These greatest rights—those of the mother from the husband—are so numerous, so all-comprehending, that they cannot be given in detail. They imply simply that he should look upon her as a part of himself and show it instinctively and as a matter of course. She has the right to claim from him that he should always be to her as he was before marriage, save that the relationship is closer and more familiar. What proportion of husbands remember this? How often does there come a time after marriage when the husband forgets that they are one? How often does he show unmistakably that he thinks his family is a drag upon him, that he is bearing a burden, that he deserves especial credit for bearing it and that what he pays out for family expenses he is “giving?” There would be short work were he to assume such an attitude toward his partner in a business venture, yet he is, literally, in partnership with his wife in the greatest business this life affords and that she put in by far the greater part of the capital in the beginning! AS TO FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS If there be anything a wife has a right to be fiercely sensitive about it is absolutely necessary money, according to the standard of living which may have been adopted. What wonder that she should feel grief and resentment when this money is doled out to her as if it were a “gift,” and not infrequently with grudgingness and reluctance and captious words! It is no “gift.” It is no concession. Except when beyond the ordinary requirements of living, within the limit of his means, no man ever “gave” his wife anything. He is simply meeting a wise obligation he has assumed and the manner in which he meets it may be said to afford a fair estimate of the standard of the man. This applies equally to the man of business affairs, to the farmer or to the workman. To say just how the wife and mother shall assert this right in the matter of money is difficult to say. She should not have to assert it. It is a delicate matter and must ever be between the two, but is referred to here at some length because it is the cause of so much needless unhappiness—this heedless disregard for one of the mother’s rights. REGARD, PROTECTION AND CONSIDERATION This matter of being placed under no personal obligation, even implied, is, however, but a specific illustration of one of the rights of a good wife. Her rights are first in all directions. Her rights include the utmost limit of protection and consideration and regard from all about her, and they are granted readily in the household where affection and intelligence prevail. She should not be the one to think of her rights—the good mother rarely is—but those about her—the husband first and all the time—should be the ones to see to it that they are guarded with all jealousy and fairly thrust upon her if she neglects to take them.