A VALUABLE RULE.

11

The old adage, "Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves," may be thus parodied, Take care of the minutes, and the days will take care of themselves. If the minutes were counted, that are daily wasted in idle reverie, or still idler talk, in thinking of setting about a task that is not relished, and in looking for things that should never have been mislaid, they would soon amount to hours, and prove sufficient for the acquisition of some elegant art, or the study of some useful science. Almost every young person has something in view which she would like to do, if she had time for it; and by scrutinizing her appropriation of every hour in the day, she will generally find as much time wasted as would suffice for the desired end, if resolutely redeemed from idleness.

A professional gentleman, of rare attainments, and one who added to the laborious duties of his calling a great variety of learning, much scientific research, and many elegant accomplishments, was asked by a young lady how he found time for all that he did. He replied, "There is one rule which I have found of great use, and therefore recommend it to you; and that is, always to do small things, such as writing a letter, copying out some short piece, making a sketch, reading a review, &c., in small portions of time, and to reserve a whole day of leisure for some long and important affair. Never use up a rainy morning in doing a variety of little jobs, and think, because you despatch a great many, that you have well bestowed your time; leave small affairs for odd half-hours, and use your uninterrupted morning for something that cannot be done in half-hours. You have sometimes wondered at my having time to correspond with so many absent friends; but all my letters of friendship are written in odd minutes, whilst I am waiting for people who are not so punctual to their appointments as I am."

You would think it poor economy to cut into a whole

yard of cloth, when you wanted a little piece to mend with; you would take a scrap from among your remnants just such poor economy of time is it, to use up a whole day in little unconnected affairs; let your remnants of time suffice for these.

I knew a family in which all the collars and wristbands of shirts were stitched in odd minutes, that would otherwise have been wasted. The lady of the house was always provided with one in her bag, and used to stitch upon it when waiting for any body, and in scraps of time that must occur between regularly allotted portions of it. I myself read through all the papers of the Spectator and Rambler, whilst waiting breakfast for an unpunctual member of the family; and netted many yards of lace, whilst he was discussing his toast and coffee. A friend of mine, going to consult her dentist, found in his parlour an elderly lady, waiting to be operated upon, and turning the odd minutes to account by stitching away upon a wristband she had brought with her for the purpose. This was not only good economy of time, but an excellent sedative for the nerves, and must have rendered less tedious and irksome the time she was obliged to wait.

To sleep a greater number of hours than is necessary for rest and refreshment, is a voluntary and wanton abridgment of life. She who sleeps only one hour a day more than health requires, will, in a life of three score years and ten, shorten her conscious existence nearly four years, allowing sixteen hours to the day. Too much sleep weakens the body, and stupifies the mind; but when we take only what nature demands, the body is invigorated, and the mind has its powers renovated.

Early rising is not only expedient, but it is a duty, on which many others depend. She who sleeps late and rises in haste, cannot find time for those thoughts and meditations which are calculated to prepare her

soul for the business of the day, neither will due care and attention be bestowed upon her morning toilet; her ablutions will not be such as are required by a due regard to health and cleanliness; her hair will not be thoroughly combed and brushed, and put up nicely for the day; every thing will be done carelessly and in haste, and from another portion of the morning must be taken the time necessary for further adjustment of her dress.

When breakfast is late, the whole business of a house is retarded, and the heads of a family must not be surprised if their example of late hours is followed by all in their employ. When parents rise early, and are ready for an early breakfast, they should insist on the younger members of the family conforming to their hours; for a habit of punctuality to an early breakfast is one of the best gifts they can bestow on their children. Where this is not enforced by parental authority, the good sense and good feelings of the young people ought to ensure their punctual attendance at this meal. Those who do the work of the house feel it to be a grievance, when their business is retarded by the breakfast remaining on the table for one individual after the rest have done.

Let us now sum up the evils of late rising to a young lady. Her body is enfeebled, and her eyes are heavy; her mind is stupified, her devotions are neglected, or hastily performed; her toilet is slovenly and incomplete; her morning meal is taken alone, or with those who are annoyed at having waited for her, and the attendants are out of humour; to all this may be added, a painful sense of ill desert hanging like a millstone round her neck all day. The reverse of this picture may be easily drawn. The early riser is refreshed and invigorated by the right quantity of sleep; her eye is bright, and her mind unclouded. She has time and inclination to meditate upon God, and hold

communion with him; she prepares her mind and heart for the duties of the day. Her body is duly cared for; all the niceties of a careful toilet are attended to; she meets her family at the breakfast-table, and relieves her mother from the trouble of presiding at it; every thing is done in season, the domestics smile upon her, and she feels the impulse which is given by a consciousness of having begun the day well.

The advantages of early rising are thus set forth in that beautiful little book, called "The Whole Duty of Woman."

"Industry is up with the sun, she awaketh at the crowing of the cock, and walketh abroad to taste the sweetness of the morning.

"She is ruddy as the daughter of health; her ears are delighted with the music of the shrill lark.

“Her garment sweepeth the dew-drop from the new stubble and the green grass, and her path is by the murmuring of the purling brook.

"Her appetite is keen; her blood is pure and temperate, and her pulse beateth even.

"Her house is elegant, her handmaids are the daughters of neatness, and plenty smileth at her table. "She saunters not, neither stretcheth herself out on the couch of indolence.

"She crieth not, What have I to do? but the work of her hands is the thought of a moment.

"She listeneth not to the gossip's tale, she sippeth not her tea in scandal; but employment is the matter of her discourse.

"Her work is done at evening, but the work of the slothful is put off till to-morrow."

I cannot pretend to name a proper hour either for retiring or rising; these must differ in different states of society: what would be called early in one place, would be deemed late in another. Early rising naturally disposes a person to retire early; and having

ascertained the exact quantity of sleep which agrees best with the health of body and mind, the hours of rest should be arranged accordingly; always taking care to secure as much daylight as possible for our waking hours, and giving to sleep the hours of darkness.

The extremes of heat and cold are unfavourable to constant industry, but much may be done by intellectual beings to obviate the tendencies of climate. A great deal of time is wasted in winter, in hovering over the fire and talking of the cold, in delaying to set about a piece of work, because it requires one to leave a warm room. But a little resolution will remedy all this. You can make yourselves as comfortable by taking your work or book, and sitting at a moderate distance from the fire, as by hanging idly over it; and if you run off briskly after what you need, the exercise will warm you better than the parlour-fire.

In summer, again, no less time is consumed in lamenting that it is so warm, and in lounging idly about, undressing several times a day in order to cool, lying down in the afternoon, and sleeping an hour or more, all which practices must be condemned as worse than useless, as a wanton killing of time. The less you think and think about the heat, the less you will feel it; the more industriously you occupy yourselves, the less you will be incommoded by the weather; if you never undress yourselves unseasonably, you will never feel any need of doing so; and for a young lady, in good health, to lie down on a bed to sleep, in the daytime, is a sad waste of existence, unless some peculiar exertion renders unusual rest necessary.

Much time may be saved by learning to do every thing in the best manner, by taking hold of things in the right way; but much may also be wasted in finical nicety. Whilst it is important to do every thing well, it is equally so not to bestow more pains and time on