BUTTERFLIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 43

BUTTERFLIES.

i There aro severe moralists who would do • away with the human Butterfly — there was 1 also an English king who would fain have J destroyed the nightingales, becauss they tiisc turbed his prayers ! It may be that as a society we are unac5 quaint ed Avith the most gorgeous and perfect r specimens of this charming creature, but we j have quite a fair number of "the common ! or garden kind," a st'idv of which may prove interesting. The male Butterfly in the colonies is a f somewhat hardly treated type, so little op- i ) J portunity occurs for his due development. ' i ; City life is necessary to his existence, for in ' ' j the artificial warmth and glare of its gaieties '_ i j alone can he flutter ; but, alas ! — to travesty ■ J the French proverb — " it is necessary to \ [ i work to live," and every day for so many \ L I irksome hours he must submit to the sordid 6 | routine of bank, office, or warehouse, as 5 i though he were the commonplace bee instead I of a gay Butterfly. ' 1 It is not to be wondered at that gradually . ! the youth acquires a supercilious expression ' | j which seems oddly out of place on his com1 i monplace visage, and ridiculously unsuited •[ to his daily duties. It is the mark of his re- > I bellion against his environment ; the out- \ | come of his disgust at the discrepancy be- ' j tween all that might have been and all that • i is. In his scrappy little reading, consisting " i of novels and magazines, he has acquainted ' I himself with s ome of the features of a J j "man about town";* his life, tiis tone, his [ j adorable air of blase supercilioiisness, his ' j critical view -point. He longs with an in- ; ! tensity that is pathetic in its silence, to be, ' i to do, and to look all these things — some- [ 1 times for a few happy hours he persuades '• himself that he succeeds. That is when he , flutters gaily at some society function, and ] *i forgets whether " markets are tight " or - 1 j "buyers are uneasy.'" • 1 | Usually, however, it is his mother and J sisters who exhibit the wealth and standing of the family, as they drive solemnly round ; paying visits, and perfectly happy in the f consciousness that their " hideous costumes i " came from Home " and cost ! ! I They ' 1 &i ye , ponderous dinner parties too, and the j { rnelfu receives much more attention than the choice of guests, since it has not yet come to be very widely understood among us that in order to make a dinner party-all that it < should be, each guest should be as carefully clibsen as the entrees and the wines. ■ At these dinner parties, however, the sons of j i the house do not shine : their butterfly wings j droop heavily. Conversation is a lost art \ which they despise, and listening a grace of \ which they are ignorant. Moreover, what ' i up-to-date person ever dreams of listening * ito anyone? The Butterfly sisters are better j equipped for such occasions, for they spend an hour in dipping into the Review of Re- | views, and thus armed are -ready to attack j any of the subjects of the day. 'They know I enough to " draw " their neighbours to right ! and left, and even if the discussion becomes • serious, dibiniss the politics, arts, and the j literature of Europe m a few short sentences, ambiguous enough to suggest thought and opinion -still latent.* It is skating over thin I ice, for really they knew nothing more than the names of the places at which the pulse of Europe beats at fever heat, and the bugle calls sounding down the giunt defiles of the > Indian frontier mark out the fateful hours ! The armies and navies of the world, the peace which sleeps so lightly the war which wakes so easily— all these are topics which ignorance warns them to touch bu'. lightly, '.they smile more naturally when they are i "able with decency to turn to the questions j which really interest them, and upon which : they rattle off comment, criticism, and speciiktion. The last gymkana, the' recent Sounds trip, the Governor's visit, his Excellency's manners;, her Excellency's gowns, the respective merits of Todd's or Undine's tailor-made costumes, and the rival claims j' of Madame Cello's evening gowns as against ' Mrs Wrong's "creations." | Still, beware of lakmg these dainty Butter- i flies at their own valuation. The /desire to | i be stamped with the hall mark of Butterfly- i dom ; to pose as the Frivol of Fiction. They { will scowl at their mother if ;he betrays tlfe ; fact that all the sweets of this very dinner ' party were made by them. They " have no j j patience " with Aunt Julia, 'who first made ! { public the fact that the rich and wonderful l cakes for which their afternoon teas have become famous are all made by them. Nay, more : they make their own blouses, and are dainty or dashing — as the case may be — ■ fancy workers. ! These accomplishments, however, are all ; | lights hidden under a bushel, poor Buti terfly' s whole aim is to be as perfect and j useless a frivol as her sister Butterflies of t '■ > older and wealthier communities. "' who toil j not, neither do they spin," and yet in the i matter of splendour ' knock Solomon into J '. | a cocked hat;" as I iieard one paraphrase the | : Ancient Book la •si week j ' It is not, however, at home tha. the But- i < terfly flutters her daintiest, nor is the best ! ! seen at a dinner" party', and " musicals " to '< I tell the truth bore her to death ; while to ' : j speak of her as one of the mainstays of her ] parish in church matters would seem at first i sight a brutal and unnecessary satire. But- ' terfly is, however, very dear and extremely ~ useful to her parish clergyman, who knows ' he can always rely on lier. ; Skirt-dancing, a nigger minstrel entertain- : menl, concerts, tableaux vivants, " drawing- : room entertainment," farce, lecture, limelight exhibition — the list is a long one, but it must be regularly drawn upon through ! all the winter months, or charity funds would run dismally low. And here it is that Butterfly and her sisters become the right hand of the committee. Who so willing to step into the breach, who works so gaily 4 levies on her men, friends bo -success- i

Stilly and* get's off tier -tickets' so rapidly % Butterfly? ' T The severe moralist who wages war tipoii poor Butterfly will do well to think of fch«sf things, and to remember as well, that life in its social aspects owes much to the gaiety;the brilliant appearance, the brightness and charm of the Butterfly. It is true she haa* .her special fields of conquest — surroundings' which best display ncr beauties aud fascina-: tions — but let us be candid : do we not allrequire the " beauty o* fitness " to show off' our other qualities of mind, person, or attainment? Let us not take too much credit to ourselves for being Bees ! Perhaps it was -u-obson's choice. "Would our sober tints and quiet matter-of-fact drone be half as effective at garden party, race, or ball, as Butterfly's brilliant raiment and high clear laughter? Scarcely ; then let us not grudge Butterfly the full enjoyment of gaieties that are her earthly para- ' disc, and let us, even while we point out her I faults, pay ready tribute to her good quali* ties. While we busy Bees are occupied witlt a score of cares and worries, duties, toilsjpursuits, turning our frocks, trimming our own hats, patiently sewing at Dorcas mcct r ings, laboriously practising choir music, « dutifully reading up 'he current topics of the day, let us be thankful to Butterfly for atten* ( 'ding to the business of pleasure. _ Public functions and private hospitalities . alike are the liapjiy hunting ground of But? , terfly and" all her merry crew. Here . she , meets men, naturally an important consideration, though for quite unimportant reasons. They need nci be eligible bachelors, , for poor Butterfly has no designs on the ' matrimonial market ; she is no husband-hun- . ter, and merely desires the presence of the ' male Butterfly as a mark for " chaff," an adjunct to "a good old time," and an element to generally "tone up" the proceedings. Charitable and benevolent projects a,so .bulk largely on Butterfly's p:ogramme of amusement, but always on certain very clearly-defined conditions. For example, Charity must have been fortunate enough to secure the sympathy of Fashion, and Benevolence must be under the patronage of Society. These conditions heing fulfilled, and Butterfly having ascertained that the committee or chaperones are undeniably " smart," the dresses pretty (and inexpensive !), and " all the people one knows are going to be in it," acquiescence is certain. Who could work harder, give up more : time, endure more, fatigue than Butterfly? t -Mot you or I, though we criticise freely, sneer a little, and grudge the money we nay to look on. We are only Bees— for -this and that and the other reason we shall never Tbe Butterflies, but we may be generous as well as just ; we may lay a&icle our hateful little air of superiority and conscious virtue, And pay, Butterfly the praise or admiration she justly merits in aonchipting for us the Business at Pleasure, <tnd the Pleasure ,of Charity.