Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-06-29
GIRLS OF THE PERIOD.
FROM THESE ARE TO COME THE
WOMAN OF THE FUTURE.

The Fast Set, the Masculine One, and the
Fashionable and Learned Classes-Un-
derneath the Little Eccentricities Are
Goodness and Brightness.
Just now it Is fashionable to declare that
the girl Of the period is typical Of the woman
of the future. What is the typical girl Of the
periodi And what is the periodf It is
period of rapid advancement ~ every way;
there is but little time to sit down and think,
or to fold the hands and rest, if one would
keep up with the world There is so much to
see, TO do and to hear that repose Is not to be
thought Of No one rusts out; one wears out.
FOUR KINDS OF THEM.
This, then, is a fast period, and we have a
''fast girl" that it has produced. But is she
the prototype Of the woman Of the futuref
Not alone, for there are many varieties of
this American girl Of the period For the
period is not only fast, but it is also complex,
and this compIexity produces more than one
type of girl We have the fast girl, and
her opposite, the domestic girl: there are,
also, the learned girl, the masculine girl and
the fashionable girl
at home, where all her thoughts are conferred.
She sympathiges with her brothers and sis
tiers in their little troubles and takes care Of
them when they are i'll. She helps in the
housekeeping, superintends the servants,
takes charge Of the household mending, and
is perfectly happy in so doing. Her manner
is quiet and afeotionate. her smile ready and
her disposition cheerful. Her amusements
are in her home, and for outside excitements
she has her church, her Sunday school and
Dorcas society But even these do not inter
fere with her home duties. She is always
ready III every emergency TO do what is near
est, and it is to her that the family looks in
time of trouble. The domestic girl is sweet
and kind. She is not brilliant, nor beautiful,
perhaps, but you love her just as much as if
she were
The learned girl is also product of the
period, and, since the period has produced
her, we ought to be fond Of her We are
fond OF her in a way, but sometimes she
knows just little too much. She wants to
go to college, and after she gets there she
makes the best Of her opportunities and
graduates with honors She Is clever, hard
working and ambitious. She is inclined to
look down upon girls who know less than she
does, and she rarely INDUCES in anything so
frivolous as a Irritation. She has views, and
she longs 20 express them Frequently these
views are swallowed up in nlatrimony; but
occasionally they are expressed from the
lecture platform, or printed in a magazine
devoted 70 showing woman superiority over
man.
The masculine girl is sorry that she was
not born bow But as 1t is too late to waste
much time over that unalterable fact, she
goes to work to be as manniSh aS possible.
She wears the most masculine looking hat
that is in keeping with the fashion, and tits
it just little on one side. She has her coats
and jackets cut like mans, and frequently
walks with her hands in her pockets. If she
carries an umbrella she uses it as if it were a
cane, and wishes it were. She affects to dis
like girls and their amusements; she assumes
masculine attitudes, uses slang and whistles.
But at heart she is a genuine girl, sincere and
amiable, and enjoys what other girls enjoy.
we Ike her for them
THE FASHIONABLE GIRL.
The fashionable girl has perhaps been more
seriously considered as the typical girl of the
period, and more severely criticised than the
types mentioned above, and yet she is no
worse than they are. She occupies the niche
for which she was born, as they do, and fills
it as creditably She has been accused of
heartlessness, artifciality and selfishness, be-
cause these things are inculcated from her
very youth. Then, surely, il Is not her fault
She goes from luncheon to a tea, from that
TO dinner, and afterward to the opera and
a ball The greater part of her life is given
to dress and society. She has little time to
cultivate her mind, for one entertainments
follows another in such rapid succession that
her life is one Of constant excitement.
Very often the heart becomes little hard
ened and the mind dulled to much that is best
and beautiful in life but that this is not
always so we have ample proof among the
many happy homes of the fashionable girls,
both before and after marriage.
These are all girls Of the period, and their
types may be found in every city and town
in the United States. They represent differ
ent phases Of the American character, and
are each admirable and interesting. Who
can say that one Of these types is more repre-
sentative Of the American girl of the period
than another! If we are going to criticise
them and say that the fashionable girl is in
clned TO be heartless, do we not sometimes
find the domestic girl a little dull and COM
monplace, despite her many virtuesi Does
not the fast girl occasionally shock our sense
Of refinement Is not the learned girl little
pedantic and didacticl And do we always
Ike girl who tries 70 be manlyi But, after
I'll, is this not criIicising them too severely
We do not want our girls to be all alike.
1t is the variety that is SO charming We
must Ike them for what they are, not for
what they are not. The grace and tact of
the fashionable girl are, in their way, as adj
nirable as the more sterling Qualities OF her
domestic sister; the high spirits Of the fast |
girl are breezy and refreshing for their nat |
lralDess; the learned girl is to be respected |
TOR her energy and perseverance in her |
studies and for her earnest views Of life, |
while the masculine girl is not uninteresting. |
From these girls we shall have our women |
# the future, and who shall say that the |
promise is not gcodi For underneath tee |
gay spirits, artdciaiity, pedantry and affecta- |
ion OF manLness are 70 be found sincerity, /
'earlessness, independence, and the native |
act and brightness that make the American /
woman the most charming in the world
Mss Palfrey IN New York Star.