The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-28
N0AANS' v ORLD

If the good stories told of Mr.. Ed
avs the New Orleans Picayune. is
me effect that when a friend commits
ted him upon his imperfect hearing
49,. wizard replied that partial deafness
blessing instead of misfortune,
enabled one to hear all they wished
hear and to avoid a great deal that
!, was a pleasure to miss. A similar
,houeht has suggested itself TO many of
md we can all recall innumerable
INES when we ardently regretted that
49,. ability to turn a deaf ear was only
ss,,re of speech, and not physical posi-
bility.
Inst fancy, for instance, how delightful
:, would be if one could miss all the
,oog-w,nded harangues of bores, yet be
,oeply alive to the wit and wisdom OF
4,osa who have things to say that are
a.,rtb listening to! How charming to be
s..f ~ the cries of the street fakirs and
the rumble of the trolley car, yet hear
the faint twitter of half awakened birds
os ,be first whisper of dawn runs trem-
tirg through the world To be impervious
r., the rancor and hatred of quarreling
,.,;,es vet to hear the faintest murmur
that breathes its tale of love.
of course, this being a selfish world,
.As things we would be giaddest to avoid
tsaring are those that wound our self
,.,a What good does the telling of such
limos do anyhow? What use in remind
Eal-n of -
f,,nd them out for ourselves and bewall-
Cd them in sackcloth and ashes! what
rossjble profit can there be in calling our
pt+onfjon TO the defects of our children,
o. The faults of our husbands? What
rs,son in destroying our pleasure In a
now frock by pointing out where it doesn't
fl mr. that we have made bad selection
In color? Yet every day of our lives we
have some kind, good friend who feels
II her conscientious duty to gather up
all the tag ends of unpleasant comment
that each of us Is bound to excite in a
critfoaI world. and retail it to US for
mr. good. How much happier we would
he If we could only avoid hearing such
things but we can't. 1t is a conversa-
tional difficulty for which there seems
ia be no remedy, since society doesn
hermit us to tell her, as we should dearly
like TO do. to shut her mouth and mind
her own business.
Another difficulty is about gossip. The
world is so thoroughly committed to the
belief that women adore gossip, and tear
ing each others character to pieces, that
II fails to sympathize with those of us
who have no pleasure in such things,
vet are forced to assist, as the French
saw. by listening. 1t is all very well to
say that no one should give ear to gossip,
but pray. how is one to help it? You
can't be forever brusquely saying, 81 don't
care TO hear other people discussed" or
81 never listen to gossip" 1t would be
too pharisaical, and the path of the wo-
man. even should there be one with cour-
age enough to do such a thing, would be
streWn with enemies, for no gossip mon
ger would ever forgive or forget such an
affront Still, the question remains, what
is one to do, for there are plenty of us
who writhe under the torment of having
to listen to the horrible and sordid details
Of lives with which we have no possible
concern. If a young girl has been in
discreet, if an elder person has a dark
page in their lives that they have turned
over and risen above, we would rather
not know it. We feel defiled and miser-
able, when forced to listen to it, but
there seems no way to avoid it altogether
The things that we don't want to hear
are among the conversational difficulties
for which We have as yet found no rem
eiy, and which are among the uncom-
Portable factors in life.
There is a new disease" said a bright
woman yesterday, as several of us sat
over the teacups.
The scientific name of the malady is a
big mouthful, of course But in simple
Anglo-Saxon it is just the fear of food"
or food fear"
1t sounds like a paragraph from one
Of Frank Stockton's delightful nonsense
stories-but il isn't. 1t is a sober serious
problem, and doctors are diagnosing it as
such.
If you doubt the existence of this fear,
says the New York World go into some
hish-grade grocer shop and ask to see
tne health foods.
You will be astounded. The list of these
would take columns in newspaper. New
ones are coming to market every year.
healthy men and women are calling for
pre-digested nutrition and SANITARY
foods Hundreds of otherwise reasoning
ana reasonable people sit down 10 a ia
ule IN doubt and leave it in dread.
Dyspeptic food faddists are responsible
lot the malady. Food fear is said TO be
dnect result for the mania for diet
questions which has been raging over the
'ounlry during the past few years.
Inc interest taken in food topics has
teA abnormal. Everywhere-cty and
country, land and sea, at home and abroad
uel mas become the question.
housewives throw out at the doorA the
9''hp-e staple articles which their moth
HS cooked and devote themselves to
strange gods in nutrition.
systems and symptoms are more en-
siosslHg as subjects than politics or art.
oCoAs, operas, athletics.
studied with judgment and common
s5use' the same questions would be prof
naole IN the extreme. But they are not
%1uled in common-sense way two-thirds
Of the time.
r,, @eat IS poison. 1t is all diseased. It
you. '''eS
lesetables are all water. There is no
, n5',IlIshment in them" theorist b will
wonders at your temerity in eating
piece Of winter fruit when there is so
".sn ap)endicitls around.
lou are warned against tea, coffee and
0'otoldle. One ueighbOr wants Won 10