The San Francisco call., 1910-01-02
By Margery Daw

RIGHT women, yes; but no
damned intellect" Such. in
,. - Athertonian language. is mere
mans attitude toward blue stockings.
Serve him a frothy soufie of feminine
culture. or a dainty dish Of bas bleu
. disguised in sauce piquant. and he will
relish il without q pang Of suspicion.
But give him the raw material In
heavy, indigestible chunks-hen none
OF It.
This vital distinction is unknown to
the intense young college alumnae
who makes her first entry into the
social world and collides, headon, with
masculine disapproYal. The possession
OF q. mind, she is told. is fatal to the
art of pleasing, and straightway she
registers a terror stricken Il recant'
and proceeds TO repair the ravages OF a
mistaken education. Forswearing all
serious thoughts and ideas, she pares
herself down 10 a common denominator
of sleek nullity and bribes her way
with little naivetes and unassuming-
pesses What do I know about any
tking2" is her stock attitude; "frivoI'
and foolish" are her favorite pass
words, and she refuses to enter into
any conversation save the lightest and
most f7ippant, or 10 confess to any
reading heavier than Munsey's or The
Red Book.
Alack! the lady doth protest too
much. and her ingenue pose isn't a
bit convincing. Not thus is her prob
lem TO be solved-by mistrusting her
own special gifts and exchanging her
identity for the imperfect similitude OF
some one else. A closer study OF man
will reveal this truth-that a woman
may read and reason and be a charmer
still-if, first Of all, she knows her
meter de femme She must be nicely
versed in heart lore and it will not
much matter how deep she delves into
the ologies and isms. She may have
q Phi. d. degree and taste for Ibsen,
Nietzsche and Shaw, but If she wears
a lot Of frilly fUrbelows and listens
with rapt gaze and parenthetical ap-
plause while man recounts the details
OF his latest business deal, then he will
smile on her culturine stunt as merely
a quaint caprice She may with i'm
punity go in for psychological research,
provided she knows the psychological
moment" 10 laugh appreciatively at
his time worn repertoire. She may
even practice medicine and smash all
his ideals Of "a wOman's proper
sphere if only she sOothes the mas
culine ego with hot applications of
dattery and pellets Of subtle sympathy.
>
Of 6ction-how they charml Diana
OF the crossways." pearl Of intellec-
tuals, comrade of England's great ones,
queen Of Olympian feasts and political
petits soupers Witty, sparkling, bril-
liantein conversation, yet was she never
the dominant mouologist She led su-
perbly. fused contrarieties. covered de-
hcieHcfes, mixed and leavened, and in
her stimulating presence all were
greater than their wont. Before all
personal glory was her ambition for
the career of her lover, Percy Dacier.
She was his social hacker and ex-
ploiter Through her he was encour-
aged, inspired TO put forth his powers
and cross swords with the wisest and
wittiest of her salon till he felt him
self doubled in brain and heart energy
Her delicious chatter and her muse
ful sparkle in listening equally quick
ened every sense Of life" That one
sentence epitomizes a whole volume o!
advice on How 10 be charming, though
brasny." Her delicious chatteri'-not
an avalanche Of words a la Nine. de
Stael Her talk bubbles up in rides
cent jets Of spray II isn't poured over
you in. bucketfuls. And then, that al
Turing picture Of eager Interest and at
tentiou sketched in the words, "her
museful sparkle in listening Who
would not feel a power come to- him
from such a sympathetic auditor2
Another type Of learned charmer is
Lady Roses Daughter" that 1ctional
counterpart of a very real queen OF
society-Julie de Lespinasse. In the
drawing room dramas OF political am
Bition, she was scene shifter and stage
director; never stage center. And
therein lay her power. Lacking Di-
ana's beauty and vivacity she did wise
ly in choosing a humber role. She