Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1879-11-06

ly replies that you do not see such
and such thing in the light that lie
does.
you have a monstrous bad tenn
per- you say to a man who is lashing
a horss, TO illtrcat the animal in that
way.
you don't know his vicious tricks,
he replies, or else. you'd see that my
whipping him was perfectly correct
and appropriated
In like manner with every exhlbl-
tion of temper. At the moment Of
exhibiting what you fancy to be bad
temper, the. man considers himself
logically justified in using the very
language he utters. And be is quite
logical that'i is, be is in accordance
with his present Impressions You
tell him that it shows a bad temper to
put an exaggerated Importance on
small injuries he replies that the In
'juries are small to you because you
cont suffer them. Hence it comes
that a.man never admits himself to be
in Dad temper; and a woman
whose intellectual subtlety in Justify:
ing herself to herself is VIGOROUSLY
superior to the same faculty in man
never doubts for moment that
her anger or resentment is perfectly
Just and inevitable. Temper is thus
the most ineradicable Of faults. 1t
Arthur discovers that Clara pronoun-
ces French abominabl " or that she
has a foolish respect for the opinion
of some vulgar aunt, or that she
dresses IN too glaring colors, or that
she is not sufficiently prudent in her
attitude toward acquaintances,a a little
teaching may overcome these flaws in
her perfection. But once bad tenn.
per, always bad temper. You can
not get a man to try to remove a de-
feet the very existence Of which he
denies.
Is no one, then, ever conscious OF
giving way to temper? There is al
ways this to be said, that when man
comes out of his passion and looks
back, be perceives that he. need not
have been so angry. He says to him
self, of course, that he had perfect
right to be angry that any one,un,
der the same provocation, would have
been as angry. He will not acknowl'
edge that he, at that moment, lost con-
troll over himself, gave himself up to
a blind impulse, and so far made a
fool of himself.
We generally pity man or woman
who has an obviously bad temper
but to have a bad temper and ample
opportunities for gratifying it, must
be a great pleasure, The dull com.
placency of good humor offers nc
such keen delights as the little reven.
ges of a bad.tempered woman loves
to wreak upon her social enemies. A
bad temper is a sort Of sixth sense
which has its own sorrows and its own
satisfaction; and, like the other SEN
ses, in favorable circumstances the
satisfactions predominant. 1t is a
great mistake to consider that even
the worst form of bad tsmper-the
sulkv atttude-necessarily involves
the wretchedness of the sulker. Not
at all. The man or woman who sulks
looks upon himself or herself as mar
tyr, and enjoys the sweet solace o1
martyrdom. Then the discomfort
shey inaict upon the people against
, whom they sulk, is another keen en-
ioyment. 1t fact, if sulking We're moi
pleasant, people wouldn't sulk. 1t
; gives man pleasure to crafty his
bad temper; and it gives him pleas
ure to sulk. Among women these
enjoyments are heightened by great
er sensitiveness, both on the part oI
the performers aud that of their vic.
Tins. When man gets into the sui.
ky attitude, and thinks he will annoy
his friends by refusing their invita-
tions to dinner, we simply say to him
Very we'll. Sulk as long as you
please. If you will be unhappy, be
we have too much on our hands to
trouble ourselves about whether you
choose to be uncomfortable or the re-
verse. If you won't come to our din
ner- parties. let us hope that others