Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1854-11-22


tian may have alluded 10 1t, has striking
ILLUSTRATION Of these remarks, and is com
pelled to confess that this is not the woman
that he looked for Even he who, charIta
bly and better instructed, can fiud no gooc
ey,Gen,e Of the more dreadful and more
discussing crimes attributed to Lucreza
must still look for something harsh, dis.
tracted or melancholy In the face of the
woman who was the daughter of Alexander
and the sister of Caesar Borgia, who had
been brought mp and had lived so much a.
mid scenes of infamy, and witnessed, as
she must have witnessed. so much OF hab'
itual, and daily and revolving wickedness
But less hattering DISORDERS than Titan
have testified that the traces neither oi SIN
nor of sorrow were to be found in her fan
face.
Lucrezla, however, Notwithstanding the
Iustrc thrown around her by the pencil ol
the painter and the verses of poet she
patronized, was not exactly beauty. The
contrast between the fair golden hair and
black eyes, given to her by the great artist,
| is always striking, as in nature II Is ex-
tremely rare. In picture galleries all the
celebrated Italian women OF LucrezIa
time, appear with this fascinating halifax
en-, half-gold hair which painters give to
their Venuses and other ideal beauties. 1t
NAV hence be doubted If the charming COL
or of Lucrezias hair was not the production
of her own skill, though in bare justice, we
must give a woman full credit for all Inc
beauty with which she can orray herself,
and Judge of her as she appears at her BEST
in fair reward Of the amiabIe desire TO
please WHICH leads to The use and perfec-
lion OF the cosmetic science.
The world of antiquity allowed to the
Queen of Heaven herself all the graces and
wthcrafts which she could derive from p'a-
cling the celestial girdIe around her waist /;
and no earthly woman deserves either com
lnendstion or thanks for being less .beautI-
full than she might be if she liked On the
matter of fact, as to whether the halr ol Lu-
crezia. was by nature or only by art golden
there is, believe, no evidence. For the
rest of her features and person, between
the favorable euioglum of an Italian poet
and the more specific criticism OF a Ger
man prose writer, agreeing together IN sub,
stance, as praise and censure often do' ana
taking these two descriptions along with
her portrait, we learn pretty accurately
what this famous woman was like. Her
eyes were black and piercing, and her lux
uriant hair fell in prolusion over her shout
ders. Shit had it tied tastefully with a
black band. Her figure was large, and II
had the great fault Of exhibiting something
like a masculine vigor in 1t. Her features
were far from being regular. Her forehead
was indeed comely and well shaped, but
her nose was long and slender; her lips
were deficient in fulness, and the lower
part of her face was retreatlng. Such is
the picture which is compounded out OF the
materials furnished by Strozzi and Buck
hardt, as they are quoted by M. Chasles:
Leigh Hunt, in one of his essays on ie-
male beauty, assures US, on me evidence oi
his own eyes, that the hair of Lucrezla was
of that color which is justly and properly
called golden. Mr.. Hunt was in possession
of an interesting and affecting relic OF NOR
tality-a solitary hair OF this woman's head.
1T was given us, he says, by amented
friend lord Byron who obtained it from
a lock of her hair preserved in the Ambro-
sian Library, at Milan. On the envelope
he put happy motto, beauty draws US
with single hair If ever hair was gold
en- it is this. 1t is not red, It is not yellow,
il is not auburn; it is golden and nothing
else and though natural looking too, must
have had surprising appearance IN the
mass. Lucrezia, beautiful in every res
pect, must have looked like vision in
picture, an angel from the sun. Everybo-
dy who sees it, c:les cut and pronounces 1t
The real thing.
We must confess, after all, we prefer
the auburn, as VIC construe it. 1t forms,
we think, finer shade for the skin, rich
er warmth, darker lustre. But Lucrezla's
hair must have been still divine. Mr.. Lu-
der whom he had the pleasure of becoming
acquainted with over it, as other acqualnt-
ances commence over bottle, was lnspIr-
ed on this occasion with the following
verse:
"Borria. thou once vert almost too august
And high for alteration; now th0u'rt dust;
All that remains Of thee these plai:s unfold.
Calm hair meandering with pellucld gold"
The sentiment continues Mr.. Hunt,
implied in the last line will be echoed by
every bosom that has worn lock OF hair
next it, or longed to do So. Hair is at once
the most delicate and lasting of our mate
rials, and survives us like love. 1t IS so
light, so gentle, so escaping from the idea
of death, that with lock Of hair belonging
to child or friend, we may almost look up
to heaven and compare notes with the an
geic nature; may almost say, 81 have
piece of thee here, not unworthy OF thy be-
ing now"
This is very learned and exquIstely
fine and tender discourse on hair As re-
CARDS the great beauty which Leigh Hunt
attributes to Lucrezia, | must say that, al
though it may be quite safe and perfectly
logical to Judge of the stature of Hercules
by his foot; and though both ancient hlsto-
ry and beautiful modern fairy tale join in
informing us that man of susceptible feel
lnss is able to fall in love with woman at
the bare sight Of one Of her slippers, it yet
appears like the sublime of gallant rapture
to discover, from the inspection OF single
hair from that large flowing mass-and IN
hair, mere length and quantity are undoubt-
edly great beauties-which once adorned
the head of Lucrezia Borgia that her large
and tall person was beautiful in every res
pect.
A cold-hearted sneerer may think that
Leigh Hunt and Walter Savage Landor
more than came up to parallel with the
man immortaized by Hierocles, the Joe
Al ILL LIZ ar,oinnIs ~ hn hnvinu q house |