The following Letters were truly, as they profess to have been, written
to a younger sister of the author. By the death of her parents, she was
left, in a measure, dependent upon him, at an early age. She had been
the subject of many prayers, and endeared by many ties. His house, as he
humbly trusts, was the place of her second birth. As she was about to
leave his roof, for a residence among strangers, the idea occurred to
him of imbodying his fraternal counsel in such a form that it might be a
friendly monitor to her, in the midst of those dangers and difficulties
which beset the path of inexperienced youth. In prosecuting this design,
it appeared hardly proper to bestow so much time upon the interests of
one individual. Hence the writer concluded to commit these Letters to
the press, with the hope that they might be the means of doing some
good. This work is intended not merely to be read and laid aside; but,
as its title imports, to be kept as a kind of _practical directory_ for
daily living. This edition has been revised with great care, and much
new matter added.