The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1865-07-24


ing of the exercises of the German
ladies at Jones's Woods on Wednesday
last, il says:
ANKLES
are positively enchanting, and ycstcr-
dav, for the first time. We took II into
our head TO make nasty study of thl,
charming and suggestive feature of f.
male beauty i'm AN entirely cthuologi,
and purely csthetic point of view. Rep
rcScntatiVes of almost every European
nation participated in the amusement.
, The wind was high; the convOlutiOns Ol
the hobby horses were swift; and the
"studv" was easy rs well as dclectablc.
We ascertaiucd by numerous exam
pies the following facts:
The German ankle. as "a general thing,
is not beautiful. II is short, thick,
clumsy. Yet TO the eve Of the love-Sick
swain 10 may appear more graceful
than that of the Venus de Medici. New
erthcless. there are many kinds of
ankles of German formation, and some
ofthcm are not at all unSymmctrical.
The Danish ankle is generally very
good. The blood of the sea kings is in
the dansel's veins.
bright maiden OF orkney,
Star of the blue ga.
I've swept DER the water,
To gaze upon thee
So sang the Bcrsorkcr Of old, and he
evidently had cultivated his taste for
ankles in his own native land. But
generally the Danish ankle is too ab-
rupt i'm its descent from the swell of the
calfto the dclicacy of the approach to
the foot. This gives IL a clumSey ap-
pcarauce and prevents IL from being q
special favOrite.
The ankle Of SaNOny (of course we
speak and always only of female am
klesl is worse than the Danish. II Is
shorter, thicker, and indicative OF yigor
and vigor only.
Rut the Swiss ankle Is a model Of
beauty. Long, slim, elegant, dclcct-
able. IL is something TO think ana
dream of. The peasant stocking Of
plaid covers il with fuiry-likc exact
ness. You can see the Keen muscles
ply beneath the fabric of the covering.
Ii ,wclls not abruptly, hut gently, up
ward into "a perfect calf. Only the Al
pine roads, the rude torrent crossings,
the romance of Switzerland, could have
produced such AN ankle. IL Is for "a
picture rather than an everyday sight;
il is for the painter. the poet and the
philosopher. IL il beautiful. detachable,
charming, enchanting. II Is strangely
suggestive.
The ankle of Bavaria is also bcautl-
ful. Lean and clegadt, II however
broadens too quickly rs 1t approaches
the foot. which is an impericcuon not
easily To be overlooked by the connois-
scur.
Austria is worse. Her ankle has the
fault of having no taper. The call oil
the leg ends at the foot.
Hungry j. the same. This is probably
owing 10 the inhuman tyranny when
has trodden over her for years. Wo-
men are compelled TO pull ploughs ana
canal boats, and engage in other species
of degrading labOrs more meet for cat
lie. steam aud calOric engines, and
nothing better could be expected OF
their ankles.
Prus-in makes "a better show, but, on
/ the whole, her ankles are not good, and
i'm dancing she has a ludicrous custom
d of switching up her petticoat, IN order
10 make "A special display.
The Irish ankle needs no eulOgy. ii
speaks for itself,
The English is fair, indicative of great
4 f.ats of walking and other exercises.
The French ankle is positively bad
The fault with the German is usually
. ON excess of size-a superiority of ilesl
and muscular power; but the Frcnrl
prrs i'm AN entirely opposite direction
II is too slim. IL is long, thin, scrawny
The ascending swell To the calf tinordi
10
and the largencss the foot also dctract
from the general eilect.
Italy has an exquisite ankle hghl
graceful, full ofclasticity, and yet Will
n languid listlcsSncSs which recalls TN
promenade~ of Naples and the evening
lounge round the winged lions OF ~
Mark
But pcrfcction is only reached in TIA
ankle of the Spanish girl II - SOL
luxurious and rife with trcmulOus, ner
vous thrills. II dcScends 10 the llttl
foot with firm confidence, but II rise
To. and is slowly immersed i'm, the era
! dual expansion of the leg with the hap
piness OF illimitable progression.
A Spanish maid was upon hobb,
horse which was flying at full speed
her dark face was aglow with the eNer
else. her little hands clutched the bridl
with tremmlous eagerness, and her larg
ewes. "wild with the fire of the South,
were emitting more of their accustome
d blaze. but the guZe of the admirln
throng was fixed upon her kles-he
chiefest charms. As the wind-th
: south wind-fresh from the sea, VIII
all the righteousness of the tropics
rentlv lifted her crinoline, and that dc
. Gphtful. perfect, delectable ankle wa
suddenly exposed to view, deep sig
; arose from the breasts of the gazer'
, and when the amOrous breeze elevate
5 the coy. striped petticoat and the r0uno
Z, ed. glorious calf of the damsel wa
= made visible, the deep respiration
the spectators was painful.
| We think we recognized this learne
o. dissertation the same graceful pen
! which we were lately indebted for tn
, account of the expiring agonies OF I'll
f monkeys at Barnum's, together wit
the poetical and almost epic descriI
! ton of the last fight.of the lion and Il
! tiger.