The record-union., 1898-03-07
BESELENA'S PRATTLE.

PORTLAND (Or.), March 81 am
going 10 talk to the girls this week; to
the sensitive girls particularly. Sem
sitivenesS is not a crime by any means,
but it is misfortune-a great misfor-
| tune, if allowed TO develop itself unre-
strained.
An overly sensitive girl is generally
an unhappy girl, because she imagines
Sights where none are intended. In
her eyes the smallest things magnify
themselves until they assume monu-
mental proportions. Should she be in
vited- out, and the conversations hap
pen 70 turn upon a subject with which
she is not conversant, she will hide
herself i'm secluded corner, and pro-
ceed TO cheerfuly hate herself and all
mankind. Were she less sensitive, and
/ might truthfully add more sensible
she would listen to the conversation,
even though she could take no part in
it. That, at least, would be something
gained, and an opportunity would not
be wasted.
Never let an opportunity slip by
you unheeded" was bit of advice once
given me by a clever man, and / have
found that it has been of the greatest
assistance to me. Another thing, should
the sensitive girl be obliged to wear at
an evening entertainment a dress which
I she Knows is not of the very latest
/ fashion she Will silently endure perfect
agonies, and foolishly allow her pleas
ure to be spoiled. A girl can rise su-
4 RI obstacle a old
/ fashioned dress; all that she needs is
a little tact and cleverness. l once
knew a girl, poor girl, too, who used
to be invited out great deal she only
had one evening dress in her wardrobe,
yet she had a gracious manner, a fund
of bright conversation, and a little
store Of hard-earned accomplishments
which she used to such good advan-
| tage that no one thought of what she
| had on.
! This reminds me to tell you that it
! is not always the most beautiful wom-
an who is the most attractive; some of
the plainest women Of history have. by
/ the grace and charm of their man
ner enthralled the hearts of many of
| the greatest statesmen. 1t is said of
| Napoleon the Great that he feared the
| tongue of Lady Blessington more than
/ he did the swords of his enemies.
| You must all have noticed how small
worries have the trick of developing
/ from molehills into mountains. Don't
| give way to petty annoyances. girls;
| they dwarf and contract the mind, but
a great grief broadens and ennebles it.
Such a trouble brings out all that is
best in ones nature. Here is another
bit of advice for you: Never sink under
adversity but try to rise superior to
it. I know you will say that it is al
| ways so much easier to preach a SER
mon than to practice it; very true, but
! you must also remember that it is only
after constant practice and endeavor
that perfection comes.
There never has been a trouble so
great that there has not been a greater
one. 1t is human nature to magnify
our own griefs, and to imagine our lot
harder than anyone else's. You may
/ be disposed to dispute this at first, but
wait until the first flush of your sor-
row is past, and then see if what I say
! is not true. I know full well that each
and everyone of US have our own bur-
dens to bear but do not sink under
them. Your mission in life, my dear
girls, is to help others. BY doing this
! you Will forget your own worries and
vexations of spirit.
Work is the best panacea in the world
for a distressed mind. Set yourself a
certain task each day, and no matter
how d!sinclined you feel force your
self TO perform it. There is always
plenty of good work to be done
good thing is to interest yourself
in some charity. In many Of the larger
cities a Certain number of ladies. who
are known as Friendly Visitors" as
sociate themselves with the city Board
of Charities, procure from the board
list of people needing assistance and
visit them; then they report the result
of their visit to the board. In this way
many deserving poor are helped, and 1
regret TO say that many impostors are
unearthed.
This is only one of the many ways
in which a girl can interest herself, and
at the same time feel that after all she
is of some use and benefit Go to the
hospitals, and make bright spot in
the lives of the patients there by leav-
ing them a bunch of flowers. 1 have
more than once been in a hospita! ward
w llciI SOuie DiiSnl-IdcSQ Slrl would sud-
denly appear like a ray of sunshine and
leave at each patients bed a bunch of
flowers. l have seen the poor, tired.
sick faces brighten, and the pallid lips
smile, and l have seen, too, how jeal-
ously those flowers We're watched and
tended for days and days afterward.
Make someone else happy, and you
VIII be sure to be happy yourself If
you cannot do anything else for some
one poorer than yourself, then give
them kind word or a glance of SYM
pathy. Believe me, girls, when 1 tell
you that even little things like these
are never wasted
1t is a fight, and a hard fight to
conquer personal griefs. and to make
them subservient, but it is not an i'm
possibility. Try it, girls, and see if
you are not the happier and better for
it in the end
There, this sounds very much like
sermon, but 1T was not intended to be
| one. 1t is a subject which hes very
close to my heart. and I wanted to give
you n bit of advice about il because it