To Miss Anna D. Howell of Trenton, NJ
"I Want a Wife" (1855)
or the Bachelor's Invitation
Melody by William Vincent Wallace, 1812-1860
Words by Charles Rawlings
Adapted by Charles Jarvis

New York, NY: William Hall & Son, 239 Broadway
[Source: 050/040@Levy]

1.
I want a wife to cheer my life.
I care not if she's [_anoir_?] beauty.
So I [but?] find that she is kind
And knows practices her duty.

2.
I want a wife averse to strife,
A gentle unaffective creature,
One who can pass a looking glass,
_Sans_ stopping to survey each feature.

3.
I want a wife with vigor rife,
Whose nerves are never in a flutter,
Who will not roam but stay at home,
And brew and bake and make the butter.

I want a wife who thro' her life
Was never known to have a flirt,
Who'll bring to me a recipe
To keep the bottons on a shirt.

4.
If such an one dwells 'neath the sun,
And don't mind leaving friends behind her,
She'd better write to _Mister White,_
Informing him where he may find her.