True American. [volume] (Steubenville [Ohio]) 1855-1861, 1858-10-27
VOL. 4NO. 49,
Woman.

Woman, in the nobler acceptation Of
the word, is indeed bright and beautiful
creation. Whether as q daughter, sister,
wife or mother, she invites admiration. 81
As daughter, she refines the atmosphere
of a household, checks The impetuosily
Of brothers, and forms an invisible bui
christening link between husbandl and
wife. Look at a home in which there
are no daughters Where is the music.
the ringing laughter, the sweet confidence
and The softening influence Of virgin toll
eHe, neatly arranged hair, and the mod
est seclusion, which even the toughest
boys during the holiday time rigidly re.
spect. Depend upon it, daughters are
powerful element in.civilization. They
tame the rough asperities of fathers, i'm
pose a restraint upon the vOlubility Of
angry wives, and in matter Of course,
insiinctively understood kind of way, en-.
force the maintenance Of pure discipline
and regularity, and decOrum which
keeps some Of the angel light shining by
the domestic 6reside. AS sister, how
supreme is her lightest word, how potent
her authority over the most unruly, un.
licked cur of brother.
And then look at the brother in after
life, who has enjoyed the blessing Of hav-
| ing had sister. How polished his de-
meanor--how gentle his courtesies to the
opposite sex. Habitual respect for his
sister has drilled him to legitimate ap.
probation of all women. He nei.her dis
parages, nor does he suffer disparagement
of woman IN his presence. As a lover,
he is manly for having had sister to
guard and cherish, his courtship is tinged
with a chivalrous respect for the honor Of
the lady to whose hand be aspires. In
deed, we might almos! indefiditely multi
ply the instances OF the power sister
exercises over the future life Of brother;
but will content ourselves with the obser-
/ walton; that we have always found great
er contentment, more genial temper,
: larger amount Of urbanity, polish and tall
ent in families graced by daughters than
: in those which had none.
r But the influence of daughter and sis.
ter life-teeming though they be with all
sweetness and gentleness-must yield in
value to that of wife. Man is wreck
without wile-a mere paripatetic, feed
, ing on thistIes. and treading on ihorns.- -
His daily existence is walking shadow
Of humanity. He scarcely is conscious
of the dignity Of his nature-his soul is
! fallow; and the few scattering daisies on
its surface only make him conscious Of
his self desolaton. When held down in
the polypus embrace Of his manly pas.
sions, his only consolation is fierce self
idolatry; which, in time consumes all
that is good and noble in his disposition.
Man owes an infinite deal to marriage,
and language is too feeble for the eulogy
D of wife. She is the corner stone of
society, the guardian angel Of every earth.
: ly bliss, every earthly virtue and happi-
J. ness. She it is who makes the strong
man docile, the savage one tame, and the
: great one human.
Where she is, there is paradise
where she is not, there is howIing des
d ert. Her smile like the glow Of early
g summers morn, gilds everything around
s her with radiance that quickcns all the
9 ennobling impulses, and lifts human ma.
e ture nearer aud nearer TO the immortal
e source of its being. Nothing beneath the
/; stars is more lovely than marriage, ant
IS as the beauty and dignity Of marriage
d rests chiefly With the wife. to her b
all the honor and glory. As the oldos
q living English poet has finely expressed
it. "She is light shining within, wher
all without is dark" And If wc traye
from the wife to the mother, how glorious
d and yet how touching, is The Transition
sr from the devotion Of the one to the self
sr denying worshipping fervor Of the other
3. The mother is the next step in the ladde,
70 by which we climb from earth to heaven
Her unselishness, watchfulness, and hopl
N in her offspring, are as beautiful a
l. solemn