The Washington times., 1902-07-05
In All Things Be Sincere.
By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.

Almost any human weakness. frailty
or blemish is more excusable in wo-
man than insincerity and pre.ense.
One can find apologies for friend
who is indolent. extravagant. given to
frivolity or folly. and even an uncon-
trelled temper may not destroy affec-
tion. But once there is insincerity-
confidence dies. and love flies away
affrighted. Unless you can believe
absolutely in what your friend says of
herself there is no pleasure in he- con-
versation.
You can forgive large errors, of
which she may confess herself guilty.
But when she pretends to virtues and
achievements which exist only in her
imagination you feel indeed how golden
silence could be. A too great humility
is not attractive in a woman-I mean
| that humility which belittles individual
ity. That. too, is an affectation-a pre-
tense. The beauty who says, II think /
am perfectly hideous." knows her words
are not sincere. So does the brilliant
mind which bemoans its dullness.
! Yet these types are more endurable
than the one that boasts of concuests
Fever made. achievements never attain
ed. pleasures never enjoyed.
Her words may harm no one seeming
ly but herself-yet can that result of
any wrongdoing ever be truly said to ex-
| list?
| All untruth hurts humanity in gen.
eral.
The woman whose white lies seem
to reflect only upon her own .charac-
ter reflects, in fact. upon all woman
kind she lowers our ideal of the sex.
To every young girl who reads these
| words, would make plea to be abso-
lutely sincere IN thought. word and act,
first and foremost OF all other things.
Pretend nothing Do rot seek to i'm
press people with the qualities or ac-
complishments you would like to pos
sess II you really possess them, people
will find 1t out. If you do not. they will
find it out also. no matter what effort
you make to assume them.
Remember. there is nothing you may
not be (withn the bounds of common
sense), If you really desire it.
You cannot be a great singer, or
great artist. or q great poet, unless you
are born with these gifts. But you can
be a great character. a great woman,
If you lay the foundation hour by hour,
by noble thoughts, impulses and actions.
Avoid white lies" and foolish exag-
gerations. Do not tell a frierd that
dozen callers came to see you when only
two people came. You may impress the
friend for an hour with your popularity,
but you are making blemish on yOui
character which will in time disfigure
YOU in all eyes. Do not add dollars to
the price of your purchases. to make
them seem valuable TO observers. Say
nothing about prices. or else tell the
truth.
A young girl who craved fame induced
a man to write a story and sign her
name to 1t. She posed for brief day as
IAN author" but she could not live up
TO the reputation so won, and ended by
having the truth leak out, and her
friends lose their esteem for her. There |
is no lasting glory in doing The glory |
lies in being.
The scholar who gets her answers for |
examination surreptitiously and passes |
with honor is soon unmasked and sham |
ed in the eyes of the world, which finds |
her dull and ignorant. instead OF bright |
and well educated. q as her report indi-
Gated Nothing false ever succeeds per-
manently.
A trumped-up story Of suffering and |
need may win a momentary sympathy |
and ass!stance-but that is ali. The /
talsehood Will be unmasked eventually
that hour always comes to lie
| wept tears of sympathy once over /
n story of human sorrow and need, and
in nv efforts to alleviate 1t l unmasked |
a pretender in the Sacred Kingdom OF
Sorrow.
The very skill of the falsehood prov
ed it's undoing.
Be sincere!
without sincerity you can be nothing.
With it. you can be everything that is
great. noble and admirable.-New York
Journal.