Page:Side talks with girls (1895).djvu/10

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Preface

etiquette that oil the wheels of society and make them run more smoothly. And this we did.

As the circle grew there came in another and another girl; the chat increased, a question was asked, each was ready to laugh and be merry. A day came when grief reigned and you were glad for a word of sympathy—a word perhaps not voiced, but told by a grasp of the hand, and you learned through the telegraph of hearts that there was a feeling of sorrow for every tear you shed and for every moan you made. But the sorrow only made the pleasant times brighter, for, dear girls, in life, as in a picture, the dark lines are necessary to bring out and emphasize those that are light. So the side talks came about between my girls and me.

Do you care to be one in the circle? A side talk is not of necessity a talk all on one side, and what you think, what you wonder, and what your ideas are will result from the giving of mine to you.

Ruth Ashmore.

August 30, 1895.