Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-26
- WE WONDERLAND GOSSIP. ~

says she will do all she can to set it
right. And then, if she isn't awtuiiy
frightened, she meets the girls once more
and they say to her, We'll, wasn't that
an awful-er-bluff? I should think she
would be afraid to dare people so-reaily
nice people. Because, after all that mas
been said about her, she cannot expect
that We will ever associate with hef
again, no matter what she says.
So it begins all over again as before
And the gossips get to look like sisters to
the snake, Just ready to begin d pohte
conversation with 4 poisonous MSS from
a forked tongue, and to end it all wrap
ped abound reputation and stranslHg 1t
to death.
If the woman is permanently spoiled
when somebody comes to her she may
cry and beg just the same, and, in fact
she probably will. But it is only be-
cause she is frightened, and not because
for one single minute she is sorry or
means to do differently. or to help where
she has injured. or to build up what she
has tried to tear down.
She Is just scared to death and tells
stories, nice little pretty-sounding stories,
till the fear is off Of her, ard then She
gets right down to business again ana
talks poison over the nearest reputation
she can find that is sweet and good and
pleasant. and spoils it if she can. be-
cause, forsooth. she feels that people
have been very unjust to her!
x
This doesn't make a pretty picture? I
agree with you. But you just listen to
your particular pet friends the next time
you are with them-just get a phono-
graph put up where you can catch their
conversation. Then. when you are all
alone, and the night is cold about you.
and maybe your heart is a bit uncom-
Portable, slip in the record and start it
UP and listen. Listen to it in cold blood.
Lsten-that'S all / aSk-juSt listen.
No, my sisters, I agree with YOU that
we women are not the only gossips-I
should say not! The men talk just as
much as we do, and we tell one another
it is awful and it should be stopped. Of
course, it should be, but the only way
on earth to accomplish such Il miracle is
to stop gossiping ourselves. just stop
gossiping among the girls and. pretty
soon >the boys will. not find single
thing that they'll like to tell and laugh
oyer-that horrid, horrid laugh that you
know as well as I do when you hear it
on the street corner-a heather howl over
the reputation of some poor girl.
We used to burn witches. Now we
tax their characters to death. We take
a. nice, black-eyed little witch with dim
pies and saucy smile and we chain
her to the stake of our opinions. Then.
while she writhes and begs for pity may
be- or maybe stands UP straight and
faces us with a courage that makes the
very heart ache. we turn loose upon her
the yitriol of our tongues and burn her
heart out of her breast with the torture
Of it, and take the innocence out Of her
eyes, and uncover, maybe, some little
naughtiness and make big, black crime
of it.
And after the flames scar her and the
burning blasts brand her she becomes
either steeled shell of woman, void
of virtues or any sense of shame. or
else just a little pitt ul dead cir with a
red hot cinder in her breast. where all
her sweet hopes used to nestle and be
glad.
A little harmless gossip? We women
will never have Il right to call ourselves
fairly civilized or Christianized til burn
ing at the stake with verbal brands and
the flame of bitter chances is as horrible
to us as that other kind. where in clean,
decent fire the body only was destroyed.
while the character was left in peace and
safety from the cruelty of man.
Copyright, 1911, by Charlotte {. Rowett.)