The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1890-01-08
Givin" Ourselves 0nf.

Goethe says, "rhe world accepts
every person for what he gives himself
out to be-"
At first flash VIC are inclined to chal-
lcngc this statement. But the fact is
we "givc ourselves out" in Il great
many ways we neither intend nor suS-
pcct. Ones carriage, movements, eX'
preston Of face. attitudes, voice, the
choice and fit of our clothes and our
habitatiou, our friends and compan-
ions-all are but network of "loopcd
and windowcd ragsedness" through
which he that runs may get Il glimpse
of our real character and know more
in certain ways about us than we
know about ourselves.
a dog always knows when you are
afraid of him. You march past him
with an air Of bravado. What stink OF
your eye, or uutowarl wrinkling OF
YOUR clothes, or unconscious quicken
ing of your motion, gave out to the
dor III It your heart was being dissOlv-
ed within YOU? There was something
that told it; and the dog knew it. A
horse knows instantly when the hand
of Il master holds the reins; and little
children know whom to trust and
whom to suspect, whom 10 obey and
whom to defy.
You enter street car and the man
oppositc who gives you Il casual glance
settles very definitely some things you
never suspected in yourself. There is
a fine line of superciliOusness in your
force, especially when the car goes past
Il law quarter, there is slight toss of
yonr head when you gather back your
Skirts from the washerWOman with the
dirty baby; there was hardly q hair
breadth OF motion, but 1T told direction
as plainly as if it had been two miles.
You pose before yourself and your
world us Il benevolent person. You as
si>t at the Cash-girl's Fair and the
Children's Fresh Air Fund and dress
Christmas dolls, and you love your
rs yourself in many ways
which YOU could mention, but you
"rive Yourself out 10 be" something
quite different from your ideal self by
a turn of the lip or Il tone OF the voice
IA word spoken or word omitted.
You have heard people use French
phrases to convey the idea that they
were conversant with that language !;
but instead they gave out very def
uitely that they knew nothing what
ever about it. Some slight difference
of sound-very slight, but absolutely
impossible to one who understood
himscf-betrays alike the Ignorance
and pretence Of the would-be French
man. Have you never seen young
rirIs sign themselves in autograph
books, "pnf,'c annie" or "UOtre ami ?"
Well, they simply 'glve themselves
out.n
Have YOU never seen lady keep the
in her hands and ut her
own level? From herself as the GEN.
tire, she reels off platitudcs, or hurts
iayeins Of remarks among her guests,
who gasp monosyllabic replies. This
lady nridcs herself upon being an en-
tcriaincr, conversationalist, the
uuecn of the occasion: but in truth
she "give herself out" rs fearful bore
"a person to he run from thousand
miles.
1T might have been worse" said an
old Englishman when his wife died
"it might have been me-" He
thought he was jnstifying the ways of
God to man"-but he was only "giv-
inc himself out" as selfish man as he
was, for everybody else was of opinion
that it had better have been him that
died.
II keep my keyhole stuffed with pa
pcr,n said discreet duenna i'll Il whis-
per; and this gave out" that she her.
ielf was in the habit of keyholcs.
A lady makes herself a slave to an
elegant wardrobe--and she looks like
what she subjects herself to {; she con-
seys some definite impression of the
supremacy of clothes and the subordi-
macy of herself. She can never have
he subtitle air Of distinction which
| woman has who does not think of
.lothcs, who can look right without
great and constant thought
lpom her garments.
SO in Il thousand ways the impress
sion we really make is exactly opposite
% the impression we designed to-
make.
Probably the great German was not
ar from the truth when he said, "The'
world accepts every person for what he
rives himself out to be-"
niue .dvUh'e.