El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-02-07

II ONE Of his letters. lord Chester
field discourses on the value Of
= dignity, and warns his son against
, acquiring a reputation as a funny fell
low. This is what he says:
There is a certain dignity OF man
ners absolutely necessary TO make even
the most valuable character either re-
spected or respectable
'fHorseplay, romping, frequent and
loud fits OF laughter. jokes. waggery
and indiscriminate familiarity will sink
both merit and knowledge into a de-
gree Of contempt They compose, at
most, merry fellow, and a merry fell
low was never yet a respected man.
IHdiscriminate familiarity either Of
tends your superiors, or else dubs you
their dependent and led captive It
gives your interiors just but trouble
some and improper claims Of equality.
These are villifying distinctions. and
exclude all ideas Of esteem or regard"
In lord Chesterfield,s days, nobody
thought II worth while to hand q girl
out many tips on how to get along
in the world, but if the shrewd old
father had been counseling his daugh-
ter instead of his son, in regard TO her
future course in life. he would doubt
less have given her the same advice.
only doubled and trebled in emphasis.
It's Sulcl0e LOT q woman
For If it is folly for a man to try to
be funny. it is rank lunacy and suicide
for a woman to be. She might better
commit half of the crimes on the calen-
dar than to be even gay and laughter
loving, while as for wit 1t IS the gift
of the Evil Fairy. when 1t is laid on
a girl babys cradle. that foredooms her
10 so through life classified among the
human cats.
There has long been a tradition that
women have no sense Of humor. This
even a malignant sense OF humor, but
the wiser among them have learned
sense enough not TO show ii.
Nothing else than a sense Of humor
sustains a girl when she goes usband
hunting. and flatters a man into pro-
posing to her by telling him how great,
and wise, end strong he is. and making
him feel that she is a simple and art
less creature that knows not the i'm
port whereof she speaks
Nor would a woman be able to keep
up for so or 40 years at a stretch the
farce OF matrimony in which daily she
has to do her little kow-tow before her
husband as the ostensible head Of the
house, while she really runs things;
where she has to smooth him down
the right way TO keep him purring IN
der her hand. and where she has TO
play upon his weaknesses. as upon a
harp with a thousand strings. If she
did not get grim amusement out OF
IT that made the game worth the can
Ole
It is only the woman without a
sense of humor who gets a divorce: but
it is fatal for the woman who has this
precious quality concealed upon her
person to get found out Her character
is ruined If she is discovered
Men Fear n Witty Woman.
Men fear her, and other women dis
trust her If she is given to mirth: for
women's jokes with life are silent jests
Man is the only laughing animal, and
when a woman gets really funny she
shocks the public, and it looks askance
at her.
A girl who is good narured mad ready
to litter at all of a mans small beer
jests is sure to have many beaux and
be popular with men; but that is as far
as it is safe for her to go. Let wo-
man be humorous herself, and know
how to make and tell good jokes. and |
she will be side-stepped by men as If /
she had the plague No man will have
the courage to make love to her be-
cause he IS afraid that she will make I
fun Of him; and ridicule is something |
that he cannot endure
1t IS the little. quiet. demure girl \
with the Mona Lisa smile, and the 1
wistful gaze that men flock around /
like bees about honey pot-not the |