Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-03-27
LADIES At LUNCHEON.

luncheon party?" / asked Of Mrs. Judge
g. yesterday.
sob. yes" said she, I'VE had : pretty
good time"
'sWhat did you talk aboutf' said I.
ooh" said she, nothing much: just
chatter and clatter, and talk about little
feminine things"
''And you call that nothing, do your"
said I.
Then, after this brief conversation,
writes Rev. DIR. Deems, in Harper's
Bazaar, meditated on that nothing.
have frequently had ladies describe
their interviews to me as mere nugatory
talks. trifles, worthless gable, and all
that kind of thing. Perhaps they are
mistaken in this. Perhaps they erect. "a
standard, or suppose that we men erect
q standard, quite different from that
which is true and real.
Let us look at the case. Ten ladies
come together into some arranged meet
ing for simple social Intercourse. They
do not discuss any philosophical, sclen-
tific, political, ecclesiastical or theolog-
ical question. Not one of those themes
is mentioned amongst them. But there
are thousand questions in an hour
asked and answered in regard to moth
ere and fathers, grandmothers and grand
fathers, uncles and aunts, cousins. chill
dren, husbands and wives. and house,
hold matters, no one Of which Is OF the
sliehtest interest to Congress or to any
convention or caucus known in any de-
partment of church or State operations.
They seem to be little questions about
little things, and no one of the answers
could in any manner, SO far as is visible,
disturb the pubic security or admins
ter to the advancement of society. And
do all those little questions amount to
nothing? The Governor of the State,
the mayor of tho city, the Bishop Of the
diocese, even /, might not be Interested
in the rheumatism OF any grandmother,
or the Group of any child, or the settling
of the question of the summer residence
of any member of that club, and yet the
result Of the whole meeting may be
in very high degree beneficial to so
ciety. Each woman has increased her
interest in eight or nine other families
by learning little items of their condi-
ton and movement. She has done good
by arousing the interest of nine others
in her own condition and movem ents.
There are myriads of small things In
the social sphere no one of which will
ever be treated in an essay, or be al1ud-
ed to in a sermon, or even get into q
newspaper paragraph. just as there are
myriads of vegetable particles in every
forest which never get into the botani-
cal treatises, but which help nurture
the beautiful trees the painters, depict,
and the beautiful trees the shi2-builders
Do not let US depise any benefcences,
however smell Bo not let us consider
small talk asnotalk. Let us discrim-
mate even in gossip. ALI gossip is not
bad; it is only that, gossip which is acrid,
malevolent and injurious that is hurtful.
Perhaps that high preacher or lofty es-
sayist who speaks fiippantly and with
contempt of woman's gable may not be
able in any one sermon or one article to
do as much good as dozen dear women
have done who have met for an hour or
two and said no hateful thing of any hu-
man Being, but made tender INQUIRIES
of little Johnnie's frost bitten heel, and
pimple on little Elsie's shoulder, and
the misfortune of nurse having to be
taken away from the family just when
baby needed her, and the rheumatism
in her neigh boris husbands shoulder.
Now, as I thought upon these things,
I.said: MRS. $ -. never say that you
have been talking on little nothings;
but when you are asked what was the
subject of conversation at the party of
women which you attended the
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