The Washington herald., 1911-10-14
BY ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.


There is a pathetic little story going
the rounds of the press about the En-
press of Germany.
This is the tale as the newspapers tell
| IL:
The Emperor, like all men, has an
eye for beauty, and especially admires
the human form divine Of woman.
lie has expressed himself frequently.
and in laudatory terms, regarding the
perfection of several svelt and sylph-Iike
beauties of the day, and the Empress
has listened to his words of commenda-
tion and then she had stood before the
mirrow and looked upon her own ample
proportions and suffered all those mis-
cries which only women who love and
feel their physical charms fading can
suffer when they hear the object Of their
love rave over younger and more attrac-
tive creatures.
Demanded She Abandon Efforts.
Then $50 the story goes) the Empress
decided to make herself like unto the
fairies who had called forth the eIo-
quence Of the Emperor So she procured
all sorts of patent medicines. fat foe
creams, and every apparatus for reduc-
ing weight through physical exercise
All these things the Emperor one day
discovered and had cast into the ash
heap Gf cmperors have ash heaps), At
least, so goes the tale. he demanded that
the Empress abandon her many efforts
to become sylph and remain precisely
as she was.
No doubt he assured her that she pleas
ed him far more with her maronly pro-
portions than all other women pleased
him with their combined fascinations.
At the some time 1t is to be hoped the
Emperor made a mental VOW to be more
taCtful. and to avoid talking in the pres
ence of a portly wife of his admiration
for slender. sinuCus beauties.
\ man who celebrated his golden wed
ding not long ago declared one of his
rules for making marriage a success had
been in avoiding praises of other women
in the presence Of his wife. This seems
scarcely a compliment to the wife.
Petty Woman.
The woman who cannot hear sane and
reasonable praise CT another uttered by
her lover or her husband must be dwarf
ed in mind and petty in soul.
But there is no woman so broad. so
generous, or so we'll poised, who does not
feel inwardly hurt when the man she
loves exhausts his vocabulary OF admir-
ing words upon some woman who is her
opposite in type.
And yet this is what hundreds OF other
wise, kind. clean minded, and sensible
men are doing daily.
In justice to the majority of such men
he it said that they imagine their wives
are absolutely convinced of their own
supremacy in the hearts of their hus-
bands, and that they are above and be-
yOnd any such emotion as jealousy
Were the situation reversed, however, !
and were the wife of any man to ex-
patiate frequently upon the destinations !
Of some male acquaintance, declaring |
that he was an ideal which could not be |
surpassed. one can easily imagine the |
wounded feelings. the surprise. and prob |
able indignation of the listener.
Something of Woman's Nature.
There arc scores of wiyes who are con- |
scious of their own fading charms who |
are still beautiful in the eyes Of their |
husbands
The added maturity which comes with |
motherhood renders a woman doubly at
tractivc to some men. And such men
may speak of the beauty of younger
women as they would speak of a picture.
without meaning to wound the feelings OF
the wife
But the wife herself conscious that she
is no longer young, is representative, and
takes the husbands praise of another as
a reflection upon herself.
1t would not be an unworthy study
even for an emperor to learn a little
something about a woman's nature and
TO let wisdom guide his speech.