--_Shakespeare._ 1986 I had rather be the first man in the village than the second man in Rome. --_Caesar._ 1987 If you have performed an act of great and disinterested virtue, conceal it; if you publish it, you will neither be believed here nor rewarded hereafter. 1988 If there's a virtue in the world at which we should always aim, it is cheerfulness. --_Sir Edward B. Lytton._ 1989 Our virtues disappear, said Rochefoucauld, when put in competition with our interests, as rivers lose themselves in the ocean. 1990 Virtue, not pedigree, should characterize nobility. --_From the Latin._ 1991 The tones of human voices are mightier than strings or brass to move the soul. --_Krummacher._ 1992 THE TONE OF VOICE. It is not so much what you say, As the manner in which you say it; It is not so much the language you use, As the tones in which you convey it. W 1993 PALACE AND SWEATSHOP. A lady sits in her boudoir Languid with leisure's disease, World-weary and worn with ennui-- Society fails to please; She craves fresh scenes more alluring But where is anything new? She's tired of luxury's gilding, Weary of nothing to do. Her life seems empty and useless, A played out, frivolous game, Where fawning counterfeits friendship And love is only a name; Heart-sick she sulks in seclusion And scans in mental review, Her social realm and the follies She knows are weak and untrue. Thus over her life she ponders, Scorning, rebellious in vain, Till impelled by social custom She resumes her mask again; Her world must not find her sighing-- She brilliantly plays her part, And bravely the queen of pleasure Smiles still with an aching heart. Nearby, but a few blocks distant From plenty's palatial homes, There is a contrasting picture Of strenuous life in the slums; A pale girl toils in a garret, From dawn till the sunset's glow, And the sweat-shop wolf is prowling For aye in the street below. Stitch, stitch all day without ceasing, Knowing no rest or delay. Humanity pleads for mercy-- * * * * * --_Margaret Scott Hall._ 1994 OUR WANTS. We are ruined, not by what we really want But by what we think we want; Therefore never go abroad in search of your wants; If they be real wants, They will come home in search of you; For he that buys what he does not want, Will often want what he cannot buy. --_Colton._ 1995