Unpleasant Things.
There is a certain class of people who take great satisfaction in saying unpleasant things. They call this peculiarity ‘ speaking their minds ’ or ‘plain speaking.’ Sometimes they dignify it by the name of ‘ telling the truth.’ As if truths must be unpleasant in order to be true ! Are there no lovely, charming, gracious truths in the world 1 And if there are, why can not people diligently tell these, making others happier for the telling, rather than hasten to proclaim all the disagreeable ones they can discover ? The sum of human misery is always so much greater than the sum of human happiness that it would appear the plainest duty to add to the latter all we can, and do wliat lies in our power to diminish the former. Trifles make up this amount, and in trifles lie the best and most frequent opportunities. It may seem a little thing to tell another what is out of place in her appearance or possessions; but if the information is unnecessary and makes her unhappy, it is clearly an unkind and unfriendly action.
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New Zealand Mail, Issue 999, 24 April 1891, Page 9
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183Unpleasant Things. New Zealand Mail, Issue 999, 24 April 1891, Page 9
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