The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1889-05-11
HAPPY HOMES.
Avoid Family Quarrels by Exercising IA
tionce and Common Sense.

Avoid Family Quarrels by Exercising IA
tionce and Common Sense.
A home Of discord may be visited by
acquaintance, but its doors are never
likely to be knocked at by friends. Sem
sible people will give 1t q wide berth.
and prefer friendship and intimacy with
those who live at peace. Nobody finds
a wise young man counting girl in
family who gets on i'll among them
selves. He wants bird out of good
nest. and has no wish TO be drawn in
by marriage to lake one side or other
of a. lifelong food. 1t is hard on
girl, you say. Sometimes. But about
the young mans sagacity there can be
no question whatever. If all homes
were happy what a pleasant world 1t
would be; and there is no reason why
happiness should not reign every where,
If people would only make wisdom, ana
not stupidity, the guide of their lives.
When people are miserable 1t Is IN
ninety-nine cases out of the hundred
nobody's fault but their own. An Emper-
or of China was once travelling through
his realm, and he came upon family IN
which the grandfather, with his wives
he had several Of them-his children,
grandchildren, sons-in-law. daughters
in-law and servants, all lived under the
same roof in perfect peace and har-
mony. The Emperor was so struck
with this, that he asked the old man by
what means he contrived to avoid quar-
rels and disputes, and to have his large
family live together so pleasantly. Tax
ing out pencil he wrote in reply these
words: Patience and common sense"
That was the whole secret. An easy
one 10 remember, but hard, especially
with some natures, to put in practice.
What strikes one as an odd thing lie
that many are able TO exercise patience
and common sense abroad. but find II
next to an impossible task at home.
With them every thing is done for the
benefit of society at large, and at the
expense of their own circle. In other
peoples houses they have face like q
benedietion, while in their own 1t Is dis
figured with frowna OF all follies.
this is one of the greatest. AS II Ii
were not their interest, let alone Their
duty, to do exactly the reverse. II any
one has mind to be cross, snappist
and disagreeable, let her choose q fielc
for giving vent to her ill-humor as fan
removed from home as possible. Oui
best side should be turned not t
strangers but to those with whom we
| dwell and whilst it is right to wish fol
the good opinion of everybody, we
should be anxious most of all about the
favorable impression we make on oul
own folks at home OF the whole tribe
of girls give us her whose brothers and
sisters call her. and with good reason
an angel. We have duties to perform
abroad, but we can never do these thing
| rightly if we start by neglecting wha'
we owe to our own relatives, and act
ing as If we believed that good words
kindness, gentleness and good humol
ought to begin ut any place rather thar
at homo. This is inverting the natura
order of things, and is a proceeding tt
be looked for only from foolish people
If there Is to be household harmony
an i'm ortant point is to cultivate
sweet temper. We can not do witheu
that. Some tempers are like vielil
strings ont of tune; with them, wh'
can expect either melody or harmon,
from the family orchestra? This i
specially young woman's subject; in
deed. IL our girls are not amiable, no
body else can be expected to be. 1t
! to their kind and gentle words that W
must look for an antidote to frettin
and iH-humor. At home the key-not
of the days music is often struck b
the first word we hear in the morning
and happy is the house where 1t is a
ways uttered by the smiling lips, {
good-tempered girls. Household Hal