The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-02-14
THE CALIFORNIA GIRL.
Like the Flowers of Her Native state, 81
Lacks Fineness and Finish.

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Like the Flowers of Her Native state, She
Lacks Fineness and Finish.
Take her all in all, Puella Californica
is really the incest kind of a girl OF
course she has faults, and one of them
is very tender vanity-the most inno-
Gently obvious vanity which you can pos
sibly imagine. She has been told so
many times that she is the finest and
most luxuriant product of the finest and
most luxuriant State in the Union, that
she has begun to regard it as an abso-
lutely established, incontestable fact,
like the revolution of the earth or the
topic of conversation, especially with
the itinerant from the East-in fact, it
is her weather and crops. Not to say
Il have been much struck, Miss Bonan-
"a, by the beauty of the Californian
girls" is to make an objectionable social
omission. She will receive it with the
tranquility of stalled custom, assent
placidly, and give an instance or two
where taste, celebrated for its culture,
has arrived at the same conclusion.
She goes even further, for she resents
criticism or comparison. Matthew
Arnold, in his article on the United
States, deplored the inability of the
Americans to brook criticism. Puella
California; has this National failing in
its worst form. In drawing-room where
you stand on pleasantly intimate foot
ing it is as much as that footing is worth
to admit that you admire the beauty of
Fifth avenue more than the beauty of
California street, even though you con-
fess that your taste is bad, and excuse
yourself from the wrath to come on the
ground that you were brought up in New
England. where sense of the beautiful
is not cultivated Still the fiat has gone
forth, and though you must not exactly
die, from that moment on your glory is
eXtinguished.
Undoubtedly Puella California; has
beauty-a sumptuous, splendid beauty
but, like the fruits and flowers of her
native State, lacking in fineness and
finish. California fruit, while exquisite
to look at-smooth-skinne richly-col-
ored-is wanting in delicacy of flavor,
in piquancy of taste. So with the flow
ers-the roses are the largest, the deep
world, but they have little sweetness.
They have all run to size. Their main
charm has been sacrificed to override
velOpment. Puella California; like the
rose, is in danger of running to size. In
the rich, warm climate OF ner native
State she has grown too rapidly, shot up
like weed. She ought to b. grown
under glass for few years. Then she
would be perfect. She would have
pointed ends to her fingers. small wrists
and little, elicately-molded ears. AS
it is now, she is rather roughly finished,
but she has the prettiest complexion
and hair in the world.
In her attitude toward her gentle
man friends" Puella California; is again
original. She is without the instincts
of a hirt. She likes men to tell her
that Californian girls are the hand
soonest in the country, and that of Cali
fornian girls she is the fower-but this
is merely regarded as facon de parler
Conversationally she is too straight
forward and matter-of-fact. In some
cases she is absolutely heavy. Make no
mistake about her not talking-for
hours the welkin rings with her elo-
quence, but there is talking and talking,
as all men know. Puella California;
talks as the English do-states good
many solid facts and muscular opinions
with ponderous earnestness. The art of
conversation as the French understand
it, Ito say nothing in particular and
say it very we'll" is to her an art yet to
be acouired.-San Francisco Argonaut