Florence bent her head as she listened, and every word of her friend made its impression. Long after were they remembered and acted upon, and they saved her from hours of pain. Florence is a happy wife; but how near did she come to making shipwreck of her love-freighted heart? There are times when, in thinking of it, she trembles. KATE'S EXPERIMENT. KATE HARBELL, a high-spirited girl, who had a pretty strong will of her own, was about being married. Like a great many others of her age and sex who approach the matrimonial altar, Kate's notions of the marriage relation were not the clearest in the world. Ferdinand Lee, the betrothed of Kate, a quiet, sensitive young man, had, perhaps, as strong a will as the young lady herself, though it was more under the control of reason. He was naturally impatient of dictation or force, and a strong love of approbation made him feel keenly any thing like satire, ridicule or censure. To point him to a fault was to wound if not offend him. Here lay the weakness of his character. All this, on the other side, was counterbalanced by kind feelings, good sense, and manly principles. He was above all meanness or dishonour. Of course, Kate did not fully understand his character. Such a thing as a young girl's accurate knowledge of the character of the man she is about to marry, is of very rare occurrence. She saw enough of good qualities to make her love him with tenderness and devotion; but she also saw personal defects that were disagreeable in the object of her affections. But she did not in the least doubt that all these she could easily correct in him after she became his wife. From a defect of education, or from a natural want of neatness and order, Ferdinand Lee was inclined to carelessness in his attire; and also exhibited a certain want of polish in his manners and address that was, at times, particularly annoying to Kate. "I'll break him of that when I get him," said the young lady to a married friend, alluding to some little peculiarity both had noticed. "Don't be too certain," returned the lady, smiling. "You'll see." Kate tossed her head in a resolute way. "I'll see you disappointed." "Wait a little while. Before I'm his wife six months, you'll hardly know the man, there'll be such a change." "The change is far more likely to take place in you." "Why do you say that, Mrs. Morton?" inquired Kate, looking grave.