A mother's advice to her daughter: in the style of Polonius' advice to Laertes

Then I shall first my blessing give, and plant a word for you to bring to fruition in your heart.

Guard your thoughts, and stay your tongue when meeting new acquaintances, those many young ones as unsure as you, thrown together in a strange environ – too soon intimate, too soon come regrets.

Take a careful measure of the woman or man you meet: true friends will be few and are rarely made in haste.

Listen to others with quietude and charity – even the dull have their story to tell, but reserve your opinions and do not thicken the air with hurling them about.

Cultivate your own style of dress, not unduly trendy nor costly but well-made, modest, flattering.

Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the outward appearance bespeaks the beauty within.

Be modest, too, with your resources: look ahead to your needs and provide for them from your supply, being careful to always keep a reserve be it small or large.

Avoid lending money regularly since the borrower gains a bit extra but loses the sense of urgency and need that can develop in him the trait of industry.

But neither borrow unless your own need is great – in which case you can always ask Daddy and me for it. Never fear asking us for anything you may need no matter the situation.

Know our love for you is boundless, and depends not on honors you may reap nor on successes you may sow. It is your own sweet self we hold dear; everything else is pleasant but unessential.

Finally, dear one, be true to yourself, yes, but most of all, be true to your God. Nothing He teaches you can be false, nothing He wants of you can be too much a burden, everything He gives to you is good.

Learn to rely on His will, and it follows as day the night that all shall be well with you and your undertakings.

Then you can rest assured that we will enjoy a better end than that lot in Will’s Danish play.

[EXEUNT]