The American. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1857-1857, 1857-09-12

illustrated bv his facile humor. Paryenue bride
turns up its aristocratic nose at plebeian yoca-
tons but SAKE, the wag is sliding the genealo-
gical line of the McBrdes through his fingers, and
holds up the wax-end with a chuckle. Fifth
| avenue attends the opera and the theatre, and.
innocent Of Italian or French, affects to die away
In the cadsnces of Parodi or shiyer with excite.
ment at the frenzy OF Rachel but the lorgnette
of Mitchell Is levced at them and their daguerreo-
| types are soon caught by the sunbeams of his
| fancy,
| This humor OF ours cannot be spared 80 long as
we have 40 many emprics in medicine, pettifog.
gers IN law demagogues IN politics, pretenders in
| religion and snobs in society. sG
HOW WE NAY ALL BE BEAUTIFUL.
AARON DURR's DAUGHTER.
The influence Of beauty il universal, and an in.
Huence 10 which every one will confess himself
susceptible, whether it be the beautiful in nature
or In art. But the beauty of the human face is.
perhaps, the most impressive, and yet there are
few who think it depends at all on cultivation
The commonly received idea Is, that one is born
good or III looking, and cannot help himself, which
~ a very false and injurious notion.
There may be cultivated upon every face an
enchanting bcanty-an impression which will kindle
admiration Ia every one who looks upon it. which
will attract attention and win love far more than
| any mere physical combination, any perfection OF
| form and co!oring
| The physiognomist insits that the character is
indelibly stamped upon the face that what one
uniformly thinks and feels, traces itself In unmis-
| takeable lines upon the brow and cheek This
fully believe, though there may be 40 many varia.
tions that it requires long aud skifll practice to
| read correctly what Is written.
| Aaron Burr is known to every American as q
heartless unprincipled man. but well versed in the
knowledge OF the world and the workings of the
human heart He had an only daughter, Of whom
he was very proud, and Of whom he was determined
TO make noble, bigh-mindcd woman. Yes; he
said, when she was child if he thought she would
grow up fashionable wording, he should prefer
| to see her in an early grave. Hc knew well the
! shoals and quicksands on which women were in
danger Of being wrecked, and very carefully he
guarded his daughter, that the evils he knew 20
well should not come upon her.
He began in earliest childhood TO cultivate and
store her mind. He wished her to be nm elegant
| and accomplished woman, but he did not fear that
knowledge however profound or abstrise, would
destroy her true womanly qualities, and he knew
it would be one Of the best safeguards in the midst
| of temptation, disappointment, and sorrow. She
was familiar with several languages, and was in
structed in all the learning of the schools, which
| is usually thought only necessary for boys, while
the accomplishments considered exclusively adapt.
i ed to woman were not neglected.
| But bad and wholly irrelgious and immoral az
he was himself the father was scrupulously care.
full that his daughter should grow up with very
different sentiments. She was not beautiful, was
/ not even handsome, but he told her that beauty
was thing Of cultivation, and If at any time she
was moody, or impatient, or irritable, she was
counselled 10 look into the mirror and see the
1 effect it had upon her countenance, and the hs-
4 bitual indulgence of these tempers she told,
would make any face repusive. She was not
commanded to be cheerful, goodtempered, and
benevolent, for this would have been sure to in
crease the evil he was trying TO remedy but q
4 motive given that would be almost sure to in
4 fuence child and woman, besides setting forth
the importance of the virtues themselves he was
inculcating. Ii was so thoroughly impressed upon
her that kindness, dsinterestedness, and charity
i to ALL would cause her brow to beam with O
/ spiritual beauty more desirable than any nature
alone can confer, that it was a continual sug-
gestion to the cultivation Of right feelings and the
| restraining OF bad ones.
4 The wicked man, too undSstood the necessity
OF appearing good in the eyes Of his child, and 80
well did he succeed that she honored him as al,
most superhuman, and loved him with the most
earnest affection. When he was absent from her
he wrote her every day, and every day expected
her TO write to him, thus accustomng her to the
expression of her thoughts and opinions, keeping
himself Informed Of her progress in her studies
4 and the development of her mind, and creating
4
Theodosia was the idol and object OF unceasing
care and attention of the man whose whole life
was devoted TO schemes of ambition and debasng
/ self qualification, and IL seems strange that he
should not have attempted to be what he was con.
tinually attempting TO seem in her eyes.
! When she became young lady she was called
handsome, and pronounced by many Europeans
| the most accomplished American woman Of her
day. Her manners, as well as the expression Of
Il har nba hv ionit
! and sweetness which won the love as well as ad.
4 miration Of all who saw her. .
4 1t may seem foolish motive TO present TO a
\ child--the desire to be beautiful md it might
4 very easily be miscontrued and misapplied. To
4 attempt to cultivate the expression without the
qualities of heart on which alone it depends, would
4 be very likely to stamp upon the face meaning
i less simper, hypocritical smile, which would bt
4 anything but pleasing Our first impressions Of
\ person are derived from the expression Of the fact
h and the manners. We every day hear the ex
n preston, There is good face! ~ like ths
A countenancel" or, ''What pleasing mannersl
| and these are generally very true indications o
A character. And a face which is repulsive, an ex
\ ternal appearance from which we involintaril,
shrink, will be almost sure 20 belong to chsracte
4 from which wo would shrink too.
II / see before my eyes an old lady from whom
il every person turns away, concerning whom It Il
l the universal remark, How disagrceabiely y Sh'
Il is one who is ever meddiing with the affairs Q
others, ever repeating or manufacturing some vul
gar gossip, aud never contented unless her tongu'
II is in motion. | see before my minds eye aDothe
old lady who is even more destitute OF natura
beauty. and yet on whose face your eyes are invol
unfairly riveted the moment she speaks; whose
manners are so charming, that though she has seer
more than seventy summers, you are fascinated as
by spell, and her conversation Is continual well
/ spring of beautiful thoughts. Though time has
farrowed her brow, and age has bent her iorm, shs
\ is welcome in every circle, and the command
honor the aged" Is entirely forgotten, for all arr
4 ready TO Weld involuntary homage. Here thu
1 character i one Of the utmost harmony the intel
leet is highl; cultivated, and the heart and sou
expand With all good and noble thoughts, and the
countenance is one Of the strongest proofs OF the
i theory of the physiognomist. In this case there
was probably no thought Of beauty in the cultiva
! ton OF the heart, but the good and noble were
i sought and loved for their own sake alone. But
) we do not see anything wrong ia wishing to bt
! beautiful as well as good, in cultivating the hear
.