p. 342 | The Home Circle

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Nov 13, 1879

The Home Circle.

WHAT MAKES A WOMAN.

Not costly dress nor queenly air, Not jeweled hand, complexion fair; Not graceful form, nor lofty trend, Not paint, nor curls, nor splendid head; Not pearly teeth nor sparkling eyes, Not voice that nightingale outvies, Not breath as sweet as eglantine, Not gaudy gems nor fabrics fine; Not all the stores of fashion's mart, Nor yet the blandishments of art; Not one, nor all of these combined, Can make one woman, true, refined.

'Tis not the casket that we prize, But that which in the casket lies. These outward charms that please the sight, Are naught unless the heart be right. She, to fulfill her destined end, Must with her beauty, goodness blend; Must make it her incessant care To deck herself with jewels rare; Of priceless gems must be possessed, In robes of richest beauty dressed; Yet these must clothe the inward mind In purity the most refined.

She who doth all these goods combine Can man's high nature well define; Hath all she needs in this frail life To fit for mother, sister, wife. Contentment dwells within her mind, And Peace doth there a lodgment find. He who possesses such a friend, Should cherish well till death doth end. Woman, in fine, the mate should be, To sail with man o'er life's rough sea; And when the stormy cruise is o'er, Attend him to fair Canaan's shore.

—Selected.