The Kittenish Girl.

Otago Witness, Issue 1920, 4 December 1890, Page 42

The Kittenish Girl.

Men Cotton to Her When She is Young, but When She is Old She is Apt to Tubn Into an Old Cat. This has been a great season for the kittenish girl. In fact, she has so multiplied in number as to further make good the feline comparison. This sort of girl, it goes without saying, is small of stature aad generally in feature. She may or may not be pretty, but she must be passably plump, soft, and caressing. Blue, black, or brown will do for her eyes —grey is most fetching this year ; but they are better round than long, for that helps to the child-like-appearing gaze, so large a part of the kittenish girl's capital, especially when they open wide under a little curly fringe. This type of girl, too, has tears continually on tap ; a bit of sarcasm, a burned finger, or the sorrows of a rich young man turns the spigot promptly, though for general effectiveness there is nothing better than a wounded bird or a lame kitten. Either admits of 20 pretty poses and tearful little sobs that show the tender heart of the sweet young thing. It is dangerous though tempting work, however, to try to comfort the kittenish girl without witnesses, as many a, well-seasoned man of the world has found out. She has such a way of snuggling up to be comforted, and twining herself, kitten-like, about the stalwart neck of the comforter that, much as he might enjoy it, he might well dread the advent of a third party. The kittenish girl is most cruel to the crude young man. He, with heart untried and faith in woman, falls an easy prey. When the embryo Tabby sees him approach she sharpens well her little claws and strokes smoothly over them the velvet fur ; all the mouser instinct is alive within her now. Softly she purrs her soothing song into young Thomas' ear, and playfully she gambols about him until *he has lost all doubt ; then, tired of her prey and longing for another victim, she sharply puts out her dainty paw and scratches deep and hard into an honest heart. Scratches heal, even though scars are left, and the owner of the heart will laugh again. All the same, he will never forget tis first encounter with the kittenish girl. When he meets another be is not at all surprised to hear that, she is engaged to two or three men at a time, amuses her friends with their love letters, and dips a hand on which glitters the solitaire of one into the gold bonbonnaire of the second, filled with the candied comfits of the third. When the kittenish girl reaches her third season there comes a crisis. It is the fight between the kitten and the girl. If the former wins she develops into that dread creature, the cattish woman, whose voice and touch are terror to her household, and who would rather scratch up the reputation of the dead than have no food for scandal. If the girl has it she will develop into the little dumpling of a housewife who has pink-cheeked babies to hug and make delicious puddings for her husband.