Part 11

A lady who was very rich, and fond of pomp and show, after having displayed, in a visit she made, her diamonds, pearls, and richest jewels, earnestly desired Cornelia, the illustrious, to let her see her jewels also. Cornelia dexterously turned the conversation to another subject, to wait the return of her sons, who were gone to the public schools. When they returned and entered their mother's apartment, she said to the rich lady, pointing to them with her hand, "These are my jewels, and the only ornaments I admire."

1013

JOY.

When you first saw the light of this world you were crying, and your friends were full of joy;--Live, so, that when you die, your friends will cry and you will be full of joy.

1014

Of joys departed, Not to return, how painful the remembrance!

--_R. Blair._

1015

I cannot speak, tears so obstruct my words, And choke me with unutterable joy.

--_Otway._

1016

Joy when it's shared, its pleasure doubles, And sorrow, loses half its troubles.

1017

_Johnson_: "It is commonly a weak man who marries for love." We then talked of marrying women of fortune; and I (Boswell) mentioned a common remark, that a man may be, upon the whole, richer by marrying a woman with a very small portion, because a woman of fortune will be proportionally expensive; whereas a woman who brings none will be very moderate in expenses. _Johnson_: "Depend upon it, Sir, this is not true. A woman of fortune, being used to the handling of money, spends it judiciously; but a woman who gets the command of money for the first time upon her marriage, has such a gust in spending it, that she throws it away with great profusion."

--_Boswell's Johnson._

1018

Never risk a joke, even the least offensive in its nature and the most common, with a person who is not well-bred, or possessed of sense to comprehend it.

--_La Bruyere._

1019

A CONSCIENTIOUS JUDGE.

Sir Matthew Hale was very exact and impartial in his administration of justice. One of the first peers of England went once to his chamber and told him--"That having a suit in law to be tried before him, he was there to acquaint him with it, that he might the better understand it when he should come to be heard in court." Upon which Sir Matthew interrupted him, and said--"He did not deal fairly to come to his chamber about such affairs, for he never received any information of causes but in open court, where both parties were to be heard alike," so he would not suffer him to go on. Whereupon his grace (for he was a Duke) went away not a little dissatisfied, and complained of it to the king, as a rudeness that was not to be endured. But his majesty bade him content himself that he was no worse used, and said--"He verily believed he would have used himself no better, if he had gone to solicit him in any of his own causes."

1020

When we are too young our judgment is at fault; so also when we are too old.

--_Pascal._

1021

Give every one the benefit of a doubt. You might be sadly in need of it yourself some day!

--_N. S. Murphy._

1022

Gently to hear, kindly to judge.

1023

We shall be judged, not by what we might have been, but what we have been.

--_Sewell._

1024

He hears but half, that hears one party only.

--_Aeschylus._

1025

Any time is the proper time for saying what is just.

--_From the Greek._

1026

Justice and truth may sleep but will never die.

1027

Habits of justice are a valuable possession.

--_Antiphones._

1028

Justice means that standard or boundary of right which enables us to render to every man his just due without distinction.

K

1029

"I expect" said one, "to pass thro' this world but once. If therefore there be any kindness I can do, or show, to my fellow-men, let me do it now, as I shall not pass this way again."

--_Mrs. A. B. Hegeman._

1030

Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together.

--_Goethe._

1031

Kindness has converted more sinners than either zeal, eloquence, or learning.

--_F. W. Faber._

1032

A long delay in kindness takes the kindness all away.

1033

To remind a man of a kindness conferred is little less than a reproach.

1034

In the _Gentleman's Magazine_ for September, 1797, published in London, there appears a letter which shows Benjamin Franklin, the philosopher, in the character of a creditor. The letter, which was written in Paris, is as follows:--

April 22, 1784.

I send you herewith a bill for ten louis d'ors. I do not pretend to give such a sum. I only lend it to you. When you shall return to your country you cannot fail of getting into some business that will in time enable you to pay all your debts. In that case, when you meet with another honest man in similar distress you must pay me by lending this sum to him, enjoining him to discharge the debt by a like operation when he shall be able, and shall meet with such another opportunity. I hope it may thus go through many hands before it meets with a knave to stop its progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money. I am not rich enough to afford much in good works, and so am obliged to be cunning and make the most of a little.

1035

If none were sick and none were sad, We scarcely would be tender.

1036

GRATITUDE OF AN INDIAN CHIEF.

A Scotch Highlander was taken prisoner by a tribe of Indians; his life was about to be sacrificed, when the chief adopted him as his son. They carried him into the interior; he learnt their language, assumed their habits, and became skillful in the use of their arms. After a season the same tribe began their route to join the French army, at that time opposed to the British. It was necessary to pass near to the British lines during the night. Very early in the morning, and it was spring, the old chief roused the young Highlander from his repose: he took him to an eminence, and pointed out to him the tents of his countrymen. The old man appeared to be dreadfully agitated, and there was a keen restlessness in his eye. After a pause--"I lost," said he, "my only son in a battle with your nation; are you the only son of your father? And do you think that your father is yet alive?" The young man replied, "I am the only son of my father, and I hope that my father is yet alive." They stood close to a beautiful magnolia in full blossom. The prospect was grand and enchanting, and all its charms were crowned by the sun, which had fully emerged from the horizon. The old chief, looking steadfastly at his companion, exclaimed: "Let thy heart rejoice at the beauty of the scene! To me it is as the desert; but you are free; return to your countrymen, revisit your father that he may again rejoice when he sees the sun rise in the morning, and the trees blossom in the spring!"

1037

Little acts of kindness are stowed away in the heart, like bags of lavender in a drawer, to sweeten every object around them.

1038

A good man that has done a kindness never proclaims it, but does another as soon as he can; much like the vine which is satisfied by being fruitful in its kind, and bears a bunch of grapes without expecting thanks for it.

1039

There's no dearth of kindness In this world of ours; Only in our blindness We gather thorns for flowers.

--_Gerald Massey._

1040

Money can be repaid-- Not kindness such as yours.

--_Shakespeare._

1041

_Returned Kindness._--When the country near Albany was newly settled, an Indian came to the inn at Lichfield, and asked for a night's shelter, at the same time confessing that from failure in hunting he had nothing to pay. The hostess drove him away with reproachful epithets, and as the Indian was retiring sorrowfully,--there being no other inn for many a weary mile,--a man who was sitting by directed the hostess to supply his wants, and promised to pay her. As soon as his supper was ended, the Indian thanked his benefactor, and said he would some day repay him. Several years thereafter the settler was taken a prisoner by a hostile tribe, and carried off to Canada. However, his life was spared, though he himself was detained in slavery. But one day an Indian came to him, and giving him a musket, bade the captive follow him. The Indian never told where they were going, nor what was his object; but day after day the captive followed his mysterious guide, till one afternoon they came suddenly on a beautiful expanse of cultivated fields, with many houses rising amongst them. "Do you know that place?" asked the Indian. "Ah, yes--it is Lichfield!" and whilst the astonished exile had not recovered his surprise and amazement, the Indian exclaimed--"And I am the starving Indian on whom at this very place you took pity. And now that I have paid for my supper, I pray you go home!"

--_Dr. Dwight._

1042

KINDNESS TO INSECTS.

Let them enjoy their little day, Their humble bliss receive; Oh, do not lightly take away The life thou canst not give.

1043

Getting money is not all a man's business: to cultivate kindness, is a valuable part of the business of life.

--_Dr. Johnson._

1044

A more glorious victory cannot be gained over another man than this: that when the injury began on his part, the kindness shall begin on ours.

1045

If you grant a favor, forget it; If you receive one, remember it.

1046

Whoever knows how to return a kindness he has received must be a friend above all price.

--_Philoctetes._

1047

Write injuries in the dust and kindness in marble.

1048

DEFINITIONS OF A KISS.

The seal that stamps many a future.

A woman's most effective argument.

Woman's passport to her husband's purse.

A wireless message from the lips to the heart.

1049

A kiss of the lips does not always touch the heart.

1050

Pleasant is the welcome kiss When the day's dull round is o'er; And sweet the music of the step That meets us at the door.

1051

KISSING--PROPRIETY OF.

Some say that kissing's a sin; But I think it's nane ava, For kissing has wonn'd[1051:A] in this warld Since ever that there was twa. Oh! if it wasna lawfu', Lawyers wadna allow it; If it wasna holy, Ministers wadna do it; If it wasna modest, Maidens wadna tak' it; If it wasna plenty, Puir folk wadna get it.

--_Burns._

FOOTNOTES:

[1051:A] Won.

1052

Knowledge is a comfortable and necessary retreat and shelter for us in an advanced age; and if we do not plant it while young, it will give us no shade when we grow old.

1053

Ask the young people: they know everything!

1054

A Persian philosopher being asked by what method he had acquired so much knowledge, replied, "By not being prevented by shame from asking questions respecting things of which I was ignorant."

1055

Knowledge is not gained on a bed of roses.

1056

If you have knowledge let others light their candles at it.

--_Fuller._

1057

Men may acquire knowledge, but not wisdom. Some of the greatest fools the world has known have been learned men.

1058

I have never yet found a man who did not know something of which I was ignorant.

1059

If we do not plant it (knowledge) when young, it will give us no shade when we are old.

1060

Knowledge without practice is like a glass eye, all for show, and nothing for use.

1061

_Johnson_:--I remember very well when I was at Oxford, an old gentleman said to me,--"Young man, ply your book diligently now, and acquire a stock of knowledge; for when years come upon you, you will find that poring upon books will be but an irksome task."

--_Boswell's Johnson._

1062

The Earl of Morton said at John Knox's grave,-- "He lies there who never feared the face of man."

L

1063

LABOR.

The beauty and blessedness of labor are finely presented by John Greenleaf Whittier:--

Give fools their gold, and knaves their power; Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall; Who sows a field, or trains a flower, Or plants a tree, is more than all.

For he who blesses most is blest; And God and man shall own his worth Who toils to leave, as his bequest An added beauty to the earth.

1064

Genius begins great works; labor alone finishes them.

1065

The fruit derived from labor is the sweetest of all pleasures.

--_Vauvenargues._

1066

I have also seen the world, and after long experience have discovered that ennui is our greatest enemy, and remunerative labor our most lasting friend.

--_Moser._

1067

LABOR.

Some relaxation is necessary to people of every degree; the head that thinks, and the hand that labors, must have some little time to recruit their diminished powers.

--_Gilpin._

1068

None so little enjoy life, and are such burdens to themselves, as those who have nothing to do. The active only have the true relish of life. He who knows not what it is to labor, knows not what it is to enjoy. It is exertion that renders rest delightful, and sleep sweet, and undisturbed.

1069

A LABORING SCARECROW.

Two old farmers were walking up a road near Dunfermline, when one of the pair, shading his eyes from the sun, pointed to a distant field and said:

"I wonder if that figure over there is a scarecrow."

He paused and considered the matter for a while, and then, in a satisfied tone, concluded:

"Yes, it must be a scarecrow; it's not moving."

But the other Scot had a sharper pair of eyes, and perhaps a better understanding of human nature.

"No," he said, dryly, "it's not a scarecrow; it's only a man working by the day."

1070

ADVICE TO A YOUNG LADY.

The Rev. Mr. Berridge being once visited by a loquacious young lady, who, forgetting the modesty of her sex, and the superior gravity of an aged divine, engrossed all the conversation of the interview with small talk concerning herself. When she rose to retire, he said, "Madam, before you withdraw, I have one piece of advice to give you; and that is, when you go into company again, after you have talked _half an hour_ without intermission, I recommend it to you to stop awhile, and see if any other of the company has anything to say."

--_Old Magazine._

1071

SCOTCH STUDENT AS LAMPLIGHTER.

Many hardships endured by students attending university or college in Scotland have been brought to light from time to time. A student of Anderson's Medical College some years ago fulfilled the duties of lamplighter during his spare hours in a neighboring burgh. He had no other income than the few shillings he received weekly for lighting, extinguishing and cleaning the burgh lamps, and from this he paid his college fees and kept himself fairly respectable. On one occasion he applied for an increase of wages, and was called before the committee. One of the bailies remarked that an able-bodied healthy-looking young man like the applicant, might find some other employment instead of wasting his time as he was doing. The application for an increase was refused. One may conceive the bailie's surprise at a subsequent meeting when the town clerk read a letter from the lamplighter, tendering his resignation, as he had passed his final examination as a fully qualified doctor.

--_Glasgow News._

1072

Ah! how sweet it is to remember--the long, long ago.

1073

ORIGIN OF LANGUAGE.

Talking of the origin of language,--_Johnson_: "It must have come by inspiration. A thousand, nay, a million of children could not invent a language. While the organs are pliable, there is not understanding enough to form a language; by the time that there is understanding enough, the organs are become stiff. We know that after a certain age we cannot learn to pronounce a new language. No foreigner who comes to England when advanced in life, ever pronounces English tolerably well; at least such instances are very rare. When I maintain that language must have come by inspiration, I do not mean that inspiration is required for rhetoric, and all the beauties of language; for when once man has language, we can conceive that he may gradually form modifications of it. I mean only that inspiration seems to me to be necessary to give man the faculty of speech; to inform him that he may have speech; which I think he could no more find out without inspiration than cows or hogs would think of such a faculty."

--_Boswell's Life of Johnson._

1074

_Laughter._--To laugh, if but for an instant only, has never been granted to men before the fortieth day from his birth, and then it is looked upon as a miracle of precocity.

--_Pliny, the Elder._

1075

A good laugh is sunshine in a house.

--_Thackeray._

1076

John Dryden said,--"It is a good thing to laugh, and if a straw can tickle a man, it is an instrument of happiness, and of health."

1077

He who laughs overmuch may have an aching heart.

1078

The vulgar laugh and seldom smile; whereas well-bred people often smile and seldom laugh.

1079

Laughing is not always a proof that the mind is at ease, or in composure.

1080

Agree if possible, for the law is costly.

1081

If you've a good case, try to compromise; If you've a bad one, take it into court.

1082

The law's delay, the insolence of office.

--_Shakespeare._

1083

Law is sometimes like a mouse-trap; easy to enter, but not easy to get out of.

1084

FOLLY OF GOING TO LAW.

To go to law is for two persons to kindle a fire at their own cost to warm others, and singe themselves to cinders; and because they cannot agree as to what is truth and equity, they will both agree to unplume themselves, that others may be decorated with their feathers.

--_Feltham._

1085

He that goes to law for a sheep will be apt to lose a cow.

1086

A lawyer's office is, I'm sure you'll find, Just like a mill, whereto for grinding come A crowd of folk of every sort and kind.

1087

REQUISITES FOR GOING TO LAW.

Wisely has it been said--that he who would go to law, Must have a _good_ cause, A _good_ purse, A _good_ attorney, _Good_ evidence And a _good_ judge and jury--and having all these _goods_, unless he has also _good luck_, he will stand but a _bad_ chance of success.

1088

In a lawsuit nothing is certain but the expense.

1089

The Talmud says that when a man once asked Shamai to teach him the law in one lesson, Shamai drove him away in anger. He then went to Hillel with the same request. Hillel said, "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. This is the whole law; the rest merely commentaries upon it."

1090

Two go to law; a third, generally, bears off the spoil.

1091

LEAVING THE LAWYERS A MARGIN.

A man from the country applied lately to a respectable solicitor in this town for legal advice. After detailing the circumstances of the case, he was asked if he had stated the facts exactly as they occurred. "Ou, ay, sir," rejoined the applicant, "I thought it best to tell you the plain truth; ye can put the lees till't yoursel'."

1092

LAWYERS.

I know you lawyers can, with ease, Twist your words and meanings as you please; That language, by your skill made pliant, Will bend to favor every client; That 'tis the fee directs the sense, To make out either side's pretence.

--_Gay._

1093

Lawyers' gowns are lined with the wilfulness of their clients.

1094

Two lawyers, when a knotty case was o'er, Shook hands, and were as good friends as before. "Zounds!" says the losing client, "How come you To be such friends, who were such foes just now?" "Thou fool," says one, "we lawyers, tho' so keen, Like shears, ne'er cut ourselves, but what's between."

1095

Some lawyers have the knack of converting poor advice into good coin.

1096

Laziness grows on people; it begins in cobwebs and ends in iron chains.

1097

No man is so learned, but he may be taught; neither is anyone so illiterate, but he may teach.

1098

The chief art of learning is to attempt but little at a time.

--_Locke._

1099

Learning by study must be won, 'Twas ne'er entailed from sire to son.

--_Gay._

1100

One pound of learning requires ten of common sense to apply it.

1101

Who swallows quick, can chew but little. (Applied to learning.)

--_Chinese._

1102

AUTUMN LEAVES.

"Come little leaves," said the wind one day, "Come o'er the meadows with me and play; Put on your dress of red and gold, Summer is gone, and the days grow cold."

Soon as the leaves heard the wind's loud call Down they came fluttering, one and all; Over the brown fields they danced and flew, Singing the soft little songs that they knew.

Dancing and whirling the little leaves went, Winter had called them, and they were content. Soon fast asleep in their earthly beds, The snow laid a coverlet over their heads.

1103

GENERAL LEE'S REPLY.

After the Civil War many offers of places of honor and fame came to General Robert E. Lee. He refused them all, says Thomas Nelson Page, in his biography of the soldier. The only position which he finally did accept, was the presidency of Washington College,--now Washington and Lee University, at Lexington, Virginia, with a small salary.

On one of these occasions, Lee was approached with the tender of the presidency of an insurance company, at a salary of fifty thousand dollars a year. He declined it, saying that it was work with which he was not familiar.

"But, general," said the representative of the insurance company, "you will not be expected to do any work. What we wish, is the use of your name."

"Do you not think," said General Lee, "that if my name is worth fifty thousand dollars a year, I ought to be very careful about taking care of it?"

1104

Colonel Chesney, of the British Army, said of R. E. Lee: "The day will come when the evil passions of the great civil war will sleep in oblivion, and the North and South do justice to each other's motives, and forget each other's wrongs. Then history will speak with clear voice of the deeds done on either side, and the citizens of the whole Union do justice to the memories of the dead, and place above all others the name of the great Southern chief. In strategy, mighty; in battle, terrible; in adversity, as in prosperity, a hero indeed; with the simple devotion to duty and the rare purity of the ideal Christian Knight,--he joined all the kingly qualities of a leader of men. It is a wondrous future indeed that lies before America; but in her annals of the years to come, as in those of the past, there will be found few names that can rival in unsullied lustre that of the heroic defender of his native Virginia,--Robert Edward Lee."

_From "Lee of Virginia_," --_By Edward Jennings Lee, M. D._

1105