T. s. arthur's the withered heart! is a romantic novel displaying high morals and filled with character-building lessons. his works are wholesome, inculcate morality and purify the feelings - by tastefully illustrating the beauties of virtue, and the iniquities of vice. "he had grown wiser through the elevation of his understanding as to the higher truths of spiritual wisdom; and she had grown more loving through self-denial, patience, and a devotion of her life to the work of blessing others. the union was a truer one than it could have been in the earlier days of their companionship; for theirs was the union of soul, which springs from a mutual perception of those wise, and loving, and mutually adapted qualities, which meet only once, and then conjoin forever." timothy shay arthur was a popular 19th-century american author most famous for his temperance novel ten nights in a bar-room and what i saw there. he was also the author of dozens of stories for godey's lady's book. arthur did much to articulate and disseminate the values, beliefs, and habits that defined respectable life in america. arthur was one of the most popular and widely read author of his time.