The Arkansaw traveler., 1882-10-29
Inconsiderate Friends.
Exchange.

better tnan OuUiSht CLciuGCS- ouC ed4i have no peace of either mind or body while in their presence. owing 10 their in- ,oierably clumsy ways of trying to please and show their regard for us and ours. They believe that none bu, their own ideas of what Is ngh, and proper-dislointed and unstable as these may seem 10 us are worthy ie be accepted. as exemplary rules by their circle of associates. Though they have grasped hut q disconnected point in our atfalrs. they arc ever handling them !n their own indelicaie way. There is no end to the ridiculous. Gnwarrantcc and wide-of-;he mark conclusions they are capable of jumping at. and their self respect Is too feeble b prevent their pub lie expression of the same as u8denlable tru,hs-ihe ouiceiae .oi putting two and two together 1T he queer WAY they have of doing so. And then. too. they think we should feel fat;ered and raise our es- ,imation of them pes or two for their "shrewd guessing. They are unkind and cause much mischief: but they don't mean il; they are too stupid and thought less to realize the amount of unpleasant ness they cause by meddling in private ai- fairs of which they know nothing what ever.
 If we visit these friends, after an urgent request. in which all our oonjured up ex- cuses failed of their purposes. then they make every exertion to kill us with kind ness: their expressions of welcome are so profuse as to make us timid: we cannot feel free; every move we make is supposed to have some sentimental meaning: we feel that we are taking part in a tableau unsuited and unpleasant to us; our every remark mus, be studied with unusual care before being made through fear of some misunderstanding arising from H. and we become utterly miserable where we are supposed to enjoy ourselves immensely. The charm of our friendship IS lost in thelr insinceni,y. and the constrained and false part we are forced to take.
 Our hostess wants to convert us Tn her particular Nhims She doesn', realize that. antagonis,ic though ;hcy are. we Elay bc equally attached ,a ours. Ne mus; wear our hair as she wears hers il will look much nicer that way. Ne mus, not west a plan collar if she is partial to ru;iles and r..ci1'ncs. Oar draperics would be much more becoming Ii cut and made up with the fGrbelowsoof of Ter fashion. though her build may he the reverse of our, and th,s she makes Us believe that everything about vs k awry. and that VIC dfc hidceuS creatures at best. We always look pale: elc !eays ac are quite II. We must write in our diary al particular hour: Ii does not matter that the inspira- ton ei ihc entry We wish 10 make comes at i,s own will. and doesn't remain with 9a to sIit our pleasure. She iS invariably catering n our ta,te by getting up some extra dish which we detest with all our inward might. Ne must ea, her " deli- cious ,leWed chicken NC don't know. of course. how delicious t Is gnt5l we have tasted t which she has prepared to tic kic OUT palate. even thoagh she knows We have been vegctaridns for many years. and that no human appetite in the com munity can compare with ours for relish and consumption of our preferred simple diet. She Is ever fussing to no purpose. and iaboring for our benefit in manner we can neither appreciate nor aoCep; joy fully. She doesn't know tha, the chicken she has piled upon our plate is offensive to our senses. lfshe could only make us taste the bite that she is holding on a fork under her nose we'd be sure 10 like il, she persists in repeating, and we. boiling over. almost, with impaticnce. wish she were no nearer Us than the man in the moon.
 Upon departing our meIciless hostess doesn't let Us go until she has exacted promise that we will write to her immed- ately upon arriving home. Even if our tourney k but of two or three hours dur atlon she cannot sleep easy until she knows We got through the ordeal safe. Her Solicitude for our comfort is >o en- larged upon. and its expression so tire some. that we are glad to escape further associations with her, and m the silence oi our own simple apartments weep with Joy to be free trom her attentions. and n: liberty once more to be our natural self in word and deed. We ma, assert our right to do so when we are i'll our own home. be Il ever so humble. and il s torture beyond description to be some peoples very welcome guests.
 We write to her and tell her of "our great fortune 10 oe alive after the ordeal of our journey tht> expression with us one meaning and for her another
 Of course, then. there is no hypocracy on our part but how can we help i, :: Ne are in duty bound to write after being forced to promise an immediate report of our safety, and something must be said which is true but not offensive We may wait year for an acknowledgement of our assuring missive, and if it ever does come we will learn that she was so vey glad everything went right with us: but our questions, which were of some impor- tance to us. but rot of personal matters. or of nature to make any one hesitate to answer them. have been entirely ignored. There is no mention of them whatever. The sheets of paper are merely
 filled with conglomerationjbf nonsensi- cal trash in which we try very hard to