The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-02-01
A WOMAN'S FRIENDSHIP.
IT is Generally Honest and May be Relied
Upon.
st. Louis Republic.


reached their highest and best until
there has touched his life the sincere
friendship of a woman. Someone
perhaps, would like to interrupt right
here and say "You mean love" In
deed, my good ne1ghbor, I do not
mean lust that. Love is wonderful
factor in the affairs Of man or wo-
man-either for good or ill, but
friendship, pure and simple and un-
selfish, is rare and wonderful, too.
The man who has as friend a good
woman may count himself fortunate.
A woman friend holds man honor
and reputation in high regard. She
stands, as it were, between him and
the world and though she may be
thoroughly conscious Of his short
comings she drops word OF praise
here and there until the world comes
to think that it must have been blind
not to have seen all these good traits
that the man must possess as the one
who knows and understands HIM Des1'
confidently declares he does.
Ifa mans wife is his best frlend'
one whose good sense and good heart
he may rely upon, then that man
meets the ups and downs of life and
overcomes his trials, too, with firm
ness and courage such as he never
could have, did he merely passionate
" love his wife and yet could not
truly Acknowledge her his helpmeet.
In time, TOO, there is danger that the
wife who is not all that a woman
friend should be will find that the
husband, however kind and devoted,
goes his way in measure alone. lie
has ceased to expect her to be inter
ested. In he early days he may not
have noticed how his practical plans
seemed to bore her, but he notices it
now when as man of affairs he longs
for someone to listen while he tells of
what he hopes to do and what he has
done.
A woman has such delicate tact.
For want of better word it is usually
called intuition. A woman is sensi-
tive and always wants to be proud OF
man. For this reason her counsel
is valuable. She never advises a
rash act-that is, if she is sensible
woman, and instinctively it is the
sensible woman that man picks out
for his friend-it is only sensible
woman who is able to give to man a
friendship worth having.
But there is danger, you say, IN a
friendship between man and wo-
man-yes, danger Of falling in love, =
and that very deeply. am not a
blind believer in the possibility Of
Platonic friendship, you know. Where
there is great difference in ages there
may be safety, or where the heart is
previously occupied.
Simple friendship between a man
and woman of equal age and station is
not an altogether impossible thing,
but it is certainly rare, and note
that the good Miss Susan B. Anthony
is said to have jotted down in her
diary one day, which reads: ut is
almost an impossibil;ty for man and
woman to have close sympathetic
friendship without the tendrils OF one
soul becoming fastened around the
other with the result CT infinite pain
and anguish shows plainly what the
conclusion of one woman, who has for
many years been the careful observer
of men and women, is. 1t contains
the ring of the old cry of warning.
Then why, if a friendship between a
man and woman is such dangerous
thing, should it be pointed out also as
the most valuable? Well, because that
is truth concerning it. 1t does no
harm. you know, for two people to
discover that they hav, really grown
to be very fond Of each other, when at
the outset they thought that their
bond was only that Of friendship, pro
vided there is no reason in the wide
world why they should not acknowl-
edge to themselves and to the world
that it would be altogether a happy
thing to spend all their days together
But unless this condition Of affairs
exists the fact that friendship is the
very best forerunner of love makes
the ground dangerous to trod.
Some women seem born to be the
friends of men. To them turn the
men that they know with the stories
Of their ambitions and disappoint
ments and even their loves. These
are usually very charming women ant
H. ia Ono looks ot then