Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, August 30, 1903, Page 27

The Girl Strenuous and the Gusher VERY once in a while you hear E someone, in describing a woman, modify the recital of her virtues r D by the declaration that she is a — “gusher.” The gusher is the very opposite of the modern strenuous type of girl who does things and is apt to be quite as much of a poseur and, therefore, a bore. As a girl she is, of course, genuine, and as impulsiveness is reckoned as one of the delightful faults of youth, guing in- geniousness and a frank disposition, the most daring errors that the gusher is guilty of will meet no reproof other than a smile. But as the gusher grows to weman- hood with *these traits unchecked, the un- restrained sway of her impulses frequently leads her into awkward situations, and her habit of quick thought, speech and action will prove a continucus drawback to her social success The gusher never reasons things out; she rushes to conclusions. She is fond of fre- qQuently declaring the unfailing accuracy of her instinct, when in truth she mistakes her imagination for instinct in nine cases out of ten. As time goes on the gusher, unless she discovers her vocation as the mother of babes, a calling that offers a splendid field for her specialty, woman. She will have moods, violent reac- tions, hysterical fits of confidence which she will regret afterwards. Her honesty of opinion, even of spcech will be continually sus- pected, and any expression of emotion which she may evolve will always he la- beled ‘“‘gush” in the mind of her hearer, while the expression of similar opinion from .a more conservative source would meet with respectful attention. People weary of the gusher. Her friends Jearn to know they are but the toys of her becomes a most unhappy of feeling and mood. She gives so copiously of feeling to those whom she really loves that she tires them. We once knew a gusher who in- sisted on pinning a rose on her husband's pillow every day. During the honeymoon it was delightful, but she continusd the habit, and later on when he prolonged his evenings at the club and struck the rose with {ts attendant thorns unexpectedly when he reached his couch his remarks Wwere unedifying in the extreme. The gusher, in fact, is handicapped in every walk of life. Her friends, who may have been taught early in lfe to be e¢co- nomic In their emotions, will always seem to her cold, calculating and affected. In reality, their feelings will possibly he more : real and substantial than her own, for the gusher always suffers more or less from a form of mental hysteria, and her emotional heights and depths lack reason and carry no weight. Ome of the favorite excuses which the gusher urges in extenuation of her exces- sive expression of feeling is the possession of an artistic temperament. This, by the way, is made to stand for nearly every un- pleasant trait that human nature ig heir to. It is made to do duty for all manner of side speeches, bad manners, egregious selfishness and an absurd sensitiveness that is an aggravated form of self-conceit. Boys, as a rule, are stripped of this self- conscious attitude before they reach the estate of manhood. Life's hazing processes reach them earlier, and, above all, the boy with a tendency to sentimentalize or to gush is ridiculed and made fuh of to an extent that makes nine- teen out of twenty men emotionally secre- tive, But the gusher goes on her was un- checked and sometimes encouraged, for she is apt to be amusing, and this is the most fatal pere in life that any woman can adopt. To be described as amusing is really much worse than to be rated as either “wholesome’” or *“well meaning,” both deadly adjectives in their feminine ap- plication as “good natured” is in mascu- line descriptive lore. The gusher almost invariably marries young, for her temperamental peculiarities prove attractive to the younger men, who always class her demonstrative and reck- less outflow of feeling as a capacity for affection, great loyzity, constancy and do- mesticity. In reality, the gusher rarely possesses these attributes. She is apt to be a flirt, exceedingly fickle in her friendships as in her loves, fond of dress and luxury, and incapable of sacrifice in her domestic rela- tions. She is not mentally responsible for the peculiarities any more than a kitten; in fact, if she is well cared for and loved sufficiently by others who will give in to her moods and caprices she is often agreeable, companionable, and, above all, “amusing.” The gusher, happily, like the strong- minded female, is not a type that will en- dure. Unless cenditions form themselves to her liking, she gets the cold shoulder from the world which, if not conservative, is at least consistent in its demands. She is the extreme of the modern type from which something better must evolve than the rampantly strenuous feminine type that at present has its highest vogue—the type of girl who does things in society, in the professions and on the field of athletics, scorning or pretending to scorn sentiment, and meeting men on a basis that at once places them on the defensive and removes any need for their chivalry, Students who have watched the wonder- N ful evolution from the Amandas and Ara- bellas of the past, with their fainting fits and wasp walsts, through the ballot-seek- ing era and the entrance of women full- fledged for the arena of the business world, pause in contemplation of whut the New Girl will really be. The club girl as yet has not taken any definite position as a force in any par- ticular direction except socially. She has proved her genius for organization, in fit- self an achievement, but little else. The girl strenuous has survived the up- heaval that brought feminine athletics and clubs to the surface, and still remains the serious modern type, now that the New Woman has subsided to a name that means only bifurcation and a latchkey. The strenuous girl Is excellent as a sym- bol of survival, a vallant force toward the betterment ¢f gex conditions, but it cannot be urged for a moment that she stands for an idea As the gusher exuding adjectives over the afternoon tea tables represents the :<ible frivolous human being in petti- o the strenuous girl, tailor-gowned and unafraid, who can translate a time- tahle and go to the theater ulum‘. is be- coming atrociously accented as an Ameri- can type of womanhood. It is true that in the business world she is cxcel'ent in all her undertakings, prompt, relinbie, punctual to the minute in the keeping of her appo!ntments, exact as to her expenditures and accounts, calm and always fit in her going and her comings, ready to paralyze a cabhy or to snub a masher with equal facility. But the abso- Jute perfection of the strenous girl as an automatic machine is her absolute lack in the sex attributes which the gusher pos- sesses and lavishes so freely. The gusher confides, idealizes, belleves, loves. The other girl disdains any expression of deep feelings, reasons out conditions and people and always reserves her opinion, expiessed or otherwise. She always allows her sus- picion of human nature the benefit of a doubt. The girl strenous is the result of the bad aim of the suffragist who, true to sex tra- dition, struck wildly on the outer edge of the target she almed at. The result is that soon we shall have no Dorag outside of the nursery, but the question is, what manner of woman shall we have? Today the leading women of the suffrage movement of twenty years ago sit placid and serene in their accomplishment, but really aghast at the achieving woman of today, like modest hens who, by their united and long-continued efforts, have suc- ceeded in hatching out a Dode bird. Woman has ceased to weep as the poet said she must, and has begun to work. She is too terribly In earnest, and her overdoing of the present must calm down in time to a more sane condition before she begins to attain her best success The paradoxical part of the present state of things is that it is the femininity that causes her to put away her emotions with her curl papers. Were she more logical, reasonable and, above all, plucky, she would not make a show of being so over- brave. The question as to whether she can work side by side with men In the vocations and the professions has been answered in the results that have been achieved. She is not only arguing the courts and dissecting in the hospitals, but she is running ele- vators and cable cars in the wess, and the question as to whether her hat is on stralght or not perplexes not her soul. She is becoming emotionally, if not men- tally, bifurcated. Above all, she is at sea, carried away by a wave that has landed her far out in the ocean of endeavor, far- ther out than her strength fits her for. So she battles with the spray in a frenzy of competition, keeping her place on the crest of the wave, but really beating out her strength against breakers that her brothers learn to dodge. S0 in many cases you sce the successful woman, so-called, who 1Is unnormal, un- sexed and, above all, unhealthy., As Dora was a silly little fool, so this twentieth century girl as she has evolved is some- thing of a feminine monster. If the con- versation of the club meetings does not Habits of American Women O ONE has ever accused Mrs. Burton Harrison, the authoress, of being either too cynical or too fastidious. But she has recently been expressing some ide.s re- specting the habits of members of her sex that are worthy of consideration. She has recently taken pains to arraign American women for their summer habits. “I allude,” she says, “to the utterly irrational way of carrying our winter pleasures, the enter- tainments that belong by right to our season of urban gayety, into the long, hot months when nature and the unfettered heart of mankind cry aloud for simpler joys. All other nations save our own have a time when the leaders and participants ifn social diversion withdraw from the theater of their conspicuous performances before the world and enshrine thémselves in the seclusion of country homes, where nothing happily occurs that is worthy of chronicle in print. The great lady of the British aristocracy seeks her northern moor or stle, where, clad in serge, with a sailor hat, she is abroad all day in the heather or on the water, not to be dis- tinguished in action or attire from the school girl off for her holiday. ‘8o also the Paris belle marquise. Dur- ing these months of inaction in the rervice of the gay world she is at least storing up fresh powers of enjoyment against the time when duty ealls her to take her place again as a purveyor of fashion's mart. And she has tact enough to see that people are more glad to welcome back a favorite than to applaud her every day. “But we Americans,” continues Mrs. Harrison, “‘give no one a chance to wel- come us back. We are always before the curtain, in the full blaze of limelight, maneuvering to the music of an unflagging orchestra. Who is there among the readers of daily newspapers who cannot tell one the whereabouts and proceedings of Mrs, Thi¢¥ and That during every month of Ler busy year, spent im chasing pleasure at home or abroad? There reason when the dear creaturc is cruel cnough to hide is no herseif from our gaze. Her summers are like her autumns, winlers, springs. She dances, dresses, yachts, gives house parties, travels, jaunts, invents novelties in enter- taining with almost delirious she is fortunate rapidity. If enough to possess a coun- try home fitted and equipped with the manifold luxuries of modern life, or a great estate, or even a fancy farm, nothing con- cerning it or her relations to it is ever withheld from the public. The camera, penetrating everywhere, reveals her in her stable yard, on her golf links, among her dogs, or cows, or fowls, In the act of gardening, riding, driving four-in-hind, automobiling, canoeing, sailing her boat or Jumping her hunter over a palr of bars, Wherever she clects to go, when tired of what town lifc has been able to supply to her insatiate appetite for amusement we may be sure it will not be long before we hear a full account of it. “And it Is the same with the whole fam- ily. Once established in a hotel or cottage at the popular resort there Is no holding back from the current that carries all the world on its heaving bosom. Soon father, mother, beys and girls are engulfed in the gayeties the elders may decry, but are not strong enough to resist, They resume the mode of existence that has engrossed them during the winter past. They lunch, they dine together, they must be always en grande tollette, sceing and being seen; their dances oecur night after night, their after- noon drive is the same old pageant of Van- ity Fair transferred from Fifth avenue, only, being more concentrated, it is far more brilliant in effect. Never absent is the nervous strain of trying to keep up with the procession that is the bane to our mod- ern life. It is like black care sitting behind the conquering hero of finance, who sees his family the victims rather than the bene- ficiaries of the millilons he has given so much of his own life to obtain for them. It racks the temper and robs of her best charm the wife and mother, who, at heart, knowing her own folly, eannot control the desire to see herself and hers making as brave a show as any of the rest. And all the while the pace is increasing—the stand- ard of magnificence in establishment, dress and equipage is being pushed upward—the nervous strain goes on intensifying. Cer- tainly we are a wondrous young nation, but in some matters we have yet to learn com- mon sense!” Frills of Fashion Rose patterns appear In the newest silk embroideries in a variety of colorings. Lingerie hats are made of sheer embrold- ery with the figures in pastel coloring. Ball gowns scintillate with rich embroid- eries and sashes figure on all of them, Coque feathers in breasts, pompons and E)um\z designs will adorn many of the fall ats. It is predicted that the favorite colors for autumn will be castor, red, chamois and violet. Persian passementerie intended for next season’'s wear is more vivid in hue than heretofore, Narrow silk braid and cord will be ex- tensively used as a trimming for tallor made costumes. Plain face cloths and self-colored coarse homespuns and hopsacks w.ll be as popular as ever next fall Black, white, cream, eeru and champagne are the shades in which the new =ilk laces will be conspicuous. Among c¢olors other than blue and gray rich reds and browns will find favor dur- ing the coming season. Ivory white will be again in great re- quest for autumn wear, set off with ons of the new cape stoles. Ermine will be favored among white furs, though its scarcity has led to a consid- erable advance in price, Silk passementerie, fringes, tassels and lace are to be employed for the decorative finish of the smartest fur girments. The queen of flowers not only reigns over the world of nature, but just now over the smaller world of table china. Big double roses, little button roses, moss roses, wild roses, all decorate sets of plates and cups and saucers and dishes. In some eases they are sprinkled generously over the china, but more often they appear as wreaths about the berder. reek of society platitude and purple tes it sometimes utters daringly unwoumanly sentiments thinly cloaked in the gauze of an epigram—an epigram that some man has always composed. While Doraism must dic and silliness and sentimentality will go their way, it will be a sad world if ideality and enthusiasm in women are to be battered out against the wheels of progress. A woman choers ing a football game is an inspiring sight, but in it she would be a very patheuo sort of a guy. The danger that besets the path of thoe strenuous girl is the danger of forgetting in her forging ahead. If she Is going to sacrifice her femininity in her achicve- ment, she can only reach a hybrid sort of happiness at best. Carrie Natlon and Mary Walker are both women of eonvic- tion and of brain, but can it be salkd thut they represent anything more that forces slde-tracked, impotent, infinitely sad and hopelessly feminine. The girl strenuous must learn to calmly, to think and work, holding fast above all to her sex supremacy, her hair pins and her blue baby ribbons. In a woman's hands a powder puff will always be more powerful than a hatchet, and a lace handkerchief will make a flag of truce that will carry her safely through the lincs of the enemy. plan The strenuous girl looks at the girl gusher weeping into her ifce cream soda as sho tells of her matinee hero and smiles pityingly. Yet she is quite as lmpossible in her own overdoing The worry, fret and stew that beset woman in domestic life is not escapd when they take up tho world outside. The nerves become unstrung, the volces rasp unpleasantly, their minds and natures warp just as their gowns grow more se- vere. The strenuous girl wins a man's chumship, but he will marry the gusher ninety times out of a hundred. Then he is quite apt to pick out some strong- minded business girl in whom he will con- fide the imbecility of his wife, Women must learn to be sane in thefr endeavor and restful in their sueccessoes, She must try to keep some of her iliu:ions in pickle for occasional hollday use, unless she wants to become a hearthstone cooler, with some fetish in the way of busincss or art set up before her, blotting out the joy and sorrow, the song and the prayer that lite should be to a woman. The gusher may suffer herself, but the girl strenuous will cause others to suffer, She will always be like a melody full of false notes—a discord, harsh and brassy. The gusher sometimes grows pathetically foolish as she grows old, but she rarcly grows sour or cynical. The strong girl must learn values in life and must never place the fever of accom- plishment beyond home, friends, health and happiness—those old-fashioned prizes of life that somehow have never lost th ir value. She must temper her striving with sweetness and learn to have faith in a few infinite truths, The vaudeville women who lift tables and planos with their teeth are never physically beautiful. The overdeveloped mental muscles of the strenuous female leave her stale and distorted; and what- ever the particular star may be for which she chooses to exchange her birthright of sex, she will find it, when it reaches her waiting arms, as unsatisfactory as a ‘very mess of potash,' as some woman, who was not intellectual, once remarked in our hearing. KATE MASTERSON. A skin of beauty is a fuy Toreven, DI T. 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