The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1870-10-01
weight of my own meanness! Death. :

weight Of my own meanness Death =
what must you think Of me III
" Think Of you n She replied with ;
smile, in which affection, playfulnees, an,
sorrow met did not think that yol
would refuse to he your poor WIFE
banker"
Al, Catherine :" cried |, would tina
had half your virtre-half your gener
osity."
The half" she answered laughingly
"have you not the whole Did not give
you hand and heart-faults and virtues =
and you cruel man, have lost the hal
already! Ungenerous Edward II
OF" exclaimed |, "may heaven re-
nder me worthy Of such a wife y
" Come then, returned she, " smile upon
your Catherine, a IS all orer nor" "
Wha. is all over love z" inquired |.
" Oh nothing, nothing" continued she,
smiling" merely the difficulty a young
husband has in making his wife acquainted
With the state Of the firm in which she has
become partner"
and added l, bitterly, you find it
bankrupt"
8 Nay, nay" rejoined she, cheerfully,
4 not bankrupt; rather say, beginning the
world With a small capital Come, now,
dearest, smile, and say you will be cashier
TO the firm Of Fleming 4 Co."
Catherine, 0 Catherine II | exclaimed,
ana tears filed my eyes.
d" Edward 0 Edward :" rcturacd She,
laughing, and mimicking M emotion (;
good by, dear, good by" md, picking
up the purse, sbe dropped it on ny knee,
and tripPed cut Of the room, adding
gaily-
For still the house sG.irs " uid call her heace."
Fondly as | imagined that | loved
Catherine, had never felt its intensity
until now, nor been aware of how deeply
she deserved my affection. My indscre-
ton and misfortunes had taught me the use
Of money, they had me to know that it was
an indispensable agent in our dealings with
the world; but they had not taught me
economy. And | DO not believe that
course cf misery, continued and increasing
throughout life, would ever teach this use
full and prudent lesson to one of a warm
hearted and sanguine temperament; nor
would any power On earth, Or in years,
enable him to put it in practice, save the
daily and endcaring example of an
atfectiOnate and virtuous wife. ! DO not
mean the influence which all women
possess during the oftentimes morbid adj
miration Of what is called a honeymoon
but the deeper and boiler power which
grows with years, and departs not with grey
hars-in our boyish tancies being en-
bodied, and our yolng feelings being made
tangible, in the never changing smile of her
who was the sun of our early hopes, the
spirit Of our dreams-and who, now, as tie
partner Of our fate, ever smiles on Us, and,
by thousand attentions, a thousand kind
nesses, and acts of love, becomes every day
dearer and more dear to the heart where it
is her only ambition 70 reign and sit secure
in her ignty-while her chains are
Soft as her own bosom, aud she spreads her
virtues around US, al they become a part
our own being, like an angel stretching
his wings over innocence. Such is the
power and influence of every woman who Is
ms studious to reform and delight the hus-
band as to secure the lover.
Such was the influence which, | BE-
ieved, | now felt O. my spirit, and
which would save m Aom future folly and
from utter ruin. j | was wrong, ! was
deceivcd-yes, mos wickedly | was de-
ceiyed. b.. you : 4 hear. On examin-
Ing tie purse, l f.7d that it contained
between four and hundred pounds in
gold and bills.
This" thought ], "is The wedding
preset Of her father to my poor Catherine,
anA she has kept it until now Bless her.
Heaven bless her"
| wandered to and fro across the room, in
admiration of her excellence, and my bosom
was troubled with a painful sense of my
unworthiness. l had often, when my
heart was full, attempted to sooth its feel
ings BY pouring them forth in rhyme. ]
sat down, | could think Of nothing but my
Catherine, and l wrote the following
verses