_Advice to a Wife._--O woman! thou knowest the hour when the goodman of the house will return, when the heat and burden of the day are past; do not let him at such time, find upon his coming to his habitation, that the foot which should hasten to meet him is wandering at a distance, that when he is weary with toil and jaded with discouragement, the soft hand which should wipe the sweat from his brow, is knocking at the door of other houses. --_W. Irving._ 2017 A stubborn wife is a mat rolled up--i. e., useless. --_Chinese._ 2018 ADVICE TO A WIFE. Fie! fie! unknit that threat'ning, unkind brow, And dart not scornful glances from those eyes, To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor; It blots thy beauty, as frost bite the meads; Confounds thy fame, as whirlwinds shake fair buds; And in no sense is meet or amiable. A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled, Muddy, ill-seeming, thick, bereft of beauty; And while it is so, none so dry or thirsty Will deign to sip, or touch one drop of it. Thy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper, Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee, And for thy maintenance commits his body To painful labour both by sea and land; To watch the night in storms, the day in cold, While thou liest warm at home, secure and safe, And craves no other tribute at thy hands, But love, fair looks, and true obedience: Too little payment for so great a debt. Such duty as one owes a prince, Even such, a woman oweth to her husband: And when she's froward, peevish, sullen, sour, And not obedient to his honest will, What is she but a foul contending rebel And graceless traitor to her loving lord? I am asham'd that women are so simple To offer war, where they should kneel for peace; Or seek for rule, supremacy and sway, When they are bound to serve, love, and obey. --_Shakespeare._ 2019 I AM YOUR WIFE. Oh, let me lay my head to-night upon your breast, And close my eyes against the light, I fain would rest, I'm weary, and the world looks sad; this worldly strife Turns me to you; and, oh I'm glad to be your wife! Though friends may fail or turn aside, yet I have you And in your love I may abide, for you are true-- My only solace in each grief and in despair, Your tenderness is my relief; it soothes each care. If joys of life could alienate this poor weak heart From yours, then may no pleasure great enough to part Our sympathies fall to my lot. I'd e'er remain Bereft of friends, though true or not, just to retain Your true regard, your presence bright, thro' care and strife And, oh! I thank my God to-night, I am your wife!