The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1897-02-03
IDEAS for JWnruen.

~
Really. I don't know whether to call
It pride or a~ffectation; ii is q mixture of
the two. and less commendable than
either element taken Independently. In
my short experience I have seen 1T in
man homes, but have most frequently
met with IT. at the table A certain
amount of pride In h household is
praiseworthy, but when pride gets up to
unjustfhable p~retension, it Is lime to
curb it OF make one's self ridiculous.
MY father used to tell me q story about
stopping at 4 country h5use to spend the
night, when he was travelling On horse
back. China and cutlery were very linn
tied. and the hostess tried to make
amends by pretensions. At supper she
called to her daughter: Nancy Ann,
why didn't you put h new knives on
the table?" &
We'll. mother. T did put in all we've
got-big-butch. ittle-butch. old-case and
stump" The girl was not well trained,
and was too candid 70 sustain her
mother.
Some houses are unavoidably poor,
some are fortunately rich. / look upon
it as no disgrace to alfve within our in
comes. and to do without such things
as we cannot afford to buy. This is
more honorable than contracting debts
which we cannot pay. Why try to con-
ceal the lack OF comforts or Inquiries
which we wish we were able to AFFORD.
1t Is much more agreeable to all con-
cerned to pass pleasantly over it, If one
can. Some women have not the tact to
do this; 1t Is a pity.
1 remember meeting many other In
vited guests at a dinner. Our hostess.
by some chance. m~iseatcplated. and when
coffee was offered she lacked enc cup Of
enough to go around. The want was ex-
posed, of course, no ons dared to speak
of it or notice It. The hostess might have
given a mug to her most intimate friend.
but she turned pale. scarlet and purple
with mortifcatiens at once destroying the
social features " he occasion and MAX
ing wtsh1 hinAelf at home.
80
One day I dined where there were a
number of destructive children. When
III was served, ttherewere four mugs,
or cups. of sfffferent sizes and shapes.
One of theseYva4 pfered to h host He
looked quickly at his wife, then glanced
at the other cups, She, was equal to the
occasion. and SPOKE In answer to HIS look,
You can't drink from Temmte's mug.
can you, Mr.. Brown? Well. I'm sorry.
but I asked you three times to send up
some cups. and you were so busy that
you didn't think of It"
Mr.. Brown laughed. laugh went
round, and we enjoyed the coffee more
than we would Il 5cupsshad been plenty.
Being ready forsall circumstances is an
acconpiishmeatsnot possessed by all wom-
"a. Our husbands and guests wish We all
had it. It would relieve many a social
circle from esnbArrassment. and put all at
their ease IL we would cultivate ourselves
IN that particular. Men are seldom hit
initiated by such tribes and are less
guilty of ~pEetentaous pride than women
Ono ~ofense, my dear sfsters; I'm a woman,
myself; but when they v q tendency
thai way. they sometimes go to further
extremes In -preteuatons. end pretend
more humfiiatiun thar wen6n.
I saw q man call his wife from the 9Hf-
chen. where she was cooking supper. to
set a spittoon by his friend who had call
Gu MaIStt LIE Sqb6S004 MAE MxIuHi xQQE4 6SE
OF either OF the men. He did not intro
duce her. he Simply gave hts order as II
she were a servant she obeyed and retir-
I'd He made the suppression that he kept
servants to do his bidding when there was
not one In the house. Such men as that
are rare. / amzhappy to say.
People whose prfde4nrges2shean into pre-
tensions are always getting into scrapes
and exposures; It does them good, per-
hapss at least 1t Is very enjoyable to the
spectators Il - mot generous to enjoy
anetler's defeat, but my human nature
win crop out sometimes wlfan I amstrying
my very best to subdue It, + do not in the
least rejoice at anisfortune, but I see pee-
pies unnecessary pride lowered sometimes
with pleasure. Perhaps that is what is
called .srhe old ADAM any way. it's
there. 3 u ssna 2 5s
A few days ago 4 took dinner with a
widowed friend Herson, who has charge
Of the household. Was : stranger to me.
L soon discovered-thak he valued appear
a1lce more than reality. He eavs direc-
TONS to his sister man underfone at the
table, yet all the guests understood them.
The table was shandsoaneiy furnished, but
a dish came round that had a spoon in it
with the tip Of the handle broken off.
When the young man discovered 1t he
safd:-.Tut-tut-tut. {as we would lisp to
a baby; why. mamma, how came your
spoon brokeneAecSssts
With perfect 'candor and composure the
mother re~pliedir-sEfank broke it when he
was a baby"