Evening star., 1894-12-15
wELL-READ SOCIETY GIRLS.
They Are Able to Talk on Ali Kinds
of Subjects.


From the New York Herald.
Besides the kindergarten, the governess
and the fashionable school as evolutionary
developers Of the well-read girl in society,
there are no end of coaching classes and
clubs devoted to the cult of the reigning
god Of the moment. be 1t Browning Ibsen,
Chaucer, Tolstoi or Bellamy, all of which
help a great deal in bestowing ideas. gems
of thought and pertinent quotations which
sometimes come to mind in the most apro-
DOS way and make for the clever manip-
ulator q reputation for wonderful origi-
nality.
The well-read girl In society does not
faunt or parade the wisdom she has taken
pains to acquire, for she Is also well bred,
and not assertive in the least, but we see
her eye sparkle and her race glow viva,
ciously when the opportunity Is anorded
for her to show in an unobtrusive way
that she has passed the cocoanut stage OF
her cranial development.
Gladstone finds the young girl or today
worth talking to, and quite recently one Of
our own countrywomen Of tender years en-
gagged Herbert Spencer In an animated
conversation while awaiting the announce
ment Of dinner, and compelled that able
thinker to declare that she had completely
hoored him and won him over to point OF
view which he had at the outset commit
ted himself to condemning unequivocally.
ularity of dinners over other forms OF en-
tertainment to the more frequent presence
Of bright girls. who are well Informed on
the current topics of interest In order to
get at the real meaning of what is meant
by current topics of interest, girls should
follow Mr.. Howells' advice, and do their
reading in a desultory way, here bit and
there bit till the little compartments OF
the brain are stocked with facts about
many subjects, ranging from the abolish
ment of the house of lords to the latest
regulations of the foot ball code; from the
Westminster tribute to Lowell, to Whit
comb Riley's most recent hoo5ierism from
the Hawaiian muddle to Sargents por-
traits; from Gregorian chants to the new
Strauss waltz. ..
Mental Athletics.
She does not need to be deeply read to be
what is usually considered well read, so
far as society demands are concerned II
she but understands what is worth while
remembering, and here is where the
memory class comes to her rescue. The
teacher of the art of memorizing gives her
the cue to the 'correlation of ideas" as he
calls his method-a sort Of hitching ones
mental impression to another and giving
them some important fact to guide them
through the men orS, just as locomotive
draws a string of cars. The couplings are
the "correlations." .
This sort of resding does, undoubtedly.
put a girl at her cease with whoever she
may happ n to be for the moment, for the
touch and go movement OF society does
not permit conversation-only gay chafh-
ness Of wit and hunior or the occasional
opportunity OF a bon mot.
A more thorough acquaintance with sub
tects of deeper and more earnest import
will, OF course, stand her in better stead
when she finds she must really converse
with some man or woman OF noble ac hieve-
ment.
such c,rcumstan nces arise when for in
stance. a noted traveller, scientist, archae-
ologist philanthropist or man Of letters Is
her fathers guest for several days, and
when the duties of second hostess at the
family board inspire her with the ambition
to acouit herself not only creditably. but
so very cleverly that the visitor shall pro-
nounce her a remarkably entertaining
young woman.