The Women of the West 5 1 



Did she mean it literally ? Perhaps not. But 

 truth underlies these idle words. The Western 

 man is expected to "go till he drops;" and the 

 Western woman sets the pace. Are women judges 

 of pace ? 



You may roughly divide the daughters of the 

 West into two great classes : the bond and the free ; 

 those who have leisure and those who have none. 

 The woman of leisure is a charming creature ; clever, 

 plastic, cheery, and always womanly (the English 

 girl who hunts, shoots, swears, and gambles has no 

 understudies on the Pacific Slope) ; but, be she 

 maid, wife, or widow, she obeys no law save that of 

 her own sweet will. There are many exceptions, 

 of course, but the Western woman of leisure, in 

 startling contrast to other women, does what she 

 likes rather than what she ought ; although often 

 duty and inclination march hand in hand ? If a 

 daughter of the West sits up with the sick child 

 of a neighbour, the chorus says, " How good of 

 her ! " The chorus does not say, " How good for 

 her." 



She is unconsciously the most selfish creature of 

 her sex. To find her mate, you must go to England 

 and take the gilded youth who fondly thinks that 

 the world owes him a living. He has had, as a 

 rule, an expensive and superficial education, he can 

 talk glibly enough about most things on this earth, 

 particularly his neighbours, and his neighbour's 

 wife. He has a feminine love of being " done well." 

 He will join a great house-party and leave it with- 

 out saying good-bye or thank-you to his hostess. 

 He will invite his pals to drink his father's vintage 



