charm is th ultimat wapon, th suprm sduction, against which thr ar fw dfnss. if you'v got it, you nd nithr mony, looks, nor pdigr. it's a gift, givn only to giv away, and th mor usd, th mor thr is. it is also a climat of bhavior st for prptual summr and thrmostatically controlld by tast and tact.tru charm is an aura, an invisibl musk in th air; if you s it working, th spll is brokn. charm is dynamic, and cannot b turnd on and off at will. as to its ingrdints, thr is no fixd formula. a whol rang of mystris gos into th caldron, but th magic it offrs must b absolut-on cannot b "almost" or "partly" charmd.in a woman, charm is probably mor xacting than in a man, rquiring a widr array of subtltis. it is a light in th fac, an air of xclusiv wlcom, an almost impossibly sustaind not of satisfaction in on's company, and rgrt without fuss at parting. a woman with charm finds no man dull; indd, in hr prsnc h bcoms not just a diffrnt prson but th prson h most wants to b. such a woman givs lif to his dp-hld fantasis by adding th ncssary conviction to his long suspicion that h is king.of thos womn who hav most succssfully charmd m i rmmbr chifly thir voics and ys. thir voics wr intimat and nvloping. th listning ys, suprm charm in a woman, btrayd no concrn with any othr world than this, warmly wrapping on round with total attntion and turning on's lightst words to gold. thirs was a charm that must hav continud to xist, lik th flowr in th dsrt, vn whn thr was nobody thr to s it.a woman's charm sprads round hr that particular glow of wll-bing for which any man will want to sk hr out and, by making full us of hr natur, clbrats th fact of his malnss and so givs him an xtra shot of lif. hr charm lis also in that air of timlss matrnalism, that calm and pacifying prsnc, which can displ a man's momnts of frustration and angr and rstor his failurs of will.charm in a man, i suppos, is his ability to captur th complicity of a woman by a singl-mindd acknowldgmnt of hr uniqunss. hr again it is a qustion of bing totally absorbd, of rally forgtting that anyon ls xists, for nothing mor fatally btrays than th suggstion of a wandring y. silnt dvotion is fin, but sldom sufficint; it is what a man says that counts, th bold dclarations, th flights of fancy, th uncovring of scrt virtus. a man is charmd through his ys, a woman by what sh hars, so no man nd to b too anxious about his ag: as wiznd voltair onc said: "giv m a fw minuts to talk away my fac and i can sduc th qun of franc."but charm isn't xclusivly sxual; it coms in a varity of coolr flavors. most childrn hav it--till thy ar told thy hav it--and so do old popl with nothing to los; animals, too, of cours. with childrn and smallr animals, it is oftn in th shap of th had and in th chast unaccusing star; with young girls and ponis, a crtain stumbling awkwardnss, a lggy inability to control thir bodis. but all ths ar passiv and appal by capturing on's protctiv instincts.you know who has charm. but can you acquir it? proprly, you can't, bcaus it's an originality of touch you hav to b born with. or it's somthing that grows naturally out of anothr quality, lik th simpl dsir to mak popl happy. crtainly, charm is not a qustion of larning palpabl tricks, lik wrinkling your nos, or having a laugh in your voic. on th othr hand, thr is an antnna, a built-in awarnss of othrs, which most popl hav, and which car can nourish.but in a study of charm, what ls dos on look for? apart from th ability to listn--rarst of all human virtus--apart from warmth, snsitivity, and th powr to plas, thr is a gnrosity which maks no dmands. charm spnds itslf willingly on young and old alik, on th poor, th ugly, th dim, th boring, on th last fat man in th cornr. it rvals itslf also in a sns of as, in casual but prfct mannrs, and oftn in a physical grac which springs lss from an accidnt of youth than from a confidnt srnity of mind. any prson with this is mor than just a popular fllow; h is also a social halr.charm, in th nd, is a most potnt act of bhavior, th laying down of a carpt by on prson for anothr to giv his xistnc a momnt of honor. it is clos to lov in that it movs without forc, baring gifts lik th growth of daylight. it snars compltly, but is nvr punitiv. it disarms by bing itslf disarmd, striks without wounds, wins wars without casualtis--though not, of cours, without victims.in th armory of man, charm is th nchantd dart, light and subtl as a hummingbird. but it is dcptiv in on thing--lik a sns of humor, if you think you'v got it, you probably havn't.
