The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-01-06
EVENING CHAT
By RUTH CAMERON

The mind is its own place. and in itself
e'an make a Heaven Of He'll, Hell Of
Heaven" Milton.
Doubtless. you have heard many times.
both from other folks pens and mine. the
essential philosophy of the above.
It's the point of view that we take Of
our circumstances, and not the circum-
stances themselves. that does most to
make us happy or unhappy-dissatisfied
or contented. You have probably been
told that again and again, and having
common sense and reason of your own,
knew it anyway
But let me-or rather one of my letter
friends-present this same philosophy in
more original. newer and more con-
crete form / think it will interest and
amuse you it did me.
My sister and L." writes this friend,
are rather imaginative. and when we
have nothing else to do, we build the
most wonderful air castles Sometimes
lures of little happenings One afternoon
after work We walked home. stopped on
our way out for chat with our married
sister. and when we got home found that
the rest of the family had finished sup
per. We ate ours and repaired to the
porch. l pumped down in the hammock
and Jane on the porch settee piled high
with pillows. She drew a pathetic pic
ture of the walk up, describing the two
poor stenographers toiling many weary
miles after a hard days work-the tail
thin. angular gray-haired one (my hair
is gray, but prematurely SOD with a half
soiled white skirt that had seen better
spent many weary hours cmbroidering-
the short. dragged-o younger
sister in a similar costume She toii
how they dragged their weary footsteps
to their married sisters flat where they
could smell the supper cooking for her
husband when he returnC9 from his day
labor, and after talking for awhile pro-
ceeded on their journey home. They SAT
down to the table and partook of a frugal
supper of bread and preserves, a bit u
lettuce and some lukewarm tea. and then
their
threw themselves down in utter exhaus-
ton.
You must admit this tale of woe
''Then. I said: Now listen while I draw
the other side of the picture. The two
sisters. after leaving their offices, one in
q bank. the other in mercantile office.
strolled up town, in the late afternoon.
stopping en- route for frappe at the ice
cream parlor The older sister. tail and
! slender. with mass of fluffy gray hair
was dressed in a dainty, well-fitting linen
skirt and hand-embroidered lingerie
waist. The younger one short at
tractive blonde, was similarly dressed AS
the two sisters walked they discussed in
diligently Elbert Hubbard, Charles Lamb,
and Robert Louis Stevenson. En- route
they stopped for a moments chat with
their married sister. who sang them an
aria from one of the operas, while she
awaited her husbands homecoming, IN
anticipation of which she had prepared Il
tempting supper. Upon their arrival at
their own home they sat down to a
naise preserved peaches and fragrant tea
Gt wasn't iukewarm al AID The polished
table was bare with drawnwOrii
luncheon square, and bowl of roses and
the china was of a dainty gold and white
design.
=" After supper they repaired to the
wide veranda with the rose vines. avn
| ings, and rustic sofa and chairs piled
with sofa pillows. and while one settled
herself comfortably in the hammock,
with a couple of feather pillows under
| her head, the other piled the settee high
with pillows and curled herself UP for a
happy evening.
when finished we both laughed-the
pictures were SO completely different. yet
/ both were correct In the essentials.
told Jane it only shows what point OF
view can do. and she admitted that she
was feeling quit sorry for herself when
she finished her narrative and that mine
| cheered her up so that she felt quite
happy.
Now all of us in our thoughts are all
the time unconsciously making word pic
lures of everything that happens to us.
I wonder which kind of word picture
you have the mental habit of making
the kind that makes you feel sorry for
yourself, or the other kind2