For Our Lady Readers.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 10, 20 August 1897, Page 6

For Our Lady Readers.

Tim wire tii r i;r. \r, houc-.maker. T recently met a young gentleman whose engagmentto be rnarrie<l had just been, announced (says Emily Uuyner in the Jnth World). I congratulated him more than lie.utily on his rare good fortune in winning the affections and promise of the clever, accomplished, and sunny-hearted woman I knew his nmui-i' to be. And why did yon Bay so little of "her pood fortune '" a friend a*ked me alter the young" gentleman had departed. "Was she not fortunate, too/" Yes, any woman i*. fortunate who is beloved by a good, true man. as she is. but the balance of matrimonial fortune is more often in the man's favour, since he is so much more dependent on the woman for his hapiness, and. therefore, he should receive the heartiest congratulations. My friend looked puzzled and asked an explanation I assured her that I fully recognised the equal obligations of husband and wife, but my experience had shown me that a wife is not bo dependent on her husband for domestic happiness us the husband in upon his mate. He may be e\er so prominent, mj rich, so provident, so kind, so loving, but he cannot make a happy horn« it he has not a wife suited for domestic management. It is she who w ill conduct his home, who will i ear his children, who w ill make or mar their childish happiness— shape their dispositions, and give tone to the home. If she is indolent, circles, wasteful, thoughtless, in fact a " poor manager,' she will counteract all the pood qu ilitie.-, of the husband, be she ever so lo\ ing, handsome, or accomplished. He is bou id under thes-e eircum-tatiees to be unhappy in his hour, but should he. on the other hand, di-play many q ialities not desirable m one's lite companion, the wile and niothei, absoi bed in hei household circs and her children may -till make the home, bright with the sunlight of her cheerful di p iMttoti. an 1, radiant from ]ki- li<ni-< - wifely excellence and happiness although cloudtd, will still lei^n in the household.

The young man raiy will piuso before proposing a union for life to consider — '" \\ ill th s woman be au economical, careful, thrilty, tidy housekeeper .' Will she teach my < hildren as I would de-.n c them taught.' Is shccheertul as well as affectionate ' ' Low is tlu 1 ght of conjugal happmes,, but a wiles love without thrilt Wings ruin and domestic grief in its ti\iin. Many a happj'-go-lncky. thriftless. Rip- Van-Winkle ol this hie po.s-ess(.< a happy, well-managed

home, owing to the exertions and the exactness of the wife and mother, but a rich, careful man, tied to a woman not fitted for a housewife, ns well as wife, cannot overcome the effect of the discordant domestic life that follows He sinks beneath his burden : his love grows cold; he k'vps hou^e and boards in turn, finding each, way worse than the other : he .sends his children to boarding school, and the home is broken up ; the family drifts apart, and another domestic wreck lies along the shores of life. Every coming Benedict should look well when he selects his wife ; that beauty does not charm him, wealth allure, accomplishments blind him, nor a shallow affection lead him to propose to one who does not possess the sure anchor of thrift and executive skill. My young readers may think I am not romantic in my ideas, but romance fades, and a practical, thoughtful affection lives pure and ever blessed until death parts the life companions. THK CATHOLIC HOME : WHAT IT SHOCLD BE, AND SHOULD NOT r,E.

" How different is the Catholic home of to-day from that of long ago," an aged Irish lady remarked to me the other day. Sadly enough there is truth in her remark, for the generation of to-day (with a few exceptions) are a-h.iuied to adorn the walls of their homes with holy pictun. s. I have even heard old Irish women seriously declare over and over again that •' holy water is not used in this country, ith only an Irish cu-tom." This is partly true and several fo >hsh old Irish people imagine that everything "'colonial" is right, that if you have not the colonial touch you are all behind the ti'iie-. II you - arch' d tor a year and a day in a great many Catholic home.s in this city, you would not discover a holy-water font in any of the bedrooms. In furnishing the home people attach too much importance to collections of worthless bric-a-brac and china together with cheap tans, which they stick in all sorts of possible and impossible positions, and bits of drapery hanging where they can be of no use. and only serve to catch dust. This is a serious matter and no cost should be considered too great in furnishing a Catholic home with everything that will make it worthy of its grand title.

Always try and secure valuable sacred pictures to adorn the walls. There is no need to be ashamed of them, for the intellect and skill of the greatest painters were devoted to the depiction of incidents in the life of our Saviour. In every bedroom there should be an oratory, a crucifix, a holy-water font, and looking down upon these should be the pictures of the Blessed Virgin, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and any saint to whom you may be .specially devoted. In this way we give a peaceful and heavenly tone to our home and every room looks as though it were constantly occupied. There is always some object on which to rest the eyes. The little oratory, which, without any mistake, should be in every bedroom, if tastefully decorated with pretty vases filled with choice flowers, cannot tail to inspire devotion, nothing looking more charming than the nickering lamp almost hidden from view by drooping flower?-, as it glimmer* before the statue. Thoughts, no matter how deeply set on worldly affairs, are unconsciously drawn away from them in order that the weary heart may be refreshed by higher yet simpler subjects. A crucifix should be placed in such a manner that e\eryone may be able to see it. It is very advisable to hang the holy water font ne.ir the door, and then it will be always convenient, and each one can use the holy water on entering and leaving the bedroom.

There should be not only an air of refinement, but the genuine note of refinement, in themenb. rs of the Catholic home. Each one ought to show rennet to the other and try in every way to preserve that peace which is the characteristic of the truly Christian home.

It i> wonderful the amount of good which is done by the reading of pious books, and the Catholic parents should take upon themselves the duty of supplying their children w ith everything that is necessary for their intellectual and moral welfare. Every boy and girl should be the pos-e^or of a rosary beads, which should be always tarried m his or her pocket, and every young- man should cany a small cm lfix in an inside pocket. From childhood the members of the family should be trained to make the sign of the cross before and after meals, for little habits acquired in infancy in most cases are seldom uprooted. — M\ky Ai.nljs It's ax in Cat hoi to Pi cc j «fi.