Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1867-12-04
A Chapter OH Wives.

tainly qualified by experience to treat the IN:
teresting til eme,-discourses as follows o.
wives in tn last Southern Literary Messen;
ger: |,
The poets, from Solomon to Saxe-as far
as am acquainted with them have sung
the praises of good wives. They have been
appraised in song aI a price above rubles,
crowns Of gold and other firstclass valuables,
aud compared to an infinite variety of objects
in heaven and in earth, to which they bear no
more resemblance than lively sewing ma
| chine bears to dead snail. liz
The truth is. that good wives don't belong
to poetry. They are plain, quiet, household
facts. Their sphere lies within the narrow
circle Of the homestead, not among the stars,
and Tie duties, not Tile masses, are the sources
of their Inspiration. For inspired they are.
and with something better than day-drcams;
whilst their'rcalm as they govern it, is rightly
considered, far more glorious than the Misty
region ia which poets delight TO quirer their
errulc wings.
A good wife is womanof business. She
proceeds upon system having for lis end and
purpose the protection of her husbands in:
tere,ts, his comfort, his happiness, and the Sc.
cure.nent 10 herself of HIS hearty, undivided
love. II all married women acted upon such
a.plan, there would be fewer matrimonial
ic!lollsi,s, jrsertiUTs and divorceS. Believe
me, the best cuuulerpoise to all outside temp
tations is pleasant home, aud such Il home
illuminated by the presence of loving
wiie--wili sometimes draw . wayward hus-
band frola tlchaunts Of fdissipation, aud make
man Of him, when even. his best friends
nave said Ephriatn is jo;ned to his idols, let
him alone"
Ineed not describe good wife, nor lie
attractive aspect which tho little domes-.
tic e,narc, Home assumes under Ter man
agenent. We all know what all invitation
to come in aud cc,mfortable, The family par
lor seems 10 present, on opening the door.
Order cleanliness, and tidiness arc the laws
of her household, aud somehow Or other she
cop,rves 10 have them Gbcyed without scold'
ing. Her voice is never heard in the virago,
KEY, She does al things wilS!v. A kindly
whisper is enough for lcr children. WHO arc
never ragged. dirty or re5elious. Even the
only watchdog looks as if he guarded the
Eouae for pure love, and Eot for the cold vic
tuals. But alas, these domestic paradses are
like watering places in the desert, thiGly scat
tered. II men were better, there would Re
p.ore such homes. and if there acre more,
men would hc better. There are creatures IN
that is domcslic, and there are beings in Grim
olne vino do notseem to understand the mean-
ing of the word. Of these two classes comes
much matrimonial misery. Why either should
marry cannot conceive. Probably the Old
serpent, whose first exploit on earth was 10
set its first couple ny the ears. puts it Tito
their heads. l might say good deal about
bad and shiftlcss husbands. Heaven knows,
have seen enough of them in all their mis-
cradle varieties But to draw their pictures
daes not come within the scope Of my present
purpose. 1t is of wives, and 10 wives, ou'y,
that wish to speak. And now, having dwelt
at some length on the merits of the good ones,
I will give few specimens from the black
sheep of the flock. lfamong my brief sketches
any married lady should fancy she detects
her own likeness, all that she has 10 90 Is to
turn over new leaf and the resemblance
The slip shod-rifeis is a terrible eye,sOreI,
and heart sore too--to the man OF msthooieal'
habits. One might suppose, if such things
were supposable in matter-of-iact age that
the malignant fairy Disorder, has presided
at her birth and endowed her Child with her
own habits, as sponsorial parent. The mot
to of the siip-shod wife is, (" a place for moth
ing, and nothing in its place." Her home IS
" chaos come again" Everything in the
house seems to have been either deposited
there by gale. or washed in by freshet, or
dropped in a Thunderstorm Not that there
are any tokens Of rush of water, save such
as might be indicated by the confusion. On
the contrary, all the rooms seem to be suffer-
ing from dearth of that huid-and OF soop.
The children's faces plainly show that they
are not mphibious-being entirely OF the
earth, earthly. The cats, falling in with the
family habits, seem to have neglected to wash
and towel themselves with their paws, as the
felnes of cleaner households are accustomed
to do, and the frowsy dog throws out cloud
of dust whenever he shakes himself. But the
mistress of the dwelling, who shall describe
her! Open at the back, pinned together IN
| front, down at the heel, and the heel unclean:
", in her all the dirt and disorganization OF
the domieile appear to be peraonitied. a
head of frowsy hair, spiked ali over with soil.
ed curl-papers, forms the ornamental capital
of this pillar of the domestic temple Surely,
surely the most inveterate man-hater that ever
lcctured on woman's wrongs, might afford to
pity the husband of q slip shod wife.
The street yarn spinner is another variety of
the negectfnl wife, who is sad thorn in the
side of her cara sposa. She is only at home
in rainy weather, and her house has just such
| cold, gloomy, deserted air about it, as one
might fancy appertaina TO a Khan in the Eas-
tern wilderness that never has chance to
make cheerful echo or catch a5liviDg shad-
ow, except when caravan passes that way.