Civilian & telegraph. [volume] (Cumberland, Md.) 1859-1875, 1865-08-03
A Dissertation on Ankles.

A Dissertation on Ankles.
The New York Tribune whose conductor
are now the acknowledged arbiters of ele
gancc in all its departments, cntertains it
readers with the following dissertation upor
ankles. Speaking of the exercises of th,
ladies at Jones's Woods on Wednesday lact
it says:
are positively enchanting, and Yesterday, for
the first timc, We took it into our head to max,
hasty study of this charming and suggestive,
feature of female beauty in an entirely ethuo
logic and purely esthetic point of view. Re.
pre*eutativcs Of almost every European ma.
ton participated in the amusement. The
wind was high; the coavolu'ions of the hob
by horses were swift, and the, study" was
easy as we'll rs delectabTc We ascer;aincd
by nr,hf:ous examples the following facts
The (rerman ankle as Il general thing, is
not bcautitn'. It is short, thick, clumsy -
ct to the eye of the love-sick swain it NAV
appepr more graceful than that of the Nenu-
dc Meici Nevertheless, there are many
kinds of ankles of German formation, and
some of them arc not at all unsymmetrical
The Danish ankle is generally very good
The hlocl Of the sea kin Is is in the dans.ls
VEINS
"Bright maiden o. Orkney,
! Star of the blue sea-
| I've swept Ger the waters
10 gaze upon thee"
So sang the Berkstrkcr Of old, and he evil
dcntly had cultivated his taste for ankles in
his own native land. But generally the Dan
isL ankle is too abrupt in its descent from the
swell. of the calf to tie de,icacy Of the ap-
proach to the foot. This gives it clumsy
appearance and prevents 1t from being spe-
c!al favoritc.
The ankle of Sexony (of course We speak
and always, only Of female anklcs,. is worse
than the Danish. 1t is shorter, thicker, and
indicative Of vigor and vigor only.
But the Swiss ankle is model of beauty.
Eong, slim, elegant, dclectabc it is some
thing to think and dream of The peasant
stocking Of plaid covers 1t with fairy Ike cx-
actncss. You can see the keen muscles ply
beneath the fabric of the covering. 1t swells
not abruptly, but gently, upward into per-
feet calf. Only the Alpine roads, the rude
torrent crossings. the romance Of Switzerland,
could have produced such an ankle. It's for
picture rather than IN every day sight; it is
for the painter. the poet and the philosopher
1t is beautiful, delcc,abc, charming, encbant.
ing. It is strangely suggestive.
The ankle of Bavaria is also besrtift.l.-
Lean and elegant, it however, broadens to-
quickly as it approaches the foot whi.h is an
impertccton not easily to be overlooked by the
cOnnOisSeur.
Austria is worse. Her ankle has the fault !
of having no taper. The calf Of the leg ends
at the foot. ...
Hungary is the same This is probably
owing to the inhuman tyranny Which has trnd-
den over her for years Women are compel.
led to pull ploughs and cacal beats, and en-
gage in other species cf degrading labors
more meet for cattle, steam and caloric engines.
and nothing butter could be expected Of their
ank!es
Prussia makes better show, but, on the
whole, her ankles are not good, and in dan
ing she has lndicrous custom Of switching
up her petticdat, in order to make special
lisploy
The Irish ankle needs no oulogy. 1t speaks
or itself
The English is fair, indicative of great feats
If walking and other exercises.
The French ankle is positively bad. The
au!t with the German is usually On excess of
lzc--a superHui'y!o of fcsn and muscular pow
r; but the French crrs in an entirely oppo- u
itc direction. 1t is too slim It is long =
hin, scrawny. The ascending swell to the u
alf Cnordinntcly largc) is too long and grad ?
al and the largcness of the foot also detracts =
rom the general effect. ?
Italy has an exquisite ankle, light, grace G
fn al Il A..
s'lesssness which recalls the proMcnadcs of L
'qp!es and tie evening loun &c round the =.
winged lions of St Mark II
But perfection is only reached in the ankle IA
thc Spanish girl. 1t is soft luxurious and e'
tc "i'l! tremulous. nervous thrills 1t de- III
cnds to the little foot with firm confidence. 2
1t Il rises to. and is slowly Immersed in. the ;. ,
'ndunl expansion Of the leg with the hap. II
ness of illimitahle progression VI
spanish maid WAS upon hobby horse CT
hich was flying at full speed her dark face
as ag!ow with the exercise, her little Hands -
ntchcd the bride With ,ren,uous cagcri,ess. "
ID her lurge eyes, wild with the fire Of the y
'u'h,' were emitting more ofiheir accustom- " "
blaze, but the gaze Of the adniiring throng ~
IS fsed. tipon her ankles--hcr chiefest ~
arm. AS the wind-the south uind-irefh u1
'n the sea, with all the volup,,iousness orthe r~u 7
pics gently lifted hor crino!iue, aud that :" "
liehtful, perfect. dr"c,ablc ankle vas sud ~ ~
My exiic7cl to view i deep S5h arose from "a u:
. breasts of the gazers; and when the arno- W
IS bt"e,e elevated the coy. striped petit w
IT, aud the rounded. cloriot:s calf Of the =:
,"seI was made visible the deep respiration w. w.
the spectators vas painful. N,
We think &c recognize in this learned dis col
'.iion the same graceful pen to which We pre-
re lately. indebted for the account of the D"
'iring agonies of the monkeys at Baruums. "o, "'
ether with the rnetical aud aln.ost epic sa,
cripion of the last fsh: of the lion and ev,
tiger. ]
pie
. 81,