severe penance on
you; I only say, talk to a safe friend, or to none."

This question of talk is a very practical one in school life. Probably
most of you think privately, "How silly girls are!" What do _you_ do, to
make the mass less silly? That sort of infectious silliness is the great
danger of school life, but the chatter is made up by individuals, who
could each talk instead of chattering: remember that a girl at school need
not be a schoolgirl; but she is in great danger of it, unless she is
careful!

When you live at home you do not talk nonsense at dinner, you probably
join in sensible talk. Well, do not alter because you are with girls, and
say complacently in your heart "How silly the others are!" Your
neighbours would not be silly if you did not admire it. You yourself are
part of the mass you are criticizing. On which side do your words go--talk
or chatter? Watch yourselves, and see how your words, each day, can fairly
be divided between those two scales.

"By thy words thou shall be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be
condemned." Are these words too solemn to use, after suggestions on talk
which may seem to you to have been occupied with very petty and ignoble
details? Surely not, for your talk on these commonplace matters really
settles your standard, and that of the world about you, on the deepest
moral questions. The common talk of the day is both cause and effect of
the morality of the day.

May I suggest some thoughts for self-examination on the matter? One good
question to put daily to yourself is, "How much of my talk to-day was for
myself, and against others? Perhaps I was too well-mannered to boast, but
have I turned things to my own advantage, shown up my own strong points,
instead of trying to help others to shine? Have I tried to get cheap
credit for wit, by sharp speeches, _would-be_ clever criticism and pulling
people to pieces? Have I started, or handed on, spiteful remarks?" If you
like, use another question, and ask yourself, "Was I like S. Theresa, 'An
Advocate of the Absent'?" Or ask, "Have I, by my way of speaking _or
listening_, lowered any one's standard to-day?" Very often people say
things or make jokes tentatively, to see how we shall take it, and through
fear of being stiff or priggish we surprise them by seeming to enjoy what
they were rather uncertain about. It is quite curious how ashamed most
people generally are of seeming as good as they really are; they "hide
their