THE SOCIAL DUTIES OF HUSBANDS.
By Mariette C. DuBois
THE apostle Peter exhorts husbands to dwell with their wives "according to knowledge, giving honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life." 1 Peter 3:7. This includes the ordering of the whole life. It devolves upon the husband to be kind, and to provide the things necessary to home comfort; and the social duty, to provide food for mind and heart, is not less binding. The husband should provide good reading for his family. Few are so poor that they can not at least take their church paper and perhaps a good magazine. I know there are women who do not care to read, but they are few. The husband should do his duty in this direction anyway. I have been in homes where not a book, paper, or magazine was to be seen. Such a home would be a dreary place for me. Some men are naturally social and cheerful; others are quiet and reserved; and some are like a graveyard, cold and silent. You never see a shadow of a smile on their faces; and if the wife should chance to laugh aloud, she is accused of being frivolous, and sometimes reminded of what Paul says about women being sober. It is in the small attentions, the little home courtesies, that most husbands are likely to fail. So many after marriage drop small attentions and tender love tokens as foolishness, or too costly for every-day use. But this ought not to be so. Think you that the true wife cares less for these things than did the maiden? You were tender of her feelings and careful of her wishes when trying to win her; should you be less so now that she is won? Some men are cold and severe in their families. They do not remember that they should do their part in bringing sunshine into the home. This they could do by a cheerful manner, or by relating some pleasant incident that has occurred during the day. An invitation to walk or drive with you, to study the beauty of God's creation in the wildwood, the fields, or by the river-side, will cheer the heart of the wife, and perchance bring back the bloom to her cheek, the sparkle to her eye, and set her heart singing as in days of yore. It is so easy to give a word of praise now and then, or a smile of appreciation for some extra step taken. Right here so many men fail. They take every attention as a matter of course, and forget to give a word of commendation, no matter how much the wife may deserve it. Perhaps an extra-dainty dish has been prepared especially for the husband; but he has not a word of praise, not even a thought for the steps taken for his sake. A pleasant, "Thank you, dear," or a smiling, "If you please," is often a ray of sunshine across the path of the tired wife. Husbands, love your wives; how?—Even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it. So ought men to love their wives. How much?—As their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself. (Bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, you see.) Again, "Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them." Col. 3:19. My brother reader, do you fully understand the meaning of that word "bitter"? Webster defines it as "causing pain, smart, or distress, characterized by sharpness, severity, or cruelty, pitiable." The Word of the Lord says, "Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord." Prov. 18:22. Have you found a good wife? Appreciate her, and do not be afraid it will spoil her to let her know it. Show your love to her now. Do not wait until the grave hides her from view, but bring your flowers to strew along her path while living. She needs their fragrance to-day. Too many men realize, when it is too late, the value of the quiet little wife they have just laid away. Then words of praise fall upon the ears of others in profusion; but she hears not, knows not that she was so deeply beloved. And five dollars spent for her comfort now, would often save purchasing the granite monument so soon. "Live joyfully with the wife whom thou lovest all the days of the life . . . which He hath given thee under the sun." Eccl. 9:9. MARIETTE C. DUBOIS.
Grand Ledge, Mich.