Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-10

L nave known men VINO were tOlerably hap
by with very mean wives, but it is not COM
mon. On the whole, however, the wife is
not 50 important in this matter as the
LIVER"
1t Is really remarkable what an important
part In the happiness of the human race is
played by that big glandular organ situated
on the right side of a mans anatomy just
above his stomach. Yet, It is alluded to less
frequently than far less important organs.
A person taps his forehead and speaks of
His brains; he puts his hand on his heart
and signs to his lady love; but If You ask
him to put his hand over his liver he will
begin feeling around his waistcoat, and
hardly know where it belongs. Yet, as soon
as it gets out of order, a deep gloom and de-
spondency settles upon him. He cannot ad-
mire anything in nature or art. He is cross
with his family and his clients. Very little
In life appears to be worth living for.
Here is case In point A great English
writer once went on journey and kept a
diary which was printed after his death.
On Monday he describes what he sees in
the most doleful language. The scenery Is
bad, the people are poverty-stricken wretch
es, he meets none who are not fools. On
Tuesday the country is beautiful and all
the people are thrifty and intelligent. Yet
he has not moved far, and you are at loss
to comprehend why there Is this sudden
change, until you read closely, and then you
see that on Monday he alludes to attack
of indigestion, and on Tuesday he says 1t
has disappeared. The country and the pao-
pie were the same, but the liver was not.
Bad and Good Wives.
There is a certain individual in Wash
ipgton who Is most agreeable, happy fell
low on all the days of the week, yet he Is
hardly tolerable on Sunday. He snaps at
everybody and growls necessarily. People
who know him we'll avoid him on that day.
The reason of 1t all is that he regularly eats
too many hot wafiles for his Sunday break
fast.
Every man has a liver, but not all men
have wives; but II one has both and they
are both good, there Is not much cause for
unhapplness. And II one Is cursed with a
bad liver but Is blessed with good wife,
the kind attentions of the latter do much
to mitigate the depression arising from the
former. Similarly a bad wife is mitiSated
by good liver. If she is cross, or unkind,
or neglectful. or jealous, you may be able TO
stand 1T, II your appetite is good and you
suffer no discomfort after eating. Bache-
lors, widowerS and divorced men are, of
course, not to be considered in this matter.
The first named, unless they are too young
to marry. have no particular right to be
happy, because they are avoiding one Of the
great responsibilities of life. If they are
tco poor to marry that Is another thing, but
unless they are blessed with peculiarly
elastic temperaments, they are not happy.
Widowers ought to be unhappy mourning
for their wives. If they are not, they near
ly always marry again, and divorced men,
or men who are separated from their wives.
should always be wretched. If the trouble
is caused by the wife's misconduct, the hus-
band ought never to cease grieving over 1t;
and If he is at fault, his conscience will see
to it that he knows no cOntentment.
AS for the kind of wife that will make a
hon hot all Nl-
tons which change. One husband may
have a tendency to run wild and he needs
wife who will make him behave himself,
for a wild husband is never a happy man,
and another may be inclined to be too
tame, and requires a wife who will rouse
him and keep him from stagnation. Ninety
nine men out of a hundred require to be
managed or they will make themselves un-
happy. The same thing Is true Of the wives,
too. They expect the husband to minister
to their happiness. and the husband who
falls to do SO ought to be ashamed of HIM
SELF
Money and Happiness.
Now, while the liver and the wife are I'M
questionably very important factors In a
mans happiness. there are a number of
other things that should not be overlooked
For one thing, there is the eternal question
of money. A middle state Is. Of course, the
most desirable. and there is such q thing
as extreme grinding poverty, which makes
happiness almost out of the question, unless
the unfortunate strugglers are too stupid to
feel It, You can't help feeling a little ex-
asperated with the fellow who goes about
apparently without a care on his mind when
there Is not enough dinner at home, and his
wife and children are in rags. His poverty
may not be his fault, but somehow or ether
there is a general impression that he ought
not to be happy under 1t.
Yet II you ask a rich man who has made
all his money what was the happiest part
of his life, he will probably tell YOU that IT
was when he was poor, and you will be
quite certain to smile incredulously and say
you are willing to take the chances Of the
unhappiness that comes from being rich
This is only human nature and there must
be considerable affectation In this pretended
admiration of poverty by men who 10 not
feel 1t. There Is probably no man who Will
not admit that the aim Of life Is happiness
and that he will do everything he can to
be happy. Then, If the rich man IS not as
happy being rich as he was when he was
poor, why does he not become poor egain:
Nothing is easier
Any orphan asylum will take all Of his
money If he offers It, or he can give 1t to
his friends. They are willing TO sacrifice
themselves in order that he may be happy
happy feels certain that he would be a
great deal less happy # he was poor, and
he has no desire to try the experiment. Yet
happiness Is not usually found among very
rlCn people, lHey HdNS llOlHlIlS 10 look
forward to, and the consequence Is that
time drags with them. They are surfeited
with the good things of life and cannot ap-
preciate them as much as poorer people DO.
Still They Are Miserable.
They bVy everything material, but there
are many things they want that they can't
buy. They can't buy popularity for one
thing, and nearly everybody likes to be
liked and is Tot happy If he believes he is
disliked. 1t is easy. however. to imagine
that a vefg rich man who got his money
honestly, and who is a phianthropist, may
be happy, and the great George Peabody
must have been one Of this kind. Certainly
his face Is that Of a happy man. and he
deserved the blessing Of happiness almost
more than ans man that ever lived, but he
had no wife. and this may have been a
cause of grief to him, as 1t is to most men
similarly situated.
or course no one must confound a happy
man with q prosperous one. Thus. a man
may have a fire house, large fortune. an
er yiable position in community. and you
very properly say that he Is prosperous; but
the same person may have a cross hard
grained wife, q disordered liver, q tendency
70 melancholy and miserably tormenting
temper. He Is in consequence wretchedly
unhappy all the time. and his neighbor. who
can Just pay house rent, who has never