Various

“ Time is money to the toiler in every branch of work, whether mental or physical, and we have no right to waste our neighbour's capital which money cannot restore to him.
So many people, old as well as young, seem unable to understand what punctuality means. Those who allow their own time to slip away unheeded, cannot see that it matters whether they are a few minutes too soon or too late for an appointment. If by some chance—a rare one—they are too soon, they plume themselves on this, and are perhaps inclined to be indignant if they are kept waiting and their time is wasted. ”

“ To prove the truth of my first reason, you need only turn your thoughts to the world's history, and recall to your memory the many enthusiastic workers and fighters—"fanatics," as the world often mockingly calls them—who have striven, often literally unto death, to promote some good cause or establish some truth, and then ask yourselves, "Would they have accomplished what they did if they had been lukewarm, and half-hearted in their work, and daunted by every fresh obstacle that beset their path?" ”

“ And, if we are brought under the spell of this great thought, it creates enthusiasm, for "to keep before us the real outlook of the soul is to refuse persistently to drift with the stream. We have to take care to watch wisely and sternly over our wills, to keep our eye on the spring of our actions, to be careful about the decisions we make, and to be earnest in watching against mere slackness of will in carrying out those decisions which we know to be right." ”

“ Very lately I heard a great preacher say, "We should be misers in the use of time and opportunity." Do we not value too highly what we call the riches of this world? We are sparing of our gold, or our silver—even of our pence—and yet we do not pause to take account of what is beyond all price.
Have you ever thought, dear girls, that you are threefold debtors as regards the use you make of this great trust, time? We are all debtors, in the first place, to God, and must account for the use or abuse of time to the great Giver of it. We are told to "redeem the time because the days are evil." ”

“ Our dear mother gave us a love for nature which has been our resource and consolation in many a sorrow, and which has filled the void of what would otherwise have been weary, monotonous hours.
Ruskin said, "Despise the earth or slander it, fix your eyes on its gloom and forget its loveliness, and we do not thank you for your languid or despairing perception of brightness in Heaven. But rise up actively on the earth, learn what there is in it, and when, after that, you say 'Heaven is bright,' it will be a precious truth." ”

“ Believe me, time is never more truly wasted than it is by those who work too long, without pausing to refresh the weary mind and body. Time is saved if, when nature cries aloud for rest, we put aside the work we love and do absolutely nothing until we can return to it with a sense of fitness and freshness. ”

“ Then, with sudden recollection, "Does she learn the violin? Because we have one girl in this house who is learning the violin, and life won't be worth living if there is a second."
He tucked his big note-book under his chin as he spoke, and began sawing across it with a pencil, wagging his head and rolling his eyes in imitation of Mellicent's own manner of practising, and producing at the same time such long-drawn, cat-like wails from between his closed lips as made the listeners shriek with laughter. Mellicent, however, felt bound to expostulate. ”

“ Each grown ant knows its own business and can, when necessary, fight its own battles, and yet there is always a community; they have all things in common and work for the general good. They are enduring, persevering, faithful in friendships, and most industrious. One writer has said, in describing an ant-hill, that whilst there was a twittering of birds, and a buzz and hum of insect life around, the ants were all silent, only "the sort of low hiss which arose from the collected workers, resembled the noise of a London street more than any form of speech." ”

“ You and I have surely learned lessons as to the value of time to which the child would not care to listen even. Let us think together of the value of moments. They follow each other, and are swallowed in the ocean of eternity, but there is no reflux. Not one comes a second time. If an hour has been frittered away and we can show nothing for it, all that remains for us is to make the best possible use of its successors. ”

“ And even when speaking of the yearning love He had for souls, He did not disdain to use the simile: "As a hen gathereth her young." And so, if the eyes are quick to note all that surrounds us, all the wonderful life, "the infinitely small" as well as "the infinitely great," and the heart makes room for love, it will be possible to learn, from the first year of our lives, until the day of our death here, lessons from nature which no man or woman has ever yet exhausted, nor ever will. ”

“ What can so renew our strength to work, as a little season spent in thanking God for the power to labour? What will be more helpful to us than a quiet time with Him whilst the world, its cares and its business are shut out, and we, alone with our Father, ask for wisdom to use without abusing our time and all the powers He has entrusted to us? ”

“ Do not deem the time lost which is taken from the work you love for the rest you need. You will redeem it in the best way if you turn your thoughts from earth to heaven, from the world around you to its great Creator.
Unfortunately those who under-value time are more numerous than those who realise its preciousness. We often hear the expression, "I am only giving my time." ”

“ There are unsuspected ways of wasting time which those who "use it as misers" are apt to overlook. The more eager the worker, the more interested she is in her occupation, the more likely she is to be guilty of this kind of waste in these high-pressure days.
I have no doubt there are many of these too-hard workers amongst you, my dear girl friends, who grudge the time spent in rest, who hurry over your meals, who regard innocent recreation as almost sinful, because it interrupts your labours and defers the completion of some task you have set yourselves. ”

“ Time is one of these all-important trusts. Perhaps I should say the most important, for time and our natural life virtually mean the same thing. Do they not begin and end together, so far as we are concerned? Our first breath ushers us into the realm of time, and with our last we close our eyes on it for ever. ”

“ Take patience, labour to their heart and hand,
From thy heart and thy hand and thy brave cheer."
I will conclude by reminding you that, alongside of enthusiasm on one and several other points, you must, be you strong or weak, rich or poor, cherish undying enthusiasm for "friendship's ministry," which is the half of your solemn duty of service to God. So many people forget that it is not enough to feel love or affection for others unless they also show it and thus give pleasure and comfort, and ofttimes strengthening, to their friend. A word of sympathy does so much. ”

“ How many busy men and women have had to work when they ought to have been resting after a finished task, because an idler has interrupted it by dropping in at the office or the home during working hours? The one object of such visitors is to while away the time which hangs heavily on their useless hands, regardless of consequences to those on whom they intrude, or too selfish to care, so long as their own end is served. ”

“ We may compel our hands to be idle or our tired limbs to rest, but thought will still be busy. The mind cannot be coerced."
Perhaps not in a sense, but if we wish it, we can turn our thoughts into a restful channel. What can be more restful and delightful than to sit with closed eyes and folded hands whilst we think over God's gracious dealings with us and make a mental catalogue of a single day's blessings? ”

“ Nothing creates a stronger bond of union between classes than like tastes and occupations, and it holds good specially between sovereigns and peoples. To know that probably the Queen and princesses of the royal house are occupied in the same way as the poorest cottager, either in sewing a seam, making a dress, trimming a bonnet, or embroidering a tray-cloth, creates a kindly feeling between one and the other, and bridges over the distance between them. ”

“ The long low building of a water-mill seems to block the way altogether, but in reality it simply utilises the water to turn its wheels, and we shall find the river on the opposite side with its waters banked up some six or eight feet higher, changed in character, looking more still and deep, reflecting the surrounding objects in a still, silent pool, shaded by lofty trees, its banks clothed with deep grass plantains, huge docks and marsh mallows, a spot where, on a sunny day, an irresistible inclination seizes one to lie down on the cool earth. ”

“ I propose to address to the readers of this magazine a few words on the subject of "enthusiasm in a good cause;" for undoubtedly a lack of hearty, honest enthusiasm, a general "slackness," both in character and conduct, is a sad characteristic of too many of the present-day girls and young women. For this reason, therefore, I have chosen for you three quotations, all of which speak of the duty of enthusiasm in a good cause, or, in other words, of striving with all our might to accomplish our life's purpose, or for the truth, or in the battle against sin. ”

“ Proficiency in the art of needlework is by no means confined to the great ladies of our nation, for we hear that the princesses in the Court of Charlemagne were splendid needlewomen, and the work of Bertha, wife of Rudolph the Second of Burgundy, has a world-wide fame. She is represented on seals and monuments of her time as sitting on the throne spinning, and even when out riding continuing her work. ”

“ Nothing that has been told of Princess Henry of Battenberg has brought her so near to the hearts of the poor as the piece of news that "when she is in sorrow or perplexity she is greatly soothed by sitting down and sewing a long seam." It is something they can understand and appreciate, for it is most likely the very thing they themselves would do in like circumstances.
It has been of no slight benefit to us women and girls that our queens and princesses should have been good needlewomen, for we are, to a great extent, influenced by the daily life of those in high places ”

“ To learn how to see and delight in little things, as well as in large, is, in fact, to make no slight progress both in true intelligence and in aptitude for genuine pleasure. Many laugh at the idea of being pleased with little things, which, they say, 'please little minds.' They should remember that the great mass of the population of our planet consists of the merest pigmies, diminutive birds and fishes, tiny insects, animalcules, only visible through a microscope, so that to turn away from little things is to be indifferent to almost everything the world contains. ”

“ But a change of occupation is by no means always prejudicial to success; in fact, it is often helpful even to the occupation which is laid aside for a time. For example, a girl is likely to become no better a musician because she practises every hour of the day, and neglects all besides. There comes a point beyond which work is useless, and four or five hours well spent are better than twelve. ”

“ The lessons to be learned from the ant are, of course, diligence and a careful or prudent forethought for the future. Solomon says that the ant "has no guide, overseer, or ruler," yet she provides, having gathered in during the summer and the harvest time. How many of us there are who seem to need tutors and governors to urge us on through the duties of life, not only in childhood, but far on into man and womanhood. Compulsory pressure from without alone rouses some of us to action. ”

“ Be neither before nor after the time fixed, but by your punctuality redeem your own time and avoid the sin of wasting what is not your own.
Indolence is a terrible and stealthy thief that ought to be battled against, with a prayerful sense of our own weakness to resist its encroachments. Indolent people are like unpunctual ones—very prone to steal the time which their neighbour values and turns to good account. ”

“ I have in my mind the words of an old writer and profound student of the Bible who says about the text I have just quoted, "Buying up those moments which others seem to throw away; steadily improving every present moment." "Time is that on which eternity depends. In time you are to get a preparation for the kingdom of God." "Perhaps the apostle means in general, embrace every opportunity to glorify God, benefit your own souls, and do good to men." ”

“ Alice sighed.
"You don't know how much you have helped," the other answered. "People may give gold, and it may go just as far as gold can. That is a long way, some will say. Well, so it is, but even the long way has a limit. There is only one thing that is not hindered by any limit at all. It flies on, far, far beyond Time, and right into Eternity. It is Love."
"MISS DE VIGNY HAD ALWAYS LIKED ALICE HARPER."
Alice looked attentively at the girl for a moment. ”

“ Christ, the divine teacher, has taught us to go to nature for moral and spiritual lessons. "Consider the lilies of the field," He says to those who are anxious about, and careworn with the things of this life: and that old triangle of a problem with its hard points: "What shall we eat? what shall we drink? and wherewithal shall we be clothed?" does press heavily on many even of those who read our Girl's Own Paper. The fall of the sparrow, too, He tells us, is noted by His Father and ours. He bids those who are neglectful of the talents given to them, learn a lesson of the barren fig-tree. ”

“ But the crucial moment comes when you leave school and become more or less your own mistress—for while you are at school your time is apportioned out to various duties, and the development of individual bents and tendencies can necessarily not be allowed such free play as they can revel in when school-days are over—and then it is for you to show whether you mean to pass your days in "doing nothing much" either at home or outside, or whether you recognise your own greatness as an immortal, and intend to do at least something or other in this world well. ”