known for their inviolable Affection and Virtue; Perfons of inexpreffible Valour, Courage, or Fortitude! They will never ceafe to love, till they cease to live. And nothing but not to be can part them, or make them unhappy. To be brief, in fine, Honour and Chastity are her Cloathing, according to the holy Text, and the infeparable Embellishments of her excellent Mind; healthful and beautiful Children, the Bleffings of her faithful, as well as fruitful Matrimony; Charity and Prayer, the feraphick Idea's of her devoted Soul: wrapt-up in Ejaculations of Piety, and always pointing towards Heaven, as well as her Husband's Happiness, like the loving Needle to the North, without any Variation.

III. HEREBY, in fine, the good Humour, Gaiety, and Pleasantnefs of her Temper, make her the most amiable, as well as agreeable Lady of all Woman-kind, in Conversation.

She

may well hug her own Virtue, and worthily rejoyce in her own Honour and Innocency. The Joy of her Heart fits fluttering on her Forehead in lovely Smiles. The Serenity of her Countenance, argues the inward Satisfactions of her noble Mind. The Pleafantry of her Difcourfe, upon any deferving Subject, difcovers the Love, Peace, and Sedateness of her calm Thoughts. She can never be put out of Humour by any ruffling, and unruly Paffions. No little private Petts, Piques or Prejudices, can give her any uneafy Refentments of meditating Revenge; nor disturb the fettled Repofe of her great forgiving Soul. No furly Frowns of Fortune can difquiet the fweet Compofure of her natural Temper, in Patience and Contentment. No fly Invectives can diforder the establish'd Government, either of her Thought, or her Tongue,

with Discretion. She laughs at all publick Injuries, Affronts, Indignities, Slanders, or Defamations of her Virtue, with a becoming fort of Pride in her prudent Behaviour; by overlooking them, as not worth her Notice, with a modeft Negligence or Indifferency. 'Tis below the Dignity of her Indowments, in Point of Prudence, Good-Breeding, or Distinction, to refent thofe petulant Provocations, which have not the Power to pall her Joy, or incommode her Tranquillity. Nothing can fow'r her fweet Difpofition, or make her ill Company, but Vice, among those who have the Honour to converfe with her, in common Civility and private Chat. In her own Nature, fhe is all Life, Spirit and Alacrity; always joyful in her Looks, pleafant in her Meditations, and diverting in her Dif courfe: never difcompos'd upon any Occasion,either of Calumny, Calamity, or Misfortune. Falfehood flies, Detraction vanishes, and all threatning Clouds difperfe at the Mirth of her chearful Confcience. The Sky clears-up, and there is no Gloominefs at all left, to overcaft the Serenity of her Mind, to darken the Gleams of her joyful Heart, or to deform the Glories of her gladfome, Afpect. In fhort, Thinking, or Talking, fhe appears ftill perfectly Debonnair in her Deportment: Infomuch that the might properly be ftyled Belle Humeur her felf in Perfon, as well as Perfection. In Time to come, fhe will undoubtedly meet with better Fortune, and have more Reafon ftill, to rejoyce in the unfpotted Reputation of her virtuous Life: And heartily rejoyce too in the Strength of her Salvation.

VERSE XXVI.

SHE openeth her Mouth with Wisdom, and in her Tongue, is the Law of Kindness.

PARAPHRASE.

DD to all her other fore-mention'd Accomplishments, this fingular Grace of good Converfation: that, fhe is neither too fullen or filent; nor too free or flippant, forward or talkative. But when it comes to her Turn to fpeak; and either her Duty, good Manners, or Occafion requires it: her Difcourfe is not about vain frivolous Things, but ferious Matters of the greateft Moment. She is then open-hearted, but not verbose in her Tongue. That is as far from trifling, as faultering in her Speech. She does not love to talk of Shadows, but Substances, not of Chimera's, but Realities. Let the Subject be what it will, either of divine or humane Affairs, the difcourfes pertinently, argues closely, and reafons judiciously: ftill expreffing her Wif dom, and Sedatenefs, rather than discovering any predominant Passion, Prejudice, or Prepoffeffion. This is manifeftly fhewn, not only in the conftant Softness of her charming Voice, and Sweetness of her unprovoking Language, but also in the wife Inftructions fhe gives of Virtue, and the folemn Exhortations fhe lays down of doing Good, loving Juftice, exercising Mercy, cultivating Friendship, and living peaceably in the World: which the inculcates every X 2 where

where by her inimitable Example, as the no bleft Lefon of humane Life. Wisdom is always in her Month, proceeding from the Abundance of her gracious Heart; and she never opens her Lips, without Expreffions of Love and Goodnefs. Her Tongue is the very Key of Virtue, or Inftrument of Kindness, which opens the Way to her Husband's Felicity. It locks-up all the Cabinet-Secrets of their mutual Love, and fecures all the Jewels, Treasures, or Satisfactions of their conjugal Fidelity. She speaks nothing but what is kind, good-natur'd, and comfortable to all People that have the Happiness to be converfant with her, or the Honour to ferve her in any Way of Dealing. She makes the Prudence of her difcreet Mind, the unalterable Law of her Mouth; fo that nothing but Bleffings fall from her beauteous and affable Lips, or drop like balmy Dew from her mellifluous Tongue. Indeed fhe does not only fhew her felf incomparably wife in her Words, but alfo in her Actions. She abhors all the courtly Diffimulations, and vulgar Hypocrifies of the World: when the Mouth and the Mind never go together, but are as different as Fire and Water, and s diftant as the Eaft is from the Weft, or the oppofite Poles, between Expreffion and Sentiment. But fhe proves always as benevolent, or bountiful in her Deeds, as fhe is courteous, or complaifant in her Speech. Her Language abounds with prudent Sayings, pious Sentences, or the most folemn Laws of Grace and good Will. Out of her religious Mouth proceeds nothing but Piety and Purity; Veracity and Confolation, or Compaffion and Charity for her diftreffed Friends, oppreffed Neighbours,, and injur'd Country-men. In fhort, the

never fails to speak the Truth of her generous Soul, and to be as good as her Word in the Performance of her. Promifes. To fay no more, her Word it felf is a Law in Abstract: That is, a Compendium of her more voluminous Honour, Juftice and Mercy, as well as Kindness and Affection at large.

REMARK S.

WISDOM was the great Bleffing of So

lomon himself, and no less than the Gift of Heaven. By the Influence of it, a virtuous Woman makes her felf, at least, the most amiable Mistress of her Spouse's Heart intirely, with a fort of religious Admiration, not far from adoring fuch a living Image of Beauty. This muft needs render them the happiest Pair: and though not poffefs'd of Crowns or Scepters here perhaps, yet they injoy a Heaven upon Earth, in Peace and Love, Patience and Contentment; for their better Confolation in the Study of Virtue, Religion, and Philofophy. Thus the becomes a perfect Volume of Grace and Goodnefs, both in Body and Mind; bound-up with the trueft Laws of Kindness, Favour and Fidelity: not unlike a Book of Wisdom, good Faith, and Sincerity, of the best Edition; whereby we may learn the most lively Oracles of Truth, next after the Word of God, and from whence we may copy the most divine Things, or devouteft Excellencies after her glorious Example, as the faithfulleft Original, copious, as well as gracious, and the fairest Impreffion of Virtue. Bus the Three great Topicks of Prudence, Speaking, and Friendship, being couch'd under this compre

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