and empty to me now) might
have upset my faith. Many an exciting, passionate book (which I now read
with a calm and critical mind) would have filled my whole heart and soul!
Be thankful if you are kept under direction about books; but if you are
not, use common sense and conscience. Manage yourself sensibly, and since
you know that you are in a very mouldable, impressionable stage, it stands
to reason that you had better steadily read classics now, to form and
strengthen your mind.

When a girl reads sentimental and passionate poetry, neglecting Scott,
Milton, and Wordsworth, I call it the same sort of wrong mismanaging of
herself as if she ruined her digestion with a greedy love of pastry.
Poetry and pastry are often the same sort of weak self-indulgence.

I do not say read _no_ novels that are exciting and romantic, or even that
are silly, but I do say, sandwich them. Face the fact that a silly or
passionate novel is likely to have great power over you at this stage, and
therefore read very few of them, and read many of Scott, Thackeray,
Dickens, Miss Austen, and Mrs. Gaskell.

Do not read society novels that make you live with flippant, irreverent,
or coarse people, or those who take sin lightly.

It is not right for a girl to live with people in books who would not be
good friends for her in life, and she ought to make a conscience of not
doing it, even though there may be no definite bad scenes in the book to
shock her.

Books should give you nice ideas. You have got the making of your own mind
and character in your own hands, and you are responsible for the books on
which you choose to feed yourself, for each one of them alters you for
good or bad. Your book list is a very good help to self-examination.

There is a great deal to think about and to settle for yourself when you
begin life, but there are three points of goodness binding on every one.
One is, giving time to God. A girl must stick to her prayers and go to
Church on Sunday whether other people do or not. Sunday varies in
different households, and I think each girl is bound by her parents'
standard in the matter as long as she lives at home; when she marries she
should think the matter over and have her own standard. But the root of
Sunday-keeping lies in the fact that she must feed the Sunday side of her
or it will die; and she should go to Church, once at least, to show her
colours. As to how much she feeds that Sunday side, or when,--that varies