....that the mounds of ices, and the bowls of mint-julep and sherry cobbler they make in these latitudes, are refreshments never to be thought of afterwards, in summer, by those who would preserve contented minds.
Interpretation
Enjoying simple pleasures can lead to a contented mind.
In this quote, Charles Dickens suggests that the refreshment and joy derived from summer delights, like ice mounds and mint juleps, are fleeting yet significant to maintaining happiness. He emphasizes the importance of savoring these moments to cultivate a contented mindset, especially during the warm months when such small pleasures are more pronounced.
In practice
In a speech about summertime experiences, this quote can remind the audience to appreciate simple joys.
I recollected one story there was in the village, how that on a certain night in the year (it might be that very night for anything I knew), all the dead people came out of the ground and sat at the heads of their own graves till morning.
A silent look of affection and regard when all other eyes are turned coldly away-the consciousness that we possess the sympathy and affection of one being when all others have deserted us-is a hold, a stay, a comfort, in the deepest affliction, which no wealth could purchase, or power bestow.
Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before--more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle.
There are not a few among the disciples of charity who require, in their vocation, scarcely less excitement than the votaries of pleasure in theirs.
You might, from your appearance, be the wife of Lucifer,” said Miss Pross, in her breathing. “Nevertheless, you shall not get the better of me. I am an Englishwoman.
Christmas is a poor excuse every 25th of December to pick a man's pockets.
Everyone contributes a word, a sentence, an image, but in the end it all makes sense: the happiness of one becomes the joy of all.
The fiction of happiness is propagated by every tongue and confirmed by every look till at last all profess the joy which they do not feel and consent to yield to the general delusion.
Remember happiness doesn't depend upon who you are or what you have; it depends solely on what you think.
Short is the joy that guilty pleasure brings.
I'm just delighted to be living, to be able to have a simple conversation, to feel a ray of sunlight on my skin and listen to the breeze move through the leaves of a tree.
Why not seize the pleasure at once? -- How often is happiness destroyed by preparation, foolish preparation!
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