The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-10-01
She Simply Cannot Help It That's
where She Differs from the Scientific
Flirt, the Predatory Flirt and the In
fantiie FIjrt-Artful Anglers All.
copyright, 1892, by American Press Associa-
toni

piled: miss Zee? Oh, of course she's
charming, butt
The sentence was not finished, for
some one entered to whom the hostess
must speak and at the same time
friend claimed my attention. After the
usual amenities had passed and we were
slowly promenading the room returned
to my quest little curious to find out
what that ''but" meant.
ga pretty girl over there" said I
carelessly, and my escort smiled just as
my hostess had done.
miss Zee? Very pretty, very pretty
indeed, but
"But what% demanded so vivacious-
ly as to mildly astonish my friend, who
FASTENED to reply:
"Oh, nothing scandalous, nothing dis
agreeable, only she's, suppose, the most
accomplished flirt in existence"
"Oh, that's itr' responded I, and when
my friend had to go away and dance
ranged myself alongside of dear old
dowager and said:
81 should like to know Miss Zee. Are
you acquainted with herr"
"Yes-that is, know all her people
and speak to her when she comes in my
way, but, my dear, she's such a horrid
firt that really ! cannot approve Of
her."
"Pm not afraid of her." laughed I,
land here she comes"
"Oh, of course" replied my dowager,
a little sourly, and beckoned with her
70 10 fhn ri h0 ho1 o1A
beside us.
"Zee, this lady wishes to know you,"
said she coldly, and the next moment
pair of luminous gray eyes met mine,
sweet smile developed two lovely dim
Piles and voice of music said:
at is so kind CT you to let me make
your acquaintance, dear Mrs. Leslie. /
have wanted to for whole year.
Of course this was a very ordinary, in
fact commonplace, sort of thing to say,
but the look, the smile, the voice, and
withal an air of simple candor pervading
the whole gave a charm to the little ut
terance which very elaborate compli-
ments sometimes fail to convey. I at
once liked Miss Zee, and I determined
to watch her little and see some of the
terrific flirting which seemed to have
gained the reputation Of "manslayer"
for such a lovely creature.
had not met her half dozen times
before made up my mind that she was
no more Of q hirt consciously than the
ugliest and crossest girl in the world
would be, but the trouble was that M
ture had endowed her with perfectly
resistless power Of fascination. She did
not especially care for me; in fact, we
never met after that season, for she mar
ried and went to Australia, where she
drove the whole colony mad; but the
little compliment with which she acs
anowledg red my my desire fcE introduc-
aon was der s ane mort ...,sut the genuine ex-
FL aIor,,, " Ia Il BEINGS, and her wonder
60 ~, -rc- manner added weight and
IT, SO the pretty phrase.
.sdere, then, was the secret OF Miss
ices being called a fiirt, and here, as
believe, is the secret of a great many
other women's gaining the same unen-
viable reputation. Such a girl or WON
an has quick sympathies, tender and
pitiful feelings, great tact and an anna
BILE desire to make everybody content
and happy. Added to these there must
be sufficient beauty to give expression
to the face, and a sweet, flexible voice
for the tones of voice and glance O
the eyes are quite as effective as any
spoken words can be. A girl thus con
stituted is pretty sure to be called flirt
for each man who. approaches her is a
once convinced that she intends him t.
understand that she is especially inter
ested in him, and he is accordingly fiat
tered. Going ON this basis he comes t.
imagine his own rights to this gentl
sympathy and absorbed attention to hi
condolences, quite exclusive, and whel
he sees some other man receiving jus
the same looks and smiles and tones h
is very much aggrieved and Immediately
stignatizes his late goddess as a f1irt.
This kind of woman I call the newt
able or irresponsible firt She reall
cannot help what she does any NOR
than certain sorts of flowers can hel
exuding gummy sweet, which q
once attracts and enchains the insect
always lowering about them. She is S
constituted physically that her eyes, he
smile, her voice, her figure, her motto
and her repose exercise powerful fas
cination upon the beholder, and if it
man they arouse in him that persons
interest, that instinct of pursuit, tha
desire to attract notice to himself whic
almost every man feels toward almo:
every woman with any claim to yout
or beauty or charm of any sort.
But this power of physical fascinatio
is only the first part Of the armory {
the unconscious hirt. The victim thu
attracted by this primary power is S
cured, bound hand and foot, and SOM
times imprisoned for life by the menta
OF rather by thesympathetic, charm no
brought to bear on him. Never befol
did he find any one who so quickly an
SO thoroughly understood him; ney,
did any one so sweetly enter into ii
perplexities Of his business life or b
college career or his professional an
iefies: never did any woman show SUI
intelligent yet feminine interest in tt
political questions that absorb him; al
probably the poor fellow never-ev,
after he has become emancipated al
speaks of his charmer as an accomplish
fiirt-never does he quite comprehel
that upon all these topics it was he w,
did both the talking and the understan
ing, and she only listened and look
and smiled and murmured soft asser
in the right place.
This kind of hirt /, for one, admit