The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1868-08-05
The Art OF Afectation.

There is a certain like kind OF
> afectation very common among
pretty women !; and. this is the
affeetation- of mot knowing that
they are pretty, and not recogni-
sing the effect of their beauty on
men. Take, a woman with be-
wildering eyes, say, of a madden,
ing size and shape, and fringed
with long lashes that distract you
to hook at !; the creature knows
that her eyes are bswilderiug, as
well as she knows that fire burns
and that ice melts ;she knows the
effect of that trick she has with
them-the sudden uplifting Of the
heavy lid, and the swift, fall gaze.
that she givesright, into a mans
eyes. She has practiced it often
in the glass, and knows to a math-
ematical nicely the exact height
to which q lid must be raised, and
The exact fxity of the gaze. She
knows the whole meaning Of the
look, and stirring of mems blood
that it creates ; bat,if you speak
to her of the effect Of her trick, she
puts on an air of the EXTREMIST
innocence, and protests her entire
ignorance as to anything her eyes
may say or mean and if you
press her hard size will look at
you in the same way for her own
benefit and deny at the. very
moment of offence. Various other
tricks has she with those bewilder-
ing eyes of hers-each more peril
Gus than the other to mems peace; !;
sad all unspariagly employed, NO
matter what the result: For this
is the woman who fiirts to her
extreme limits, then suddenly
draws up and says she meant no.
thing. Step by step she has led
yoa on, with looks and smiles,
and pretty phrases susceptible Of
swo meanings, the one for the
ear by the mere word, the other
for the heart by. the accomplish
nnents of look and manner which
sze intangible stepby step she
has drawn you deeper and deeper
into the maze where she has goue
before as your decoy , when She
hssyen safe she raises her eyes,
for she. last time, complains that
you have mistaken her cruelty,
and that she has meant nothing
more than any one; else might
mean and what can she do to re,
pair her mistake? Love you ?
marry your No;she is engaged
TO your rival, who counts his
thousands to your hundreds !; and
what a pity that YOU had pot seem
this all along, and that You sheuld
have so misunderstood her? Be
sides, what is there about her that
you or any one should love? OF
ell the many affsctations ofwomen,
this afectatien of their own heart
lesshess when beautiful, aadz of
their innocence Of design when
they pratice their arts for the dis
comforture of men, is the. most
dangerous and the most disastrous.
But what can one say to them?
The very fact that they are dang.
erous disarms a mans anger and
blinds his perception until:too late:
That men love though they Suffer
is wcman's triumph, guilt. aad
condemnation and so long as the
trick sueeeedsit it will be ,praetieed.;
Another aEectation 7of. the same
family is the extreme friendliness
aud famiiarity:whieh some women
adopt in their manners toward
men. Young girls affect an al
most maternal tone to, boys ~'of
their own age, one year or SO old
er; and they, too, when their
elders demonstrate, declare they
mean nothing, and how hard it is
they may not be natural: This:
form of affectation, once begun,
continues throughout life, being
too convenient to be lightly dis
earded; and youthful -matrons
not long out of their teens assume
y tone and way that would about
beit middle age counselling giddy
youth, and that might by chance
be dangerous even then if the "In-