Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-09-30
Women Who Are Talked About.

| From Harpers Weekly.
| 1t must have been half century ago that
| a certain woman looked out Of the window
| in a certain New York state town and ex-
claimed In excited tones: Gracious, sisters,
| look! Here comes Mrs. Green, walking
| down the street with her own husbandr'
| 1t Is all of two score years since Mrs.
| Green moved her husband and her daugh-
| tiers away from that quiet place to broader
| fields Of enterprise: but her memory Is still
verdant there, and the older Inhabitants
| lament the lessened interest in life which
was a consequence Of her departure.
Communities are not half grateful enough
to the devoted women who ameliorate the
tediousneSS OF provincial existence by get
| ting themselves talked about Women who
| go so far as to make scandals or mar the
peace Of families do damage. and 1t Is Just
and ethical to blame them. however much
conversation may result. But, surely wo-
men who combine with fundamental dis
erection sufficient catholicity Of regard for
men to make the neighbors talk about
| their friendships are entitled to large shares
| Of credit for the animated discussions to
which they give rise All women cannot
| firt. Some do not know how. and II they
did there are not men enough to go around
But almost all women can talk about the
woman who, In their opinion, does hirt, and
can be shocked to ecstasy by the reputed
improperly Of her behavior, and stirred to
| a grateful appreciation of the sanity of
| their own conduct by contrasting 1t with
| hers.
The occasional dame who has an excep-
| tional gift for platonic friendships can be
the attached and devoted wife of one hus-
band. and yet find room in her mind and
heart for shifting squad Of other gentle
men, in whom her interest is as lively and
cordial as II Is innocent. She is a highly
| useful and commendable sort Of woman
who makes her home attractive, and whose
husband usually understands and appre-
ciates her. But the common run of her
feminine coevals either cannot or will not
understand her. and are too prone to talk
about her endlessy as a foe to her own sex
and a snare to the other. Cases have been
known where women of this sort were so
guiltless of evil design and so unaware of
| imprudent conduct as never to suspect that
they were talked about. To afford so much
| talk without any real mischief done, and
without even a consciousness of the ser
| vice rendered, would seem an ideal form of
benevolent activity to which kind women
| for all that 1t does their fellows so much
good and themselves SO little harm, women
| almost always prefer some other form of
altruistic usefulness.
| Women who have talked good deal them
selves about other women are especially
| chary about getting at the object end of
| the social glass. and make the most gro
| tesque efforts sometimes to avoid even a
| whisper of criticism. 1t Is stated as a fact,
! with the names and places given, 50 that
| one must believe 1t. that woman of a
| careful Boston family, who was confident
| that she knew what proper conduct was,
| was spending tue SuIuIIleT III d outage III
| the White Mountains when one day, while
her husband was away fishing, a friend
came to visit him. She kept the visitor to
dinner: but her husbands return being de-
| layed by a storm. she sat up all night with
| the poor gentleman in the parlor rather
| than go to bed unchaperoned with strange
| man in the house. Alas! she defeated her
/ own ends, since. instead of being lauded as
| a woman who knew what was right she
| exposed herself to the mortifying sugges-
| ton that there must have been some
! thrice narrowing experiences back Of Sc
| unconscionable a distrust in male mankind
| For the futile and unnecessary sufferings
| Of such a martyr one is bound to have pity
| tempered though IT may be with a smile
| Not so with those sticklers for an artificial
and inconvenient code of propriety whose
| chosen attitude seems to be to sit with one
foot slyly thrust forward for the unwary to
| stumble over When a dame OF that STAMP
trips over her own obstructiveness sym
| pathy NAV reasonably take the form OF
a hope that the lesson may do her good.