The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-02-19
a Woman $ Chief Virtue to
Which Others Are but Dross

All virtues which may adorn a wo-
mans character arc but as dros, IL
Eelf-control be not counted among
them.
woman needs to be taught self
control from the hour Of her birth.
She needs to practice it. until the hour
OF her death From the uprising OF
the sun until It's going down. each day
and every day the lesson should be-
Gin over and over again. r, is only
perfected when the full sum of days
liz told off, and the lesson Of life on
Garth is finished for the Individual wo-
man.
Sclf-control defines a woman's posi-
Zion and her relation to har environ
ment and the world around and about
her. 1t steadies her purpose. strength
ems her poisc and cndows her with
serenity that commands respect. The
clarity OF vision which 1t engenders
makes for dispassionatc attitude to-
ward Whatever comes up for a decision
that is pretty sure TO place her on the
right side and in the right place.
a woman trained from her cradle
UP to habits OF sclf-control in speech
Will have SO much less In the way Of
hasty words and impulslve utterance
OF opinion to regret What she does
say Will have a weight and an innu-
ence that is only attributed to We'll
thought-out and unbiased speech
Guides and Directs Action.
Not only does self-control save a
woman from inconsideratc speech. but
1t guides and directs her toward visa
action in cries which arise to confront
all women. a woman in control Of
her emotional nature does not permit
herself to he hurried into the rash do
ing OF anything which may prove in
furious and entail disagrecable con-
sequences. She IS usually able TO meet
any emergency and to fulfil the respon-
abilities which It demands.
1t is harder TO be self controllcd
than to be not self-controled. 1t is
more difficult for a woman to subdue
her wayward tendencies and order her
nature Alright. than is it for her to
indulge her cratic desires, and let
them run TO waste in ali directions.
Her sentimentalism is very pretty
within certain limits, but 1t is any
thing but pretty when it breaks out
side OF those limits Her sensitive
ness and delicacy and modesty arc adj
m!rablc qualities, but they may be
oyer-cultivated to the Inconvenience
and discomfort Of ordinary, common
place people. on whom the every day
work OF the world falls.
Ecif-Control Needed In Home.
There is no place where the exercise
Of sclf-controI IS more needed than In
the home. In the administration OF
household affairs. In the management
OF children and servants, In encounter
ing and overcoming the thousand and
one difficulties, practical and other
wise, that centre in the solving Of social
and economic questions woman needs
q clear head and q temperate judg-
~. 1 -l.x y.A, H.
her dignity and diffuse around her an
atmosphere conductive to comfort and
happiness.
The business world Is place which
calls for the highest and most con-
stant exercise OF self-control on the
part of women. Here women come
often in contact with new and un-
familiar conditions Their work is
the only thing which tells. and 1t must
have a marketable value. They are
subject to the discipline of long and
regular hours and to the rules gov
erning these hours. Only a resolute
exercise OF will power a S an agent of
control can take women through the
eXactions of business and office life
with undilnnished cheerfulness and
Willingness of spirit.
I'm the World Of Opportunity.
More and more women are breaking
away from conventional restraints and
advcnturlng into the outside field of
opportunity and endeavor.- Unless they
have been trained TO habits Of self
control. they speedily come TO grief
In competition with others who a re not
handicapped at every turn by urre-
strained emotionalism.
Wherever and however woman
may be placed, the main factor of her
education should be that training
which develops her power of self-con-
troll. which keeps her nervous force
in subsection 10 sound common sense
and practicality. otherwise her foray
into the meeting ground where effort
struggles into form and shape, viii
be something like the agonizing pro-
cess of breaking butterfly on a
wheel"
AAFCADIO HEARN's IDEA
IN OIr pA1vCrS SINGING