im be
self-helpful, think and do for himself, and he will have the better
chance of success.

We now come to a second branch of the subject--namely, as regards
our conduct and manners in the scenes of social life. One might
suppose it to be a very clear thing, that a person possessing no
pleasing accomplishment could never be so agreeable a member of
society as one who possessed one or more of such qualifications. It
might seem very evident, that a person who had never taken any
trouble to acquire such accomplishments, did not deserve so much of
society as one who had taken such trouble. Yet such is the blinding
influence of self-love, that we continually find the dull and
unaccomplished speaking and acting as if they considered themselves
entitled to equal regard with others who, on the contrary, can
contribute greatly to the enjoyments of their fellow-creatures. This
is surely most unreasonable--it is, as in the case of the
unnecessary shopkeeper or weaver, to desire the reward and yet not
perform the service. Were such persons to clear themselves of
prejudice, and take an unflattering view of their relation to
society, they would see that the reward can only be properly
expected where it has been worked for. They might in some instances
be prompted to make efforts to attain some of those accomplishments
which contribute to make the social hour pass agreeably, and thus
attain to a true desert, besides 'advancing themselves in the scale
of thinking beings.' If not, they might at least learn to submit
unrepiningly to that comparatively moderate degree of notice and
regard which is the due of those who are perfectly ordinary in their
minds, and fit only to take a place amongst the audience.

Society, as is well known, has its favourites, and also its
unpopular characters. If we dissect the character of the favourite,
we shall invariably find a great substratum of the amiable. He will
probably have accomplishments also, and thus be able to add to the
happiness of his fellows. It is not improbable that in many cases a
good share of love of approbation will be detected; but this is of
no consequence in the matter. The general fact we assume to be, that
the genuinely amiable is there in some force. It will, I believe, be
likewise found that the unpopular character has something too much
of the centripetal system about him--that is to say, desires things
to centre in himself as much as possible--and neither has any great