Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1891-04-15
-sTAUNToN SPECTATOR AND GEN ERAL ADVERTISER

ulace in him. Life at once becomes to hin
; altogether serious and consuming pusi
ness. into which his wife is taken as an
equal partner. Definite aims aud actions
are conceived aud carried out. There 's
now sustained application. There 10 earu
est aud conscious effort. There is felt inc
sense and experienced the rscognitioa o.
hitherto sumberons powers He Is Dfoaa
eped in his nature and deepened IN Els al
fsctions by the new calls made upon theN'
He cannot be indolent, for other interests
he has assumed call for industry. lie feeis
now that he is veritable citizen, respon'
sible and Interested factor in human soo'e.
tv. He is now the head of q home and CT
family; there can hence be no civil or So
cial or religious concerns touching these
sacred precincts thai do not demand his So
| licitude and command his dutiful action
ssWhen Sarah married Abraham she
| married him in deed and in truth ,eoOhe
cast her fortunes absolutely with those OF
her husband. His lot was to BIS her ioS
She tied herself to Abraham, and not Ahra,
| ham to her. She had home, and good
one. too, before she was married. sue
i married because abe thought Abraham de-
serving of her love, and not for home. It
| is the fashion in these days for young wo
| man to cast her eyes about for nest lined
| with down. She takes the husband as a
sort of necessary accompaniment. Or else
| it is her pleasure and out of her great com.
passion that she takes to her own Fest
some poor, spiritless, perhaps characterless
husband, whom she fondless into hopeless
oblivion. 1t is a.negt she wants, and If
| birdie has not one to her taste, poor Dickle
must come to hers. Young women, such
| effemipate and selfish and mercenary ideas
of marriage are reproach to your sex. II
| il is ONLY a nest you want, keep the one
you have;it's better one than you deserve
F, if such motives are prompting you to mar
riage. If the young man who has for MS
| inalienab.e dover affection, character am
bition, determination, due talents ana 1ea-
sonable prospects has not fortune enoagh ID
these to suit your ideas Of fortune, and you
reject him as not being sufficient, you de
serve a woIge fortune, snd he has but add
ed to his. If you cannot marry mau IN
this spirit, then pray you be brave ara
| visa enough to maintain your virtue and
womsnhood by never marrying at all. l
| know some mothers and fathers VIII Tell
you that this is old. fashioned, sentimental
talk. But if you catechiss them Dit, ana
| if their lives together have been happy,yoq
will find it grew out OF Obadience TO wnat L
am advising you to do. am neb seeking
to decry inheritance or to euloglze poverty,
| though inheritances are more o1ten lnJurl-
GUS than beneficial to husband ana Wife,
and poverty often the occasion OF the deVe-
! Torment of the most noble and ideal virtues
| of married life. An inheritance is not IN
reality ones own fortune. A name handed
down is net ones own name. IL ls the for
| tune we ourselves create, the name we
gain, that are our properties. For young
| husband and wife to live contentediy cit OF
an inheritance is for them to become mere
parpers. For them to be content to thrive
| by an ancestral name is no honor, but ra-
| ther reproach.
Sarah not only joined Abraham IN his
| fortunes, but also in his faith, diseharglng
| the highest duty and fulfilling the highest
destiny of a wife. She not only passiveiy
submitted herself to the desires OF her hus-
band, but also entered activslysiato them.
She made 1t her task aud pleasure to ac-
quaint herself With the ruling purpose of
her husbands life. One needs conpan-
ion who VIII enter into his thoughts with
him. And if his philosophy be good and
wholesome, what better or truer service can
a wife render than follow him into these
sacred and tender precincts. Ii she cannot
follow him solitude Of sorrow is in store
for both of them. Sarah did more for
Abraham than keep his wardrobe in order
and furnish his table. she made it her life
struggle TO comprehend and enter into that
inner life which every thoughtful man
lives. No woman without piety in her
heart is fit to be the companion of any
man. You may get in your wives beauty,
amiability, sprightlinesz, wit. accomplish
ments, wealth and learning, but if that
wife have no higher love than herself or
yourself she is poor creature"