The Washington herald., 1913-03-06
Topics of Interest to Every Woman
EDITED BY JULIA CHANDLER MANI
SHIFTING BLAME TO
OTHERS SHOULDERS
1t Is 4 Cowardly Thing to Let ths In
noeent Suffer for Our
E.ulfs
BY FRANCES sHAFFER.


Maybe 1t Is true. maybe not; but this
IL the way the story is told. and 1t Is
written all over with a beautiful moral
| for folk who are little and for folk who
are big:
A young girl had been making visit
at the home Of friend. and slime had
slipped by on golden wings because she
had enjoyed SO royal a month.
But ome-going thoughts were in her
mind and in the hustle of preparation
she grew a bit excited. Somehow-she
never knew Just how 1t happened-while
writing her trunk tags, the ink bottle
tipped and two big blurs spread over
the beautiful rug at her feet
She gave one great gasp of conster-
nation. and then the uppermost thought
them out? For 1t never would dos to
confess II.
The Telltale Spots.
Hurriedly she ran for cold water, and
then anxiously worked on the spots, for
the stains never could be lefti For half
an hour she worked, the black marks
growing duller and duller all the while:
but at last she reached a point where
It seemed useless to try any more. There
were two grayish smears which simply
long as she might.
And then-she heard a step in the hall.
Quick as flash, with the instinct of
self-preservation or some less worthy inn
pulse, she sprang % the lights and hastily
put them out. She did not want to see
any one that night could not possibly tell
of the accident and wanted time to
think 1t out. Perhaps an the morning
when the spots had dried the stains
haps-
She did not sleep very Well that night
and at the first gray streaks OF dawn
she crept out OF bed and hopefully eX-
amined the stains. They had not dis
appeared overnight. and she knew there
was nothing more that she could do,
that is. nothing but confess it
Then her fight began-and then the
coward awoke.
Perhaps-they were not SO very big
after all-they never would be noticed.
at least. not right away. Perhaps who
ever found them after she had gone
would believe they had been there a
long. long time, and would never think
of her.
And perhaps-but it did not matter. for
she could not and she would not tell that
she had marred that pretty rug
And then she went home. and for her
the incident was closed. closed in all
but its Weakening moral effect
But. thers was a sequel in the home
that she LEFT. As the young guest had
reCkoned, the stains were not discovered
until many days had PASSED: and. as she
hoped. she never was mentioned as the
CUprit-
For the former hostess. when she found
these stains. thought OF the maid right
away. She questioned her pretty closely.
and. the girl. A bit bewildered. answered
III vague. suspicious sort of way. The
girl had not always told the truth and
though she denied all knowledge Of the
stains. there they were, gray and ugly
and somebody put them there
She left in disgrace. without a word of
recommendation. for how could any one
indoTse girl like that? And the real
Culprit, many miles away. in the merry
crowd at home. had almost forgotten
that there were any stains. and never
guessed that there might he more than
che kind.
There are heroes and there are cow
ards OF all sorts in this mixed world of
ours. and we must take the bitter with
the sweet. But We must consistently ad-
nire them en and the women who sturd-
lily shoulder their own mistakes, their
own accidents and sins. and make no at
tempt to thrust them aside or weakly
shift them to others.
the cOwardly souls whose first and whose
only thought is TO go scot free of blame
or rehuke. no matter where the conse-
QuenCes rest.
Incident wns Closed.
They are fortunate boys and girls whose
parents encourage them to Gown up"
when things go wrong, bravely to con-
fess when their hands their feet. or their
busy minds have gotten them into trou-
bic.
And they are doubly fortunate when
they are led to see that it is pitiably
cowardly to let others bear the blame for
g thing of which they alone are guilty.
For II is very easy for a baby mind,
unless it is directed Alright, to persuade
itself that any trick or any subterfuge is
right so long as il Is never discovered.
And 1t Is not so bad in the baby mind.
because not so much is expected, but
when the years. have sped away there is
The same unwillinsness to ''own up and
the same ugly tendency to run away
from mistakes, from accidents or from
guilt, let the consequences fail where
they may. For habits of mind, once
formed, are not easily broken.
One egg. two heaped tablespoonfuls Of
sugar, two tabiespoonfuls of butter, one
pint Of flour with two rounding tea