LIV. ON STARING.
104. Ruth and the Window.
There was once a girl named Ruth, who was in many respects very well-behaved indeed. For instance, you would never hear her reply to her mother without saying "Yes, mother," or "No, mother," and she never banged the door or came into a room noisily, but she had one fault that was really very bad.
As Ruth went on her way to school each day, she passed a house that had its dining-room window facing the street. The window was rather low, and every time that Ruth went by she would walk slowly, and stare into the room all the time. If the people were at dinner it made no difference—she still gazed in. You will think this exceedingly rude, as indeed it was, but it is quite true nevertheless.
One day a lady came to the school that Ruth attended; she was driven there in her carriage, and remained talking to the teacher after the children had been dismissed. Presently she said, "Good afternoon," and left, and the teacher, happening to glance out of the window, was vexed to see that a number of the scholars had gathered round the carriage, and were staring in, and staring at the lady as she took her seat. Next day the children were told how rude this was, and we hope that Ruth learnt at the same time how rude it is to stare into people's houses.
Another day some Japanese ladies came to the school to see the children drill; they were dressed so differently from English people, and looked so funny with their little slanting eyes, and their shiny, black hair dressed high, with no bonnet to cover it, that the children were tempted to stare again, but the teacher had told them that it would be rude to stare at the ladies. "You may glance at them," said she, "but do not keep your eyes fixed on them." It is natural to wish to look at curious things, but we can be careful to take our eyes away when we have glanced, so that we do not stare, and make the person uncomfortable, for you remember we said that anything was rude which caused people to be uncomfortable ([p. 110]).
There was a little boy in church who had just the same rude habit as Ruth. He would sit or stand at the end of the pew, and turn his head round to see what was passing behind. He did not take just a little glance, and then turn his eyes back again—even that would have been rude—but he kept his gaze fixed behind for ever so long.
Do you know why we do not look about in church? It is because we go there to worship the Great God, to hear of Him, and think about Him, and we cannot do this if we are looking about, and thinking of other things. Why do we close our eyes when we pray? It is so that we may think of what we are saying; if we kept them open, we should be thinking of what we were seeing instead, should we not?