The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1890-09-11
THE BOSTON WOMAN. 4

WOR'I].HlNGTON,, NC
! THE BOSTON WOMAN. ~
she IL Not Only Transcendeptauy Ds.
| = lishtful, Hut She 10 superb.
OF al the complex products Of modern
civilization it is to be doubted IL there
| is any thing more astonishing or more.
inexplicablo than. that thing which the
Boston woman calls her mind, writes
Aolo Bates in the Chicago Tribune. Bos-.
ton men, - \ rule, do not take the
trouble to assert their possession Of any
thing of the sort, and, ii they havo .
| mind, simply Hse It and say nothing
About #. But tho Boston woman has
her mind on her conscience, 50 to speak,
I and while she has left none ofthe super
sensitiveness toward conduct which
plagued her ancestors, she does fgonize
over the proper cultivation of her mind,
her ethical sense exhaustfng itself IN
this direction. 80. !,
1t would be Interesting to know Just.
where the Boston woman draws the line
between amusement and cultivation, II,
AAAuOCSAS 0AO V1oW0 ~ 0uxW uOSOs 00ko.
mixes lectures and receptions, study
! classes and luncheon parties. GO thor
oughly and with. such m air Of looking
atthem from tho same pointof view that
one can not tell whether It is that she
takes every thing 50 seriously, or looks
upon all so frivolously. The impression
which the looker.on inevitably gets Is
that whatever her attitude toward one
is her attitude toward all; but masculine
perspicacity is seldom able to discover
just what this is.
AT the present moment tho Mind-it
Should always be spelled with largo NJ,
and my 1nfsness to treat of the subject
is, it is to be feared, shown by tho low
crease letters above!-is given in about
equal proportions to the Greek play, to
luncheons and afternoon teas, which are
as thick as leaves in Vallombrosa, and
to philosophy. The 1uncheons are
dreadful festivities, chiefly confined to.
the fair sex, which last for about three
hours, have as many courses as dinner,
and completely spoil not only the day
but the evening. OF tho Greek play
there Is moro to be said when the timc
comes, and the philosophy is in the
shape Of lectures. In the first place,
PROT. Royce, of Harvard, has been lect-
uring in drawingrooms about SpinQxA
and other distinguished and distinctly
fncomprehensiblep philosophers. He has
undoubtedly taught much, and one Of
the results has been the quickening of
an intense desire to master-or, as am
speaking of women, should l say mis-
tress?-all knowledge.
II was so fred by tho lecture one
day." q Boston woman said, ''that went
straight to the library for volume of
FIGHTER. was d. termined to know all
there was in his philosophy to know,
but thought l would begin with a small
volume first. I asked the librarian for
the smallest volume on FIGHTER she had,
and she gave mo a little book that
looked as though baby might master
it, it was so small and pretty. But the
viciousness of that volume can not be-
gin to express to you. sat down with
it one night, and could not comprehend
the first word. It WIS worse than non
sense rhyme, and it wasn't half SO anus
ing. But I said to myself: Il havo
taken it in the evening when my brain
tried it It was moro incomprehensible
rance was on the whole preferable to
idiocy, even in BOSTON; and 80 mildly
but firmly carried tho small book back to
| the library; and now listen to the lect-
| ures as if they were not really meant to
be understood, but only to be enjoyed
as music. They are charming on that
| basis.''
Prof. Louis Dyer is also giving lectures
to the fashionable Boston women, and
the conversation at the lengthy lunch
| cons aforesaid turns upon lofty subjects
at which tho masculine hcad reels mere
! " to hear mentioned. The women do
play their part most admirably. They
are as grave about it as children over
the make-belicves of their childish
sports. They might really be in earn
manner.
IL am afraid would never do for Bos-
ton," clever Western girl said the
other day. IL have frivolous moments
| even while tho discussion of the UNI
verse and the ultimate end of man is 90
ing on. T even let my frivolous atten-
ti0n become absorbed in the exquisite
flavor Of an entree or a salad while am
hearing the deepest truths Of philosophy
discussed at an intellectual luncheon"
"You forget" she was answered,
"that philosophy has no truths; it has
only theories. But, laying that ques-
tion aside, it is to be inferred from what
! you say that you must really be Bos-
| tonian changed in your cradle. Your
attitude is precisely that Of the Boston
woman, except that she consciously and
deliberately lets her mind wander.
! Once discussion is started in which
she does not have to bear part, she de-
iberately turns her mind out to grass
and lets it run its unregenerated course.
Her only care is to preserve an outward
semblance of attention; and for assum-
ing comprehension and an enjoyment
in topics in which one has not the
slightest interest or understanding, the
Boston woman is probably without rival
in the world.''
''How perfectly nasty" the Western
girl protested. 'Now, think the Bos-
ton women, mind and all, are delight
full
| Delightful" her interlocutore echoed.
'"They are without equal in the world.
They are enchanting. Most women can
humbug men, but the Boston woman
can 20 to the length not only of hum
bugging women, but Of accomplishing
that doubtful feat upon her own self.
She is not only delightful, but she is
superb" .-.. J