Various

“ So far as the Mount itself is concerned, thousands of scenes in our own and other lands are alike grander and more beautiful; there is nothing conspicuous in height; nothing picturesque in form, nothing remarkable in colour. An unconspicuous green swell, with triple top sprinkled with trees, and crowned with a Russian church; this, with a walled town fronting its western slope, studded with a few domes and minarets, at once and for ever took its place in the most sacred shrine of memory as the first view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. ”

“ The powerful incisor teeth of the beaver are admirably suited to the cutting through of small tree stems, of branches and twigs, whilst its flat and scaly tail serves as a rudder to a creature that always makes its home beside or in the midst of water.
The beaver is as much noted for its sagacity, and for what nowadays we call "faculty," as it is prized for its fur. One of the largest of the rodents, its body measures nearly three and a half feet in length, not taking the tail into consideration, which is eleven to twelve inches in length. ”

“ To kill time means evidently to lose all count of it, to be "unmindful of the fleeting hours." But if the conscience is roused, and we are imbued with a sense of our responsibility with regard to every day, every hour we live, each hour becomes instinct with possibilities, with the opportunity and power of developing the gifts that we have, the talents entrusted to us, not only with a view to self-improvement and personal enrichment, but with an eye on the Master and His work. "Fellow-workers with Christ" in the redemption of this world,—how great a calling! ”

“ We are all either building, or—awful thought—pulling down the good work of others. As the Book says, "Every wise woman buildeth her house, but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands."
Our power to work increases by use. Many of the world's greatest books have been written by busy men. How often, too, one hears it said that if you want anything special done you must ask a busy man or woman to do it. That barren fig-tree to which our Lord directed the attention of His followers is a by-word and a proverb for all ages. Persistent industry it is that meets with the reward. ”

“ It's no good wasting time, simply to get oneself disliked. I'll go in for nature, and leave the portrait business to somebody else. The girls can try! They think they can do everything!"
Peggy looked at Esther, and Esther looked at Peggy. They did not say a word, but a flash of understanding passed from the brown eyes to the grey, which meant that they were on their mettle. They were not going to defend themselves, but henceforth it was a case of die, or produce a good photograph, and so oblige Oswald to alter his tone of scornful incredulity. ”

“ It is a small village, and like many places in Palestine, disappointing to the traveller unless he looks away from the present to the past, and fills in the picture with the vivid colours of sacred and profane history.
It is a mistake to suppose that the East never changes. The march of progress has reached Jerusalem, Western influence is felt within its walls, as the red roofs of the numerous Frangi houses and the glass windows of European shops strongly testify. ”

“ Basqued bodices, with and without belts, three-quarter-length coats, quite tight to the figure, and a coat of the Directoire style, short at the waist in front, with a rounded basque, and long coat-tails; all of these are in fashion, and, so far as I see, though all have basques, they may be long or short, according to individual fancy. The great desire of all women this winter is to present an appearance of height and thinness, and all draperies must be sweeping, and the outlines flowing, to meet with our approval. ”

“ It remains for me to say a few words on the economy of our powers or strength, which must be subdivided into physical and moral. Here the idea of law involved in the word economy plays a most important part, for nature has certain laws which, in our employment of our forces, she will not allow to be transgressed with impunity; if we overtax either our bodily or mental strength, we shall find that this disregard of nature's laws will, sooner or later, bring its inevitable punishment. ”

“ There are so many reasons why we should all practise economy of money, or, in other words, try to administer our money aright. Firstly, it trains us in habits of order and reflection if we try to lay out our money to the best use instead of squandering it on worthless trifles which serve only for the pleasure or amusement of the moment. ”

“ Economy of time again is essential towards using one's life to the best advantage. It does not mean a continual bustle and hurry, but doing things at the right time and working and living with some definite end in view—the final end of all ends being, as the motto says, the glory and honour of God in our lives. ”

“ One of its counties is named Beaver Head.
What we—in our ignorance of the inner life of those creatures who have always shared the rich heritage of this world with ourselves—term instinct, has taught the beavers to provide against drought, and to keep up a certain necessary depth of water, by making a dam right across these smaller rivers just at what they know to be a convenient distance from their houses. The manner in which they construct this depends on the locality where they live. ”

“ Hours have wings, fly up to the author of time and carry news of our usage. All our prayers cannot entreat one of them either to return or slacken his pace. The misspents of every minute are a new record against us in heaven. ”

“ How to Write Well.—The style of a writer is a faithful representation of her mind: therefore, if any girl wishes to write a clear style, let her first be clear in her thoughts; and if anyone would write in a noble style, let her first possess a noble soul. ”

“ If you girls who have now, or will shortly have, an ample allowance per year to dress on, were to pause to consider seriously how many women there are, say in London alone, who have only £40 or £50 a year, and not a penny beyond, to live on, that is, to provide them with a home, food, clothing, firing, and all the other necessaries of life, there is hardly one among you probably who would not resolve to immediately commence administering her money with some care. ”

“ Our road lay through the market, whose odoriferous Asiatic smells are particularly unpleasing to English noses. We thought our driver divined this, for he wasted no time, but with terrific shouts and pistol-like cracks of an enormous whip, scattered to the right and left everything and everybody in the line of route, and brought us up to the station in dashing style but exhausted condition. ”

“ The most interesting feature in the natural history of the beaver is their amazing skill in the construction of their dams and the dwellings they make for themselves—"lodges," these are called. They are often constructed in small rivers and creeks where the water is apt to be drained off, when the supplies are dried up by winter frost. I spent some time in Colorado near to a part of the Rockies where beavers abounded, and where they were a never-failing source of interest to the young folks in my friend's family. In Montana also they abound in vast numbers. ”

“ Again, true economy of time does not imply that each hour in which we have not actually achieved some work with brain or hand is consequently wasted, for it may often be truer economy to spend an hour in quiet talk with a friend or in taking suitable recreation, but it does demand some method in our distribution of time, and protests against the best hours of the day being devoted solely to amusement or to mutually profitless gossip. ”

“ A word of warning against the folly of taking physical exercise in excess will hardly be out of season just now, when bicycling is so very popular, that one unfortunately hears of many men, women and girls who have made themselves ill by riding too fast or too long distances at a stretch, or who, in other words, have not listened to the warning of Nature, which says, "Do enough, but not too much." ”

“ Our poet, Coleridge, said, "If the idle are described as killing time, the methodical man may be justly said to call it into life and moral being, while he makes it the distinct object not only of the consciousness, but of the conscience." ”

“ For the street the pink or blue silk dress must be covered with the universal outdoor mantle, made on one pattern, but often of rich white or coloured silk, embroidered in silver or gold. In shape it is like a very full double petticoat divided into two equal parts at the waist by a girdle—one half forms a skirt and the other is thrown over the head, making the wearer appear at the back like a huge animated cottage loaf. The maudeel covers the face. Hats are reserved for the heads of foreigners. ”

“ Sometimes so large a thicket is formed that birds build there, and the whole makes a charming colony of happy and busy life. The dams are built in some rivers of trees which are often five or six inches in diameter. These the beaver cuts down with his wonderful sharp incisor teeth.
In lakes and ponds also the beavers have their habitat. They like much the narrow creeks which so often connect the lakes of North America. The currents help them to convey the wood and other materials to their dwellings. A certain depth of water is, of course, necessary for their purpose. ”

“ I felt sorry for him, poor fellow, for well he knew that a Turkish soldier's life "is not a happy one."
Occasionally stray brown locusts flew in through the door, "flopped" down on the floor and remained stationary, apparently dazed with the unusual sight and sound of the "iron horse" and its long tail.
The arrival of more passengers of the masculine gender at a roadside station demanded that we should vacate our seats and retire to the women's quarter at the other end of the train. ”

“ One grand sweet song."
He did not intend to deprecate cleverness and learning, but to point out that our first endeavour should be to be good and live a noble life, and if we could accomplish that, not to fret or be grieved if outstripped in intellectual attainments by others; because whilst "to do lovely things" lies in everybody's power, the higher intellectual acquirements are not within the reach of all. With due arrangement of time it is marvellous how much can be accomplished. ”

“ The tail is used as a rudder, and like that of a dog, is a vehicle for emotion. It is flapped even when a beaver has been tamed and domesticated, especially when the creature is startled. They have a very pretty way of carrying mud and stones in their little fore-paws, holding them close up under the throat. ”

“ Whether he can be taught reason by less drastic treatment under a more reasonable form of government has yet to be proved. At present, the only law he condescends to understand is represented in tangible form by a powerful soldier armed with a weapon which he promptly uses, indifferent to life or limb of the offender. ”

“ The beaver's little paws seem so small; yet by pawful after pawful of earth brought by these small animals, who are working in friendly co-operation with their fellows, great dams that can stem an advancing flood are constructed.
I once heard a story of a poor and not over-wise—as the world counts wisdom—Highlander. ”

“ These Russian peasants have one great object in life, for which they save and work with an enthusiasm which never fails: to go on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, to touch the{131} Holy Sepulchre, to visit the holy shrines, to be baptised in the Jordan, and to return to their fatherland empty in purse but rich in candles, vials of oil, unleavened cakes blessed by the Patriarch, and garments dipped in the Jordan, to be worn only once again—as shrouds. ”

“ When viewed with regard to our life as a complete unity, economy, or right administration, should be zealously practised in three special ways, namely, economy of money, economy of time, and economy of forces or strength, and these last two are touched upon indirectly in the lines chosen for the heading of this address. ”

“ But mud and stones are used also, welded all firmly together, and the different parts of the dam must, of course, be of equal strength. In the same manner, that is, of the same materials, they construct their dwellings, but they are not built with equal care; their construction is rougher than that of the dams. The only thing essential in the work is that they should be made watertight, so that they may have dry sleeping-quarters. Sometimes a house is just big enough for one family, but larger dwellings are also made, such as will house a great number of animals. ”

“ Each is good in itself, but happy is he who practises all three with the ever-present thought that God is to be the end of all, for he will be gaining wisdom, which "is better than rubies," and "whoso findeth wisdom findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord." ”

“ But in his estimate, as it should ever be in ours, the quality of the work was the all-important element in life. And of a hard-working thoughtful doctor who died young, he said, "He was older than some of us who are twice his age!" ”

“ Attend to Small Courtesies.—No matter how wise, how clever, how skilled you may be, if you fail in the small courtesies of life, people instinctively feel that there is dust on the balance, and that you do not weigh as pure gold. ”

“ How many a girl while at school, and more especially at College, ruins her eyesight, if not her constitution, by poring over her books at all hours, even when she ought to be taking the much-needed rest of sleep, or of open-air exercise ”

“ If the current is not strong—if there is only a slight motion of the water—the dam is made almost straight; but in proportion as the stream is a rapid one, the dam must be more curved, presenting its convex side towards the current. Where beavers have been allowed to build for a long period undisturbed, their dams become in time, through the persistent industry with which they repair them, a bank so solid that it resists quite a strong on-rush of water or even of ice. ”

“ A wonderful instinct, so-called, again prompts the beavers to cover their houses each autumn with fresh mud—as late in the season as they can manage it—so that it may freeze hard and keep them secure against their foe, the wolverine, a creature about the size of our common badger, which is much about during the winter. Wolverines are said to do more damage to the fur trade in smaller animals than all the other creatures of prey put together. ”

“ You will be surprised to find how many books you can read in a year if you devote one hour a day to them. It is often said that it is the busiest people who can always find time to undertake yet some more work or do a service for others, while idle people never have time for anything, and the truth of this paradox is proved by the vast amount of reading accomplished and the intense interest taken in extraneous matters by our very busiest statesmen, surgeons and clergymen. ”