodness. He does all things well. He knows what is best for you. He may, in ways you can not imagine, be consulting your future and permanent good. You see not the end. When this is revealed, you may be compelled to exclaim, ‘He leadeth the blind by a way that they krow not, and leadeth them in paths that they have not known. He maketh darkness light before them, and crooked things straight.” Submit, therefore, without envy of others, and without murmuring against them. Would you contravene his purpose? Say, therefore, “It is the Lord, let him do what seemeta good in his sight. I am where he would have me be.”

But remember there are not only privations to be endured away from home, but moral dangers also to be encountered. If these are not so pressing in your case as in that of your brothers, there are some perils even in yours. Happily for you, the guards of female decorum, propriety, and reputation, are stronger and more strict than those of the other sex. But they have proved too weak for absolute security in thousands of instances. Multitudes who have stood well a¢ home, have unhappily fallen, when removed from it. Eve was tempted when alone, and away from the protection of her husband. Alas! how many have gone away to sin, and have returned to hide their shame! A mother’s watchful eye is no longer upon you, a father’s arm is no longer stretched over you, and the shelter of home no longer protects you. Others know this as well as you, and may take advantage of it. And even if there were no danger of vice, is there none of imprudence, folly, levity? None, of bad connections, improper acquaintance, ill-contracted marriages? None, of Sabbath-breaking, of undue love of pleasure, of vanity? Are not the prevailing faults and defects of some women their vanity, their love of dress, their disposition to court attention and admiration, their fickleness, their inconsiderateness, their love of novelty, their want of judgment, their curiosity? And are not all these likely to increase rather than diminish, when they are away from the checks which home supplies? Are not these weeds likely to grow faster, and to attain greater strength, when there is no mother’s eye to see them, no mother’s hand to pluck them up? All this danger is greatly heightened where there are personal ov mental accomplishments. A beautiful young woman, withdrawn from the fostering care and ceaseless vigilance of a judicious mother, and exposed abroad to the rude and licentious gaze of the world, is ever an object of alarm to others, and it were well if she were so to herself, It is, perhaps, a rare case for such a female to be ignorant of her charms; it is rarer still for her to be more afraid than vain of them, and to be more anxious that they should not lead her into danger, than that they should secure for her admiration. The great source of coNsOLATION and PROTECTION to a young woman from home is — /rue religion. It is very possible and very easy to any one, especially to any one who has known the comforts of home, to conceive of the privations and the discomfort of some young persons, whether sustaining the character of a governess, a shop-woman, or 8 servant. The cold, proud, and, perhaps, in some cases, cruel treatment of their employers, as contrasted with the affectionate conduct of their parents; the annoying and unfeeling peculiarities of their ‘“ompanions in the house, contrasted with the sympathizing and loving behavior of their brothers and sisters; the disregard of their comfort in what concerns their food, lodging, and general personal convenience, as contrasted with all the accommodations and enjoyments of their father’s house; and the general inattention and neglect of the strangers among whom they dwell, as contrasted with the recognition and kind notice of a wide circle of friends in their own native place — this, all this, is bitter indeed. Some hard and unfeeling natures, or gay and frivolous ones, would be insensible to these things, but O that poor girl of softer mould, whose heart was made for home scenes, and whose bliss was derived from home enjoyments — why, under all this, her heart is sometimes ready to burst. What thoughts disturb her peace, like visions of bliss lighting on her gloomy and sorrowful path, and then instantly vanishing, only to leave the path still more gloomy, and the darkness still more oppressive! What letters, wet with her tears, she writes to her own sweet home, and to her sympathizing parents!

What is to comfort her? Only the balmy influence of religion, the consciousness that she is in the way of duty, and the testimony of her conscience that she is discharging her obligations with scrupulous fidelity. This can, and will. She whose heart is truly renewed by Divine grace, who has genuine faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who walks with God as her divine, unchangeable, omnipotent Friend, and communes with him as her Heavenly Father, whose affections are set on things above, and who considers life as a probation for eternity — she will find, in such a state of mind, a source of consolation, a means of endurance, an element of happiness, which will counterbalance all discomfort, disquietude, and distress. With true dignity she will bow to the will of God, and consider her situation as his appointment. She will find satisfaction in submission. Her religion will impart something of cheerfulness, and much of patience; it will control her temper, and throw an air of loveliness over her character, that will give her an interest in the heart of her employer. In your Bible and other good books, my young friends, you will ever find companions; in your closet of devotion, and in communion with God, a sweet retreat from the coldness and unkindnesses of your fellow-creatures; and in meditation upon your everlasting rest above, a blessed substitute for the comforts of the home you have left on earth. Faith in God, in Christ, in Providence, in Heaven, can comfort, has comforted, will comfort, in the dreariest situations of life, and in the bitterest agonies of death. I am anxious you should set out in life with this lofty idea of true piety, that it can sweeten the bitterest cup of human woe, can soften the hardest lot, and can be a substitute for all other pleasures, It must be 80; for it made Adam happy in Paradise, and makes saints and angels happy in heaven. It has lighted, as with a lamp kindled in heaven, the confessor’s dungeon, has sustained the Christian fugitive in his exile, and has made even the agonies of the stake to be tolerable to the martyr.

Adopt religion, then, young women, as your companion, for it will not only comfort you, but also protect you. Yes, it will be a shield for your defense, as well as a cup of consolation amid your sorrows. Expect temptations, for you will certainly have them in one way or other. You can not even »magine in what shape or from what quarter they will come. It may be in a form so fascinating, so plausible, so unsuspected, so insidious, as to contain all the “deceivableness of unrighteousness.” Do not imagine that Satan respects female virtue too much to assail it. Did he thus respect the holiness of Eve in the garden of Eden? Does he reverence any character or any virtue — did he not tempt our Lord? The more spotless the character, and the more eminent the excellence, the more intense is his hatred, the more malignant his envy, and the more eager his desire to despoil it. Has he not tempted to their ruin multitudes as pure as you are? Against such a foe, whom all but infinite eunning makes skillful, and boundless success makes bold, consider yourselves safe only under the protection of Omnipotence; and that protection can be obtained only by faith and prayer. Of those millions of instances of female frailty which the history of your sex has presented, not one would have occurred if they had trusted their virtue to she keeping of true godliness. It is religion that will repel the fiercest assault with the holy and indignant remonstrance, “How shall I do this great wickedness, and sin against God!”

It is not only, however, from such dangers as these — dangers affecting moral character in its most important features — that religion will protect you, but from the lesser ones also, which, if they do not lead to vice, are still injurious. Religion will moderate your love of pleasure by furnishing pleasures of its own. It will check your vanity and folly, by producing a devout seriousness and sobriety of mind, without at all destroying your natural and innocent vivacity. It will remove your inconsiderateness, and make you thoughtful and reflective, without stiffening you into formality, or investing you with gloom. It will induce habits of forethought and frugality, and thus guard you from present imprudence and recklessness, and future improvidence and extravagance. Do not, then, venture out into the world unprotected by this spirit as your guardian angel.

There are one or two other cautions which it may be of importance you should receive and remember. You should never allow yourselves for a moment to imagine there is any thing dishonorable or degrading in your being compelled to leave home and to support yourself, either as governess, shopwoman, or servant. Those who have been in better circumstances are, of course, mosé apt to feel this. And no doubt it ss a descent — a lower status, according to the conventionalities of human life: but it is no dishonor. It is from misconduct, and not from misfortune; from loss of character, and not from loss of rank, that disgrace arises. Nobility of soul is often associated with plebeian descent; while vulgarity of character is sometimes covered with the coronet or the crown. A virtuous, holy, and intelligent young female in the heraldry of heaven has a patent of nobility, and is one of God’s peeresses in her own right. Industry is far more honorable than wealthy indolence; and she who willingly, honestly, cheerfully earns her own support, when Providence has deprived her of her patrimony, is far more to be admired than she would have been, had she been still rolled through life in her father’s equipage, and obsequiously waited upon by servants in livery.

Akin to this is another state of mind agsinst which you should most sedulously guard, and that is, 8 conviction, or any thing approaching to it, that you must be miserable away from home. It is coaceded that you can not be as happy away from home, as you would be at home. It is not right you should be. There can be no perfect substitnte for a united and happy family circle. But, then, when called by Providence to surrender it, give it up with submission and fortitude, and yield to the privaticn with true magnanimity. Let it be said of you on leaving, as was ‘said by Milton of Eve, on her departing from Paradise —

‘*¢ Some natural tears she dropped, but wiped them soon.”

Weep you may, you ought, at giving up the dear delights you have enjoyed from childhood in your father’s house; and can not but sometimes feel pensive at recollecting the friends from whom you nave been separated. But to allow your love of home to make your absence from it an intolerable wretchedness — to render you moody and melancholy, discontented and ill-tempered — to unfit you for business, and make you unpleasant to your employer and companions, this is proof of a weak mind, a feeble heart, and a sickly character, Rise above it, my young friends. If Providence calls you away, bear it with composure. Go out expecting to meet with privations, and make up your mind to endure them with fortitude. Make the best of your situation. Doom not yourself to misery on this account. You may be happy any where, by religion, good temper, submission to your lot, and usefulness. If you determine to find out the pleasure your present situation affords, instead of ever looking back upon that which you have left — if you resolve by God’s grace, to please and be pleased — if you give up your mind to piety, industry, and usefulness — you will find that felicity is a flower that blooms, a fruit that grows, away from home as well as at home. A cheerful spirit, like a lamp ighting any darkness into which it may be carried,

Jessens the discomfort of any situation, recominends you to your employer, and promotes your interest as well as your happiness.

Perhaps it may not be amiss to say a few things on the choice of a situation, which, indeed, appertain to your parents, where they are living, as well as to yourselves. Let the subject be made the mat. ter of earnest and believing prayer to God. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths.” “Commit thy way to him, and he shall bring it to pass.” These are precious declarations, and they are sustained by promises no less precious. “The meek will he guide in judgment, and the meek will he teach his way” — Psalm xxv. 9. “J will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye” — Psalm xxxii. 8. With such exhortations and assurances, what should be your resolution? “‘Phou shalt guide me with thy counsel.” There is Providence in every thing. Even your mear affairs are under Divine direction. Your times are in his hand. Do not doubt it. Hold fast the truth, that God hears your prayer, casts your lot, and fixes the bounds of your habitation. Pray, pray earnestly, believingly, and expectingly. All situations and all hearts are at his disposal.

In selecting, accepting, and retaining a situation, sonsult rts religious advaniages.

In these is included an anxious desire to obtain such means of pulpit religious instruction as are

likely to build up a young disciple on her holy faith, and to quicken into activity the principles of godliness planted in the soul by the Spirit of God It is not ordinarily desirable, where a selection can be made, to choose a situation where even the minor matters of sacrament and church government differ from those to which she has been accustomed, It exposes her, if not to a change of sentiment, yet to an antagonism and a perplexity, which are unfavorable to the quiet enjoyment of her own personal religion, and may do her some injury by producing a spirit of controversy. Where the dif. ferences of opinion are of a more serious kind, affecting even the fundamental doctrines of the gospel, no pious young person should expose herself to a hazard of this kind.

I will now address a few special counsels and cautions to two or three classes of those who are in the situation contemplated by this discourse.

There are many occupied in the very important and responsible duties of a resident and permanent governess. This is a situation of both delicacy difficulty, and momentous consequence, and requires much wisdom, prudence, and conscientiousness, There are many parties concerned, all of whose interest and comfort should and must be consulted. You who are in this situation owe something to yourself. There is a respect due to you from those who have engaged you, which they will be most likely to pay when they see you respecting yourself. If they so far confide in you as to intrust you with the education of their children, they ought to treat you in that manner which will teach them also to confide in you and esteem you. But this will depend much upon your own conduct and bearing. Let them be duly aware that you expect all that belongs to you in the way of kind and respectful conduct, but that you expect no more. Any apprehension on their part that your demands of this nature are too high, or are preferred in an obtrusive and exacting spirit, will be sure to set them on their guard against an encroaching disposition, and dispose them to yield you ess than your due. A kind, attentive, respectful, and dignified bearing toward them, as far from servility on the one hand as it is from familiarity on the other, as well as a right behavior toward their children, will, in most cases, accomplish all you wish. If you have come to your present situation by a descent from a former one far above it, let there be no such sense of degradation and mortified pride; no such hauteur or loftiness, as shall make you gloomy, dissatisfied, unhappy, and repulsive. Even should it appear that you have exchanged places with your employers, that they once were in the situation of dependence you now occupy, give no evidence that you are aware of it, and take no notice of little ebullitions of vulgarity, or even the purse-proud insolence not uncommon to those who have risen in life. If sometimes you can not be insensible to this, and you feel your spirit rising within you, and your cheek growing flushed and warm, so as to show your mortification, call in your religion to your aid, comfort yourself in God, and exemplify the Christian in a spirit of meek forbearance. In such circumstances, many a tearful look will be thrown back by memory on that home fron: which by misfortune you have been driven out, or, rather, by Providence, and you will need to retire to :alm your perturbation and repress your indignation. In such cases go, and by prayer invite the hand of your Heavenly Father to wipe your weeping eyes, and compose your ruffled peace and agitated heart.

Then there are the children intrusted to your care for their education. Enter upon such a task with a deep and solemn sense of responsibility to them, to their parents, and to their God. Abhor the meanness, the injustice, and the cruelty of merely teaching them for hire, and of being satisfied with any manner of discharging your duty, so as you get your board, your salary, and your respectful treatment. The future character and comfort, for both worlds, of those girls, depend much upon you. They have been placed in your hands, and now look up to you as their instructress and oracle. As you would give in your account at last to God with joy, and not with grief, do your very uttermost, tax your energies, to do them and their parents justice, in instructing their minds, forming their character, and fitting them for the station they are to occupy in life. Prepare yourself for your task by constant reading and study. Do not be satisfied with your present qualifications. The education of a rational and immortal creature, for thir world and the next, is a great work. Improve your own mind, to be better fitted to improve theirs. Win their confidence by your ability, their affection by your kindness, their reverence by your dignity, and their application by yorr diligence. Let your aim be, not only to commu. nicate knowledge, but wisdom; not only to store the memory, but to strengthen the judgment, to nerve the will, and to make the conscience tender; not only to teach them to think correctly, but to act with propriety, discretion, and promptness, in any situation in which they may be placed.

As regards religion, this, of course, must depend much upon the views of the parents. If these are similar to your own, and you have unrestricted liberty on this point, labor to the uttermost to form the religious character of your youthful charge. Ever consider the education of an immortal being incomplete without instruction in that which alone can fit her for immortality. But never act the part of a covert zealot, by inculcating principles opposed to those of the parent. I should say to a religious young woman, go into no situation where your are not allowed to teach what you consider to be the truth as it is in Jesus. Do not conceal your sentiments, and then teach them secretly and stealthily. You would abhor such conduct in a Roman Catholic — do not be guilty of it yourself. Of course you could not conscientiously teach what you believe to be error, and should not; therefore do not go where you would be required to do so.

THE YOUNG WOMAN AWAY FROM Hiak 2353

Then come the parents to be considered by you. Of course you will do every thing ycu can to uphold their authority, even as they ought to do their uttermost to uphold yours. You should also most assiduously labor to secure the affections of their children for them, rather than for yourself It would be treachery of the basest kind to steal away the hearts of their children to yourself. Your aim should be to secure the love of the children to you, for their parents’ sake, as well as your own; and then love to their parents, for your sake, as well as for those to whom it primarily belongs.

There is another thing to be observed, and one which I shall touch upon with the delicacy it demands; and that is the fact, that a wife has sometimes been made uncomfortable by the residence of a governess. Jealousy, it is true, is sometimes more predominant in this case than it need be, and is suspicious without reason. But are there no cases in which uneasiness is not entirely the result of an over-sensitive and morbid imagination? Respect your own character and dignity, a wife’s peace, and a husband’s honor, too much, even to covet, to seek, or to accept attentions, even though playful and innocent ones, which may excite uneasiness in that one bosom, the tranquillity of which is so easily disturbed. Conduct yourself so as not only to be without blame, but also without suspiciun.

Apart from this, do nothing by becoming the depository of secrets, hearing tales, or uttering insinuations, to loosen the bonds, or violate the affection of husband and wife, or to disturb the peace of the family. If, unhappily, a schism should exist, keep yourself as much as possible out of the way, or let your wisest and kindest offices be exerted to heal the breach. Win for yourself the blessing which will come upon the peace-maker, and cause the family to bless the hour which made “you a member of the household. Recollect, you are bound in honor never to make the transactions or condition of the family matter of conversation with others. Without being actually sworn, or even pledged, to secrecy, you are solemnly bound to observe it; and are a traitress to the family which has received you as an inmate, if you make their affairs known to others. Never intermeddle with the servants, and especially avoid all unnecessary familiarity with them. Keep to your own sphere, and diligently discharge your own duties. You will find sufficient scope here for all your time, your energies, and your anxiety.

For such a course of conduct, seek by prayer the grace and wisdom which come from on high, and under all the trials of your situation — the way wardness of the children, or the ingratitude, the pride, and the petulance of their parents — seek the comfort which cometh from the Father of Mercies, and the God of all consolation.

Governesses in a school are a class of young females, who, though acting under the direction and supervision of another, and therefore, being less responsible than those who reside in a family, have very important duties to discharge, and for which high qualifications, both intellectual and moral, are essential.

I now consider the case of those young persons who are employed in our retail shops. These form a very large class. Their situation is often one of far greater discomfort and moral danger than that of the class just mentioned. In addition to the oppressive and exhausting labor which modern competition imposes upon them, in common with all who are engaged in trade, they have to bear, in some cases, the unkindness of their employers, who are not unfrequently deplorably wanting in regard to the comfort of those whom they have received into their service, both as to food, lodging, and general treatment. A surly master and his unfeeling wife, intent only upon what they can get out of the flesh, and bone, and muscle, of their servants, and caring little for their welfare; never satisfied with even the most exemplary diligence and competent ability, and therefore ever urging to greater labor, and ever uttering the language of complaint; always suspicious, even where there is no ground for it, of the honesty of their servants — such are the trials which some of these hapless young people have to bear, In such a case, you to whom it appertains, need comfort. The recollections of home, where all was kindness, comfort, and confidence, embitter, by the power of contrast, the ills you have to endure. Bear all with as much patience as you can obtain,

Seek consolation in true piety. Carry your sorrows to God by prayer. When the bitter contrast between your situation a¢ home and from home forces itself upon your thoughts, and sends the tear to your eye and the thorn to your heart, go to Him whose gracious presence is ever with you, and His infinite love ever ready for you.

But it is not thus with all shop-keepers. I am not describing the class, but only some of its members — the exceptions rather than the rule. I know of heads of retail establishments, employing a large number of young people, who cherish for them something of the feelings of parents, and who regard them almost in the light of children. Nor is it their temporal comfort exclusively, but also their spiritual welfare, which is the object of their solicitude. And this is obviously their incumbent duty. Exceptions to this, however, do exist, and it is therefore well to have them thus arraigned and exposed as beacons to warn others.

Whether your employers be generous and kind, or neglectful and oppressive, do your duty; and seek to possess all those qualifications which shall commend you to their esteem. Diligence is indispensable. It is the first excellence of one in your situation. Be anxious to please, and as earnest to serve your employer, as if the business were your own. No one will or can employ an indolent servant. Bean early riser. Comply with all the rules of the shop. Aim at excellence. Seek to be clever, Cultivate an attractive, winning, and ever polite address. Be in the best-sense of the term a clever shop-woman. Especially let your honesty be above suspicion. Deem it no insult or reproach that, yaution you on this subject; you are exposed to temptation. Money in small sums is continually passing through your hands; your salary may be low, and under the deceitfulness of the heart you may be so convinced of the injustice of your small stipend, as to imagine it to be almost lawful to pay yourself, and thus supplement what is wanting. Resist every temptation of this kind. Rather starve and die, than appropriate an article of clothing, or of decoration, or a farthing of property of your employer to your own use. Asa guard upon your integrity, and a check to temptation, avoid expense in dréss and ornament. Vanity is an insatiable passion, and it is this, more than any thing else, which has led to dishonesty. A taste for finery was fostered and indulged, the salary was too small to yield the means of its gratification, and it impelled its victim to acts of pilfering to supply the deficiency.

In some establishments, though it is not now common; young persons of both sexes are employed. Where this is the case it brings new perils, and requires additional caution. Your honor, your respectability, your safety, require that you should be most anxiously upon your guard. How earnestly as well as sincerely should you present those beautiful petitions of our Lord’s prayer, “Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.” Avoid all undue familiarity, all flippant and trifling conduct, all unrestrained jocularity, with the young men who may be employed in the same establishment. Maintain a proper self-respect, a becoming reserve, and a dignified bearing, which shall be a fence around your character, and prevent even the most distant approach of any thing that would insult your purity or offend the most fastidious modesty.

You have need to be upon your guard against the influence of companionship even from your own sex. In large establishments, or even in those of more moderate size, there are many young women associated together, over whom, in some cases, no matronly superintendent is placed, and who have an almost unrestricted opportunity for free conversation and general intercourse. It is no severe reflection on the sex to suppose that in such a number of young persons, there may be some who have no personal religion, whose sense of female decorum and propriety is not the most delicate, and who, without being vicious, are still so given to levity, vanity, and romance, as to exert an unfavorable influence over the rest. Be upon your guard against influence of this kind. Gain all the good, in the way of improvement, you can, from those who are your superiors; but avoid all the evil. Be good-tempered, accommodating, amiable, and conciliatory; but set yourself against all that is improper. Be an example of all that is good, and then you may be a reprover of all that is evil. Let there be no affected superiority; nothing like ‘Stand by, I am holier than thou;” but all the consistency, the gentleness, the sweetness of unaffected goodness, of true piety and good conduct, and then you may be a blessing indeed to those around you. Be especially careful in the selection from the rest of your companions of one particular friend. Be not led away by specious appearances, nor induced to commit yourself by professions of friendship on the part of another, or by the first feelings of partiality on your own; but take time to ascertain the correctness of her principles, the consistency of her conduct, and the respectability of her family; otherwise you may be led into snares and dangers which you very little anticipate.

For your conduct toward those who employ you, if it be a master, I refer you back to what is said to the governess. Instances have occurred to my knowledge to prove that cautions on this head are not altogether unnecessary. An evil eye has sometimes lighted on an unsuspecting female, and men, bound by every tie of honor and by their solemn vow to a wife, have been base enough to assail, and in some instances to destroy, the purity, the honor, the peace, if not the life, of those whom they were bound in duty to protect. Spurn, then, with disdain and indignation any such attempts — receive no special attention from, and quit the service of, the wretch whom you suspect of a design against that which ought to be dearer to you, a thousand times over, than even life itself.

Female servanis area most mportant and a very numerous class of young women away from home, and often a very destitute and much exposed one Their case, however, is so needful of enlarged counsel and caution, that I shall refer them to a Tract I have written and published specially for their benefit.*

I shall now conclude by some few general remarks, which will apply to all classes alike of those who are away from home.

Again and again I say, commit yourselves by true faith in Christ into the hands of God for protection and consolation. How many beautiful passages and examples of Holy Scripture, in addition to those already quoted, could be adduced, which apply with peculiar force to your case. Look at poor Hagar, much to be pitied as well as much to be blamed, alone in the wilderness, “when the angel of the Lord found her by the fountain of water, and she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me.” If, notwithstanding some misconduct and some self-reproach when God found her there, she comforted herself in that desolate place with the consideration that she was compassed about with the presence of the Lord; with how much greater confidence and peace may you cheer your heart with the thought of an ever-present God, you who have not been driven out as she was by misconduct from her home, but have been led out by Providence from yours. Yea,

* Advice to Female Servants.”

God is in every place — he is with you — “he com passeth your path, he knoweth your down-sitting and up-rising, and is acquainted with all your ways.” You have left your earthly father, but your heavenly one is with you. You are far from your earthly home, but if you are a Christian, you are as near as ever to your heavenly one. The eyes that lately beamed affection upon you, see you not now, and you see not them; but lifting your voice to God, you can say, “Thou God seest me /” His eye is upon you — his heart yearns over you — his arms are underneath you. Then, what promises are on record for you. Do you fear the want of adequate provision ? — “Trust in the Lord, and do good! so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed” — Psalm xxxvii. 3. Do you want protection ? — “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust; his truth shall be thy shield and buckler” — Psalm xci. 1, 4. Do you need direction y — “Thine ears shall hear a voice behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it” — lIsaiah xxx. 21. Do you dread the forlorn circumstances that await you away from home ? — “None that trust in him shall be desolate’ — Psalm xxxiv. 22. Are you trembling with apprehension at the absence of all that were dear to you, and the unknown difficulties of your new situation on earth 7 — “Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am. thy

God: 1 will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness” — lIsaiah xli. 10. ‘My presence shall go with you and give you rest.” Do you even dread the idea of being forgotten by the friends you are leaving? — ‘ Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, she may forget, yet will I not forget thee” — Isaiah xlix. 15. “TI will never leave thee, nor forsake thee’” — Hebrews xiii. 5. Can any thing be more consolatory than such assurances? Need you be afraid to leave home and go out into the world with such promises? What! when omnipotence, omnipresence omniscience, all-sufficiency, and boundless love, go with you? Why, with such assurances you may quit not only your father’s home to dwell in some other part of this land of railways, and easy and speedy methods of return, but may embark on board an emigrant ship, quit your native country to dwell at the antipodes, and exultingly exclaim, “If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me.” But, then, to apply the truth and feel the comfort of these precious assurances, you must have that genuine faith which alone gives you a title to them. Personal religion will in all probability procure you earthly friends wherever you go, for it is the soil in which all those virtues grow that conciliate affection, insure respect, and invite confidence. God will go before you to prepare the way for you, for when a man’s ways please the Lord. he maketh “even his enemies to be at peace with him.” Remember how he gave Joseph favor in the eyes of the governor of the prison, and how he turned the heart of Esau, brooding revenge, into brotherly endearment. The best way to get the friendship of man is first to secure the friendship of God. Connected with this, acquire an eminent degree of those general good qualities already alluded to. Add to piety amiability of disposition, kindliness of temper, gentle, artless, and attractive manners, Let there be a substratum of the solid gold of excellence, bearing at the same time the polish of the amenities of life. They who have to make their way in the world must be attentive to external, and to what some may call little things. It is not enough to be holy and virtuous, or even to be conscious that we are such, but we must also be attractive. You must aim to please. Real excellence may sometimes be repulsive on account of the eccentrieities, the acerbities, and blunt coarseness, with which it is associated. It is like grapes amid nettles or thorns, which few will attempt to gather for fear of the sting or the prickle. There is a word of very difficult definition, but which is perfectly understcod, and very impressive, without being defined — “She is an tnéeresting young woman.” This is a very common expression, Perhaps the best explanation of it is, the power of giving pleasure and engaging affection. This includes, I am aware, more of nature than of art, and something of personal attraction. The affectation of being interesting is sure to defeat its own end and to inspire disgust. Yet something, if the intention be concealed, may be acquired by study. Surely it can aot be improper to ask, “‘ How can I interest others in my behalf?” And they who depend upon the mterest they create for themselves in the hearts of others, should study how to insure it.

Combine a due and tender recollection of home with a noble fortitude in surrendering its comforts. You are not required to forget your father’s house, and your mother’s endearing society. It would be unnatural if you could. Indeed, you are in little danger of this: “Forget thee, my honored father! Forget thee, my much loved mother! Forget ye, my brothers and sisters! Forget thee, sweet home of my childhood! Oh, no. Memory must perish before I can be guilty of such oblivion. I muse on ye all in my solitary walks. I give up many an hour’s sleep to think of home. I wet my pillow with my tears, as I think of the years and joys that are gone, never to return. I dream often that I am in the midst of ye all, and wake to the sad reality that Iam away from home.” But this is not all the recollection you are to bear. Nor is the frequent and affectionate letter, so welcome and 20 precious to those who love and think of you, the only way to send comfort to your parents. Let there be the never-varying excellence of character and conduct, the uniform good behavior, the growing usefulness, which, on their knowing these things, shall comfort their hearts. Let no fickleness of disposition make you soon tired of a situation — let no unsuitable connection of a tender nature, which they would not approve, be formed — let no conduct. which, if they knew it, would distress them, be carried on by you. They have lost the comfort of your society; add not to the affliction by causing them to lose the comfort of your character.

And now, to conclude, let your situation in a social point of view remind you of your circumstances in a religious one. If you are a true Christian, what is your condition on earth but a child away from home? Yes: heaven, and not earth, is the home of the believer. How simply and sublimely beautiful is the language of our Lord: “in my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself: that where I am, there ye may be also.” Delightful ideat Heaven is the home of the Christian, which the Saviour has fitted up and made ready for him. There, is God the judge of all — the Father, of whom the whole family is named. There, is Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant, who calls himself the First-born, the Elder Brother. There, are the spirits of just men made perfect, the whole number of the brothers and sisters. There, is the innumerable company of the angels, who were as ministering spirits sent forth to minister unto the heirs of salvation. What a gloricus household assembled in the third heavens — the eternal home of the redeeming God, the Great Redeemer, and. the redeemed family. Thither you are going, if a true believer. All the dispensations of Providence, and all the means of grace are preparing you for that station. All things are working together for your good. Your present situation, with all its disquiet and discomfort, may be among the means which are preparing you for that state. You are away from home here, that you may be at home there. Let this cheer and comfort you. When distressed by looking back upon the home you have left, comfort yourself by looking on to that to which you are going. Heaven, glory, eternity, are before you. You are educating for your father’s house — preparing to go in and dwell forever in his presence. Half a century hence at most, and in perhaps a much shorter time than that, it will be of no consequence to you how you passed through life. The only thing about which you should be supremely anxious is, not to be shut out from the heavenly home; not to be excluded by sin, impenitence, and unbelief, from the mansions which Christ has gone to prepare. In the blessed hope of reaching that state, though they were ten times greater than they are, you might endure not only with fortitude, but with comfort all the trials of a rouNa WOMAN AWAY FROM HOME,