body, they are fond of relating the achievement. If they have had unusual success in some enterprise, and have just heard the welcome intelligence, they bring home the report. But as to keeping their wives constantly acquainted with the state of their affairs, they no more think of it, than they do of communicating it to the Grand Seignior."*

Where can be the great impropriety of consulting the wife upon points of difficulty? Who is it more proper to consult ?-who will lend an ear more cheerfully, or enter more readily into all that concerns the husband, than she who is the most deeply interested in his welfare, and who has as great an interest depending upon his success as himself? So far as an anxious solicitude for the husband's prosperity, and a willingness to co-operate zealously with him and aid him in all his laudable undertakings, can qualify any person to become his adviser, those prerequisites will be found in the wife, to a peculiar extent. 66 But," says the distrusting husband, "this is not all that is necessary to qualify an individual to become a profitable adviser. To impart counsel in business transactions, one must be experienced in the affairs of men, in the different modes of doing business, in the state of the markets, and the rates of exchange; but from her education, her condition in society, and her habits, the wife cannot be supposed to understand these subjects, and hence is unqualified to

* Young Wife.

impart advice respecting them." Let this be allowed, and it does not affect my position. I am not advocating the necessity of seeking the wife's advice in regard to all the minute operations, the modus operandi of business transactions; but of consulting her at least upon matters of great and vital importance-upon transactions which have lasting consequences attached to them, and which she does, or readily can be made clearly to comprehend. I might, indeed, insist with propriety, upon consulting the wife respecting much that pertains to the details of business; for I am confident women are not, or need not necessarily be, so very ignorant of business transactions, as many would have us believe. The husband, if he is so disposed, can make a wife who possesses the ordinary good sense of woman, a valuable auxiliary and counsellor in his general affairs. Let him each evening give her a brief synopsis or outline of the most important transactions of the day, and he will soon find her so familiar with the state of his business, as to be able to impart to him sound and practical advice, in seasons of perplexity and doubt. If a husband questions the practicability of this suggestion, let him make the experiment in a fair and candid manner, and there can be but little doubt that his unbelief will be removed.

In neglecting to repose this confidence in his wife, does not the husband cast an ungenerous suspicion upon her capabilities? When he keeps her in as total an ignorance of his affairs as possi

ble--when he will not deign to consult her even in relation to transactions of the most grave and weighty importance, and which may involve her and her children in poverty and want through life-what is it but virtually saying to her-" your mind is too feeble, your discernment too contracted, your general ignorance vastly too great, to become my adviser!-attend to your knitting and sewing, look after the cooking, take care of the children— for these are all the subjects which you have ability to comprehend!" Is not this language of the actions deeply ungenerous and unmanly? How can children have confidence in their mother, or respect her as they ought, when they behold the father daily pursuing a course which evinces that he does not deem her worthy of trust, or her opinions of any weight? By pursuing this course, the husband calls in question very distinctly the strength of his own discernment. It shows that from among the multitude of sensible and sound-minded females, he has selected for a bosom companion one so destitute of judgment and common sense, as to be incapable of giving advice upon the most plain and common subjects! Surely it must evince uncommon depth of mind and maturity of judgment, to have made so wise a choice!

This idea that the wife's advice is worthless, savors too much of the Eastern degradation of woman, to be adopted in Christian countries.-Among the Orientals there is a maxim something like the following:-"Obtain all the advice you

can from your wife, and then do directly the reverse, and you will act wisely!" In illustration of this rule, the following anecdote is recorded.

"Nassreddyn, the Turkish sop, wishing to propitiate the conquering Tamerlane, proposed to earry him fruit. 'Hold,' said he, 'two heads are better than one; I will ask my wife whether I had better carry quinces or figs.' His wife replied, 'Quinces will please him best, because they are larger and finer.' 'However useful the advice may be,' rejoined Nassreddyn, 'it is never well to follow that of a woman; I am determined to take figs.' When he arrived in the camp, Tamerlane amused himself by throwing the figs at his bald head. At every blow, Nassreddyn exclaimed, "God be praised!' Tamerlane inquired what he meant. 'I am thanking God that I did not follow my wife's advice,' replied Nassreddyn, ‘for if I had brought quinces instead of figs, I should certainly have a broken head.'"

In relation to this anecdote, I would remark, that as neither of them could possibly anticipate the use which the great conqueror would make of the fruit, the wife in this instance certainly exhibited much good sense in her advice, while her husband showed a more than womanly weakness in selecting the meaner, rather than the fairer fruit. This is evident from the fact, that Tamerlane viewed the figs as so worthless that he threw them at the head of the foolish donor. The whole drift of the

sarcasm which the anecdote aims at woman's advice, depends upon a supposition which is not at all probable, viz.: that Tamerlane would have put the quinces to the same use that he did the figs. So that the author of the anecdote exhibits as much weakness and want of discernment and wit, as the hero whose wise and chivalrous exploits he records.

The pretence that women have not sufficient good sense and discernment to understand business transactions, and to be capable of giving advice in relation thereto, is as unfounded as it is ungenerous. They have been endowed with perception, reason, and understanding-they have the power of judging the future by the past, of comparing fact with fact, and of reasoning legitimately and logically-in fine, they have all the faculties of mind which men possess; and these, too, in a degree of strength sufficient, and more than sufficient, to enable them to comprehend all business transactions, when their attention is turned in that direction. The observation of every reader will confirm these remarks. How often do we see widows and other unmarried women, conducting their own business affairs with a skill and success which may well put to blush many of those men who boast of their superior judgment and tact. Many have been the instances where wives have been compelled to take the control of their husbands' business, to prevent bankruptcy and ruin. And it will be generally acknowledged, that in the great majority of those cases, where females have engaged