Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-12-26

I get a great many letters from women who qo Write :, that hath there rel is = darn
tam a ON men TEL br9T5r ose not In t 1s r ere5t9 Of 't their 81 sin' Van n turned s0 fssa
upon it and laid hold upon righteousness
who was her partner in wrongdoing Sometimes a LAY q woman pm who had mixed
and had the courage to build anew her life in some place where her early
Then love comes to these women. Good men offer them
9 %a5F thS ask 81 i s. shS Sn0t tay td 1't tse @ n e the stories 81 Of Their Sd
ias before tbav marry them. Or bury their secrets In their
hearts msT p0 and l eyy t H%T matter t@% or It the Knees of the gods7
That is a problem that no human wisdom can, solve. for, 50 far 4
the woman is concerned e% 1t lsa cqe nb whr s u w wnpe amn nine SIS l sms
misery-through opening up her skeleton M. closet sst and ,s exhibiting amn its its con- 2.
odds for happiness slightly in favor of keeping the lid camped down 9
The question of right does not enter into the matter un-
less! ssau you Sr institute thdn cal a en- mn on momep T Tn rs w W mo- ~ nor e
reason why a woman should tell a man man every ae ttna e OF hm
suayed off of the straight an d narrow patti.
It is true that a couple who knew the worst of each other would s :
nobody %y" claim that it would make for their felicity. Q r increase the
would S1 ss ,9s s ssasSs5Si the ls TGal ID e esss i sT; ;ss ssssg. s sSs ,b 5'P; %ssls 5 ss
6oaid n 1to os s1isS a and n st that t' would q forever Son@s s%i b@voen I'll ths s%T - =
Men have had the wisdom to perceive this n They g realize lie
h t That = w %o% n d dosSR fno EaG she dV %orr{es n herself nSf % out DEATH ea1
over and s. few men r foolish enough st to fur furnish nhts a wife WIZ
can torture herself and them.
They draw a discreet veil yer episodes that are best forgotten, any
bachelor days. my = 'ANaAs
No r mssssy ss. yo sse s s5s ss9a p Ell spS sss ,s to let t i &c sat-. ss t9 s.s
every time she thinks of them, and that eat like a canker in aH.
1t is only when the case is reversed. and when it is the wonaa
y , has a S%t tbi %pon to ht fu p the m aaa' w n wants oaa to marry M T Is her ere about bout it. -
OF course, the woman Is bound in this by the double code of mora a.
which make n standard for the woman and another for the man, a
that, humorously enough, makes a husband feel that he as been exec
ingly il-used IL he discovers tina t his wife has a past that mater
his own. M
Therefore, because she is afraid that in future years her husband NJ
sheer relief IF sharing her burden with another, the woman nearly a1w
tells everything tic the la before marriage.
Sometimes it drives him from her. Sometimes he loves J.
her enough to marry her, in spite of her revelations.
But, while he forgives, he never forgets. Always he is
haunted by the memories of what she has revealed. He never l.
trusts her, never wholly believes in her, and he has to be a
bigger-souled Ia THAI most men re If he does not reproach r
her with her past, and use it a $ a whip of scorpions to scourge
her with when he lis angry with her.
OF course, when either a r. a womans past life ha-jn It Sc
sinister curse that reaches out and lays a hand on the future o. 40
he o II she marres, he II she is bound in honor to tell the other onEa lot
lit. ~
But when there is nothing of this kind, nothing but q H.
youthful folly, q mistake, a blunder in the dark, bitterly e.
for both men and women to forge post-mortems, and to wash M
the slmec clear and make n freshs start. III
What they have done does not matter s. o much s what they n gdbi
to do. And it often happens that just Because a man or woman YIN
stumbled in the past they walk the carefully among the pitfalitf
life, and that ut of the sorrows and repentance fr their sins they flh
brought n tenderness, a compassion, a forbearance and an understant#t
that makes them better men and women than the vast majority of tho
who have lived blameless lives. H
Confession is always weakness. The brave soul keeps IL
its own secrets, and takes its W punishment in silence. 1t N
takes a strong man or woman to keep from blabbing, but 1t y
pays never to tell anything that you do not wish the world
TO know, DOROTHY DIX. vi
Copyright 1898 by Public Ledger Company