the richest nations, to support her debaucheries. Her beauty
has been greatly commended, and her mental perfections so highly
celebrated, that she has been described as capable of giving audience to
the ambassadors of seven different nations, and of speaking their
various languages as fluently as her own.

How vain are the possessions of beauty, power, personal and mental
accomplishments, if to these are not united virtuous principles. All
history, as well as all experience, is full of examples calculated to
impress the great lesson that

"VIRTUE alone is HAPPINESS below."

AN ESSAY ON MATRIMONY.

Socrates, being asked, whether it were better for a man to marry, or to
remain single, replied,--"Let him do either, he will repent of it."

The philosopher spoke 'like an oracle,' leaving the world as much in the
dark as to his views of the comparative advantages of matrimony and
celibacy, as they could have been before. But a vast majority of men
have chosen, since they must repent of one or the other, to repent of
marrying, deeming perhaps that this repentance is "_the repentance which
needeth not to be repented of_."

We shall conclude our little treatise on "the sex," with a few remarks
on the subject of--we were about to say--Happiness,--but as we are
content that every married man and woman should judge for themselves as
to the happiness of the married state, we will simply style it an ESSAY
ON MATRIMONY.

No event is more important, and none is conducted, on many occasions,
with less prudence, than Marriage. Providence has allowed the passions
to exercise a powerful influence in this matter, otherwise the cares and
anxieties with which it is attended would deter most persons from
launching their bark of earthly happiness on the great ocean of
matrimony. But too frequently the passions are the only guide, and these
stimulate to bewilder: they exhibit pleasing and attractive imagery, and
then the possession destroys the bliss.

Love is a pleasing but exciting passion. The eye is delighted by form,
manners, and the expression of the features, the ears by musical
language, and the imagination paints future joys; all of which
contribute to one great principle, that of receiving happiness from
those we love, and evincing love for those from whom we derive our
happiness. As the crystal streams are absorbed by the sun, and
distributed as brilliant clouds in the heavens, and then fall and run in
their accusto