VARIETIES.
Reading edition
Writing History.
Some people have very funny ideas about things. "You know I am supposed to be an historian," said Kinglake the historian of the Crimean war when talking to a friend. "The other day I got a letter which really touched me: it was signed by two people, husband and wife, and came from one of our colonies.
"They described their grief. Their only child had been killed in the Crimea. For some incomprehensible reason, they were most anxious to have their beloved son mentioned in my history of the Crimean War.
"Surprised, but flattered, I replied by return of post—a thing I had not done for many, many years—that I should be happy to do my best for their comfort provided they sent me the necessary particulars.
"Again, a letter signed by both father and mother arrived, but with the following cruel addition—
"'We have no particulars whatever. He was killed on the spot like so many others, and anything you may kindly invent will be welcome. We leave it entirely to your judgment.'"
How to Write Well.—The style of a writer is a faithful representation of her mind: therefore, if any girl wishes to write a clear style, let her first be clear in her thoughts; and if anyone would write in a noble style, let her first possess a noble soul.
Knowledge and Love.—Without knowledge love is vain, without love knowledge is vain.
Attend to Small Courtesies.—No matter how wise, how clever, how skilled you may be, if you fail in the small courtesies of life, people instinctively feel that there is dust on the balance, and that you do not weigh as pure gold.
Little Hope for Misers.—History tells of illustrious villains; but there never was an illustrious miser in nature.
Brush it Off, if you Can.—Stretch your hand out flat, and place in the middle of the palm an ordinary coin, a halfpenny, a penny, a sixpence, a shilling, or anything else. Then tell someone she can have it, provided she can brush it off. She must use a common clothes-brush for the experiment. Your hand must not be struck, it must be brushed, just as one would brush a garment. But the coin will stick to your hand as if it were glued there. It is a very curious experiment.