The Irish standard., 1905-10-07

individual as we'll as common solution,
The society girl called to serve God in
the realms Of Mammon, the young art
list whose rose-strewn path is made
d0orous by the thorns OF temptation,
the college girl whose faith and femin-
Unity play with the fire of pride of in
tellect' the convent graduate whose
ideals suffer the test of crude realities,
the working girl whose youth and am
bition attract the gay worlds advances
alike face vital conflict between duty
and expedience, though their fields of
battle lie far apart. Perhaps Of these
odds are heaviest against the working
girl, whose daily temptations are not
to sin, but only to folly, which her in
nocence fails to recognize, as s'ns
proximate occasion. Popularity is bart
of her stock in trade; and to be ham
lessly sporty with a sporty employer
or patron seems mere policy leading to
business success by the way of social
pleasure.
Modern men have no use for
prudes," dashing typewriter says
smartly. The angelic girl no longer
gets there"
Gets where, good but gay little girl
whom the world flame is dazzling? out
to lunches and dinners-into automo-
biles and the theatres-and thence to
the little suppers" imported from the
Latin Quarter, intrinsically innocent in
countless cases, Vet whose appearance
of evil the rcproachless and respected
wage earning girl of America cannot
afford. morally or socially. to defy!
Truly, the representative Catholic girl
does not get there" thank God, else
her angels and she had parted COM
pany! But mark how surely she gets
instead, by the Identical moral scrupu-
lousncss, personal reserve and social
"slowneSs" which seems To disuualify
her for success. into the true heart, the
honest life, the happy home of Il good
man, in the holy and honorcd estate of
Catholic marriage! The goal of rever-
ent love and prosperous social position,
for which her dashing sistcrhood are
racing vainly, she attans by the way
OF moral nicely and social uuictude
which spirited girlhood calls stupid"
and "poky." But let ii look to the end
of the broad way of gnyety! Honorcd
wives blessed mothers are not there in
evidence. In their place nutter the
bruised wings and bleeding hearts of
poor human butterflies, broken on the
wheel of inlprudent pleasure.
"Ar, needs must walk with the am
gels of vision and inspiration" sighs
Il struggling Stage girl associated with
the bachelor girl life of literary ,lens
and musical and artistic studios: but
the woman representing the artists
human side walks with mortal men,
too or dies by the wall: and where is
the man who keeps pace for AN hour
Win even t1c ElSt ana !enSt anger Ol
womanhood?"
Not, we grant, where your wislful
eyes look vainly for him! Not in the
glare of the footlights. not in the stage
doors shadow, not i'll the gitterins cafe
the toast of spiritual death, and the
waltz tune to which young and heed
less lives dance, in carth's saddcst,
most tragical measure! Here. indeed,
be men of the word--herc be social
manikinS; but not the good and grand
holders of arts worthy laurcls. who
respond only to the Sweetness and
light" of pure inspiration, and who
honor the virginal soul of art, but stand
stars from its phases of sensuous al
lurcment! These are the men OF great
souls, who live and die for ideals of Di-
vine love and human mercy--the men
whose great intellects look for compl-
ment to the spirituality the Divine
spark of inviOlate feminine genius-the
men of great hearts, who are tender,
like Christ, and as simple as little chill
dren. But she alone walks with such
not as artist alone, but as woman.
But a girl must have go or she
doesn't go off," pouts the debutante
dreading the social tragedy OF matr-
monial failure.
Prccociously world-wise yet ingen-
ious bud Of the social hothousc--at
least she teaches us lesson of candor
Why not be honest, We women and
mcn-bravcly, nobly honest, and doffing
MASKS and dropping shams frankly ad-
NIT to ourselves and to one another
that the universal and perpetual charm
and sustained power, in truth is not its
appeal to mere abstract love of pleas
ure, not its aesthetic igh-lights or its
cruder luxuries, but just the old spell
the sweet spell Of life and lovc-of
youth for youth, of humanity for hu-
manity? Girls may rave of the dance
men of wines and weeds; but the es-
sential, supreme charm of social life
for both lies in its standing invitation
to Loves Young 'Dream--its adequate
marriage opportunity. This is not a