HAVE YOU MADE A MISTAKE ?sx When a Girl Imagines Her Fiance Is Tiring Of Her .sx She Should Remember That They both Need a Rest !sx It is an awful moment when the engaged girl , once so happy and confident in her love , asks herself with dismay if she has made a mistake .sx For , instead of the passionate admiration that once existed between her and her sweetheart , there seems to be nothing but criticism .sx They don't have violent quarrels , but they do make themselves miserable by pointing out each other's faults .sx They meet like enemies , each waiting for attack , yet they continue to meet .sx Neither neglects the other or shows a preference for someone else's society , yet they are no longer happy together .sx What is the cause of this strange state of affairs ?sx ENGAGED TOO LONG .sx The trouble is that they have been engaged too long .sx Rich couples , who have no saving-up to do , can marry as soon as they like .sx The improvident poor marry without thought , not caring that they haven't enough to start with .sx But the conscientious ones put their aspirations before their love .sx They want to get together a cosy home and they save and save until they get one .sx They go out very little because they want to economise .sx They sit evening after evening together , with nothing to talk about but themselves .sx Is it any wonder that they become irritable and moody and almost hostile with each other ?sx DON'T SEND HIM AWAY .sx Some girls become so wretched that they break off the engagement altogether .sx This is a tragic mistake .sx It is like amputating a limb that could have been healed .sx Never take desperate means in anything till all other means have been tried .sx Do you think your sweetheart is tired of you and that you are growing tired of him ?sx Yet are you still eager to meet him even though , when you do meet him , you feel unaccountably disappointed ?sx Don't worry .sx All you want is a rest .sx You have been straining your love to breaking point .sx Let it relax a little .sx Give up seeing one another every evening .sx Go in for other interests so that you will have something else to talk about than yourselves .sx Meet other people and , after the artificiality of formal acquaintanceships , it will be so lovely to get back to each other again .sx It will be like returning to a haven .sx And , a last word , don't be too ambitious about that home of yours .sx Marry as soon as you can afford it .sx Don't wait until you have everything you think you ought to have .sx Isn't it better to start your married life simply but with high hearts than to wear yourselves out getting together a home that will impress the neighbours ?sx VIOLET QUIRK .sx THE " ALWAYS LATE " GIRL .sx Too Much Unpunctuality Is A Form of Selfishness .sx It is never too late to mend !sx But it is often too late to turn up !sx In other words , unpunctuality is the worst of petty vices .sx In my eyes it is a form of selfishness .sx People of that type usually argue that the reason they are unpunctual is because they are asked to do so much beforehand .sx Of course , I know that families have the habit of screaming orders after you , as you rush out of the house in a hurry , such orders as " Don't forget the butter , " or " Order the taxi , " or " Bring home the fish .sx " But that ought not to be the reason for your being three-quarters of an hour late for an appointment .sx A LITTLE SELFISH .sx Doris was one of these uncomfortable always-late people .sx She was not only just late , but " very much late .sx " If you suggested to her that it was a little selfish of her to keep her poor old mother waiting in the cold , etc. , etc. , she would look very much surprised and a little indignant , for she was really a very kind-heated girl .sx But punctual !sx She just didn't know the meaning of clocks .sx They simply didn't exist for her .sx If she arranged to meet Jack for tennis , she would smilingly turn up half an hour late and be quite hurt if he seemed a trifle short .sx She would tell him how she had to give the cat its milk or the dog its biscuit , or the canary its seed and water .sx And then turn great surprised eyes on him if he mildly suggested that she could have started to do these things a little earlier .sx You see , she couldn't grasp it , because she had no idea of time .sx And she only left the house when she was ready .sx THE EVER-READY EXCUSE .sx If timid little Annie asked Doris to help her choose a hat at a certain time and place on Wednesday , by the time the latter turned up , Annie could have tried on and bought all the hats in the shop .sx As it was , she wasn't very good at choosing millinery , and was easily persuaded into buying the wrong thing .sx So when Doris arrived late with the ever-ready smile on her face and the ever-ready excuse on her lips , Annie looking the picture of misery with a queer confection on her head , was not inclined to burst into song at the sight of Doris .sx If a subscription dance was given in our town and two or three of us offered ( in a moment of extreme weakness ) to call for young Doris , she would usually be standing in her petticoat cogitating what dress she would don , and by the time we reached our destination , several dances would have been missed and perhaps one's best young man whirling around with one's rival !sx If you arranged to meet Doris skating , the pond would almost have thawed and frozen again before she put in her smiling apologetic appearance .sx SOMETHING DRASTIC .sx We felt something drastic must be done ; and George tried to do it .sx He asked Doris to go to a much talked-of play with him .sx She was excited and said she would love to .sx He begged her to turn up in time .sx She looked hurt !sx What did he mean ?sx Of course she would be there .sx The evening arrived - George arrived - Doris did not arrive .sx The overture commenced .sx George left her ticket with the Commissionaire and firmly walked into his stall .sx I don't think he enjoyed the play much , but his mind was made up .sx After Act 1 ( which , I believe , was the wonderful act ) he went back to the vestibule .sx Doris was standing there helplessly .sx The famous smile had disappeared .sx You see , she never thought of asking the official about her seat , and she had missed the best scene .sx This time it was she who had to wait .sx Did it cure her ?sx I wonder !sx GREEN HANDS .sx Sylvia Thorn-Drury Points The Difference Between a Girl Who Is Contemptuous - And a Girl Who Is Kind .sx " I can't understand it , " grumbled Beryl , gazing enviously at Mary's bowls of flowers that were filling the room with sweetness .sx " I planted mine weeks before yours , and yet there isn't the sign of a flower .sx " " Somebody once told me I had green hands , " said Mary with a smile .sx " Green hands ?sx " queried Beryl , looking at Mary in some alarm .sx " Yes .sx In Ireland they say you have 'the green hand' when your flowers last for ages and you can bed out and re-pot without killing the plants .sx It's a sort of gift , like having a light hand for pastry .sx You know how some people seem to wither everything they touch ?sx " RED HANDS !sx Looking at Beryl , I felt I did , for if Mary's hands are green , Beryl's are most certainly red !sx It's not only flowers she kills , but hopes and plans , new hats , old dresses , bargains , ambitions .sx The chilly silence with which she blights your new cretonnes , and the stony glance with which she kills your " hotted-up " hat , are nothing compared with her freezing words :sx " Taken a flat in the King's Road ?sx Oh , my dear , I'm afraid you'll find it terribly noisy - and Chelsea's so inconvenient , no Tube and not really healthy , all those fogs from the river .sx Whatever made Diana go in for that secretarial course ?sx The market's absolutely flooded .sx Now , if she'd taken up domestic science - What a pity your new dress is so short , in Paris , everyone really chic is wearing them ankle length .sx " A CONTRAST IN KINDNESS .sx Hers are the " red hands " that pick up the treasured jug you bought on your holidays , turn it up and see it isn't really Spode .sx Her fingers are quick to discover that your dress is velveteen , not velvet , as she gives it a furtive and contemptuous pinch .sx She notices that there is a rivet in the and that the lace on the chemise you're making isn't real , whereas Mary's tact and gentle words would make the desert blossom like a rose .sx Her " green hands , " as tender with you as with her flowers , point admiringly at your " sweet old jug , " flutter approvingly over your velveteen dress with as much enthusiasm as if it were the most expensive chiffon velvet ; and draw attention , not to the imitation lace , but " the heavenly blue " of your new chemise .sx No wonder her bulbs are in flower , while Beryl's show nothing but a few sickly , green spikes !sx The WAY to a MAN'S HEART .sx All Men Love a Listener - And The Girl Who Listens Is The Girl a Man Will Not Forget !sx It is such a quiet way , an unobtrusive way , a still , small way , and yet , being all these things , it is such a big way .sx So many of us cry , in the secret of our own little rooms ; " Everyone seems to have someone , but me !sx " And , because of this , we throw up our heads and laugh rather loudly and talk rather a lot , eager to attract the attention of any male who will stop to listen .sx And in doing this we are defeating our own ends .sx The way to men's hearts lies in listening .sx THEY TALK TO ATTRACT ATTENTION .sx Just pause for a while , whenever you are with a crowd of girls , and you will realise that they talk too much .sx They don't particularly like talking much - some of them are aching to be able to listen for a change - but they've made a fetish of talking .sx And so they talk and talk and talk and try to attract the man in the corner , who looks such a dear .sx If only they knew that just to sit there quietly , speaking , yes , but speaking only when they have something intelligent to say , would attract the man in the corner far more than their noisy chatter .sx QUALITIES A MAN LOVES .sx For all men love a listener .sx They love admiration , attention .sx They love a hearing .sx It's quite true that men like to be amused , but this type of girl is the girl they take out now and then , and they promptly forget all about .sx The girl who listens , the girl who , by her expressions and her few little words of understanding shows that she is interested , is the girl whom a man will not forget .sx A good listener is far more blessed than a good talker .sx Sympathy , understanding , interest - all these are the characteristics of the good listener , and these are the qualities that a man loves most in the girl he will not forget .sx Blossom of Broom .sx Sylvia Thorn-Drury advises every mother to let her daughter do the work for which she is fitted !sx " I can't understand Marjorie , " said Mrs. Hall fretfully , glancing at her daughter who was sitting over the fire with a book .sx " When I was a girl , I was full of energy , out and about , playing hockey , or going for a good ten-mile walk .sx I couldn't keep still a minute , but Marjorie seems to like lolling about doing nothing , with her nose in some book .sx " I glanced from Marjorie to her mother , but whereas Mrs. Hall , even at fifty , had the rosy complexion of a Ribston Pippin and the build of an Amazon , Marjorie was a frail little creature , with a pale , studious face .sx Gazing at her , I found myself quoting softly :sx " Blossom of broom will never make bread , .sx Red rose leaves will never make wine .sx " " What's that about brooms ?sx " inquired Mrs. Hall briskly , but Marjorie looked at me gratefully , with a tiny smile .sx