Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1915-02-17

WoMAN's TALKAriVENEss. 1

y
Ida NJ. Tacbeil IN Woman's Home Com
panion.
Talkativeness is Il hallmark OF FEM
%ininity. A silent woman may be ad-
mirable, but she stirs ,lneasiness. She
is like a moor in eclipse, mysterious
and fascinating, but not for daily life.
One morning last spring | found my
self sidetracked in "A Pullman sleeper.
The train STOOD in "A lovely wooded
spot where birds sang and early flow
ers bloomed. The car WAS perfectly
silent until there am in from break
fast a late para young mother and
81 child possibly 2 years OLD.
Scarcely were they seated when the
chatterine began. 1T was the subject
matter of il which quickly caught my
ear 'Wobin, wobin.' shouted tho child
suddenly, "see see'" Yes" The
mother said. Robin. Robin What"'
"Wobin w~ed-best.' promptly said the
youngster. Sing, wobin. sing" he or
dered. whats that asked the moth
er, pointing to Il bIuebird swinging
xaily on Il limb near the car. "Ciospick.'
he replied llesitatingly. NO, bluehir'
and So il ven on. IN excited watch
ing ann rllattering over The birds that
filled The trees.
How ~ child so young could have
learned 10 distinguish form and color
in birds as this one had. how n had
acquired so lively and genuine al in
terest in them, excited my curiosity to
such Il point that I sought an inter
view.
rs he as young as he looks. and how
did you do it?' was the burden of my
questions.
Twenty months" The mother said,
land as 10 how it started, it was my
chattering To him as I tried to amuse
him with a picture book of birds. When
l saw he was trying to speak the
names, THAI he caught the colors and
forms, l led him on. Last winter ! took
him TO the natural history museum,
and found he was able TO distinguish
several of the birds in the cases. So
we've gone on. He knows II few notes.
Hes learning many words, but of
course what ! prize is the habit of OBJ
servation and OF comparison he's ac-
quiring. He is really becoming quite
an attentive child"
In this little experience is wrapped
up the chief reason why talkatiNeness
has persisted among women. One of
their thief obligations has always been
teaching The child to talk. III could only
be done by incessant repetition. going
oVer and over the names of things IN
III ms ear caught the sound, his tongue
framed it. II is not difficult to sustain
the thesis that III IT were not for the
chultering of women. the child would
never learn to talk.
But feminine talkativeness plays an
other ana almost as important as this
of teacher and preserNer of human
speech. 1t Is that of entertainer and
consoler. There is none other so ami
versal. and OH the whole so sure. of it's
mark-story telling, song singing.
sports and dancing combined have not
done more in the world to break the
dismal strain of fatigue, of pain, of
encouragement than the gay talk of
women. Here Is what l mean, picked
up in a hospital. A young woman was
facing n dangerous operation and re-
voting bitterly against the situation.
Her mother was sent for. She anne.
full of dread and anguish. Without a
sign OF what was In her own heart.
h established herself by the bed,
chattering for hours of things at home:
the amusing sayings of the new Scotch
cook. the tricks of the last puppy, the
Yes. God sent chatter. based on "a pio-
found. il instructive. sense of the ha-
man heart and it's needs: if broke the
revolt. This sort of service is part of
the daily life of women. The old
warmed and enlivened by it: the DIS
couraged forget themselves in it,; the
strenuous relax under it's influence. Ii
is n of the great consoling forces of
society. 1t lake the daily %hardshirs
and efforts of millions of people en-
durable. not for any knowledge it
shows, no for brilliance or wisdom ur
Importance. but purely as II natural cx-
preston of the devotion, the sympathy.
the affection that the chattercr feels
for another.