The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898, 1889-03-23
Surface Manners.
THE CURIOUS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
SEEMING AMI REAL KINDNESS.

There is sometimes among the peO-
pie we know a curious difference be-
tween the seeming and the real. Eff
fusive manners, and snowy, gushing
style, often blind us at first to the real
character o fthe lady. behind the veil.
The cordial woman who makes her
guests so welcome, who is so attractive
socially, is oftentimes the one with
whom no servant a stay, and whose
home is the very hot bed Of contentious
dispute. Her husband breads to
thwart her lest her temper should get
reused to IL pitch beyond control. Her
children dread, but neither love nor re-
spect her. Outwardly she is usually,
however, quite in the fashion. She
makes many new acquaintance, and is
much sought after for her social quail
ties. She is usually scheming and m
bilious withal, but this is always hid
den behind a mask Of seeming social
and rhilanthropic intent. She is ever
ready in surface sympathy, and will
give help when called upon to do so,
but never quietly, unOstentatiously,
and without letting her right hand
know what her left hand doeth. And
as soon as she becomes sufficiently
familiar with any person, her true ma
ture asserts itself in advice, fault-find-
ing, insolence, interference and gen.
era1 self-assertiveness. When such
people become really known, they are
dreaded and avoided. If their social
position is such that they can not be
wholly snubbed and dropped, they are
tolerated for the sake of their relatives,
but never loved and confided in. Those
who know them best love them least,
and praise them most equivocally.
On the other bend, a really unap-
%proachable old bear, ill-mannered
surly and a decidedly Objectionable
member Of society, so far as outward
suavity goes, may oftentimes prove to
have a heart as soft as the lining of the
chestnut burr. Many poor will testify
to his kindness and generosity, but his
deeds are wholly done in the dark.
Quiet cover deceitful ac-
tons, and sometimes the thoughtless
and needless seemingly are, at heart,
true as steel.
1t is'only the experienced readers of
character, those whom a long and init
mate acquaintance with the world have
made wise and wary, who really under
stand this deceitfulness of surface man.
ner, or else the rare and gifted few who
lntultlvely take in character at a glance,
as 1t were, by instinct. The latter are
not often deceived by an outward SEEM
ing. Others less gifted, naturally have
to by sharpa and not always pleas
ant contact with their fellows, that
are a convenient cloak to be
worn, like charity's, to cover a multi
tude OF sins and shortcomings, or yet
to cover real worth from the prying
gaze OF the multitude.
In the forming ofc~haracter, the young
ottentimes have no harder task than
the repression or cultivation of surface
manners. To succeed in life, the pet, :
liant, and ambitious, and rampant spirit
must be curbed. A little must be nip
ped here and pinched there, until the
process of civilizing has curbed down
the natural to some degree of suavity.
Acts become habits, and habits mold
character. 1t is this educating process
of guarding and watching our acts
which makes the "manner of the man,
And although we consider it IL sOphism
to say the ''manners maketh the man,
they certainly do reveal the mi of
the soul beneath, as we'll as conceal the
processes of thought and springs of
purposes to any but the argus eye.-
Ellen Balm, in Christian at Work.
The New York World reports the
following peculiar incident /: "Mrs.
Charles Osborne is now on trial at
Wellsburg. W. Va, for attempting to
take the life of James Campbell, a
middle-aged man with a family. AS
Campbell rode by Mr.. Osborne's house
n day he took out his handkerchief
and blew his nose. Mrs. Osborne
thought he was trying to firt with
her and fired four shots from a revol- |
YER at him, two of which took effect. |
Well might the elder Weller exclaim
Beware of the vidders = Surely if
the time has come in West Virginia
when a harmless and sedate man can
not blow his nose on the highway
without mourning danger from the
weapons Of super-sensitive widows,
an example should be made of some
body"
A tall man with a fuzzy cap furnish
es milk to the printers and editors on
the Atlanta Constitution. He seems
to he SOmethinr Of q nh~;IosnnLor