El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-19

young one proceeded promptly to do
everything possible that she had ever
| been forbidden to do. She shouted
her commands at the top of her voice,
| bullyragged her grandmother, inter-
| -upted, ordered, and carried on the
most clustering reign for about a half
nour that the history of the world has
known in late years. Her idea of queen
| was some one who could talk Just as
loud and interrupt as much as she
pleased.
The women of the midway are inter-
esting to women who like to know how
other women live, and what goes to
make up their portion of happiness or
| sorrow Happiness and sorrow in
their vital parts are alike to all wo-
men, to be loved or deserted. admired
or scorned, to be successful in the daily
tasks, or to always fail, to have ones
desires or to have to go without, to be
strong or weak, but the expression of
these things varies as the heavens from
the earth. To paraphrase a familiar
proverb. one woman's happiness is an
other woman's pain.
Some of the midway women show
through all their paint. powder. smiles
is for any hard working woman. Their
portion is worry. nerves. ends that
sometimes refuse to meet. loved ones
lost. and only pitiful sum of reward
for their toll. Others look as though
life were always seen through lashes
blackened, and eyes that never forget
their ogling tricks. and smiles whose
curves are carefully rouged-women
who never drop their paint and tinsel,
or relinquish the glance meant to
catch the eye of the man in front.
Others look plainly. honestly tough,
as though they lived and let others live
without a continental care as to what
the other people not of their own sort,
did or thought. who sin. perhaps. but
don't care whether or no anyone draws
line between the scarlet of their sin
ming and the different shades of red
of polite society's sinnings.
Most of tnem have dusty clothes and
hair and hands. me Is fresh and dainty
and white and quiet. with a grace and
refinement about herself and her per-
Torrance that would do credit to
many a drawing room. She looks as
though she might be a pleasant woman
to know. Others look as though t.ey
might have been jolly, sensible women
of ordinary life, but the life of the tent,
the stares of the crowd. the dust of the
streets. and the interpretations of the
bankers have worn their smiles into
harder lines.
Their is some profit to be derived
from watching one dancing girl as
she watches her barker and the crowd.
She smiles quizzically. She knows him
and his audience through and through.
She knows MS jokes and their outlaws,
L. -. - IL
whole game and that this joking,
please-you-at-any-pri manner of his
will be dropped the minute he gets in
to the rear of the tent and he will bull
ly as many of the girls as cannot bully
him. Herself .t does not much matter,
she can match him every time and the
forthcoming dimes and nickels of the
crowds are her gauge of him and his
Oh her.
To go back to Thackeray's account
of Vanity Fair and his phrase bucks
ogling the women" 1t is remarkable
that even in this free and easy. jost-
ling crowd the gentlewoman is not
ogled. no matter how pretty. 1t is
of the west that a gen.
tlewoman is always deferred to even
by the tougns. IN eastern cities a wo-
man is more or less in continual dan |
ger of undesired attentions, men stare |
at her. follow her, even address her, |
and this no matter how quiet her dress |
and behavior. No one woman is in con-
tinual annoyance from ogling men but
every woman has to stand more or less
Of it. Here it is not SO. Western men
pay a lady's fairness the highest COM
Dliment of attention and appreciation,
put never insult it.
Elsie McElroy Slater.