The pilot and transcript. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1840-1841, 1840-12-25


agreeable and negligent, without some palpa-
BILE GOODNESS or short-coming on the part of their
husbands. So far as we have had an oppOrtuni-
ty for observation, they are far more devoted
and faithful than these who style themselves
their lords, and who, by the customs of society,
have other and generally more pleasant and va
ried duties to perform We protest then against
these lectures so often and so obtrusively adj
dressed to the ladies, and insist upon it thatthey
must-most of them-have been written by
some fusty bachelors vino knew no better, or by
some Inconsiderate husbands who deserve to
have been old bachelors to the end of their lives
b 1t is he > no Ia ne to be said on the other
lie! Are husband so generally the perfect,
Amiable, injured beings they are so often repre-
sented? Men sometimes declare that their wives
extravagances have picked their pockets, that
their nevei-ceasing tongues have robbed them
oil their peace, and their general dIsagreeabie-
ness has driven them to the tavern and gaming
table; bat this IS generally the wicked excuse
To- most wicked life on their own part. The
&C: IS, men often lose their interest in their
no nes by their own neglect to make their homes
Interesting and pleasant II should never be for
gotten that the wife has her rights las sacred af-
- marriage as beforehand good husbands de-
votIon TO the wife after marriage will concede to
her qIite as much attention as his galIantry did
@hite lover. If it is otherwise, he most gem
-raily is at fault -..-.' ID
Take a few examples. Before marriage
young man would feel some delicacy about ac-
ceptIRg an invitation to spend an evening in
company where his sslady lover had not been III
vited After MARI &c is he always as particu-
lar! During the days OF courtship, his gallant
ry wou d demand that he should make himselfa-
Sreeable to her; after marriage it often happens
Iat he thinks more Of being agreeable to MIN
SELF. How often it happens that married men,
alter having been away from home the livelong
n NHsEa Al. g.
ties, go at evening again at the same ,lace o.
amusement, and leave her to till on alone, I'M
cheered and unhappy, How often it happens
that her dlndest Offices pass unj5served and UNI
rewarded even by smile, and her best elfIrts
are condemned by the faut-hnding husband
How often 1t happens, even when the evening is
spent at home, that it is employed in silent rea-
ding, or some other way that does not recognize
the wite's right to SHARE in the enjoyments even
of the 6reside. 7 af# ~.
Look, we husbands, moment, and remem.
Der what your wife was when you took her,
not from compulsion, but from your own choice:
choice based. probably, on what you then con,
sldered her superiority TO all others. She was
youns-perhaps the itol of a happy home; she
Was gay and blithe as the lark, and the brothers
and sisters at her fathers fireside cherished her
as an object of endearment. Yet she left all
to JOIN her destiny with yours, 10 make your
home happy, and to do all that woman's love
could prompt, and woman's ingenuity devise,
do meet your wishes and to tighten the bur
dens which might press uponyou in your pill
Srimage. She could not entertain feelings
which promised so much, without forming
some idea of reciprocation on your part, and
she did expect you would after marriage per-
form those kind Offices of which you were so
lavish in the days of betrothment She be-
came your wife! left her own home for yours
| burst asunder, as it were, the bands OF love
which had bound her to her fathers fre-side
and sought no other boon than your affections:
left, e may be, the ease and delicacy ofa home
OF Indulgence; and now, what must be her feel
ings IT she 81 adually awakes to the conscious.
ness that you love her less than before; that
your evenings are speRt abroad; that you only
come home at all TO satisfy the demands Of
your hunger, and to find resting place for
your head when weary, or a nurse for your
sick chamber when diseased
Why did she leave the bright hearth of her
youthful days! Why did you ask her TO give
up the enjoyments of happy homer Was it
simply to darn your stockings, mend your
clothes, take care of your children, and watch
over yor sick bed! Was ii simply TO conduce
to your own comfort Orwas there some under.
standing that she was TO be made happy in con-
n xion with the man she dared to love!
Nor is it a sufficient answer that you reply
that you give her home; that you feed and
clothe her. You do this for your help; you
would do il for an Indifferent housekeet err
But forget not that wife is more than house.
keeper. She is your Dife, and unless you at
tend to her wants, and in some way answer the
reasonable expectations you raised by your
attentions before marriage, you need not won
der if she be detected, and her heart sink into
insensibility; bat if this be 50, think well who
is the cause of it. We repeat it, very few wo-
men make Indifferent wives, whose feelings
have not met with some outward shock BY the
Indifference or thoughtlessness Of their hus.
bands. 1t is our candid opinion, thatin large
majority of the instances of domestic misery
the man is the aggressor.