The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1854-07-27


SUNNY MEMORIES OF FOREIGN LANDS.
By permission of the publishers, we reprint
few extracts from Mrs. Stoves Forthcoming
book of travels, entitled, Sunny Memories Of
Foreign Lands" Its publication has been IN
avOidably delayed, but we are informed that it
will be issued on the 18th instant.
ENGLISH WOMEN.
"a lady asked me this evening what |
thought Of the beauty Of the ladies Of Ahe Eng
lish aristocracy: she was "a Scotch lady, by the
by; SO the question wac fair one. | replied,
that certainly report had not exaggerated their
charms. Then came home question-how
the ladies of England compared with the Ia
dies of America. Now for it, patriotism said
| to myself; and, invoking to my aid certain
fair saints Of my own country, whose faces |
distinctly remembered, | assured her that |
had never seen moro beautiful women than |
had in America. Grieved was TO be obliged
to add, But your ladies keep their beauty
much later and longer This fact stsres one
in the face in every company; one meets ladies
past fifty, glowing, radiant and blooming, with
a freshness of complexion and fulness Of out
line refreshing to contemplate. What can be
the reason? Tell us, MUSES. and Graces, what
can it be-? Is it the conservative power Of sea
fogs and coal smoke - the same cause that
keeps the turf green, and makes the holly and
ivy flourish! How comes it that our married
ladies dwindle fade, and grow thir--that their
noses incline to sharpness and their elbows TO
angularity, Just at the time Of life when their
island sisters round out into a comfortable and
becoming amplitude and fitness? If it ia the
fog and the sea coal, why then, am afraid
We never shall come up with them. But per-
haps there may be other causes why country
which starts some Of the most beautiful girls
in the world produces so few beautiful women.
Have not our close-heated stove rooms some
thing to do with it? Have not the immense
amount Of hot biscuits, hot corn cakes, and
other compounds got up with the acrid poison
Of saleratus, something to do with il? Above
all, has not our climate, with its alternate ez-
tremes Of heat and cold, tendency to induce
habits of indoor Incidence? Climate, certain
ly, has a great deal to do with it; ours is evil
IDENTIFY more trying and moro exhsusting; and
because it is 30, we should not pile upon its
back errors Of dress and diet which are avoid
ed by our neighbors. They keep their beauty,
because they keep their health. IL has been
as remarkable as anything to me, since | have
been here, that do not constantly, as at home.
hear one and another spoken of as in misera-
bic health, as very delicate, &c. Health seems
to be the rule and not the exception. For my
part, must say, the most favorable omen that
| know of for female beauty in America is, the
multiplication Of water cure establishments.
where our ladies, if they get nothing else, do
gain some ideas as to the necessity Of fresh
air, regular exercise, simple diet, and the laws
of hygiene in general.
"There is one thing more which goes long
way towards the continued health of these |
English ladies, and therefore towards their |
beauty; and that is, the quetude and perpetu-
lty of their domestic institutions They do
not, like us fade their cheeks lying awake
nights Illuminating the awful question who shall
do the washing next week, or who shall take
the chambermaids place, who is going to be
married, or that of the cook, who has signifed
her intention of parting with the mistress.
Their hospitality is never embarrassed by the
that their whole kitchen cabinet |
may desert at the moment that their guests |