The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1906-12-21
DOES IT PAY
TO WORRY AWAY
The worryiDs Habit Souss Of the
BsS, Natures Give Way to Il.

claimed the woman with the tired race
as she entered the tea room Of a de-
partment store and dropped into the
first chair that presented itself.
Shopping is hard work, " agreed the
woman who had come in with her, and
who, in spite of sharply contrasting
appearance, was evidently her sister {;
''but you'll feel better after a cup Of
tea. 1t always makes new woman OF
me when I'm tired - And she turned
to give her order to the trim little
waitress at her elbow.
al don't think anything on earth
could make a new woman of me, the
other said, presently, with q gesture Of
despair. ''I'm just worried half TO
death, and feel as If nothing short Of
cutting loose from everything could
ever do me the slightest good"
'sYOu ought to take things more
easily, Mary" her sister observed,
grant CeylOn. ';You worry, worry,
worry the whole time over everything
that happens, or Is likely to happen,
and it's only natural that you're always
worn to q fraGzle. know exactly how
'TYouI" She glanced at the other
Woman's plump figure and untroubled
face with an enviOus sign What can
You know about itl You haven't any
thing to worry about.
"WelI. we'll let that pass"-imper-
turbbly-'but what does your worry
ing amount to? You're nervous and
irritable and tired all the time, and
what thanks do you get 2"
THAT is the bitter part of it," the
first speaker admitted, dejectedly.
.''None of the family seems to realize
that my whole life is spent in minister
ing to their comfort. Why, Marion
was actually cross this morning when /
insisted upon her taking her rubbers
and raincoat to school.
"Well, don't blame her. Who
wants to lug rubbers and raincoats
around when it isn't raining 2"
"But at this time of year you can
never be sure that it isn't going to rain,
and Marion invariably takes cold If she
is caught in a shower. And there g
John. I'm always worried about him
since that siege of pneumonia last win
ter, and made him put on his heavy
underwear rather early this season be-
cause feared the effects of a sudden
cold snap. And ! declare he's done
nothing but grumble ever since, as II l
were personally responsible for the mild
weather we're having.
"Well il John isn't old enough by
this time to take care of himself he
never will be, and it doesn't follow that
he's going 70 have pneumonia every
year simply because he had IL last win
ter. The fact is, Mary, your habit of
worrying is growing on you, and before
you know what's happening you'll find
yourself in q sanitarium unless you
learn TO let things go 9 little.
81 know you are thinking it's easy Tor
me to talk, but I'm talking it out Of
my own experience. Yes, I'm aware
that you've always considered me one
of the happy go-lucky sort, but for all
that I've done my share of frettinR
Last year when Robert and took that
trip out to the Pacific coast was in a
fair way to become q nervous wreck
because of il. didn't say much about
It, because the specialist went TO told
me point blank there was nothing on
earth the matter with me but the wor-
ryinR habit, and that he couldn't help.
I thought then he was rather brutal,
but although I was mad clear through,
l had q sneaking conviction that he was
right.
"Well, when Robert had to go west,
l insisted on going with him, and, as
YOU know, we were both in San Fran
cisco when the quake and fire destroyed
the city. That cured me. i don't be.
lieve I've let myself worry since"
''But don't see"
'I'll tell you. saw for one thing
the utter uselesaness Of worrying.
You worry about all sorts Of things
that probably never will happen, and
the things that actually do happen sre
the very things you never once thought
of. Then, somehow, during these
dreadful days when there were 80 many
around me who had been left desOlate
and destitute, / realized that, no matter
what happened, so long as ! had my
husband ] had lot to be thanked for
And It dawned upon me just about then
that | had been making him pretty
wretehed with my fidgety ways and my
irritability and my nagging. For
don't care who the woman Is, II she
worries she nags. She simply can't
help Il.
Then when / saw how courageous
those people were in the face Of an aw-
full calamity, even when they hadn't q
roof over their heads. or a crust or \
garment that hadn't been donated By
charity, / learned q lesson that ! shall
never FORGET. Women who had been
,..ar,d A, btxup-v ard had lruat their Al