Afro-American courier. (Yazoo City, Miss.) 1926-19??, 1935-05-01
The Widening Circle.
BY
HATTIE LUSE,

dropped pebble into the lake and from that little
spot the water there spread circle that wdened
and wdened until it reached the other shore So bit of
riendiness dropped into the great of humanity,
may spread and grow until the circle includes the far
thest shore
What about you in your friendship circle? Do you
shut yourself to enjoy very few choice friends? Do
you get jealous if of these friends somewhere
with else? Must you be included in everything
this friend does? Do you get sulky if friend critcizes
you? Do you initiate your friend? have known people
like that Your friend may not want to narrow himself
just yourself. He may want to widen his circle
friends and he is wise if he does, and We
get much from friends and If friend enrches
our certain extent what will ten friends do for
US? Be glad for friendly criticism; profit by it. It's
pretty hard you know to tell to his face his faults
It much easier for to tell faults to some one
else than to you directly; so be glad your friend was
honest you and thought enough of you not to bera
this fault of yours another that not have known it.
And then don't initiate your friends Imitation kills
YOUR own personality. You will be but shadow, a.
Eyes man. and reflection of someone else There will
be no you" You will have lost your identity. SO be
YOURSELF and make yourself most delightful person.
Trust is the first requisite for making friend. sus-
picion kills friendship
An attitude of armed neutrality and selfassertveness
produces loneliness and barrenness.
merely strong man, however successful and cap
able, is of little account by himself.
If trust is the first requisite for making friend
faith the prime requisite for keeping The way
have friend The value of friendship is the
opportunity it affords for SERVICE and such opportunities
are neglected. is only to be expected that the gift will
be taken away from
The word friend has been used so Unfortunately
that it has almost lost distinctive meaning We have
connections and acquaintance and call them friends
Then we are often tickle We give up the old and
tried friends the The culture of friendship must
pass into the conservation of friendship if is to reach
it's goal.
The Book of Proverbs contains many comments on
friendship giving advice to whom to consort with and
whom to avoid. 1t is shrewd prudent and wise 1t is
caustic in it's satire about false friends and the way in
which friendships broken.
1.-THE rich hath many friends
every is friend to him that gveth gifts is its
statement concerning the ordinary motives of selfish
"a whisperer separateth chief friends"
The object of these terse sayings to put his
guard against the tricks and bad faith which characterzes
false friendship There book in classical literature
which exas the idea of friendship and emphasizes it's
value does the Proverbs In spite of the insight it
shows into the weaknesses of man, and in spite of its
denuncaton of the masquerade of friend
ship, the true kind is exalted in words of beauty:
Faithful are the. wounds of friend"
! Friend that sticketh closer than brother"
&c. though shrewd and critical, it does not go to ex
remes say all false and there is no truth of
faithfulness to be found.
How well remember my first day in colege-new
girls each with her friends New girls that merely
gazed at me as a new girl" That is what thought.
And then someone with winning smile and friendly
heart brought me dixie cup"-just that, dixie cup
Though frozen dessert it warmed heart tremendous
w This girl the culture of frendshpto do to and
for your friend what you would have him do to and Tor
Won What we mete out is measured to us again The
selfish man meets sefshness The hard man hardness.
The way to get is to give.
There are for each of u.s. deeper and more Won
derful experiences than have ever had IN friendship
1 with