The Black Swans 



based is just this: The last one leaves 

 off just as the first one began, or rather 

 I should say, reverses the proceeding, 

 gradually dropping the "didn't," thus 

 abandoning the denial and lapsing at 

 last into enforced acquiescence. Now 

 it is a commonly accepted statement 

 that females are much harsher in their 

 judgments of one another than males. 

 Where one of their own sex has been 

 accused of any misconduct they show 

 little mercy. They are even sometimes 

 accused of being "catty," one with the 

 other. There are of course exceptions 

 to this as well as to all other rules, but 

 in the main they are not naturally 

 inclined to be specially charitable to 

 one another in cases involving alleged 

 violations of the conventionalities. 

 Especially is this apt to be the case if 

 the one sitting in judgment happens to 

 be old enough to concede without 

 debate the probable error of the ways 

 of those who have perhaps not yet 

 altogether settled down. So getting 



[70] 



