Literary cadet and Rhode-Island statesman. [volume] (Providence, R.I.) 1827-1829, 1828-08-23
MySUEELANY.
THE SPRINGS.


vous and very particular lady In her
youth she had been celebrated beauty,
and still felt all that thirst for personal
admiration which had once been so law
ishly bestowed upon her charms. But
alas. for the woman who has passed her
tenth lustre and yet has no claim TO tho
attentions Of society, save what personal
beauty imparts. Such women have al
ways horror Of being thought at all ac-
| quainted with Time--that questionable
old gentleman is entirely excluded from
their conversation, and any allusion to
| him, they deem, IN their presence, i'm
pertinent. 1t was always with look
which seemed intended to petrify the
speaker. that Mrs. Chapman heard her in
creosing inirmIties attributed to increas-
ing years; she wished to be thought
young, and yet she had neither health
nor inclination for the gayetics of youth; !;
and so she eagerly condemned all pleas
ures in which she could not participate,
as vain, frivolous or Questionable In
short she was always Of tho opinion that
those amusemcnts, which were incon-
voniont or unsuitable for her, wero eth
or very vulgar or very sinful.
Mr.. Chapman was an Industrious me-
chanic, carpenter by trade; but he had
all inventive genius, and a pcrscvering
temper; and had generally succeeded in
his plans and projects, till finally he had
become not only architect, but p:oprie-
tor of several mills ard one large cotton
manuiactory; and partly by labor, partly
by lucky speculation, had accumulated
largo fortune. lie was thorough
Yankee, shrcwd, sensible and somewhat
sarcastic at least his ready repartees,
and the knowledge OF characters and
circumstances they frequently implied,
Gade his wit often feared by those who
felt conscious Of folies or fauls they did
not wish exposed Yet he was a good
natured man, as the uniform forbearance,
and even pity with which he listened to
the pcevishncss and complaints OF his
wife, and his constant kindness in his
own family, and the cordial civiity with
which he treated his friends, except when
on occasion for good joke occurred,
sufficiently testified.
Emily Woodwor,h- but | vii! not in
troduce her formally, by telling her
height, or describing her features, or
noting the color finer complexion, eyes,
lips and hair. Take pen, fair reader,
look in the mirror, and then try the
sketch yourself But be sure and make
Emily as handsome as your beau ideal
Of female lovelness, or shall ia future
draw my own heroires. And yet it is a
task in which few succeed. The artist,
proud OF being complimented with pos
,essing the skill of a Vandike in deline-
ating the countenances OF men, will find
it extremely difficult, if not impossible,
to paint the likeness Of beautiful wo-
man. To be successful he must embody
sense, spirit and modcsty in that just pro-
portion which shall give the idea Of dig
nifty as well as delicacy 10 features where
passion has left no record; and he must
impart meaning and expression to the
'smooihross and sheen Of face where
neither The ambition of pride or energy
Of thought have stamped any predomi-
mating faculty Of soul. This task can
only be accomplished by one skilled in
reading the heart as well as the head
There are but few descriptions of wo-
men, even in our best poets and novel.
lists, that do justicc'to the female char
acter The mistake is that mere physi-
cal beauty harmony of features and a fair
complexion, are generally represented
as emitting their possessor to the appel
lation OF amIabie, interesting, elegant,
&c.--it is the countenance which is SUD-
posed to give tone to the mId, not
that the mind inspires the countenance -
Such a mistake would never be made by
an artist who was painting men. And
while such a mistake is cherished, the
portraits of women will never be we'll
executed. They will never bear the i'm
press Of mind.
Milton was a little sceptical on ahe
score OF female understanding, and hard
ly willing to allow tho Sex that equality
oil reason which is now pretty generally
and generously too, acknowledged by all
c'r'l'sed men; but he may be pardoned,
considering he lived in an age so ignorant
that even his own peerless genius, was
neglected or condemned, ,(might it not be
n retrbution for the Injustice he did tho
ladies' But twthstanding tho pref
udlce which the bard Of Paradise some
times displayed, he has left us the most
charming description, ofthe effect which
a lovely, vrtuous and intelligent woman
has over the minds of men, that Is to be
found in the English language.
| -" Yet when approach
L lar
And in herself complete, so well to know
! Her own, that what she wills TO do or say.
Seems wisest, virfuousest, discreetest. best:
i ALI hiqher knnwcdna In hor nxasa.ss e m,