room in the poorest house on the poorest
street of the poorest town, and have nothing but dry bread rather than
that you should make yourself culpable before God and the law." In
the vast majority of cases where there has been exposure of great
frauds, the wife has been the most surprised person in the community.

A BANKER

some time ago misused trust funds, and he went from fraud to fraud,
and from knavery to knavery, until it was necessary for him to leave
home before daylight. His wife said: "Where are you going?" "I am
going to New York," said he "I am going on the early train." "Why,
isn't this sudden?" she asked. "Oh, no; I expected to go," and then he
left the room and went up to the room where his daughters slept,
looked upon their calm faces for the last time, as he supposed, and
started. He was brought back by the constables of an outraged law, and
is now in the penitentiary.

Do you suppose that man, with a good wife, as he had, an honest wife,
as he had, a Christian wife, as he had, could have got into such an
enormity if he had consulted in regard to her wishes? Consultation is
the word--domestic consultation.

III. Again: in order to domestic happiness, there must, in the
conjugal state, be

NO SECRETS

kept one from the other. What one knows both must know. It is a bad
sign when one partner in the conjugal relation is afraid to have the
letters opened or read by the other partner. Surreptitious
correspondence is always dangerous. If a man comes to you and says, "I
am going to tell you a great privacy, and don't want you to tell
anybody, not even your wife," say to him, "Well, now, you had better
not tell me, for I shall tell her as soon as I get home."

There must be no secrecy of association. You ought not to be unwilling
to tell where you have been, and with whom you have been. Sometimes an
unwise wife will have a lady confidante whom she makes a depository of
privacies which they are pledged to keep between themselves. Beware!
Anything that implies that husband and wife are two and not one
implies peril, domestic peril, social peril, mighty peril.

In the vast majority of cases of domestic infelicity coming to
exposure in the courts, the trouble began by the accidental opening of
a letter which implied correspondence which was never suspected. In
the conjugal relations, secrets kept one from another are
nitro-glycerine under the hearthstone, and the fuse is lighted!

IV. Again: in orde