The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1867-11-14
Advice of Patrick Henry to his Only
Daughter.

conduct, which wisdom and virtue Sc
strongly recommend, on the one hand, oil
on that importance which a want of re
Election or passion may prompt on the
other.
You are allied to man of honor, tai
ents, and of an open generous disposition
You have therefore in your power, all the
essential ingredients of domestic happi
ness; it cannot be marred, if you now re.
Hectupon that system of conduct which
you ought to pursue; if you now see
clearly the path from which you resolve
never to deviate. Our conduct is often
the result of whim or caprice, often such
as will give US many pangs, unless We see
before what is always most praiseworthy
and the most essential to happiness.
The first maxim you should follow is,
never attempt to control your husband by
opposition, by displeasure, or any other
mark of anger. A man of sense, of pru-
dence, of warm feelings, cannot and will
not, bear an opposition of any kind, which
is attended with an angry look, or oxpres-
sion. The current of his affections is sud-
denly stopped; his attachment is weaken
ep; he begins to feel modification the
most pungent; he is belittled even in his
own eyes, and be assured the wife who
once excited those sentiments In the breast
of the husband, will never regain the high
ground which she might and ought to
have retained When he marries her, he
is good man, be expects to find in her
one who is not to control him : not to take
from him the freedom of acting as his own
judgment shall direct, but one who will
place such confidence in him, as to believe
that his prudence is his best guide. Lit
tie things, what are in reality mere trihes
in themselves, often produce chickering's,
and even quarrels. Never permit them
to be a subject of dispute;' yield them
with pleasure, and with smile of affec
tion. Be assured that one difference out
weighs them all a thousand or ten thou
sand times. A difference with your hus-
band ought to be considered as the great
est calamity = as one that is to be studi
ously guarded against; it is demon
which must never be permitted to enter
a habtation where all should be peace,
confidence and heartfelt af.
fection. Besides what can a woman gain
by opposition or Indifference? Nothing
But she looses her husbands respect for
her virtues; she looses his love; and,
with that, prospect of future happiness
She creates her own misery, and then ut
ters idle silly complaints, but utters them
in vain. The love OF husband can be
retained only by the high opinion which
he eDtertains of his wife's goodness Of
heart, of her amiable disposition, of the
sweetness of her temper, of her prudence,
of her devotion to him. Let nothing up
on any occasion, ever lessen that opinion
On the contrary it should augment every
day; he should have much more reason
to admire her of those excellent qualities
which will cast lustre over n virtuous
woman when her personal attractions are
no more.
Has your husband staid out longer than
you expected? When he returns, receive
him as the partner of your heart. Has
he disappointed you in something you ex-
pected, whether of ornament or furni
ture, or of any convenience? Never
evince discomfort; receive his apology
with cheerfuluess. Does he, when you
are housekeeper, invite company without
you, or bring friend with
him? Whatever be your repast, however
scanty it may be, or how impracticable 1t
may be to add to it, receive them with
pleasing countenance, adorn your table
with cheerfulness, give to your husband
and your company hearty welcome; it
will more than compensate for every other
deficiency; it will evince love for your
husband, good sense in yourself, and that
politeness of manners which acts as the
most powerful charm! 1t will give to the
plainest fare zest superior to ALI that lux
ury can boast. Never be DISCONTINUED
on any occasion of this nature.
In the next place, as your husbands
success in his profession will depend upon
his popularity, and as the manners of a
wife have no little influence in extending
or lessening the respect aud esteem of
Others for her husband, you should take
care to be affable and polite to the poor
est as well as the richest. a reserved
haughtiness is sure Indication of weak
mind and an unfeeling heart.
With respect to your servants, teach
them to respect and love you, while you
expect from them reasonable discharge
of their respective duties. Never tease
yourself or them, by scolding; it has no
other effect than to render discomfort and
impertineut, Admonish them with a
calm frmness.
Cultivate your mind by the perusal OF
those books which instruct while they
arouse. Do not devote much of your
time to novels; there are few which
may be useful aud improving in giving a
higher tone to our moral sensibility, but
they tend to vitiate the taste, and to pro
duce disyelish for substantial intsllectu
al food Most plays have the same cast
they ara not friendly to the deiioacy which
is one of the ornaments of the female
character. History, geography, poetry