The inimitable Jeremy Taylor thus points out the virtues of conversation, exemplified by instruction, comfort, and reproof:

"Man most needs comfort, and he feels his brother's wants by his own experience, and God hath given us speech, and the endearments of society, and pleasantness of conversation, and powers of reasonable discourse, arguments to allay the sorrow, by abating our apprehensions, and taking out the sting, or telling the periods of comfort, or exciting hope, or urging a precept, and reconciling our affections, and reciting promises, or telling stories of the divine mercy, or changing it into duty, or making the burden less by comparing it with a greater, or by proving it to be less than we deserve, and that it is so intended, and may become the instrument of virtue. And certain it is, that as nothing can better do it, so there is nothing greater for which God made our tongues, next to reciting his praises, than to minister comfort to a weary soul. And what other measure can we have, than that we should bring joy to our brother, who with his dreary eyes looks to heaven and round about, and cannot find so much rest as to lay his eyelids close together, than that thy tongue should be tuned with heavenly accents, and make the weary soul to listen for light and ease; and when he perceives that there is such a thing in the world, and in the order of things, as comfort and joy, to begin to break out from the prison of his sorrows at the door of sighs and tears, and by little and little melt into showers and refreshment? This is glory to thy voice, and employment fit for the brightest angel. But so have I seen the sun kiss the frozen earth, which was bound up with the images of death, and the colder breath of the north; and then the waters break from their inclosures, and melt with joy, and run in useful channels; and the flies do rise again from their little graves in walls, and dance awhile in the air, to tell that their joy is within; and that the great mother of creatures will open the stock of her new refreshment, become useful to mankind, and sing praises to her Redeemer so is the heart of a sorrowful man under the discourses of a wise comforter; he breaks from the despairs of the grave, and the fetters and chains of sorrow; he blesses God, and he blesses thee, and he feels his life returning; for to be miserable is death, but nothing is life but to be comforted; and God is pleased with no music from below, so much as in the thanksgiving songs of relieved widows, of supported orphans, of rejoicing, and comforted, and thankful persons."

CHAP. XVI.

FRIENDSHIP.

Friendship! thou soft propitious pow'r !
Sweet regent of the social hour!
Sublime thy joys, nor understood
But by the virtuous and the good!

COTTON.

It is not every connection in life that is to be denominated by the sacred name of Friendship. Men may be connected in business, in conviviality, in social resort to entertainments and diversions, or even in relationship, where there is neither mutual affection, tenderness, nor confidence. This may amount to nothing more than a selfish intercourse of civilities and services, which involves a reciprocity of worldly profit, but in which there is little or no union of heart and soul. Real Friendship is an affection, pure, generous, ardent, and sincere. It implies an identity of interests, a communion of sensations, an interchange of love.

Friendship! thou dearest blessing heav'n bestows,
Balm of our care, and soft'ner of our woes;

Thy form is lovely, and thy fruit divine,

For love, and peace, and joy, and truth, are thine.
Friendship's a pure, a heav'n-descended flame,
Worthy the happy regions whence it came ;
The sacred tie that virtuous spirits binds,
The golden chain that links immortal minds.

Exalted Friendship is grounded on congeniality of mind and manners, mutually good inclinations and dispositions, and on liberal and beneficial designs and

pursuits. It should be built on real excellence of mind and heart, on intelligence and virtue, on true feeling and sound judgment.

If the joys of true love you'd receive and impart,
And the blessings of amity share,

Keep affection alive by fresh warmth from the heart,
And your friendship's in thorough repair:

For if once the pure flame begin dimly to burn,
And a friend unregarded pass by;
Indifference soon will to apathy turn,

And friendship in ruins will lie.

DRUMMOND.

The following advice, on the choice of a friend, may be of service to the young; and, if followed, be a means of preserving them from many a pang :-

"Be cautious in choosing thy friend. Let wisdom and virtue direct thy choice. Let not the outward graces, not friendly looks, not a smiling countenance, not flattering speeches, not studied civilities, not the first impressions of complacency, nor every similarity in temper or taste, beguile thee. Give not thy heart carelessly away to the first that applies for it, or who procures thee present pleasure and satisfaction. Place not thy confidence in any thoughtless inconsiderate person, any convivial jester, any witling, any scorner of religion and morality. Connect not thyself to any to whom the bonds of wedlock, the ties of domestic and social life, and the still more awful ties that bind the creature to the Creator, are not sacred. In thy choice, prefer understanding and probity to all the glare of riches and the pomp of station; candour and ingenuousness, to the most polished sentiments and the most amusing wit; prefer even the harshest monitor to the most agreeable flatterer. Select for thy friend, the friend of truth, the friend of virtue, the friend of humanity, the friend of God. Rather forego awhile longer the happiness of friendship, than run the least risk of finding wretchedness and misery where thou wert seeking the purest of human satisfactions."

Cowper gives the following excellent directions respecting the formation of friendships :

Who seeks a friend, should come dispos'd

T' exhibit in full bloom disclos'd

The graces and the beauties,
That form the character he seeks;
For 'tis a union that bespeaks

Reciprocated duties.

Mutual attention is implied,
And equal truth on either side,
And constantly supported;
'Tis senseless arrogance t'accuse
Another of sinister views,

Our own as much distorted.
But will sincerity suffice?
It is indeed above all price,

And must be made the basis;
But ev'ry virtue of the soul

Must constitute the charming whole;
All shining in their places.

Dr. Young was sensible of the value of friendship, as appears by the following extract:

Poor is the friendless master of a world:
A world, in purchase for a friend, is gain.
O! for the bright complexion's cordial warmth,
And elevating spirit, of a friend,

For twenty summers ripening by my side;
All feculence of falsehood long thrown down;
All social virtues rising in his soul,

As crystal clear; and smiling as they rise!
Here nectar flows; it sparkles in our sight;
Rich to the taste, and genuine from the heart.

The following apostrophe to Friendship is from the pen of Dr. Johnson:

Friendship, peculiar boon of Heav'n,

The noble mind's delight and pride;
To men and angels only giv'n,
To all the lower world denied ;

While love, unknown among the blest,
Parent of thousand wild desires,
The savage and the human breast
Torments alike with raging fires;

With bright, but oft destructive gleam,
Alike o'er all his lightnings fly;
Thy lambent glories only beam
Around the fav'rites of the sky.

Thy gentle flows of guiltless joys
Ön fools and villains ne'er descend;
In vain for thee the tyrant sighs,
And hugs a flatterer for a friend.

Directress of the brave and just,

O! guide us thro' life's darksome way!
And let the tortures of mistrust
On selfish bosoms only prey.

Nor shall thine ardours cease to glow,
When souls to peaceful climes remove;
What rais'd our virtues here below,

Shall aid our happiness above.

A fretful, peevish temper, is inimical to true Friendship. It is absolutely necessary that openness of temper and manners, on each side, be zealously cultivated: nothing more certainly dissolves Friendship, than the jealousy which arises from darkness and concealment. If your situation oblige you to take a different side from your friend, do it openly. Avow your conduct; avow your motives; as far as honour allows, disclose yourself frankly; seek no cover from unnecessary and mysterious secrecy; for mutual confidence is the soul of Friendship. The maxim that has been laid down by certain crooked politicians, to behave to a friend with the same guarded caution as we would do to an enemy, because it is possible that he may one day become such, discovers a mind which never was made for the enjoyments of Friendship. It is altogether inconsistent with the spirit of those friendships which are formed, and understood to be nourished, by the heart.

Care should be taken to cultivate, in all intercourse with friends, gentle and obliging manners. It is a common error to suppose, that familiar intimacy supersedes attention to the lesser duties of behaviour; and that, under the notion of freedom, it may excuse a careless, or even a rough, demeanour. On the contrary, an intimate connection can only be perpetuated by a constant endeavour to be pleasing and agreeable. The nearer and closer that men are brought together, the greater necessity there is for the surface to be smooth, and for every thing offensive to be removed. Let no harshness, no appearance of neglect, no supercilious affectation of superiority, be encouraged in the intercourse of friends. A tart reply, a