Report by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper — Read

I heard, my young friend / You were seeking a wife, / A woman to make / Your companion for life.

Now, if you are seeking / A wife for your youth, / Let this be your aim, then -- / Seek a woman of truth.

She may not have talents, / With greatness combined, / Her gifts may be humble, / Of person and mind:

But if she be constant, / And gentle, and true, / Believe me my friend, / She's the woman for you!

Oh! wed not for beauty, / Though fair is the prize; / It may pall when you grasp it, / And fade in your eyes.

Let gold not allure you, / Let wealth not attract; / With a house full of treasure, / A woman may lack.

Let her habits be frugal, / Her hands not afraid / To work in her household / Or follow her trade.

Let her language be modest, / Her actions discreet; / Her manners refined, / And free from deceit.

Now if such you should find, / In your journey through life, / Just open your mind, / And make her your wife.