any profession, i that. the how The thing which every woman ntully daceers for herself ing. to, gain by trying' to. be hid down by Lady' Dranmond who la at prevent in Sha This may sound like advance pro. paganda for that indefinable but universally appreciated element sucjcinetly termed "IT" by Elinor Glyn, And to be told that one arrives at the pinnacle of journalism by. stressing one's femininity may come asa bit of a shock to those who harbour "blue stocking" ideals, But explanations are forthcoming.
Lady Drummond Hay, who has interviewed crowned heads, diplomats and statesmen and most of the celebrities in other lines in Europe and the Near East explained in a brief chat in the lounge of the Astor House what she meant, "The field of journalism is open completely to women now" she said. Not that we pioneers don't have to face discouragements. We do have to, And especially is this true or the continent and to a certain extent in England, though I believ the way is a little easier in Americ: We meet with prejudice from our own colleagues, the men journalists who resent a wee bit the intrusion of women into a field which they assumed to be their especial own. But that is easily overcome. A woman must do a third again as much work as a man to hold the yn, but she can do this that she has set her mind certain goal. that she is a_ woman' helps her in many ways. She give if she likes the impression the suffers from as many feminine Weaknesses as are existence. This will not be a hindrance to her success. But...
(Here the interviewer realized that Lady Drummond Hay was about to reach her climax).
"But after she has made the most of her femininity outwardly: she must do her thinking in the same way that men are commonly: supposed to do theirs. She must. be loyal and logical and must never be side-tracked. We women are acloused of getting <ide-tracked on detail, you know," she smiled while' she narrowed her langorous eyes. which call up visions of mysterious orbs peering out above the veils of women in the countries with which Lady Drummond Hay is so familiar, view," she pointed out, She must develop the same casual poise of man about meeting unusual situa tions." Catching a boat must, be regarded as a most matter, oft fact! business though only five minutes may be tovepare, Orders must be received casually to hop off across the continent at a few hours' notice, a hop which may, as it did once ig the case of Lady Drummond Hay, imply. an aeroplane trip from Lon: don "to Constantinople when the latter place had developed a topical interest for the rest of the world, Nor must standing on a roof in Damascus as Lady: Drummond Hay did while heavy artillery fire was in progress deter her from the all-important. "story."
A sure way for woman to gain success in journalism is to win the confidence of those whose opinions, and statements, she is collecting for publication," was another point made by the noted correspondent. woman has tact and Jdiplomacy naturally," she said, and if she can couple absolute with these her path gots she goes on, She must never either consciously or unconteiously betray the confidence placed in her by these she is interviewing." It may be remarked here that much of the success which Lady Drummond Hay has herself had in Europe has been due to her loyalty to those about whom she wrote. On the continent a single false step would have been hard to ive down, so complicated is the secret intelligence system European capitals, As a final hint, however, Lady Drummond Hay again stressed the belief that a really feminine woman had a better chance of being successful in journalism than one who attempted to be "masculine The writer will be in Shanghai for a short while and thereafter she will visit other places in central and north China to collect data for her feature articles which will appear in English and Ameri magazines and in the London Her presence in "Brains And Beauty"
"Emotion must. not enter-into-a successful woman journalist's point. leven greater flavour to the situation" which has brought a Jamall army. of correspondents to. the spot at the present time—L-B.W.
T have strong sympathy with the man who enjoyed reading the dictionary, because it is so full of short atones. He was quite aight. With an ounce of imagination good dictionary can supply -any amount of strong plots and.situations to the earnest reader, and: I recommend its perusal to those: unfortunate victims of influenza -who find ordinary occupations have-lost their savour. By taking the words in their alphabetical order,.skimming the pages as fancy dictates you can learn something of almas very country, every occupation, every disease, and every recreation Known to civilization. Did you know that an "oard-yark" isthe earth pig of South Africa, or that fceelertaion may refer to thesmoon as well ay to your motor -ear? Have you ever in all your study of shop windows for the new -shades noticed a colour aptly named "Sombyeinous," or realized thatthe process of curing codfish is xditled "running," and that another "mame for the common hedge sparrow is the '"dunnock"? If you study' the dictionary carefully now during 1 of spring you will is faction when youre swinging lazily under summer suns in a hammock of knowing (itiyou remember) that the rope which fixes it up is called a "knittle"
What's That Word?
There is no end to the erudition to which one might attain ifiithe memory would consent to file the items neatly away ready for future use at the concert hour. "But memory seldom runs her office: on a business-like basis. There may be one subject accurately catalogued in the filing cabinet, so that a man or woman is looked on as a but for the most, part strange bits of information lie scattered abet the mind, the items required having invariably <disappeared into the inmost recesses when sought for, The cross-word craze, of course has no doubt been responsible: for the enlarging of the ordinary vocabulary, In books and magazines you will find curious words which, T fancy were unknown to a previous generation. I myself have been eft with an irradicable legacy in the shape of the word "eft," owing to consoles endeavours to solve the mystery of something in three letters "meaning a kind of lizard."
It is true that up to now T have derived little benefit from Tegacy, but it may be, that some day an anxious inquirer, having sought vainly elsewhere "for the information, will apply to me.
Then I shall score!—Marine'Russell Brown.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.