The mountain Democrat., 1864-06-04
washInRton At Home.

reading 10 Her s0n q 4sAC;: fnorc. YhV
queen, q stately woman, and royalty at
tired, sat with the manuscript spread out
on her lap-one hand on the page, the
other upr0ised in an earnest and graceful
gesture. The little Alfred kneeling at
her feet, with flushing cheeks, fixed eyes,
and lips apart. seemed drinking in her
words as one who listened to the recital
of noble deeds, and resolved that he, too,
would one day perform them.
He became Alfred the Great.
And is it not a reasonable supposition,
that the companionship of that noble
mother kindled those sparks Of wisdom
and virtue in the bosom Of the boy
prince, which, in his manhood, burned
with SO pure and steadfast fire, that the
radiance of it still streams upwards from
the hill of fame beacon light for ages
still to Gomez
When Palissy, the Potter, had spent in
unsuccessful experiments the last coin he
possessed when cold, and something
that bites sharper than cold" wrung the
vitals Of his suffering family, he exclaim.
ed: ooh for one small bit Of gold. TO
try once more" His brave and trusting
wife drew from her finger her wedding
ring, md placed il in his hand. His next
experiment succeeded.
That sacrifice of the wedding ring is a
fine point for picture or poem-but
what patience, faith, what sympathy,
what hope, what perseverance under dis
couragemcnt, does the action imply. And
Dol;ee,,', diccOyory ,rOuI,J hora roraip M
unmade but for the devotion Of woman.
! A worthless woman lost Mark Anthony
his honor and his life.
| The brave Duke of Marlborough was
said to be meanly avaricious. He was
fondly attached to his wife had that
wife been generous. hearted, high mind
ed woman, instead of the beautiful vixen
she was, his memory night not have
horne that dishonoring blot.
No hero of earlier or later times, oi
sacred or profane history, shows in his
mental or moral character, so large a
surface Of unspottcd excellence, as does
Washington. 1t has been said that men
of perfect physical proportions never look
tall. 1t may be that the symmetrical
development of our hero's character
makes him appear, on cursory inSpeC-
tion, less wonderfully great than he
really was. A patriot without any per.
sOnal ambition, hero without any selfish
desire for conquest, man who, while
most fitted to enjoy and adorn society
never overstepped the lines Of rationa
mirth one
Who might have been king,
But that he fully understood
How much it was meaner thing
To be ignobly great, than honor
ably good.
: And who can tell how much Of the in
tiucnce urged him up to his unmatched
excellence, flowed from the heart anC
mind of his wife2 "Politcs," says Bul
wer, "require that the heart should b,
free from the more absorbing privat,
anxietieS." The character OF Marths
Washington seems to have been almost a!
POLITICALLY perfect as that of her ilustri
Gus husband. From the anXietieS of the
Senate and the tumult of the camp, hi,
thoughts could always turn to his home
as the place where they might rest
Brave with woman's peculiar courage
| inc ueTOlSm Ot c0uufaUCc-SDe accom-
panied him whenever it was possible and
proper, to cheer by her presence, sootl
with her sympathy, animate by her ener
gy and refine by her elegance. What
ever woman's fears throbbcd at her heart
they were silently represscd; whatever
dlscomforts encumbered her wav, the,
were smilingly oversteppcd. The Ian
guage Of her action was
My love should be garland for thy brow
And not pccvish hiudrance in thy path
But Martha Washington was encour.
aged to do this. Her husband not only
possessed her love but merited her cs
teen. Washington's private life wa,
irrcproachable as his public career was
glorious, and his happy wife rested Sc
curely under the shelter of her husband,
virtues. Hers was what God intended tc
be the position Of woman--the only one
in which true woman can be really hap
py; graceful dependence on one whom
she can trust as well as love. lie the
granite pillar which upholds the home
she the blooming vine which twines
around and adorns it. Let man be vir.
tuous and woman will be happy. Let the
sacred rights Of the domestic affections be
secured to our sex, and we shall hear no
more clamor about woman'S rights, for
woman will no longer suffer wrong