The Savannah morning news., 1902-12-07
CONFIDENTIAL WOMAN.
she Talks for the Pure Love of wag-
ging Her Tongue,

You've heard of the confidence man,
I suppose. but have you ever known
a confidence woman, asks a writer in
the Kansas City Journal Perhaps
I'll make myself clearer If 1 say con-
ndential woman. and still clearer if 1
define a confidential woman as that
particular representative of her sex
who. because of her inordinate love for
talking, is continually telling you of
the doings of her and your neighbors,
acquaintances and friends.
You must not confound this type
with the gossipy woman. They are
far removed each from the other. The
woman of confidence talks, not with
malicious intent but because she can't
help herself-and she never tries or
tires. On the other hand, the woman
of gossip starts her tongue wagging
only when, with malicious Afore,
thought, she starts out to stir up trou-
BILE and, mayhap, break hearts and
cause a few divorces by sinister nod
dings of her head and magnified and
embellished stories.
The confidential woman, besides not
having malice in her soul, does not dis
tort statements, nor does she color her
words by the peculiar mannerisms en-
ployed by expert gossips. She simply
is in a chronic wound up state and
must either talk or explode. She
doesn't care to explode, and, therefore,
she talks about everything and every
body. l dare say that at times her
words make mischief, but such an eff
feet is far from her mind when she
repeats her condolences. And the rest
of the world knows that this is the
nd
right on listening to and, | am afraid
admiring the confidential woman. For
all of us mortals-men as much as wo-
men-love to be taken into some ones
confidence, especially if that some one
is known to be an expert retailer of
news mainly about people.
The confidence woman reign when
ever and wherever two or three are
gathered together for social or serious
purposes Besides the drawing-room
and the Wednesday evening prayer
meeting, her favorite place of disburs-
ing her wares is in the street cars.
No sooner does she get in a car than
she bolts to your side. and murmurs,
''Oh, so glad to see you-what on earth
have you been doing with yourself?"
and inside of two minutes and despite
your cautious and evaSive replies, she
manages to extract the sum total or
all that directly or indirectly concerns
ways does this so that she will be able
to tell the next friend she meets all
the news about dear Mrs. So-and-
So whom 1 was talking to few min
utes ago in the street car"
Then, after she has replenished her
stock in talk at your expense, the con-
fldential woman opens suddenly with
all her batteries. She leans over and
whispers: Ibid you hear about poor
Mrs. Jones?" and before you can edge
in n reply, she has her hand to her
mouth and begins to reel off her end
less chain of condolences; and what she
does not know about everybody's bust
ness will never be published for Sum
day-school circulation. She reveals
herself as the latest edition of the news
column, with social, theatrical and re-
ligious notes thrown in, for she knows
all about the public and private life
of every one whose name she has ever
heard, from the Mayor of the town
down to the humblest coon" coal
HEAVIER. She is a human slave-she
can't keep anything to herself.
And you sit and listen and drink 1t
all in, and smile at and acquiesce with
the amiable little chatterbox at your
side, Notwithstanding that you know
full we'll that, as soon as your back
is turned, her tongue will be chatter
ing like a thing possessed about you.
In sooth, our curiosity leads us to en-
ioy all that she may say, and the risk
that we ourselves brave in knowing
that We too will receive our share of
attention adds to the fascination that
envelops the confidential woman.
If you meet her at some large public
function, you find the confidential wo-
man not only mine of information,
but no end of fun throughout. If you
sit with her during the grand prom
enade, you have seized the best posi-
BILE place of vantage. She knows the
complete, unabridged and unexpurgat-
ed histories of every man or woman
In the life 1t goes without saying,
therefore, that she cannot be aught
else than entertaining and that you
cannot be other than exceedingly IN
terested. And as you sit by her side
and your head is close to her, Deh1nd
her fan, these are some OF the thlnss
that'you add to your store OF social
knowledge.
she points out the pretty girl in red
and the man with the big, brown mus
tache and tells you, in strlctest conn-
dence. that the girl runs after MN
from dawn till shutdown. IL you ask
how she happens to know, she VIII
shrug her shoulders and answer In
most impressive and mysterious way
chat she knows" and that settles IT.
She is the first to tell you OF Mauds
agement.
likewise, she knows, almost as soon
as the happy father, that ne" paoS
has come to the Smiths home.
She chatters that Jack Dasha"ay
neglects his pretty wife most cruelty
and that a sensation is brewing IN tnat
quarter-sure.
She wonders, and says others are
wondering, too how Mrs. NewlyWed
can afford to dress so eXtravagantly'
considering her husbands none TOO re-
munerative position. Perhaps MIS-.
NewIywed's parents gave her a snug
sum when she was married.
And so her tongue keeps wagglng on
as the hours go by She is always
perfectlv good natured as she talks,
and the idea of creating trouble is
never in her mind, but often, by the
things she enumerates, she unlnten-
tiona!ly plants the seeds or distrust
and suspicion in many of her bearer
hearts. She quite innocently tels a
wife that she saw her husband boWlnS
and gushing over the wifes most init
mate friend She tells 1t as nuge
joke, but she fails to discount the
heartache that is the pith or the Joke;
in other words, her love for tax anu
to talk has negatived discretion ana
blunted the keen edge of dehcacy, anu
she forgets about the sting OF the pee
that accompanies the honey.
The confidential woman likes TO pose
as being well Informed, ana ner van
tty. rather than a mean spirit, Is re-
AJ92siDle for her little failings. she
has tho nacoecarU amount or reflne-