The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1858-04-10
Timothy Titcomb's Letters 10 Young
Women,
NUMBER SIX.
Prom the Springfield Republican.

have met with good many young wo-
men, fret and lasr, whose inielleois were Of
that keen, quick variety which delights Ia Ut
tcring sharp things-ofton very hard things.
They do q, At FIRST pIayfulyI they produce a
laugh which datters them aud they soon get
% doing II wuntouIy They acquire 40 ap-
petite Tor praise, and they bccomd willing 10
procure II ~ whatever expense 20 others
Gcnuide wit In man il almost always geuiali
wit IN woman, however genial Il may be a.
iirst always gets into personalities, sooner or
later, which make u very dangerous and hate
ful, Man Is held To- restraint whatever hih
tendencies may be, by the consideration that,
us a man, hc will Doe held responsible for his
words women presume upon the fact that
they are women In taking license to say what
they choose Of each other, and Of men, In par
tioular There h not always-pcrhaps thoro
Is not generally in those sharp and
hard speeches, bot they poison, nevertheless.
They poison her who .ultors them, and they
poison those who suffer rom them, The Ut
terer becomes the student, Tor pdrpo e., Of
the weak.poinis of her friends, ano they learn
10 hate her, / have known not a. few women
whose personal wittcisms were enjoyed by
the gossip-loying crowd around her, every
man Of whom would us soon think Of marry
ing tigrcss as the one he was GateHug by
the applause Of his laugh
Therefore oy that 10 be- a witty Woman
isa very dnpFcrou, thing, 10 be witty
woman j. 10 bc a subject Of very great temp
taIious, for personality forms the very rest Of
gossip, an employment Of vhiol, most women,
! think, know something hy experiment Men
are afraid Of witty women, cspcsillly those
who delight 10 making cutting speeches, They
SAY, very nationally, that II woman will sc-
cure praise at the expense Of ono friend, she
will, also, a. the expense of others, and that
no one can be safe. There Is nothing In my
eyes more admirable ina woman than an
honest wish 20 hear no one spoken against,
than that consideration for the feelings Of
others which leads her to treat all faults with
tenderness, aud MI weaknesses and natural
unpleasant pcculinrilics with indulgence One
of the most attractive sights in the world. TO
any young man Of common seusilility, is that
of young woman who not only will neither
say nor hear Ill Of any one, except with de-
cdcd displcasurc, but who takes special pains
90 notice those whom the crowd neglect. Such
a ~ oman - the admired of all whose Bdmif-
alton Is worth securing, And now, Young
woman, if YOU are one OF the sharp ones, and
are tempted % say yhurT tfinF-, remember
that YOU IRE in very great danger Of iniuriug
yourself not only IN YOUR own soul, bat iu
thccycs Of al those whom YOU imagine you
arc plcl-inG.
think tt, e general thing, that women are
-ll--!s= =i.ilgmluls Of their own sea
than mcnWc Of theirs or even of them. This
arise, partly from jcalousy--a wish TO stand
uppcrmost in the popular esteem. The praise
Of women, poured into the ears Of other vu-
men, is not usually gratefully received. The
disposition OF women to judge A-r,hly of
each other is seen particularly in LL-SS Jus,an-
ccs IN which "a woman has taken a false step.
/ Here the fact is patent IA woman iorgcts,
or forgi,cs much less promptly than man.
+ However deep the repentance, however de-
cidcd the reformation, Oman nc~rr forgct>
| that her sister has ,iuncd, notwithstanding the
fact that weakness and misfortune and IA
hundred dmitigating it not cxculpatng circum-
stances plead in her behalf Its tho same
with less important lopscs Of behavior, in a
corresponding degree. | do not know but
this is one of the safeguards which God in
tended should be around womans path, but
it seems TO me very unwomanly and n very
unnatural thing. 1t seems to me- too, to be
a very unnatural thing. judge that much
T7eEe thaa-a man. a Moman should be inter
ested in securing justice for her own sex aud
that if SHINING or silly woman should find
a charitable defender anywhere, it should be
among those who, like her, are exposed to
the temptations, and particularly to the un-
charitable misconstructons Of eaptiouS
world.
What would insist upon, is that you not
only do not wound the feelings of your own
sex by sharp criticisms, but that you be hear
/ tily enlisted in maintaining their honor. Do
not think that YOU do this while putting down
this one, and that, in order to make your own
! immaculatencss the more conspicuous. Be
/ licve what is generally true, that those who
sin are those who sin rather through weak
ness than vicious tendency,--that villains who
wear cravats and wastcoats--thc very men
whom you are by no means particular enough
to exclude from your company--are those
who most deserve your reproaohes.
/ And now that ! am upon this subject of
| talk, it will be well to say all have to say
upon it. 1t is very common thing for young
women to indulge in hyperbole. A pretty
dress is very apt to be perfectly spiendidi"
a dsagreeable person is too often "periec,ly
hateful !" party, in which the company en-
joyed themselves, somewhere becomes trans
muted into the "most delightful thing ever
seen" A young man of respectable parts