The Young Men of the Day.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 47, 29 September 1887, Page 3

The Young Men of the Day.

The Saturday Review says:—“ Many young men get their heads completely turned when they first appear in London society by being taken up and petted by pretty women because they are good looking, smart, and amusing; and they then get the idea that their life is to be one long career of successes, and that any pretty woman on whom they may care to lavish that valuable article which they are pleased to call their affections must necessarily fall a victim to the impassioned devotion of such magnificent and perfect creatures as themselves. As these, men grow older, so does their selfishness and egotism increase, end they soon come to that state of mind iu which they think that it is the right and proper thing to try to lead from the straight path any pretty young married women whom

they admire, and whom they think would add to the dignity and importance of their own valuable selves oy having their own names coupled with them. And at the present time, if a young man does succeed in his nefarious design of getting a lady’s name coupled with his own, his want of chivalry prevents him from trying to hide the association as much a« possible, and his miserable vanity impels him to accept the imputation blandly and with great contentment and pleasure, as it add", in his opinion, to his value in tho eyes of the world. No idea of generosity or manliness seems to stir up his conscience to the

treacherv and cowardice he is displaying to the woman who, whether the world's inferences are correct or not, has sacrificed her good name by her fancy for him. What does it matter to such a miserable victim of vauity that a Iddys’ fair fame is taken away by the scandalous tdngues of society, if only he feels that in the eyes of his fellow-men he has been accredited with a success which makes him an object of envy and respect to his companions of the same way of thinking as himself on such subjects ? He is thought much more of by his friends if he dan score, or at least have scored to him, several such so called 1 successes ’ with ladies ; while any man who openly and with manly courage avows that he would scorn to take advantage of any lady's indiscretion would in this age be laughed at as a‘flat’ and a fool iu not availing himself of the opportunities that are thrown in his way. By far the lowest slate of young men have now fallen is the habit, unfortunately

very common, of allowing by implication that they are on more than friendly terms with a lady. This is greatly attributable to the fact which we have noticed before, that men now have not the slighest scruple in talking about women in clubs and public places in a way that they ought to be ashamed of; and the next step down the hill of degredation is for them to imply by hints and looks that they are the heroes of successes, and to glory in the fact ‘ chaffed ’ about a lady, instead of giving it to be plainly understood that any further allusions will be followed by disagreeable results. Many of these young men would be much improved by the rough-and-ready handling that is meted out to schoolboys when they outrageously violate public opinion in their small world.”