22 



bad fanning, though one or two might pass in a very little girl's hat in the country, if tastefully 

 placed there. The old proverb tells us "there is only one step between the sublime and the 

 ridiculous." My own idea is that you might as well have a bunch of such formal flowers as 

 marigolds or sweet-williams, and put them in a drawing-room in the place of more lovely 

 flowers ; though, if you have an ordinary garden, there could be no excuse for your thus using 

 them ; perhaps the only one might be that they were better than none ; but I doubt 

 this altogether ; dog-daisies, and such like coarse flowers, if dealt with for decoration, 

 require more taste in their arrangement than most of us possess, however perfect we may 

 consider our discrimination in such matters. 



All things are well enough in their proper places, and all people and what they do would 

 be very well if we were not now so entirely copyists. Why should the rush be towards 

 extravagant ideas of all kinds and everywhere? Why can we not be content without trying 

 to outdo some one else? The contagion seems to be spreading at an electrical speed. Where 

 is it to end? 



The jackdaw seems to be a very-well-satisfied-with-himself sort of bird, and as such is an 

 uncommonly nice fellow in his way ; but, as the fable points out, when showing his vanity he 

 tries to make a peacock of himself, he renders himself ridiculous ; he being perhaps the wiser 

 bird of the two, but, instead of being content to be as he is, he apes his superior outwardly, 

 his inferior in perhaps sense vanity, however, apart. I wonder if there are really any human 

 jackdaws in existence? 



