St. Paul daily globe., 1892-02-07

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negati We,
writes Ella Wheeler Wilcox in the Chi
cagO Tribune. He would tell you that
"a tiirty girl'' was his adherence; that
She lowered the standard of her sex, land
he felt genuine regret whenever he en-
cOuntered one of them; and that any
man who was rash enough to be in
weighed into marriage by f1irt ought to
receive our mingled pity and con-
tempt. l venture to say that
ten men out of every ten you
might conSult on this point would
give you this sort of reply i'll case you
asked the question seriously and de-
manded serious response. And yet
and yet-hOw are we to explain the fact
that the f1irtS almost Invariably marry,
and quite frequently marry better than
dO their modest and retiring sisters?
We have but TO look about us to prove
this statement. Select your own imme-
diate circle OF young lady friends
those whom you have known during the
last ten years-and you will find, |
think. that few if any of the
FlIrtIShly inclined GIFTS
remained single, while several of their
prudent and well-behayed and more IN
dustrious sisters are still elinging. un-
gathered, on the parental branch. Not
many years ago L heard father caution
his two lovely and accomplished daugh-
fers against an intimacy with two of
their girl friends. Those girls are be-
coming so firtiSh and gay" he said.
s~f I
suffer if you are seen much in their
company. Men are quick to comment
upon and miSinterpret such friY-
olous actions as | see those girls
Indulge in, and | do not want
you to suffer from an unwise in
timacy. l have no doubt they are inno-
cent girls now, but they will soon lose
the reputation of innocence if they are
not more prudent" The daughters of
the gentleman listened to his counsel
and ceased to visit the young ladies
who had been accused of being fiIts-t
and not without cause; and yet. regret
TO relate, the two fiirts are today wives
of men Who adore them, and who are
themost tender and devoted husbands.
while the two prudent daughters
of the discreet gentleman have re-
manned al home unwOoed and unWon.
have come undermy immediate obSer-
.ation. l always feel exasperated with
men when l see them choosing such
girls for wives, while the prudent and
discreet ones are posed by; eXaSper
ated not because of their choice SO
much as because of their praise for the
type they neglect and their cenSure for
the type they select. 1t is a curious
problem. have tried to solve it and
render the conduct of the men con-
siStent with their ever-repeated asser-
tiOnS of aversion to the very girls they
seem
Most Ready to Marry.
1t seems to me that l arrived
ut the explanation of the problem.
Men themselves do not know why
they are attracted to and won by
these girls. despite their better judg-
ment; but | think l can explain the
matter to them. Stronger and deeper
than mans cultivated and acquired
taste for the domestic virtues of civil
lied life is his inborn admiration for
what they usually term ''go' in women.
think / have seen more mems eyes
sparkle when they described woman
as full -of,.'go' than l have ever seen
from any other cause. A man will be
very calm and matter-of-fact when he
tells you how very beautiful somewoman
is; he will be phlegmafic and prosaic
when he tells you Of some highly ac-
complished and charming woman," he
knows. Not ripple will disturb the
fepoSe of his face when he speaks Of
some good, domestic, yirtuous girls of
his acquaintance; but when he says,
"By Jove! she's full of go!" his calm
becomes eXhilaration, his eye glOws. his
voice thrills. | have heard them say it
scores of times. and it is always with
the same intense delight and appre-
citation. l heard it said once of a girl
on country farm: the hired man fell
Ill just In the harvest season, and
she took bis seat on the great reaper
and drove four horses until the over
ripe wheat was cut and bound. heard
it said of young girl who had been
reared in luxury and idlenesS, and
whose father died suddenly and left the
family with nothing but debts; in less
than six months sne had canvassed all
the adjoining towns, and had obtained a
large paying class iu music. / heard it
SAID of the wife OF
A Famous Politician,
whose energy and tact and brilIianey
had won him half his success; and
heard it said of a society girl, who was
not beautiful or rich, but who became a
belle because she was the best dancer,
rider, swimmer and talker in her set.
Now, it is the same element-a sort of
combuStive hidden quality of character
that actuated these women to
do what they did which causes
many girls to become flirts.
An excess of physical vitality. an over
supply of mental activity. an ambition
TO do or to be which has no proper out
let-in other words, miSdirected "go."
Indeed, it Is only the occasional woman
who IS full of ''go." whose life is SO
well directed and whose nature so we'll
balanced that she keeps wholly out of
mlSchlef. At the same time, whatever
. direction or escape this element finds, ii
makes itself felt above ali mere neg.
ative goodness or passive propriety
coupled with domestic virtues. Girls
devoid of this element do not under.
stand why they are not as attractive to
men as some less beautiful and less
prudent friend may be, and think
the male sex very unappreciative They
hear men severely criticise the girl
whose misdirected ''go" has led her into
firtatious follies with his sex, vet he is
attracted, in spite of himself, by the
quality which actuated her follies, and
he ends by marrying her. 81 do moi
see that it pays 10 be well behaved and
prudent" said very beautiful and
modest girl to me recently. 1.-The mer
treat you with respect. but they pay all
their attention and finally marry the
girls who fiirt with them" l could moi
deny the truth of her statements, yet j
felt sorry to admit it. But no modest
and discreet girl need envy the happi
ness of firt. If she marries a mar
she loves every indiscreet act and every
familiar attention she has received from
other men during
Her Flisting Days
will be like drops of gall in her cup Of