Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1900-03-19

THE MAIDS TO BLAME
LOSS OF THE GALLANTRY OF OUR
FATHERS AND GRANDFATHERS.
The Up to Date Man Says the Modern
Maid Laughs at Compliments and
That Gallant Men and Courteous
Women Are Passing.
You would not have expected it-none
Of us did-from a bachelor so young, good
looking and in every way just the one to
find girls ready to devote themselves to
him. But he said it-said the indiffer-
ence of the modern maid to the modern
man was simply distracting. He said
that it had always been a pleasure to him
to be gallant to women-pretty girls, Of
course, in particular-and that he had
found that 80 many Of his efforts were
unappreciated that he had about conclud-
ed he would assume another air.
Now that ! have heard this remark Of
the CALAMITY inclined young bachelor !
feel in duty bound to look at the side Of
the question that he presents, for once
upon a time, perhaps you remember,
told Of what a bright girl had said con-
corning the indifference Of men, how they
would selishly allow a girl to exert her.
self to entertain them and how the best
of them did not seem to possess a spark
Of the ~gallantry that it Is recorded their
fathers and grandfathers possessed.
The young bachelor said that he re-
membered quite well this plant and that
he hadn't the least doubt In the world
that a lot of other girls make the same
from time to time. And Of course he puts
the blame of it all on the maids them
selves. I told him / did not think this
showed much of his natural gallantry,
but he begged for the nonce to be allowed
to thrust aside this most charming of
masculine characteristics and tell why he
insisted that the waning Of g~allantry of
man toward woman had in foundation a
little fact. The bachelor was granted
this request and ~pointedly announced
that when a man was not gallant 1t was
simply because a woman did not want
him to be; that the modern maid honest
" laughed at him when he paid her pref
ty compliments or looked at him with
doubt in her eyes, as though she did not
believe one word he was saying. And so,
the bachelor said, he had quite deter
mined to cease playing the part OF the
old fashioned man-that somehow 1t
didn't ft into the times.
Then, when the bachelor had settled
himself with a sigh and assumed the Dir
Of a martyr, as II in expectation that we
who listened and were women would also
claim a right-not ask-that we might
express our "views," we were for a little
while silent. I am afraid that the bach
elor was more than pleased with the ef-
feet his words seemed to have upon US.
My fancy was busy picturing the
bright little maid to whom we all knew
the bachelor had been devoting himself
for several months. l could plainly see
her in my minds eye, wearing q gown
that looked just as demure al the ones
her grandmother and Queen Victoria
wore when they were girls, These gowns,
you know, had sloping shoulders and long
skirts, and somehow we always think Of
the feet that peep from beneath them,
even today, al wearing little, soft, heel
less shoes. But this is just-vhere we are
wrong, and it is just here that l want to
say that the styles are out Of joint with
the times.
With these very demure looking little
gowns capable shoes Turk beneath, or
%hono c,o ,c,ar< htrh hooIod slinpora and