4

7. Spending time in reverie which should be spent in prayer."

A part of these ways of misspending time are peculiar to the young, and appertain especially to their spare moments. Doubtless it was a happy decision in Mary Lyon to watch that this class of minutes should not be lost. It must have aided her in achieving the great amount of labor that she did. Had she been as prodigal of time as some of her sex are, the fruits of her life would have been far less abundant.

Girls will do well to copy her example. Nor can they begin too soon. The early habit of economy of time, will show its best results in

age.

23

CHAPTER XXIV.

ORDER.

A PERT YOUNG MISS-MANY GIRLS LIKE HER-ORDER IN LITTLE THINGS A DISORDERLY GIRL DESCRIBED THE SYSTEMATIC GIRL DESCRIBED NEVER HURRIED- ORDER NECESSARY TO INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY OF TIME — ALL GOOD BUSINESS MEN ADOPT IT LEAST OF IT IN HOUSEHOLDS A SCENE - THE WOMAN WHOSE HOUSE IS IN CONFUSION — MRS. PRIOR — MRS. SUSANNA BENSON MARY LYON IN EARLY AND LATER LIFEORDER IN HER SEMINARY.

"WHAT have I to be orderly about?" exclaimed a pert miss to the counsel of a friend, concerning order. "I am neither housekeeper, teacher, nor officer of a benevolent society. It will do well enough for such persons, and for clerks, merchants, farmers, and agents generally, to be systematic; but how can a girl like me be orderly, when I have nothing to order?" It is probable that many girls cherish similar views of this matter, and, as a consequence, they are forming the habit of carelessness just at the period when its evil influence will be most deleterious upon the character. If they would stop and reflect for a moment, they would see that, although they are not

housekeepers or teachers, there is much for them to systematize. There are their own wardrobes to superintend, and their own rooms to arrange. A good beginning can certainly be made here; and such as girls are in this respect, such they will generally be in womanhood.

Notice the difference between girls in these matters of seemingly small importance. There is one who thinks she has nothing to systematize at present, resolved, perhaps, that when she is mistress of a home of her own, she will arrange everything according to the most approved rules of order. Look into her dressing-room. There is a dress on a chair, another on the bed; the hairbrush is on the floor, while soiled collars and handkerchiefs are scattered about here and there. Everything is in confusion. Instead of having "a place for everything, and everything in its place," she has a place for nothing. Her bonnet is laid in one place to-day, in another to-morrow. Even her jewelry, if she has any, lies here and there, on the bureau, window, and toilet-stand. Of course she often loses her articles, and almost daily has to institute a search for some missing one, while fretful speeches fall from her lips, and sour expressions of countenance distort her face. Disorderly girls are very apt to be fretful at times. They complain bitterly of losing their

articles, but seldom strive to avoid the evil by correcting their evil habit of disorder.

But follow this girl about the house, and you will see that the evil is still worse. She puts

things out of place almost as fast as her tidy mother adjusts them. When she returns from a walk, her bonnet and shawl are thrown into a chair, or upon the dining-table. If she ever washes the dishes, she never arranges them in the cupboard according to her mother's ideas of order. They are placed just where she can find a vacancy. Who ever saw her properly arrange the chairs, or the books in the case? If the former are not bottom side up, and the latter are not lying under her feet, she is satisfied. Even the book which she borrowed is tumbled about the room, not a little the worse for the wear. If she is a school-girl, her desk is a sight to behold. Look into it for a moment, and the very books seem to cry out, "disorder!" "disorder!" Books, papers, slate, pencils, etc., are huddled into it indiscriminately, and present a most chaotic scene. Her dress, too, is not

always neatly arranged, nor her hair properly combed. Sometimes she has the appearance of a person who has been out in a gale, her hair and dress are in such confusion.

Perhaps this girl is one who thinks that she has nothing to arrange systematically, because

she is not a housekeeper. But, is it so? have said enough to show that there are many things about which she might observe order to great advantage. Moreover, it is well-nigh cer-tain that her carelessness in girlhood will follow her into womanhood. The slovenly housekeeper was just such a girl. If she had been systematic in arranging her wardrobe and other matters, in early life, she would probably have been systematic in the performance of her own housework.

Notice, now, the systematic girl. She has everything in order. Go into her room, and you see nothing out of place. The furniture is well arranged, and no garments, or other articles, are scattered about the room. She is so much in the habit of observing order in everything, that it is no study at all for her to preserve this tidiness in her room and dress. Not even a pin, or cushion, or thimble, is found lying about. Each one has a place, where it may always be found. When it is wanted, she knows where to look for it. She could find it in the dark. Look into the book-case, and every volume is right side up, with the title in plain sight, instead of being placed toward the back part of the shelf. Examine her drawers; how neatly everything is laid! Follow her about the house, she does not leave a