The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-16
THE LADIES' MAN.
= sympathetic study of An Individ-
uaI Not Fully Understood.


From the London Globe
On a fine day in June he is seen at his
best. He has his happy moments in win
ter no doubt, when he is gracefully han
ding tea 10 smartly dressed girls in
cosey boudoirs, or when in a crowded
ballroom he helps his hostess to arrange
the giddy cotillion, but in order to dis
play his best points he needs fine day,
splendid buttonhole and a large garden
party, with not too many men present
Given these conditions and how he does
sparkle! How he does swayl 1t Is prob
ably the warm sun that makes him so
light hearted, frollcsome and gay. for
(breathe 1t softly) ne is very. very old
He does not look his age, no one would
guess it, and be sure he is uncommony
careful not to give it away" The fact
is the complete ladies' man is bound 10
be aged, he takes such long time 10 de-
velop. In his youth he was terribly
afraid of women, and wanted not to be;
he wanted to be young dog, so he prac-
tced hard. with the result that he be-
came not. indeed a young dog, but
middle aged ladies' man. He has never
married, for he is absolutely welded 10
the whole sex, and very nobly he COM
is competent to give a valuable opinion
on gowns, he constantly designs hats,
and on an emergency he is even able to
trim one. He Is spruce, he Is clean, he
has the prettiest shade of tie, the glossiest
hat, and in his frock coat he looks posi-
lively slim. Ordinary men rather laugh
at him Look at that old ass Binks,"
they cry; "Wnl no one go and spill iced
coffee on his white waistcoat?' They
rather like him, though he is such
harmless old blade, a regular property
sword a great deal of glitter but not
dangerous. He could be trusted to con-
vey Venus across England, or TO take
Hebe back to her boarding school. Not
but what he can say pretty things now
and then, but he only fires off his COM
plimenfs at dowagers and that in the pres
ence of a third party. He has an Immense
amount of small talk, has been to the
academy knows which picture to praise
and how to slate all the rest. To him
must we go to learn what play TO patron
lie with our youngest daughter, what
with our maiden aunt.
The ladies' man is no new product; NAL
voIio was a perfect specimen till they
spoNt him by treating him so scanoa-
lously Poor chap, no one can help sym
pathizlng with him, especially when he
makes his last passionate appeal to Ohvia,
who. II must be confessed, expresses very
little regret for what has happened. That,
unfortunately. is generally the way; your
Malvolio. or Mr.. Bnks, dev0tes himself
to the fair sex, and the fair sex suffers
him. makes use of him, but the moment
a genuine man comes marching along II
sends the wretched chattel about his own
business. or to buy a particular shade or
green silk that can only be obtained at
So and Sos, and you will make them
send me the right sort won't you? II Is
oh IN al
know YOU don't mind, and you are the
only person l could trust. Goodby!
Thank you so muchr and then to the
other one, poor, dear Mr.. Binks! but
he really is most useful"
Men. who-whatever some very clever
ladies' may say--are far less intellectually
cruel than women, are very seldom bru-
tal to the finicky elderly ladies' man.
He may, perhaps, be told to go to the
dickens when he wants to rout man out
of his comfortable corner, where he Is
ambushed with his "onliest only" to make
up a set of lancers. He may, perhaps,
get little chaffed in the smoking room,
but there Is always some one ready to
take his part. His only inveterate enemy
is the rank outsider who would give his
head to enjoy the worthy fellows privi-
leges but which he will never obtain.
charm he never so wisely. The outsider
may capture some little conhding heart,
may possibly break IT, but he VIII never
be on confidential terms with women as a
class.
The philogynist-were there no ladies'
men In the days OF the doctor?--is by no
means an athlete. He does not dspOrt
himself on the lawn tennis ground, far
less in the cricket field and although he
rejoices TO observe that croquet Is once
more in vogue, il must be confessed that
even at this pastime he is but a poor
performer. The agones the gentle crea-
ture suffered when he found that he real
" must learn 20 ride a bicycle to keep
pace with his lady friends were most
poignant He almost wept at the manner
In which he bruised his shin on that dis
gushing little step, but his heart was
much more bruised when he was seen az
bis ungainly exercises by a bevy OF beauty
deftly poised on docile Numbers. Even
after he could laboriously wabble without
assistance II was artemlsia absinthium
(aheml wormwood to him 10 be unable
TO take off his hat to his friends as ne
met them, but to remove a hand from
the handle would have invited chaos. At
last he became the master of his mount
alas! too late; the days of delicious twirl-
ings round Battersea Park are no more,