The Washington herald., 1920-12-27
Life isn't 80 easy that any Of us g,
around hunting for thorns.

around hunting for thorns.
There's Miss B. A lonely, hungry
hearted old maid. alienated from
her family, without a friend in the
world. She was a beautiful girl
in her youth, uncommonly clever
and well educated, a member of a
big and kindly family circle. There
was no reason that she should not
have married and had tender and
affectionate ties with friends, and
kindred.
But Miss B had a witty and sar-
castle tongue. and she could never
resist using It, no matter whether
1t stabbed love to death or not.
She made all about her the butt of
her jokes. She turned her nearest
and her dearest into figures of fun
by her ridicule. and before she real
lied 1t, they had dropped away from
her.
Men were afraid Of her. Women
hated her for her cat claws. Her
own relatives dreaded her society
as they would being vivisected.
Nobody invited her to their parties
because she was the drop Of gall in
the bottom Of every cup.
And there are the C's, a splendid
man and woman, so far as charac-
ter goes. Both with the highest
moral principles, and deeply in love
with each other when they married.
They have health, wealth. beautiful
children, lovely house, everything
that should make marriage a sue
cess. But their home is a perpet-
ual storm center. It Is full of
strife, and pickering. and crimina-
ffnnQ
place that one would fee from as
from purgatory itself. The husband
and wife are beginning to hate
each other. The children never
come home as long as they can
stay anywhere. else.
And the whole trouble is that both
the man and the woman ara vic.
tins OF the arguing habit. Taey
have to go to the mat on eyery
subject, from politics to pie, and
night 1t out to the bitter end Neither
one will ever give in. Neither one
will ever use any tact in dealing
with the other. Neither one ever con-
ciliates the other. and the result ia
that they are running each others
lives, and turning a home hat
should be heaven into a hell.
VI course we all enjoy expressing
our opinions, but there are a grea.
many times when the pleasure you
get out OF 1t isn't worth the prise,
Not only is 1t true that silence is
golden, but upon occasion dumbness
pays the biggest dividends of any,
thing in which we can possibly IN
vest.
Suppose your employer has made
blunder. Think what you please
about it, but keep your thoughts 20
yourself. He Is probably as sore
as boil over his stupidity, and you
won't endear yourself to him by
rubbing 1t in.
Suppose the evil you have propne-
sled does come true. Don't mention
it. OF all the people in the world
we hate the chief among them are
the I-told-you-so's.
Suppose you have the gift of say
ing sharp and funny things. Don't
use it. A laugh is poor pay for the
loss Of friend, and many a woman
cuts the throat of Dan Cupid with
her tongue. People will forgive any
other wrong we do them quicker
than they will being made ridicu-
lous. Laugh with people and they
will love you. Laugh at them and
they will hate you.
y Suppose the members of your fam
lily have their little weaknesses and
faults. Suppose your wife is grow
ing fat, and your husband bald
headed. Suppose Mary's dress Is un-
becoming, and John has no taste
in neckties Just keep silent about
their little eccentricities. The reason
most of US do not enjoy the society
OF our families is because they are
the only people on earth who re-
mind US continually of what poor,
weak. miserable creatures we are,
A little judicious silence would go
farther than anything else in oifing
the wheels of domestic life.
And why not eliminate argument
from the family circle? Let each
individual hold his or her own opin-
ion. You can reserve the same right
for yourself. Don't say the thing
that Is as good to start a domestic
fight as nickle is for a gingercake,
and you will find that the dove Of
peace has taken up its abiding place
on your hearthstone.
Believe me that the things we are
gladdest of afterwards are the
things we might have said and
didn't say.