The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1874-06-13

NJ
pointment at not being lord and master
Of tbe "barls and towsrs' as at being
met with ga vacant stare :" and there
fore we are not quite satisfied that il
was the Irritation alonethat induced the
youth to put an end to what, under
! more favorable circumstances, might
have been a useful career. And so the
moral of the tale is lostin obscurity, OF
at least is doubtful. For if young
Laurence, after all, as is quite posi-
BILE, only sought Lady Clara for her
wealth. we cannot. hsl- feel that the
" simple yoeman," Tkl took upon him
self to rebake her iallyship SO scorn-
fully, indulged il &.deserved iDvee-
/ tive Besides, might not this same
simple yoeman" .hayfbeen somewhat
eonceited, or at least fsty, in presum-
ing that Lady Clara kssendeavoring to
get up firtation-wfe % {? Even the
-es,.sr-,le:a riesr I s-ssysssck q .sufs II
rounds the nature ofthe firt.
DIR. Johnson dednes a firt " pert
hussy," and very likely this is the defn
ition which would be selected by Mrs.
| Proper, and middle-aged ladies of her
way of thinking, as correctly describing
young ladies whose conduct they chose
/ TO qualify as forward" and who in
/ the result have the advantage over the
/ Misses Proper in the matter of matri-
mOnlal alliances. Butmen generally have
a very different notion of q flirt, aud
/ frequently the girl who is called tilrt
| in the smoking-rO9m would never he
/ suspected of any such propensities by
matronly gossips at FIVE o'clock tea.
No; the laughing, lively, talkative, and
1 perhars somewhat boisterOus girl,
whose animal spirits and innocent be-
liefs and delights stir the bile of dowa-
ayers whose youth has gone forever,
and possibly pinch themselves for not
having enjoyed it more while it was
theirs to enjoy, are never regarded by
the males as " dangerous characters. 3"
1t is only the very, very young man
who does not know when girlish spirits
are natural and when they are forced,
and who cannot distinguish between the
allurements of the experienced siren and
the natural fascinations of the light
hearted vestal-between Venus sand Di-
ana. The fatal hirt, who alone is to be
dreaded, does not attempt to assume
the artlessness of blossoming girlhood.
On the contrary, she assumes the expe-
rieEce OF tried woman who knows
something of the sins and sorrows Of
life. How much or how little she
knows she carefully wells in siehs and
mournful looks. Vanity she possesses
in an inordinate degree, but she hides
it unscrupulously beneath an appearance
of astonishment when her victim first
gives her to understand that he likes
her rather better than her sisters
Whist is there about her, she asks with
admirably feigned simplicity, that any
body should take such a fancy to her {?
Oh, no he must be mistaken or,
worse, he is endeavOring to deceive her,
and that is not kind For she has suf-
fered-ah, yes ! she has suffered. She
has learned, to her cost, that man is
dreadfuliy selfish, and is ii possible that
any man can be an exception to the
rule And so, with soft voice and ex-
pressive eyes, slV adds another fool to
her long list. She possesses more
worldly wisdom thao IS7y Clara. and
she wants TO be on Is the new one IS
coming on. She is ehyer at contriving
quarrels, but she is especially careful
not to put herself IN the wrong She
/ plays the sad and disappointed role, and
/ tears are in her eyes IS she gently says,
| "I think it better for beth that we
/ should forget all thathas passed +: but, "
/ she addstenderly, "let us part friends. ?"
/ She has certainly the wisdom of the
/ serpent, if nature has denied her the in
/ nocence of the dove Her heart is,
doubtless, a passionate one, but a very
/ little satisfies it, and she never let's it
/ get the better of her bead. She has
/ quite made up her mind to marry COM
/ Portable, and she is very careful never
/ to go too far in the experiments she
makes. However checkered her ball
room career, she never loses sight of
/ the wedding breakfass and the marriage
/ settlements. The motives of her pre-
nnptial conduct are to be found in a
/ restless vanity. Her one great delight
! is to believe that somebody is in love
with her. She is never SO happy as
/ when she has reason to think that some
man or other is fool enough TO prowl
/ about the house where she lives and id
/ iOtically stare at a bedroom window
! which he thinks is hers. To draw men
/ away from other women is her great
/ triumph, and she is in her glory when
/ partners eagerly vie with each other III
| claiming her for waltz and gallop. She
reads and re-reads with swelling pride
the warm letters dictated by passion she
knows to be hopeless, and her replies
would excite the admiration Of a veteran
| diplomatist. Occasionally she catches
a Tartar-a male firt as cunning as her
/ self, but her instinct and her tact are
/ quicker and superior, and she rarely
! falls into the snare that she has laid for
! others. Eventually she marries well
| and makes an excellent wife, though she
| is apt to look uncommonly keen after
! her husband. She denounces firts wit b
an irrepressible energy, and her daugh-
ters grow up models of circumspect be-
| havior. How far such a character is to
be congratulated on its success, or how
far it is to be pitied for its littleness or
condemned for its contemplate selfish
ness, have no desire to- say.
"But this won't do" I hear some
fair reader exclaim. ''The fault of
flirting does not rest with us alone.
Don't gentlemen sssr firt, if you
All Mademoise1le, That is lust the
one point in which we find it impossible
to criticise one another. We can pass
our opinions freely upon our friends
horses, his tailor, his social qualities,
his stvle of living, his intellectual ca
pacities, his temper, his income, his
debts-and we can praise or blame
| DFettV ReHeIdlig DO Jul lhCllAdtlOu OF
our reason may dictate; but / assure
you we are giftel with extreme reti
cence if any youDgster amongst us ven
lures to remark upon Asterisk's sup
posed successes among women. Aste
risk never mentions such things himsel
in mems society, or if he does it is will
a sigh and respectful stroke of hi
moustache. Nobody would think o
calling him a ladies man, or chatting
him about any girl he thought fit t,
dance with several times at same ball
We have shrewd suspicious that Aste
risks affectionate nature but rowing dis
nosition has caused more than on
bright eve to grow dim, and more thai
one heart to palpitate IN disorder.
manner and we have heard stern man
mas. who were very polite to him whe
thew first knew him-for our friend ha
considerable expectations-speak stern
ly of him and call him a dangerou
nan and cluck to their chickens t
come under their wings when he
obroad in the ballroom But we neve
think of calling him fiirt. And if W
nIainer and less interesting people env
In q certain way his successes, We neve
faeI m i onv malice towards him, for he ha
y remaTkable knack of keeping clear c
iealousies. and is scrupulous abou
noachipg on other peoples preserves
kt least so we agree in the smoking
-, - -, we talk abont him. Tru.