'  liononr.'*


them. On  both  sides  a  promise  is  given  of  love  antl  support
under  all  t!ie  circumstances  of  life,  prosperous  or  adverse. The
duties  of  support,  shelter,  and  comfort,  ivhicli  ordinarily  devolve
upon  the  husband  chiefly  may,  under  some  circumstances  (though
they  rarely  arise),  fall  chiefly  upon  the  wife;  and  if  by  sickness
and  infirmity  he  is  unable  to  fulfil  them  towards  her,  he  has  a
claim  upon  her,  by  these  words,  that  she  shall  perform  them
towards  him. Under  any  circumstances  each  promises  to  be  a
stay  to  the  other,  according  to  their  respective  positions  and
capacities,  on  their  way  through  life. In  the  marriage  vow  of
the  woman  the  modern  phrase  "  to  obey  "  is  substituted  fbr  the
obsolete  one  "  to  be  buxom,"  which  had  the  same  meaning. It
implies  that  although  the  woman's  dependence  on  and  obedience
to  her  father  has  been  given  up  by  him  into  God's  hands,  it  is
only  that  it  may  be  given  over  to  her  husb.and. Since  it  pleased
our  Blessed  Lord  to  make  woman  the  instrument  of  His  Incarna-
tion, her  condition  has  been  far  more  honourable  than  it  was
before;  but  part  of  that  honour  is  that  "the  husband  is  the  head
of  the  wife,  even  as  Christ  is  the  Head  of  the  Church."  Natural
instinct,  good  sense,  mutual  love,  and,  above  all,  religious  feeling,
will  always  enable  the  wife  to  discern  how  far  she  is  bound  to
obey,  and  the  husband  how  far  it  is  his  duty  to  rule ;  and  re-
gulated by  these  the  yoke  of  obedience  will  never  be  one  which
the  woman  need  regret  to  wear  or  wish  to  cast  aside. 