Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1913-02-26
.FLIppANcY IN GIRLS
BY sARBARA BOYD.

being -ladyl1ke and retlrlnS anu HOO
est and all that. But IL she does, she
gets left"
whats the trouble, PhoeseT
chorused the group.
mo particular trouble" rblithely ire
turned Phoebe. "ButI was just think
ing such advice is out of date. II q
girl takes it nowadays, It'll make her
wallflower and eventually an old
maid, or, suppose I;should say, bach.
elor girl"
Something has gone wrong" said
one of the girls sagely
Did you know Sue Dickinson n
carried again. asked Phoebe.
mol" calculated the others. "Who
TO-"
Kenneth Leaverett."
you don't mean it,"
yes, I do And that's what set mo
to thinking upon old-time advice. In
spite Of everything her parents said
she ran away, you remember, and mar
ried Ned Wi1loughby. Then she quar-.
relied with him and finally got a
divorce. And now in less than year
she is married again. And here are
ell of US, quiet, ladylike, well.bred
girls, hanging yet on the parental
stem"
Huh" said one indignantly. Il
wouldn't want to marry either Ned
Willougtby or Kenneth Leaverett."
That may be" replied Phoebe.
but even if you had, you wouldn't
have had the chance. You're not for
ward enough. don't want to get into
personalities" she said hastily, as she
saw CLEAN in the other girls eye.
I'm just drawing deductions. AS
you know, / was invited to house
party last week, out at WhitRey's per"
fectly superb home. And who do you
think was the most popular girl there,
quiet, well-bred little me or charming
Alice Markham? Not bit OF it. 1t
was loud. giggling individual who
t61J!!sed constantly, laughed constantly
played jokes on the men, kept herself
in every way possible in the center
of the stage. The men simply focked
around her. They lowered over her lika
bec7 over q flower. And the rest or
re sat Of II wcll.bred and ladylike
cult and talked to each other"
"fHt;.t sort OF thing doesn't last
CDrcrved one.
she FAC a good time while 1t dill
last, though. And that's more than
the rest Of US did,
Il wouldn't care for the attentions
Of men like that" said another.
ooh, they were good enough, as mel
CO." replied Phoebe. you have ta
take them as they are. You can't
make them to order"
1T seems to me, them" said q
fourth, "that the men are to blame
for all the forwardness and fippsncy
In girls, and the way they dress ana
all the other things they do that they
shouldn't. 1t would be sort Of COM
fcrtable to blame the men for 1t all,
wouldn't it,"
They won't care" quoth Phoebe
They'll go right on showering all
their attentions on the girl with tha
most false hair and the biggest hats
and the highest skirts and the
readiest laugh, whether there is any
thing to laugh at or not"
Let them" interrupted another.
There's something more to life
than merely pleasing the men. II j
prefer refinement and good breeding
and good taste, or think they ar
right and their opaosites wrong, lar,
not going to throw them over merely
to win masculine favor. I think We
ought to get down to the bedrock fac,
of what Is right and worth while, moi
merely to whether our conduct viii!
win fleeting popular favor. We want
those things in our character that arr
going to give us lasting satisfaction.
And, believe me, none Of us hers
would flpd lasting satisfaction in thu
regard Of men who like vulgarity IN
dress and manner. And, believe me
too, the incest men don't. and ever
If they seem to for little While, II L
either out of idle curiosity, or to pu;
in time, or a mere passing fancy
I'll stick to the advices of mothers anG
auna and grandmothers. They have
been observing human nature muc!
longer time than We have, and theT
know how 1t wears"
Well" said Phoebe, "I suppose the
girl with high standards Of conduc:
Is Of more value to society than the
girl without them. And suppose il.
IS worth while to be Of some value
somewhere"
And I'd rather have my self
respect" said another, than the atter
ton of a dozen men for doing some
thing that I thought beneath me-"