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RAMBLES
IN WOMANLAND
BY
MAX O'RELL
AUTHOR OF
'JOHN BULL AND HIS ISLAND,' 'H.R.H. WOMAN,' 'BETWEEN OURSELVES,' ETC
[Illustration]
SECOND EDITION
LONDON
CHATTO & WINDUS
1903
CONTENTS
PART I
RAMBLES IN WOMANLAND
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THOUGHTS ON LIFE IN GENERAL 1
II. OH, YOU MEN! 5
III. THE ROSE, THE LILY, AND THE VIOLET; OR, HOW DIFFERENT
METHODS APPEAL TO DIFFERENT WOMEN 10
IV. WOMEN LOVE BETTER THAN MEN 16
V. IS WOMAN A RESPONSIBLE BEING? 19
VI. RAMBLES IN CUPID'S DOMAIN 22
VII. WHICH SEX WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO BE? 28
VIII. RAMBLES IN WOMANLAND 32
IX. WOMEN AND THEIR WAYS 41
X. WOMAN'S MISSION IN THIS WORLD 49
XI. IS WOMAN INFERIOR TO MAN? 52
XII. WOMEN WHO ARE FOLLOWED AND ANNOYED IN THE STREET 55
XIII. DANGEROUS MEN 58
XIV. THE MAN WHO SMILES 60
XV. WOMEN AND DOLLS 63
XVI. MEN AS A RULE ARE SELFISH--TWO KINDS OF SELFISH MEN 68
XVII. EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES 71
XVIII. AMERICAN WOMEN IN PARIS 74
XIX. WOMEN WHO WALK BEST 77
XX. WOMEN LIVE LONGER THAN MEN 81
XXI. WOMEN MAY ALL BE BEAUTIFUL 84
XXII. WOMEN AT SEA 87
XXIII. THE SECRET OF WOMAN'S BEAUTY 91
XXIV. THE DURATION OF BEAUTY 95
XXV. THE WOMAN 'GOOD FELLOW'--A SOCIETY TYPE 98
XXVI. THE WOMAN 'GOSSIP' 100
XXVII. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT 103
XXVIII. THE EMANCIPATION OF WOMEN 106
XXIX. SHALL LOVE BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY? 111
XXX. ARE MEN FAIR TO WOMEN? 115
XXXI. A PLEA FOR THE WORKING WOMAN 118
XXXII. A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION 122
XXXIII. THE WORST FEATURE OF WOMEN AS A SEX 127
XXXIV. IS HOMOEOPATHY A CURE FOR LOVE? 131
XXXV. DOMESTIC TYRANTS AND THEIR POOR WIVES 135
PART II
RAMBLES IN MATRIMONY
I. ADVICE TO YOUNG MARRIED PEOPLE 139
II. THE MATRIMONIAL PROBLEM 142
III. WOMEN SHOULD ASSERT THEMSELVES IN MATRIMONY 146
IV. RAMBLES ABOUT MATRIMONY--I. 150
V. RAMBLES ABOUT MATRIMONY--II. 154
VI. RAMBLES ABOUT MATRIMONY--III. 159
VII. THE START IN MATRIMONY, AND ITS DANGERS 162
VIII. 'OMELETTE AU RHUM' 166
IX. COQUETRY IN MATRIMONY 169
X. RESIGNATION IN MATRIMONY 173
XI. TIT FOR TAT 176
XII. THE IDEAL HUSBAND 179
XIII. MARRYING ABOVE OR BELOW ONE'S STATION 184
XIV. PREPARE FOR MATRIMONY, BUT DO NOT OVERTRAIN YOURSELVES 188
XV. ACTRESSES SHOULD NOT MARRY 191
XVI. A MATRIMONIAL BOOM 195
XVII. LOVE WITH WHITE HAIR 199
PART III
RAMBLES EVERYWHERE
I. LITTLE MAXIMS FOR EVERYDAY USE 203
II. DO THE BEST WITH THE HAND YOU HAVE 207
III. BEWARE OF THE FINISHING TOUCH 210
IV. THE SELFISHNESS OF SORROW 214
V. THE RIGHT OF CHANGING ONE'S MIND 217
VI. WHAT WE OWE TO CHANCE 220
VII. WE NEEDN'T GET OLD 223
VIII. THE SECRET OF OLD AGE 226
IX. ADVICE ON LETTER-POSTING 229
X. ON PARASITES 232
XI. ADVICE-GIVING 234
XII. ON HOLIDAYS 237
XIII. EXTRACTS FROM THE DICTIONARY OF A CYNIC 240
XIV. VARIOUS CRITICISMS ON CREATION 243
XV. THE HUMOURS OF THE INCOME-TAX 246
XVI. HOW TO BE ENTERTAINING 250
XVII. WHAT IS GENIUS? 253
XVIII. NEW AND PIQUANT CRITICISM 256
XIX. ORIGINALITY IN LITERATURE 259
XX. PLAGIARISM 262
XXI. AUTOBIOGRAPHIES AND REMINISCENCES 266
XXII. THOUGHTS ON HATS 270
XXIII. THOUGHTS ON EYE-GLASSES 273
XXIV. THOUGHTS ON UMBRELLAS 277
XXV. SOME AMERICAN TOPICS 280
XXVI. SOME AMERICANS I OBJECT TO 283
XXVII. PATIENCE--AN AMERICAN TRAIT 286
XXVIII. AMERICAN FEELINGS FOR FOREIGNERS 289
XXIX. SHOULD YOUNG GIRLS READ NOVELS? 292
XXX. NOW, WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH FATHER? 295
PART I
RAMBLES IN WOMANLAND
CHAPTER I
THOUGHTS ON LIFE IN GENERAL
Cupid will cause men to do many things; so will cupidity.
* * *
I like economy too much as a virtue not to loathe it when it becomes a
vice.
* * *
Many virtues, when carried too far, become vices.
* * *
Envy is a vice which does not pay. If you let your envy be apparent, you
advertise your failure.
* * *
Nothing is less common than common-sense.
* * *
Whenever you can, pay cash for what you buy. A bill owing is like port
wine--it generally improves by keeping.
* * *
There are people whose signature has no more significance at the end of
a letter of insults than it has value at the bottom of a cheque.
* * *
The hardest thing to do in life is to make a living dishonestly for any
length of time.
* * *
The harm that happens to others very seldom does us any good, and the
good that happens to them very seldom does us any harm. People who are
successful are neither envious, jealous, nor revengeful.
* * *
Very often a man says, 'I have made a fool of myself!' who should only
accuse his father.
* * *
A contract is a collection of clauses signed by two honourable persons
who take each other for scoundrels.
* * *
Many people make a noise for the simple reason that, like drums, they
are empty. Many others think themselves deep who are only hollow.
* * *
Never have anything to do with women in whose houses you never see a
man. You may say what you like, but I have heard many women admit that
the presence of a man adds a great deal of respectability to a house.
* * *
If you cannot prevent evil, try not to see it. What we do not know does
not hurt us.
* * *
A self-conscious man is sometimes one who is aware of his worth; a
conceited man is generally one who is not aware of his unworthiness.
* * *
Many a saint in a small provincial town is a devil of a dog in the
Metropolis. Life in small towns is like life in glass-houses. The fear
of the neighbour is the beginning of wisdom.
* * *
Great revolutions were not caused by great grievances or even great
sufferings, but by great injustices.
* * *
Revolutions, like new countries, are often started by somewhat
objectionable adventurers. When they have been successful, steady and
honest people come in.
* * *
The good diplomatist is not the one who forces events, but the one who
foresees them, and, when they come, knows how to make the best of them.
The good diplomatist is not the one who successfully takes people in,
but the one who, when he has discovered who are his true friends, sticks
to them through thick and thin.
* * *
I prefer unrighteousness to self-righteousness. The unrighteous man may
see the error of his ways and improve. He may even be lovable. The
self-righteous man is unteachable, uncharitable, unloving, unlovable,
and unlovely.
* * *
You can judge the social standing of a woman from the way she sits down.
* * *
A woman may love a man she has hated, never one she has despised, seldom
one who has been indifferent to her.
* * *
A woman is seldom jealous of another on account of her intellectual
attainments, but if her bosom friend has on purpose or by mere chance
eclipsed her by her dress at a party, they will probably be no longer on
speaking terms.
* * *
Scientific men are generally the most honest of men, because their minds
are constantly bent on the pursuit of truth.
* * *
It requires a head better screwed on the shoulders to stand success than
to endure misfortune.
* * *
The world is not ruled by men of talent, but by men of character.
* * *
A vain man speaks either well or ill of himself. A modest man never
speaks of himself at all.