The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-25
SOCIAL CALENDAR.

paid very little attention to her words. The music of her voice Was enough to me. With rolling "rs" and broaden ed "a's" her limpid words flow softly like the purring of some sluggish brooklet and the music hath charms that soothe even my savage breast. It Is like listening to the singing of somc great prima donna of foreign tongue. One may not understand the words that she utters. but finds ample enjoy ment in the magic of her wonderful voice. So 1t was with your Southern women. The musical sounds were enough. To be perfectly frank with you. often preferred not to hear what she was saying. One would not care to hear ragtime played on a church organ. In just the same way a person with an artistic temperatment does not care to hear such beautiful voices de- based to the commonplaces of everyday conversation. If one heard an angel talk. one would expect to hear angelic things Just so, when one listens to a voice that is more beautiful than the angels can possibly possess. one wants to hear beautiful words. It is positive ly distressing to hear a heavenly voice say: "Yes. I do mine with lard" or Servants are such a bore. don't you know"
 All this reminds me of the time met one of the most distinguished
 Southern women in the United States. She Is writer of great repute and
 woman whose brilliancy has startled two continents. Her books are among
 the best sellers every year and un- like many best sellers, they are really a small gathering at which she was to be present It Is needless to say that I looked forward with great deal of interest to the meeting. and was on hand early. From afar I gazed with awe and reverence Her manner as she greeted old friends was
 charming and gracious in the ex-
 treme. She had the dignity of born queen and the beauty of Venus. Surrounded by a coterie of admirers
 she moved hither and thither in regal
 majesty. Her lips moved. People
 semed to hang unto her words. Care fully I maneuvered that I might get
 near enough to also enjoy the pearls of wisdom that fell from her lips.
 At last my purpose was accomplished.
 The music of her voice reached my ears. Entranced I listened.
 And think of 1t, butter Is thirty eight cents"
 never could hear her name mem tioned after that, could never see one of her books, without having my mind
 vaguely wander off to the butter mar ket. And so perhaps you will not blame me for saying that I preferred to enjoy the charm of the Southern
 womans voice without paying too much attention to the words.
 Like all Southern women, the wo-
 man of the South in the United States i is languid. A Northern woman, to whom I once remarked. this said: You
 don't mean languid. you mean"-and | then she used a much shorter word
 which also begins with '1." I smiled l and attributed this to sectional preju | dice. for 1t is a fact that the women
 of the North fail to understand those
 of the South, and vice versa. The
 woman of the North, invigorated by the winters cold and the icy blasts
 which she has to breast Several months 1 of every year. cannot appreciate the | languor of her Southern sister who | getting the benefit of no such natural | tonic gradually succumbs into | state of graceful inactivity which adds
 rather than detracts from her charm. The Southern woman in the United
 States Is more tasty than the woman l of Southern Europe. We find on the
 older continent that the farther south
 one goes the more vividly the women
 dress. This Is not so in the United | States. The Southern women here dress with great simplicity, running much to white, and the cooling pres ence of their airy gowns makes Itself Iagreeably felt on any and all tired
 and humid people with whom they come in contact. The Southern girl
 of the United States is more like the European girl than any other in your | country. She fills more purely wo-
 mans sphere than do the women of any other part of the your energetic land. She bothers less with the habits and occupations of the men of her family and she tries less to initiate l them and crowd them from the center of the stage, than do her Northern and Western and Eastern sisters. These
 latter, of course, say that 1t Is because
 she is too easy going and lacking in
 ambition. To me, however, it seems to be because she has a better appre-
 citation of what really constitutes a woman's duty. However, as I have said several times in the course of
 these articles. all American girls are
 charming. and while 1t Is true that we
 could not change them If we would,
 1t is probably equally true that we
 would not change them If we could.
 CHERRY WIDOW. IN THE ALPS! Berne, March l3-Switzerland has | declared war on "cart wheer' millin- l cry. The big hats which have lat l terly had so much vogue among the
 women of all nations are to be classed
 as bicycle wheels on the Swiss State Railways. and will have to be conveyed
 in the luggage vans. The official mo- | tice reads as follows: = ! Ladies hats more than 31 1-2 inches
 in diameter will. according to Article
 IF of the Railway Tariff adopted in
 February, 1906, henceforth be regarded
 as wheels. Any lady wearing a hat of