true than in the case of the wife of Tom Hood, whose tender devotion
to him, during a life that was a prolonged illness, is one of the most
affecting things in biography. A woman of excellent good sense, she
appreciated her husband's genius, and, by encouragement and sympathy,
cheered and heartened him to renewed effort in many a weary struggle for
life. She created about him an atmosphere of hope and cheerfulness, and
nowhere did the sunshine of her love seem so bright as when lighting up
the couch of her invalid husband.

Nor was he unconscious of her worth. In one of his letters to her, when
absent from his side, Hood said: "I never was anything, Dearest, till
I knew you; and I have been a better, happier, and more prosperous man
ever since. Lay by that truth in lavender, Sweetest, and remind me of it
when I fail. I am writing warmly and fondly, but not without good
cause. First, your own affectionate letter, lately received; next, the
remembrance of our dear children, pledges--what darling ones!--of
our old familiar love; then, a delicious impulse to pour out the
overflowings of my heart into yours; and last, not least, the knowledge
that your dear eyes will read what my hand is now writing. Perhaps there
is an afterthought that, whatever may befall me, the wife of my bosom
will have the acknowledgment of her tenderness, worth, excellence--all
that is wifely or womanly, from my pen." In another letter, also written
to his wife during a brief absence, there is a natural touch, showing
his deep affection for her: "I went and retraced our walk in the park,
and sat down on the same seat, and felt happier and better."

But not only was Mrs. Hood a consoler, she was also a helper of her
husband in his special work. He had such confidence in her judgment,
that he read, and re-read, and corrected with her assistance all that
he wrote. Many of his pieces were first dedicated to her; and her ready
memory often supplied him with the necessary references and quotations.
Thus, in the roll of noble wives of men of genius, Mrs. Hood will always
be entitled to take a foremost place.

Not less effective as a literary helper was Lady Napier, the wife of Sir
William Napier, historian of the Peninsular War. She encouraged him to
undertake the work, and without her help he would have experienced great
difficulty in completing it. She translated and epitomized the immense
mass of original documents, many of them in cipher, on which it w