The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1888-02-23

hazards for the salvation of my country's /
liberties. Thomas Carlyle spent the last
twenty years of his life in trying by his |
pen to atone fer the fact that during his |
wifc's life he never appreciated her in |
fteEce on his career and destiny. Alas! |
that, having taken her from beautiful |
homo and q brilliant career, he should |
have buried her i'll the homo of q rccluse |
and scolded her in such language as only
a dyspcptic genius could manage, until |
ono day while III her invalldism, riding
in Hyde park, her ret dog got run over,
and under the excitement the coachman
found her dead. Then the literary giant
woke from his conjugal injustice and
wrote the lamentations Of Craigcn-Put-
tCck and Cllcyne row. The elegant and full
sc1nc epltapls that husbands put upon
their wives tombstones are often an at
tempt 10 make up for the lack Of :ipprc-
ciatc words that should have Lccn at
tered in tie cars Ct the living. a whole
Greenwood OF monumental Inscriptions
will not do wife so much good after
she has quiet the world, as one plain sem
tencc like that which Tom Hood wrote
to his living wife, when he said: Il
never WAS anything till l knew YOU"
Oh, woman, what IS your wifcly am
bition, noble or ignobic? Is it high social
position? That will then probably direct
your husband. and he will climb ard
scramble and slip and fall and rise and
tumble, and on what level or in what
depth or Oh what height he will after a
while be found l cannot even guess. The
contest for social position is the Elc:t ull-
satisfactory contest in all the world, be-
cause it is SO uncertain about your getting
it, and so insecure Il possession after you
have obtained it, ard so unsatisfactory
even if you keep it. The whisl1 Of q
kady's fan may Blow it out. Tie growl
Of ono bear Or the following of one lrll
on Wall street may scatter it.
Is Ike wifes ambition the polit;cal pre-
fernent of her husband? Then that will
probably direct him. What a God fer
saken realm is American politics those
best know who have dabblcd IN them.
After they have assessed q man who is a
candidate for Office, which he does not
get, or assessed him for some o1ico at-
tanned, and he has been whirled round
and round and round and round among
the drinking, smoking. swearing crowd
who often get control Of public affairs.
ell that is left of his self respect or moral
stamina would find plenty of room on 4
geometrical point. whici. is said to have
neither length, breadth or thickness.
Many wife has not been satisfied till
her husband went into politics, but
would afterward liavo given al slio pos
] scssed to get him ont. -~
knew a highly moral man, useful j..
! the church and rosscssor of bright
homo. He had useful and prosperous
business, but his wife did not think it
centeel enough. There were o<lors about
the business and sometimes they would
adhere to lis garments when he returned
ct night She insisted Oh his doing some
! thing more elegant, although he was
: qualified for no business except that i'll
| which he was engaged. To please her
| he changed his business. and i'll order to
get on faster abandoned church attend
ance. saying after he had made a certain
number Of hundreds Of thousands
of dollars he would return to the
church and its ecrvices Where IS that
family today? Obliterated. Although
succeeding in business for which he was
qualified, he undertook . style of mer-
chandiso for which he had no qualifca-
ton and soon went into bankruptcy.
lis new style of business put him into
evil association. He lost his morals as
wcl as his money. He broke up not
only his own homo, but broke up another
mans home; and, from being q kind,
pure, generous moral man as any Of you
who sit here today. has become a home
less, pcnnilcss ibertinc. His wifc's am
bition for more gcnteel business de-
stroved him and disGraced her, and
blightcd their only child.
But suppose now there be in our homes,
IS thank God there arc i'll hundreds Of
homes here represented, on the wifely
throne one who says not cnly by hel
words, but more powerfully by hel
actions: My husband, our dcstinies arc
united; let us see where industry. hon
esty. common sense and faith in Go.
will put us. am with you in al youl
enterprises. I cannot Ec with you il
person as YOU go to your daily business
but will be with you in my prayers
Let us see what we can achieve by hav
ing God in our hearts, and God in oul
lives, and God in our homes. Be on tht
side of everything good. Go ahead ane
do your best, and though everything
should turn out different from what W,
have calculated, you may always ccun
on two who are going to help ycu
and God is one and I an tn.
other.'' That man may have fcebl.
health, and may meet with many
Obstacles and business trials, bu
he is coming gloriously through, for he 4
re-cnforced. and inspired. and spurred OF
by q woman'S voice, as much as wa
Barak by Deborah, when Sisera with nin'
hundred iron chariots cane On to crust
him and his army, and Deborah shoute,
in the car of Barslk: Up! for this Is tht
day in which the Lord hath delivered
Sisera into thine hands" And the enemy
fell back. and Sisera's chariot, not get
ting along fast enough in the retreat. tn,
general Jumped out and took it afoot
and ran till he came to a place where
woman first gave him q drink Of mill
and then sent spike through his skull
mailing him to the floor.
Some of US could tell Of what infuenc,
upon US has been a wiiely ambition con
sccratcd to righteousness. As my wife
is cut of town and will not shake Eel
head because I say it in pubic. vii
state that in my own professional life
have often been called of God, Is
thought, to run into the very teeth q
public opinion, ard all outsiders witt
whom advised told me had better rot
it would ruin me AMI ruin my church
and at the same time / was receiving
nice little letters threatening me viii
dirk and pistol and poison if perEistet
in attacking certain evils of the day
urtl the commissioner CT poiice con