HAPPINESS AND THE PURSUIT OP IT. 
ing to your pleasant companion, and start off in Lot 
pursuit, but Happiness is fully able to keep his own 
company, when be itoes not want yours. He is not 
slow now, for run in pursuit, as fast and as long as 
ever }our breath will carry you, he will either very 
suddenly disappear round a corner, and be no more 
seen, or keep at a good long distance before you, with* 
out allowing you altogether to lose sight of him, just 
to lead you on, in vain and fruitless hope, for a re- 
gular ‘‘ will-o-the-wisp ” is he. It would be all very 
well, after Happiness has left you behind, if he also 
left you, as when he overtook you, alone. But a great 
number of very troublesome, unpleasant little imps, 
pests, are always rattling along, in his wake, just to 
try what they can pick up j on the same principle 
as sharks follow a ship. For wrecks of, or by, Happi- 
ness furnish fine food for Misery, Discontent, Envy, 
Malice, and tlje whole tribe of all these fiends, and 
the worst of it all is, tliat, after they all fairly attack, 
and fasten upon yt»u, feel perfectly aware, quite cer- 
tain, that your time will be so much occupied in 
endeavouring to keep them at bay, or to prevent ipour 
being actually worried altogether, that Happiness will 
be g(uie, bejond the most remote possibility, of CTer 
more being come up with. But don’t give way, never 
give in, for these imps are not invincible, and, like 
the pariah dogs, a bold and determined front will 
surely eventually send them off with a howl, and 
their tails between their legs, and well it will 
be, if you .can manage this, before the master in charge 
of the pack lays his iron grasp upon you. That fell 
master’s name is Despair” : ■when once you are firmly 
collared by him, you are just in the position of an 
elk at bay, a huge rock behind, a whole pack of 
hounds in front, and Despair, the master of the pack, 
cheering them on, with the glittering unsheathed hunt- 
ing knife betw^een his teeth. “ Yoicks to him, good old 
dogs. ” “ Seize him Brandy ” “ There you have him 
Misery; hold him fast, good lass !” Toss away with 
your horns, just as one is shaken ofi', other two come 
on, until Despair, in order to save his hounds for an- 
other hunt, for the game is plentiful, steps in with 
the cold glittering hnnting-ki ife. m ci ad }s over, 
for none survive the cut of the knife, as given by 
that hunter, so keep w^ell clear of him, which is easily 
done by taking as little notice as possible of his yelp- 
ing hounds, wdiose bark is worse than their bite, for 
they themselves, when you seem to take no notice of 
them, however much } on may feel irritated and an- 
noyed, will, like the pariah dogs, quietly lag behind, 
and husband up their resources, Jur the next tra- 
veller that comes up. The curious feature, the mystery, 
