Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-11-07
GOSSIP.

"Know thyself," the famous motto
inscribed above the entrance of the
Temple of Apollo at Delphi, seems in
these latter days to be changed into
"Know thy neighbor," and is inscribed
over ali temples. of gods and men.
1.-THE proper study of mankind is man, "
according to one Of our classic poets,
and this aphorism is both the text and
justification of our sistc Is, cousins,
sunts and all their relations, male and
female. Every newspaper has it's col.
umn OF " Personals" in witch we may
learn about the Queen and all her sub.
jects of any distinction, and of the
President and whatever is supposed to
lie interesting concerning his private
affairs, and of the private sayings and
doings of all public men and woman.
Whatever column is passed by in any
newspaper, the column of " Personals -
is read, and having once been created it
is not likely to be omitted ever again,
for it gratifies certain taste inherent
in humanity.
Our novelists and story-writers OF the
highest grade cater directly to this
taste, and our historians also. They
strive to delineate character by bold
and by fine touches, by anecdote and
portraiture, and they do not always
idealize their creations and representa-
tions 80 much but that in looking at
them we, as in mirror, see ourselves to
an extent, or think we do. And right
here is the gist OF the whole matter.
We are interested in our neighbors. we
are profoundly interested in ourselves,
and the intenser our self-interestedness
the greater our concern for the affairs
of our neighbors. When we become
absorbed in invention, in creation, in
discovery, in art, in science, in profess
sional services, we get out Of ourselves,
we lose for the time immediate personal
interest in ourselves and in our neigh.
bors, SO far as that interest tends to
show itself in gossip. We haven't time
to hear how many new dresses Mrs.
Smith hos bought and how each one of
them is made; we don't care whether or
not Mrs. Jones or Mrs. Brown are at
variance over the respective merits of
their canary birds song. We don't
even care to hear about Mrs. John Does
troubles with her servant girl, or to
take time to rehearse Our own kitchen
troubles. We have something else to
think of. In hours of relaxation in
ventors, artists, scientists and profes.
sional men like to indulge in anecdotes
of their fellows, just as now and then
they may enjoy 10 cents worth OF
candy: but if this sort OF intellectual
pabulum we're all they fed on. they
would starve in week. As q confec
ton, . relish, spice, a garniture. u
bit of gossip now and then is not to be
despised, esnd those who must have it
may read the " Personals" and HAY re-
gale themselves with Theophrestus
Such, and the writings Of Rochefo-
cauld, with Marnontel's Memories OF
Voltaire; and in q thousand other ways
without getting down in the atmosphere
of common gossip. OF all empty heads,
the head of the gossip is emptiest; OF
all ,desiccated hearts. the heart Of the
gossip is dryest AMI most like parch-
ment. The breath of the gossip is
the breath OF the sirocco, which as it
comes from desert leaves only o desert
behind it.
The genus gossip is various. There
are civil gossips, literary gossips. social
gossips, religious gossips; each variety
is as empty and useless as every other ;
NO, not useless; nothing is useless in
this world. Even cobras and garter
snakes have their mission" though
We may not know what it is. In spite
of our ignorance, however, there are
few who do not endeavor to put an end
to the mission OF these creatures, one of
which is certainly harmless. The
higher we get above the surface of the
earth the freer We are from the insects
and vermin of various sorts that live in
or on and near the the soil. Flies do
not trouble the dwellers on Mount
Washington or Pixies Peak. In like
manner the higher we rise in the intel
lectual and moral atmosphere the
further away do we get from the petit
ness, the scandal. the gossip, the ma.
larias that linger in low moral and in.
tellectual attitudes. High cultivation
and thorough drainage, to borrow o
smile from agriculture, may do much
to reclaim these swamps and morasses,
but when these fail, migrations to
higher regions may be relied on Ms a
sure deliverance.-N. Y. Tribune.