The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1892-10-05
IDEAS ABOUT THE AMERICAN GIRL.
She Has Been Petted So Much That She
Is Thoroughly Spoiled.

Hasn't the fair sex in general and
the American girl in particular been
advertised about enough? asks the n.
Y. World. 1t was absurd to begin
with; now it has degenerated into ex-
tremely tiresome bad taste.
And has it ever occurred to our
gentle sisters that on the principle of
good wine needing no bush, they would
not be held up to public alteration so
continually and have so many columns
of unmixed puffery printed about them
if there were not grave weaknesses
which this storm of applause is nee
essary to smother.
just at present the American girl is
supposed to be the rage all over Eu-
rope.
Let royalty it is supposed once so
much as lay its eyes on Miss Trudy
Sproule, of Hohokus, and royalty will
fall PROSTATE at her feet.
Let US take a glance at the facts.
In country where there is a monotone
of universal prettiness, real beauty is
rare. The American girl thinks that
she is the best-looking and best-dressed
woman on the face of the earth. Her
father and brothers and admirers and
the press are constantly telling her so,
and she is only too glad to believe it.
AS a matter of fact the Irish women
have considerably. more real beauty
and the French women dresses with
better taste. But let that pass.
Well. her father is son of toll and
has worked with all his might from
the time he left school. There are
two dominant interests in his life. One
the pride in his womankind and one in
his business supremacy.
He wants his wife and daughters to
make more of a splurge than the wives
and daughters of other men. They
are tangible proof of his prosperity,
and Mrs. Son of Toll can wear dia-
monds in the morning and lick her
fingers when she puts on her gloves,
not forgetting always to put them on
in the street, mind you, and he won't
care at all.
The first words that as child Miss
S. of T. understood fully were that she
was beautiful little girl, and in this
belief she has been nurtured until that
and the fact of all men being simply
puppets with admiring eyes and lips
which tell her how beautiful she is are
the chief things of which she is posi-
| tive
When the tributes to youth and
beauty begin to wane little on this side
of the water, Miss S. of T. goes abroad
to look for fresh friends.
At the first blush the modern maiden
amuses the foreigner. She is new. she
is different.
She leases him and amuses him, but
all the time he regards her very much
as he would wild goat.
Then it suddenly dawns upon him
that she is rich, very rich, and then
the practical side of his nature comes
out and he tries to marry her, not be-
| cause she is charming, but because
| she is rich.
| How many instances are there o1
foreigners of assured positions marry
ing poor but beautiful American girls!
And how many American girls are
there who, in spite of all their boasted
independence, would not rather be the
Countess So and So, the expatriated
wife of man who to the last can not
possibly understand her and who will,
| in order to get away from her, spend
all his time at club, than plain Mrs
John Smith with husband who will
work from daylight till dark and
think her the best and most beautiful
woman in the world?
No, the American girl will not stand
in the white light of cold facts. AT
best she is a spoiled child, and so why
can't there be an end of all this ap
plause and red fire and hoopla. Il
never was true. 1t has ceased to be
amusing and from any point of view
it is wholly vulgar.