ecome vitalized, and animated,
by the spirit of love. Thus, and thus only, can the occupations of a
leisure hour be converted into efficient ministers of good; and such
they will assuredly be found, if practised from right motives, and
placed in due subordination to the right exercise of more important
duties. The young votaress of the needle, of drawing, or of music,
should ever bear in mind, that the time employed in those pursuits, will
be accounted lost or improved, by the impartial Judge of all--just in
proportion as they have been made to serve the purposes of selfish
gratification, or to minister to the development of an elevated moral
character--generous and warm affections--and the cultivation of those
virtues, which, as essentials of the Christian character, shall outlive
the ravages of time, and qualify the soul for all the beatitudes of a
coming eternity.

In all then that the young lady aims to learn, or to accomplish, let her
place a high and moral standard before her, and resolve to render every
transaction of her life conducive to her preparation for a higher state
of being. Our various faculties and powers were not given us to be
wasted, but to be used to the honor of our Creator--the comfort and
welfare of those around us--and, as a consequence of our faithful
discharge of our several obligations, conducive, in an eminent degree,
to our happiness. No mistake can be more fatal, than an idea that, for
what we call trifles, we shall have no account to render. What we call
trifles, may be, in their consequence, both to ourselves and others, the
most important acts of our lives. It is not by great events that our
characters are formed; but by the neglect or performance of our duties
in that state of life, into which the Wisdom of our Heavenly Father has
seen fit to call us. To elevate the sufferings, soothe the sorrows,
increase the comforts, and enhance the joys of all around us, should be
the highest aim of a laudable ambition--and every endeavor should be
most assiduously devoted to the accomplishment of these important ends.
It is, in fact, only when we thus employ our various talents and
capabilities, that they are really useful, in any other case, they are
only ministers to our personal pride, and selfish gratification, instead
of becoming links in that golden chain, by which the faithful
performance of appointed duties is elevated to the possession of "a
crown of righteousness, that fadeth not away."