The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-03-14
A Series of Papers Containing Hints
and Helps For the Young Women
of Our Day.
No. 10.
By MARY LOWE DICKINSON.
The Sober Side of Life: Principles,
Possibilities, Plans, Purposes.

The serious side of life! Do 1 hear you
ask why she should speak to us of this,
when, all too quickly, it crowds upon
every one Of us? Happy things may or
may not come; disappointments, trou-
bles, all that makes life serious, we
evade
Of this serious side, as you forecast
it in your OWN mind, we only propose
| to speak to indicate few of the meth
DDS by which, when it comes, it may
be bravely and sweetly met.
And, first of all, as the chief barrier
against trouble, as it is the first charm
of every pleasure, is what we term
| principle
BY this do not mean a set of rules
| by which the daily life is to be gov
erned. But L do mean deep underly-
| ing determination by which the great
by the absolute right. Is it right? Not
is it stylish? is it labor saving? is it
popular? is it easy? But is it right?
This is the great, Abut simple question
for American womanhood and girlhood
| to answer. tt
And it is one that we are apt to an
swer after we have had experience of
is wrong.
Any one who could arouse in the
minds of the largest number of young
women of the present day the fixed de-
termination to do right, would have be-
slowed a basis of national character
stronger than that offered by all other
methods of training put together
For a life lived under the guidance
of that principle has backbone and
stamina and conviction and the pos
SCISSOR of this true motive of living will
have also the courage to do right as
she may see it. This inf1exible princi-
pie is the quality that mothers most
need. Through them, as in no other
way, it becomes a part of the life of
the children. Through the children it
reaches the nation. Hence we are just
flied in saying that the boon is one be-
slowed upon national character.
| said above that l did not mean by
principles a set of rules But the out
growth of this underlying principle will
be the growth of such purposes as will
reach up to the highest and down to
the lowest duties of life.
No girl can live long under the dom
ination of the purpose to be right in
everything without getting clear
glimpses of what God desires her to
be and to do.
In accordance with these desires,
every conscientious girl is justified in
making plans by which her own life
may be made as rich and full. and
rounded and happy, as it can rightly
be, with full consideration for the lives
of others to whom she is bound by ties
of kindred or of friendship or of duty.
The whole world is really her own
from which to choose.
The world of books, of pleasures, of
companionship, belongs to her. in so far
as she can find it possible to take it.
Many and many a working girl, be-
cause of the hardness of her life, be-
lieveS that much of the beautiful in
life was not intended for her.
Let every such girl put away that
thought. Fixed in your determination
in so far as your life is concerned to
live up to your highest ideal of right
eousness or rightness, and all things
are certainly yours.
There is no limit to your possibilities
of possession, except the limit of your
power to receive.
Friends and home and everything
that may be included in that beautiful
term, your hearts DESIRE await you
if you have patience and courage and
faith.
No people. no circumstances can de-
prive you of your Inheritance. You may
close your eyes and fail to see ii, or
close your hearts or close your brains.
and fail to perceive how glorious and
beautiful life may be. Or close your
hearts and fail tc feel the goodness of
God, who not only desires you to have
life, but that you may have it more
abundantly."
To face. this serious side of it, to
establish ourselves upon our principles,
to elevate our purposes, to dignity our
plans and to recognize our poSSibili-
ties-these are the privileges of every
one of US, wise or ignorant, rich or
Door.