CHAPTER XVII.

Fifth commandment.—Honour thy Father and thy Mother; that thy Days may be long in the Land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

"THE fifth commandment," said the lady of the manor, when the young party were once more assembled in her presence," is to form the subject of our consideration this evening.

"I will open our discourse," said she, "by a reference to a valuable commentator on Scripture, to whose writings I have more than once taken occasion to refer.

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According to the principle which has hitherto directed our interpretation,' says this writer, 'this commandment (that is the fifth) must be considered as the abstract of relative duties. Áll other relations spring from that of parents and children, or partake in a measure of its nature; and this most nearly resembles our relation to the great Creator. Children are required to honour their parents; which implies that it is the duty of parents to behave honourably, by diligently performing the several parts of their important charge, as intrusted with the care of their offspring both in body and soul, and by a becoming deportment in all other respects. Yet children are not absolved from their duty by the misconduct of their parents; (for which they must answer to God) and such a limitation in this and other relative precepts would assuredly constitute all the inferior relations judges and lords over their superiors.'

"This commandment,” said the lady of the manor, “ we may consider as including all the respective duties between those persons who are in authority, and appointed by God

as rulers over others, and those who occupy stations which require obedience. We will, therefore, consider this commandment under those two heads, into which the subject naturally divides itself: first, the duties incumbent on those in authority; and, secondly, the duties of those from whom submission is required.

"I must, however, here remark, that there are few persons, with the exception of very little children, from whom the practice of both these kinds of duty are not required; a circumstance which renders it necessary that we should all learn how to obey and how to command. And I would further observe, that the most valuable character, and that which approaches nearest to the perfection which our Lord displayed in the flesh, is that which is able to rule with diligence and submit with humility."

The lady of the manor then proceeded to say," It is my intention, my dear young people, at some future time, to enter with you at considerable length on the duties of parents to children. Leaving therefore this part of my subject at present, I will, with your permission, read a short narrative, which I hope may not only afford you amusement, but profit.

"But before I begin my story, I must premise one or two things. And first I would wish to impress this truth on your minds-that wherever there exist reciprocal duties between two persons, the failure of one party in the performance of what is required of him by no means releases the other from his obligations; and for this reason, that every duty is appointed by the Almighty, and should be performed as in his presence: nothing therefore that a fellow-creature can do, has power to destroy or alter those moral obligations which are established by God. For instance: there are reciprocal duties existing between a man and his wife, a servant and his master, a parent and his child; and though a parent, wife, husband, and child fail in their duties, the obligation remains equally binding on the other party.

"The fifth commandment," proceeded the lady of the manor, "is said to be the first commandment with promise -Honour thy father and thy mother; that thy days may be long in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.' Now, although I receive the promise of long life in a spiVOL. III.

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ritual sense, yet, taking it only in a literal sense, I have observed that families remarkable for filial piety, are often equally so for the longevity of the individuals composing them. I remember once," added she, "soon after I was married, while travelling through England with the corps to which we were then attached, that we were quartered for some months in one of the most ancient and celebrated cities in this island. We there, through the medium of a common friend, were introduced to a family, the elders of which had been intimately known to many literary characters in the middle of the last century-persons who were familiarly acquainted with Richardson, the famous novel writer, and had been of the party to whom he read his manuscripts of Clarissa and Sir Charles Grandison, and whom he had often consulted concerning the deaths of his high-souled heroines.

"It was on a Sunday evening when we were first to be introduced to this family; and on this occasion several branches from the same stock, residing in the town, were to be assembled for the purpose of meeting us. This meeting was to take place at the house of the eldest individual of the family, who resided in a venerable dwelling, to which there was admittance through the outer aisle of the cathedral, by a wide and handsome flight of stairs. We attended divine service in the evening, by candle-light, in the cathedral; after which, we were ushered through the vaulted aisles and passages before mentioned into the large old-fashioned parlour, in which our new acquaintance had just assembled before us in order to our more ceremonious reception. "There was not wanting in the manner of some of these respectable persons there present, (for there were three generations, the youngest of which was in the early bloom of life,) a certain solemnity and dignity not commonly to be met with in these days, which suited well with the ancient parlour in which the party were collected together, a parlour which had seen many successions of monks and friars, and witnessed many of the mysteries of the Roman Catholic system. Yet with all this solemnity there was much friendliness of manner, which we valued the more, because we understood that the friendship of this excellent family was never offered where esteem was wanting. This evening and many other evenings, nay, whole days which we spent

in the society of this family, were long imprinted, in particularly affecting characters, on my mind, because the time I spent in this city immediately preceded a perilous voyage and long absence from our native land. But the reason why I mention this family in this place, is the remarkable spirit of filial piety which pervaded the whole; so that the oldest member of it often spoke of her parents with all the warmth and tenderness of one who had just laid the authors of her existence in the fresh earth.

"In the house of one individual of this family, a person herself far advanced in age, I observed the portrait of a very lovely female in the fancy dress of a shepherdess; yet, notwithstanding her masquerade habit, having a countenance expressive of true maternal tenderness and female delicacy. On my venturing to ask the name of this interesting figure, the lady of the house replied, "That picture is a representation of my mother, my beloved mother, whom I lost when very young.'

"The same sweet spirit," continued the lady of the manor," extended itself to the youngest individual of this family, and became an inexpressible ornament to her youth, enduing her with that diffidence and modesty which sets off female beauty to a degree which no other ornament can equal.

"I shall conclude what I have to say on this family by remarking, that there was certainly a larger proportion of aged persons in it than is usually observable; and thus, in this particular case, the words of the promise were very literally fulfilled, though we ought by no means to stop at the literal fulfilment of any divine promise."

The lady of the manor then took out a small manuscript wrapped up in a case; and, while she unfolded it she made one or two desultory remarks respecting the conduct of children to parents. She observed the great change of manners in the young towards their elders which had taken place within a few years. "In the seventeenth century," said the lady of the manor, "children in polite families never addressed their parents but in terms of the most distant respect, nor did any child presume to sit down in the presence of a parent without being invited so to do; and, even in my time, such was the distance at which children were kept, that I myself was not accustomed, on ordinary occasions, to sit down on a chair by my mother till I was

as much as fourteen or fifteen years of age, being taught in general to take my place on a low stool, as indicative of inferiority. Neither did I, till that period, presume to speak in company, unless in reply to some question put to me. My mother's manners and mode of conduct towards her children were, I believe, more according to the old fashion than those of her contemporaries; though it is not to be supposed that the difference between them was great. It may, perhaps, be thought that the old fashioned severity towards children was extreme; but, at any rate, it was a less disgusting and pernicious extreme than that which is at present so common among us. For who are now the persons in a family least considered, but the father or mother, the uncle and aunt? With what disgusting familiarity do we often hear a parent addressed, even in families which would be ashamed to be called ungenteel! Are they not the young people, in many circles, who support the conversation, drowning the voices of the old and experienced by their pragmatical and shallow impertinence?-thus depriving themselves entirely of that improvement, which they might otherwise derive from the conversation of their elders. For that old person must be empty and dull indeed, who has not more to say to the purpose than those who as yet know little or nothing by experience.

"I also greatly object," said the lady of the manor, "to the childish manner in which we often hear grown women, and perhaps even mothers of families, addressing their parents, lisping out the words 'papa' and ' mamma' like a child of four years old. How much more suitable would the appellation of Madam' and 'Sir,' be from such mouths! And though some may think such appellations somewhat too ceremonious, yet, undoubtedly, an extreme of ceremony from an inferior to a superior is always more graceful and honourable to both parties than the contrary. I should not," continued the lady of the manor, " dwell so long on these forms, if I did not consider that much actual vice and lawlessness is often the consequence of their neglect. But, as I shall have occasion, at a future time, to speak more at large on this subject, I will now leave it, and begin my narrative."

The lady of the manor then opened her manuscript, and read as follows: