The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1875-06-02

There are certain things with which

/ "f0ur-neuk1t clover DIV W1lcn the 4Or
tunate finder Is rendered prosperous fol-
life and so is the handsome little fair,
cap which introduces the holder 10 th'
good people, and makes him free of tht
elfn world underground. All these
things are rare 20 find, each in its oEr
way but there is nothing so difficult
nothing so rare-indeed the pot of golo
under the rainbow is itself as easy II
light on las perfectly sincere and sin
gle heart, perfectly honest and straight
forward life. For, take it at the best,
sincerity is only question Of degree
there is no such thing as an absolute.
And an Absolutely truthful person, II
found and possible, would be such ire
mendous nuisance, he would have to be
snuffed out by common consent. Imag-
line an apostle of perfect sincerity, uncom-
promising candor, buzzing through the
world with his stock of truths always
at hand, ready to be distributed to all
corners !; where would society be if, not
to say made up, but even penetrated by
just few individuals of the kind? We
are all obliged to conceal much and even
to felgn to certain extent to keep the
peace, and we may be thankful if we are
not obliged to do worse for, mean and
craven and wicked as falsehood is, the
weak are sometimes pushed into its
slough and obliged to cover themselves
with its mire because they are not strong
enough to resist.
But if there is no absolute, there are
at the least degrees; and it is with these
degrees that our present purpose lies
I, & I oh
bolize the unnecessarily deceitful, the
false-hearted and double-tongued by
preference, not by need.
1t is one of the worst misforunes Of
women that falsehood is not considered q
dishoIior among them. To call a man 4
liar is like calling him.a coward-an of
Tense to the very soul and heart of his
manhood-the very integrity Of his being.
To call woman deceitful, a romancer,
or falsifier, is not to honor her certain4
ly, but not to dishonor her as it would
dishonor her husband or brother. She
is privileged to wear two faces under one
hood, because nothing better is expected
from her; and society condones her sim
as the sin of weakness which she is ex-.
pected to commit, just as you expect a
frayed rope to break. But even the
privilege of falsehood and deception ac-1
corded to women has its limits, and if we
do not expect them to be as straight
as men, their crookedness must not be
too violent. If they are allowed to wear
a couple of dissimilar faces under one
hood, one of the two must be little In
shadow; and if the double tongue is
permitted them, only one tip must speak
at time. If too large an amount of
latitude is allowed them, as it is, vet
there is line which they are forbidden
to overpass under pain of disrepute and
the condemnation of society.
One Of the commonest forms of the
two faces is that of personal fattery and
behind-backs evil-speaking. Most of us
have known this kind of thing only too
well, and WINGED under it. Our (appa-
rently) devoted friend aud unconditional
admirer comes about us with the sweetest
phrases, offering us the delicious honey
of praise exaggerated even to fattery,
of love that broadens out to alteration.
If we are very straightforward for our
own parts, or inexperienced and there
fore gullible and unsophisticated, we
accept what we hear as the real express
sion of the speakers feelings. We gent |
ly put the tlattery aside as more than we
deserve, but we do not think IL is other |
than what is thought. We do not see |
the outline of that second unlovely face |
within the pretty hood, nor catch the |
double tip of the glozing tongue. We |
think our friend over-e nthusiastic, per-
haps absurdly partial, but we think her /
IL kun
our frank disclaimers, assuring her that |
we are not the paragon she asserts US to |
be, and that we really have our faults |
like meaner creatures, and fall so many |
inches short Of the standard of personal |
perfection. We might have saved our
selves the trouble could we have heard her |
ten minutes after discussing US with COM |
mon friend. If to ourselves personally |
we were not allowed fault, to our COM I
mon friend, behind-backs, we are not /
credited with virtue. To US there was
but one side, and that was as smooth as
velvet of us there is but one also, but /
that is rough as sail-cloth. What were /
graces f1ourished before our
faces, are ugly, hateful blemishes cast
to the dogs behind our
backs Are we good tempered with the /
one tongue? We are weak, silly, phleg I
matte, insincere with the other. Do we |
charm with our talk, strengthen with 7.
our counsel, enlighten by our wisdom,
improve our knowledge with the fore
most face? That in shadow ridicules
our pretensions or derides our under !
standing, says we are pedantic and
prosy, shallow and self-sutficient, and /
Of all tireSome companions and insutfer
able bores, We are the most tiresome and |
the most insufferable. Do we turn out
good woodwork unsurpassed for excel I
lence in art, eloquence in literature, for +
creative genious in poetry-by the one
tongue? The other says that last picture +
Of ours was daub, that last novel
failure, that last poem doggerel and I'M
readable. The face in shadow seems F.
almost as if to wish to revenge itself on
the excuses to which its companion in I
the foreground has gone; and we may /
be sure that just as far as hattery /
has reached in one direction, so .
will censure extend; and in proportion /
to the sweetness of honey will be the bit |
terness of the gall. This is one form of /
the two faces under one hood which GER |
tain people permit themselves TO wear,
and by no means an uncommon form. |
Indeed, we may take If for granted as
general rule, having exceptions certainly, /
but rare ones, that when friends take to /
hattery they mean treaehery, and that a /
tongue smeared with honey includes al |
most as a matter of necessity its compile
ment stepped in gall.
One face under the soft, sympathetic
hood of professed affection invites conf |
dence; the other face, looking over the
shoulder, betrays it. This again is by no
means rare impersonation of the two |
faces which so many carry about with |