Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1879-04-19

fFron. Chsmbers' Jcurna,.l


The dot had been attending a lady for sew
eral weeks, and had observed durtn those h,1r.
REQ Wis Us certain qualities In the daughter
which De considered would render her inyaIIa-
bic as a wife. Accordingly, on a Sunday Whan
taking leave OF his patient. he addressed her to
the foliowi' purp0ft:-'You are now so weI,
mat need not see you after Monday next when
! shaIl come to pay you my fare veil visit, Bat
In the me ant NE wish you and your daughter
seriously 10 consider the proposal 7 am now
ABOUT To male /, Is abrupt aud unceremoni0us
TINE By my professional duties affords me M
leisure TO accomplish what desire by the more
Crolnary c. urSe Of attention and solicitation
MY annual re. pts amount TO - pounds and
Cdn settle - pounds on my wife: nv char
aeter Is generally Known to the public so
Inat you may readily ascertain what IL IS
!! nave seen in Your laughter tender and affec-
tlcnate child, an assidiOus and careful nurse
anu gentle and ladyl,ke member OF a family
cucn pc; son must be all that a husband could
o oo ana ofIef my band and fortune for her
e exIspea1ee. On Monday, when ] call 1 shall
r 81 your Ce'ermination; for | really have
not Time for the routine Of courtsn !" IL wo;iId
lave Deen inteie ting to know now this was
hIu TtNGu W tae patent and her daughter The
C tC Intiinsti'n OF annual receipts; the INV
cnaiacter Is knoSn to the PUBLIC so yOr may
readily ascertain what IL is" then the dpclara
aion, ard no time for courtshlp." shall expect
az answer Oh Monday" all this must nave been
somewhat Startling TO the patient ..wlo was
now so We'll" To medical men, who above All
osners long to XIII two birds with one stone
Il
ana might with advantage be placed 10 the
fnarnacoppia 1t was at least thorou yhiy
successful in the case recorded for a hlDnier
couple never existed.
woman OF mean intelligence one mtrht
imagine, would seldom be chosen by men of
great INTELLECT as a lifelong companion Yet
sucn meSaliiances seem TO be The most fasci-
mating for Or greatest geniuSes The wife OF
Dr. Johnson is described as a vulgar woman
she was 81 Years OF age when the doctor {who
was only 2.) married her, and according to
Garrlck, she WsS very fat, with STeiied cheeks
OF flOrid red, produced by thick painting, and
increased By a liberal use OF cortliaEs. She was
haring and fantastic In her dress. and affected
both In speech ard general behavior IJ must
be admitted. however that johnson himself
was not altogether "braw wooer." Gle was
then Miss Porter (the lady's daughter> tells
US, ''lean and lank. so that his Immense struc-
ture Of bones was hideouSly striking to the eye
and he often had seemingly conguisive starts
ana odd geof1culattOnS. which tended 10 excite
at once surprise and ridlcule.' But as Johnson
said to Beauclerc, with much gravity: '.Sir, it
was love marriage On both Sides" 1t GER
tainly was so on the doctors part, and mis- at
lection and esteem for s'Tetsy" remained as
STRONG up to tee day of her death as IL was on
that OF their marriage.
could scarcely hope for great prize In the lot
tery, no such remark can be made OF the court
ly, handsome, Intellectual Goethe. This great
man, an intimate friend Of his Prince, and the
Idol OF the Weimar Court was captivated by
girl In humble life, whose father was a drunk
ard, and who herself made artificial flowers for
livelihood So sensible was the girl OF the
snesalfsance that she herself refused GOetheS
offer OF marriage. The marriage did take place,
however, but not till the lapse of years had
stolen away all her charms, and the family COM
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES seized upon her. Still
GoetheS affections remained, AID the great
poet worked patiently. If sorrowEuny, by the
side Of fco'ish and drunken wiIe.
Such another bride did Rousseau choose, and
he himself Civ es the following account OF her
abilities: 81 " shed from the first 60 form her
mind, but m. toll was In vain. do not blush
though she writes fairly. When went to live
In the Rue deS PetiC5 Champs, there was clock
opposite my windows upon WHICH srrove to
teach Ter to distinguish the heurS for more
now (after twenty years) She has never been
able TO follow the order of the twelve m )nths OF
the year, and knows not how to do the simplest
sum, notwithstanding all the trouble 1 have
taken to teach her she does not know now to
count money, and has no idea OF wat coin 70
give or how Much change to get blck In any
marketing transaction: WHAT She says is Often
the opposite of What she wishes to say. Atone
time i made dictionary OF her phrases for
tile amusement OF Nine. de Luxembourg;
pro gro nave ees
think that with such catalogue OF defects,
the husband COZ ii scarcely much esteem the
Wfe What follows sufficiently enilgntens us
On this point: But his person, so shallow, so
stupidf you will. Is an excellent adviser upon
difficult occasions. Often 1U has happened to
Switzerland. Ia England and 10 France, In the
mtSfOTtuDeS which had Overtaken me- she has
given me advice which was the best In the Cir
cumsfaDces: she has removed me from dangers
into which 1 was blindly rushing; and before
women or the rank, before nOb.e5 and princes
her good sense, her replies, and ner conduct In
Spired universal esteem; and compliments,
which knew to be sincere. we're repeatedly
er d Of his life the philosophrr loved and ad-
mired his Theresa. as he did in his younger
days when they lived In their Partisan garrett,
looking for hours together upon the pale moon.
ln-l4 md
broke the spell
1t certainly appears from the evidence which
that one OF two conditions is necessary in order
to secure abiding domestic comfort. The lady
must be unusually intelligent and wise. The
very habits Of abstraction and seif-study OF a
man OF genius led him frequently and some
times for long away from all communion with
bis family. Thus 1t Is necessary in order TO
calmly suffer neglect, 10 have an intense SYM
pathy In the work and with the genius which
demands 1t: sucn sympathy as we find, for
example, the wife OF Niebuhr giving evidence
OF on her deathbed. Niebuhr had never spoken
lOnged TO receive her parting Wishes because |
the physicians forbade all excitement. once
only, few days before her death, "a he was
holding her In his arms, he asked her If there
was no pleasure he ehuld give, nothing he could
do for her sake She replied with look OF |
unutterable love: You viii finish your history
whether live Or die " That was her only desire
Or, as We have said, failing such nobility OF
mind, 1t would appear that the next best hope |
OF happiness for the genius is to be found In the
opposite extreme-that Is, perfect humanity or |
simplicity, or In the downright stuDidity OF his |
wife. An example OF this latter success more |
particular and striking than those we have |
given, Is to be found In the life OF one of the |
greatest or German authors. He was subject
10 ntS OF the nerceSt passion. in which he de-
n0unced his w fe "a simple creature In torrents
or The most traylcal and Scathing language
ANY woman Or finer susceptibility or better ed
ucattCn mus have tTembled with terror under
such paroxySmS OF rage: but this lady listened
with calm admiration; she did not understands
syllable OF The speech: but the unhe5itating
flow OF hi IN sounding words and the Impressive
gestures capuvated the mind OF the simple
Woman, and the torrent OF abuse which should
Laye overwhelmed her with grief only drew
from her some Ingenious expression OF sincere
admiration She was always under the inn
preston that at these moments her Husband
Was Dut feheaFs1ng TO her parts OF the play he
nau lESt written; and she was no doubt Hat
teIeu 700 In feT little way with the role OF critic
apsafehtly 6s>'gned her. Obviously, passion
winch had so e tiTely missed It's mark could NOT
uo Coh,ihUeo "ith any reasonable hope OF sue
Ssoo- BESIDES, The failure was not more signal
tnan Solhcai aud IL never filled TO restore the
goOu huinor OF the chOlerIc author
NOW, III we turn TO instances in which mon of
gIedt genius have married women wno have
oeen lei ner Oh -tinyuished for sense nor for the
Want Oh H-whose mental caitbre has been of n
MeuioeIe hlhu-We cannot but be struck with
Ine iIeCueb' unhappineSs which has followed
oCcn laoieS are not foolish AZ the term Is uSu.
any unuersiood; They perform the duties which