Mexico Missouri message., 1906-02-15
BY MARGARET E. sANGsTER.


What was that you said, Dorothy? Am
sure that heard you arightP Are you
really afraid Of little gray mouse that
you could hold in your hand, that scut-
ties away from you in terror and that,
measured by inches, is less formidable
than a rabbit or a squirrel?
Yes, you own it without blush. You
really are afraid of a mouse. So are
Frances, Jane and ever so many others
of your friends.
A marked aversion to the entire family
of rodents is a pronounced feature Of
most women whether they are little or
large. The little woman of ten screams
at the sight of a mouse and so does her
| older sister, and very likely her mother
and her grandmother are equally as
alarmed at the appearance of this small
monster which is indeed a beast of prey,
but such a wee bit Of a beast,
not in the least like a lion or a
tiger, a panther or a wolf. Probably the
dislike to mice is natural with most of
us for the very good reason that mouse
in the pantry makes disagreeable depre-
dations, and apart from the toll he takes
is anything but clean; that mouse In
the bureau drawer nibbles gloves and
eats buttons if they are covered with
| silk, and that mouse in the bedroom
always is not just the companion one
would choose at the midnight hour.
Mice are pretty little things with
their gray coats and their bead-like
eyes, but they belong to the class of
| creatures which for our preservation
we must fight. l am not asking my
girls to like them, but for PHYS sake,
Dorothy, do overcome your terror at
| their mention.
A mouse has never yet been known
to devour a schoolgirl.
l wish l could persuade you not to be
afraid of anything, great or small. We
must take certain precautions. To walk
up as some fearless girls do to a strange
dog, patting him on the head and trying
to be friends with him without being
sure that their acquaintance is desired,
Is sometimes dangerous and always a
risk. Dogs are the dearest friends we
have in the brute creation. They are
loyal to their masters and they some
lluGS SGGLl GuuOWGu W III aAAANoI luAlltAAL
Intelligence. But they are very much
like men and women. They prefer TO
choose their friends, and they may re-
sent approaches from people who have
not been properly introduced. Never
feel or show apprehension when you meet
a dog that is quietly going about its own
affairs, but do not be familiar with dog
or cat or other domestic animal until
you have right to be so because you
have entered the circle of its friends.
A girl who is afraid Of any animal,
from a COW in the pasture to mouse in
the wall carries about with her need
less handicap. We should go about the
world bravely and fearlessly. l have
seen lady in a drawing room make a
spectacle of herself in the presence of a
group of very brilliant and distin-
guished people because she was afraid
of cat. In walked Muff, the splendid
angora, that was the pet of the hostess,
and up on sofa with a shrek and a
scream and a clutching and gathering
of her skirts, jumped lady who should
have known better than to behave in
that fashion under the roof Of friend.
One rule we may as we'll as not lay
down for ourselves, girls, and that is a
rule of self-control. One may be little
frightened inside, but she does not need
to proclaim it. Because we happen to
dislike bats, beetles, June bugs,
dragon flies, or any other members
of the world of creeping and flying
things that scurry out of space to dis
turh us, we need not communicate our
feeling to others. If we choose we
may control all expression of dislike,
dismay or dread. We may some
times feel afraid, but we may keep
ourselves from showing it.
All through our lives we should try
not to be in bondage to any form Of
fear. Some girls cannot bear pain.
They distress themselves more in the
thought of what they may have to sui,
fer from a slight operation or an in
Jury, than the pain itself would
amount to. In other words, they suf-
fer more from fright than from reality.
Once in awhile one meets a girl al
most grown up who is afraid of the
| uuAhs nOpG TINS - AoN luH NtLbu Win
Dorothy or any of her friends. The fear
Of the dark is a tyranny which assails
children who have been wickedly
alarmed by nurses or INSCRIPTIONS
persons and who fancy that dangers
Of every kind Turk behind the friend.
ly curtain Of the night. But our
Heavenly Father sends this kind dark.
ness so that we may sleep and rest
and there is nothing In II to give any,
one the slightest fear The stars are
It's lamps ana the moon at the full
foods it with a glory as great as that
Of the sun. While we sleep our God
watches above US and Ills angels are
our guards.
Another thing almost as foolish as
the fear Of the mouse is the fear some
people have OF taking different dis.