News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-10-09

points which [ have mentioned al
most counterbalanced the inherited
blemishes. Her whole appearance
was SO attractive it made me for a
moment unhappy, not because OF
wounded vanity at the contrast (for
that was not one of my many fail
ings), but because | saw how much
could be done in the world by so at
tractive woman The more per-
sonal charm, the more influence in
reaching Others for good. But be-
sides this revelation of her outward
appearance, | suddenly seemed to ac-
quire a knowledge of her mental and
spiritual qualities of her past life. .
How could your" said Hessie,
puzzled
q do not know" said l, "but
again, like a flash of lightning, |
seemed to have Ny POSSIBLE SELF
burned into my understanding. /
saw with pleasure that she still had
my, light-hearted, Jolly, easy-going
temperament, but what had devel-
oped into laziness and shallowness
with me, My POSSIBLE SELF had, by
diligent efforts, developed into a
peaceful quietness of manner and a
sympathetic genuine cheeriness which
made her a sunbeam wherever she
went. | saw, too, that she still had
my natural likes and dislikes, though
the latter were much less aggressive
than in my case. She had in general
no edges, as have always had in
abundance, you know"
g Is that why you call yourself
social polygon, Miss Emily? asked
Hessie, with laugh
Yes" said |, with another; "for
| have so many decided likes and
disIikes which keep thrusting them
selves out and cutting into people,
"Pohl' said Hessie
"MY POSSIBLE SELF | continued,
"was as extravagantly fond ofmusic
as |, but had done so much more OF
it. Instead of trifing, as. most school
girls do, and as | had, with the mu-
steal advantages my generous par
ents had shOWered upon me, she had
improved every one, and, having
mastered the natural Discrimination
to persevering hard work, which l
always ascribed to my southern an
cestry, the result was to me simply
amazing. Her voice, no better than
mine at the start, was wonderfully
developed, and, besides its vastly
superior technique, had a sweetness
of tone which | knew must come
from some fount of spiritual harmo-
ny within Mine lacked her sympa-
thetic tone. She had gained some
thing which had not from life :"
"Was she as fond of poetry and
reading as your" asked Hessie.
"Yes," " said | !; "but what a differ
ence in the result on her mind and
mine She had curbed her land my
natural taste for romance and fic-
ton, and had allowed it but a scan
ty qualification, which was as moth
ing compared with her solid reading.
| remembered that, when | was thir-
teen years old, some one had told me
what an amount of history | would
know in ten years if | read it for fif-
teen minutes every day l wearied
off the experiment in three months.
Ny POSSIBLE SELF had persevered
till then-her twenty-fifth year-and
had proved that many a mickle
makes a muckle' by the fact that she
was then able to teach history as a
speciality
''I suppose she was a great lin
guist, too," said Hessie, knowing my
weak point.
"No," | answered; II was COM
| fOrted to see that she had done moth
ing at languages. She had, like my
self, an aversion to them, and, after
several unsuccessful attempts. had
wisely decided to put her energies
where she could do her best work.
Her spiritual nature was SO much
more developed than my own that,
had it not been for the unmistakable
physical resemblance, | could not
have believed that that fair soul was
My POSSIBLE SELF.
"The great turning-point in her
spiritual life, as in my own, was at
twenty years of age. Then my father
lost his large fortune, and we chill
dren were obliged to earn our own
support. | took it very hard, and
my complaints and beWailings add
ed greatly to the SORROWS of my par
ents. | tried in several ways to earn
a living, but my previous unthor-
ough habits of study made my eX-
pensive education of little practical
use in earning money My first at
tempts-giving singing lessons and
writing for the press-were failures,
and was humiliated to find that by
cake-making and preserves brought
me in more money than either"
What could your POSSIBLE SELF
do?' asked Hessie
"She would have been in great de
mand, with her singing and history
and a dozen other things to back
and her unselfish cheerfulness would
have made her a JOY and IA constant
support to my parents. What misery
| felt at this revelation of what
might have been to my family
But it was then too late, for my deal
father had died the year before. Oh
Hessie, do not wait so long as | die
to know Your POSSIBLE SELF, anC
what she might do in your place tt
make those around you happy
80 all my life ran before me. anC
| saw what My POSSIBLE SELF hat
made out of 1.-THE conversations
powers she had cultivated, and il
which my own carelessness and lazi
ness had made me so sadly deficient
, the books she had read and | ha,
only begun and never finished; tn
noble friends she had made and ha,
let slip, or had not the character t,
attract; the many opportunities t.
; do good which | had neglected an,
, she had eagerly embraced, and tn
long troop of joys which came to he
: in their wake; the people she ha,
: helped; the same circumstances il
our lives which her way of life ha,
, turned into blessings and NINE int,
trials; even the pleasures OF life ha,
brought more to her than to me, TO
l | had unconsciously frittered ava.
l on many worthless objects both m
/ capacity for enjoyment and my nat
, urally warm affections. All thi