The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1911-10-21
EVENING CHAT
81 RUTH CAMERON.

1.-THE Captain had settled down to
live in old Chester; his son, Cyrus,
lived wit him and his languid
daughter-in-law-a young lady of
dominant feebleness, who ruled the
two men with that most powerful do
nestle rod--foolish weakness. This
combination in a woman will cause a
mountain Ca masculine mountain) to
fly from its base; while kindness, JUS
tice and good sense leave it upon I'M
shaken foundations of selhshness. only
when the secrets of all hearts shall be
revealed, will it be understood why a
man loves a fool. but why he obeys her
is obvious enough"
Margaret Deland.
There is a certain kind of selfishness,
which, although it is one of the COM
monest and most troublesome in the
world, seems to me is seldom recog-
nized as such,-and that is the selfish
ness of fea-.
People who hamper and hinder and
fret and tie down those whom they
pretend most to love by fear, usually
think they are showing 1--we and ten
derness and beautiful solicitude.
As matter o. fact. they are usually
giving an evidence of simon pure sell
flshness.
When the fear tyrant objects to his
loved ones doing this or that, because
there might be some vague possibility
of risk connected with the pleasure, he
thinks he objects because he loves
them so much But nine times out of
ten, the real rock bottom foundation
for the objections is the fact that he
knows he viii worry and be unhappy.
I know man who was badly thrown
from a horse in his youth. by the
breaking of a saddle girth, and had
deepSeated fear of horses. And vet
this man bought his little boy a pony.
THAT gi-th," he told me, "cost me
more self-sacrifice than anything 1
ever gave : i'm. I made myself buy the
pony, because believed that the exer-
else would do him good physically and
give him pleasure and develop cour-
age and self-reliance in him. But it
was weeks before 1 could go out to ride
without suffering agonies of anxiety.
Again and again I longed to take it
from him, but I would not let myself
because believed ought not to allow
my fear to deprive him of pleasure and
benefit"
What an extremely rare scruple that
is.
How many people. so far from being
capable of such heights sham elessly
descend tc the depths of hindering
those they love of pleasure and profit,
by saying frankly and openly, IF you
do that I know I shall worry"
Every 7 -ht," chronicles Mrs. De-
the windows on the lower floor: in the
morning Cyrus pulled the screws out
Cyrus had a pretty taste in horsehesh,
but Gussie (the young lady of domin-
ant foolishness) cried so when he once
bought a trotter, that he had long ago
resigned himself to a friendly beast of
twenty-sey-n years, who could not go
much out a walk, because he had
stringhalt in both hind legs"
What one of US does not know some
"Gussie" in real life, whose fears bring
similar discomfort and Inconvenience
and deprivation into his or her home
circle?
And what enc of us does not. to
some extent, however small, have his
share of the selhshnesa of fear?
The instinct to preserve our own
peace of mind at the expense of other
peoples comfort and pleasure. seems |
to be a natural and almost universal
one.
Unfortunately it is usually regarded
as virtue, or ct the worst, a weak
ness.
If we can only come to recognize #
as an actual failing, a real vice and
happiness destroyer, surely we shall
have gone part way toward curing our
selves of it.