son's "Snow Queen," they have a bit of
ice in their heart, and they see all the smallnesses and absurdities about
them, instead of being alive to the pathos, or endurance, or good-nature
of the apparently stupid lives round them. They are always in a critical,
carping, superior frame of mind. These people can often talk brilliantly,
but it is thin. You cannot have a large mind without a large heart. 'We
live by admiration, hope, and love;' without these, we cease to live--we
wither.

The best talk is kindly; any fool can point out flaws, said Goethe (who
certainly had a great mind, whatever his heart was like),--it takes a
clever man to discern excellencies. A good talker makes other people feel
they are much cleverer than they had before realized; they are at their
best, thanks to the listener who draws out the best side of them. It is
delightful to be with some people--you are sure of hearing good
talk--interesting subjects spring up wherever they are.

Perhaps you have a friend staying with you who is one of these delightful
people, and you say: "Oh dear! I must go and pay a duty visit--it will be
so dull, but do come with me." And, lo and behold! that visit is
delightful, for your friend made that dull person into an interesting one
by getting her to talk and show her real self. For the real self of every
soul is interesting, only it often has such a "buried life" that we are
not skilful enough to find it.

Now, does your way of talking bring out the best side of yourself and of
those you talk to?

School gives you tremendous opportunities of adding to the kindliness and
nice-mindedness of the world; for there you talk with a large number who,
like yourself, are not yet made, and who are, therefore, more coloured by
the person they talk to than older people would be.

There are people in the world who never hear unkind gossip or vulgar
jokes, for no one would think of saying such things to them. I know girls
who would never have such things said--who would never get a letter
written to them that was not of a nice tone--because, instinctively, their
friends would feel such things out of harmony with them.

When girls are silly, or spiteful, or not quite nice in what they say to
you, it pays _you_ a bad compliment; do not in your own mind merely
condemn _them_. They would not say it to you if they felt you above talk
of that kind. You may be above it in your own mind and may feel that your
home surroundings are