The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-14
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

I once heard a popular belle give as the reason of her popularity that she always let men talk about themselves.
 Now, 1t is a great temptation for man to talk about himself if charm ing woman shows interest and where is the male who can blame a brother if he falls for 1t.
 I am heaven-born confidant. All my life it has fallen to my lot to be the recipient of many confidences. I got my share of them as lawyer and was paid to keep them. have accumulated many as a preacher, and in spite of the fact that it is considered to be dangerous to talk to a newspaper man, still tales flow my way.
 Far be it from me who uses so freely the personal pronoun in this column to decry anyone who is on good terms with himself, for, as a matter of fact, hide
 it as you may, there is streak of ego tism which runs through us all Some folks can just "camouflage'' it better than others.
 Now, confess weary of the fellow who pours out his good points without
 let sup to a promiscuous crowd in a
 smoking car, or who is willing to give quaintance, or divulge any of his foibles, or drag out the family skeleton just to
 hear it's bones rattle.
 The vulgarian is always tiresome, but every now and then I meet a man in
 my travels who picks me as a good listener and trusts me with bit of his personal history, which flatters me by his confidence. and leaves me in a side of his nature.
 Awhile back on a rather tiresome trip when had tired of reading the dailies, found the weekles dull, and put aside a book as tame, a man sat down by me and while we had only known one an- other casually, began in natural way to talk to me about his family. I could tell that when he got to town he made a break for home.
 l I have known a man who had only one child, a boy, and to him he gave him. He had married late in lift. Books had been his solace. Then baby's arms wound themselves around his neck, and he gave to it all the tenderness which
 he had trasured in his bachelor days. It wasn't case of Domby & Son, where fathers pride in the future of his son | robbed him of the joy of loving. Now, I got new story out of the
 man on the seat next to me. His only child was girl, and he gave me her
 history. from the days of short dresses until she graduated, and came out in society. It was a touching and beautiful tale of father and daughter who were chums from the Kindergarten to the college stage.
 I It was prety to hear him tell of how his little miss passed through the doll
 stage, and then went to public school, and how one day at the age of 10 she
 had asked him if 1t was wrong to let
 boy carry her books for her. and how that aftefnoon she walked in proudly l with her little neighbor and playmate with his and her books under his arm.
 She was radiant while he was bit
 ashamed. Just leaf out of blessed child 1 |. "a ( < xuo rvv, vv,v baart l But then the night came when the
 firs- boy called on her at home. It was funny to hear him tell how he walked
 into the living room and walked all around that kid and sized him up and
 said to himself under his breath. Dog
 gone you. knew the day was coming when some lad was going to steal 2
 mart of my Title ladys6 fimen He ad-