Another grievance which children have to complain of is that their right to property is not respected, their toys and books being sometimes given away without their knowl- edge and consent, they having not even the doubtful fun of being enrolled in the "Infant Bonds of Joy," like Mas- ter Alfred Pardiggle. It seems to me that the best way to teach a child to respect the rights of others is by respect- ing his own. If we wish our children to be just, generous, and kind, we must be all these ourselves. The child has his place in the house, his right to be there. He owes obedience and allegiance to his parents, and they also owe much to him. It would do no harm for us all once in a while to read that little song of Heine's beginning, " My Child, we were Children Once." DISCONTENTED WOMEN. One is sometimes painfully impressed when in a large gathering of people, whether at opera-house or church, by the expression of discontent upon the faces of the women. It is an interesting experiment to fancy one's self inside an- other's head, and to speculate upon just what thoughts and emotions have drawn the facial muscles into their peculiar forms. Occasionally a woman is seen in whom there ap- pears to be no correspondence between the soul and the muscles, some strange disease having made the latter im- movable and incapable of performing their functions ; but generally the " mind's construction " may be read or guessed at from the expression of the face. It is clear enough that in many cases a well-defined dis- content is felt ; they are dissatisfied with their surround- ings. Often the one great trouble about dress is enough to account for the turning down of the comers of the mouth, the unpleasant look about the eyes, and even for the two little wrinkles over the nose. It is not easy, and one doesn't feel happy, if she really longs for a sealskin jacket, to be 116 JlOUSSnOLD BINTS. obliged to take up with something far cheaper and less be- coming. "My Uncle Toby" noted this fact, and speaks with some degree of sympathy of that woman who " couldn't have silk, and so wouldn't have calico." But this indication of discontent is not always to be ac- counted for in this way. It is seen when, so far as outward circumstances are concerned, there is nothing left to wish for. They have home, friends, money, position, and even that inner satisfaction which religion is able to give, but they do not know what to do with themselves. They have received good educations, as the world goes ; they are what are usually called cultivated ladies ; they have accomplish- ments, and some acquirements, but they are not contented, from the fact that they have nothing specific to do. It is not enough simply to live to do the every-day duties that fall to their lot without need of applause. They are not sufficient unto themselves ; their education, so far as it has affected them, has unfitted them for a commonplace and humdrum life. They are not content to do common things nobly. Some great indefinite achievement seems to beckon them on away from those duties which lie close beside and before them ; and the feeling operates so powerfully that it is written indelibly upon the face. There can be but one remedy for it, and that is first to recognize the trouble, and then, with all the energy of one's nature, to accept life as it is and make the most of it. No woman's life need be utterly without atmosphere while music, and literature, and Nature in its varied forms remain to be studied. I believe that no woman ever lived who had not something which she ought to do ; and it is possible for her to cultivate that habit of mind which finds expression in Wordsworth's ode to " Duty ": " Nor know we anything so fair As is the smile upon thy face." TALKS UPON VARIOUS SUBJECTS, 117 BREAKING DISHES.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Another grievance which children have to complain of is that their right to property is not respected, their toys and books being sometimes given away without their knowledge and consent, they having not even the doubtful fun of being enrolled in the "Infant Bonds of Joy," like Master Alfred Pardiggle. It seems to me that the best way to teach a child to respect the rights of others is by respecting his own. If we wish our children to be just, generous, and kind, we must be all these ourselves. The child has his place in the house, his right to be there. He owes obedience and allegiance to his parents, and they also owe much to him. It would do no harm for us all once in a while to read that little song of Heine's beginning, " My Child, we were Children Once." DISCONTENTED WOMEN. One is sometimes painfully impressed when in a large gathering of people, whether at opera-house or church, by the expression of discontent upon the faces of the women. It is an interesting experiment to fancy one's self inside another's head, and to speculate upon just what thoughts and emotions have drawn the facial muscles into their peculiar forms. Occasionally a woman is seen in whom there appears to be no correspondence between the soul and the muscles, some strange disease having made the latter immovable and incapable of performing their functions ; but generally the " mind's construction " may be read or guessed at from the expression of the face. It is clear enough that in many cases a well-defined discontent is felt ; they are dissatisfied with their surroundings. Often the one great trouble about dress is enough to account for the turning down of the comers of the mouth, the unpleasant look about the eyes, and even for the two little wrinkles over the nose. It is not easy, and one doesn't feel happy, if she really longs for a sealskin jacket, to be [illustration: page number and header] obliged to take up with something far cheaper and less becoming. "My Uncle Toby" noted this fact, and speaks with some degree of sympathy of that woman who " couldn't have silk, and so wouldn't have calico." But this indication of discontent is not always to be accounted for in this way. It is seen when, so far as outward circumstances are concerned, there is nothing left to wish for. They have home, friends, money, position, and even that inner satisfaction which religion is able to give, but they do not know what to do with themselves. They have received good educations, as the world goes ; they are what are usually called cultivated ladies ; they have accomplishments, and some acquirements, but they are not contented, from the fact that they have nothing specific to do. It is not enough simply to live to do the every-day duties that fall to their lot without need of applause. They are not sufficient unto themselves ; their education, so far as it has affected them, has unfitted them for a commonplace and humdrum life. They are not content to do common things nobly. Some great indefinite achievement seems to beckon them on away from those duties which lie close beside and before them ; and the feeling operates so powerfully that it is written indelibly upon the face. There can be but one remedy for it, and that is first to recognize the trouble, and then, with all the energy of one's nature, to accept life as it is and make the most of it. No woman's life need be utterly without atmosphere while music, and literature, and Nature in its varied forms remain to be studied. I believe that no woman ever lived who had not something which she ought to do ; and it is possible for her to cultivate that habit of mind which finds expression in Wordsworth's ode to " Duty ": " Nor know we anything so fair As is the smile upon thy face." BREAKING DISHES.

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