New-York tribune., 1910-08-28
The Flirt
Continued from second page.

looming into simple English, ana
THE is how ne explained: EmotiFe oeiuo'on
no said is the stage Wnere as si'l tiii
ca much about her Irritation that she "e
uarts from the even tenor Oh her nae 90 80,
does not use her reason SO Wen
,bis ;s the point where Flirtatious fannie
,nros tho gas down low when one OF her
ho.re cones to call, so that she can piush
n,,tbo,it being seeI. Professor Breit"ieSei
didn't say So but this is fair lniereiioe'
rhs b,rse Of fixed idea doesn't nave
~ no exclaimed ard it may be noteo 'ia'
everv girl who has a beau, whether sile =
eirt or no. goes TIM ough the "h1ed 4oe"
stages. ,-bis
Next cornes rudimentary parahoia-
does not sound SO easy. PfoIesso- DE-
vieser saws that paranoiac hirt IS siii
who ia so possessed Of fixed ide& tHat 9i41
IA no longer able to ADJUST heiseL ~ i0
soc,a1 Surroundings. This explains why
Lucy insists on gigghng WfeE she sho"iu
he dseorousIy grave. why she pouts In
corner by herself when sen shoold oe say
with other young people. and why ner
,,,,,sio teacher has to give her the same
r,rsIc lesson several times over Lucy IS
thinking OF some Possible One. and Is Nv
t,o, IN her dream rather than in her pres
ent surroundings.
When Lucy gets TO the point where she
e. dsenIv ob. so deeply, in love that she
,ositiveIv can't think of anything In hie
Eut her lover then she has psycnlc heu-
rastheuia, according to Dr. Hail. PROFESSOR
prei+uieser saws that the nervous system
tben s1,ffers deterioration, because lis ac-
tiviffes are confined in too limited neld-
IF r,1ov does not want TO exhibit episoolc
svnntou,s or emotive obsession she should
stop right here and begin to take Few
minutes of every day in which 10 thlhK
or father and mother and little proiheF
Tom
If she doesn't want TO ''wear her heart
on her sleeve" and let everybody Know
how much she Is in love, she should permit
herself only the initial stages of hirting-
This is what Dr. Hall says. and he ousns
10 know.
In spite Of the dictum Of science that
flirting is entirely woman1y and praise
worthy. there are not wanting persons who
hold opposite views and who adhere TO the
time honored opinion that Irritation IS
dangerous pastime for young girls and
harmful to those upon whom they exercise
fascination.
Or Hall does not define what he means
by hrtation' said DR.. Laura NJ R1esel-
! man, a prominent physician of Brooklyn,
and associated with the New York Depart
ment of Health. But, in my opinion. any
girl who will hirt in the commonly ac-
cepted sense of the term has not been
properly taug;:t by her mother. 1t is. of
course perfectly proper for a girl to like
the companionship of young men of her
own age, and for her to be gratifed at at
tentions that are given her, but for her
he vile of f1jrt To
tention from the opposite sex is unwom-
anly.
IL entirely disagree with DIR. Hall in his
opinion that girls need to 1irt emo
tional safety valve. If they need a safety
valve for her high spirits. let them row
or skate or go to a good play or even join
a baseball team. This last would do them
lots of good
Il have seen so much mischief result
from Irritation that l feel keenly on this
subject. 1 have in mind now a woman
who leased a part of a house and began
flirting with the landlord, who lived on the
lower floor. In short time her husband
left her. Then the wife OF the landlord in
sisted that her husband should leave the
home where for twenty years he had been
the husband and father. The man asked
for divorce. but could not secure one. Two
IL
first a Irritation"
But, DR.. Riegelman was reminded. this
was not the case of a girl in her teens"
Quite So she replied promptly, but the
point would make Is that flirting is a bad
habit to form and that no good results
from it. Only recently ! knew of f1irt who
separated young man and his sweet
heart. and when the young man finally
asked her to marry him simply laughed al
| rim and said Well, you didn't think for
moment i would marry you. did you?'
Il am sure that the wisdom of our moth
ers and of our grandmothers. who have
decreed that flirting is dangerous is a bet
| ter guide to follow than the decision even
of so learned a man Dr. Hall"
Miss Annie I. Parsons, New York at
torney. whose experience during six wears
as legal adviser for a prominent charita bIe
organization enables her to speak from, a
! broad experience OF girls. also depIorss spv
tendency that would make young girls feel
! IL quite proper to carry OF firtatio
! Nor do | think Il at all ncedfu! that
girls should have this sort of emotional
safety valve" said Miss Parsons. The
girl of to-day has so many interests that
she does not need to seek relaxation in
n'rting. To-day the girl who 1rts is the
exception rather than the rIIe."
Miss Parsons is New Ene1andsr Nv.
| birth; DR.. Riegelman is Californian on,
their sentiments NAV be taken as ranra
! sentative OF those entertained by the v-oD,
en- or widely separated sections. Notbers
ana srandmethers may still sound . note
OF warning ia their daughters against tb,
dangers OF Irritation. but what cares tho
iassie who would a-firting go?' Sha win
| rare forth on her blithesome wsv as sbs
mas done since the springtime of the uor,1
scattering smiles upon the favored few and
feaplng their harvest of happiness on Of
misery IN due course of time without s,,,.
ing ear either to the encourassmap+ =,
esycnoiosieai experts or to the warnino, =,
nor permission, and Is a Law unto bXrc auXrce