Feminine Interests

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 862, 4 January 1930, Page 19

Feminine Interests

BETWEEN FRIENDS ,

Thera are many ways ot belittling another person besides the obvious wa y, the too-obvious way, of direct adverse criticism. We are familiar *ith the method of adroit overcommendation of a part so that the value of the whole as a whole may be minimised. A jealous woman will • say over and over again how much she admires the beautiful eyes ot another woman. You may think at first how generous the speaker is, till Yit last it dawns on you uncomfortably that she is saying, in effect, that of course, apart from the eyes, the face Is nothing. Sincerity and Simplicity are Rare The woman who is not clever, and who is not content to be sincere and simple (though sincerity and simplicity are more rare than cleverness) will talk in this strain. "Of course, I'm not bra.iny, my dear, oh, not a bit; there is nothing highbrow about me. I'm afraid I’m quite ordinary, just a simple person. I’m always rather shy of clearer people. They have such sirs, don’t you think? And, after all, people who are not clever are much easier to get on with. Everyone admits that. And they're more natural, more like wild flowers. Those highly cultivated blooms never have any scent.” Nothing can disturb complacency such as this. The unfortunate clever person, with quick wits and powers of criticism, including self-criticism, becomes infuriated, says something rude, and proves once more to all the dull and self-satisfied In the world that "clever people are hard to get on with.” People who do not mean to take the trouble to be any nicer than they

are say,, “Well, I don't set out to be good; nothing of the stained-glass window saint about me. Perhaps I don’t bother myself much about suffering which I don't see and can’t hel/p. Perhaps I am rather lazy and ser'if-indulgent. But there, I don’t pre- j tond to be better than I am,” The \ /saint, if there happens to be one j

around, looks at the speaker with grave, kind eyes, and, quite without bias of any sort, is sorry that poor old humanity tangles itself up in such little, unnecessary meannesses. Betj ter to be a brave wrong-doer who gets j on with his bad work, and makes no j comment on other people's virtues, than to be a tolerably well-behaved j coward who is for ever belittling 1 others to excuse himself.