The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-27
THE CHARMING WIDOW.
Some Explanation Of Why Her Path Is
One Of Conquest
From the St Louis GIobe-Democrat.


mark seems destined TO be quoted from
/ age TO age as a perpetual reminder Of the
+ attractiveness Of the widow as compared
+ with other classes Of women. Her charms
I can not be doubted, they are too promi-
nent: her power cannot be questioned, in
Z stances OF its exercise are too frequent.
Men admire the debutante; are delighted
I 70 dance attendance upon her: are amused
I by her whims. cheerfully obey her ca
I prices; with them, her will, for the mo-
ment at least, is law. They yield Obedi-
! ence TO her coQuettish commands. go their
way and forget what manner Of woman
she is. But with the widow it is not So
She is an abiding presence. She supplies
the deficiency unconsciOusly existing in
the young girl. She has all the charm of
the debutante, the added grace Of dignity
OF mature womanhoOd, and an indefinable
lOveliness peculiar 10 herself. 1t can be
felt, il cannot be analysed. The infiu-
ence of the debutante is the perfume OF
the perishing blossom; that Of the widow
is the fragrance OF the precious wood.
The debutante is like the policeman. who,
while present, is obeyed, but whose au-
thority is secuted the moment his back is
turned; the widow is like the monarch,
whose power is acknowledged, even in
his absence. To the former, obedience is
yielded but without reverence; the latter
may be derideI but with fear and tremb-
ling. The debutante is the meteor, the
widow is the moon.
The sources of the widows charms are
numerous. She is strongly sympathetic,
and there is a wonderful difference be-
tween feeling for and feeling with sor-
rows Of others. The young girl feels
for you; the widow feels with you. She
has herself suffered. she knows what suf-
fering Is. The sympathy of the young
girl may be intense, but it is not intelli-
gent What does she know of business
cares, Of the anxieties Of everyday life
Of bereavement The widow knows ALL
for has she not lost the partner of her
joys and sorrows, has she not passed
through business annoyances, can she not
tell of the trouble she had in settling her
husbands estate, and how his relatives
tried to rob her? She has suffered all you
have and more, for is not a woman alone
in the world more helpless than a man?
So, as the tear starts to her eye your
heart melts. you have found a real friend.
Her sympathy falls on your bosom like
the sunlight across one of Titian's land
scapes, her tender tones charm away sad
ness even as the harp of David soothed
the evil spirit of Saul Her sympathy and
her tears are her strongest weapons, and
she has them In perpetual readiness, for
the former is a living well, full to over
flowing, and the latter are like the foun-
moments notice.
Attractive as she may be from her SYM
pathy, she is doubly dangerous by reason
of her experience. Having had the man
agement Of one husband. she knows ex-
actly what will please and uses her knowl-
edge to excellent advantage. She knows
all about every within, every mood a man
can have, also how to meet it, and as a re-
suit Of her knowledge is always in your
mood II you are merry she laughs at
your old stale jokes; If you are sad, her
face at once grows serious. She chimes
in with your vein Of thought in conversa-
ton. You are, let us say, musical and
worldly minded; she recalls how charm
ingly Nordica sang the IVA Che Sapete"
in Mozart's Figaro last week; you are
musical and pious; she sings for you Men
delssohns Rest in the Lord" and tells
you how sweet is the organ part of Han
deIs He Shall Feed His Flock" I'm
derstanding the ways of men, she will
lead when you think you are in the van,
and when really commanding she seems
to obey. She knows a man loves to believe
himself free, so she does not demand con-
slant attention. The young girl, proud of
her conquest, is anxious to display her au-
thority; the widow, conscious of her pow
er, seeks TO hide the chain that binds her
slave. The young girl is idealistic, wants
you to be all the world to her; to look at
no other woman; the widow is practical
and willing for you to wander as far as
you please, so long as you do not break
the string, The young girl wants you to
live in love- rosebuds and kisses; the wild
ow knows that they way to your heart is
straight down your throat and that her
luncheons win do more to win your affec-
tions than all the music and flowers in
Chflstendom. The young girl demands
that she shall be the center of attraction;
the widow makes you think that YOU are
the center, and that she revolves around
you, when, in fact she is twirling Won
around her finger.
The widow is, therefore, the mistress
of hattery. Not of the gross, plain. fat
shop-worn species that is every day heard
out that delicate variety which is not
praise, but the suggestion of it. a fiat
terry OF which you are yourself the author
She eXcites your vanity, plays on your
conceit, makes you feel quite comfort
able and thoroughly at home with YOUR
self. After you part from her you think
what an admirable woman she is he
cause she has had the art to put Won in a
good humor with yourself She is an
preclatiVe' you say to yourself She is
congenial,' and behind each utteranca
lies the thought: she has the discern
ment to see what a clever fellow l am. !"
She has put you in love with Yourself
your self-esteem bubbles over. Some Of
the droppings fall upon her Thus do men
fall in love with the widow Thus is the
widow fascinating. She is always so
Whether gay and dashing, whether HELM
less and clinghg, giddy. dressy, design
ing, whatever the adjective prefixed to
her she is a thing to turn mems heads
to make widowers oblivious of the woes
of a previous alliance, TO make old bach
elors forget their stern resolves and de-
termine to propose or die in the attempt
But they do not die trying, for making
love TO a widow is as easy as the ira
ditional backwoods feat of rolling off a.
log, and the feminine tact that leads the
victim up to the proposal diminishes that
! proposal from mountain to mole hill
/ Counting girls is a ticklish business. They
are as scary as thieving crows in a corn
! field. Not so the widow and he who goes
! widow hunting may, in the language of
an oriental proverb. rouse the tiger
when beating the jungle for a deer" Hus-
hand-catching. to the young girl serious
task to the widow, in the language of
the catechism, lis not only possible but
easy, by the grace of God" for the chief
end of widow life is to get another hus-
band, and the widow gives close atten-
| ton to business.