The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1858-06-24
ebelfe AeaDing
Tl1e Worth OF a TrEe Wite1

3SN6!'Ss'' f4SiS h-S-l ~ A~t's ~ tfN+-~'
b. .eiIishness, or ossifed BY piide and
!eso.is,s, u ps,alyzed by disarpointment.
IA to Indifferent to afll ction. But these
are icrbrr2s, drifting in darkness on polar
sea-, eU:l, barren, dcsolate. In them nc
tree ts shrub lants root nc flower sheas
tls fra.yauec tbere. God found that il
gas 6..i ggj. . for man 10 DC alone, chiefly
because lso needed the conscious affection
OF q fauial6 heart to soften the asperitles
OF BIZ own, and thqs giye completeness to
bis EegiqgiGg, In the deep full affection
OF . gi!c's heart, the husband finds that
appreciation aud interest Y&ich every soul
cuvets, Thia stimulates his enterprises,
This makes him brave in peril. This
cheers his hard labor. This comforts him
undeI irrj4stiQn, slapder, reproaeh, in the
outside worl0.
90 meet this craving Of man, woman is
ADAPTED. She is not ambitious of wealth
Or ts,ne, She sbriDks from great changes
and great perils. She is not fitted for the
struggles Of the forum, the conflict of
arms or the labor of the field. Her home
is her ear5hly heaven; and she holds a
loving ha,irt to cheer him to whom God
has giyer 3 !oftier ambition, a deeper cray
ing u cafti.'s wealth, stronger arm, ana
q higher courage. Subjected, by the or
diuauce of God and the laws of the land,
10 abide stronger will than her own, she
j. furnished with a wealth Of affection
which makes her burden Of suhordiGation
light, "a nseits and moulds to tenderness
the controller of her destiny.
The treasure OF wife's affections, Ike
the grace of God, is given, not bought.
Gold as power. It can sweep down for
ests, raise cities, build roads, and deck
houses. 1t can bribe silence or noisy
praise. i can collect treoEs Of f:at!ereFs,
and Inspire awe and fear. But alas
wealth cannot purchase love. Bonaparte
essayed the subjugation of Europe, under
the influence of genius almost inspired
an ambition ipsatiable and backed by
miiIioGs Of armed men. ltc almost sue
Ccedel in swaying his sceptre from the
Straits of Dover to the Mediterranean
from the Bay of Biscay to she Sea OF
AzQf. On many bloody field his hammer
toated triumphautIy. But his greatest
conquest was the uubought heart of Jo-
sephine-his sweetest and most priceless
treasure, her outraged but unchanging
love. If any mau has failed to estimate
the affection Of true hearted wife, he
will be likely to mark the value Of his loss,
when the heart which loved him is stilled
by death.
In the true wife, the husband finds Hpt
affection only, but conpanionhip-a com
panionship with which no other can COM
pare. The family relation gives retire
inent without solitude, and society with
out the rough intrusion of the world. 1t
plants IN the husbands dwelling friend
who can bear his silence without Weariness
who can listen to the details of his in
terests with sympathy-who can appreci,
ate his repetition of events, Only impnr-
tant as they are embalmed in the heart
Common friends are linked to Us by a
slender thread. We must retain them by
mlnistering, III some way to their interest
or ,heir enjoyment What luxury it is
for man to feel that in his own home
there is true and afeotionate being, in
whose presence he may throw off restraint
without danger to his dignity; he may
con6de the fear of treachery; and be sick
and unfortunate, without being abandoned
If, in the outward world, he grows weary
of hprnan selhshness, his heart can safely J
trust in one whose soul yearns for his hap
piness, and whose indulgence oyerl0ok>
his defects
Nor, in the matter of personal com fort
in the thousand things which combine tc
shed happiness on mans pathway through
life, is the wife a less precious gift of God
Who is it that gives care to the peatpess
order and tidiness of our dwellings,? Who
is it that consults our taste, our afinities
our appliances; and so regulates our ta
bles, our couches, our apparel, as to min
lister to our comfort? Who is it that sup
plies our lack ofinterest in ordinary things
and sends us out into society prepared tC
meet to the claims of decency, taste and
propriety? Who cares for our appetites
and swelters in heated kitchens for oul
indulgence; and often unthanked and un
blessed, plies the needle in the lone even
ing for our benefit? Who is it tha
schemes by rigid economy to get the
most elegance and comfort from the leas
tax on our income? Who furnishes tn,
ready pin, the napkin, the bandage for ou
wounds, the cup for our thirst, the friction
for our aching head, the medicine for ou
pains What angel of mercy is it tha
WATCHES by our sick pillow, bears all Ou
complaints and irritations, and moves Will
mufled step when we slumber?
The assiduities of faithful wife are 81
common, so various, so cheerful, so unex
acting, that husbands are likely to regar'
her kindness as they do the sunlight an'
dow Of heaven-matters of course-to b
received without gratitude. But the con
atancv yhioh makes them familiar-to