'I used to write her composition for her, when we were at school
together,' says she; 'and now she is quite the idol of the literary
world; while I am never heard of beyond my own family, unless some one
happens to introduce me as the friend of Clio.' 'Why not write, then;
and see if the world will not learn to introduce Clio as the friend of
Matrona?' 'I write! not for the world! I could not endure to pour my
soul out to an undiscerning multitude; I could not see my cherished
thoughts caricatured by some soulless reviewer, and my favorite
fancies expounded by the matter-of-fact editor of some stupid paper.'
Why does Matrona envy what she knows costs so much, and is of so
little value?
Yet so it is, through all classes of society. All of us covet some
neighbor's possession, and think our lot would have been happier, had
it been different from what it is. Yet most of us could obtain worldly
distinctions, if our habits and inclinations allowed us to pay the
immense price at which they must be purchased. True wisdom lies
in finding out all the advantages of a situation in which we _are_
placed, instead of imagining the enjoyments of one in which we are
_not_ placed.
Pages:
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183