WHEN THE HOMELY GIRL WINS

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 290, 28 February 1928, Page 5

WHEN THE HOMELY GIRL WINS

COMPARING TYPES The homely girl does not always W'in. She is at such an obvious disadvantage in comparison with the smart girl, who has the appearance of winning almost all along the line. Almost, not quite. Personally, I never feel more sure of her winning capacities than I do when some man, treat-

ing me as a sister or an aunt, as the case may be, talks like this: “I can’t stand these modern girls. You know the type I mean. Face made up horribly; skirt above the knee. I sit opposite them in trains and buses, and I wonder what the end of all this sort of thing is going to be.” Sometimes the end of all this sort of thing, as far as the man is concerned, is that he marries a smart girl, but he does not always get the chance. Smart girls are not only so shocking; they are so expensive. Most men w’ould get over being shocked if only they could get over the danger to their bank balances. Anyway, you may be certain that when a male colleague holds forth to your sisterly self on the subject of “these modern girls” he is feeling peevish because he can’t afford to take one of them out, or perhaps because he wouldn’t know how to talk to one of them if he could. The impertinent poise of the young woman with the long, silk-clad legs troubles his sense of superiority; lie would like to b© as sure of himself as she is of herself. The only way to attain to this sureness would be to embark on a successful “affair.” That he can’t do. Hence his confidences. That Rare, Real Indifference Don’t let him deceive you. The man who is really indifferent to skilled allure does not talk about it. He is not likely to b© interested, lure she never so skilfully. But he is rather rare. The smart girl stands for that absurd, impossibly life with a capital L that haunts most men who have a living to earn. She is fascination, charm, danger and romance. The homely girl is merely real life. She is companionable, kind, safe and ordinary. More often than not she wins the lasting things. She is the good wife, the good mother, the good housekeeper. She wins for herself a permanent place iri the life of one man (other women may have places there, too, but they are not permanent), she makes in her home that centre to life which we all need and many of us miss. True, she may not marry. But, then, neither may the smart girl who, conceal it how she may, finds spinsterhood a bitter existence. It is certainly a test of character, and the homely girl’s character stands the test. Tier companionableness, her kindness, her sincerity, and her normality make her a quiet joy to us all, men and women alike. She very often wins in this sense. Not always, of course, for the homely girl may be ill-tempered or silly just as the smart girl may be generous or heroic; it is a very mixed world.