BY PHILALETES 

PREFACE. 

A celebrated author has justly remarked that Christian women can,
like the guardian angels, invisibly govern the world; and the author
of the "_Serious Hours of a Young Lady_" has very appropriately
made this truth the basis of his book, since the object that he had
in view in writing it was to point out the important role that woman
plays in society, and to give the young girl such instructions as
will enable her, in due time, to discharge, in a worthy manner, the
duties of her calling.  In doing this he has given evidence of very
elevated views and of a profound knowledge of the human heart.  The
book is a tissue of practical counsels, couched in the clearest and
most delicate terms. 

Hence, judging from its intrinsic worth, and the universal welcome
with which it has been hailed in the original, we feel that it is no
exaggeration to assert that it has rendered and will still render
inestimable good to society.