KIDD'S OWN JOURNAL. 



369 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF COMMON LIFE. 



Have patiexce ; 'tis the soul of Peace, — 

 Of all the Virtues nearest of kin to Heaven. 



Decker. 



" What can't be cured, must be endured." 



Old Proverb. 



ANY AN INTERESTING QUES- 

 TION HAS BEEN ASKED 



US, sub rosa, having re- 

 ference to the " crook in 

 the lot" assigned to us 

 mortals here below. We 

 have been consulted by 

 young and old, moving 

 in various grades of life ; and we have, to 

 the best of our ability, given our advice in 

 every instance (by private letter). 



Let us, now, touch generally and publicly 

 upon the same wholesome theme. The cause 

 of so much unhappiness around us, arises 

 mainly from ourselves. We do not suffi- 

 ciently study each other's dispositions, tastes, 

 and habits. 



All who have perused carefully theWorks 

 of the immortal Gall (which have appeared 

 month after month, in an English dress, in 

 our columns), must have observed how much 

 of what happens in life is owing to the 

 organisation of the human brain.* There 

 are a vast number of persons, whose organs 

 are so constructed that their actions cannot 

 be regulated or controlled. They are 

 habitually ill-tempered, — jealous, — suspici- 

 ous, — malicious, — pugnacious, — cruel, — 

 controversial, — peculiar, &c, &c. These 

 failings are cut deeply into their very 

 nature. They live with them ; they will die 

 with them. There is no doubt that early 

 education might have corrected much of 

 this. 



The above are melancholy facts ; to which 

 those who are observant of the world and 

 its inhabitants will heartily add their 

 "Amen! " We must all, even if we look no 

 further than among our own individual con- 

 nections, acknowledge the distressing truth. 

 It is well, under these circumstances, to bring 

 a little reflection to our aid. Thus may we 

 alleviate what is beyond the reach of cure. 



We would all live as happy as we can. To 

 accomplish this, there must be a general 

 giving way to each other. If we know the 

 failing of any one, it is our duty (as well as 

 good policy) never to touch upon those points 

 on which we are aware the party is " weak." 

 If we do, a universal law (the principle 



* Having completed the First Volume of 

 Gall's Phrenology (there are six altogether) in 

 ou r last, we have deemed it unadvisable to proceed 

 with the second to-day, as our Miscellany is 

 about to be suspended. On a future occasion, 

 we ^ shall hope to see the whole of this im- 

 perishable work placed before our readers. It 

 deserves their best attention. 



cannot be laughed down) will immediately 

 produce a storm. We see this, in our wide 

 wanderings, among married people particu- 

 larly, — also among gipsy -parties, pic-nics, 

 parties of pleasure, &c, &c. All want 

 " their own way, — and their own way of 

 having it." Some, naturally good-tempered, 

 and of sweet, amiable dispositions, comply 

 at once with their companions' whims. Others 

 remain disagreeable, crusty, crabbed ; and 

 what was expected to be a "jolly day " too 

 often turns out quite the reverse. All this 

 might be prevented by a little finesse, a little 

 forbearance, a grain of thought. 



Then again, some people are so sadly 

 coupled together in life ! A joyous heart is 

 wedded to an icicle, — an innocent, playful 

 disposition- to a dragon of suspicion ; a 

 philanthropic spirit to abject meanness ; 

 good-temper to surly moroseness ; sunshine 

 to the North Pole. Extremes here " meet," 

 — and what an explosion is the consequence! 

 These deplorable facts are too common to 

 require their being enlarged upon. Would 

 that we could set all these parties right ! 

 But that may not be. 



Now then for philosophy. Philosophy 

 teaches us to make the best of everything 

 that befalls us. Let us keep this in view, 

 and we shall make some progress. In the 

 first place, we must never provoke. That is 

 bad. If one party " opens," let the other 

 " shut up." The cannon ball will then speed 

 furiously on its way, and the sooner become 

 11 spent." 



Again, never speak of anything that is 

 likely to affect the "weak point." Keep 

 your own counsel, — " once bit, twice shy." 

 Bury your own thoughts in your own bosom. 

 There they are safe. Thus may you 

 "scotch " a snake, though you should fail to 

 " kill " it. " An honest conscience " makes 

 its possessor happy, — albeit many a sigh 

 may cloud the atmosphere of a tender heart 

 that has none to "share" its joys and its 

 sorrows. 



Think of the organisation of the human 

 head — its innate, its ineradicable tendency to 

 some " weak point," — and so frame your 

 conduct. This is humane, charitable, kind, 

 considerate, — a positive duty. Many an act 

 of domestic suicide might have been pre- 

 vented, had the stronger-minded party given 

 way to the weaker, — a small sacrifice truly 

 to a person of good sense. Human nature, 

 though perverse, may be held in by a 

 snaffle, when the curb would make it restiff. 

 This is worth reflecting upon. 



As for pleasure parties, pic-nics, &c, &c, 

 — here we often find commingled, people of 

 the strangest possible dispositions. Yet 

 even these may be " won" when they are out 

 of temper. We are Al. in all these little 

 seasonable achievements, and take delight 



Vol. V.— 24. 



B B 



