LADIES' DARLINGS.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2109, 7 October 1875, Page 4

LADIES' DARLINGS.

A very great many young men profess to hold the intellectual powers of the fair sex at a: cheap rate, and make a.grand parade of their own superiority. Perhaps they are' justified in doing this._ We, at any rate, will not say that such is not the case. But it may be stated that a proportion of the magnificent individuals must take particular pains to hide their light under a bushel, since no ray of it worth speaking about is permitted to shine on the darkness and stupidity of the world generally. It may further be stated that ,it is singular in the extreme that the splendid beings should be particularly anxious to stand well in the estimation of those whom they affect to consider are of very little account. Yet so de>irous are they of doing this that they will not hesitate to take extraordinary trouble to render themselves attractive in appearance and manner. Nor can you pay one of the tribt a compliment with which he will be more pleased thanthat of telling him he is the very dexice with the women.-The creature is delitihted if he can persuade himself that hp has reason to think that a score orsoof girls are over head and ears in love with him, and there is ground for believing that he would become exhilarated to the last degree if he were informed that some fooli-h damsel had pined-away and died of a broken heart on his aecoiibt. rl'he Jadi that so long as his vanity is ministerial to he is indifferent as to'what üßhappiiessdevolves upon others, affords a not altogether agreeable but thoroughly reliable index as to his character. If he had any conscience* deserving of mention he would not systematically make love—-directly or indirectly—with every girl with whom" he is brought in contact, but being as he is utterly reckless of the feelings of his neighbors,, he does his best to:enslav^%'d""fa'ncy-I^F-''niiie-tehfcM''''d'f-'ffie i attractive women whom->he; meets under circumstances faydurablejoi flirtation..... It would be injudicious to deny that he achieves^ suc^qs's—ifctmay be' that it would be unwise to declare v that he does not obtain many triumphs—for some girls are so silly, andhavemtch sucgjjtible*-hearts, that they would become fascinated by a mopstick, provided that it was 1 skilfully set up, dressed in male habiliments, and called a man: and others, who are a trifle wiser than to be guilty of such stupidity 9 are still foolish enough to believe nine-tenths of what every shal-low-pated noodle tells thorn. But, though this is so, there is cause to hope that the career of the would-be ladies' darling is not one of uninterrupted success, and that he is not the object of so much admiration as he generally imagines. . Occasionally he receives a prompt and decided check from ladies who have,no wish to be made fools of or to suffer in reputation, however slightly, in or<jer that he may be;, glorified; while not a few females play'up to him before bis face and pour unmeasured contempt upon him behind his back. Nor is it surprising that they should do so, for he gives them every reason to think that he is a'shallow and egotistical fool. His conversation consists of a series of dreary inanities, ridiculous compliments which are as insincere as they are in bad taste, and melancholy jokes which consist for the. most part of ill-natured speeches at the expense of some unfortunate victim or other. He seldom assumes that bis lady friends have brains enough to understand anything except the most superficial matters, and when he does venture to touch on the last new book, new picture, new play, new parson, or new sensation, he merely repeats the cant jargon which is current in the set in which he moves, and which frequently condemns what is good and praises what is bad. Besides, his manner is affected ; he wears on his face an everlasting grin, and he is dressed up in such a fa** ion, and has such a slinking way about him, that he appears altogether as much,unlike a genuine man as he could well do. For the rest he lowers the moral tcne of those with whom he associates, and scoffs at everything in which people of correct feeling take an interest. Perhaps, the Ladies' Darling associates to a grf at extent only with those who are the inferior members^'of their sex. At any rate, one would - think so from the manner in which he is in the habit of talking about them.-* His criticisms are free and candid to the last degree. Florence Glitterington he will tell you is a nice girl in her way but devilish " fast," and with a dickens of a temper. On the other hand, he wiJl inform you that May Sleepington is awfully quiet and slow, but still not so bad to spoon with for a change. At the same time he will persuade you that he could wed either "of the damsels if he chose, and, perhaps, he will inform you with an unctuous chuckle that both of the deluded females think that he is going to do so, giving you to understand, however, that he ia too old a bird to be caught with chaff, and that you will not find him. falling into the • pitfall of matrimony in a hurry. It may here . be remarked that he is in the habit of • generously giving long exordiums on the folly of marriage, which generally receive a chorus of approval! As regards the appearance of his lady friends he criticises it as he would that of a mare or the points of a dog. Girls who are fat and girls who are lean, girls who are tall and girls who are short, are alike the victims of his witty (?) sallies. The fact that he has flattered them to their faces, and, according to his own showing, made very pronounced love to them does not prevent him being funny at their expense. Perhaps, however the maidens may be comforted when they are assured that his praise is frequently even less to be desired than his ridicule. The Ladies' Darling is always to be found lurking about in those places in which women mostly^ congregate. An experienced eye can pick him out from a crowd at once. - Sensible men neither like nor respect him, and there is small reason why they should do so. Presumably, because he wastes so much time in dancing attendance upon women in general, if not in particular he has no time to devote to pursuits by which he might obtain an enviable reputation. Besides, there is nothing thoroughly manly in him. Nor is this all that may be urged to his detriment. Often he is something more than a conceited and addle-pated beau. It happens occasionally that he does not devote himself altogether to females in his own rank of life, but pays a great deal of attention to those ■who are beneath him, with most unfortunate consequences. Yet in spite of this fact he is tolerated in society. Why so ? There must, surely, be something " rotten in the state of Denmark " when a Ladies' Darling who, in addition to being offensive in the eyes of people of common sense is known to be vicious, is not made to feel the weight of popular reprobation.—Liberal .Review. . j