UNDER THE GOOD CLOAK
It is almost impossible for you to listen to unkind words, yet I want to tell you of the different methods of repelling gossip should it come to you. This kind of chatter, which isn't always evil, is, unfortunately, the beginning of that gossip which in time drifts into being malicious, and induces the speakers to think that a clever thing, even if it is bitter and sarcastic, is right and proper to say. Now, you who are bright and merry can stop this sort of talk very quickly, and the best way is by showing not only an absolute indifference to it, but by being so quiet that your stillness attracts attention; then it will soon dawn upon the talkers that your silence means scorn.
"But," says my bright girl, "suppose they are saying disagreeable things of my friend?" Then, of course, you must defend her, but be careful in your defence. Make it a quiet and reasonable one, and not an excited defence that is without argument, and which only tells how much you care for the friend against whom the disagreeable words are being said. Sometimes, more is the pity, the truth is told, but told in a hard, unkind way. Then, if I were you, I should say, "That is true, but this girl is my friend, and I, for one, would rather not hear it. Suppose we
