The Washington herald., 1914-04-08
THE WIFE.
n. EMORY ). HAYNES.

Il
Occasionally wife does something startling be
cause she is wife She shoots her husbands de
tractor. for instance, in Paris. Every man whc
reads such story feels glad he was never yoket
up with such woman. What queer ideas of wifet
duty must be burzing sround in the wotnan's brain
She makes the poor wretch the husband of murder
ess in addition to his other troubles.
How rarely does wife effect any good by fighting
her husbands outside battles for him. 1t mixes hin
all up. Let her belt on his sword, if she pleases
but let her keep out of the scrimmage. When h,
comes home nobody can dress his wounds as she
can. But if she ventured out and has got wound:
of her own he is not worth cent at the binding
up art He is simply more enraged.
Then there is the wife that is so fond of dancing
social functions and such that she is offended by
his very fatigue at the days end. And yet he con-
traced all that fatigue for her and her children and
to defend for her happy life. Now, can you
imagine anything more absurd, more sef-contradie-
tory? Are you not fortunate that you are not yoked
up with that kind of woman!
In her brain north must be east and south must
be west With her sunrise is when the orchestra
strikes up Think what it must be to live in such
a deusion
She is fond of this man and his society.
Yet she is not fond enough to consider him. She
asserts herself his wife Yet she is annoyed by him,
his tastes his fatigues. Intelligent earnest fellow
that he is, he frets her. She will go to Paris and
find man who would rather dance than work. This
other will prefer to spend money than earn IT.
She dreams that this hard matter-of-fact world is
put together so that she and the man get
the most happiness out Of il. Ages of history teach
her nothing. No one can teach her. She knows
everything. Is it not laughable? Except that it is
tragic in wife
Doubtless the man is at fault How came he to
choose her? Did he have very clever ideas to
what wife should be in the life of man who had
to work? A should be well acquainted with the
woman he decides to seek for wife. Nor can she
maintain much mystery as to real character.
A good wife is the best gift of Heaven to man.
but the must help. He must be looking for that
kind.
The wifely idea, how it seems to varyl Here is
a wife who stands by her cat in controversy with
her husband who diskes cats. 1t seems unthinkable
that should hold to the wifely idea revealed
by such a dispute. She must see men as trees
walking" Where did she pick up such an idea of
a wife?
And it is the prevalence of these insane distortions
igments of mind diseased that make much of the
trouble in marriage The basic question really is,
What is a wife? The girls should all weigh the
question. 1t certainly is not complex problem, not
IN enigma. But in many respects it is the most
iital question that be asked.
1t is evident that the fever of the social New
York life ruins thousands of marriages every
That result is old fire in great cities. Some
hing is not freproof But the wife, as magnificent
ruth, is hreproof. Nothing the globe in all
centuries, has ever. much as scorched the true
dea. ~
The wife is the greatest thing in all Gods world.
Evidently the thing that consumes away. in card
arties in dance riots in garish and lascivious thea
rical shows, in spurious thing 1t goes up in
moke.
Probably the man never had the idea, but was
aught by counterfeit notion. And then if the
woman herself also did not know what the wife is
What else but failure could result?
The wife, according to the Bible, is living part
# mans own self. And this is reciprocal They
vain shall be one flesh" High and grand words,
indeed. This teacher whose moral precepts are the
oblest known, said: Have ye not read, that He |
which made them at the beginning made them male |
nd female?" Have ye not read that?
Suppose this hysterical age gets back to such
n idea. Is it your idea, madam? Is it yours, sir,
rho will marry in June? Fling down these teachings
n the pages of many man-written novel. 1t grinds
to powder. Speak these immortal words in the |
ecture hall, where some psuedo-philosopher is |
romugating theories of a day. The truth eternal |
names the lying notions of those who speak without
uthority.
His loyal and loving wife? The true man can
OF speak of her TO others, sacred is she, so hal
,wed He has no language; he thinks of her as
bove all words. The two can converse without
Inguage. Each added year of life she appropriates
i'm more and more. She is life She has so fash
med. herself to him that in his every movement
ne moves. Nor does she seem to realize that she
as lost herself in him. "What therefore, God hath
,ined together let not man put asunder"