no other disappointment than that these words should prove false;
and then it will be well with us. There will be no disappointment
there, in the sense of things failing to come up to our expectations.

Let it be added, that there are disappointments with which even
the kindest hearts will have no sympathy, and failures over which
we may without malignity rejoice. You do not feel very deeply for
the disappointed burglar, who retires from your dwelling at 3 A. M.,
leaving a piece of the calf of his leg in the jaws of your trusty
watch-dog; nor for the Irish bog-trotter who (poor fellow),
from behind the hedge, misses his aim at the landlord who fed him
and his family through the season of famine. You do not feel very
deeply for the disappointment of the friend, possibly the slight
acquaintance, who with elongated face retires from your study,
having failed to persuade you to attach your signature to a bill
for some hundreds of pounds 'just as a matter of form.' Very likely
he wants the money; so did the burglar: but is that any reason why
you should give it to him? Refer him to the wealthy and influential
relatives of whom he has frequently talked to you; tell him they
are the very people to assist him in such a case with their valuable
autograph. As for yourself, tell him you know what you owe to your
children and yourself; and say that the slightest recurrence to
such a subject must be the conclusion of all intercourse between
you. Ah, poor disappointed fellow! How heartless it is in you to
refuse to pay, out of your hard earnings, the money which he so
jauntily and freely spent!

How should disappointment be met? Well, that is far too large
a question to be taken up at this stage of my essay, though there
are various suggestions which I should like to make. Some disappointed