Bride and bridegroom, pilgrims of life, henceforward to travel together, In this the beginning of your journey, neglect not the favour of Heaven: Let the day of hopes fulfilled be blest by many prayers, And at eventide kneel ye together, that your joy be not unhallowed: Angels that are round you shall be glad, those loving ministers of mercy, And the richest blessings of your God shall be poured on His favoured children. Marriage is a figure and an earnest of holier things unseen, And reverence well becometh the symbol of dignity and glory. Keep thy heart pure, lest thou do dishonour to thy state; Selfishness is base and hateful; but love considereth not itself. The wicked turneth good into evil, for his mind is warped within him; But the heart of the righteous is chaste: his conscience casteth off sin. If thou wilt be loved, render implicit confidence; If thou wouldst not suspect, receive full confidence in turn: For where trust is not reciprocal, the love that trusted withereth. Hide not your grief nor your gladness; be open one with the other; Let bitterness be strange unto your tongues, but sympathy a dweller in your hearts: Imparting halveth the evils, while it doubleth the pleasures of life, But sorrows breed and thicken in the gloomy bosom of Reserve. Young wife, be not froward, nor forget that modesty becometh thee: If it be discarded now, who will not hold it feigned before? But be not as a timid girl,--there is honour due to thine estate; A matron's modesty is dignified: she blusheth not, neither is she bold. Be kind to the friends of thine husband, for the love they have to him: And gently bear with his infirmities: hast thou no need of his forbearance? Be not always in each other's company; it is often good to be alone; And if there be too much sameness, ye cannot but grow weary of each other: Ye have each a soul to be nourished, and a mind to be taught in wisdom, Therefore, as accountable for time, help one another to improve it. If ye feel love to decline, track out quickly the secret cause; Let it not rankle for a day, but confess and bewail it together: Speedily seek to be reconciled, for love is the life of marriage; And be ye co-partners in triumph, conquering the peevishness of self.