The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1857-06-17
Bayard TayIor's Opinion of Feminine Viz
tue In the Frigld Zone.


Bayard Taylor, writing from Juoxengi, in
the Frigid Zone, on the 9Th of January, tells
Of nurse named Fredrica, who attended 10
his case when suffering the horrors of tooth
ache, makes some remarks of womankind
in general, in the paragraph annexed:
This good-hearled girl was genuine speci-
men of the Northern Swedish female. OF
medium height, plump, but not stout, with
rather slender waist and expansive hips, and
foot which stepped firmly and nimblY at
the same time, she was as cheerful body
as one could wish 10 see. Her hair was of
that silky so common in Sweden; her eyes a
clear, pale blue, her nose s,raish, and we'll
formed, her cheeks of the delicate pink of a
wild rose leaf, and her teeth so white, regular
and perlec, that am sure they would make
her fortune in Ameri,a. Always cheerful,
kind and active, she had, nevertheless, a
hard life Of it; she wa. alike cook, chamber
maid and hoslIer, and had cross mistress TO
boot. She made our fires in the morning
darkness and brought us our early coffee
while we yet lay in our bed, in accordance
with the luxurious habits of the Arctic zone.
Then, until the last drunken guest was silent,
toward midnight, there was no respite from
labor. Although suffering from distressing
cough, she had the outdoor as we'll as the
indoor duties TO discharge, and We saw her
in sheepskin jacket, harnessing horses, in
q temperature of 80 deg, below zero. The
rev ard Of such service was possibly about
eight American dollars year. When, on
leaving, gave her about as much as one of
our hotel servants would expect for answer.
ing question, The poor girl was overwhelm-
ed with gratitude, and even the stern land.
lady was so impressed by my generosity that
she insisted on lending us a sheepskin for
our feet, saying we were ''good men,"
There is something exceedingly primitive
and unsophislocated in the manners of these
Northern people-a straightforward honesty,
which takes The honesty of others for grant
ed-a latent kindness and goodwill which
may at first be overlooked; because il is not
demonstralive, and total Inconsistencies
of wha, is called, in high cultivated circles +,
"propriety." The very freedom of manners
which, IN some countries, might denote laxi-
ty OF morals, is here the evident stamp of
their purity. The thought has often rccur-
red to me-which is the most truly pure and
virginia. nature, the fas,ideus American girl,
who bushes at the SIGHT of q re;r of boots
outside Of gentleman's bed room door, and
who requires that certain unofending parts
OF the body and ARTICLES of clothing should
be designated by del:cately circumloculious
terms, or the supplemented Swedish wo-
man, who come into our bedrooms with
coffee, and makes our fires while we gel up
and dress, coming and going during all the
various stages Of The toilet, with the frankost
Inconsistencies of improperly? This is
modesty in its healthy and natural develop
ment, not in those morbid forms which sug-
gest an imagination ever on the alert for pru-
rent images. Nothing has confirmed my
impression of The virtue of Northern Su eden
more than this fact, and have already felt
more respect for woman or more faith in the
inherent purity of her nature.