8
CURSORY REMARKS ON A WIFE.
nerous soul, the reparation of an injury. .In the presence of the Duke of Brabant, Philip direct- ed an attendant to inquire after La Brosse, who had excused himself from being present at the trial, on plea of being unable to endure the spec- tacle.
“You may save yourself that trouble, cousin of France,” said the Duke, “it was well we arrived so opportunely, for this arch traitor is now safely lodged in a dungeon, under the special protection of the constable of France.”
“Surely,” said Philip, “thou art in jest; we hold not a more faithful servant in all our court, or realm, than this same chamberlain.”
“Nathless, thou errest: what would’st say to letters written by him to the Spaniard, engaging to vacate the Pyrenian fortresses, that his troops may have free access to the heart of your coun- try? What would’st say to a promise under his own seal, of a thousand marks to that devil incar- nate, (who has gone to his parent, the father of lies,) for poisoning thy son, and fixing the crime on our fair sister, that he might thus have thee in his power to mould and fashion as he would? Yet of all this, have we fair writing to prove, and therefore placed him out of the way of danger till the innocence of our own dear Marie should be established, and his vile plot disclosed, and confessed by his worthy tool, whom may heaven curse.”
“Amen!” said the king, “ but thy Jove deserves our warmest thanks;—we shall ever remember with gratitude thy heaven directed hand, which prevented us from committing a crime ghicha life of penance could not have atoned for, which has restored to our arms a dear and adored wife, and which has brought to his just doom, the bold- est traitor that ever betrayed his master.”
7. P.
CURSORY REMARKS ON A WIFE.
“Of earthly goods, the best is a good wife;
A bad, the bitterest curse of human life.”
THERE is reason to rejoice that those early
ages of society are past when a man purchased
a woman to be his wife, as a butcher purchases
an ox or a sheep to be food; and valued her only
as she contributed to his gratification. Innumer-
able instances might be collected from the early
history of various nations, but the following will
be sufficient:—
» Abraham obtained Rebekah, and gave her to his son Isaac for a wife. Jacob served Laban fourteen years for two wives. When David had Saul’s daughter given in marriage, it was said, “The king desireth not any dowry, but an hun- dred fore-skins of the Philistines.” In the Iliad,
Agamemnon offers his daughter to Achilles fora
wife, and says that he would not demand for her
any price. But those days are past, and wherever
such practices have prevailed, men could not
have for the fair sex that tender regard and es-
teem which constitute so essential a part of the
genuine affection of love.
In this age, matters are different: the feelings
are wrought upon—the man beholds the object -
of his affection with a longing wish to claim her
for his own—he observes in her that capital arti-
cle, sweetness of temper, which manifesting it-
self in mild looks and gentle manners, is perhaps
the first and most powerful inducement to es-
teem in a cultivated mind.
The amiable disposition, the gentle and insinu- ating manners of the sex, are all highly respected by the man, who, more robust, bold, and vigor- ous, is qualified for a protector. The female be- ing delicate and timid, requires protection, and is capable of making an engaging figure under the good government of a man possessed of pe- netration and solid judgment.
“It would be injustice not to mention the petu- liar and essential part of female value, modesty, without which, no woman is likely to command the esteem and affection of any man of sound un- derstanding; therefore we consider the invalua- ble grace of a chaste and modest behaviour the best means of kindling at first, and not only of kindling, but of keeping alive and increasing, this inexpressible flame.
There is no reason to hesitate in saying that a good wife is one of the most valuable treasures a man can possess in this life. She causes his cares in this world to sit easy, adds sweetness to his pleasures, is his best companion in prosperi- ty, and truest friend in adversity. She is the most careful preserver of his health, the kindest attendant during his sickness, a faithful advis-~ in distress,a comforter in affliction, a pruder“ manager of his domestic affairs, and, in short, one of the greatest blessings that heaven can be- stow upon man.
Should it, however, unfortunately prove other- wise, she will be her husband’s greatest trouble, will give him the utmost anxiety, and be a clog - to him the remainder of life. Therefore we would advise every young gentleman, before he tampers with this passion, to consider well the probability of his being able to obtain the object of his love. If he is not likely to succeed, he will do well to avoid the company of the beloved object, to apply his mind attentively to business or study, and endeavour, if possible, to fix his af- fections on another, which it may be in his pow- er to obtain. The affections reciprocally gained, mutual love will endear them to each other, and make constancy a pleasure; and when their youthful days are over, esteem and genuine re- gard will remain in the mind, making pleasant, even in old age, the company of such apair, in whose actions are manifested the most tender af- fections of husband, wife, lover, friend.
—
As you see the spark fly upward—sometimes
not falling to the earth till it be dark and
queached—thus soars, whither it recks not, so
that the direction be above, the luminous spirit of
him who aspires to Truth; nor will it back to the
vile and heavy clay from which it sprang, until
the light which bore it upward be no more!
