The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-01-15
Through the
Widows Lorgnette
BY HELEN ROWLAND.
Man, the Hunter-And Woman,
the Fisher.
Copyright, 1920, by the Wheeler
Syndicate, Incl

Some day." announced the Widow,
as she e-xtravagantly dropped two Jumps
OF sugar into the Bachelors cup. Il am
going to tell the real truth about
women
The Bachelor raised his eyebrows will
a glance OF anticipation.
What have they DONE he inquired,
ito drive you to this cruel extremity"
Nothing" admitted the Widow,
helping herself to a wicked looking
marion glace. but l do get so unspeak-
ably tired of reading all these old plati-
tudes by the 'heart-throb' writers on
How to Win a Man. How to Hold a
husbands Love, and all that. Just as
though any love you had to clutch at
was worth holdingn'
"Bravo!' cried the Bachelor, clapping
his hands, but" he added with d sud
lei afterthought, considering the
splendid working knowledge you already
have, why do you continue to c
them?'
Because" explained the Widow. Il
stil cherish a desperate sporting hope
that some day some writer will say
something different, something new,
something en~lightening! But they never
do. They all begin in exactly the same
way, with exactly the same false prem
ises. n end in the same haze OF gilt
tering generalities. Even Eleanor
Glynn, who ought to know better-
"Or-worsep' interpolated the Bach
elor soto voice.
Even Elinor Glynn," repeated the
Widow, starts right off with the old,
old banal statement that man is a
natural born hunter"
well, isn't he?" demanded the
Bachelor innocently.
"Of course" The Widow waved her
teaspoon with a gesture Of scorn, And
woman is a natural born fisher
"What?" the Bachelor almost tipped
over his tea.
You overlooked that. didn't you?"
laughed the Widow. That's what they
all overlook, or forget, or ignore. They
always assume that a woman's n wild
desire Is to be the quarry In the love
chase, and that her one consuming pas
sion is to and a husband. They never
give her credit for having any sporting
instinct or any vanity or any prowess,
or any interest on earth In attracting
a man, except in order to marry him
Stop" cried the Bachelor, in shocked
tones. You're shattering one OF my
most cherished Illusions. You must be
talking about a 'vamp!'"
I'm not" protested the WIDOW I'm
talking about a normal, nice, average
girl, who enjoys attracting a man just
for the sake of-of being attractive, and
enjoys her sentimental fishing just as a
man enjoys his hunting
Dul 4 IL XII I ION W " -
band" inquired the Bachelor In frank
bewilderment. what does she fish for?'
For the pleasure Of fishing, Mr..
Weatherby! For %glory-for vanity-for
excitement. What does a man fish for
He doesn't catch a fish because he
her lines or her smiles in a mans di-
rection he hears wedding bells and sees
'Object-matrimony,' written all over
her! Whereas she may be doing it
purely unconsciously-'
"Or merely for practice " put In the
Bachelor cynically, ito test her ability
to catch a bigger fish"
We'll" admitted the Widow grudg-
ingly "a girl must practice on some
body, at some time. She couldn't pos
sibly want to marry all he men to
whom she tries to be agreeable and
pleasant and attractive and charming
And yet I've seen half a dozen men In
the same ballroom at one time, all or
whom thought the same woman was IN
love with them"
Yes" rejoined the Bachelor with bit
ter Renaissance, 'and I've seen that
same woman exerting her every art to
make 'em all think it."
well" confessed the Widow, flush.
ing a rosy pink, its so tempting-and
so easy! But the woman may have been
utterly innocent of intending to exert
any wiles whatever, 1t may have been
Just a ~subconscious feminine instinct
with her, a natural, innocent habit of
trying to be as charming and pleasing
as possible, But no man will believe
that. Every mortal one of them looks
upon an unattached woman as a men
ace to his peace of mind. If he's SIN
gle he thinks she's trying to lure him
into matrimonyi n II he's married he
thinks she's trying to lure him OUT of
it, It's awfully hard on a normal girl,
" with a normal amount OF vanity"
ut must be-" sympathized the Bach
elor. 1T makes the trout so shy"
Sometimes agreed the Widow, and
sometimes 1t makes them lust the other
way. In almost certain my butchers
ment for him, Mr.. Weatherby; and
probably the postman, and the iceman.
and the milkman, and the grocer's clerk
all feel the same way
We'll, what do you smile at EN- for
demanded the Bachelor.
/ simply because smiling is a habit
J with me-" explained the Widow. That
just what I'm trying to prove. From
4 the time a Woman is old enough to
climb up and look into a mirror she
learns that a smile is more becoming
and more useful to her than a frown. 1t
becomes second nature to her to pat her
hair and glance in the mirror, and as
sumo her most attractive expression at
the sound of a masculine footsten. To
charm, just for the sake of being charm
ing, is not only q prlneVdl instinct WIN
her. it's a feminine fetch handed down
to her by hundreds OF ancestors. And
the fact that she tries to be attractive
to a man doesn't mean that she wants
to marry him, or to 'vamp' him, or to
break his heart or deceive hint
doesn't mean a thing in the world"
Except an acute and irresistible de-
sire to see if she can attract him, a"
put in the. Bachelor.
Yes" acquiesced the Widow, like
the fishing instinct or the hunting
instinct and the only difference be-
tween man, the hunter, and woman, the
fisher, is that when a woman finally
falls in love she throws away her rod
and reel and loses all interest in the
sport-as a sport-forever."
Her designs are accomplished.
Amen" finished the Bachelor, impress
sively.
Designs! Designs" cried the Widow
flinging up her hands with a gesture of
evaporation. Haven't I just spent
half an hour proving to you that a wom-
an hasn't any 'designs?' She has moth
ing but impulses"
Tell that to the trout" scoffed the
Bachelor. Perhaps he won't mind be-
ing caught if he knows it was nothing
but an 'impulsive' that made you catch
him-just to prove that you could"