Public Leger, Volume 1, Number 17, Richmond, Wayne County, 3 July 1824 — Page 4

z?:

mater the mead or foirery field, The grotto, grove, or garden yield, . Of useful, fragrant, choice, arid rare, We still select"

FOR THE rUBLIC LEGER. A WIFE WANTED. Ye fair ones attend I've an offer to make ye, In Hymen's soft bands I am anxious to live; For better for worse, a companion I'll take me, Provided she fills the description I give. I neither expect, nor can hope for perfection, For that never yet was a Bachelor's lot; But choosing a wife, I would make a selection, Which many in my situation would not. I'd have let me see no, I'd not have a beauty, For beautiful women are avt to be vain ; Yet with a small share, I would think it a duty To take her, be thankful, and never complain. Her form must be eood, without art to comtraia it, And rather abovehan below middle s:ze; A something (it puzzles my brain to explain it) Like eloquent language must flow from her eyes. She must be well bred, or I could not respect her, Goodnatur'd aud modot, but not over coy ; Her mind well informM, 'tis the punned nectar, , That sweetens the cup of hymeneal joy. ??rr home ?he roust love, and domestic employment

Have practical knowledge oi nousenoui anairsj An.! make it a part of her highest enjoyment, To soften ray troubles and lighten my cares.

Her ae I would have, at the least to be twenty, But not to exceed twenty-five at the most; And girls of that age being ev'ry where plenty, I hope to cet one of the numerous host. No fortune 1 a?k, for I've no predilection. For editter and show, or the pomp of high life; I wih to be bound by the cords of affection ; And now 1 have drawn you a sketch of a wife. If any possess the above requisitions And wish to be bound with the conjugal band, They'll please to step forward, they know the conditions Enquire of the printer, I'm always at hand. Bissextile, 1824. CtELEBS. Jun'r.

er placed your happiness in outward show you have yet friends, warm friends, who will not think the worse of you for' being less splendidly lodged: and surely it docs not require a palace to be happy with Mary" "I could be happy with her, cried he convulsively, "in a hovel ! I could co down with her into poverty and the ..t i uT rnnM God bless her!

cried he, bursting into a transport otgnel and tenderness. "And believe mc, my friend," said I stepping up, and grasping him warmly by the hand, "believe me, she can be the same Avp. morn: it will be a source

of pride and triumph to her. It will call forth all the latent energies and fervent

cvmnnthiPS nf her nature: tor she win re

that she loves vou for your

IUKV I" !'"!- 1 - . . J i rri . Iviin nrntnnn hPiirt.

sen. i nere is mciy - , i a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dor- ! ;n h hmnil dav liffht of prosperity ;

illtllll til HIV ' v.- - j .-, M 111 1 Kilt nrliifll Lllttll nc iitk and beams and bla-

zes in the dark hour of adversity. INo

jman knows what the wifo-ot his bosom js

,nninrtws what a ministennc anei

i she is until he has gone with her through , WlV t ...

the fiery trials of this world. Tiro was somethine in the earnestness

of my manner, and the figurative style of

I "Has she then repined at the char, "Rpnincdi she h-3 been nothing

sweetness r.nd good humour. Indc3 h

seems in ucuci 9m man i iiaVe CVc known her; she has been to me, all y and tenderness, and comfort?" H

" Admirable girl?" exclaimed I, I call yourself poor, my friend; younl were so rich you never knew the bol

in that woman."

"Oh. but my mend, it tins hrstmc-t,.

nf thf rottawc were over, I think 1 r ,., 1

thpn be comfortable. But this is her C.

day of real experience: She has beer. l:, frnrWed into a humble dwelling si:1-.

been employed all day in arranir.itsr, , crable equipments she has, for the fi time, known the fatigues of domestic'

nlovment: she has, for the first time. I, U

ed around her on a home destitute oftvM ry thing elegant, and almost conveniei and may now be sitting down, cxhaciUjl and spiritless, brooding over a prospect future poverty." There was a degree of probability W this picture that 1 could not gainsay", S3 we walked on in silence.

After turning from the main rend iJ5l

! narrow iane, su imtAi) iuh.

il" v " ' . , trees, as to civc it a compile uiroi ncij

! my languapc, Mm: caugni u.e c"- ' catnc ia siaht f the cottage, h

i cination t Leslie. 1 Knew ine auuuu . '... ,, in its nnnearanco f..

had to deal with, and following up the .m- ct. aIld')ct it ha ;

jirosMoii i nuu .......v., . ........... y r;- nia5;11!r rur,il look. A wild vine nad over.

ding him to go home ana unnurucn au r fosion of m j

i i- . "...

nean 10 nis w ni

Mr. Buxton,- Enclofrl I send yon a talc o "The Vife,,, co; iol from the works of that elf pant cholar George Washington Irving; b civing it a place in the "PubUc Lecer" next week, yoc will confer a favor on one of your female r aders. 1 am nersnadel that yo- will think it nell worthy of a place in your journal, as the perusal of it canCot fail beinc highly eratifyina to the greater num- . " rt il- I f U 'l

- ter nt vour r'aier. i ne aut'cuuii ji tC Vife,,,ri tn mv o ; inim the mist beautiful eulogium on the ffniale"chara''t''" that I ha?e ever met with, ami th -J"n nt r'ed Bachelors of Richmond," wt.en they ie;tl it, will, I am convinced, lament the necessity which oblices them to remain a they are." " MARY. Rid iinond, C6th June, 184. THE WIFE. The treaureof th tlep are not so precious A iro the cenrealcd comforts of a man Locked up in woman's love. I "cent the air Of hle-in?, when I come but near the houe. V h it a tlelicious breath marriage sends forth The violet btd'a not sweeter! MIDDI ETON. I imve often had occasion to remark the fortitude with which women s-ustain the m .)t overwlilmirig reverses of fortune. r Those disasters which breakdown the spirit of a man, and prostrate him in the dust, seem to call forth all the energies of the softer sex, arid pive such intrepidity and elevation to their character, that at times it approaches to. sublimity. Nothing can be more touching than to behold a soft arid tender female, who had been all weakness and dependence, and alive to every trivial roughness while treading the prosperous paths of life, suddenly rising in mental force, to be the comforter and supporter of

her hiisbmd, under misfortune, and abiding with unshrinking firmness, the bitterests blasts nf ad crsitv. As the vine which hassolong twined its graceful foilage around the oak, and been lifted by it into sunshine, will, when the hardy plant is rifted by the thunderbolt, cling round it with its caressing tendrils, and bind up its shattered boughs; so is it beautifully ordered by Providence, that woman, who is the mere dependent and or- , riauvntof man in his happier hours,should be his stay and solace when smitten with sudden calamity, winding herself into the rugqed recesses of his nature, tenderly supporting the drooping head, and binding up the broken heart. I was once congratulating a friend, who

had around him a blooming family, knit together in the strongest affection." " I can wish you no better lot,r' said he with enthusiasm, "than to have a wife and children if you are prosperous, there they are to share your prosperity; if otherwise, there they are to comfort you." And indeed, I have observed that married men, falling into mi-fortune, are more apt to retrieve their situation in the world, than single men; partlv bcauc they are more stimulated to exertion bv the necessities of the helpless and beloved brings who depend upon them for subsistence; but chiefly because their spirits are soothed and relieved by domestic endearment-, ami their self respect kept alive by finding, that although all abroad is darkness and humiliation, yet there is still a little world of love, of which they are monarch?. Whereas a single man is apt to run to waste and self neglect; to fancy himself lonely and abandoned, and his heart to fall to ruin like tome deserted mansion, for want of an inhabitant. These observations call to mind a lilXie domestic story, of which I was once a witness. 3Iy intimate friend, Leslie, had

iof

OIHJ 3vr, v i, . . - nfTprtinnth.it all was not well with him.

w m m w " i She marked his altered looks, and stilled

sighs, and was not to be deceived by hifs sicklv and vauid attempts at cheerfulncpf.

; She tasked all her sprightly powers & ten-

riVr hlanriis hmrnts To win mm oaCK w uau-

piness ; but she onlv drove the arrow deeper into his soul, lie more be saw cause to love her. the more torturine was the

! thought that he was soon to make her

wretched. A little time, thought he, and

the smile will vanish from thaf cheek

the soncr will die awav from those lips

the lustre of those eres will be ou enched

with sorrow: and the happy heart; which

now beats lightly in that bosom, wn pc.

w eighed down, nke mine, by the cares a.iL miseries of the world. At length became tome one dav.nnd re-

jlated his whole situation in a tone of the j deepest despair. When I had heard him tbrough I cnouired.6Moes vour wife know

, , j ..... ail this?" At the question he burst into an agony of tears uFor God's sake!" cried he, 'if you have any pity on nie don't mention my wife; it is the thought of her that drives me almost to madness "And why not ?" said I, "She must know it sooner or later: you cannot keep it long from her: and the intelligence mav break

! upon her in a more startling manner, than j if imparted by yourself; for the accents of ! those we love soften the bnrshrst 'things

Besides, you are depriving yourself of the comforts of her sympathy; and not merely that, but also endangering the only bond that can keep hearts togetheran unreserved community of thought and feeling. She will goon preceive that something is secretly preying upon your mind ; and true love will not brook reserve, but fee ls undervalued and outraged when even the sorrows of those it loves are concealed from it." "Oh, but, my friend! to think what a blow I am to give her future prospects how I am to strike her very soul to the earth, by telling her that her husband is a beggar! that she is to forego all the elegancies of life all the pleasures of society to sink with me into indigence and obscurity? To tell her that I have dragged her down from the sphere in which she

might nave continued to move in constant brightness the light of every eye the admiration of every heart! How can she bear poverty? she has been brought up in all the refinements of opulence. How can she bear neglect? she has been the idol of society. Oh, it will break her heart, it willh t! " I iaWhisgnet was eloquent, and let it have its (low; for sorrow relieves itself by words. When his paroxyism had subsided, and he had relapsed into moody silence, 1 resumed the subject gently, and urged him to break his situation at once to his wife. He shook his head mourfully but positive"Rut how arc you to keep it from her? It is necessary she should know it, that you may take the steps proper to the alteration of your circumstances." You must change your style of living nay," observing a pang to pass across hist'ountcnance, "dont let that alllict you. 1 am sure .you nev-

. t-r.oc f imu thoir hrnnencs nrace in r

I mtit confess, notwithstanding all 1 had IU " , T , i "i ',

i - 7 s, , 'over it : ana i onseivcu iuo. s.,i,l, I fcltsomc little 'ol.c. udcforAe rc- , crs'taslelully di$p,..scd about t!,' U:. i wit. -Who can calculate on tl ,e forti- J . fr,it. A SIpJ tude of one whose whole hfc has been a , opened upon a foot-pull, xvA 'round of pleasures! Herpajsp.n s might kc ? P i s)lrul)bci! , J ; revolt at the dark, downward path ot low j api,roached, !-.::! humilitv, cuddcnly pointed out before her, Uoor J .L(.f Ke d M and nmht dinp to the sunny regions in d u WM which they had hitherto revelled, be- . of the most to,id,;r5 : sides, ruin in fashionable life ?"Pan- sfmplicitv, si.iine a little air of which U: j iied by so many galling mortifications cculiarlv fond. L.i.;a ;., AUr mnU n a straneer. In l,u: .' ... , 11

wn, in - - . j 1 1 ej,e s nana irernme on m ara.

short, 1 could not meet l.esiie ine , . , .aTorward to hcar m0re disihic:morning without trepidation. He had T iUfrn made, a noise on the cruvd

, . . . ii?. -- I 4l. . I t I, c n i-r I , , .! P !

luaiiuuicuisuwuiwi . 11 a r,n"hr hrnutiiui lace Ciar.cca

"And how did she bear it I , win(low. and vanished a light

"lake an anirel! It seemed rameruj u. , ir -,tn er.

- " - . , .. 1 it . 1 lootfien was ueaiu ui.u mm; v...v- ...j. i:r I..,- .ir .hp Hiri'w her 1V 1 .

! a, reiit;i iu hji

arms around my neck, and asked it this was

all that had lately made me so unnapp

hnt.noorcir added he, "she cannot reai

ize the change she must undergo. one no idea of poverty but in the abstract; she

has only read of it in poetry, where it is

allied to love. SI

ping forth to meet us. She was in a rnli v rural dress of white : a few wild dowers

witp twi-trt in tier tine nair a irta,

bloom was cn her cheek; her whole ecu:.-

tenancc beamed with smiles 1 had ncv.r

wen her look solovclv.

"My dear George," cried she, "I am 50

Mad you arc come: I vc been waicm -

.11111 .111 inn-- wv - - 1 ,

the lane, and looking out for you. I've - t'l Jj

out a table under a beautitul tree behrci thecottarre; ard I've been gathering some of the most delicious strawberries, fori

L-.vv vnn rtre. fond of them and we linvft

vuch excellent cream and every tliii - is cr, t,iPPt .itt.l.sfill here Oh!M said she, 1

v x-' - .--w

nuttintr her arm within his, and looking up

onu,ini tn iv"-f

snuiii

Poor Leslie was overcome. lie e-utit her to his besom he folded his arms around her he kissed her again and again he could not speak, but the tears pit1;ed into his eyes. And he has often assured me, that though the world has sir.ee

Sone prosperously wiui mni, jhu ma v . has been a happy one, yet never has be experienced a moment of such unutterable j felicity. J Indian Wit. Genuine wit, which ore J would hardly expect to find in a savage j people, is not unfrequcntly among then. 1 have heard them, for instance, compare the English and American nations to a pair of scissors, an instrument composed ol twj ; sharp edged knives exactly alike, working against each other for the same purprst, that of cutting. By the construction of tl 1 . instrument, they eaid, it would appear aJ I if in shutting, these two sharp edei j knives would strike together, and destroy each others edges: but they only cut vht comes bcticccn thenu And thus the Kmb

and Americansdo, when they go to waragainst one another. It is not each other they want to destroy; but us, poor Indian that are between them. By this meat s they Ret our land and, when that is obtained, the scissors arc closed again and i laid by for further use." Signs. To hear a death-watch denotes that there is a little insect near you. T sec strange sights, is a sign that there ij something to caue them, or that your hraJ is disordered. To sec an apparition, or to be bewitched, is an incontcstible evidence that you are lacking in common sense Rabbi Eliezcr said, "Turn to God one day before your death" his disciples saw "how can a man know the day of ' w death?" He answered them, "therefore, you should turn to God fo-, perhaps you may die to-morrow; thus every day will employed in returning."

XUM

1 ' 1' r e 'r a

S 1 The jof: ) co vnh is 'thl S v ke nei Ho 3 s rs lit ni

a: o .0 t; :t 1. 1 t A n x v.

V