THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 37, 9 March 1909, Page 4

THE WOMAN'S WORLD.

U*y "Jjyp»") INTOLERANCE. Of all the phases of t'he human mind that are among the most painful to wituess, I think intolerance i w one of the tiiidde.sl, especially sad, because it brings bitterness, and sipTle, and evil-speaking in its train. It always astonishes me when anyone writes a book which is what boys call "dead against" anything. T-o attack virulently a new form of thought, whether mc.relv a new kind of diet, or a. new form of government, or a new and more enlightened form of religious belief, usually argues that the person w'ho attacks it has not studied his subject excepting superficially. Truly, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and it is only after much experience, and trial, and patient aud loving sifting. of facts that \vo should condemn, and even then it is better to disagree without condemning. A REMINISCENCE. Who are we, to ami ourselves up to decry milliners, and systems, and situations, and motives? The somewhat phurisuieal failing of intolerance is one which we should try and speedily cure ourselves of at alPiflosts, for it is eo absolutely the antithesis of the teaching oi I lie greatest of all teachers, 1 remember once, when i went to sing to some poor •'incurable-" in a home, being taken to task In Lady Superior for singing patients 100 frivolous a song. She said it was not suitable to people who were preparing for Heaven. My reply, given, I hope, with deference to a woman whose motives and intentions were high and noble, according to her lights, was, that 1 had always been under the impression we .were all preparing for Heaven, and, therefore, what suited me must also suit t'hem. Think of the pitiful intolerance of condemning a gay little comic song—a harmless creation of Corner Grain's—to the poor weary sufferers who were doomed to be deprived of the very few joys of life that were left them. Intolerant people sometimes say, "I like to see a thing before I believe it." This always sets me wondering how they would have grasped the idea of the Marconi telegram if it had been in a far country and they had only been told of it: also how they themselves would set to work to explain to a wooliy-'headied nigger that there is reallv such a thing as snow. ' A QUESTION OF INCOME. The oilier day 1 heard some people discussing how much is a sulHcient income. One girl said she would be quite content with a thousand a year, while a third only wanted the modest sum of ten thousand a. year. The discussion reminded me of a fairy-tale I read when a child, A certain fisherman and his wife became possessed of a powerful geni, and t'hey commanded him to give them a nice clean cottage hi place of their hut. llappv and contented they rested for a few weeks, when the wifeit was always the "woman who tempted mc" in the old-fashioned story—came home to her husband and said she was tired of a cottage, and wanted a house. The hoiwsc was immediately supplied by the geni. and they were invisibly transported to it, and felt (happy once more; but only a short time elapsed before the woman'called' for the geni and begged h?m to give her a nioiic stately mansion, and i'roui there she very soon moved to a jiulace. Swept onward by the cruel task-masters of her own creation, greed and averice, and by love of show, she then thought she would like to be greater than the greatest on earth, and wished to refgn not only over all, but over tihc sun, and the moon, and the stars as well. "Give me supreme command of this, and of all other worlds, geni," she cried, "for then, and then only, shall I be satisfied." The geni waved his hand towards her, and, as he waved, he faded away from licr sight for ever, aud, lo! and behold, the palace and its gorgeous surroundings faded, too, and once more she and her husband found themselves onc« more fitting in their litt-lp poverty-stricken hut. CONTENT. It is a curious fact, but I think, as we grow older, wc most of us realise that our wants grow fewer, and the things that give us a-eal and actual pleasures aro not the. costly things of life. I never denv the joys of possessing enough nor the infmiUible'joy of befog able to help others; the only question is what wc each individually consider enough, and I maintain that, as we grow older, the figure is less high at which we place our ideas oi financial happiness. One of the persons taking part in the little discussion I lnoard said, "For my part. I like what 1 cwW comfortable poverty., like me and .lim," she added ungrammatically. ''We have plenty to eat aud drink, and wc cannot afford heaps of things we want, and we take great pleasure in expecting the things we can't yet afford, and, moreover," she added, '•thank goodness we can't afford to keep servant a!"—and there I was with her with all mv heart. AS OTHERS SEE US.

What should we think if we only knew other people's opinions about ourselves-? —sometimes we might be pleased, for we all have a great many friends of whoso existence we are wholly unaware. and, sometimes, ah: I stop appalled! before that little possibility, for I never eciio Robert Rums 5 wish that some power would ''the giftie gic us. M Although sometimes I do not doubt we should neither be hurt nor pleased, but only, perhaps, considerably astonished. This preamble leads me to a little story 1 read the other day. of a certain tradesman, who is a well-known caterer to Royalty, and who was once sent for in the time of the late Queen, to Buckingham Palace. He had never spoken to Her Majesty befo're, and, on. telling a friend about his expedition, he was "overheard lo say. witfl/i the greatest warmth, and even enthusiasm, "The

Princess received me with the greatest kindness, and we went through all the arrangements together, and she was very kind and affable to me; but, a-s to the Queen—well, you can take my word for it_. my dear fellow—the Queen—well —she's- a perfect lady!"

It is very difficult to understand the vice of and almost impossible to fathom its depths. A doctor told inc not long ago that a woman, whom lie had attended during a lonsr and serious illness at an expensive hotel, brought his account ta his consulting-room and told him she had not really been able to afford to? ft lay there, but was too ill to be moved, jjnd was really almost without means to pay her hotel bill and expenses, much less bis account, lie kindly offered not only to wait for the money, but to tak** far less; this was natural, doctors being notoriously kind and generous. The lady, wiho looked unusually plump now that she was up and dressed, seemed very pleased, and thanked him effusively. As si be was putting on her glove, a moment later, she dropped it. and* before the doctor had time to rise. o stooped, aad as she did so two hook* of her apparel gave way with a loud report, and ft small bag full of notes and looso gold fell to the door, the sovereigns roiling in every direction. The doctor, I am glad to say, Jold me lio insisted titan and there on being paid in full.