Year: 1867

Our picture of women nowadays i.
| that of slender body, pale face, &


fair, frail, and lovely creature, entirely


removed from the necessities of vuIga,


exertion. Instead of girding theiI


lOins with strength, they grid them


with whalebone. They toll not, neither
do they spin, and yet Solomon in all


his glory was not arrayed like one OF
these Health and happiness are
closely allied, and health never can be
possessed without industry Even an
angels wing would droop if long at
rest The wellknown song Of Buy a
Broom would excellentIy suit such
women, and | would repeat the words,
and say TO them, Use it until the mer-
ry blood shall burn in your veins, and
the very flowers of the carpet blossom
beneath your feet


This scriptural picture of the true
housewife cnjoins also neatness and
taste Her husband was known at
the gates by a thousand evidences of
her eXceliences. She looked to his lin
en- and saw that it was clean, and his
garments in good condition, and not
only his, but her own as we'll Her
home was neat and inviting, purified
by cleanliness and enhanced by the
charming neatness Of herself Clean.
illness Is next to godliness, and the ne
glect OF 1t in home is sure TO eat like |
canker at the core of domestic peace.


Another trait of this good housewife |
Is her prudent aud thrifty management
of domestic affairs. There are many
wives who work hard all day long, and |
yet there is about them no neatness,
no thrift. They have no tact or man,
agement. The speaker had heard of |
judge who had inscribed on his wife's
tombstone, She was an excellent wo
man and good cook Men appreci-
ciate these substantial, practical excel
lcnces about house; neatness, good
cooking, and physical comforts gener
ally. A good wife needs what is call
ed 'gumption.' A woman may speak
many tongues, may be deep in the
mysteries Of the dance or dress, and
yet if she have no gumption' it profit.
eth her nothing. So much prudence
and wisdom did this good housewife of
the Scriptures exhibit that her hus
band could safely trust her with every
thing. How many men, because of
this want Of prudence and tact in their
wives, have been led into speculation,
and from that to peculation, and thus
ruined And yet many a man has
had his fortune repaired by the pru-
dence, tact, and noble sympathy and
advice of a good wife. Every man
should trust his wife to large extent,
not to mutually annoy each other with
details of their respective duties, but
upon matters Of deeper and broader
mutual interest. Heaven has inspired
woman in a remarkable degree with
an instructive wisdom not possessed
by man, and of which he ought to
avail himself


Another charming trait of this good
house wife is her charity and benevo
lence-those diamonds among a wife's
jewels. If it can be proven as some
selfish men would have it, that woman
has one less cell in the brain than man,
it can also be proven that she has two
or three more fibres in the heart than
he. 1t was not woman who slept in
the garden at Gethsemane, and it was
woman who strewed the path of the
Saviour and his apostles with charities
and selfsacrifces almost angelic.


Another commendable feature of
the subject Of this psalm-picture is the
wife's wisdom and kindness; her man
agement of tongue and temper. How
many women have broken their charm
by an unruly tongue and temper. We
were born with two eyes, doubtless
with the purpose that we should see
twice as much as we speak of, whereas |
many women often reverse it.


If>wOman wants to make mankind /
better, she can do it much better over
the cradle than by haranguing from
the platform. The really domestic wo-
man occupies the highest place in the
world, and how little do those unsexed
reformers understand either the digni.
ty Of her sphere or the might of her
influence there! The fruits Of good
wife's influence are seen in the great
men of the world, moulded and made
great by the fostering care of good
mother.-ReU 4. 4. Wiiiett