Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-06-25
The Man Without Tact.
Chicago Ledger .

Ola man hnOScy, OF w est Madison
street, comes about as near being an
angel in pantaloons as Chicago flesh
and blOoo can hope to become, so far
as intentions GO; but in spite OF the
purity of his motives the guileless old
man is in hot water a good share of
the time, simply because he has no
such thing as tact in his nature, and
will persist in rubbing the hair the
wrong way whenever he comes IN
contact with people. He means well,
but no matter how hard he trys to be
sociable, he is sure to put his foot in
it. He has no guile, er any of the
other society essentials about
him, and so whenever anything comes
into his head he blurts it right out
without ceremony, regardless of Cir
cumstance- and surroundings. The
great fallacy of his life is that it is
sociability to say things that should
be left unsaid altogether, and ask
questions about things that can ia no
way concern him.
Introduce him to q stranger, and
within ten minutes he will ask the
price Of the mans clothing, article by
| L
| jawelry is visible, he will want TO
know whether it is pure gold, or only
washed" " and whether it was pur-
chased new Or at the pawn brokers'.
He will also want to know if the
mans watch keeps good time, and if
he hasa't been getting his pantaloons
dyed. When the conversational pos
sibilities in that direction become ex-
| hausted, he will make the strangers
name pretext for asking if he isn't
related to a family of the same name
in such and such q place, and then,
very likely, he will proceed to remark
that one of this very same family had
to leave he neighborhood between
two days for stealing sheep, and that
another had been thrown out OF
church for robting the contribution
box.
He will ask doctor if he ever hur-
ried any body out of the world by way
| of experiment, and catechise Il drug
| gist as to how frequently he has made
fatal blunders in filing prescriptions.
He will tell a lawyer that he can't IN
derstand how the tricks of the pro-
fession can be reconciled to the tenetE
of Christianity, and will ask specu
lating deacon the difference between
dealing in options and any other kline
of gambling. He never hesitates tc
intimate to the infatuated mother o1
an uncomely infant that he has seen
much prettier children than her babe
and then the poor man will lie awake
all night shortly after ward, trying tc
make out why her husband has fore
closed mortgage on his home. He
will doze and nod in his pew at church
and then feel panied when he dis
covers that the pastor does not CLASP
his hand with reciprocal warmth.
In visiting neighbor he walks in
with muddy boots; sets his umbrella
in the corner to drip on the carpet
leans back in his chair; mars up the
rugs with his boot heels; soils the
wallpaper with hair oil spits tobacco
Juice on the stove; and yet the poor
man cannot understand why they dc
not press him to come again, and
why, after all his efforts to be socia-
BILE, they should treat him coolly. He
tries hard to be cordial to all and he
! 3endeavors, most unselfshly, to be
friendly, but cannot succeed; and all
simply through lack of discretion and
want of tact.
Young man, if you want TO slide
through the world easily, study tact
before you do Greek.