The intellectual life by Hamerton Philip Gilbert 1834-1894

Author:Hamerton, Philip Gilbert, 1834-1894
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Self-culture. [from old catalog], Conduct of life
Publisher: Boston, Little, Brown, & company
Published: 1902-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE.

PART VII.

LETTER

Course of tnarried life

with an UJiedttcated

■woman.

very great, because the professor is confined to the country-town where his Lycee happens to be situated, and in that town he does not always see the most cultivated society. He may be an intellectual prince, but where is he to find his princess ? The marriage begins without the idea of intellectual companionship, and it continues as it began. The girl was uneducated ; it seems hopeless to try tc educate the woman ; and then there is the supreme difficulty, only to be overcome by two wills at once most resolute and most persistent, namely, how to find the time. Years pass ; the husband is occupied all day ; the wife needs to cheer herself with a little society, and goes to sit with neighbours who are not likely to add anything valuable to her knowledge or to give any elevation to her thoughts. Then comes the final fixing and crystallization of her intellect, after which, however much pains and labour might be taken by the pair, she is past the possibility of change.

These women are often so good and devoted that their husbands enjoy great happiness; but it is a kind of happiness curiously independent of the lady's presence. The professor may love his wife, and fully appreciate her qualities as a housekeeper, but he passes a more interesting evening with some male friend whose reading is equal to his own. Sometimes the lady perceives this, and it is an element of sadness in her life.

" I never see my husband," she tells you, not in anger, " His work occupies him all day, and in the evening h« sees his friends." The pair walk out together twice a week. I sometimes wonder what they say to each othe. during those conjugal promenades. They talk about their children, probably, and the little recurring difficulties about money. He cannot talk about his studies,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.