Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-13

thippe had small opinion of the use of the
godliness of a man whose philosophy. how
ever profound, provided no adequate in
come for the support of the family and left
her to the loneliness of neglected wife,
while he paid court to Aspasia or Theodite.
JOHN WESLEY WAS TO BLAME.
The wife of John Wesley has been held
up to the reproach and contempt of all good
people for her temper and her tantrums.
What is said of her by all his biographers
may be true. That she made his home un-
happy and his life miserable is perhaps q
fact. But the trouble was probably owing
to his not having been trained to be good
husband. No wife, even of the most sanity
or angelic character, could have endured his
'goings" on with patience or submission.
The gospel of free grace which he preached
with SO great eloquence and effect, which
carried joy and gladness into so many
hearts oppressed with sadness. was doubt
less dulled to his wife by his lack of atten-
tion and his failure as a husband. Any
woman who reads his biography can under
stand the shortcomings on his part that gave
edge to her temper and acid to her tongue.
A wife should be keeper at home and be
a loving and obedient subject to her lord
and master as he preached, but, with human
nature as it is, nobody can suppose that
Mrs. Wesley was happy when her "John"
was travelling around the country with
Grace Murray, even if she was only sister
in the Lord, and bent only upon missionary
work. He had not been trained to be a
good husband, or he would have put him.
self in her place, and have thought how he
would have liked it to be left alone, while
she went upon journeys to preach in COM
pany with handsomer and more agreeable
men than himself.
CARLYLE'S OWN TESTIMONY.
Carlyle had not been trained to be good
husband His own mother, knowing his
temper and selfshness, said 'he would aye
be hard man to live WITH" and how true
this was he frankly sets forth in bis "Rem-
iniscences, when all too late for aught save
repentance and regret. How far he-with
all his powers of mind-fell short of being
good husband is fully shown, not by COM
plants and charges upon her part, but by
his own testimony. He shirked all re-
sponsibility for domestic happiness. 1t was
nothing to him that she toiled like galley
slave for his comfort, to shield him from all
annoyance, to cover him from all distress.
He thought nothing of what she went
through to make his life smooth, to pre-
serve him from bores, to allow nothing to
was not in him to consider whether she had
any sunshine in her life or not. He was of
the opinion of the critic that her vocation
was to humor his whims, to
suit herself to his dyspsptic temper,
to. stand between him and every
thing that was unpleasant. He had no duty
in the matter of their marriage, in his opin-
ion, save to furnish the bread and butter,
which was made bitter indeed by his neglect
and indifference. But, while she fulfilled
to the utmost what the critic esteems the
duty of wife, while she smothered her
ambitions in the carking cares of the
kitchen, while she wore out health and
strength in the storm and stress of house.
keeping according to the code, while she
bowed down to "the irritability of the lit
erary temperament. it has been made evil
dent by her letters that she was possessed
of Intellectual powers that if exercised
would have earned more dollars than did
the ponderous writings of her husband. Her
talents would have been used much more
ftly if she had deputized her powers in the
kitchen to ADLER hands.
TWO SIDES OF IT.
Good husbands are as badly needed as
good wives. Mothers are held responsible
for the training of the latter but both
experience should-as they value the well
fare of their children-train their sons to
be good husbands. A vast deal is told, and
spoken, and published as to the duty of
wives. RuSkin says: "There is not war
in the world-no. nor an injustice-but you
women are answerable for it; not in that
you have provoked, but in that you have
not hindered. Men by their nature are
prone to fight; they will fight for any cause
or none. There is no suffering, no injustice,
no misery in the earth, but the guilt of it
lies with you. Men can bear the sight of it,
but you should not be able to bear it.
There it is! There's the original Adam
for you'll The world ieth in misery, the
earth is going to destruction. Marriage is
a failure they say: Happiness is delusion.
to what she was born for. All because she
is not trained to be wife, not educated
only to keep house, not willing to sink her
self absolutely into femme coaSUerss.
Good husbands make happy wives.
Happy wives make happy homes Happy
homes give all of the solid bliss there is in
life. Good husbands are greatly in demand,
but the supply is short. How to make it
longer is at present question more mo-
mentous than how to make domestic martyrs
for the advantage of selfish men-heretofore
held as gospel teaching. In the first place,
women should refuse to become martyrs,
and in the second men should be trained to
become good husbands. Many men have
that nobility of feeling which comedies to
their wives the same freedom they claim for
themselves, but there is still ample room for
further advance in enlightenment and
civilization in this matter. Men need to
know that coercion kills love and DESTROYS
i, domestic happiness. They need to know
that to enjoy the best of life they must deal
out more generous slices of the golden rule.
BESSIE BRAMBLE.