Charm!

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIV, Issue 282, 8 November 1924, Page 10

Charm!

WHY NOT POSSESS IT?

To possess charm is to possess the power of pleasing, and the power of pleasing gives to us possession of the things that are most desirable It is a golden key that unlocks all doors*, .jind the effort" to hold it is worth making. ]f you were born with a bright, sunny nature, alb well and good; if not you must acquire it.

Charm is something like? greatness. As Shakespeare says, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” Charm differs from greatness in that it is never thrust upon us. If we are not morn with it, then it must be achieved, chiefly by the elimination of self, for the principal quality in charm is unselfishness. * A selfish girl is never referred to as being charming, without the remark “but awfully selfish” being added, not as an afterthought, but as a mere statement of fact. Also, there is usually the doubtful “rather” placed before the word charming, whicji considerably reduces the quality. Sympathy is another quality that is very much in demand. To be wholly charming you must be sympathetic,

but you must be truthful at the same time. It is very little use giving the sympathy which encourages people to go on making stupid mistakes time after time, when a few words might open their eyes. Sympathy is not humbug. i\aturalness is another great attribute. The charming girl is always natural. She has no poses. Affections irritate the majority of people, and she is far top considerate, to inflict her idiosyncrasies upon those with whom she comes in contact. That brings us to consideration, which is another of the charming girl’s qualities. Because she is considerate, old and young love her. ■ They can tell her things that they would not dare to tell other people because they know they can trust her, and because they know whatever she says in reply will not hurt their .feelings. So you see that if you are to earn the right to be called “charming,” you must place self last, and this is the secret—only they wouldn’t tell you—of the dear, charming people whom we all know.