Now, a wife who fails to see the handwriting on the wall is no wife at all. Any wife who cannot tell, by a single look, exactly how her husband feels is not quite what she should be. Some women may question this declaration. They may regard it as a far-fetched indictment. The truth nevertheless is,—and all good citizens are thankful that it is so,—that if a man and woman live together for years, and during that time work together in sympathy and love, and share the burdens of life together, they grow toward each other; there is a psychic force that binds them so that when the clouds begin to settle over one the other promptly sees the mist and brings all her subtle skill and solicitude to guard and fight in the other's interest. The "two hearts that beat as one" are old hearts, hearts chastened by experience and mellowed by the sorrows and joys of life, hearts that have gone through the dark spots and the deep spots of affliction, and have loved and helped each other all through the long journey to sunset's old age. God never inspired a holier picture than the wrinkled face of a good old mother. The old eyes, with the peering promise of a near peace in them; the toothless mouth, whose words of cheer are records of the past; the wrinkled face, the sad token of human frailty; the gentle word of welcome which age trustingly bestows, all speak to younger hearts with hungry words, and we hope that their lot is one of peace and contentment and happiness.
A wife, therefore, who has shared the burdens of life honestly and willingly with her husband will promptly note when life's struggle is becoming dangerous to her helpmate.
The true wife will insist on rest, and quiet, and recuperation. No man has the right to sacrifice himself for his family and no family should dare to expect it. A wife should frequently inquire and find out what their success is costing her husband, find out the price he is paying. No success is worth while if a man is undermining his health and strength to attain it. Men do it, however. American business men do it all the time.
Maternal sacrifice is admittedly the supreme or Christ-like instinct of the human race, and it has been accorded the glory which is its due, but the unsung song of father love is a more pathetic incident of this strenuous age than we are apt to believe. America is building a breed of men with a dual passion, the passion for riches, and the passion to protect. The one is a wrong ideal, the other is a wrong principle. Ask any of the worn-out men who are inmates for the time being of the splendid institutions in the country devoted to the recuperation of health: ask the medical superintendents of the large sanitariums; ask Muldoon; ask the busy men of big business why they keep in the harness after they have made enough to retire upon; why they strive and fight and sacrifice themselves, and you will be told that the force which impels them is the desire to protect, with ample fortune, wife and children, and those dependent upon them. The average well-balanced man of America is never happier than when he can give to his loved ones every comfort and luxury possible. He is willing to work and so sacrifice self to the utmost to consummate his ambition. The right kind of a wife will see that her husband is getting a square deal.
The right kind of solicitude and the right kind of argument will tend to divert her husband's attention away from business, to the advantage of all concerned. The children of America need closer fellowship with the fathers. We should read fewer tales of the profligacy of rich men's sons and less lurid accounts of the doings of the daughters of society. The sons of poor men would profit by a freer companionship with the more experienced father, and the daughters would be less apt to wander away from the fireside of a home that was knit together by the broader sympathy of father love.
The training and education of our children is far more important than storing up money for them to spend recklessly. We all need help and cheering words and encouragement to do justice to ourselves and others. Nothing will inspire and stimulate youth more to achieve, to be clean in mind and body, and to succeed, than the knowledge that he is loved, and trusted, and has the implicit confidence of parents and of brothers and sisters. His pride is awakened, he would hate to fail, or to disappoint them, so he makes a conscientious effort to be worthy and to succeed.
The mothers are at the helm. They must be the harmonizing factor in the home, and they must bring their human ships into safe harbors. The storms and the battles of life will only unite the crew together if the "captain" is the right "man" in the right place.