New-York tribune., 1908-08-02
WOMEN AND PROVERBS.

Proverbs regard the fair sex almost exclusively
from the point Of view OF man OF the ole SGhoq in
feriority of woman, and in the stern necessity OF
Thg @ GIobe Ggo There is one with quite Span
ish air OF jealous gaolershp, which says tnaI d
ti2ed. married, and buried. Burton quotes it in his
Anatomy Of Melancholy,' but Is Obliged TO ADMIT
laced" "straft-laced. Is hardly the adjective that
the modern suffragist would use. another or these
masterful, proprietary proverbs IS the wen KNOWN
The sPa16s 8Fa you tas 6est @3 d the f BETTER they
Other sayings which reveal masculine contempt
for women are those old saws which retiect, upon
the feminine tongue There Is the old libel that
three women and one goose make q market. With
the omission of the goose the sa1ng foTgg % M o
lection Of proverbial sayings In I+ancaShire they
smile which hardly needs comment Other Ike ef-
forts Of proverbial wisdom are = woman tongue s
is the last thing about her that dies And here is
charming summing up Of the Whoie matter III
little taftleI little tattle!
Pittie rattle, pttle pattle'
The sentiment OF this is as out of date as are
the once familiar pattens ,., .., =, +,,,+
one talking proverbs OF undoupted run In Is Si1
her tongue she cannot unite with all her teeth
This familiar more than three cenouFteS aeo,
and may still often be heard IN the SorLL, ; espe @
ctaIIv in Scotland with reference 10 an unWlse or
Of men in the same connection. with regard TO
abuse in general of woman tongue II Is quItS ceI
which can hardly be denied, that many Of the lords
Of creation are arrant gosstps as any wearer or
net+icoars Matrimonial proverbs, whole, bear
marks Of masculine authorship and press TatheF r
hardly the weaker sex. Sayings. IN praise OF
marriage and of the good wife are comparatively
rare However Cupid may be depended upon TO
set the proverbs Of i-omen at defiance. as wen
freely quoted by those VINO have escaped @ tle
little gods shafts, for Love Is as warm among
cottagers as courtiers." and, an Italian saying
has if. Love can neither be bought nor sold; lis
'''! Some few Sayings treat woman lovely WON.
an" with absolute contempt From one point or
view she is worth just nothing at all O9ns. sir,
a Bottle" "iet her go and fair riddance! Who
throws away q testear and mistress. loses SIX .
pproTerbtaI contempt OF the same class. although
little respectful IN phraseoIogy. Is the oIa
Shakespeare aludes to this in Titus Andronicus.
where Demetrtus says:
She IS woman therefore therefore may may be be WOO wood;
She is a woman therefore may be won
It was in frequent use BY Elizabethan writer's
Another old saying. stilI often heard In country
places. where old modes of thought as well as Ola
forms OF speech still linger exhibits most un-
of beauty in distress are usually supposed to be
among the most powerful weapons in the arsenal
fathers Ior some of them) must have been steeled
against lachryna assault when they were able to
weep as IT is to see a goose go barefoot; OF as
one seventeenth century writer phrased IT, There
is no more pity TO be taken OF heF @ tnah f 20 see
served for the shedders of crocodlle tears or Tor
those curiously endowed folk who are able 70
make their eyes overflow by mere eHort OF Will
such as the beautiful young lazy named Sophy
Streetheid, who was one OF tle CIrcle that gttl!
cred round the Thrales and Dr.. Johnson at Streat-
ham. Weep Sophy." Mrs. Thrale would say, and
thereupon without the movement or a muscle or
the slightest disturbance Of the calm repose or
would slowly MI with tears and in few seconds
the round drops Of pearled dew were chasing
weeping was certainly more distressing than
tie barefooted progress or goose