Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1854-10-20
Who Make the Best wives.

ey," say careful fathers to their SONS you
will find it as easy as not 10 get a suitable
wife. who has little fortune"
Give me beauty, grace, and accomplish
ment," is the mental answer of enthusias-
tic youth, land leave the mercenary consd-
erations to baser souls.
We submit that neither is right. 1t is
infinitely more important that a young man
should choose healthy, and amiable, and
intelligent partner, than that he should Sc
lect either beauty or an heiress. The lat
ter has usually expensive habits, and, by
the time she has been married twenty
years, has cost her husband the amount Of
her fortune in superfuities. Besides, heir
esses are generally brought up in idleness,
spending their time in reading novels.
lounging about on the sofa, or acquiring a
taste for fashionable dissipation, so that
they are either absurdly romantic, or out of
health for want of exercise or from late
hours, and, therefore, entirely unfit to make
good wives Beauties, On the other hand,
mostly are vain or giddy, if not both. If
wives were designed for playthings, or had
no purpose beyond being parlor ornaments,
beauty might be desirable, just as pic
lures are, or fine furniture. The man who
marries an heiress, sacrifices his independ-
ence, and ends by finding that he is out of
pocket also. The lover who weds merely
for beauty, ties himself to doll, which has
not even the merit of being sure to keep
its painted cheeks.
Those women make the best wives, who
combine common sense with good temper,
who have been brought up to help them
selves and who bring sound constitutions,
equal spirits. and sincere affection as
dowry to their lovers. A wife should be
her husbands best friend--sbc should be
competent to counsel him in difficulties, to
cheer him in sorrow. TO render his every
day hearth the pleasantest spot to him to
be found anywhere, II she has confirm
ed III health, she cannot be all this to him;
neither can she If she has crooked tenn.
per, or habits of Incidence, or is deficient
in practical sense. The woman whose
whole heart is devoted to show, to compa-
ny, or to idle accomplishments. may posi-
bly, make an interesting belle, but she is
sure to prove very Indifferent wife. We
would not have young girls neglect the
beautiful entirely but that which adorns.
should be made subservient to some more
solid superstructure. To know hew to play
the last new air. yet be ignorant how to
compound the last new pudding, is surely
objectionable. A man might as well neg
lect to learn business as a woman refuse
to acquire knowledge of housekeeping.
1t is useless to disguise tie fact. that
girls are so often directed to attract lovers,
rather than to retain the affection of hus-
bands. This is especially true Of the
daughters of families above the necessity
of daily labor. Mrs. F.. the successful me-
chanic's wife. makes virtual slave of her
SELF by drudging late and early. In order
that Anna Maria may be drought up" as
she terms it, alike lady" The young
miss accordingly is crammed with music.
dancing, French, and other fiddle faddes
is told always to carry her shoulders back,
and never to romp. and is taught to consid-
der work as degrading. What sort of wife
can such creature make? Ifshe marries
any body but rich man, her idle and ex-
pensive habits keep him always poor II
she catches prize, which. perhaps. one in
a thousand, may do, ten to one she soon
disgusts her husband. In another case,
she is always out Of health, the consequence
of want of exercise in girlhood, and. if she
has offspring. entails her weakness natural
y on her progeny. Physicians do not hes
itate to say, that large portion of female
invalids Of the present generstion-anC
their number is known to be legion-owt
their complaints to the folly of parents il
neglecting to bring them up properly
PhilOdeLphia Ledger.