Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1876-09-15
Whole Number 1898
GreatsEen,s wives.

GreasMen'5 Wives.
1t was a saying Of Rosseau's that "a man
Is only what woman makes him, " and this
sentiment is slightly varied in our own old
English proverb, which says that 'rf a man
would thrive, he must ask his wife's leave" !"
Inc records Of history contain numberless
II1aIlples II OF women who have done for their
1I4psDahdS NJ what Aaron and Hur did for
moses; they have held up their hands and
~ teu Them at the greatest crisis Of
thelr IVes, and so turned what would have
oeeI lallure into triumph and suceess.
ana they contain examples too Of those
who have accomplished a far n,ora 5ifiio1,I4
task-that of sustaining and rbearinc, 1-bo1,
endeavor and hope were dead II p o-,I,,
| necessary to mention the names Of c,i-tr,,,ja
Won der Vert and Lady Rachel Russell in
proof of this. II may not be uninterest-
ing to give a few instances Of women in our
own generation who have been their hus-
bands helpers and fellow workers, as well as
sympathizing companions, and have thus
taken a position which is acknowledged to
be most proud and honorable one-that
Of helpmate to man. Among these the
name that is first thought Of, probably be-
cause it has so recently been brought before
the public notice. is that Of Lady Augusta
Stanley, the wife Of the Dean Of Westmin-
ster. Herself the daughter of a peer, aud
one Of the most intimate of the Queens per-
sOnal friends, she possessed largeness of
heart and a strength Of intellect which won
respect and kindly feeling from all who
came in contact with her. She sympathiz-
ed most heartily with her husband both in
thought and work, while the poor of West
minister found in her tenderness and kind
ness frequent alienation oftheir miseries.
Every one will remember the testimony
OF John Stuart Mill to the worth Of his wife.
which is to be found in the dedication to
ner memory, printed at the Commencement
OF one OF his essays: "IO the beloved and
deplored memory of her who was tie I'M
spirer, and, IN part, the author of all that
is best in my writings the frieRd and wife
whose exalted sense of truth and right was
my strongest Indictment, and whose appro-
baton was my chief reWard-T dedicate
this volume 1t is said that such was Mr..
Mills sorrow at her death that he continued
to reside at Ayignon, the place where she
was buried, so that he might continually
visit her tomb, and he never ceased to la
ment her loss. nh
Thomas Carlyle, one of the greatest in.
tellectual lights of this century, has record
ed to the worth Of his wife on her tomb
stone: In her bright existence she had
more sorrows than are common, but also a.
soft amlability, a capacity for discernment,
and noble loyalty of heart which are rare.
For forty years she was the true and Ioying-
helpmate Of her husband, and by act and;
word Unweariedly forwarded him, as
she could, in all that was worthy that he did
or attempted.
The wife of Sir William Hamilton, Pro-
fesSor of Logic in. the university of Edin-
burg, was true helper to her husband.
indeed, it is more than probable that with
out her many of his best works never would
have been written. When he was elected
to the Professorship some of his opponents
declared publicly that he would never be-
able to fulfil the duties of his position as
he was nothing but a dreamer. He and
his wife heard Of this and determined to
prove that it was not true. They therefore
arranged to work together. Sir William
wrote out roughly each day what was to be-
given the next morning, and as he wrote
his wife copied it out /; and again and again
they sat up writing until far into the night.
When Sir William was struck down with
paralysis, the result of overwork, Lady
Hamilton devoted herself entirely to him
wrote for him, read for him and saved for
him in every way.
''JOhn Flaxman, the sculptor, had made
progress in his work when he
married Anne Denman, a noble spirited, /
intelligent woman, full of love and with
an intense admiration for him as an artist. /
1t happened thatsoon after the event he met |
Sir Joshua Reynolds, in whose opinion no
man could hope to become an artist who
did not devote himself entirely TO art, and /
who had not studied patiently and rever-
emily the works of the great masters in Italy
itself.
g "WeIl, Flaxman," said Sir Joshua, 81
hear you are married. You are ruined for
an artist"
Flaxman went straight to his wife and
said to her.
'Anne I am ruined for an artist
''Who has ruined you, JOhRT'f
ut happened in church, and Anne Den
man has done it.
He then told her what Sir Joshua had
said, and added, II s,oald like to have
been a great artist
''And so you shall be, and go to Rome
too, if that will make you one."
"HOwY asked Flaxman
''Work and economic" she replied, q
will never have it said that Anne Denman
ruined John Flaxman for an artist"
And 50 the brave couple did work and
economic. They worked patiently and
hopefully for five years, never asked help
from any one, never mentioned their inten-
tions to any one, and at last went together
to Rome, where he studied to such purpose
that he achieved both fame and eompeten-
ey. His success was not shared in full
by his faithful wife, for she died
many years before him.
The wife Of the late Dr. BucEland con-
assisted her husband in his isalaboss.
She used to write from his dietation for
hours at time. She finished many Of the
drawings with which his works are Illus
trated, and she skiilfully and dexterously
mended many of the fossils, which but for
her would have been useless.
The wife ofFaraday was a true helper to
her husband After twenty-eight years of
married life, he speaks in his diary of his
marriage as an event which more than any
other had contributed to his earthly haPPi- |
ness and healthy state Of mind.
Cqsse1Fs Hr0dgiRe