The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-03-29
SOME IDLE LENTEN
 CONFIRMATION

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 ''No. the absolutely selfish woman is
 never social success" ,said a handsome
 young matron who was one of a group of loungers. ''She may float awhile as a girl | on the foam of mans vanity, but follow | her on after she has taken the degree of matrtmony, and see if she holds a place of influence. You will Ind she does l not. If good looking and we'll dressed | and is not unreasonably ill-mannered, she will be good space filler at dinners, and other small affairs, but will not lead, and will not be a woman whose presence | Is felt to any great extent, or whose ab- sence leaves much of an aching void" You are right" said another; ''the | woman who is a social success, who is always in demand, must take whole | some interest in something save self. She must talk something else; she must | think of something else; she must feel | for someone else."
 ''Yes," continued the first. Some wo- men whom this truth has reached. and who recognise the force of 1t, and wish to act accordingly have my sympathy, for without the chief ingredient, "a l heart" 1t can't be done. and with the chief ingredient, "a heart" she can't | help doing it. Effort in that line is wasted"
 Can you understand" broke in A third. changing the subject, 'the usual federation in good society of the chronic scandal-monger? Why is 1t that when one of this species enters a home for a l call she is greeted with as much warmth and ushered in with as hearty a welcome as could be rendered an angel of good ness. charity and mercyf'
 Yes, of course, I can," said a bright young woman. We are not all murder 0u~ hRn& aAAx kL- paper which Is likely to give the details of the latest crime.
 Tt seems that no matter how great the contempt for the bearer of a budget of scandal, there is a something within the average human being that calls for It It Is an appetite that, like all other vicious, morbid, and unwholesome crav- ings, thrives and increases marvelousl1s with the feeding; and, like the others, may be eliminated by want of encour- agement."
 T have a confession to make" said another listener: 'I got headed that way once. I mean I found myself repeating rare bits of scandal that reached me. found myself enjoying the eager, intense look of welcome that met me when l was fortunate enough to be the first to tell somebody something awfulr
 'All of sudden, 1t dawned on me that I was becoming no better than a scav- enger-a necessary evil: that was mak- ing myself what Horace Fletcher calls a human sewer. realized that sewers are necessary in the economy. of the in tellectual as well as the material world So in a great city is the man who takes from each back door the swill and refuse of the establishment.
 He Is welcome-so was I. asked myself: Do I want such welcome? Do want the job?
 There are two of me, and one arose up in righteous wrath and said, No, I wll not be a scavengor, and I will not be the human sewer.' I will ingratiate myself into the good graces of my friends in some other way than by acting in these capacities"
 While you wise young women are dis cussing species and not individuals, let us hear of the woman who is On the make
 How she when an attractive young woman. can gull the Genus Homo" This young woman sizes up every beau as to what she can get out of him" have known such an one to become en- gagged at one time to four little things whose purses were small but larger than their brains-for the sole purpose of se- curing the revenue therefrom. The flow AcB aAAO bAiOeAtACSb lic cSCOIl lO DdllS the dinners, etc. And they get the returns
 I don't see any use wasting time dis cussing her. She uses her stock in trade to the best advantage of which she is ca- pable." said the oldest matron in the party. But something might be done to awaken the four little men to a sense of the position they hold in lending them selves to be made use of by the lady.
 II have known such cases and each of the four was consumed with self-congrat- ulation and pity for the other three, who were in his estimation, being dupAd. Some times 1t has come my way to be the con fidant of two or three of the four, and no amount of candor on my part has convinced any one of them that he was not the only man she ever loved I've only had the reward of being thought a fool for my pains.
 Suppose" said the silent young wo- man, i've disband and not attempt to regulate the world or even the feminine half of 1t .n one day."
 And they did