Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1861-03-14
SELECTED STORY.
The WIVES OF THE forr,
BY THOMAS BAILEY AI.px,cn.

BY tie ria OF God We are here assembled
onesam,nng tie biographies OF literary men.
the reader eshnoi but be struck by tIe obscure
part which tie 1ye plays in the drama Of such
hNrs. Her history. ms n general thing. is un-
written. lie encyclopedias record the date of
her marriage and sometimes condcsc,nd 10 say
when she died. Much mors than this we ar.
seldom permitted 10 know. Her liege lord ne
elected TO write her epitarh, however glad or
sorry he may have been to have tho opportuni-
| ~ ut dong 30.
That the WIVES Of poets should have 30 often
I escaped tia celebrity which keeps their bus-
innds forever Dung. cai.not always le pleas
antiy eNpia'n,d. In many eas.s they have b,vn
inferior women. unable. tin, ugh lack Of intel
leciual sympathy, TO iea, that enchanted sphcre
wherein moves most tlat il holi,s 81 and .ptlpr.
ing OF the literary man if they have loved. il
has been with the heart wholly. and with the
brain not ai all. Poets. il is sad. rvquir- n
t~oioid lo'c--one iur themselves and one for
their art. When tie tool IN the play asks tho
lover how tall his mistress is. the lover neatly
replies Her height, priihee! As high n my
heart: When m au,hos. wife 4 also n high
as h's brain. it then truly that the intercourse
I
Of The sexes b.eom,s the most redned and. ten
TO one. size laughs and wecp- and is delicious
forever in novel. OF jweils, with all her grurc.
in the ri yihm OF a lyme that perpctually sweet
ems the lips OF the world. she 40 tar fails in
| snswering tle requirements of her station who
Ii shut by incapaciiy fiom her husbands de-
nensc of thought. Such unions are firrside
tragcd.cs-the more tragic, inasmucb NJ the ac-
tors are Souls rather than bodies tie nor. hol.-
less because the agony OF the play is purely in.
trllcriual
For one reason or another. the wives of the
poets, as class. are n sadly neglected group Of
ladies' IN proof Of (which am cruelty bent on
making a live poet bear testimony. Ny witness
u Mr.. *. IL. Stoddard. who has rprrntIy ap.
pearssi as the edisur of volume OF tist pc,,,-
Lar Kind Il poetry in which be himsslfencels IN
/ an author.
The tact Is land il Is rather pathetic fact. II
you wish to think SOL literary men hAS. been
very ehary M their praises Of marricdul ife- es-
| pecially tbs posts, who are popularly supposed
I TO be the legal guardians Of tbs blind little boy
With the bow and arrows.
! In looking over Mr.. sst~idard's Loves and
He-oincs OF the Poets the most faultlr.s col.
lection Of lov~pOetry in the langusge-an III
nAtured person might smile NJ the IDeagre mum.
ber OF poems which the poets have addressed
20 their own wives Even these few poems.
! with eight or ten exceptions. lscS the favour
\ and felicity which oharacterize iher authors on
other less laudRbIe occasiouS. They are M, the
real sparkling champagne, but very still Ca
| H. al. H. A 4
tons 10 readable 'StaHzA~ sddrssed 70 Ny Wife.
he might have put all his material in = po, Let
book lie would have found kru sueh noble
verses as bi-hop k'ngs ESequy' For ,ho-c
poets who have made themselves famous bs
singing Of Chloe Rni.AaaryiIi-, vhoas they did
I not marry, are generally as mute a. p,oulting
robins concerning Maria ssd Cleinentina, WILSON,
they DID marry. Frcm THE poikt of vicw the
lady-lo'c RFpeArs TO hase bcen everything. sud
, the piis--n. ing
/ 'raluk yrn. " i@sara i'sd bcsn Peusrht vie.
lls u"sli hase wrftcn sonncfs al his Hisr
! Vow ioE MY part ans cynical enough to b,-
IisVs thst be would h8Ss written much better
seunei. aud may b. "A epic or two, ly way o.
/ sarIsty. IL require. sosncihing morc terrible
/ Than = hoble woman TO spoil tie verses o. de.
! cent PCT. Onc u tho ehef pleasures ia oon.
I ts,nplatng ibe 1--we. Of the Odd Engli.h singers
is % knov ihrf onw of ii,oso master stitits
we're blessed, if9o.soir rough pil.riH,ser By gra-
cioas wives, wboa ihsy loved. usoagh they beith-
| er dedicated folios sl1nys wrote aOuery
pocms 10 ,i,em. Fefhsps ihey held domestic
io,s too saerd 10 sing about q. AZ al events.
il'ey sang bot seidOm. and then Dot aixAys ~.