The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-08

WORLD.

to believe that there IS much truth IN the
quotation which says:
have played the fool. the gross fool 10
believe the bosom OF a friend would
hold a secret
Mine own could not contain.
II we ourselves are tempted to tell our
secrets to others We must expect that
same weakness Of human nature which
prompted us to speak of our private af-
fairs to others viii in all probability
prompt those TO whom we conhded our
secrets to repeat what we have told them.
OF course there are exceptional cases in
which it is safe to make a confidante Of
a friend. In selecting such a person we
should choose che who is not given to
the custom Of speaking frequently Of their
own private affairs Persons who are
prudent in their own affairs will in all
probability act prudenuy regarding the
affairs of others. Viewing the question as
it is put, rs it safer to make a conadante
of a man than Of a woman l would say
there is little choice between the two
sexes, providing the party chosen is
Etrictly honorable and prudent Woman
seems TO be voted by public opinion as
being the least reliable OF the two in
keeping a secret. But is this really SO?
Are not women in this respect condemned
unjustly? If women are found to be guilty
of a breach of confidence oftener than
men, is not this due TO the fact that,
being Of a kind and sympathetic nature,
they are called uoon oftener TO share the
secrets and private affairs Of their friends
than men are? If they act the part of the
confdante oftener than men do, it is not
surprising if they Should succumb to the
temptation Of betraying the confidence
placed in them oftener. To make fair
comparison we must judge the two sexes
from an equal standpoint Actual expert
ence has taught the man who makes a
confdante of his wife, in preference to
any Of his male relatives or friends that
women are equally as capable of keeping
a secret as men are. We must not let
popular prejudice sway our opinions. The
weaker sex is not the weaker sex in this
respect. Honor in women is equally as
well developed as in men. II We have at
times found that the confidence we placed
in one of the gentler sex has been mis-
placed, this is no reason why we should
condemn the whole of womankind. The
fault possibly was our own in not proper
ly studying the character of the person
before We confided to them our secrets
In conclusion I would say: Keep your Sc
crets to yourself They are safer with
you than with any of your friends. But
if you feel that you must tell them to
some one choose a friend who seldom
speaks of his or her own private affairs.
DO not discr inmate against either sex be-
cause common opinion says one sex is
less reliable than the other. Remember
women seldom if ever say that they are
not as worthy of being made confdantes
IF no fc
who say this And does it not seem out
CT place for us to adversely criticise
women in this respect, when by do
ing we lower their sex in the estimation
of the world and consequently elevate our
own sex?
l raised my lorgnette, says Dorothy Dix
in the New Orleans Picayune, and looked
in the direction that the man indicated.
She's very pretty" l said, but she
isn't lady"
How do you know" he asked
From the way she is dressed" an
swered, with conviction.
That's the way with you women" he
replied, with a touch of scorn in his tones
You always judge one another by your
clothes"
And, why not?" inquired; what bet
ter test do you want? 1 know people are
always critcising women for judging 9TH
err women by their clothes. but we know
what we are about, and it isn't such
bad test of character as you might sup
pose. Ninety-nine times out of one hun
dred a woman comes nearer to expressing
herself in that way than any other. She
gets her politics from her husband; her
theology from her preacher; and her opin-
ions from her circle of acquaintances
but her clothes and her way of wearing
them are her very own, no matter wheth-
err they are calico or panne velvet. Shc
may be so conventional in every other
way that nothing on earth could induce
her to vary a hairs breadth from the
prescribed lines set down for women to
follow, but she will get a hat and a dress
that aren't exactly like everybody elses
or die in the attempt"
The man laughed. 1T reminds me OF
q story heard the other day." he said
about an old darkey who attributed his
cons having taken to the learned profess
sions, instead of the cotton row. to the
influence of clothes. You see said the
old man, one Chrismus my white folks
sent me seben long-tailed coats, an eeben
pars of britches. an seben beaver hats.
Well. sub, my oldes boy come along. an
he jump into one of dem suits of clothes
an no sooner Is he jump dan he feels
call to be a preacher. Den de mex bow
comes along an he hop in a ne'r suit
an de mint he hops, he feels a call 10
be q perfesser in a schoolhouse Den a
call to be a lawyer an hang roun' de
cotehouse an de odder boy he puts on
suit. an he feels dat his kentry is calm
him to de legislachur. )"
We'll" l returned. unabashed. chow
ever absurd that theory of clothes NAV bo
to man, it IS eminently sensible and
rational to woman. We know Just how
1t feels, to feel called upon to live up 20
our clothes, and we realize from individ-
ual experience that our moods and man.
ners and temper depend largely on the
way we are dressed. Put a tailornade
frock on the most inverebrate woman In
existence and she instinctively braces up
She assumes a brisk, businesslilSe air she
throws her shoulders back, and walks as
IT she had some definite purpose i'm life
No woman Tolls in a tailor-made frock.
Like the immortal Mrs. Wilfer. she ts
simply incapable OF such a thing. or
course, part Of this IS due to a horrible
fear that she viii make her skirt bag al
the knees, but quite as much is due 10
the moral influence of the tnilor-made
A fortune awaits the first doctor enlight-
ened enough to prescribe a sk-lined tail
~ -F1n q.