The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-03
PRETEMSE.
BAB SAYS 1T Is THE CARDINAL
VICE OF TO-DAY.

That He Is a Mem Der OF the Firm.
Miss BIuebIOOd Tries 10 Hide the
Fact That She Works for Her Liv-
Ing.
New York, March At preached itself
to me in this way. She had said to me,
Come and lunch with me on Wednesday,"
and ]. thinking it meant a chop and a cup
Of tea and bit of toast, gladly accepted
the invitation. But when I got there, I
found my lady in gorgeous negligee, there
were seven guests. and. in the little din
ing room was a luncheon Mt, as Mother
Goose says. 80 set before king" Now,
I happened to know that her husband
was a clerk who got a very small salary,
and that she had no fortune of her own;
consequently, this elaborate luncheon
either represented debt or theft. Theft
in this way, that just so much comfort
would be taken from the hard-working
have, to crafty the pernicious vanity Of
a woman. could scarcely take mouth
full and all the time 1 thought this one
thing-the cardinal vice of American wo-
men is-pretense.
Mrs. Younghusband, whose people are
kind and loving. who have a comforta-
BILE income, but many mouths to fill, go
into debt that their daughter may have
such wedding as she desires. She ap-
pears in white satin, and is followed by
a troop Of bridemaids in dainty frocks.
There is a large reception, a rich supper,
and the going away on a wedding trip.
for which Younghusband himself has had
to save money. and which common sense
tells him would have been better invested
in furnishing a home than in flying
around the country and staying at ex-
pensive hotels. But Mrs Younghusband
has no idea Of sinking, as she calls it.
into being a domestic woman. She pro-
poses to wear that white satin frock and
all Of the expensive gowns that formed
part of her trousseau. She meets other
women who are like herself With much
pretense, they announce their reception
days, and offer weak tea, weaker punch
and stale cakes to the curious crowd
who come to crafty by their presence
and laugh once they are well away. Ev-
cry one of them knew that that much
mirrored bookcase was a folding bed,
though nobody pretended to have this
knowledge and everybody knew, though
this was ignored, that the oft referred TO
maid was simply a slavery from the
boarding house kitchen, induced by the
glitter of a dollar TO act in the capacity
desired for the one afternoon.
Grinds, and grinds, and grinds until he
makes something of a fortune; and, some
times, if he happens not to be over strong,
he drops at his post; and, sometimes he
needs the dollars so badly, at least he
thinks he needs them, that he steals them
and the days follow one another until
there comes one awful day when he is
branded as a thief, and then all the world
that knew Mrs. Younghusband sympa-
thizes with her. Now, my friend, wouldn't
1t have been better, if at the very begin
ming everything had been arranged diff
ferent2 Suppose Mrs. Younghusband had
had a trosseau suited to her position in
life, and that her wedding trip had been
to the little nest her husband had made for
her that her hospitality had been repre-
scented by good, honest food, and an hon
est welcome. But, alas! the average wo-
man is eaten up with a. desire to appear
more than she is, and her prayer, if she
ever prays. is give me more and more
of this worlds goods, and if l may not
have them give me the knowledge to ap-
pear as If l do have them"
There is young Charlie Starvation, who
dresses well, more than we'll, fashionably;
whose dress clothes are immaculate, who
sends bouquets and bonbons to various
young women, and who is invited out
everywhere. Now. Charlie Starvation is
ashamed to tell the truth or to live it. He
is a clerk in a shipping office, but the
people he goes among believe that he is
one of the firm. If he lived a comfor-
table life and wasn't defendant in that
everlasting law suit of Back VS.. Stom-
ach," he would have a comfortable place
in which to live, rather than a poor room
on the top floor of cheap boarding
house. And yet now, if it weren't for the
dinners to which he goes he would be
hungry many times. He is another who
rails down before the god of pretense and
IS only anxious to serve him WELL and an
pear what he is not.
Sitting next to you happens to be Miss
Blueblood. She is long past 40, and
has an extremely bitter tongue Every-
body Is afraid of her. She knows whose
mother first was a washerwoman and
then married an innkeeper. She knows
whose grandfather was peddler and
whose father worked on a railroad. She
fails to see any honesty in properly earn
ing money, and doesn't hesitate to curl
her lip and make biting speeches about
that world which is rich in healthy rod
blood, and has not become diseased bv,
continual intermarriage.
Miss Blueblood sits in her room with
her door locked for good MANY hours
every day, and the servants whisper thar
certainly all that fine linen work She
does cannot be for herself. She would
insist that 1t was if she We're asked about
1t. Now, the truth is that her rich
friends pay her for this work. and vet
she is ashamed to tell that she earned
money. She thinks it would affect her
position socially. The woman whose
standing in society is governed bv her
pretending to be what She is not. is as
If she We're on the ice bridge of pretense
which very soon the bright sunshine Of
honesty will melt, and those who reIv
upon it will fall, to be covered by the
waters of forgetfulness and never he
heard of again.
l tell you it is the sin, this wicked
pretense, that is making our women de
honorable and our men thieves NTer
who love women want to crafty their
wishes, and too many have done it at the
expense of loss of character 1t is Dlaas-
ant to know that ones grandfather was
honest, but If he were an honest. Deddler
he is better worth claiming than If ba
were gentleman by pretense.