Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-12-12
is SHYNESS cONCEIT 2
London Woman Calls 1t Form
of Self Consciousness.
HOW SHE PURPOSES TO CURE IT.

school to Aid Dihident Women Start
ed by Miss Elsa DeSterre In the
British ACKNOWLEDGMENT of Men
tai HazinE Adopted to Cultivate
Ease of Manner.
Shyness on the part of the modern
woman is blemish akin to Il sin,
which can and must be eFadicated, ac-
cording to Miss Elsa Desterre of Lon
don, who herself confesses that she is
never shy and has not bluShed for SO
long she cannot remember her last of
Tense, says Il special, cable dispatch to
the Chicago Tribune.
Miss Desterre is to occupy q sort of
chair of self control in the JOpling
School of Art in Earls court From
the outline of her system given by the
teacher it is a moral certainty that no
pupil who takes the entire course will
ever again suffer from shyness or III
nudity.
The hazing of the Horse Guards or
the practical jokes of the bohemian
clubs are gentleness itself compared
with the Jopling school method. Ac-
Cording to Miss Desterre, as many wo-
men rs can gather sufficient initial
courage TO join the class will be assem-
Lled together in Il classroom, with moth
ing to hide behind and no distractions.
Then they will be told by the unblush-
ing inStructress that the chief thing
that ails them is an insufferable self
consciousness Verging upon conceit.
They are making the grave mistake of
believing they are being looked at and
even thought of when on the contrary
they are being utterly ignored.
After they have been impressed with
budget of blunt facts delivered in the
bluntest sort of way they Will be di-
rected TO operate upon each other. Miss
Desterre possesses the faculty of de-
tectinS a blush or frightened CULVER
of an eyelid at almost any range. APP
plying this talent to the case in hand.
the most timid and shy of the helpless
flock she has herded before her will be
called to the elevated platform directly
in the view of all the rest. This I'M
fortunate will be told to forget herself
and her embarrassment and conduct
the meeting, which viii be inaugurated
without further delay.
/ The newly elected presiding officer is
told to call the meeting to order and
make some suggestions of intelligence
if possible. She sits at the table speech
less. She has an attack of what actors
call stage fright and which has been
suffered at one time or another in some
form by every human being.
Miss Desterre commands her to rise
and walk TO the front of the platform
and stand there at her ease until she
can collect herself. Then to help things
along a bit more the teacher who new
er quails stands away Il short distance
and deliberately criticises the young
woman before her, pointing out to the
rest just where the deficiencies are
most glaring. This is all preliminary
and is followed by other lessons equal
~ or more trying.
The favOrite failing of each pupil is
learned, and the thing that frightens
her the most is obtained by confession
or strategy. Then, like a trainer of
young colts, Miss Desterre leads the
pupils up to the things they most dread.
Those who are dumb in company Of
more than three persons are instructed
in the entertainment of the entire
class. Others are made to compose pa
called upon to stand up and criticise
offhand the work of their classmates.
Through it all Miss Desterre impress
es upon her pupils the fact that the
majority of persons they come into
contact with are as self centered and
as self conscious as themselves and
that they are not really any more awk-
ward than others. but simply think so.
Miss Desterre holds that all shyness
and embarrassment are due simply to
wrong mental angle, which can be
cured when the mind is trained TO an
other point of view.
Her classes promise to be large, and
she agrees TO put any woman at her
ease in any sort of company after a
single course of lessons. Some, she adj
mits, are more difficult than others, but
ALL she asserts, can be cured of that
most distressing habit of blushing
without occasion and going dumb in
company when really there is much
that should and could be said, as the
afterthought always shows.