The Pleasantville press., 1914-02-21

heF pTlue Is really llJuTeu uoTe tHdu
her love. This pride kills real SYM
pathy, for sympathy seeks to see a
subject from the others viewpoint,
lovingly to interpret it as it may seem
to the other as well as to oneself.
Then through this clear, double knowl-
edge the wisdom of the wisest course
may come, but false pride stolidly and
stubbornly sees everything only from
its own point of vision.
All misunderstanding between hus-
band and wife should be met in the
very beginning and never allowed
merely to work themselves out 1t is
a cowardly recklessness, the don't
care" spirit of false pride. that urges
or permits this easy going philosophy.
Were a fire to be discovered in the
home, If it were only the tiniest flame.
beginning its devastation of curtains
and furniture. we would not say, Let
1t burn itself out" Our instant. in
stinctive action would be to stifie it. to
kill it at any cost But too often do
we let the fire of discord and of mis-
understanding feed ON our finest emo
tions. burn away love, confidence.
sweetness. truth. trust. sympathy-all
that is dearest to us-while we stand
by, blindly nursing our pride. our petty
sense of dignity.
We stand in the center of the stage
of our self esteem. We will not be the
first to speak, we will not be the first
to sue for peace. the first to make up.
We dare to permit this pride to wreck
our happiness as though any honest
pride could be too much to pay to Sc
cure it or to preserve it. 1t is always
the larger nature that is first to sur
render. Pride that beggars the happi-
ness of two is dearly bought by the
petty satisfaction of not being the first
to bring the joy of reconciliation to the
hearts of both. who need each other
Pride too, has a subtle way of put
ting confidence into cold storage that
often kills it. Mutual interchange of
condolences between husband and wife
should be fresh, spontaneous and ever
living. Some people bind confidence
with bandages of egotism and conceit
and adulterated vanity till it can no
more move nor breathe than a mummy
of the time of Rameses could escape
from its spiced wrappers This means
death. not life.
Sometimes the husband. putting on
his full armor of pride, says to him
self, There is a subject that If she
had the proper regard for me she
would speak of it to me-" and she,
drawing closer to her the perfumed
mantle of her dignity, says. "1f he
were interested in me at all he would
surely ask" When in this foolish con-
flict of prides there is danger that
Cupid if he do his duty will drag conf
dence away off into the silence and
wait till they come to their senses
again. Two negatives may make an
affirmative, but two silences do not
make speech. When pride gets into
this delicate condition. where it is con-
stantly fearing a draft, it should be
taken seriously in hand and gently but
firmly chloroformed into oblivion.
Why, even in the garden of Eden.
where the first married couple resided
in beautiful place where they lived
absolutely rent free and they had no
were making a name for themselves
and winning Immortality in literature
as the first tenants, the pride of both
led to disaster. And pride has been
coming between love and happiness in
this world of ours ever since that day.
There are little riffs in the lutte of
happiness in married life that. unnoted
or uncorrected. widen with the months
and years until the music of love,
sweetness. tenderness and comrade-
ship becomes mute. So little might
have saved the situation in the begin
ningi There are trifiing differences and
discords that few moments of listen
ing. few moments of kindly wisdom,
conference and explanation. might set
right. But foolish pride may deter and
a heart is wounded: unrest. vague mis-
understanding chafing protest and
blighting suspicion dethrone conf
dence, and said growing apart may
darken the years.
When a business firm is passing
deep financial waters. when there are
trouble and discord in pulling through
crisis and dissolution of the firm
seems tremblingly near. it seeks to
keep the inharmony secret even from
employees who may perhaps mad
vertently reveal it and precipitate a
crash. Husband and wife are often
not so careful nor so prudent in safe
guarding the sanctity of home condi-
tions as they should be and often be-
tray the impending insolvency Of the
home firm in weak condolences.
The darker the situation the more 1t
demands the strongest light of wisdom
to illumine it. The more nearly snap
ping is the tie between husband and
wife the more insistent is the neces-
sity that they should stand together.
Reputation needs most protection at its
weakest point.
There are times in business. as all