Demonstrativeness Of Affection

How mucb more we might make oí our family life, of our friendships, if every secret thotigh't óf love blossomed into a deed ! We are not speaking mercly ot personal caresses. These may or may not be the best language of affection. Many are endowed with a delieacy, íastidiousness of physical organization, which sbrinks away froni too much of these, repelled and overpowered. But tlicre are words and looks and little observanees, thoughtfulnesses, watchful little attcntious, which speak of love, which make it manifest, and there isscarcely a family that might not be richcr in itosrt-wealth for more of them. It is a icistake to suppoge tfeat relatious must of course love each other because they are relations. Lovotnust be cultivated, and can be increased by judicious culture, as wild fruita may doublé their bearing under the hand of agardeutr; and love can' dwindle and die out by neglect, aschoice flowerseeda j placted in poer stil dwindle and grow single. 'i'wo -causes iu our Anglo-Saxon nature prevent this easy faculty and flow of expression which one sees so pleasantly in the Italian or the French life ; the dreaá of flattery and a coustitutional fcilynëss. " I perfectly longed to teil So and-so how I admired her, the other day," said Miss X. " And why in the world didu't you teil her ?" " Oh, it wouid seem like flattery you know.11 Now what is flattery? Flattery is insincere pfaisegiven from interested motives, bwt not the sincere utterance to a friend of what we deem good and lovely in him. Atfd so, for fear of flattering, these dreadfully sincere people go on side by side with those they love and admire, giving them all the time impressiona of utter indifference. Pareots are so afraid of exciting pride and vanity fn their children by the expression of their love and approbation, that a child sometimes goes sad and discouraged by their side, and learns with surprise, in Botoe öhance way, that tiiey are proud and fond of bim. There are times when the open expression of a father's love would be worth more than chureh or sermón to a boy; and his father cannot utter ir, will not show it. The other thing that represses the utterances of love is the characteristic shyness of the Anglo Saxon blood. Oddly enough, a race born of two detnonstrative, outspoken nations - the Germán and the French - has an habitual reserve that is like neithcr. There is a powerlessness of utterance in our blood that wc should fight against, and struggle outward toward expression. We can edúcate ourseives to it, if we know. and feel the neeessity ; we can make it a Christian duty, not only to love, but to be ioving - not ouly to be true friends, but to show ourseives friendly. We can make ourseives say the kind things that rise in our hearts and tremblo back on our lips - do the gentío and helpful decds which we long to do aud shrink back frorn ; and, little by little, it will grow easier - the love spoken will bring back the answer of love - the kind deed will bring back a kind dead in return - til! the hearts in the family circle, ñatead nf boing so many frozen, icy islands, shall be full of warm airs and echoiug birdvoiccs auswering back and forth with a conBtant melody of love. - Mrs. II. B. Stowe.