The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-06-21
UNWISE TO INTERFERE
MEN NEEDLE AT TIMES, WOMEN
VERY OFTEN
1t Is Best to Attend to the Affairs of
Ones Own Household and Not At
tempt to Run the Universe-Women
Are Toe Apt to Interfere

The story of the man who interfered
TO prevent a man from beating his
wife, whereupon she turned upon him
and said that her husband had a right
to beat he if he chose to, is good
example of the trouble people usually
get into when they do not mind their
own affairs. The most simple human
ity often inspires man to mix him
self up in some family trouble, but it
is very seldom that his good inten-
ton is appreciated. Good has some
times been done by persons who have
interfered in the affairs of others. but
rarely. and the one who successfully
accomplishes it must have diplomacy
and tact seldom found. Women are
often guilty of not minding their own
affairs: they take up other peoples
quarrels. repeat stories back and forth
apparently to do good and generally
earn the name of buSybody. There are
men who do these things too, try to
straighten out fights and mix them
selves up with the concerns OF others,
but it would seem that the larger
number of persons who are 1oOllSn
enough to do these things are women.
The fact that a woman thinks she
rs divinely empowered to regulate the
affairs of others, presupposes an undue
amount of self-cOnfidence. Thus it
is that these busybodies have an ex-
Cellent opinion of themselves and 1t
is almost impossible to pierce their
armOr of egOtiSm. But pride Of this
kind generally has a fall sooner or
later and sometimes it has to come
down with a great thud before Wom-
an realizes that she was not intended
TO run the universe. There once was
woman who grew up with the idea
that she owned the earth and the full
ness thereof. She was full Of business
all the time, showing others how to
run their affairs as she managed hers,
and she nevet~let a chance go by to hold
forth upon the mistakes of her friends.
She was perfectly happy and delight
fully self satisfied. She knew all
about her friends husbands and sons,
just what they had done, and what
a pity it was they had not done differ
emily, she always did thus and so. etc.
Her friends became rather weary of
hearing of the projections of her hus-
band and sons, that they never made
mistake, and of how perfectly sure she
was that everything belonging to her
was just exactly right.
Self satisfaction is very beautiful
to behold, but there is nothing more
deadening to the soul. This woman
knew so well just what ought TO be
done by everybody that she felt it was
a shame to keep her light concealed
beneath a bushel, so hearing of some
thing that a friends son had done that
she considered highly reprehensible,
she called upon the friend and told her
all about it for her own good. Now
the woman she called upon knew of the
weakness of the other, and being a
person of no very great refinement
and able to say many things that
others would hesitate to say, she lis
tened as well as she could to the recital
of the mistakes of her son, and then
opened the f1oodgates upon her busy
body friend. She informed her that
while she was regulating the affairs
of the universe and telling what a
wonderfully perfect family she had,
that everybody knew of things that her
husband and son had done which were
far from being correct. The busybody
was completely staggered, but it did
her good.
1t would be very difficult for wom-
an Of refinement to talk to another
woman about her husband, but it is
just as we'll that some of the inter
fering women should meet up" with
some one occasionally who will tell
them the truth. The busybody woman
went home to investigate and from