Page:Advice to young ladies on their duties and conduct in life - Arthur - 1849.djvu/88

80 A disposition to see the faults and defects of others, instead of what is good in them, is one of our most common failings; and what we see, or think we see, is what we are most apt to speak of This is the reason why we generally hear more evil than good spoken of as appertaining to other people.

The very common habit of making the sayings and doings of our acquaintances the principal subjects of conversation is by no means a good one, and should be avoided as much as possible, for the reason that such conversation is rarely profitable, and very apt to betray us into allusions to their defects, as much more prominent than their excellences. And as it does us no good to think of the faults of our friends, nor them any good for us to speak about them, the least said on such matters the better. It is not possible, however, always to avoid allusions to what has been said and done by our friends, or to the appearance made by them on certain occasions. Two young ladies, for instance, will meet on the day after a fashionable party, and one of them will allude to the dress, appearance, or manners of some one or more, who either exhibited a sad want of taste, or whose conduct attracted attention for its freedom and want of delicacy. Such things always occur, and always