The Saint Paul globe., 1903-03-12

the theater without you-in a word the
tactful woman keeps her lips closely
sealed unless she has something pleas
ant to say.
A few of the things the tactful wom-
an does are to tell you agreeable
things she has heard about you, to
make you think your made-over gown
is better than new one, to praise
your friends and keep silent as to your
enemies, and if she knows the trials
of your life, to steer the conVerSa-
ton into safe channels when in gem
eral company. This is but a 1.-THE of
the good things done by the tactfm
woman. She is a constant joy, rock
of sure defense, a most loyal friend,
a safe confidant. and never vindic-
tive enemy. The tactful woman
knows that time rights most wrongs
without human intervention, and she
attempts no revenges, for the tactful
woman is also wise. Indeed, tact
another word for a kind hearts a
species of religion, or should be.
Perhaps 1t is too much to say that
the blunt woman. the one who is al
ways "frank" words not
religious or kind woman, but at all
events she is one to fly from as she
Is always successful in making you
uncomfortable and leaving a little
sting behind her. Why in the name of
dll lfldl 1S SOOO Is TIE tdclLuiJ
woman called inSincere, and the awful
woman who makes you wish you had
not been born called honest? Does
honesty consist in pin pricks, and dis
honesty in pleasant words? Surely
honesty and frankness are not so
completely divorced from kindness of
heart as some would-be moralists try
to make us believe
When woman rs to you: NOW
l am going to be fRctlV frank with
you," you know she is going to say
something which should never be said.
and rush in where angels fear to tread
1t is safe to say that the tactful wom-
an-who is always a well-bred woman
never makes a friend uncomfortable,
never NEEDLES with you never is
frank" with you, never sees or hears
anything not intended for her to see or
hear. In society this desirable quality
in a woman is almost a necessity, for
there are various elements to harmon
ize, and sometimes warning factions
to be assimilated. And this is the work
OF a woman of tact, the woman with a
heart, who is at the same time hon
est and kind.
Tact in the home, with ones hus-'
band, is also a very necessary thing;
indeed a whole chapter could be de-
voted to this subject alone. For of all
persons in the world, tact, when deal
i415 Will al IiidIl, anu I0dJ- man one
husband, is most needed. Many d.
vorces and family scandals could be
ayerted if women would use tact in
dealing with their husbands. If they
would be at times deaf, dumb and
stupid and pass over much that might
OCCASION family jars. But why go on?
There are tactful women and there
are many who do not know what that
small word means. So we must be
thankful if each one of us can number
one poSSessor Of it among our friends
Among the new books which will at
tract the attention of women particu-
larly is a small volume published
anonymously and entitled Letters of
an Actress" This book is the result
of the present craze both for letters"
and for anonymous publications which
seems to have grown from the popu-
larity of the Confessions of a Wife"
and other books of like nature. For
some reason or other, women seem to
be fascinated with this kind of read
ing. They like to hear of the intimate
details of some wonan's life or to read
of the workings of her soul and heart,
and compare her mental processes
with their own.
Taking advantage of this knowledge,
the publishers are now flooding the
public with a class of books of little
literary value, but they sell. The let
ters of this actress-of whom It ia
strongly suspected that she never saw
the back of a stage curtain-are not
very high in tone, nor elevating in die
lion. but they are supposed to reveal
the soul Of a women and her aspira-
t1onS, so there is a class that will
eagerly read them.
The book is called Quetable by the