Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1876-08-24
No. 40
An Elegantly Useless Young Lady.

Of this class of young ladies we find the
| following specimen in work called Fam
| lily Secrets:'' "Isabel advanced along the
path of life with feeble and uncertain steps;
| for in addition to her constitutional delicacy,
she had to contend with will undisciplined<
and with endless longings after persanA-
| qualification unchecked, unregulated, ana
| consequently incapable of being gratitied to
| their full extent 1ndulged as tayorite child,
the greater part of her life was spent in
kind of dreamy idleness, from which she
was seldom reused, except by some awake
ming desire for personal qualification, some
complaint of mental or bodily nneas'ness, ar
some scheme for momentary anIusaznant
which she was generally too 1anguid or too
lndolent to carry into effect. The conse-
quence OF all this was, that Isabel arrived at
| the age of eighteen victim to dyspepsia, an
| amateur in medicine, a martyr to nervous
maladies, and as elegantly discontented with
life, and all it had to offer, as any other
young lady of her age could think becoming
her character and station. The worst Of all
was, that, by this system of injudcous treat
ment, false tastes had been created, unnat-
ural cravings excited for bodily as we'll as
mental stimulants, which, under the names
OF cordials, tonics and restoratives, were but
too plentifully supplied. Isabel had not, like
her sisters, been permitted to go to school,
though hers was case in which school dis
cipline might have been highly efficacous;
she had not even been considered capable of
enduring the usual process Of mental instruc-
ton at home. Thus her education, even that
inferior part which relates to the understan-
ding and the memory, was as vague and ir-
regular as could well be imagined. She was
however, an extensive though superficial
reader; and those who conversed with her
only for short time, believed her to be a
much better informed person than she really
was. We have said that, with all her disad-.
vantages, Isabel was not absolutely disagree
able. So far from this, she generally attrac-
ted attention in company by her easy and
lady-like manners, and by countenance
which, perhaps, was less beautiful than in
teresting and expressive. Unassailed by any
of those severe trials which put TO the test
the real principles upon which we act, she
had not made the discovery herself, nor had
any of her friends made it for her, that she
was in reality selfish and unamiable; for
while every one ministered to her gratifca-
ton, she had only to express her gratitude,
affect little willingness to deny herself, and
expatiate on her regret at being the cause of
so much trouble, and all went on exactly as
she Wished-the trouble was incurred, the at
tempted Sel1-Qenlal was ILLUSTRATED, ana the
kindness for which she expressed her graf
itude was repeated and increased.
"What lesson do we learn by sudden
reverse of this order of things!-a lesson,
perhaps, the most severe that experience ever
teaches; while, at the same time, our depen-
dence upon animal and selfish qualification,
our irritability, impatience and wounded
feeling, when these are denied, show US but
too faithfully the living picture of those pas
sions of which we believed ourselves incap-
able, simply because indulgence had hitherto
lulled them to rest"
This listless and spoiled child, the story
goes on to say, is married, but having no
mental resources to fall back upon, and no
taste for the active duties of life, she seeks
artificial excitement; the result is such as
might have been expected-she loses caste
and sinks into Obscurltv