Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1881-04-29

other for when the inevitable progress
of mankind in the continent anu islands
Of the southern hemisphere shall have
banished from the face of the earth those
many singular and interesting forms that
are being as surely exterminated as the
dodo the solitaire, and the moa, students
of natural science will turn to the SPLEEN
did folios Of Gould, as students of human
nature will reeur ito the history of Char
tism and other extinct forms of political
existence in the pages of Carlyle. These
men, like most others who have attained
high distinction, were deeply indebted to
their wives for their success in life. With
out going so far as to indorse the old say
ing that "A man must ask his wife for
leave to thrive. one cannot but recognize
the influence that the wives of these men
had upon their welfare. Carlyle, as long
ago as 1927, married the daughter Of Dr.
Welsh, of Haddington, descendant of
John Knox. This lady inherited the
farm Of Creigenputtock, situated ON the
bleak hills of Dumfriesshire, cut oil from
the world at large by morass, and only
at that time to he reached by a rough road
some fifteen miles in length, which had
to be traversed before a town or market
could DO reached.
''IIere for six years he lived with this
one friend and companion companion
worthy of HIM woman OF much char
acter and practical wisdom, given to ST.
lence when he talked, but a talker scarce
ly inferior to himself, as those who knew
her well could testify woman, as he
himself termed her, of bright invlnci-
bility of spirit Here for these Years he
wrote and read much-a whole CARLOAD
Of French, German, and American and
English journals and periodicals piled
upon his library table'-meditating or
holding much high converse with his
wife they wandered, on foot or horseback,
over the black and silent moors and I'M
ending hllls-an expanse of bleak, sour
uplands, watered by nameless rills and
Swallowed by mists and rolling vapors,
yet not wholly wanting i'll rugged and ten
der beauties congenial to his tender spir-
it"
The influence of this beloved c0ngeniat
spirit on the rugged character of the man
can be imagined better than described.
When she passed away ''the light had
gone out of his life" Amongst really
intellectual women who could estimate
the man at his true value, despite of the
roughness of the setting, CARLYLE was al
ways favorite. Lady Harriet Ashbur-
ton, who was in her time the centre of a
circle of the most brilliant men. said that
coming back to the society OF Carlyle
after the dons at Oxford is like returning
from some conventional society to the
human race" Nor was the wife Of Mr..
Gould of less value to her husband i'll his
industrious career. In every large pub
lie library III Europe. and In the mansions
of many of the nobility, especially those
that are distinguished by love of natu-
raj science, Will be found some one or
more of the works of Mr. Gould which
were published In the largest folio form,
and contained thousands of magnificent
ly-colored Autographs of the birds or
other animals described. The magnifi;
cence of these may be inferred from their
costliness. The volumes containing 1.-The
Birds OF Australia" were published at
considerably more than .e100. Few of
the sets were less than from go to ESQ.
Among the list of subscribers to these
costly volumes, of which some $50 copies
were printed, are to be found the beads
OF most of the royal houses of Europe.
The success of this undertaking was in
great part owing to the labors of Mrs
Gould The husband procured the ami
mails, described the skins, and gave tho
natural history so far as known but the
wife drew the figure on the paper, ard
then by means OF photography, the por-
trnit, without which natural history loses
SO much of its attraction, was perpetuated
SO good was her work that when she died
it was not easy for Mr. Gould to find any
one to supply her loss. The influence
which intellectual women have had in
moulding or modifying the career of their
husbands is shown in numerous instances.
The late Mrs s. c. Hall aided Mr. Hall
i'll his best work. In the higher walks of
literature the c0-partnership of Mr.. and
Mrs. Browning is well known. All these
women, who were real helpmates to their
husbands, and who fulfilled, in the best
sense, the duties Of wives, were charac-
| terized by total absence of the distin-
/ gushing marks of a certain class OF
strong minded women Of the,present Jay.
They were unknown as itinerant agita-
ors or speakers at public meetings and
female debating clubs. They thought
the performance OF women's duties of as
much more importance than the agitation
for wonen's rights
Mrs. Shelley-who, rs the daughter of
Mary Wolstonecraft and William Goodwin,
and the wife of Shelley, viii hardly be
suspected Of an undue leaning to cen
servative view of our social state-wrote
IL her private diary; Some have pas
sion for reforming the world.
l respect such when joined to real disin-
terestedness, liberation, and clear I'M
Outstanding. l earnestly desire the good
and enlightenment ofmy fellows,
but am not for violent extremes,
which only bring on an injurious reac-
ton" And when her friends urged her
to join in the party of progress, she calm
ly stated in her Journal III l had
raved and ranted about what did not
understand had l adopted a set of opin-
ions and propagated them with enthusi-
asm had | been careless of attack and
eager for notoriety then the party to
which had belonged had gathered round
me and had not been alone" By many
she was left alone but, like a noble wo-
man, she employed her great intellectual
power in the productive literary labor
which brought her competence, even i'll
those days when literary work was not
well paid, and enduring fame as an au-
horass