The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1892-10-01

leIJ 700, because so lew persons under
stand her and almost everybody blames
her for being the firt she really cannot
help being. AS well blame humming
bird for not being barnyard fowl and
laying good, useful eggs. Me, prefer
humming birds to poultry-at least
sometimes.
In distinction to the unconscious fiirt
we have the scientific fiirt. She by no
means practices her little arts because
she can't help it, but lays her plans and
studies her tactics as seriously as Napo-
leon or Wellington ever did. She firts
just as men go cunning or fishing, be-
cause they enjoy the sport of stalking
their game or playing their trout, and
when the deer is killed or the fish landed
it Immediately becomes lost to interest
and the sportsman is absorbed in look
ing out for the next prize.
The scientific fiirt does not beam upon
every conner as the unconscious firt
dOes-she selects her subject with skill
and care. A man must have the power of
amusing her; he must have quickness
of comprehension and the capacity of
suffering and of feeling to make it
worth her while to throw hook and
bait in his direction. Great stupid fell
lows, or men filled with an absorbing
love of some profession or of art or of
their own selves, are quite uninteresting
to the scientific firt. To carry our
smile little farther, they are not
"game fish," and she treats them with
supercilious Indifference or good natured
contempt. She likes a man who will
tilt with her, break a spear in his own
defense, but finally succumb to her SUI
perior proves; she likes, of all things,
to see him try to persuade himself that
he likes some other woman better than
he does her, and to calmly swoop down
and bear him away.
But perhaps this swooping operation
belongs more exclusively to class of
experts who may fairly be ranked as
predatory firts. This class cares very
little for any man not already appropri-
ated by another woman. They like
young married men, or men engaged to
be married, and it is with an unholy joy
that they survey the conscientious strug-
giles their victims often make in the be-
ginning. Twas interested once in watch
ing the progress of such an affair, which
ran its course literally under my eyes at
a fashionable summer hotel in Switzer-
land.
The fiirt was q woman of singular
charm of manner and voice; not es-
pecially handsome, but with great gray
eyes, which she managed to perfection,
81 -
of which she looked upon the world with
innocent surprise and inquiry. The sub
ject was an English army officer, and as
fine looking fellow as l ever saw, but
awfully spoiled by fattery. The bride
was nice little person with common
place written all over her pretty little
face and figure and her highly respect
able English toilets. They sat opposite
each other at the table d'hote, where 1
also took my dinner for the sake of
studying the company.
My seat was next to the bride and my
attention was at first attracted to the
sport by perceiving her disturbance-in
fact, if the expression is not too coarse,
l could not but perceive that she was
"squirming" in a manner. suggestive of
some unseen but vicious little enemy
such as are the constant danger of trav-
elers in Europe. 1t was not long, how
ever, before I perceived that the poor
little brides assailant was fiirt, and not
flea, and l sympathized with her all
the more sincerely that her troubles in
volved no danger to myself. un-
1t was really an aGtiSSc stndv n
watch the aEae ceilings of the next few
9aSs; the growing annoyance and ter
ror of the bride; the founderings and
plungings of the victim before he fairly
swallowed the hook, and his perfect in
| fatuation and docility when he had done
| so; also the cynical interest with which
the fiirt's father, a very wicked ole
gentleman, as l should Judge, watched
his daughters maneuvers. AS for the
flirt herself, feel deeply indebted tC
her for the insight she afforded me into
| the science of her favorire amusement
| | never saw any flirting done so me
| thodically, so calmly and sc unrelent
ingly. l don't think the girl herself
was in the least moved either to fancy
the man or pity the woman or care fo
the consequences to either; she simpl,
pursued her amusement with just thu
dispassionate and educated interest will
which the angler lands his trout or thu
entomologist nets and pins his butterfly
But Just before we were to leave Lu
cerne took occasion to suggest to tn
bride that it was a pity her father ant
mother should not have q peep at tn
lakes during this lovely weather, ant
that if 1 were in her place SHOULD
write and urge them to join herself ant
her husband at once.
Poor child! She flushed rosy red AM
glanced at me with big interrogation
mark in each eye, but | only laughed
and kissed her goodby.
Another variety is the infantile f1irt-
the young woman who carries the in
genue business to its bitter end an
thrusts her baby hands into mems heart
strings as ruthlessly as veritable il
FAINT would make tatters of the priceless
lace vestments of the pope himself.
The ingenue business belongs to tina
school of superb cunning advocated b
Edgar Poe in his story of 1.-The Pul
Joined Letter" where the apparent al
sence of all guile is the very essence c
deep diplomacy. Nothing can be NOR
effective if it is conscientiously don
, and artisricaTTy carried out, and the Il
| fantile f1irt is one of the most successfl
practitioners of her peculiar art
/ might be supposed that methods
" 1 FL