of a fastening, till it eventnallj tumbles off and is
broken ; or a pump gets out of order, and, for want
of a slight repair, has to be labored with every time
a bucket of water is needed. And so I could go
on and on, and mention a thousand similar things
that any one of thought and observation can see
almost daily, and on every one of which extra
labor and strength are wasted, week after week,
and month after month, when a few moments'
thoughtful, intelligent effort would put any one of
them in perfect condition. Yet people endure
such extra labor and discomfort without seeming
to realize that they can avoid them by removing
the cause. Through all the various departments
of society, the disposition to forget, neglect, over-
look, or remain ignorant how to do minor things,
as they are termed, is so apparent that it is rather
difficult to oret a correct idea of what the average
man and woman conceive to be the chief end of
existence. I am old-fashioned enough to think
that people who endeavor to escape the so-called
drudgeries of life, by shirking and neglecting its
ever-present duties and responsibilities, soon be-
come incapable of appreciating and enjoying its
purest delights and satisfactions, and fritter away
their time, vainly searching for a sphere in which
they can labor to the best advantage ; or spend it,
avariciously striving to get up ^ a corner' on the
fruits of the future, and monopolize the whole
LITTLE THINGS. 207
stock of happiness supposed to be garnered up in
the storehouse of the 'good time coming.'"
"Kate, it seems to me you are right, in the
main," said Emeline. "But you wouldn't have
people give too much time to little things, would
you ? "
"Too much time ! Why, Emeline, the more I
think upon this subject, the more I am impressed
with its magnitude and importance. What do
people mean Avhen they talk of being so engrossed
with great things that they forget, or neglect,
little ones? Great and small are but relative
terms ; and great things are simply the aggregate
of many small ones. Who can determine where
the dividing line between big and little should be
drawn ; or exactly how many little things are re-
quired in the composition of one big thing? Is
the size of things, their importance or unimpor-
tance, their bigness or littleness, accurately com-
puted by the amount of time, labor, care, strength,
or intellect bestowed upon them ; or by the effect
they produce upon the world ? Or is it carelessly
measured by an imaginary standard for whose cor-
rectness no one is responsible? Are the great
things of life those that give society at large
the greatest amount of happiness ; or those that
yield a few persons the greatest amount of money ?
Does the surgeon who performs a dangerous
operation on a patient do a great thing, and the
208 COOKING AND CASTLE-BUILDING.
Page 88
Presented as published in 1880. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
of a fastening, till it eventually tumbles off and is broken ; or a pump gets out of order, and, for want of a slight repair, has to be labored with every time a bucket of water is needed. And so I could go on and on, and mention a thousand similar things that any one of thought and observation can see almost daily, and on every one of which extra labor and strength are wasted, week after week, and month after month, when a few moments' thoughtful, intelligent effort would put any one of them in perfect condition. Yet people endure such extra labor and discomfort without seeming to realize that they can avoid them by removing the cause. Through all the various departments of society, the disposition to forget, neglect, overlook, or remain ignorant how to do minor things, as they are termed, is so apparent that it is rather difficult to get a correct idea of what the average man and woman conceive to be the chief end of existence. I am old-fashioned enough to think that people who endeavor to escape the so-called drudgeries of life, by shirking and neglecting its ever-present duties and responsibilities, soon become incapable of appreciating and enjoying its purest delights and satisfactions, and fritter away their time, vainly searching for a sphere in which they can labor to the best advantage ; or spend it, avariciously striving to get up ^ a corner' on the fruits of the future, and monopolize the whole
stock of happiness supposed to be garnered up in the storehouse of the 'good time coming.'"
"Kate, it seems to me you are right, in the main," said Emeline. "But you wouldn't have people give too much time to little things, would you ? "
"Too much time ! Why, Emeline, the more I think upon this subject, the more I am impressed with its magnitude and importance. What do people mean when they talk of being so engrossed with great things that they forget, or neglect, little ones? Great and small are but relative terms ; and great things are simply the aggregate of many small ones. Who can determine where the dividing line between big and little should be drawn ; or exactly how many little things are required in the composition of one big thing? Is the size of things, their importance or unimportance, their bigness or littleness, accurately computed by the amount of time, labor, care, strength, or intellect bestowed upon them ; or by the effect they produce upon the world ? Or is it carelessly measured by an imaginary standard for whose correctness no one is responsible? Are the great things of life those that give society at large the greatest amount of happiness ; or those that yield a few persons the greatest amount of money ? Does the surgeon who performs a dangerous operation on a patient do a great thing, and the