Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-07-09
FROM sIxrEEN TO TWESrY.
Girls Look Only ON the Bright and Pleas
Ing sides of Life.

ciris LOOK only ON the bright and Pleas
Ing sides of Life.
A young man addresses to Edward
w. Box the query: why is it that in
so many cases, l might almost say
the majority of cases, a quiet, we'll
behaved, earnest-minded, religious
young mans seriousness is ignored by
80 many girls tbetween lG and 20j,
and the company of giddy, idle, sense
less youths preferredf" and In the July
Ladies' Homo journal editorial reply
is made. Mr.. Box contends that girls
ut that age take few things seriously,
and are not given to looking upon the
serious side of life; that only the
bright, pleasant side attracts them.
1T is only natural that to girl Of
such an age the young man of bright
conversation, fiippant and meaningless
though that talk may be, has an in
definablo attraction. She would far
rather have 1t that he can dance we'll
than that he can recite Emerson to
her. II is the dancing time of her life,
and not tho Emersouian period. She
ID apt to notice a mans clothes more
than his character. She, likes the man
better who pays her pretty compli-
ment than the one who says something
serious. 4 The young man who
pays her graceful attentions is pleasing
to her; she does not seek to penetrate
beyond the mere compliment. And
why should she? Young men are sim
ply one form of her amusement; she
does not take them any more seriously
than she does anything else. Tho
young man of presentable appearance,
who dresses vol and has command of
the small talk of society Is her girlish
Jack in the box. The more attention
he pays her, tho more he flatters
her, the better she is apt to like
him. The earnest young man who
has ambition, who studies and
learns. whose talk ia sensible rather
than light, is bit tiresome to her.
She may admire his high purposes 80
far as che can grasp them. She may
respect him. But if she is going to a
party she does not want his company.
She passos him by for the other fellow
who is graceful in the dance. And
is she to be blamed or to be censured for
this? Not bit of 1t. While she is a
girl sho does as natural, healthy girl
should; she lives her years OF enjoy
ment and gets as much pleasure out of
them as she can. For this she is a
girl. But If he will watch her after
she counts her years with the figure
two he will observe that slowly but
surely a process of gradual develop
ment takes place in the girl whom he
belived to be without thought or
reason. And equally sure will be his
discovery that the companion of her
dances is not 80 eagerly welcomed by
her as once he WAS llo will then
gradually discover that the girl is not
tho light. hearted butterfly that he
thought her to be. She becomes in
terested in other things; conversations
which bored her year or two earlier
now begin to have some meaning for
her. She begins TO regard the internal
value of things She looks at young
men from lli itferent standpoint. The
young man who can simply dance we'll
does not represent the same thing to
her. She bogins to look for something
else in tho young men who come to
her. The woman has simply begun to
develop; the girl is ceasing to be-"