56 THE HOME, FARM AND BUSINESS CYCLOPEDIA. 



unless she is very engaging, she is apt to be disliked by some of them. 

 Perhaps the brother has been a great favorite, and some loving sister is 

 jealous of her. Some brother, even, may feel offended at having the 

 affections of his most intimate friend stolen away from him ; or the charms 

 which have won the lover may not be apparent to the rest of the family. 



Now is the time for good-breeding. Now is the moment for the amen- 

 Let the young people remember to treat that young lady with 

 peculiar courtesy, for she will never forget their conduct at this period. 

 She is to be their sister for all time. If they treat her with respect and 

 cordiality, ten to one she will be a good sister. But, if they treat her 

 with hatred, suspicion, and dislike, she will be their enemy all her days 

 and ver} T little blame to her if she is. It is the cruelty of the red Indian 

 to treat a newcomer, introduced under such tender circumstances, with 

 anything but kindness. 



Canadian marriages, being for the greater part purely marriages of 

 affection, ought all to be happy. That a great majority of them are so we 

 firmly believe. The world is, however, not yet paradise, and there is an 

 occasional failure. A man, even the most sagacious, does get taken in 

 occasionally, and a woman now and then makes a poor choice. Then, 

 when father and mother read Edmund's unhappiness in his pale face and 

 saddened brow, what are they to do ? 



Nothing. We must bear the sufferings of our children, as we should do 

 our own, silently, although they hurt us infinitely more than our own 

 have done. And in that new relation we must bring the most perfect 

 breeding to our aid, trying to make politeness take the part of love. 



No one feels interested in our failures, in our quarrels, in our diseases, 

 or in our disappointments. We must " consume our own smoke." No 

 one will care to hear that we dislike our daughters-in-law or disprove of 

 our sons' wives. The family record should be a sealed book, of which the 

 most prudent member keeps the key. We have no chance, in these days- 

 of newspaper notoriety, to hide from the world what we do ; but we have 

 the power to keep our thoughts to ourselves. Our births, deaths, engage- 

 ments, marriages, and visits to our friends are all public property, but our 

 opinions are still our own, unless we choose to tell them. 



We can not expect of our daughters-in-law and sons-in-law that they 

 will be always patient with us, nor can we ask it. They may find our de- 

 mands upon our children exacting. They may find our ways old-fashioned 

 and uncongenial ; therefore it is a dangerous experiment to take them 

 home to live. Jane may want a fire in her bed-room when her mother-in- 

 law considers a fire unnecessary, and damaging to the new carpet. A 



