The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1893-10-26
Have Women More Vanity than
Men?


Men?
Just hear all the men jump up and
exclaim with one vice: ''Of course they
have,'
ton?
The pretty woman knows she is pretty;
she likes furtive peep into bookings
glass; it is like a bon bon popped int
her pretty mouth. She likes to be told
she is pretty, and she smiles and dim
Piles and awards the teller with her most
gracious manner. He makes her happy;
why should she not make him happy by
way of thanks?
The society woman is proud of her
position, vain of the pestrige she enjoys,
of the eclat her name adds to any festiv-
ity; but how often does it express itself
in arrogance, in naughty behavior to
those she wishes to consider her infe-
riors, in snobbish treatment of those
who she fears may interfere with her
popularity? Let the men answer.
The literary and artistic woman is vain
of her standing among artists and writ
ers. She likes to talk books and art,
and in second hand way pose as an
authority; this is vanity, but is it culp-
able? Let the men answer.
Many women have one way of showing
their vanity, and that is by being jeal-
Gus of Others who promise to poach on
their preserves.
Some women expect continual trib-
ute of praise from their friends. This
is not always vanity, it is often the lack
of self-appreciation. There are cocks,
artists, aye, even poets to say nothing
of the lesser workers who can only do
their best under the tonic of praise.
An essentially innate and vulgarly
vain woman is she who constantly talks
l, who tells you..all the compliments that
have been paid her, all the pretty things
said of her, all the good things done
for her, who tells you first and last what
she thinks, what she feels, what she has
done and what she has said. SThis sort
of vanity is worth money. If you know
the woman who has it you know the
woman who is succeeding.
But how about the vanity of man.
Here we are at home. The first egoist
was man. He kicked because there
wasn't any one to tell him how hand
some he was, how strong he was. TIE
this day. to quote an old, old, old con-
undrum, it is his belief that "Eve was
created for Adams express company.
of Sheba, worked Solomon by precious
gifts and by telling him that he was the
greatest man on earth, so that Solomon
told her all he knew and gave her all she
desired.
Just ask any man a question that app
peals to his.vanity and he would postpone
the millennium if he had it in his power
and it was likely to interfere, but that
he would answer the question oracular-
ly.
Is there anything that so pleases
slightly invalided man or dyspeptic
as to listen like Desdemona at the feet
of Othelo to the recital of his ills?
Why, not one man in ten can even
pleasantly endure to lose at cards and
be chaffed about it'll Where is the poet
who will not engage to read by the hour
his own poems, the actor who will not
modestly accept a comparison between
himself and Booth?
If you want to offend mortally vain
man just venture to criticise on the
wrong side-his looks, his pictures, his
writings, his manner-anything that is
his. A man who was not so generous
as he ought to be was once cured of his
stringiness entirely by being told he
was spoken ill Of He was so vain he
| Immediately set to work to make even
the beggars in the street sing his praia-
es.
This is slight presentment of both
sides of the question. Summed up, it
seems in the aggregate to answer, wo-
men are vain of their beauty. Men are
vain, of being men of looks, talent, any
thing and everything favorable to the
great mortal II New Orleans Picay-