The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-11-04

her own, and here Is only one 10 FOUR.
The friend laughed, and dismissed the
matter as a finical objection to the Ia
dies, but not long after. talking with
a friend Of the family. this gentleman
said, speaking Of the girls In question.
They are very clever girls, but the
greatest objection to marrying one or
them Is the fact that they are all SO
lazy" Byron's comment recurred to
the mind of the listener, and upon fur
ther inquiry he found that the poet
was right-the four pOssessors OF one
needle were too lazy even to keep 1t in
its proper place.
JUDGING A YOUNG WOMAN.
Judging four young women by one
needle may not be safe procedure.
for general conclusions drawn from
one or a limited rolmber of instances
are apt to be extremely erroneous. but
no doubt many a possible match has
been spoiled through a had impression
formed from a single incident. one OF
the books OF Napoleon says that the
divorce of the emperor from Josephine
was occasioned, not BY reasons of state,
but by the empress abominable breath.
JoseDhine's teeth were very bad, de-
cayed and greatly discoiored, and the
science of dentistry at that time con-
sisted mostly in pulling out such teeth
as ached Artificial teeth In modern
style and fit had not then been intro
duced, though several inventors were
busy at the idea. In default OF new
teeth Josephine did what she could for
the old, tried all the tooth washes
that were recommended. held a hand
kerchief before her mouth whenever
she laughed, and thus introduced this
modern necessity. but still the breath
remained as bad as before. The em-
peror mentioned 1t several times
in a wish we could do do-solnething-tor-
II tone, and though he finally ceased 10
talk about 1t, Josephine ana her iIlenus
always suspected that the breath hao
something to do with the emperor
enhancement II 1t were so, the en-
peror's share in the divorce ought 10
be looked at with more lenient eyes.
A Judgment formed from bad breath
may be incorrect. but opinions deduced
from untidy clothing, ill-kept finger
nails, lisordered hair, and similar CIR
cumstances, are perfectly legitimate'
Unlike men, women are judged more
by their appearance than by their
brains, and, In fact, Renan says that
handsome and well-dressed woman
what to do with them If she had them.
his no need Of any and would not know
This Is an extreme view, but certain IL
Is, that as a wOman's good looks con
sist in the agreement OF many sman
details in feature and dress she nus
no right to complain when she is
Judged by them or condemned wheh
they are not in harmony.
AT THE TABLE.
The boarder who helped himself TO
all the peas in the dish and eXpressea
his regret that there were not enough
for the rest Of the company would not
be treated with injustice II he ana MS
whole life were judged bv that one
incident, for the amount and quaity
OF "nerve" required for such feat
surely could not have existed In his
composition without making itself ap-
parent in many other ways and at
many other times. Byron did not IKE
to see the woman he loved at the table,
for aside from the fact that her con.
esumptiOn Of visible supplies deprived
her of that ethereal character with
which his fancy invested her. he was al
ways afraid that by some trifling act
she would break the spell. His fear
was by no means ill-founded, for II a
man or woman has any bad manners
at all, they are certain to be discoered
at the table. 1t Is true that. from time
to time. society prescribes certain laws
Of etiquette. which vary with the sea-
sons, and which those who have not
been initiated within the innermost cir
Gle are not supposed to know. So far
as true pOliteness Is concerned, 1t Is a
matter Of Indifference whether you push
the spoon from you to draw 1t towards
you when filling II In your soup plate.
whether you cut your bread into cubes
or bite II off in bits: these are matters
which concern only the mystic circle
which has no time for anything but
the observance Of such rules. Leaving
these out Of the question, the gentle
man will infallibly differentiate himself
from the ill-bred fellow as soon as he
takes his seat. The early ill-breeding
Of DR.. johnson was extensively appar-
ent to his entertainers as soon as he
began to eat; his haste, the enormous
quantity he ate. as though afraid he
would never get another meal. the
beads Of perspiration on his brow, all
told the history Of the terrible struggles
Of his early life, and are to be regard
ed as pathetic evidences of his years Of
semi-starvation. To judge him by
these things would have been cruel in
justice. for, at heart he had all the
politeness of the real gentleman. Yet
1t can not be denied that an incorrect
opinion of him was formed by those
with him at the table, who, judging him
by the appearance, came to the con-
clusion that he was q vulgar boor He
is thus alluded to by one of the letter
writer's Of his day, who saw him but
once, and then at dinner The man
was wrong, and he had no other cri-
terion than his own. and Johnson failed
to come up to that, so was characterized
accordingly.
ON THE STREET CARS.
AS places for the display Of little
traits of character the street cars can
not be excelled even by the dinner table,
for, in these modern conveniences, even
more than on the street. people show
what they really are. Leigh Hunt has
drawn very pretty picture of the
idiosyncrasies of human nature In the
London stages, but In one Of these old
time, out-of-date vehicles the passen-
gers are in a condition of tyrannical
oppression when compared with the lib
erty they enjoy in an American street
| car. In London the passenger Is under
the direct government of the conduc-
tor; in America the conductor is the
slave OF the passenger, 1t being a funda
mental maxim in American street car
affairs that every man who condescends
to ride on street car, in virtue of that
fact owns the whole outfit, including
conductor, motorman and the president
Of the company. and generally asserts
his ownership Immediately upon board
ing the car. Even, however, when he
does not, he Is reasonably sure to show
his individuality. II he has any, in some
way ere he gets out. All sorts of condi-
tions Of human characters may be OBJ
served in the course of an hours, ride.
The fussy man, who wants the window
closed II 1t is open. and open If 1t Is
closed; the selfish woman who fills a
seat with her parcels and allows peo-
pie to stand in the aisles; the particular
man, who insists on having the car
stopped exactly at the crossing. regard
less Of the slippery condition of the
rails; the forgetful woman. who gets
up to go out and looks back TO see what
she has left on the seat: the busybody
man, ever ready to take up somebody
elses quarrel; the offlcious man. anxious
to ring the bell for somebody or to show
hom It ought to be done; the abstracted