The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-02-07

 in after years might be used against them Tt is wise," she added, ito be always in the right"
 Women usually err in friendship through over-conhdence and men through over-suspicion. The great difficulty In being friends with people is in peins either too conflding or too reserved. Either extreme ruins friendship. Compromise IS as much part of friendship as II IS or marriage-and as little understood. Wom- en are jealous of their friends-thefe no denying that, and whenever man comes into the case adieus are promptly made.
 coterie composed of some eight or ten very clever women were recently dis cussing the "honest women" One of the prettiest in the crowd referred to a woman whom she said she considered perfectly honest.
 And what do you call honesty? Would this woman take another woman's sweet heart away from her if she coud?" oueried one of the brightest in the as- | semblage.
 The discussion from this suggestion launched forth into Love Piracy and | the lilze-and I believe 1t was never de- cided just what constitutes the perfect 1 ly honest woman.
 Women fall into friendships as they do | into love, and do not mind changing i their friends as often as they change their gowns Tittle tattle-gossip-if you l will, is a great factor in female friend l ships. What people say and do and l think becomes intensely interesting. Two women can easily pass an entire after 1 noon with nothing but gossip to amuse 1 them. Never book, the opera, nor the l play, nor music, nor art nor charities, nor church work-nor anything but poor l miserable humanity-our fellow creatures and their foibles and fancies, discussed. 1 Another has said that "clever women l talk of things-stupid ones of people, Upon being upbraided by a feminine ] friend who said to Dr. Johnson: q be- 1 lieve you like the company of men bet | ter than you do that of women,' the burly doctor replied:
 l Madame, I am fond of the company 1 of ladies' I like their beauty, their deli- cacy and I like their silence" Perhaps this gentle rebuke might be ap- 1 piled to many friendships.
 
 '"The feather-brained friend is usually 1 the most fatiguing. The woman who en- l ters like whirlwind makes her exit like a Storm who forgets and mixes up her i data. and repeats herself-and not al- ways the same way-is truly eXasperat- 1 ing. These people have minds like kaleid- oscopes, full of ''wise saws and modern 1 instances"-colors and bits that do not l match-and often produce most unex- pected result. They are vastly amusing l and all that, this particular kind of friend, but to be able to laugh at the l absurdities of ones friends is, however, scarcely the ideal friendship-although 1 the oddities of friends often add to do- mestic hilarity.
 Many women choose their friends for l 5f fc na xun ax, whose best friend is a foil, woman 1 less pretty and less witty than herself 1 and she must be chosen with discrimina-- 1 tion for if she be too plain she repels
 and is neglected; whereas the foil sets 1 off and enhances the brilliancy of the diamond.
 These are only a few of the many varieties of friendships which women make-not all ideal. But as to that, the 1 only thing that can be said Is that the truest friendship that can exist between women is guarded by sincerity and hon. ] esty
 Friends are like Gods blessings-they come to you and apparently through no 1 effort of your own, nor through your own merit.
 Like attracts like" and the person | who to others is dissimilar to you often has the same attributes And yet in a measure you do make these friends; you make them through being your natural l self and nothing else whatever. i, In a lifetime you may have one true ! friendl I have even known those who were fortunate enough to have two-and perhaps there have been some who have numbered three or four.
 l To those who are friendless-God pity 1 them It isn't too late, though, to make a friend, if you haven't one Through i loyalty to yourself you will possess the | greatest attribute that friendship requires i, and by being friend you can make them | and earn them.
 | Women who retain their friends for years are a beautiful example to emu late and perhaps the best epitaph any woman can have engraven to her mem ory is just that-"Her Friends Regret | Her"