The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1857-12-31
Beauty not Necessary TO Love.


We believe that most novels preceding Jane
Eyre male personal beauty prerequisite to the
gaining Ol u womans heart. And We believe that
much fictitious trash, since that time, has followed
in the same strain. At any rate, the idea of great
personal beauty is iaseparably allied In the novel,
fed brain, with the idea OF successful lover
Whether this notion with regard to personal ad
vantages produces much despair in the minds o.
those not blessed with them, we are not sure
Sill, as it is liable TO do so, we havO wished 10
bring together here i few facts proving that Mis-;
Bronte wrote not against nature when she made
Jane Eyre love the homely, ,d.Hgured aud not grace
iul Rochester.
"Thc celebrated Lady Hamilton wos,probably, the
most beautiful, fascinating, AMI accomplished En-
glish woman OF her times. But this woman gave
her heart snfuy it is true, but unreservcdy and
overwhelmingly to Nelson. And what were Mel.
sons personal advantages lie was an inferior
homey, kly-looking man and the additional
disadvantages of the loss of all eye and arm never
alienaed Lady Hamllton's love- Such were the
personal gifts needed to captiyate and retain the
most dazzling woman of her times No man OF
his age was more successful in captivating women's
hearts than John Wilkes, and yet his portrait is
even frightful, and his real face must have been
hideous. Rogers speaks Of his diabolical squint
Equally successful, in the same way, was Mi
rnbeau And he too, was man utterly devoid
of any pretensiOns to personal beauty. In speak
ing OF himself TO lady, he describes his appear
that of tiger that has had the small
pox George the First or Second of England
had a daughter who for reasons OF ambition was
betrothed TO continental prince. When this
prince came to London to marry her, Ne was found
10 be ineXpressibly ugly tha. the king told his
daughter he could not ask her to marry him, aud
even at that late date, lie would fnd some prctcxt
for breaking off the match. The princess declined
the prolercd service married the prnccand proved
lprspf nF the Ipvntp -lnvntr ,viv nF
her time.
"In Grammont'S Memoirs we learn that even in
the artificial court of Charles the Second the man
whom the correct astilious and universally sought
Frances Jennings most eagerly wished TO marry
was Jermyn, Of whom Grammont says As for
his figure, there was nothing advantageous in it,
He was little his head was large and his legs
small ; his features were not disagreeablc, but lie
was affected in his character and behavior He
heard OF Miss Jennings, went to court that he
might see her. and our author continues In the
mean time Jermyn quietly enjoyed the happiness
of seeing the nclinations of the preticst and most
extraordinary creature in England declared in his
favor And this triumph was in the midst Of a
crowd of noble forms and majestic faces--Buck-
ingham, Sidney, Monmouth, Talbot, and their
compeers.
There is a most affecting and thrilling story
told in illustration of our theme, of Commodore
Barclay, who fought the battle of Lake
Erie against Perry. He was engaged to be mar
ried to fine English girl. At Trafalgar with
Nelson, he hal lost an arm. At Lake Erie he
lost leg. Onrcturuing to England, feeling his
condition very aeutey, he sent friend to his be-
trothed to tell her that, under the circumstances
in which he found himself he considered her as re-
leased from all engagements to him, The lady
hear! the message then said to the friend, Ed
ward thinks may wish our engagements broken
because of his misfortunes, does he Tell him
that if he only brings back to England body
enough to hold the soul he carried away with him,
I'll marry him.
"Does any man in his senses suppose that wo-
man of real worth would have preferred some
snowy French dandy OF the court of Louis the
Fourteenth to the magnifcently gifted, although
dwarfsd and humpbackcd, Luxembourg? We
make great mistakes in these things. Love is one
thing mere optical admiration is very much an
other thing The most beautiful valentine that
ever was pCnned has this instructive Stauza:
1T matters little outwardly
What thuu mayest be or seem,
II only thou cnnst inwardly
Answer to this bright dream
THAT is the true philosophy of a true woman
The woman who will marry you because Of your
beauty, would about readily transfer her afIec-
tons to your carriage if its varnish brighter
If its proportions were more in accordance with
the taste of her professor OF millinery.
- III Wllhl15 alnlrdtlol pefsOnhl beauty Is not
the equal OF gra5e Of manner; and grace of m H.
ner is not the equal of the conversational power.
Indeed. Shakespeare has said
THE man who has a tongue is no mnn.
II with that tongue he cannot win a woman
I" But personal beauty, grace of manner, and
conversational power, however much they may get
admiration, will not win love. 1t is peculiar gifts
of character will do that, and they only.--BOstOn
Transcript
- The Mobile Register says the South will not