1935-01-15 — Page 15

THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH. TUESDAY,

JANUARY 15, 1935.

Τ

WHAT'S THIS THING

CALLED CHARM?

THOMAS HARDY, MAY HAVE KNOWN SECRET OF NATURE

BY GILBERT FRANKAU

was one of Barrie's heroines granted only a tolerablo bonis of who complained, very charm-physical attraction, to crown sucli; fogly, that whereas some women attempts with At least some had charm for everybody and į menstre.of success,

most women had charm for some Bet sex-appeal seldom Inspires body, aho herself appeared to have men to great deeds, or women to charm for nobody,

And it was Thomas Hardy who wrote the poem which beginn:

Novor 'a careworn wife but

showa,

If a joy suffuso her, Something beautiful to those

Patient to peruse her; Some ono charm the world

unknown,

grent unselfishness. It is, at its best, a tawdry appeal.

Whereas the charm-appeal la the precise opposite-a call and a summons and a challenge to all that is noblest in a woman's nature and to all the poetry a man Is capable of feeling towards what ta atlil-however much certain women would have it to the con- trary—the weaker sex.

When

Precious to a muser, Haply what, ero yours were foes,

man speaks of a girl ori Moved her mate to chose hera young woman as "charming," ho But neither poet nor playwright,does not necessarily imply that ho you will observe, does much to intends to marry her-or even that elucidate the my story of aho wants to kiss her. He does not characteristic which is neither al necessarily mean that he finds her together mental, nor altogether either extremely beautiful. or spiritual, nor altogether physical, extremely clever, or supremely It is, in fact, n blend of all there.good.

One of the most charming What does he mean then? His women I know, for instance, in a meaning. I think, in "This parti- little old lady who just remembers cular young woman makes mo the Indian Mutiny and with whom think better of women generally. one can only Just hold a connecu-She. Increases my admiration for tive conversation,

human nature. She is a pleasure

As another example of this to me in the same way that my charm in the aged I can mention favourite pleces of music or my you at nunt of mine who died favourite pleturen or my favourite two услга про п the age of books are a pleasure to me." seventy, and whose salon is still..

remembered regretfully by all of]

and there were very many of who frequented it.

INSPIRATION

Charm, A woman of any age, Inspires both admiration and de-

GROCER WHO BECAME KING

HOWARD'S MERRY ROLE

These and similar instances of votion. It inspires kindliness. charm, 1 always inngine, are due It does not at first contact inspire, SYDNEY

the interest which the best though

may subsequently - type of ald people display towards inspire, that particular blend of the young. In the company of the mental and physien! enfotions! wurh women one feels that one's which we enll, for want of own nets, or it may be only one's

wn feelings, are of paramount) importance. This is, of course, supremely salfish.

But then mod of as

inly

The Princesa Alexia Mdivani, otherwise heiress Earbara Hut. ton, smiles happily xa cha landa la New York after a long stay abroad that began with a honeymoon trip to the Orient. However, Prince Mdivani Was not with her. She also left 42 pounds of surplus weight behind her,

better name, love,

Therefore in ninety canes

out

of every hundred when one hears the epithel "charming" one hours wet applied about a child!

are no afraid of admitting it are primarily concerned with our own Affairs.

DESCENDING SCALE

mra

I have not so far dealt, except curarily, with the charm exercise over women. And not at ail with the charm which both men and women exercise over their own Įsex. But in all such cases, I am certain, charm is the same blend of the mental, the spiritual and the physical.

SAVES PLAY AT ALDWYCH

By M. WILLSON DISHER. Abong na Mr. Sydney. Howard da on the stage, “Half-a-Crown," which pened at the Aldwych re- estly, is great fun.

Whomever he IN absent we wonder at its ulter silliness. It is described as "a farce by Douglas Farber, founded un a play by Arnold Ridley."

Together these two experienced authors have supplied A picce which might pass as the work of

very amusing at moments by the sheer genius of Mr. Howard."

Let the mere male, therefore, #um up his opinions on this peculiar quality of charm in the oppuate sex by slating, as, every school-child. Yet it is made mera male anually ends by stating, the particular attributes which he finds charming, and with which he. given the fabulous chance of the good fairy, would endow a "Princess Charming" at her birth.

ORDINARY WOMAN My princess in question, then, would not be dazzlingly beautiful of countenance. She would not possess one of those figures which send dressmakers and moving picture di rectors into ecstasies. She would ant be great poetess, Kreat painter, a great musician, or oven 4great actress. In fact there would be nothing great about her at all,

Fortunately he is on the stage most of the time. While undergo- ing the torment un elementary lesson in golf. he is invited to aseend the throne of Messonin.

It is a trap set by Count Povah, who invites anarchisis to bomb the palace. The king is thankful to return alive, to his village -grocery- store.

Very soon he is lured back to rescue 'an old friend. This time he is gently deposed by a dictator set up by the magenta shirts, and has to serve once more behind a counter where his crown becomes a trade mark for butter,

Those who love laughter will tolerate the general imbecility for the sake of seeing the yearning vanity in Mr. Howard's ́owl-like gaze at this cherished relic of his farmer greatness.

She would be just an ordinary young woman, ordinarily attractive in face and figure, ordinarily careful about her appearance, ordinarily in telligent, ordinnelly healthy, and ordinarily capable of managing the ordinary everyday afTaira.

But whatever she did my shell in Messonia, he is stricken princess would do with a amile, with grief over the bullet-hole in Whatever she had to bear she would, his hot-water-bottle or the loss of bear with philosophy. And-most an apple, flung, away for fear it vital of all-whatever she thought might be a bomb.

While stormed at with shot and

1

she would never think, "I am the Apart from the knock-about fun. Now let us descend the feminine only person in the world who mat-the performance suggests that Mr Leslie Henson, the producer, has taken things too seriously. Half the leading parts are miscast.

charm-scale a decade or so and ters." consider what we will call the For the only people who are quite middle-aged woman. Here, too, I devoid of charm, whether men or fancy, charm springs mainly from women, are those who never smile, unselfishacas,

who possess no philosophy, and who We mag any about any middle-ar entirely self-centred. Yet even aged woman that we like her such are worth observing if only because she is always so well to enhance our own opinion of our turned out, or because alic is so charming solves. intelligent, or because she has such

marvellous rense of humour, or because she gives such wonderful parties, or merely be cause whe is so well preserved, But what we actually moan is that she goes out of her way-whether consciously or unconsciously-to make us feel happy when we are with her,

This again may sound a little blt selfish; but seems to mo none the less correct for that.

TOWN'S GHOST LAID

MAN'S VOICE SENT THROUGH CHIMNEY

Madrid.

The voice of the so-called "ghost" And now, finally, in so far as of Saragonia, which for some days the female acx is concerned, let has mystifled the occupants of a us consider this characteristic of block of flats, has not been heard charm in those who are younger.

of for the Inst three days-since, But whatever we do, do not let us in fact, the police set a permanent consider this particular character. Watch by day and night in the

Istic as having anything to do "haunted" flat.

with that other characteristici The police have made no state- ment other than that they think

For between sex appeal and charm-appeal there is all

difference in the world.

SIMPLE MATTER.

which the out-of-date nineteen-they have found a clue, but the twontics knew as "It"

Madrid police headquarters have the received

letter from a man sign- ing himself "Conrado Masnou," living at 116. Calle Pujadas, Barce lona. whe claims to be the ghost. He says in his letter that he I know many actresses, especial has discovered a system which ly actresses for the films, who enables him to transmit his voice spend hours and hours in the at from one house into another by tempt to cultivate the former apway of the chimneys. Provided he peal. Nor is it at all difficult as is not harmed, he is willing to in- any sophisticated young woman will vite the police to attend a demon- tell you, for any young woman,istration of his invention.

In Mr. Eliot Makeham, as a groveiling shop assistant. Mr. Rob Currie, as a sergeant of the guard. and Mr. Malcolm Keen, as villainous Povah, Mr. Howard has admirable foils.

the

All the romantic scenes, on the other hand, are bad,

The first maglıtente of the United Kingdom, Lord Chief Justice Hewart, caused a semn tion when he threatened to suspend the courts of law derr a clause in the bill before the House of Lords modifying supreme-court-procedure-

WHEN BETTER AUTOMOBILES ARE

· BUILT CHEVROLET WILL BUILD THEM.

PEACO

Public Works' 'Department engineers are doing their best to eliminate Shanghai's food menace. The top photo showi tha improvement Dade on Hankow Road and the new level of the roadway, which is Bearing completion can bo rapidly seen. At the left man buay on reconstruction work.

PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP IS THE RESULT OF QUALITY. EVERY CHEVROLET OWNER IS PROUD OF THE CAR HE DRIVES

PROUD OF ITS SMART BEAUTY, ITS STERLING DEPENDABILITY AND ITS POWERFUL ENGINE, VIBRATIONLESS BEYOND BELIEF.

For demonstration please call

FAR EAST MOTORS

(The Far East Aviation Co., Ltd., Hongkong).

POURING A

FLOOD OF

LIGHT OVER

THE WORLD

26, Nathan Road, Kowloon, Telephone 59101,

HENNESSY

BREWING

THE SMOOTHEST

and

MOST DELICIOUS

LIQUOR

Hero, after their marriage ceremony, are Britain's royal newly- weds, whose union marked the first introduction of a foreign princess into the Briljah royal circis in this generation—the Duke and Duchess of Kani.

New photos of Sir Ball Zabaroff show the "munitions king of the world," who tries to avoid photographs, at his retreat on the French Riviera. Britlab and United States armaments in vestigations have brought him into limelight sa manipulator of governments and men. Sir Baal! was knighted for alding England -- daring-wa--

THE

BRANDY

THAT IS SERVED IN

EVERY

HOTEL

OBTAINABLE: AT ALL LICENSED

STORES

རྒྱུད་ལོགས་ཤག་""ཞ་

WING

ON'S

NEW YEAR

Sale

R17

ENDS ON WEDNESDAY, 16th JANUARY,

LAST 2 DAYS

1

NOTICE THE

4

FOLD

ADVANTAGES

1. EXCEPTIONALLY LOW PRICES

2. UNUSUAL DISCOUNTS

3. CREDIT COUPONS

GIVEN AT 5 CENTS TO EVERY DOLLAR OF CASH PURCHASES

4. 3 PRIZES IN GOODS $300.00

GIVEN TO WINNERS OF WEIGHT ESTIMATION contEST

THE WING ON CO., LTD.

Hongkong's Largest Department Store.

Page 15Page 16