Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-03-14
ICommunicated.l
PEERING FRIENDS.

Did you ever have any of these
"peering friends" my good reader?
If so, l am sure you will know just
what l mean and sympathize perfect
ly with me when j attempt to describe
the kind of torture known as "peer-
ing friends" 1t is not always the
ones who look over your shoulder as
You begin reading or writing a letter,
though, as Heaven knows, these are
bad enough, but another kind /
would now describe, the dear, intimate
woman friend who comes into YOUR
house on the most friendly terms to
be had and takes such an interest
III you, your husband, children and
hired girl; she who peeps into the
larder to see that If by any mishap
you bave forgotten to order sugar or
tea, and through no lack of interest
on her partshall you be without these
useful commodities, and thus gains
an insight into your management
which is stored up for use at any
future hour and in any future COM
'pany. She will open your pantry
door atany hour she may pop in (and
she does pop liz at such unseemly
hours and tell you in all kindness
that Sallie has failed to dust the
shelves or get certain stain off a
certain corner of the floor, and she
thinks, yes, she knows, she has put
aside that large dish with only a
quart of cleft over" in it, which
might and ought to be put into a
smaller bowl. and the big covered
dish washed, ready for future use
you know; of course she does not
mean to be interfering, you know, and
would not try to boss for the world,
but seeing it she just thought she
would mention it as Sallie might
get careless, and girls are SO you
know, etc., etc. o. for friends with
no dust-seeing eyes; o! for Sallie
all brooms and dust cloths and no
faults. And Tom does not buy the
right brand of flour, it is cheap and
depend on it my dear, your bread
will always show it; and why do you
not make Tom buy nicer and more
complete dinner set? Men are SO close
my dear and require such a deal of
talking to to keep them up to the
mark in providing. AS 'sTom" is your
hard-working husband, and you know
he gives you all and more than
his slender salary can afford, and as
gou know your neighbours handsome
and rarely used dinner set has not
and never will be paid for by her
debt-haunted husband, your ire rises,
and bitter retort comes from heart
to lips, but though obtrusive, she is
still your guest, and if she has no
politeness you pride yourself that you
have and keep silence. And then
the children, those poor little suffer-
ers, who, but for the kindly inter-
ference of their parents friends,
would die of their parents brutal
Ignorance or diabolical neglect. Are
you quite sure that Dicks shirts are
not too blue for his style, just shade
perhaps, but little blue? as if a
tanned and freckled school boy, with
a shock of sunburnt hair, had any
style for shades. You gaze on your
hopeful son and heir with rather
dazed feeling as that young man
comes forward with a rather dark
glance for your visitor; he wears
a torn and faded blue shirt, much
the worse for dirt, and his fat face
bears traces of blood, tears and apple
pie, and again you wonder family
what shade would suit his style. But
Dick escapes and Dorothy comes In
for the visitors real criticism. Your
little girl comes shyly into the room,
and is Immediately pounced upon
and numerically held up to criticism
as to manners, beauty and dress till
the little woman breaks down and
bursts into childish but heart felt
tears. What busy mother can keep
all her growing children's clothes up
to the latest style, and what child
has not some pet defect? And the
baby; poor baby! often wonder that
so many of the little beings escape
the kindness of their mothers friends