COMMENTS OF AMERICAN WOMEN.

Evening Star, Issue 12763, 16 March 1906, Page 4

COMMENTS OF AMERICAN WOMEN.

A most curious attitude assumed by many mothers towards their children is their promise—and failure' —to award punishment of pleasure for an ill or worthy action, os the case may he. Now, in justice to the child, if the promise—or punish is made, it should he kept to the letter, for it is just as sacred a thing as the promise to award something pleasurable; and this is a fact that_ should be impressed upon the child as bearing directly upon his and the mother’s honor.—Louise D. Mitchell. There probably isn’t a single individual living who doesn’t consider himself or herself perfectly capable of picking out husbands and wives for everybody in the community, and wo all have a secret feeling, whenever we hear of a marriage that has turned out badly, that it is the result of people following their own inclinations instead of having asked our advice.—Dorothv Dix. How rarely does one see a. serene, intelligent face, a cheerful non-committal expression revealing a wholesome personality, and perhaps an intelligent use of the rest allowed to weary bodies at least during the period of getting from one place to another? Richard Grant White once said that the frown and worried expression of American women were due largely to the prevalence of high winds in this country. And to judge by the laces of many of onr women, one might think that there was never a calm day.—Anna Ogden. Do not let ns, above all else, mate the mistake of assuming that because our neighbor has made a success of a certain kind of entertainment we can do so too, unless we have the same tastes and aptitudes she possesses, and that have led to her success. If I have not some knowledge of music, it is taking a grave risk for me to give a musicale. No matter how good the talent I may secure, whether it is the talent of the amateur or .of the artist, there will be some “ slip up ” in the party. The piano will be tuned too high for the soprano’s high F, the draperies and rugs of my drawing room will he too heavy—will spoil the acoustics and interfere with the violinist’s delicate playing of sonata he has chosen—or the characters of the several selections of music given by the different performers will hinder rather than help one another and mar the general excellence of the programme as a whole. —Maud Howe. The' man or woman who waits until fortune is won to he generous in small matters remains a miser to the end of life. Generosity is a plant which does not grow in a night. It needs cultivating, guiding, and pruning. Then its flowers are beautiful—its fruit precious.—Ella Wheeler Wilcox.