One of the books I'm talking of here is a book of essays by Thomas M. Kettle. When you consider that the book was published in 1909, more than a century ago, many of the views seem surprisingly topical. I picked up this volume of essays of his in the recycling centre; published in 1937 by Browne and Nolan Limited, it is entitled:
"The Day's Burden
Studies, Literary & Political And Miscellaneous Essays"
Books of quotations seem to be for sale in enormous quantities, but after a couple of pages of reading them, I wonder do you feel somehow tired, as if you've had a surfeit of them? I certainly do, Yet choosing quotations myself from various books is a different matter. Personally I feel as if
I've discovered something new and meaningful. I have decided of my own volition to like them, not because someone else thinks the words good or important or worth remembering.
Thomas Michael Kettle, according to Wikipedia, was a journalist, an MP for East Tyrone, a barrister, a writer, a poet, and along with many other poets and writers, he died in the First World War. I suppose it's not surprising so many talented people died in that war, given that so many people
of all nations and types died in it. Apparently there is a Memorial to him at St. Stephen's Green, Dublin. I have been there a few times but I never knew that.
Here are a couple of quotes from his essays:
At the end of an essay entitled "Crossing The Irish Sea" he writes - "But the deck is beginning to experiment in postions other than the horizontal. The grey, cold, sliding treachery of the sea comes out through the surface brightness. One wonders if the sea that gives empires may not take them suddenly back. At all events, I am going to be sea-sick. It will be another argument for Home Rule". What a writer!
Here is a quote from his essay on Otto Effertz:"...since a horse consumes as much earth as would sustain three men, to keep a horse is to murder a family, to keep a stable is to maintain a sort of perpetual massacre. Nor is it to be supposed that this sombre halo attaches only to articles of luxury. Fishers must, indeed, be drowned in order that a rich woman may wear a rope of pearls, but fishers must also be drowned in order that a beggar may eat a herring. The shop-girl, who wears imitation lace, and the duchess, who wears real lace, condemn some of their sisters to slavery and exploitation with the same ruthless certainty."
The only information I can find on the said Otto Effertz is that Kettle described him as a theoretical socialist (weren't they all when you think about it) and that he wrote a critique of Darwinism. Imagine, they're still at that now...
I thought a book with the title "Follow Your Heart - Finding Purpose in Your Life and Work" sounded very positive and cheering for those who are feeling down after the Christmas break and who are looking forward to the progress of this new year with somewhat less enthusiasm than anyone who viewed the participants in the bacchanalia last Saturday night/Sunday morning might suppose. But as I turned page after page of bolstering quotations and spine-strengthening advice, I hesitated. Perhaps we have just seen too much of Oscar Wilde's assertion that the only ones to think more about money than the rich are the poor...everyone thinks about money, if you ask me. That's why we're all in the jam we're in, or perhaps, out of the jam might be more apt..I liked first the story about the worker who hated the person he was working for and was told that he was not working for his boss, he was working for himself. However, tell that to anyone who's late for work tomorrow morning or who just doesn't feel like going in at all. Here's another quote, for instance - "when you fight life, life always wins. If you want more peace of mind, stop labelling everything that happensas "good" or "bad"." - "So How Do I Get Peace Of Mind?" the author ( Andrew Matthews who is also the illustrator) goes on to explain, well, the problem is with your attitude...now where have I heard that before...it's what bosses say, isn't it! The book was published by Seashell Publishers, Australia. It's colourful, full of well-drawn cartoons, and somehow after going through it I felt more depressed than anything else. Yes, I know it's my fault. That's basically the thesis of the book too...
Here is a hint or two from "The Best of Helpful Hints", a book cherished by my mother-in-law and which came to me more by default than anything else, after her death. She was an amazing lady who successfully concealed from society the births of two sons when she was a young unmarried woman, went to work in the US for various famous people including a Cardinal, the Mafia and the family of a President, and was reunited with both sons before her untimely death. She was clever and beautiful and didn't need any spine-strengthening. The book was compiled and edited by Mary Ellen Pinkham and Pearl Higginbotham and published by Mary Ellen Enterprises, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and this edition is 1978.
Here is a hint I liked: "Calming the angry child
Whispering works wonders when a child is angry. Simply whisper gentle words into his ear. He will stop crying so he can hear what you're saying."
And here is one for your houseplants if they're looking a bit 'poorly', as the English say:
"Castor oil for sick plants
Your houseplants will come right out of their slump if you put a tablespoon of castor oil in the soil around the roots with a shot of water to wash it down."
Well,if they really are not feeling well, I suppose it can't do any harm.
The "Best of Helpful Hints" came accompanied by many photos of the rich and famous (and perhaps infamous) for whom she had worked. I wonder how many of them benefitted from the advice in this book.
That's all for tonight, folks. The wind is storming the windows and blowing a draught at the computer. Stay safe, wherever you are.
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