The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1876-09-07
Great Mems Wives.
From Casscll's Magazine. !

"lf a man would thrive he must ask his
Wfe's leave" The records of history con-
tain numberless examples OF women who
have done for their husbands what Aaron
and Hur did for Moses they have held up
their hands and supported them at the
greatest crisis OF their lives. and so turned
what would have been Il failure into tri-
umph and success. And they contain ex-
amples, too, of those who have accom-
pished far more difficult task that of
sustaining and cheering when endeayor
and hope are dead 1t is only necessary
to mention the names OF Gertrude Won der
Vert and Lady Rachel Russell in proof of
this. 1t may not be uninteresting to give
a few instances of women in our own gen
GRAFTON who have been to their husbands
helpers and fellow-worker as well as sym,
pathizing companions, and who have thus
taken a position which is unanimously ac-
knowledged to be a most proud and hon
orabie one-that OF heipmate to man.
Among these the name that is first thought
OF, probably because it has SO recently
been brought before the public notice. is
that of Lady Augusta Stanley, the wife of
the Dean of Westminster. Herself the
daughter of u peer, and one Of the most
Intimate OF the Queens personal friends.
she possessed IL largeness OF heart and Il
strength Of intellect which won respect
and kindly feelings from all who came in
contact with her. She sympathized most
heartily with her husband both in thought
aud work, while the poor Of Westminster
found in her tenderness and kindness 4
frequent alienation Of their miseries
Every one will remember the testimony
of John Stuart Mill to the worth of wife
which is to be found in the dedication to
her memory printed at the commence
ment of one Of his essays 10 the belov-
ed and deplored memory of her who was
the inspirer and, in part, the author of all
that is best in my writings-the friend and
wife whose exalted sense of truth and
right was my strongest Indictment, and
whose appreciation was my chief reward
dedicate this volume" 1t is said that
such was Mr.. Mills sorrow ut her death
that lie continued to reside at Avignon,
the place where she was buried, so that he
might continually visit her tomb, and he
never ceased to lament her loss
Thomas Carlyle. enc Of the greatest in
tellectual lights of this century, has record
ed his testimony to the worth of his wife
on her tombstone: In her bright exist
ence she had more sorrows than are COM
mon. but also a soft amiability, a capacity
for tliscernment and 3 noble loyalty of
heart which are rare. For forty years she
was the true and loving helpmate of her
husband, and by act and word unwearieG-
" forwarded him, ls none else could, in
all Of worthy that he did or attempted"
The wife of Sir William Hamilton. pro
fessor OF logic in the University OF Eain-
bnrgh. was a true helper to her husband ;
indeed, it is more than probable that with
out her many of his best works would
never have been written. When he was
elected TO the protessorship many OF his
opponents declared publicly that lie would
never be able to fulfill the duties of his po-
sition. as he was nothing but ii dreamer
He and his wife heard OF this and deter
mined tu prove that it was not true. They
therefore arranged to work together. Sir
William wrote out roughly. each day, the
lecture that was to be given the next morn
ing; and as he wrote his wife copied it
out and again and again they sat up writ
ing till far into the night When Sir Will
liam was struck down with paralysis, the
result Of overwork. Lady Hamilton devo-
ted herself entirely to him-wrotc for him,
read for him and saved him in every way
John Flaxman, the sculptor, had made
considerable progress in his work when
he married Anne Denman 4 noble spirit
ed intelligent woman, full OF love for art
and with an intense admiration for him Us
m artist. 1t happened that soon after the
event he met Sir Joshua Reynolds, in
whose opinion no man could become an
artist who did not devote himself entire
~ to art and who had not studied patient
Is and rcverently the works OF the great
masters in Italy itself
.Well, Flaxman," said Sir Joshua, II
hear you are married. 1on are ruined for
an artist
Flaxman went straight 10 Ills wife and
said to her
"Annie, | am ruined for an artist"
"Who has ruined you, John?'
sit happened in church," he replied,
.'and Anne Denman has done it,"
He then told her what Sir Joshua had
said, and added. Il should like to have
been great artist"
''And SO YOU shall be, and 90 to Rome
too, if that will make you one"
"How p said FlaXman.
.Work and economize,n She replied
| will never have it said that Anne Den
lnan ruined John FlaXman for an artist ="
And 50 the brave couple did work and
economics They worked patiently and
for five years, never asked Aelp
from any one, never mentioned their in
tentions to any one, and at last Went to-
gethcr to Rome, where FlaXman str died
and worked to such purpose that he
achieved both fame and competency. His
success was not shared to the full, how
ever, by his faithful wife, for she died
many years before him.
The wife Of the late Dr. Buckland con-
siderably assisted her husband in his la
bors She used to write from his dcta-
ton for hours at II time. She herself fur
nished many of the drawings with which
his works are illustrated, and she skillful
ly and dexterously mended many OF the
fossils which but tor her would have been
useless.
The wife of Faraday was u true helper
to her husband. After twenty eight years
of married life, he speaks in his diary of
his marriage rs an event which more than
any other had contributed to his earthly
happiness and healthy state Of mind, and
says: The union has in nowise chang
ed, except only in the depth and strength
OF its character"
Thomas Hood, the wit and poet, speaks
thus of his wife: II never was anything,
dearest, till knew you. and have been
Il better, happier and more prosperous
man ever since Whatever may befall
me, the wife of my bosom will have the
acknowledgment OF her tenderness, worth
and excellence from my pen
Speaking of Hood makes me think OF
two notable instances of great writers of
our time who have not been happy in
their wives = namely, Charles Dickens
and Bulwer Lytton. 1t is neither a
pleasant or thankful task to expose the
spots which spoil the beauty of great
works of art nor to call attention to the
littenesses which detract from the admi-
ration we feel for great men; neverthe~
less, there seems ample reason for bellev-
ing that in both these instances whatever
fault there was did not lie wholly with
the wives Thackeray, who has been