Various

“ Beautiful white swans sailed majestically on its surface, and thousands of gold fishes swam in its clear waters.
On one part of the lake the most lovely water-lilies opened up their white flowers, looking, as some people said, like tiny boats; but one of the little girls I am going to tell you about thought they looked like a set of green saucers and white cups, and used to call them the swans' best tea-things. Now, in the midst of this Silver Lake stood the beautiful island called Child's Island. ”

“ But Alphonse was too busy chasing a brown and gold butterfly to heed King Philip or anybody else.
Just then there flew past an immense butterfly with wings of crimson, black, and gold. Philip immediately forgot all about being a king; away went ball and sceptre, and off he started in full chase. Now the queen loved butterflies no less than the king, so no sooner did she see him take to his heels than she started off in pursuit of the same butterfly. ”

“ She looks at every clock she passes; she starts at some which tell her that it is later than she thought, feels relieved at others which are more merciful; and, putting on an extra spurt at the last, manages to arrive just to the minute.
But what good can our girl get from a walk taken under such circumstances? It is ten times as fatiguing—the mind is harassed, the heart is beating wildly, and the breathing is short and hurried. ”

“ The little Rex was too old to remind her of her own baby, and his pretty mixture of French and English amused her immensely, and for the moment charmed away her sorrow. Had she known the real object of her husband's visit to England, the suspense and anxiety would have made her seriously ill; not knowing it, the change and Rex's society did her good, so that Madame de Courcy was able, after a day or two, to write to the baron and tell him his wife was certainly better and more cheerful since she had been at the Parc du Baffy. ”

“ The palace is for the king and queen, and the other houses are so precisely alike that none of you will be able to dispute as to choice. You, Philip, who are the eldest boy, shall be king, and you, Pepitia, who are the eldest girl, shall be queen. Be kind and good-natured to one another, and I will always be your friend. ”

“ They do not feel like this, they think, after the good, strong tea—the clearest proof to them that they should look to it as a main resource during the midday rest. Probably tea is again hailed with delight during another break in the work-hours; and at the end of the day our weary one is so fearfully tired, although she has been sitting all day, that she feels as though her limbs would never carry her home. ”

“ To our minds, the strongest period in the history of oratorio was the time of Handel and Bach, and writers of to-day have yet to graft on to their work the more careful study, and the strengthening influence of these noble masterpieces in stronger cuttings, to make the struggling young plant a healthy and beautiful tree. Let us progress, by all means, but true progression is but the joining of all that is good in the preceding age with all the fresh beauty God bestows upon us in this our day. ”

“ And women are not to be pitied that it is so. Work is one of the greatest of blessings, and when its aim is high, is, we believe, blessed. There is no reason why our work should be irksome to us, or should be aught but a pleasure. We must make up our minds to a certain number of disagreeables, and be prepared to meet them as they arise; but beyond that we should endeavour to take a pleasure in our work and a pride in its correct fulfilment. This will be easy to do with health, but without it will require more moral resolution than many of us possess. ”

“ It was nothing but jealousy which had prompted such a mad, cruel act, and jealousy of the most unreasonable—he might almost say unpardonable—kind: a father to be jealous of his wife's love for his own child! ”

“ I wonder whether there are children in any other part of the world who, like those of Noviland, want what they have not, and grumble at what they have? Do you know any? Ah, no! I suppose there are no other little folks so silly, so I won't urge the question, but go on with my story.
When the good fairy heard all these murmurings, she said to herself, "I will gratify these little people for a short time in what they want, and we shall see if they will be happy then."
So she set her fays to work, and had built on Child Island the beautiful palace and houses I have told you of. ”

“ It is fatal in such cases to regard health from a careless or indifferent standpoint. It is a question which must be considered by every one of the legion of working girls and women who labour for their own, and often for others' bread. Looking at it from the most practical standpoint, it will be found to be the greatest economy in the end. If the health is kept at a fair standard of excellence, the mental powers are maintained in a state of useful energy. As soon as health is below par, even when not sufficiently so as to force us to desist from work, the brain loses its elasticity ”

“ With such sacred characters, with such lofty thoughts, the composers of the oratorio, dealing, not with the semblance of truth that the opera contains, but with the truth itself, are bound to express their feelings and emotions in the grandest and most perfect thoughts. ”

“ Instead of a furtive glance at the clock, and a thankful gasp that she has arrived in time, she will never think of the hour till she enters the room, for she has not troubled her mind about it, knowing she has given herself ample time. ”

“ I took counsel with myself, and determined to face the future with the resolve to be the very nicest old lady in the world, and to make myself so useful to my fellow-creatures that they should love me and stand by me even though my first youth had passed. ”

“ One, or at the most two, woollen petticoats, made with sloping bands, to prevent pressure at the waist, will form a very comfortable and practical dress, and, moreover, one that will present a very fair appearance.
No, we know we have said nothing about stays; we are no friend to them; we dislike them heartily, and we shall never rest until we can release our girls from their trammels. We know the difficulties that present themselves on all sides, but these can be met and overcome. Once release our girls from this bone and steel bondage, her health will rise to a high state of excellence. ”

“ There are those who believe that by not attending to or neglecting their health they are acting unselfishly. They say it is so selfish to be always considering whether this is good or harmful or that is likely to encroach upon the domain of health. If this sentiment is carried to the verge of hypochondria, we grant its truth. There is nothing more odious than a person who is constantly looking out for the weathercocks, and who, as soon as he finds the wind in a certain quarter, shuts himself up, and carefully excludes all intercourse from the outer world ”

“ She certainly ought to be able to tell an interesting tale—for her palace, her servants, her house-keeping, her treasures, her cellars, her expenditure, her receipts and clearing, the frights she has every now and again both given and received, must each and all be more amusing and full of interest than any fairy tale told by Grimm or Andersen. ”

“ Work done with a will only takes half the time in doing. The hours fly, and the sense of weariness has no time to creep in. This is a spirit, it will be found, which can be easily cultivated, and will, after a little effort, come quite naturally, much to our benefit in every way.
It has seemed to us, in spite of the great advance that has been made in the teaching of hygiene, and the possession by many of a fair knowledge of the laws which govern it, that there is still a lamentable want of practicability in its application ”

“ To a young, passionate nature hitherto undisciplined by the sorrows of life, like the young baroness's, anything was easier to bear than suspense, and the doctor assured Arnaud that the passionate grief in which his wife indulged would do her no harm—on the contrary, she was more likely to get over it quickly. ”

“ She will not be cajoled into working with any other than her own simple tools.
Our girls have withheld from her air, food, exercise—the three great factors of her powers—and have given for them miserable substitutes. Though kind, she cannot be put off with excuses. She is inexorable, and the same results will follow our neglect of her laws, whether it be due to a want of acquaintance with them or want of attention. It is as much, if not more, from these causes, then, that our girl has become ill than from the supposed overwork. Overwork might have been the immediate cause ”

“ Things good in themselves may be perverted into errors by the spirit and the want of judgment with which they are pursued, and we fervently believe that if our prayer for health is answered, it will be first by the opening of our own eyes to facts and laws to which we were hitherto blind, or of which we have been ignorant, than to the practical observance of these laws, and our willingness to be subject to them. ”

“ When no shadow is formed, and the light is feeble and blurred, there is the same uncertainty about one's walk as if the deepest darkness prevailed. The most careful observation fails to advise you as to whether the next step is to lie on a level, up an incline, or over a precipice. A few bad falls quite demoralise a man, and make him more than ever distrustful of his eyesight. ”

“ Country girls have an opportunity during the early darkness of winter afternoons of appreciating one of the dangers which beset arctic explorers during the long twilight which takes the place of day during the winter months in those northern climes. In towns, the well-lighted and well-paved streets make walking in the dusk as easy as in the day; but girls, whose walks lead through fields and rough country lanes, know how many trips and stumbles are caused by the uncertain light before darkness sets in. ”

“ We grant that great improvements are visible on all sides, in what we might term general hygiene; but where we perceive a great deficiency still, is in that personal application of the laws of health which must and can only be properly applied by individuals to themselves, so as to make them fit into the circumstances under which they exist. ”

“ A gentleman asked me the other day upon what subject I intended next to write, and on telling him that the Editor had kindly permitted me to deal with the Bank of England and the National Debt, he said, "Nonsense! what do girls want to know about the Bank of England and the National Debt? Let them be content to leave all such knowledge to men, and rest satisfied if they get their dividends all right and know how to spend them properly and keep out of debt." ”

“ Now, for fear you should think that the good fairy had left these little children to take care of themselves entirely, to cook their own food, wash their own clothes, make their own beds, and all that sort of work—for children, you know, cannot do these things for themselves, and that is why they are always so good and obedient to mammas and papas and kind aunts, who see to all these things being done for them—I will tell you what queer, droll little beings she left in the island to attend to the domestic concerns of the young king and queen and their little subjects. ”

“ For a working gown there is nothing, in our opinion, to equal the princess dress, made to clear the ground, and modernised, if our girl wills, by a flouncing, and a little puffed drapery behind, either with or without a scarf loosely tied round the waist.
For slender girls the round-gathered dress and bodice (in one) are very useful and suitable. The principal advantage of the princess dress is its continuity from the shoulders downwards, leaving the waist free of bands and tapes. With spotless collars and cuffs, our girl will be both suitably and well dressed. ”

“ This Master Edmund found to be quite true, when one day he attempted to kick the Noman who was brushing his hair, for as he raised his leg to kick, an invisible hand pulled the other from under him, and Master Edmund measured his length on the floor. So, also, Miss Sophia, who said one day, whilst looking in the glass, admiring herself and sneering at the Noman who was fastening her frock, "What a fright you are with your squiny eyes and red hair! I shouldn't like to be such a fright as you are." ”

“ Given a fairly normal state of health to begin with, that health may be maintained by a little wise direction of our actions towards supplying the really very moderate demands of Nature, upon which, however, modest as they are, she insists, to enable her to carry on the process of healthy life. ”

“ Telling tales is not quite in my line, but I will do the best I can; and should I become garrulous and tedious, as old ladies are wont sometimes to be, you must recall me by a gentle reminder that you live in the present century, whose characteristics are short, decisive, and by all means amusing. ”

“ Well, our girls not being very hungry (for their lungs are full of impure air, and they feel tired and weary—rather sleepy too—all from the same cause) , they think they will make themselves "a nice cup of tea—strong, you know." They do not care whether they have milk with it or not, so long as the tea is strong and gives them a fillip. With this they will eat a little roll and butter or bread and cheese. This so-called meal is either partaken of in the room in which they work, or our girls go out for it. In the latter case they stand a little better chance ”

“ Added to this, men have the advantage of being early trained to the habit of work which many of our girls have not, and they have greater facilities afforded them for outdoor exercise, of which they very readily avail themselves. These are all advantages which women do not possess, or if they do, it is after a careful course of acquired systematic training with a view to meet those demands upon their health and strength which are entailed by the continued and steady application to one branch of labour or to one particular profession. ”

“ So much hung on the baby; Mathilde's life might almost be said to depend upon its recovery, and now he must go and strike the blow which would perhaps kill her. Père Yvon was indeed right; his jealousy was truly bringing a terrible punishment in its train, and the baron buried his face in his hands, and sobs of bitterest grief shook his whole frame. At last, rousing himself, he went to the door of the study where the chaplain was engaged teaching the younger boys, and beckoned him out. ”