We cannot but feel that of late years too large a proportion of care and thought is bestowed by parents in educating their daughters to shine in fashionable life,--in giving them an ornamental rather than a solid, practical, or intellectual education. They dislike to keep their children at close study, lest they should spoil their figures or their eyes, and allow them to discard housework for fear their hands will not be small and delicate enough to show to advantage at the piano, or in a party. Music, painting, and dancing are all well enough in their way,--some of them very important,--but should not be sought after to the exclusion of the practical, and by no means the least important part of a young girl’s education, and preparation for an active, useful life. Many young ladies will not willingly accept these views; but it is for the most part because mothers, out of mistaken fondness, do not care to have them; or, as is too often the case, because they do not like the drudgery, as they term it, of teaching the lessons in domestic economy, so necessary to their future welfare,--an indolent or selfish mode of setting aside heaven-ordained duties, for which a severe reckoning may one day be demanded. LXXXI. GRUMBLING. IT must be that a certain class of people find pleasure in fault-finding and grumbling, or they would not search so industriously for an opportunity to exercise their talents in this direction; or, failing to secure a legitimate occasion, willfully manufacture one. In the family, this habit is, unfortunately, often carried to a great extent, even among those who are, undoubtedly, sincerely attached to each other. The first word in the morning is usually a querulous inquiry or complaint about some trivial thing which they merely _suspect_ has been neglected or unsatisfactorily performed. They do not take the trouble to inquire if their suspicions are well founded. Such inquiry might deprive them of the luxury of grumbling. If it were not so sad to hear the early morning hours thus desecrated, it might furnish much amusement for a looker-on to notice how often these unfortunates are caught in their own trap, and the fact made evident to all that the foolish words were but the ebullition of arrogance and irritability, having no foundation. “My dear!” (you will notice that a _gentleman_ grumbler begins a complaint with a strongly emphasized term of endearment,)--“my dear! why could you not heed my request that our breakfast might be one half-hour later this morning? I told you I was very tired, and needed a little more rest. But it is useless for me to imagine you would deviate from your rules one minute just for my comfort.” “Why, Tom! how unreasonable you are! You are so in the habit of finding fault, that you never stop to learn certainly if there is any cause for dissatisfaction. Your breakfast is just three quarters of an hour later than usual. I delayed it just as long as I could, expressly for your comfort.”