Excerpt from The Wife, a Novel, Vol. 2 of 3: In Three Volumes I have, when soliloquising or communing with my own thoughts, been ready to exclaim, Who is the faithful friend of man - is it not woman? Without her affectionate assiduity how would he be preserved through the dangers attendant on the help less state of infancy? Is she not equally to be regarded as the cheering companion in youth, the friend and consoler through middle life - Lastly, the endearing partner who soothes the ia firmities of age, and tends to ward oti the attacks of disease by at tentions which mitigate pain, though they cannot wholly banish it. -to sum up all - Is she not the friend that is nearer than a brother, who supports that pillow on which the wearied head seeks to find repose when on the very verge of eternity. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.