Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1827-11-07
NEGCGLEA9E.
EXERCISES OF FEMALES.


No absurdny is grcaterlhan that which
associates female beauty with great del
lcacy Of body and debility OF constitu-
ton. If beauty, as the term is UNDER
stood in Europe, may be defined, the
highest degree Of perfection OF which
the human flame il susceptible, every
deviation from that condition must d-
minsh the preti nsions of the individual;
and it would not be more Inconsistent to
say, that n rose, bathcd in the refresh
ing dew of morning and bIushing health
iul upon lis stem, is less beautiful than
that which is drooplng and withering
from the baneful effects Of the canker-
worm in its core, than that the female
fern is rendered more beautiful or i'll
tcresting under the pressure of disease.
Fashion, the tyrant Of opinion, has Oc-
casionally decreed that elegance can on
ly be found associated with Ianguor, and
that pale visagc and hectic flush are
the legitimate indications Of beauty; but
the same capricions legislator has, at
one time, determined that woman
should be shaped like a wedge. There
cun be neither beauty nor symmetry Of
form without health; and the opposite
opinion can have originated only from
prejudice that to be full ofhcalth is to be
fat, coarse, and rulear.
1t we regard the structure Of the fe-
male frame, we find i, smaller than that
! @! the male; the bones are more deli
catcly formed; the muscles which COW
er them and move them are proportion
ally less robust, but their intcrstices are
more filled up with cellular matter, aud
The features are, therefore, Consequent
" roundcr; the skin is whittier, owing to
The capillary vessels being less capable
of admitting red blood; there Is also q
greater degree OF ncr, Gus irritabili,y,
and thence the blush which kindics up
on the cheek, and critnsons over the bu-
som on the slightest mental emotion.
| This fame of body, SO much more ten.
der than that of the male, aud endowed
with IA beauty in the form, proportions
and arrangements ol the p ,rts, veiy dil-
terent from that which constitutes grace
iulness OF figure in man, is, nevcrthe
less, susceptible Of the highest degree
of health without any d,minutIon oil
those attractive qualities, which render
i, almost an object of dolatry. Observe
young, beautiful girl, OF seventeen,
educated IN tho country, when first she
makes her appearance in the circle Of
fashion in the metropolis l. there any
thing more Interesting or lovely in ma
ture The eye sparkling with vivacity
and health, yet scarcely daring TO meet
the admrng gaze which it has attract
ed, the elegant oval face, shaded with
the yet naturally clustering ringlets par
ted upon the smooth ivory Of the fore
head; the tint Of the rose blending with
the lily on the check; tho live vermil-
lion Of the moistenod lip; the round, but
neither full nor slender neck, set upon
the gracefully swelling bust; and the
symmetrical proportion Of the body, the
limbs, and the arms. This attractive
being is in the bloom Of health: yet she
is neither fat, nor coarse, nor vulgar;
her carriage is graceful, and equally de-
vuid Of aiIectation and restraint; her
step is firm and elastic, yet very different
from the strut of the conscious superb
ority; and the feminine delicncy which
characterizes every look and movement,
as far from being that expression which
accompanies the languor OF corporeal
debility, and indicates the presence of
disease. To gain such state Of health
is matter of the first consequence; to
know the means Of preserving it must be
equally importantly IL 10 the object ofthis