ss in the thing, and out of love and honour on her part.
When God commands us to love Him, He means we shall obey Him. 'This
is love, that ye keep my commandments; and if ye love me,' says the
Lord, 'keep my commandments.' Now as Christ is to the Church, so is
man to the wife; and therefore obedience is the best instance of her
love; for it proclaims her submission, her humility, her opinion
of his wisdom, his pre-eminence in the family, the right of his
privilege, and the injunction imposed by God upon her sex, that
although in sorrow she bring forth children, yet with love and choice
she should obey. The man's authority is love, and the woman's love is
obedience. It is modesty to advance and highly to honour them who have
honoured us by making us the companions of their dearest excellencies;
for the woman that went before the man in the way of death, is
commanded to follow him in the way of love; and that makes the society
to be perfect, and the union profitable, and the harmony complete."

_The Ring_.

The Rubric tells us "the man shall give unto the woman a ring, laying
the same upon the book with the accustomed duty to the priest and
clerk." This latter rule is, however, not now observed, it being usual
to pay the fees in the vestry; but to ensure the presence of the ring,
a caution by no means unnecessary, and in some measure to sanctify
that emblem of an eternal union, it is asked for by the clerk
previously to the commencement of the ceremony, who advises that it be
placed upon the book.

We pity the unfortunate bridegroom who at this moment cannot, by at
once inserting his hand into the corner (the one most ready to his
finger and thumb) of his left-hand waistcoat-pocket, pull out the
wedding ring. Imagine his dismay at not finding it there!--the first
surprise, the growing anxiety, as the right-hand pocket is next
rummaged--the blank look, as he follows this by the discovery that
his neither garments have no pockets whatsoever, not even a watch-fob,
where it may lie _perdue_ in a corner! Amid the suppressed giggle of
the bridesmaids, the disconcerted look of the bride herself, at such
a palpable instance of carelessness on the part of the bridegroom
thus publicly displayed before all her friends, and the half-repressed
disapprobation of the numerous circle around, he fumbles in the
coat-pockets, and turns them inside-out. A further but useless search
causes increased confusion and general annoyance; at le