Elinor Wyllys; Or, The Young Folk of Longbridge: A Tale. Volume 1Cooper, Susan Fenimore
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Elinor Wyllys; Or, The Young Folk of Longbridge: A Tale. Volume 1
Cooper, Susan Fenimore
Frontier and pioneer life -- United States -- Fiction; Historical fiction
advantage, and in the opinion of the worldly it is so, the
superiority of beauty over ugliness lasts longer than life; many
women are remembered, who had nothing but beauty to recommend
them to the notice of posterity. But observe, my child, that if
these advantages are evident, they are chiefly of a worldly
nature. A beautiful woman may receive general admiration, and
that homage which gratifies vanity, but she must depend on other
qualities if she wish to be respected, if she wish to be loved
through life. I hope, my child, you will always be superior to
that miserable vanity which thirsts for common admiration, which
is flattered by every offering, however low, however trivial. I
trust that the mere applause of the world will have no influence
upon your heart or your understanding. Remember what it is that
we call the world--it is a ground governed by a compromise
between the weaknesses of the good among us, and the virtues of
the bad; the largest portion of vanity and folly--sometimes even
vice--mingled with the least portion of purity and wisdom that a
community bearing a Christian name will tolerate. You, I trust,
will learn to seek a higher standard.
"If borne in a right spirit, my dear Elinor, the very want of
beauty, or of any other earthly good, may be the means of giving
you the benefit of far higher blessings. If it make you more free
from vanity, from selfishness, it will make you far happier, even
in daily life. It may dispose you to enjoy more thankfully those
blessings actually in your possession, and to make a better use
of them.
"Under this and every other disadvantage, my child, remember two
things: to give the evil its just importance only, and to make a
right use of it.
"I trust that your temper will be such, that you will not for a
moment feel any inclination to repine that others should enjoy a
blessing denied to you, my love. Refrain even from wishing for
that which Providence has withheld; if you have a right faith,
you will be cheerful and contented; if you are really humble, you
will be truly thankful.
"Do all in your power, my Elinor, towards making your home,
wherever it may be, a happy one; it is our natural shelter from
the world. If in public you meet with indifference and neglect,
you can surely preserve the respect of those who know you; and
the affection of your friends may always be gained by those
quiet, simple virtues, within the reach of every one.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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