So let men beware how they criticise us unfavorably, no matter what
their ages, for the truth of the matter is that, be we frivolous or
serious, vain or sensible, clever or stupid, rich or poor, we are what
the American man has made us. We are supremely grateful to him for the
most part, for he has literally made us what we are by the sweat of
his brow. But let him beware how he cavils at his own handiwork. 'Tis
not for the untrained man under thirty-five to complain of us, when
now he knows why we are so.

"I'm not denyin' that women are foolish," says George Eliot. "God
Almighty made 'em to match the men."



THE PHILOSOPHY OF CLOTHES

"Last night in blue my little love was dressed;
And as she walked the room in maiden grace,
I looked into her fair and smiling face.
And said that blue became my darling best.
But when, this morn, a spotless virgin vest
And robe of white did the blue one displace,
She seemed a pearl-tinged-cloud, and I was--space!
She filled my soul as cloud-shapes fill the West.

"And so it is that, changing day by day--
Changing her robe, but not her loveliness--
Whether the gown be blue or white or gray,
I deem that one her most becoming dress.
The truth is this: In any robe or way,