Evening journal., 1889-07-10
ALL ABOUT TIE BEAU.
HOW HE DIFFERS FROM OTHER
ADMIRERS OF THE FAIR SEX


quaint old fashioned word. But let me say
in the beginning that it has distinct meau
ing Of its own, and should not be misapplied
Hood says;
remember, I remember
When my little lovers came,
With posy or a cherry.
Or some new invented game.
Well, be does not mean lovers at all, he
means beaux
One may have beau, lover, an admirer,
an ndorer or a comrade, but seldom may com
bine two Of thesei in one individual, and never
all Ave in any one epoch Of her life For the
beau Is a special attribute Of girlhood, and
seldom develops the exacting tenderness Of
the lover, the blind delusions Of the admirer,
the infatuation of the adorer or the honest
sympathy and helpfulness of the comrade,
who, however, does often develop camerad-
erie into neutrality-suspicious. after all the
most satisfying relationship between man and
woman.
WHAT Is BEAUl
But tho beau The beaul What Is heG Who
is hes What is his origin, habitat, sphere Of
actioni
Let US describe him first by negatives. He
need not be young-in fact, IAN old beaun is
a well known character in fiction, drama and
real life
He need not be handsome, although he in.
variably thinks he is
He need not DO intellectual or learned-in
fact, l never knew beau who was either,
although have known some men OF whom
other men said "He isn't half such a fool as
he looisn
He need not be brave, for nobody expects
courage or leadership from him Nor need
he be a business man, fer he Is usually found
spending the money his father or somebody
else has accumulated for him In fact, the
beau reduced to poverty and real work is the
most forlorn OF objects, reminding one Of
performing canary bird or an industrious flea,
or poor, little trained poodle, or any other
helpless and harmless little animal coerced
into unnatural labor and foreign pursuits
Not that mean to speak severely Of the
beau, for don't; In fact, / like him and value
him and should be really sorry to miss him
out Of the world, but he has his limitations
poor dear, like the rest Of Us, and ons hates
to see him pushed up to the wall that defines
those limits.
Moreover, there is positive as well as q
negative formula in the recipe for beau He
must be good natured, and always ready, if
not with smile at least with a simper; he
must be quick at repartee, even though a
mild one; he must have good memory and
a certain adhesiveness Of touch which will
enable him to pick up the floating gossamer
threads of society talk and carry them to
just tho right quarter for repetition Hemuss
never forget anybody's connections, relation
ships, friendships and ennitiea, and never by
any chance step upon anybodys toes or any
bodys remotest frilla He must discover and
4 l,c,., tY,a ,,o~~,.,,, ,.th t.tx.,s.,,
sip and perilous scandal, and while always
having something interesting TO say mover
say anything that could be repeated to his
own or anybody else's detriment. He must
be sentimental TO the extent Of remembering
the favorite flowers, colors and perfumes Of
the lady TO whom he Is for the moment e.
tentive, and making graceful little offerings
In harmony with those tastes He must have
sufficient tact to be always where he Is want
ed and to skillfully efface himself in the
presence OF a lover or a favored admirer or
adorer; for one Of the pecuiiarities Of the
beau Is that be has bis season, like the mush.
room, and is not at all acceptable out Of it
THE ADoRER ANb THE REAU.
But, even as one win sometimes caprici
ously prefer salted, dried or picked mush-
rooms to fresh and tender vegetables, there
win be intervals in life-perhaps to its very
end-when one turns from grande passion,
from the pedestal whereon ones adorer places
one, even from the solid satisfaction Of 6
comrades honest sympathy, and finds 8
whimsical pleasure in the conversation, tht
compliments, the chit chat Of beau, ant
finds the same rest and refreshment in hi
society as in that Of the last Fashionable
novel or the lightest Of society comedies.
We have spoken of the beau as an adjunc
of early girlhood, because it is only an in
genue who can be long content in the societl
Of beau or who expects anything serious o
him or digniies him into an ideal Younl
/ girls never classify the men who surrounl
them on their entrance into society; they ar
all heroes Of romance; they all are possibl
lovers and husbands, and the beau, being tn
most obvious and the most demonstrativ
figure in this new world, is often pitche
upon by the debutante as her ideal, and sh
is sometimes good deal disappointed in find
ing how wofully too small he is for tn
giants roben she fain would dt upon hi
} shoulders.
3 Occasionally the girl is herself femal
] beau; not belle, for that is quite anoths
thing, but a triher, a butterfly, an ephems
( ron-a personality answering precisely
! that Of the beau. In such q case tho two bs
come, not friends for to be a friend require
characteristics neither of them possess bu
familiar acquaintance, even comrades in
certain sense, and they spend great man
idle hours together In just the way one SCI
q couple Of butterflies lowering and dancin
over a sunny pool or a bed Of mignonett'
: happy while the fine weather Lasts, beate
!, down and lost in the first wind Of adversity
Let me implore all my female friends to |
1 more precise In their classification of thei
male acquaintance, for it Is really grief
+ hear tender, romantic, Browntngesqu
s adorer spoken OF as the beau Of her idol, Q
= to have ons's solid, practical, congenial con
/ rade dubbed by 50 trihing name, or to il
s suit the sweet illusions and lofty ideals Of
a pair OF lovers by calling Romeo the beau {
n Juliet. Mercutio was beau, II you pleas
d and died With Jest upon his lips, but OF
}. cannot imagine him In Romeois plaza N
n my dear girls, don't 30 stpshod In your NJ
4 menclature; and although you may be su
A rounded with beaus, don't fancy them lover
N or even sincere admirers, for your true bea
~ adnires nobody very much except himsel
i, although part OF his profession is to assuu
the part Of an sdmirer, not to you only b'
y 10 the other deSr five hundred toward who
- be viii futter In the course Of an evening.
Don't tell him that you don't believe woI
be says and don't try TO get upon sol
lc ground with him and find out how far he
really sincere, Tor be does not know himsel
At and it is bad taste and bad policy to for
>; any man to confession OF ignorance, ev'
ID 90 himself. Nor can we break butterflies
VI the wheel, or build houses Of soap bubbles;
9. be content to take the beau as a beau, aI
is value him for his real uses and merits, whil