Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1875-06-24
Msaiseellaneous. g
Habits.

Habits.
That lady who discovered that her Ian
dog had Mysteries whenever she had them
| and therefore determined not to have hy
sterlcs, gave decided testimony to the sin.
gular tyranny of what we call habits.
She disliked to see her little brute favor
| lite go through what seemed to be a paro
dy of, but which really was sympath,
with, her own tears and laughter. 1t wa,
with her nervous disease, which had be
come habit, paralys of the will very
| difficult to overcome; but, shocked anC
| ashamed to see her little dog initiate her
she conquered an affection OF years stand
ing.
| 1t may become a habit to have head
| ache. or fit, or a faint, or even a nose.
bleed. \ change of air or circumstance
has often broken up that most disagreeable
| ''perlodicity of sensation" a fit of neural
| gia. which. when it becomes Il chronic, is
! almost Impossible to break up. Thus the
| body no less than the mind forms habit
| Tor itseli, and becomes sort OF bully to
/ the spirit. shaking a fist as il were in the
/ face OF that nobler side Of us which should
| direct and take the control. We have all
| of liz felt this tyranny of the body and have
been sometimes angered, sometimes anus.
ell at ii.
| But if habits are sometimes enemies
| they are more often friends. The saving
that 'maNims are nuggets of wisdom" may
be htly paralleled by saying that habits
are nuggets OF comfort. The human race
has one tremendous lesson set for it to
! learn, ana that Is. how to bear suffering
We have so much experience Of this Kind
that we hail any thing that can help us
ana habits help US enormously. How shall
the mother bear the loss or disgrace of her
son: the man the loss OF his reputation .
the whole race the loss of health. hope de-
fcrred, unnecessary and undcServed mis-
fortune. disgrace. and pain? How can we
20 out with knife in our hearts. and look
cheerful. be gay, industrious, useful: And
yet that is what we have 10 do. We r,ust
consume our own smoke; we must not let
the world see or feel our misery. which
would be neither brave nor honest. for
every one else has sorrow with our own.
At least We may.premise that there is no
heart but hnOweth its own bitterness
Now, IN great sorrow the onsolations
OF religion and philosophy come first, and
keep the heart from breaking and the brain
from becoming distraught; but then come
days and hours of constant heart-ache.
which finally wear out the powers of en-
durance. What shall the poor sufferer do
then:
She falls back on her habits they come
peremptorlly TO warn her against the dam
gerous luxury of solitude. Three times A
day she must join her family at her meals.
a kindly and most beneiiCient habit The
seIi-restraint needed, the desire to make
others bear their grief patently-all, all
are heIpiul. know no moment SO touch
ihs as That in which family gathers
fha tav,
been removed, each trying to dissui.e
from the other how terrible is that emmy
place. There is nothing more patheIic.
again, than the thought of those lionel,
sufferers who have no family circle to call
them out of themselves at such a moment.
hawthorne speaks Of the grief which his
mother suffered in the death of her hus-
band. 'She never would eat in company
alter that. he says; "her solitary meals
were takeh without even my society,""
How much this morbid melancholy rever
berated in her gifted son. and no picture
he has painted of a sorrowful heart eating
itself out in gloom is equal to this true
story OF his own mother.
Ihe habit OF reading at certain hour
some particular author is a very good one
to those who are lonely, depressed and
VINO are obliged to get rid of themselves.
Inc Blble, and Shakespeare, and Milton,
and regular hour tor lighter reading.
carried some cultivated women. who were
shut up through all the horrors of the civ
il war at the South, bravely. They had of
couI Sc to meet the other trials of hunger
and deprivation that all the southern wom- |
EN- suffered more or less, but they clung to
their hours and their reading as a duty.
ana they emerged brighter in body and |
soul. II shall never forget" said one OF
these ladies, when and where we read |
fortla's conversation with Nerissa, about /
her lovers. We had heard shooting all the |
morning; We did not know when or where |
the soldiers would strike us; we had but |
little to eat. that might be taken from US;
but we sat around Alice with our SEWING.
while she read the utterances of that spar |
king and courageous woman. No sooner
had she finished the scene than we heard a
horses hOofs.
"A Union officer and his. staff rode up
)ur avenue; we went, three trembling
women. to the door to meet them; our
iresses were neat but ragged; we We're
pale and suffering.
1--WE greeted the officer. as he did lis. re-
'pectfully; he was one OF General Sher-
mans men. He asked us politely for a
rink of water, and if we would allow one
II his young aids. who was i'll, to STAY
lnd recrul: under our roof. or course we
laid yes We did not love the Notherpers.
,ut we were touched by the sick bows
ace. The officer in charge rode away in
IN hour, but not before he had promised
IS 1000. protection, and entire immunity
rom the horrors of war. The next day
Alice read on, and when she came to Por.
las speech
The quality Of mercy is not; strained
Ii faileth like the gentle dew from heaven
We all burst into tears at the appropriate
less of the the quotation"
1t is good habit to have some exacting
Employment when the mind is in danger
II feeding on itself. Set yourself delib-
rate TASK TO learn SO much German write
o much copy" learn so much history. or
olive such problem Of mathematics ey-
ry day. 10 those minds who do not tend
oward literary pursuits, there are the ac-
omplishments; and for women, fancy
eedle-wOrk, which since the days of PEN
lope has been woman's consolation: but
must be done conscientiously. To do good
ours and amounts must be vigorously ad-
ered to, and the hardest worker is the
appiest woman. A gentleman in New
ork who had lost son under very az
circumstances. and who had no
amily ties, and unfortunately few habits,
to go into the gas-house to paw
Us bill. He was struck with the weary
OOk Of the clerk who receipted it and
bruptly asked him. How long since you
ave had holiday" ''Three years. SIR"
aid the Overworked man.
The next day the fellow-clerks were as
ea0 a III ss, ~ |