Truth is always consistent with itself, and needs nothing to help it out.—Tillotson. Some wise observer has said that one of the chief aims of life should be to learn how to grow old gracefully. This knowledge is deemed by many to be a great secret and a most valuable one. Yet it can hardly be called a secret since every girl and boy as well as every person He that is choice of his time will be choice of his company and choice of his actions.—Jeremy Taylor. of maturer years must know that it is but the working out of the laws of cause and effect. When character-building is begun on the right lines and those lines are followed to the end the result is as certain as it is beautiful. When we see a grandmother whose life has been lived on the happy plane of pure thoughts and kind deeds we ought not to wonder that her old age is as exquisite as was the perfect bloom of her youth. We need not marvel how it has come about that her life has been a long and happy one. Here is the "secret:"
She knew how to forget disagreeable things.
She kept her nerves well in hand and inflicted them on no one.
She mastered the art of saying pleasant things.
Our character is our will; for what we will we are.—Archbishop Manning. She did not expect too much from her friends.
She made whatever work came to her congenial.
She retained her faith in others and did not believe all the world wicked and unkind.
He overcomes a stout enemy that overcomes his own anger.—Chilo. She relieved the miserable and sympathized with the sorrowful.
She never forgot that kind words and a smile cost nothing, but are priceless treasures to the discouraged.