The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-07-17

pable and more Significant. But slight and
graceful assumption of years in ones dress
has an effect directly opposite. May this
rule pass?"
bowed, and she went on:
aRuEe FYre Remember that what women
admire in themselves is seldom what men adj
mire in them.
"In nine drawing rooms out Of ten, Sophia
said, seeing me give a look of inquiry as she
read this article, Miranda or Corielia, as
novel heroines would be voted bores Women
would say: we utterly decline to ACCEPT
these watery girls as typical of us; We want
smartness and life don't really care much
for Miranda or Cordelia myself. Now, this
seems to me to caution us against trusting
too implicitly or too far our own notions
about ourselves. Another source OF misun
Outstanding comes from the novel writers.
We are the novel readers, and the novelist is
forced to write heroines to suit our taste. He
does not want to offend us. Thus it comes
about that even the male novelist is too often
only depicting women's women, after all.
And / believe scores of modern girls are
seriously misled for this very reason. They
believe they are finding out what men think
of them, when in truth they are reading
their own notions handed back to them under
pretty disguise"
Like the cheap wine," ventured to OBJ
serve, made in England, exported to
foreign country to be blessed, and then re-
turned as fine old sherry-highly finished
wine
Sophia laughed with me at this, and read
on:
"Rule Sin.-Womens beauties are seldom
mems beauties
(Which" she remarked, lis another form
of what | said just now, only here | speak of
personal beauty. My observation is, that if
ten men and ten women were To go into the
same company, and each sex choose the pret-
tiest woman there, as they thought, you
would rarely find that they chose the same
II this he SO. we ought not to trust ourselves
even as to our faces without considering that
the sex we are to please must in the end set
Tie the gu s,Ion and will settle the question
IN lis own way
"Fu'e SrrcH.-Gayetv tempered by seriou,
ass Is the happie.:t manner in scc'ntv
nv which mean. sophia said, booking a.
ne W tn knitted brows, as if she were about
to explain some matter not altogether clear
to herself. shat in all our gayety there ought
t" b. hint OF self recollection. Do you un
icIStand me q
Not quite" sail
This know certainly she replied; 'the
most agreeable women have met with-and
think the most regarded have been women
nj rank, who have been trained with a due
| regard for religion Their worldly educa-
ton had made them mindful Of grace aud
liveliness; their religious education kept these
qualities under a particular sort of control,
| which is perceptibly different from mere
| good breeding 1t seems to me that vivacity
| and sprightliness are greatly enhanced by
vein of seriousness Certainly no woman
| ought TO he a mocker
Next she continued. seeing | did not
| speak, "comes-
| Rude Eight Always speak low.
"I'wondcr why put that down. 1t is so
obvious. In support of il | need only quote
your Shakespeare, who calls it AN excellent
| thing in woman"
"Ruie Nine.-A plain woman can never he
pretty She can always be fascinating if she
| takes pains
Il well remember Sophia said, after
| reading this to me rather questionable asser-
| ton, "a man who was great admirer of our
sex telling me that one of the most fascinat-
| ing woman he had ever known was not only
not pretty, but as to her face decidedly plain
ugly, only the word is rude | asked my
| friend: How, then. did she fascinater l
| well remember his reply, Her figure, said
| he, was neat, her dressing was faultless. her
every movement was graceful her converse
| tion was clever and animated, and she
| alirdys tried TO please. 1t was not / alone
| that called her fascinating; she was one of
| the most acceptable women in society / ever
knew She married brilliantly and her hus-
| band. barrister in large practice was de-
voted to her-more than if she had been a
queen Of beauties
Now here" Sophia continued. resuming
her own discourse-"here was a woman who,
| excepting a fairly neat figure, had not
| single natural gift Of appearance. Is not
| thi, worth our thinking about-those of US
| women who care TO please and are not
| beauties born2"
| "Ruie Trn.-Every wear a woman lives
the more pains she should take with her
| dress.
"The dress of us elderly dames," Sophia
| said, laughing, ought TO be more of a science
than it is How often one hears a woman Of
| fifty say, %, my dressing days are pastf
When" adds Sophia, "if she thought about
it, they have only well begun At least. the
time has come when dress is more to her than
| ever. Remember. from forty to sixty-five is
quarter of a century-the third of a long
| life 1t is the period through which the
majority of grown-up people pass And yet
how little pains women take-how little
thought beforehand-to be charming them
| And now, she went on, seeing l did not
| speak, here comes my last rule-as YET;
| "Rule Eleuen.-In all things let woman
| ask what will please the men of sense before
she asks what will please the men of fashion.
Il by no means intend,r she added, that
woman is not to have regard to the opinion
of men of fashion, only she should not give
it the first place. She will carry the men of
fashion sooner by methods that please the
men of. sense than men of sense by methods
that please men of fashion. And besides
listen to the men of fashion. They always
praise woman for things which begin to
| perish at twenty-five. Even the old men Of
seventy will talk of "a fine girl-deucedly fine
| figurenn Il wish ! could give an idea of
Sophias slightly wicked mimicry at this
passagel "And they will call woman
rather on the decline, when, if she is on the
decline where and what are they. You see,
| if woman lives for the commentator of
men of fashion she will if pretty. piquant,
or what not, have reign of ten years. But
| if she remembers that she has charms of
| mind and character and taste, as well as
charms of figure and complexion, the men of
| sense will follow her for half a century: and
| in the long run the men of fashion will be led
| by the men of sense
"And there" Sophia cried merrily, throw
ing the paper down on the rug beside her
there are my rules for reforming our little