The Washington herald., 1912-11-03
Folk Learn to Avoid
Friend Who Has a Crouch
Grudging Smiles, Sour Looks and Sharp Words
Hurt Man or Woman Who Gipes Them
More Than Any One Else.

his spirit thst' could be moved to smile
at anything" s4.r-r
Well. most of his. friends and a..o-
ciates let him drift where he would and
they went another way.
But there was . woman who thought
II pity. She had fallen under the evil
spell Of his grudgins smile, and one
day when he looked through glasses a bit
darker and more forbidding than usual
and answered her cherry good morning"
with q sorry little srunt-pardon the
word. but there u no Others resolution
was born. all Of . sudden. And won
der II I can put her kindly medicine
into words.
His Better Self.
She very graciously begged his par
don. explaining that she sthousht she
had been addressing 'Mr. Blank" He
looked at her through unsmilins eyes
and assured her that he was Mr.. Blank
But no. the Mr.. Blank Of her acquaint-
ence never carried . crouch (she spared
him nothing, he was bright. companion
able and-oh. he never wore such black.
black glasses.
The CROUCH" hurt bit and he feebly
protested that he had no such mental
malady. But she was insistent. told
him that her Mr.. Blank was very re-
sourcefui. quite a leader. in fact-"and
you better take up the matter OF that
crouch with him But he would not
admit that he had any grievance, and
she met him with the statement that
that was Just the trouble. just the rea-
son why he needed to take UP his case
with Mr.. Blank. talk II over seriously.
and fight It out with that other person.
who was the only one who could suggest
a remedy. even make him realize that
he needed to be healed.
Sermon Reached Home.
In the end. she must have impressed
him that there was another Mr. Blank.
his better self. and that il was vitality
important to interview him concerning
his new. dishguring malady. but the only
comment he made was TO tell her she
was strange woman, and he had never
met her like before.
Her little sermon must have reached
home, for when she suggested that per-
haps he would not care to meet many
like her he reiectively said that he was
not sure about that.
VIII It bear fruit? It is pretty early to
tell. but the very next day there were
hopeful symptoms, and the sickly smile
widened trife. Perhaps the time may
come to him when he may be ready TO
say to his self-constituted doctor-friend.
Just as George Eliot did when she looked
back upon a time Of peevisn. morbid
treatment Of a woman who was very
dear TO her:
That i was not good to you Is my
own disagreeable affair: the bitter taste
Of that fact is mine. not yours
Sour Overshadowed sweet.
There may be sermons more eloquent.
more beautiful than hers. but perhaps
not more telling. For wherever there is
a Mr.. Blank. who has permitted the
sour 10 overshadow the sweet the sui
len to dethrone the companionable, and
the true. he sadly needs an introduction
to his old self. He needs some one to
shock him into knowing that he Is his
own worst enemy, that no one can do
the healing unless he is willing to have 4
heart-to-heart talk with himself. and.
most of all, that he is the only real suf-
ferer.
Because. while grudging smiles. sour
looks. and sharp words do not make AN
agreeable atmosphere. there is always
another atmosphere which friends and
associates may seek. And folk very
quickly learn to run away from a bad
Mr.. Blank who refuses to interview his
ouD good shadow