his kind, and who give up their persons to men of
libertine principles, upon the wild expectation of reclaiming them,
justly deserves the disappointment which it will generally meet with;
for, believe me, a wife is, of all persons, the least likely to succeed
in such an attempt. Be it your care to find that virtue in a lover which
you must never hope to form in a husband. Good sense, and good nature,
are almost equally requisite. If the former is wanting, it will be next
to an impossibility for you to esteem the person, of whose behavior you
may have cause to be ashamed. Mutual esteem is as essential to happiness
in the married state, as mutual affection. Without the latter, every day
will bring with it some fresh cause of vexation, until repeated quarrels
produce a coldness, which will settle into an irreconcilable aversion,
and you will become, not only each other's torment, but the object of
contempt to your family, and to your acquaintance.

"This quality of good nature is, of all others, the most difficult to be
ascertained, on account of the general mistake of blending it with
good-humor, as if they were in themselves the same; whereas, in fact, no
two principles of action are more essentially different. But this may
require some explanation. By good nature, I mean that true benevolence,
which partakes in the felicity of every individual within the reach of
its ability, which relieves the distressed, comforts the afflicted,
diffuses blessings, and communicates happiness, far as its sphere of
action can extend; and which, in the private scenes of life, will shine
conspicuous in the dutiful son, in the affectionate husband, the
indulgent father, the faithful friend, and in the compassionate master
both to man and beast. Good humor, on the other hand, is nothing more
than a cheerful, pleasing deportment, arising either from a natural
gaiety of mind, or from an affection of popularity, joined to an
affability of behavior, the result of good breeding, and from a ready
compliance with the taste of every company. This kind of mere good humor
is, by far, the most striking quality. It is frequently mistaken for and
complimented with the superior name of _real good nature_. A man, by
this specious appearance, has often acquired that appellation who, in
all the actions of private life, has been a morose, cruel, revengeful,
sullen, haughty tyrant. Let them put on the cap, whose temples fit the
galling wreath!

"A man of a tr