Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1896-09-03
If / WERE A GIRL AGAIN.
ny LUCY ELLIOT keller.

BY LUZ hLLA0A AHELENs
i'll were a girl again-if some benig-
nant fairy should touch me with her
wand and say; Be a girl again, and I
should feel bursting over me the gener-
GUS impulses, the enthusiasm, the buoy
Ancy, the ambition, that belong TO six
teen-some things l should do, and
some things should not do, to make
me at fifty the person whom now at
fifty l should Ike to be.
First of all, should study self.con-
control--the control of body, of speech,
of temper; a power best learned in
youth before the current of habit has
deepcned the channel of self will and
impctuosity that seems to be cut In
every human heart. should count
100, like fatty before could al.
low myself to utter unkind, impulsive
words; should scorn to burst into
tears because of some petty correction
or grievance; / should learn to sit quiet
ly, to close door gently, to walk calmly,
even when my thoughts were boiling
within me.
should shun, II l we're girl again,
the tendency to be sensitive and suspic-
ious, Because my friend talks 10 an
other person, or because a group of &C
quaintanccs seem to be enjoying them
selves apart from me, shou d not fancy
myself neglected. l should not con-
strue thoughtlessness into intentional
Sights, nor abstraction into indlfTer-
ence. should say oftener to myself,
"My friend did not see that was here
she has not heard of my return; she is
busy with her music; she is tired after
her journey. will trust her in friend
ship, just as would have her trust in
mine"
If were girl again should be more
careful about my conversation. should
beware of slang and gossip and ten
dency to drop into silence. | should
avoid sarcasm like the plague, remem-
bering that the person who uses it
shows ner sense of her own inferiority
Nobody had SO many enemies as Dis
raeli and 1t is to be remembered that
sarcasm was his most powerful weapon.
should practice the art of such gay
repartee as If free from satire and un.
kindness, learning to tell a story we'll
and to dwell upon what is kindly and
happy. should be more ready to ex.
press my appreciation and thanks for
services rendered; be quicle with my
praise and tardier with my criticism.
should cultivate distinct enunciation
enlarge my vocabulary, and remember
Lord Chesterfield's dictum "never IL
utter one word, even in common CON
versation, that should not be the most
expressive and the most elegant with
which the language could supply him.
If l were a girl again, should be &
better student. ! should worry less
over my lessons, and potter less; but
81 ould think as study, and try to under
stand statements In one reading rather
than BY saying them over and over, like
parrot. l should be more thorough
not passing 10 one lesson until l hac
mastered the last; and / should be
ashamed of poor spelling or ilcgiblt
handwriting or faulty pronunciation
l should be more scruprlous abou
making and keeping engagements;
should be less daunted by obstacles anc
defeat, and be less, I hope, the slave o.
! petty but annoying habits.
. These things should do if | were
: girl again. But suppose have passee
my childhood! Suppose l am thirty
: STILL shall l not at fifty wish that
could retrieve the past twenty years
; Should I not employ them differently
Again, say am fifty. Atseventy eoule
| not better use those precious year,
of preparation' There is always colder
age, soon TO be behiri us, which a
: every period Of our life is before US
, just as tomorrow's yesterday is still
today. So we may all take courage L
is never too late to mend.