Evening star., 1943-05-24

lOl 1lclp WAS lily uuSOauQ s OeSI
friend, bachelor who lives IL miles
from where I do. AS soon as he
heard was sick he came and did
everything he could to try to locate
nurse, or woman to come in and
at least cook us something to eat.
When none could be found, he sug-
gested that he come and stay in the
house for few weeks. "At least"
he said, Il can get up in the morn
ing and see that you and junior get
some breakfast. And I can shovel
coal and pick up the laundry. In
the evenings can take junior to the
tea room and see that he has a good
dinner and bring back something
for you to eat. And II you feel
badly during the night, I will be
available to call the doctor, but
can't do it from the other side of
town as both time and my gasoline
allotment will prohibit It,"
Well. my old fear OF Nine. Grundy
made me say no" and the next two
weeks were nightmare. Both my
child and I were not properly fed,
the house was neglected, three times
the fire went out, the nights we're
hideous and I often wondered If I
would be alive in the morning. But
we got through somehow, and yes
terday had a letter from my hus-
band. who had been in the thick Of
the Pacific battle, and he bitterly
denOunces Bill.
He was my best friend since
school days." he said, "and the last
thing he did when I left town was
to promise to keep an eye on you,
yet now when trouble really comes
he fails me completely"
OF course I had already written
my husband telling him that Bill
had been ready and willing to help
and that I had kept him from doing
it because of my fear of gossip. But
what I am wondering is was 1t worth
while to sacrifice so much comfort
and really risk my life for the sake
of what the Joneses and the Smiths
and all the other neighbors might
have said about a situation that
would have been perfectly innocent?
DOUBTTNG THOMASINA.
Answer: In my opinion you did
exactly the right thing in preserv-
ing appearances. 1t isn't enough for
woman to just be good. She has
to look good to all who observe her
conduct. BE thou chaste as ice. as
pure as snow, thou shalt not escape
calumny' If you put yourself in an
equivocal position, for there are al
ways evil-minded people about who
delight In smearing others, and who
read deep. dark villainy into any
act to which they can possibly give
a sinister twist because gossip, to be
interesting, has to be highly flaw
ored, and the hotter 1t is the better
they like it.
OF course, If you could have called
your friends and neighbors in and
had them feel your pulse and see
how sick you were, and If they had
heard your 6-year-old child crying
for food that you could not give him,
and If you had gone the rounds try
ing in vain to find nurse or a maid,
then they would have seen that 1t
was the most innocent and logical
thing in the world for Bill to come
to your aid and take command of
the situation, and that he was a
ministering angel instead of a Casa
nova bent on breaking up his friends
home.
But the gossips didn't come near
you for fear of catching the flu.
They did not know the desperate sit
uation In which you were placed.
All that they could see and know
was that there was a good looking
bachelor who had come to stay in
the house when you were practically
alone. and they argued that he must
be in love with you, or else he
wouldn't put himself to so much
trouble, men notoriously being al
lergic to sick rooms and sick people
And the tongues would have wagged
And III tell you this for your COM
fort: No matter how your husband
RACES against your folly in not hav-
ing good old Bill come and take care
Of you, in his heart he is shouting
jubilees over what you did, because
now what he calls your folly has
made him know beyond all perad-
venture that you've got principles
that you will live by and that you
would die for, and that your loyalty
and discretion are something that he
can trust.