Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-08-20
The Abuse Of Silence.

a man and wife enjoying q walk to-
gether, OF . t~ete-a-tete sweetened by
confidential and affectionate nversa
ton, is q beautiful sight before God
and man. But too often the picture is
reversed. He saunters out with her,
careless and uninterested; scarcely dur
ing the walk uttering q word. Is not
this, to say She least, q great abuse of
the science of silence?
In the hour of absence and of soil
tude, the husband is impressed with a
sense of the amiable disposition and
demeanor of his wife. of her unwearied
endeavors to promote and perpetuate
his happiness, and Of its being his
bounden duty to show, by the most un-
equivocal expressions Of attachment
and of tenderness, his full appreciation
of her assiduity and fa%ithfulness. But
too often these expressions of approba-
ton are not forthcoming, and, with a
mistaken silence, he shrinks from hon.
oring his wife, and represses those few
words of praise which she SO we'll de-
serves, and would SO greatly appre-
ciate. sMy master is all very WE'LL"
said the dog, "but I wish he had a tail
to wag when he is pleased"
"In politics, said Cavour, nothing
is so absurd as rancor." In the same
way we may say that nothing is so alb
surd in matrimony as sullen silence.
Reynolds, in his "Life and Times,"
tells Of a free and easy person who
passed three festive days at the seat Of
the Marquis and Warehouses of ~.
without any invitation, convinced Gas
proved to be the case), that, my lord
and my lady not being on speaking
terms, each would suspect the other
had asked him. A soft answer turns
away wrath, and when a wife or hus-
band is irritated, there is nothing like
letting a subject drop. Then silence
is indeed golden. But the silence per-
sisted in is an instrument of deadly
torture. "A wise man by his words
maketh himself beloved" To this
. might be added that on certain occa
, sions q fool by his obstinate silence
maketh himself hated.
According to Milton, Eve KEEP
silence in Eden to hear her husband
talk" said a gentleman to q lad,
friend, and then added in a m%elanchol.
: tone, "Alas! there have been no Eve
since" Because" quickly retortet
+. the lady, athere have been no husband
worth listening to-" Certainly there ar
. too few men who exert themselves t.
be as agreeable to their wives (thei
best friends) as they are to the CON
: parative stranger or secret enemie
1 whom they meet at clubs Or othe
places of resort. And yet, if it is tru
that ito be agreeable in our family Gil
Gle is not only a positive duty but a
9 absolute morality, then every husban
: and wife should say on their weddin
day:
To balls and routs for fame let others roam,
Be mine the happier lot to please at home.
There is a time to speak as well as
time to be silent, and the best time {
all for pleasant conversation is the tim
of meals. We should have at leas
three laughs during dinner, and ever.
> one is hound to contribute o share {
9 agreeable table talk, good humor, an
a cheerfulness. Even from a physiolog
cal point of view, "better is a dinner {
herbs where love is (Which will sho
= itself in dispelling sullen silence) tina
a stalled OK and hatred Herewith" =
), The Lhli7,eT.