The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1881-08-06
The Cushing Girl.

pretty playthings of Spain and Italy; in
the refined and intellectual young girl
of France, or In her sister who has too
much chic to gush; in the German
Fraulein, whose life, if it is not in the
kitchen of her future husband, is on
the road to it; in any of the Oriental
or tropical countries, where women do
but vegetate. I'VE lind her solely among
the English speaking people, who allow
their maidens freedom which they
now and then improve by cultivating
all sorts of innocent ardors, till at last
they can get up rapture for nothing
at all, and show US the gushing girl in
perfection.
This young lady begins her gushing
early, some school-mate, or else the
school-teacher, being the first and I'M
conscious causa cdusdxs, and the ears
at home being the victims. She is
usually quite genuine. and not alto
gether displeasing, until she finds her.
self out, cultivates her powers in that
direction, and gushes to be admired
when she becomes as disgusting as she
is artificial
In the first stages, the PROJECTIONS of
her bosom-friend are sufficient for her,
the minutia of her little studies, the de-
lights of her occupations. She progress
cs into ecstasies over sunsets, and sails,
and songs, and pictures; she is taken
to the play, and raves over the players
and thenceforth she either uses all
her actions and attitudes, her gestures
and glances, in accordance with her
dramatic idea of an audience, or else
she has discovered that gushing is her
forte, plays it as a part by night and
day, and fairly throws herself into it.
IL makes no difference to her what she
gushes about; fy's leg answers for
want of an archangers plumes. If it
is worth while, SO much the better; if
it is not worth while, what she cannot
do in hot blood she can do in cold blood
All that is necessary is a subject; her
volubility can bear it along on torrent
of words. And if she is at all pretty,
has a peachy skin and radiant eyes,
and on occasion pair of dimples, her
gushing y. in measure, as effective as
she wishes. A man listens to it as to
the twitter of bird; she half amuses
him; he believes that she believes in 1t,
and he pauses to consider the condition
and state of mind of anybody that can
make so much out of little. He wonders
then at her innocence, and she begins
after that, very likely, to occupy some
space in his thoughts. But woman
listens to her as to thing of idiotic
artifice; she knows that. if it is not all
gotten up for effect, it is the result of
an empty head. an abundant vanity and
a weak intellect; she looks at it as throw
ing a certain discredit on her sex; she
despises the gush and the gusher. For,
after all. whatever effect her pretty af-
fectations, her bright face and musical
tones may have on the individual man
on whom their charm is exercised, it is
the gushing girl, even more than the
slow, silent and stupid woman, that in
jures womankind in the general estima-
ton. The gushing enthusiast is sup
posed by the blinded admirer to be
woman raised to her highest power;
that is, with all her sentiments and
thoughts, imaginations and knowledge,
ut the best and brightest. And when
the highest power proves on examina-
ton to be only silly chatter of inanc
words, general estimation abandons the
case as hopeless, and sets womankind
down where it was in the beginning.
and many a more earnest and worthy
young woman finds herself disregarded,
and her opinion held of no account, be-
cause the pretty and affected simpleton
has grimaced and gushed her and all
her sisterhood into contempt.
But if the gusher will let the fountain
of her fancy still flow on, it behooves
her to keep ever young and fair. A
single gray thread in her tresses will
betray her, a wrinkle will be her death
warrant. For when she has ceased to
be an alluring picture, to wear a bright
face, and there is. it may be, crack in
her musical tones-when she is mid
dle-aged woman affecting youth and in
nocent freshness of interest and marvel
then the disguise of her gushing be-
comes so apparent that all her trivia
art is to be detected, and the most east
ly blinded man alive listens no longer
even to her sincerest raptures. Per.
haps it is because woman arrived al
middle age should have seen too much
of the heaviness of the world and of the
sorrows of life, even if not called upon
to bear them herself, to rave light
heartedly over every mote in the air
and repels by the very idea that she
may be sincere in her rhapsodies; per
haps it is because the loveliness OF love
ly flesh covers over multitude of sim
and makes one forget the skeleton un
der all the rosiness. Whatever it is, i
is certain that while one tolerates ant
sometimes admires the young and blush
ing and starrv-eyed eraas,,rp tho won,
an who dares to gush after the frs
moth-patch darkens her fine complex
ion is doomed to deaf ears and disre
spect. For it is only to the great, t,
the original and the sincerely thought
full that hearing and respect are giver
when beauty ceases to catch the eye
because genius, shot through ant
through the wool and warp o
words, makes of them thing as diff
ferent from idle talk as tae flying spra,