The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-04-14
POPULAR WOHEN.
from the Saturday Review.

arc the admiration which is excited. the sympa-
thy which is given, or the pleasure that can he
bestowed. We put out OF court for our present
purpose the popularity which accom- mpanies poii-
cal power or intellectual strength, this being due
TO condition, not quality, and therefore not OF the
Sort we mean; besides, 1t belongs TO men rather
! than TO women, who seldom have any direct pow
or that can advance Others and still seldom in
| iellcctual strength enough to obtain pub ic FOL
lowing, because OF their confessed supremacy. me
! popular womenwe mean are simply those met with
| in society, women whose natural place Is the
drawingrooal and whose spherc is tho well-tresset
| world women who are cmphaically ladies, and
| who understand les c0MUe'lQ7ceS and obey them,
even if they take up cause and practice philan-
| thropy, or preach philosophy. But the popular Wo-
man rarely does take up cause, or make hcr phll-
anthrory conspicuous or her pniioSopIy andioie.
Partisanshp implies angles, and she has no an
giles. II OF the class OF the admired, SHE Is most
| popular who Is least obtrus!ve in her claims and
most ingenious in ignoring her superiority. s
pretty woman. however pretty. If affected, vain,
| or apt TO give herself airs may be admired, but Is
never popular. Tile men whom she snubS snecr
| at her in private; the women whom she eclipseS
| as well as snuba do more than sneer; those only
to whom she is gracious find her beauty thing
of joy, hut she is tlistractingly eclectic in her
| favoritism she counts as many foes rs she has
friends; and though those who dislike her cannot
call her ugly they can call her disagrecable and
| do. Ent the pretty woman who wears her beau
| ty to al appearances unc0nsciousiy, never suffer-
ing it TO he aggressive to other women nor will
| fully employing it for the destruction OF men,
| who Is gracious in manner and Of q pleasant
temper, who is frank and approacllablc, and does
not seem TO consider herself as something sacred
and set apart from the world because nature
made her lovelier than the rest-she Is the woman
| whom all unite In admiring, the popular person
| par excellence or her set
The popular pretty woman is one who. take her
| rs young wife land she must be marricd,) NON
| estly loves her husband but does not thrust her
affection into the face OF the world, and never
!ir;s with him iu public. Indeed, she tiirts with
| other men Just enough to make time pass pleas
antly. and enjoys Il rapid waltz or lively conver-
| sation Is much as when she was seventeen, and
| before she was appropriated. She does not think
it necessary TO go about morally ticketcd, nor
docs she find it necessary for her dignity or her
| virtue TO fence herself round With couneSS or In
difference to the multitude by way oil proving her
loyalty to one. Still, as IL Is notorious tnat she
| does love her husband, aud as every one knows
that they are perfectly content with each other,
and therefore not on the lookout for supplements,
| the men with whom she haa those innocent little
jokes, those transparent secrets, those animated
| good understanding, do not make mistakes,
and the very women belonging to them
| forget to be censorious, even though she
Is so much admired. She is mother, TOO,
and fond one, 50 can sympathzc with other
mothers. and eXpatiate on her nursery IN the con.
fdental chat over five o'clock tea, as all fond
mothers do and should. She Keeps well man.
aged house, and is notorious for the amount Of
needlework she gets through, and OF which SHE
| is prettily proud not being ashamed TO tell you
that the dress you admire so much was made by
|
| pattern IL she likes; while she boasts OF even
| rougher upholstery work which She and her
| naid and her sewiug-machne lave got through
| with dispatch and credit. She gives dinners with
cacet OF their own, and that have heen evilont-
| ly planned with careful thought anu study: and
she is not above her work as mistress and organi-
ger uf her household. Yet she finds time 10 Keep
abreast with the current literature OF Tie daS.
anu never has to confess TO ignorance OF tile ordi-
nary topics OF conversation She is not woman
OF extreme views about anything She has not
| signed Improper papers, and she docs no. dis
| cuss improper questions: SHE does not 20 in
| for wunlan's rights: she has :; horror OF facility
| Of divorce; aud she sets up Tor notiinT-DelnS
neither an advanced woman desirous of uSurplng
the possessions and privileges OF men, nor Girl
Scda who thinks lcr proper place Is at the leet ol
men, to take their kicks with patience and their
carcsSes with gratitude, ms Is becoming In an in
feriOr creature. She does not dabbc In politics,
and though she likes TO make her dinners success
ful and her evenings brilliant. she by no means
assumes to hc leader of fashion, or to impose
laws on her circle. She likes to he admired, and
she is always ready 10 let herself be loved: she Is
always ready. too, to do any good work that
colnes In her way ana she hnas tme lGr Inc care
she makes no parade, just rs she hnuS tllnc lnr
her nursery and her needlework. And, truln 10
lell, SHE enjoys these quiet hours with only ner
children TO love her, aud her poor pensioners to
admire her. quite as much rs she enjoys the bril-
liant receptions where she Is among the most pop
ular and the most beautiful. Her nature Is gentle
her affections large, her passions small; she may
have prejulices, but they are lady.llSe preJndceS
Of mild kind, mainly on the side o1 m0lesty anu
tenderness and the qnietIde OF womanhood. She
IS woman throughout, without the Iaiutest dash
Of the masculine element IN mild or manners
and she aspires to nothing else She carries with
her an atmosphere OF happiness, OF content, o
spiritual completeness, or purity which IS not
prudery; her life Is filled with variety OF inter.
csts, consequently she is never teevlSll through
munotony. nor yet, OH the other hanh, Is she eN-
cited. hurried. storm driven, as those who give
themselves up to "objects," and perfect nothing
off, ,nf %
because she Is beautiful without being vain, low.
ing without being sentimental; happy In herself,
vel not indifferent to others. because she under
stands Ter drawing room duties aS wei! as her
nursery Ones andl knows how TO combine domcs-
iicity with sncal spend0r This Is the best type
OF the popular pretty woman 10 whom Is given
adn raiion. and against whom no ore ms stone
10 ming or slInder TO whisper; and this IS iie
ideal woman OF the English upper class home, OF
which. thank heaven. we still raise few speci.
mems. just Ia show what women may be if they
like, and what sweet an:l lovely creatures they
are when they are content TO bc as nature de-
signed them.
Another Kind of popular woman is the sympa
tlletic woinan-the woman who gives Instead Of
receiving. This kind Is Of variable conditions.
She may he old, she may be ugly; In fact, she is
more often both than neither, but she Is unvcr.
sal favoritc Notwithstanding, anu no woman Is
more sough. after or lest wearicd oi although
none can say why they like her. She may be
married, but generally she Is either widow or
IN old maid: as II a wife. her Symp1lhes Tor
tltnGS ABROAD SUulcN IiaI
hy the pressure Of the home life and her sympa-
tics are her Claim to popularity She Is sincere
too rs wei. as sympathetic and she is safe. She
holds The secrets, both OF opinion and decd OF all
her friends, but one suspects that any one has
cnufdcd secrets TO her before himself. She has
the art or rather the charm. OF perpetual spirit
;ial freshness and all her friends think In
turn that the fountain has been unscaled |
now for the first time. This is NOT art |
llce i, Is simply the property Of The !
deep and ineXhaustible sympathy. II Is not ne |
cesSary that she should he q wise adviser to be !
popular. Her province Is TO listen and TO sympa- |
thiZr TO gather The sorrows and the joys OF 9th |
ers uto her own breast. so as SOFTEN by sharing
or hcighten hy redupliatIon. Most frequently, |
too she is not over rigid in her notions or moral |
prudence, and will let lovc-sick girl talk OF her ]
lover even II the affair Is hopeless and has been |
forbidden. Willie she will ao her best to so9the |
the man who has had the misfortune to get craZed
about his friends wife, She has been even |
known, under pressure, to convey message or !
a hint; and OF the TWO she Is decidedly more !
pitiful to sorrow than severe TO wrong doing. |
She is In at all the msforunes and maladies OF |
her friends. No death takes place without her
bearing part OF the mourning on her own sou
but then no marriage is considered complete III
which she has not share. She Is called
10 help wherever there IS work to be
done, if she Is Of the practical type;
only OF the mental. she has merely to give up
her own pleasures and her time. that she may
look on ami symEathZe. Every one likes her. every
si.r mn ~ iAnl IN