s useful if delivered in this wise: "Why don't you earn more, and
make larger deposits." The force of weakness compels us to stop spending
our muscle cells; the kind friend, as far as is possible, puts a stop to
the expenditure of nerve cells, and draws on the funds derived from the
Cinchona forests of South America and the iron mountains of Missouri, to
make new deposits on our account; and when the matter is thus doubly
settled for us by nature and science, we go on our way rejoicing, only
to repeat the same insane folly. But it is not good for one's credit to
overdraw too frequently her bank account; and there may come a time when
suspension means bankruptcy, and when all the kindness and skill of all
our friends can be no longer of any avail. Is it not our own fault, and
shall we not so educate our girls that they shall not fall into it,
since they comprehend its unreason?

We are undoubtedly creatures of habit; but we oftener apply the word to
our mental and moral than to our physical nature, and wrongly. When
regular and constant demands are made upon any organ of the body, the
body, as it were, falls into the habit of laying in enough force in that
particular department for that particular purpose, as the scientific
steward at Vassar lays in for each day so many pounds of beef or mutton,
because he can rely with certainty on its consumption. If in any case
the demand is, for any reason, slackened, there is a surplus of energy
which must find a vent, or render its possessor very uncomfortable. Need
mothers be reminded of how very troublesome the little girl becomes in a
short school vacation, or during the first days of a long one? Or need
teachers be told that it is only a loss of time in the end, to assign at
the commencement of the September term lessons of the same length as
those which were learned with no difficulty in June? There is a decided
inertia in the bodily functions, and time is required for a sudden
change. Inconvenience in such a case will be sure to arise, unless the
surplus force be instantly directed into other and unobjectionable
channels.

If the reverse takes place, and the demand be suddenly increased, the
result is weakness, debility, and finally disease; though precisely the
same amount of work might have been done, not only with safety but with
positive advantage, provided the increase of the demand had been
gradual.

Is there any country in the world equal to America in the irregulari