The Home Circle

Southern Cross, Volume 2, Issue 21, 18 August 1894, Page 9

The Home Circle

[Conducted by LINDA.]

FAVOURITE HEROINES OP FICTION.

(Concluded.)

Another type of heroine is the sweet, modest young girl, who only reads the books dear mamma chooses for her, and yet, although so very innocent, is most surprisingly wise, her wisdom showing forth in every word and deed|; in fact in every circumstance of her life she shows the cunning of the serpent not always combined with the harmlessness of the dove. In' conversation or argument is always victorious. Delivers, extempore, whole paragraphs of glowing logical reasoning that would do credit to a finished orator. Should her dignity be offended she draws herself up with the air of a tragedy queen, and with a stony stare freezes the unfortunate delinquent with the inimitable “Sir!” On introduction‘to the reader this charming maid, with her slender, girlish figure, fair hair, and eyes of “ heaven’s own blue,” is usually found in her boat, hopelessly stranded, her oar entangled among weeds, and looks the picture of despair, while “ two great tears ” well up in

her eyes and course “silently” down her cheeks ; 4ier hair becoming unloosened, falls in “ rippling waves of gold ”to her waist. Just at that precise moment “he appears, and, somehow, her “utter helplessness”’ appea ls strongly to his manly nature. He bounds forward to the rescue,.her eyes beam with gratitude, and chapter? three finds him vowing to love, cherish, honour, and obey her, is it P (if notit should be) till death do them part.

To digress for a moment; —How is it, dear Linda, these heroines’ hair always falls down their shoulders at the most interesting stage P Can yon enlighten me ? That fact is one of the many things I cannot understand. If one has a fairly good head of hair,, one requires at least a dozen hairpins, to fasten it up even temporarily, ancl yet, sad fact, these fair maidens can “ do ” up their hair in graceful coils with one hairpin, as the .novelist blandly informs 'us ; moreover, that one hairpin evidently seems thoroughly to understand just what is required of it—the exact length of time it must remain -stationary, and the precise moment when it’s “off duty.” I have never met with such an obliging hairpin. A friend assures me that she one day mude up her mind to try this one hairpin trick. So in the seclusion of her room the attempt was made,, and, unfortunately, proved an ignominious failure. Banging her hairin one huge fluffy mass, commonly designated the “ bun,” she took the longest hairpin available and. thrust it through the centre of the bun. Then in her mind’s eye she pictured herself being chased across a field by a mad dog. The hedges all around, and no escape from the brute possible. To heighten the illusion, my friend careered frantically around the room, at intervals giving sundry little encouraging shakes of the head to loosen her hair. Suddenly across her mental vision flashed the pleasing spectacle of a young gentleman, carrying a stout cane, and bounding towards her. At last, he reaches her side, captures and stays the brute, and turns to assist the panic-stricken damsel. With a most unmerciful jerk of her head, as a sharp reminder to the hairpin that now it’s off duty she falls exhausted into the manly arms —of her father, who at that moment opened the door and was demanding in loud and angry tones all that fearful racing and scampering meant ?’ She took a side-long glance at the mirror, wherein is revealed her face, red as the rising sun, hair hanging’ stiffly in miserable little wisps at the side, while the main portion, stubbornly and triumphantly defiant, maintains its original position. A few words served to show the parent that his daughter was not temporarily insane, but was only suffering from the effects of the taint of curiosity with which, since the days of Mother Eve, the female portion of the community has been so sadly endowed.

The surprising feature about these--4 heroines ’ is that never by any manner of means are they found guilty of domestic work. The heroine may be discovered 4 chiefly arranging a few roses in a vase,’ or calmly intent upon some intricate piece of embroidery. But never does the hero discover his divinity sewing on a shirt-button or darning a sock. Whoever read of a heroine who rose up in the early morning, prepared the breakfast, washed and dressed all her little brothers and sisters, saving her mother all the endless routine of household duties,, whose admirer, calling unexpectedly,, found her ironing white shirts and collars P If it were possible for a heroine to begin life by making herself so • humbly commonplace, she would be made to suffer severely for straying from the orthodox path. In thevery next chapter she would catch smallpox, and recover to be left the domestic drudge to the end of her life, proving an awful and fearfuV warning to all heroines who would be tempted to follow in her strangely misguided footsteps. K. C.