Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-06-25
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 CIasses-Un-
derneaih the Little Ecceutric.ties Are
Goodne IS and Brightness

Fashionable and Learned CIasses-Un-
derneaih the Little Eccentric.tie. Are
Goodness and Brightness
Just now it is fashionable to declare that
the girl o the period is typical of the woman
OF the future. What is the typical girl of the
perioda And what is the periodi II is a
period of rapid advancement In 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
ohought or. NO one rusts out; one wears out
FOUR KINrs OF THEM
ms, then, Is fast period, and we have
fast girl" that it has produced But is she
the prototype of the woman of the futurel
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 oomplexity 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
The domestic girl is brought up carefully
at home, where all her thoughts are centered.
She sym pathizes with her brothers and sis
ters in tn sir little troubles and takes care of
housekeeping superintends the servants,
takes charge of the household mending and
Is perfectly happy in SO doing Her manner
Is quiet and affectionate, 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 witt her home duties She is ALWAYS
ready in every emergency to do what is near
est, and iC 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, out you love her just as much as if
she were
The learned girl is also a product of the
period, and, since the period has produced
her, we ought to be fond of her. We are
fond of her in 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
graduate 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 indulges in anything so
frivolous as n Irritation. She has views, and
she longs to express them. frequently these
views are swallowed up in matrimony; but
occasionally they are expressed from the
ao~Sui PihAioi vi pIiilltu III d magazine
devoted TO showing woman's superiority over
man.
The masculine girl is sorry that she was
not born boy. But as it 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 tilts
1t 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 al umbrella she uses it as if it were a
cane, and wishes it We're. She affects to dis
like girls and their amusements; she assumes
masculine attitudes, uses slang and whistles
But at heart she is genuine girl, sincere and
amiable, and enjoys what other girls enjoy
Her assumed masculine airs are amusing, and
we like her for them
THE FASHIONABLE GIRL
The fas hionable 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
1t as creditably. She has been accused of
heartlessness, artificiality and sefishness, be-
cause these things are inculcated from her
| very youth. Then, surely, it is not her fault.
She goes from a luncheon to a tea, from that
| TO dinner, and afterward to the opera and
ball. The greater part of her life is given
| TO dress and society. She has little time to
| cultivate her mind, for one entertainment
| follows another In such rapid succession that
| her life l. one of constant excitement
Very often the heart becomes a 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 phas.s 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 anothera If we are going to criticise
them and say that the fashionable girl is in
clined to be heartless, do we not sometimes
find the domestic girl little dull and COM
monpiace, despite her many virtuesa Does
not the I ist girl occasionally shock our sense
| OF refineInentf Is not the learned girl little
| pedantic and didactica And do we always
| like girl who tries to be manlyi But, after
all, Is this not criticising them too severely
| We do not want our girls to be all alike
| 1t is the variety that is SO charming We
must like them for what they are, not for
what they are not. The grace and tact of
the fash enable girl are, in their way, as ad-
mirabe rs the more sterling qualities of her
domestic sister; the high spirits Of the fast
girl are breezy and refreshing for their nat
uralness; the learned girl is to be respected
for her energy and perseverance in her
| studies and for her earnest views of life,
while the masculine girl is not uninteresting.
| IL.
of the future and who shall say that the
promise is not goods For underneath the
gay spirits, artificiality, pedantry and affecta-
ton of Inanliness are to be found sincerity,
fearlessness, independence, and the native
tact and brightness that make the American
woman the most charming In the world
| Miss Pal rey in New York Star